Where We Are: The Future of Travel
What a year it’s been, is a sentiment I think we all can appreciate. Looking out to 2021 I see reason for cautious optimism. Once most people are able to be vaccinated–summer? fall?–we will likely be able to pick back up some of the activities denied to us during this pandemic. And that includes travel.
Ah, travel, that temporary suspension of our known world, of the coitidian. I know many of us are longing to hit the road be it by car, train or plane. We have spent much of 2020 planning, rethinking and reworking trip ideas but to be honest I’m not sure what travel will look like. Will everyone want private rural houses or hotels to cocoon with their family and friends? Or will the desire to visit urban sites and brimming restaurants win out? Slow travel? Remote locations with outdoor amenities? The seacoast? A village house for a month? Longer trips to faraway places?
In my conversations over the past 10 months, and especially recently, no one seems to know what they will do, or when, and our travel partners–guides, chefs, hoteliers–don’t find themselves able to predict what the return will look like.
Regardless, we can’t wait for the great return to travel.
With these thoughts in mind we have prepared not trips or tours but our 2021 ways of travel.
How You May Want to Travel in 2021
1- Family / Friends Group–House or small hotel stays with built-in activities such as wine tastings, cooking classes, walks or hikes, visits to nearby villages, wine, olive oil, cheese, charcuterie producer visits
2- Slow Travel–Longer immersive stays, remote or countryside locations. Possibility of working alongside local farmers/wineries/craftspeople. Walks, saiboats, horseback riding, winery visits, visiting local tabernas and tapas bars are some of the possible activities
3- Top Spain and Portugal Spots–The active all-encompassing trip. Visit one or more regions including the most requested sites such as the Alhambra, the Mezquita, coastal Green Spain, Porto and the Douro Rver Valley wineries, the historic towns in Central Spain, Lisbon and rural Alentejo.
4- Luxury Spain or Portugal–Impeccable service, safety and hygiene in premier lodgings in the country, villages or cities. Escorted by a private guide and driver you will be cared for and provided with exclusive visits and encounters with interesting people.
5- Countryside and Seaside–Relax in small towns and the country. Live local in seaside Tavira, Portugal, Cambados in Green Galicia, Spain, or Getaria in the Basque Country. Or try Monsaraz in the Alentejo, Portugal, Medina Sidonia deep in Andalusia, Spain, or Laguardia in the Rioja wine region. Couple your stay with visits to the fish market and cool drinks at sunset overlooking the Mediterranean or the Atlantic; private wine tastings with winemakers, Michelin-starred dinners or lunches in local favorites.
6- City Travel–Maybe we’ll all swarm back to the cities from the best of lists: Madrid, Barcelona, San Sebastián, Girona, Sevilla, Granada, Lisbon, Porto… If you choose the urban option we guarantee and food and wine and culture immersion. All with private guides and a wealth of restaurants, cafés, tapas bars, cocktail bars waiting for you.