In case there was any doubt about Macau being a huge hotel hot spot, a new five-star Banyan Tree has just opened in a massive complex which will also eventually be joined by the Hotel Okura Macau. It’s part of the Galaxy Macau complex, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be all giant, corporate hotel or anything. We’re talking Banyan Tree here, which means all rooms (246 of them) are suites, some with private indoor “relaxation pools,” the hotel isn’t calling itself a hotel, but a “resort.”

Macau’s high-class casinos regularly bring in more moolah than Las Vegas these days, and it only makes sense that the accommodations on the peninsula rival (or bet) those in Sin City. If Caesar’s can have entire high roller villas, then so can the Banyan Tree Macau, and indeed they do. Said villas are expansive, with entire private pools, spa treatment rooms, entertainment dens…everything a deep-pocketed gambler needs to feel comfy cozy enough to stay on dropping loot.For those who enjoy putting a bill into a machine here and there and maybe just want to get away, the Banyan Tree is offering a pretty sweet debut deal. The Summer Double Fun package starts at 2,188 MOP (Macau Patacas, which equals about $272) per night, and includes discounts on spa treatments and gifts at the resort store, plus two First Class tickets to Hong Kong on the jet catamaran ferry.

Top Chef to Order

Invite your favorite chef from Top Chef to spice up your next event!  Our chefs are masters at interactive cooking demonstrations and Team Building programs.  Your guests can compete in cooking competitions, assist the chefs as they cook, or simply enjoy an informative and FUN cooking demonstration.  The chefs will give your guests great advice and cooking tips, along with lots of inside scoop from the set of Top Chef.  Brian Malarkey, Casey Thompson, Ilan Hall, Stephanie Izard, Fabio Vivianni, Hosea Rosenberg and Richard Blais are some of our favorite chefs.

• STRETCH YOUR BUDGET by combining dinner, team building and celebrity chefs into one sizzling event.
• ADD EXCITEMENT to your next meeting with high energy, Team Building Cooking Competitions.
• HAVE FUN with FOOD while attendees sharpen their Leadership Skills.
• ENJOY delicious new leisure activities, Food & Wine Tastings and Cooking Demonstrations.

Teamwork, Creativity, Great Food
and an Experience Your Attendees will Never Forget!
Imagine the excitement of bringing in Celebrity Chefs to your next event! Guests will love the challenge of creating the perfect dish and have a great time doing it.

The payoff is a fabulous meal and a once in a lifetime experience of cooking with their favorite Chefs. Let our Top Chefs To Order team bring their culinary experience and celebrity excitement directly to YOU!

Team Building and Leadership Events

The Melting Pot – Team Building for all Generations
A little healthy competition in the kitchen, guided by a celebrity Top Chef is a fun and energetic way for your staff to be creative together. Dinner is prepared by multiple teams as they compete against each other, and the clock. You will be amazed at how quickly the barriers disappear and how lasting this experience is amongst all of your guests.

Step Up to the Plate – Quick Fire Challenge
Team dynamics and quick decision making skills all play a role in this event. Original dishes will be created, critiqued and served to the entire group. The judging will be done by your own appointed leaders and the winners will enjoy a special VIP Meet and Greet with the celebrity Top Chefs. This can be a great unifying experience for all levels within your organization.

Thinking Outside of the Bag – Leadership Training
Problem solving, hands-on management and delegating skills will be the focus of our Leadership challenge. You have only one bag of groceries from which to create a two-course meal while competing against your colleagues. This program is a fast paced, creative way to demonstrate the value of thinking outside the bag.

“Top Chefs To Order” Programs

Cooking Classes & Demonstrations:
Choose from a variety of themed cooking classes or request your own. Here are some of our favorites: Ready, Set, Grill; Deep Sea Dishes; Garlic Gone Wild; Say Cheese.

Wine and Food Pairing Techniques:
Learn the best compliments for every meal course from a celebrity Top Chef and certified sommelier. You can even pick the theme – Italian, Pacific Rim, French, just to name a few.

Iron Chef Competition:
Enjoy a relaxing dinner while you watch celebrity Top Chefs compete using this unique One Secret Ingredient format.

Sous Chef for a Night:
Reward your top performers with the opportunity to become a Sous Chef to the Top Chefs during the Iron Chef Competition or a Cooking class.

“Take a Chef Home” Prize Packages:
Acknowledge that special achievement by having a celebrity Top Chef prepare the meal of their dreams in a private residence, outdoor venue or yacht.

New York City’s fave “neospeakeasy” has become mainstream to the chagrin of some of its regulars. Besides the amazing drink menu created by Jim Meehan, Please Don’t Tell’s greatest asset is its “secret” entrance inside the hot dog joint Crif Dogs on St. Mark’s Pl. The phone booth entry not only makes patrons feel like they are experiencing something special, it has also filtered out those who weren’t in the know.

Mixologist Jim Meehan has been well known to drink connoisseurs for some time but now he’s bringing his talent, and his secret bar, to the forefront. Jim was recently featured on the Travel Channel and last week he made a high profile appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. On the show, Jim spilled all of his secrets, like how to make one of his signature drinks, a Tequila Highball, and where to find his hidden bar.

But all of this publicity has some wishing PDT would stay a secret. One Twitterer recently exclaimed, “Now that @PDTNYC & Jim Meehan have been on Travel Channel and Jimmy Fallon, it should be really awesome to sit next to tourists at the bar!” While another patron pointed out the fact that speakeasies are suppose to be kept on the DL. “What point is it having a “secret” bar that everyone knows about??? They shouldn’t be listed in places like City Search, and they shouldn’t have a website or any other kind of advertising either. It should be simply word of mouth. They didn’t have the internet back in the prohibition years you know!”

If you’re one of those annoying tourists who wants to check out a real, big city speakeasy, make sure you make reservations and call early.  PDT’s 45 seats are usually booked by 4 pm. The only thing that irritates locals more than tourists, are tourists without reservations

-Jaunted

Woo-hoo! Another victory for the modern traveler as Amtrak has named this the year of free WiFi aboard their Acela trains. To tell you the truth, we knew this was coming, even that it would be free, but we didn’t know when it would be completed or if we could even count on it.

Well we can count on it! Amtrak announced that installation of WiFi on the Acela trains (which are the express routes on the East Coast) will be completed by March, as part of a celebration of the Acela’s tenth anniversary of service. Other upgrades due for the trains include “leather seats and improved tray tables and power outlets.” Score!

But who knows when we’ll get to try out the WiFi and outlets; the Acelas are too damn expensive. Yeah right like we’re paying $100 for a one-way to Boston when a WiFi and outlet-equipped BoltBus takes almost the same time and costs around $30. Keep trying, Amtrak, but we’re proud of your achievements thus far.

Amtrak travel [Jaunted]
[Photo: pandoralyrael]

Space hotel ready for 2012

Barcelona – A company behind plans to open the first hotel in space says it is on target to accept its first paying guests in 2012 despite critics questioning the investment and time frame for the multi-billion dollar project.

The Barcelona-based architects of The Galactic Suite Space Resort say it will cost $4.4m for a three-night stay at the hotel, with this price including an eight-week training course on a tropical island.

During their stay, guests would see the sun rise 15 times a day and travel around the world every 80 minutes. They would wear velcro suits so they can crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls like Spiderman.

Galactic Suite Ltd’s CEO Xavier Claramunt, a former aerospace engineer, said the project will put his company at the forefront of an infant industry with a huge future ahead of it, and forecast space travel will become common in the future.

“It’s very normal to think that your children, possibly within 15 years, could spend a weekend in space,” he told Reuters Television.

A nascent space tourism industry is beginning to take shape with construction underway in New Mexico of Spaceport America, the world’s first facility built specifically for space-bound commercial customers and fee-paying passengers.

Virgin Galactic

British tycoon Richard Branson’s space tours firm, Virgin Galactic, will use the facility to propel tourists into suborbital space at a cost of $200 000 a ride.

Galactic Suite Ltd, set up in 2007, hopes to start its project with a single pod in orbit 450km above the earth, travelling at 30 000km per hour, with the capacity to hold four guests and two astronaut-pilots.

It will take a day and a half to reach the pod – which Claramunt compared to a mountain retreat, with no staff to greet the traveller.

“When the passengers arrive in the rocket, they will join it for 3 days, rocket and capsule. With this we create in the tourist a confidence that he hasn’t been abandoned. After 3 days the passenger returns to the transport rocket and returns to earth,” he said.

More than 200 people have expressed an interest in travelling to the space hotel and at least 43 people have already reserved.

The numbers are similar for Virgin Galactic with 300 people already paid or signed up for the trip but unlike Branson, Galactic Suite say they will use Russian rockets to transport their guests into space from a spaceport to be built on an island in the Caribbean.

But critics have questioned the project, saying the time frame is unreasonable and also where the money is coming from to finance the project.Claramunt said an anonymous billionaire space enthusiast has granted $3 billion to finance the project.

]]> http://genuineaccess.com/Luxury-Travel-and-Lifestyle/space-hotel-to-open-in-2012/feed/ 0 http://genuineaccess.com/Luxury-Travel-and-Lifestyle/worlds-most-unique-places-to-visit/ http://genuineaccess.com/Luxury-Travel-and-Lifestyle/worlds-most-unique-places-to-visit/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:10:35 +0000 Gen Hershey http://genuineaccess.com/Luxury-Travel-and-Lifestyle/?p=1698

Some travelers are trading beach vacations for unforgettable experiences in faraway lands like these.

If the options for your next vacation come down to the usual beach relaxation period or volunteering at an elephant shelter in Thailand, which would you choose?

Should the pachyderms sound more appealing than sipping a Mai Tai in Ko Samui, you’re not alone. Exciting, interesting and a little bit strange are elements that travelers are currently seeking in their vacations, experts say.

Mansudae Monument in Pyongyang, North Korea

“It’s like Mars with people,” says William Altaffer of Expedition Photo Travel, who has visited Pyongyang four times. Tourists are told to keep a respectable distance and bow in front of the 20-meter-high bronze statue of previous dictator Kim Il Sung. Only after doing so are visitors allowed to take pictures–then these are checked to make sure the leader is portrayed in a positive light

The Dragon’s Blood Trees of Socotra

The otherworldly Dragon’s Blood Trees and other 700 rare species of flora and fauna have drawn people to Socotra, an island in the Indian Ocean, off the horn of the African continent. Giampiero Ambrosi of Virtual Tourist says, “The trend of eco-tourism is especially strong here.”

Takstang Monastery in the Kingdom of Bhutan

The Kingdom of Bhutan is the last remaining kingdom in Asia and is the only place in the world to measure Gross National Happiness. Takstang means “tiger’s lair” and hangs on a cliff high above the Paro valley. Visitors must climb the slope on foot or by mule.

Read o

Dogon Buildings in Mali

The Dogon is an ethnic group that lives in Mali, in western Africa; their villages are characterized by living structures of unusual architecture. The buildings with pointed straw roofs are for storage of grains, foods, clothes, jewelry and money. “Sometimes you go visit a place from looking at a photograph,” says William Altaffer of Expedition Photo Travel, “and this is one of them.”

Antartic Glaciers

Antarctica is one of the most unique destinations on Earth, one that’s growing in popularity among travelers. The coldest land mass in the world is also the least touched by human activity. The dramatic, white landscape, as well as the unique wildlife, make for an unforgettable journey.

Oceangoing Hippos in Gabon

The West African coast is the only place in the world where there are “surfing” hippos. Gabon is also known for its lush tropical rainforests and assortment of animal life, including gorillas, forest elephants and colorful mandrills.

The  Naadam Festival in Mongolia

Go to this  annual festival to see the traditional Mongolian wrestling tournament. It is a martial art that has been practiced for 2,000 years and was used by Ghengis Khan to train his troops. In the festival, players wearing colorful two-piece costumes wrestle in a grassy stadium. An added element of interest: There are no weight-class restrictions, which makes for some interesting competition.

The Salt Plains in the Salta, Argentina

Off the Beaten Path travel agency recommends the Northwestern Salta province of Argentina. The salt plains here are a pure white expanse, surrounded by high mountains. The Inca tribes that originally inhabited the area offer a unique cultural history.

Chernobyl Power Plant

Twenty-three years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Solo East Travel offers an ecological tour of the power plant. Visitors get to see a reactor, the “dead town” of Pripyat, and the “red forest” where pine trees turned reddish orange because of radiation.

Head-smashed-in Buffalo Jump

For 5,500 years, the Native Americans of the North American Great Plains killed bison by chasing them off this cliff located in what’s now Alberta, Canada. They would then carve up the bison carcasses in the camp below. This is one of the biggest and best preserved buffalo jumps in North America, according to Off the Beaten Path co-founder Pamela Bryan. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981.

Throat Singers in Tuva

The throat-singing Tuva people of southern Siberia create sounds and harmonies unique to foreigners’ ears. It is a style that simultaneously combines two or more pitches over a fundamental pitch to create sounds mimicking nature. The pastime is popular especially among the Tuvan male herders, because they are able to practice in the broad, open fields while they work.

]]> http://genuineaccess.com/Luxury-Travel-and-Lifestyle/worlds-most-unique-places-to-visit/feed/ 0 http://genuineaccess.com/Luxury-Travel-and-Lifestyle/aqua-expeditions-amazon-river-peru/ http://genuineaccess.com/Luxury-Travel-and-Lifestyle/aqua-expeditions-amazon-river-peru/#comments Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:06:47 +0000 Gen Hershey http://genuineaccess.com/Luxury-Travel-and-Lifestyle/?p=883

Overview

The Amazon River is arguably the largest river in the world rivaled only by the mighty Nile in Africa. The Amazon River’s headwaters in South America originate in Peru with the Upper Amazon area in Peru consisting of a series of major river systems that flow North and South into the Marañón and Ucayali (major Amazon River tributaries) and the Amazon River.

At its widest point the Amazon River is 11 km/7 miles wide during the low water season, but during the high water season, when the Amazon floods the surrounding plains, the Amazon River can be up to 45km/28 miles in breadth.

You will start your luxury cruise floating down the Amazon River in Iquitos, a one hour twenty five minute flight from Lima, Peru. Iquitos is so remote that this charming Peruvian city can be reached only by air or water. Once a booming rubber town due to its location on the Amazon River, Iquitos now enjoys a slower pace. You will enjoy touring this lively city, which includes a building designed by Gustav Eiffel, among other highlights.

What you see along the Amazon River depends on the length of your stay. The heart of every visit, however, will be Pacaya Samiria Reserve, a protected wildlife area deep within the Amazon rainforest and jungle. The highlight of each day’s journey on your luxury cruise down the Amazon will be experiencing by small ship, the pristine wilderness areas teeming with the Amazon’s wildlife and amazing plant life, such as the colossal Victoria Regia water lilies. You will also encounter—and have the chance to interact with—local people living in villages along the Amazon River, as they have for centuries. When the day’s sightseeing is over, the comforts of your luxurious floating hotel await you.

Marrying the elegance of a five-star luxury hotel with the breathless excitement of a cruise down the fabled Amazon River, the M/V Aqua provides discriminating travelers with an unforgettable experience.

Guided by experienced naturalists, you’ll begin your journey in Iquitos – an area so remote it can only be reached by air or water – before experiencing the stunning beauty of Peru’s Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, a preserved wilderness area teeming with plant and wildlife.

Accommodations

M/V Aqua is Aqua Expedition’s 130-foot flagship. Its 12 luxury guest suites, designed by an internationally renowned Peruvian interior designer, measure a generous 230 to 240 square feet, and feature large, outward-facing panoramic windows and en suite sitting areas.

All suites are air-conditioned, and four are interconnected to cater to families. Guests can socialize in the dining room, bar, on the observation deck and in the outdoor lounge. There is also a small boutique.

You’ll be served by a crew of 18, plus three skilled guides. Rates include all excursions, meals and wine with meals.

Activities

Every day will bring amazing new wonders, as guests set out with guides in a fleet of three launches to float toward the source of the mighty Amazon. Each day, you will explore the small inlets and various winding river systems that make up the flooded forest.

Pacaya Samiria Reserve, located on the headwaters of the Amazon basin, spans more than five million acres. Twice the size of Yellowstone Park, it teems with wild and aquatic life. Visitors will have the opportunity to see hundreds of species, including the endangered pink Amazon dolphin, the black caiman and the three-toed sloth.

Aqua Expeditions has assembled a talented and experienced team of naturalist and interpretive Amazon River guides and professional crew who are the most important and essential ingredient in our luxury class cruise service on Peru’s Amazon River. Their expert knowledge of the M/V Aqua cruise ship, the Amazon’s wildlife, plants and birdlife and the history of this part of Peru will be the difference between a visit to Peru and an unforgettable life experience on Peru’s Amazon River.

M/V Aqua Naturalist Guides

Three highly trained interpreter Amazon River guides, who know all the flora and fauna of the Amazon, will take you on as many as three expeditions a day, aboard comfortable motorized skiffs. Your English-speaking Amazon guides will give you both the big picture of life on the Amazon, and will point out the multitude of small details that make the region special–a howler monkey hidden in a tree, a vivid butterfly resting on a leaf, a bird, such as the endangered harpy eagle, enjoying the tranquility of the Amazon basin.

Dining

We offer a world class dining experience about the M/V Aqua with specially selected unique Peru recipes and cuisine. Noted Chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, one of Peru’s top ten chefs, has created our exclusive menus. Guests aboard the M/V Aqua will enjoy a menu of fresh, delicious Peruvian cuisine (with a bit of continental influence), whether served on board in our elegant dining room or out and about on a luxury cruise excursion in the Amazon jungle. Dinner each evening promises to be a Peruvian culinary feast for the senses, paired with premium South American wines.

Excursions

3 Night

Join us in Iquitos, Peru for a 3 night Amazon River luxury cruise exploring the Tahuayo River and the Yacapana “Iguana” Islands, Charo Lake fishing and visits into the Amazon jungle to view Amazon monkeys, three-toed sloths and caimans at home in their habitat. Enjoy watching the infamous Amazon pink dolphins at play in the Amazon. Journey to the Amazon’s headwaters and learn from our naturalist guides about the diverse Amazon wildlife in thePacaya Samiria National Reserve.

4 Night

Join Aqua Expeditions in Nauta, a short flight from Lima, Peru for a 4 night journey by luxury cruise down the Amazon River exploring the many highlights of the Amazon jungle. Learn about the birds of Yanallpa Lake, meet the fishermen of the majestic Ucayali River, enjoy night excursions by skiff, explore the Pacaya River and Yanayacu Lake and photograph the wildlife within the Pacaya Samiria National Park and Reserve.

7 night

We highly recommend our seven-night Amazon River Expedition Cruise where you will enjoy our most luxurious and comprehensive Amazon journey and on which you can experience the Amazon River’s three powerful tributaries: the Marañón, the Ucayali, and the Puinahua as well as several hidden black water lakes. Combine this cruise with a pre-departure or post-cruise Peru tour of Machu Picchu, Lima and Cusco and you have the makings of an unforgettable Peru luxury vacation.

The Resort

At the crossroads of incomparable luxury and unspoiled wilderness lies The Resort at Paws Up®. Distinguishing itself from all other Montana luxury resorts, the Resort at Paws Up® offers an enchanting escape into the tranquility and magnificence of Montana’s pastoral countryside. This authentic Montana resort is discretely nestled among some of the most breathtaking country in the world. Spend a day on horseback, cast a fly in sparkling waters to eager cutthroats, explore the land Lewis and Clark swooned over, or indulge in sumptuous spa treatments. Choose from 28 luxury vacation homes or 12 impeccably appointed tents – all featuring an interior landscape rich in rustic elegance. It’s first-class adventure in a wilderness sanctuary
Request Brochure you’ll never forget. The Resort at Paws Up – truly The Last Best Place.

Accommodations

Escape to a wonderland of rustic elegance at The Wilderness Estates at Paws Up, a collection of new, stately domains nestled a world away from the everyday at our breathtaking Montana resort. Whatever you can imagine is at your fingertips. Total indulgence. Complete relaxation. A secluded wilderness sanctuary, all discretely hidden behind gated chaparrals. Your expansive estate comes complete with panoramic vistas, uber-privacy and an extensive list of features including a great room with a soaring vaulted ceiling, a cook’s kitchen, a loft game room, and three huge master suites featuring luxurious master bathrooms outfitted with a spacious slate shower, a jetted spa tub, sumptuous spa products and seriously plush towels.

When you’re ready to fully disconnect, saunter out to your sprawling private deck for a soak in your rejuvenating, six-person hot tub. Or head out on a family wildlife safari in your personal, eco-friendly electric car that’s so silent, the animals won’t hear you coming. If and when you’re ready to reconnect, high-speed wireless Internet access, surround-sound entertainment systems and 42″ flat-screen TVs are at your beck and call. The Wilderness Estates at Paws Up – the wilds of Montana have never been so civilized.

Wilderness Adventures

No matter the time of year, adventure is abundant in Montana’s Rocky Mountains. Whether it’s in the saddle of a horse, on a mountain bike, behind the wheel of an ATV, or breaking in a new pair of hiking boots, The Resort at Paws Up will take you places few have ever been. Here in the Paws Up wilderness nirvana, nestled near Seeley Lake and Blackfoot River, every day brings new beauty and adventure. Since the warm summer days in Montana seem to get never dark, you can fill your adventure vacation with hundreds of moments you’ll never forget. These everlasting times can be shared with others when you tell them about your spectacular Montana fly fishing trip, upland bird hunting trip, or how you spent the morning golfing in Montana. When you combine America’s most beautiful lakes and rivers in the majestic Rocky Mountains with a one-of-a-kind luxury resort, you truly have the ultimate outdoor playground. Our vast array of wilderness adventure activities is limited only by your imagination.

This summer, enjoy Montana’s luxury resort, and all the exciting adventures waiting for you!

Dining & Entertainment

Drawing from the agricultural wealth of Montana and the West, the Chef at Paws Up creates world-class, five-star cuisine that articulately blends the most sophisticated culinary techniques with the freshest meats, produce and ingredients available. Huckleberries picked from the slopes of surrounding mountains might complement a breakfast of French toast and hand-made sausage. Fresh Rocky Mountain trout, sauteed with herbs, may be paired with an exquisite Napa Valley Chardonnay. Soak up the rustic luxury of Paws Up at a lavish barbeque where guests may indulge in a flight of vintage Pinot Noirs as dinner sizzles nearby. Every sense is excited. Every meal brings new adventure.

Note: Paws Up will accommodate any special dietary requests you may have. Please let us know in advance.

The Spa

The serene, yet majestic location of Spa Town® could have easily inspired the Meriwether Lewis quote “Much pleased at having arrived at this long wished for spot.”

Discretely nestled on the edge of an expansive meadow, in the waving shade of soaring pines—sits Spa Town® at Paws Up. Made up of eleven oversized, impeccably appointed tents, Spa Town® is one of the most unique spas ever to be built. This haven of relaxation offers natural light, soothing sounds and indigenous aromas—and that’s just the Reception Tent. A winding boardwalk takes you to the privacy of your own treatment tent where one of our talented massage therapists will provide healing treatment for mind, body and spirit. Every moment at this unique sanctuary brings treasured relaxation and refreshment. We give new meaning to the term “getting lost” in the woods.

We wish for you a similar heritage of discovery and adventure native to the history of our western mountain region so when you leave our inspiring resort, you go forth with a sense of strength and renewal.

Overview

These grab-bag of luxury adventures-from weekends of wrangling cattle, hiking up cliffs, championing white-water rapids or sky diving from 13,000 feet-are the ultimate in bonding trips and can be arranged from Anchorage to Key West. Many combine boozy nights in stylish hotel lounges and nightclubs, with serious outdoor thrills coming before the hangover fades. From San Diego, for example, groups free-fall for a full minute before parachuting to a bonfire BBQ-and then enjoy another night of Gaslight District bars. Or spend a night in Miami’s star-studded South Beach, then chase sharks on an adrenalin-charged yacht trip offshore. If you like your water fresh, opt for white-water rafting trips, from places like Portland, Oregon, and Chattanooga, where you bounce down rapids as clear as the martinis the night before. Marriages, even good ones, can occasionally feel like war, so get the groom a head-start with an all-out paintball weekend in an open-air battlefield on the shores of Lake Michigan-where day’s battles are followed by fish dinners by the water. If the groom needs something less intense, try a quieter golf or fly-fishing getaway-ideally at Michigan’s buzzing Traverse City, or deep-sea fishing days near Boston or New Orleans’ party scenes. We organize all the details so you don’t have to sweat out the details-you’ll need to save it for what we have planned.

Transportation

Genuine Access will make sure that you and your group always arrive in style, no matter what part of the country you choose.

Restaurants And Nightlife

On any adventure trip you choose, Genuine Access will provide your group with the most unforgettable culinary and nightlife experiences. Whether it is having your freshly caught fish cooked to your liking or eating at the finest restaurant in town, you will always have the most unique experiences available to you. As for nightlife, depending upon your city and adventure of choice, Genuine Access experts will lead you to the best and most memorable places in each city.

Accomodations

No matter what city, Genuine Access will make sure that you and your group are afforded the finest hotels.

Activites

Whitewater Rafting
Portland, OR
Albany, NY
Chattanooga, TN
Ft. Collins, CO
Colorado Springs, CO
Sacramento, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Charleston, WV
Key West, FL (Kayaking)

Skiing
Jackson Hole, WY
Lake Tahoe, CA

ATV Desert Riding
San Diego, CA
Las Vegas, NV

Shooting
Grand Rapids, MI
Cattle Drive
Dallas, TX

Fishing
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
Lake Tahoe, CA
Milwaukee, WI
New Orleans, LA
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
Anchorage, AK

Shark Hunting
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Miami, FL

Skydiving
Boston, MA
Denver, CO
Las Vegas, NV
Scottsdale, AZ
Pittsburgh, PA
San Diego, CA
Dallas, TX (Bungee jumping)

Overview

Tarzan and Jane never had jungle adventures made this easy. Latin America’s most tourist-friendly country, compact Costa Rica-cradled by Caribbean and Pacific waters-is an outdoor wonderland, teeming with luxury eco-lodges where your nearest neighbor are red-eyed tree frogs and monkeys. Across the country, you can zip down canopy lines or hike on suspended bridges above jungle treetops. From places like Monteverde, you can take eery night tours of the cloud forest with jungle creatures slithering left and right. If water is more your thing, sit back or surf at a beach that runs along both coasts. The Nicoya Peninsula, on the Pacific, sees most of Costa Rica’s tourists, with beachfront condos in party towns like Playa Tamarindo and Playa del Coco. Over on the Caribbean, the rum flows liberally in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, with reef dives, good surfing, beaches and jungle tours. A more quiet alternative is Tortuguero National Park, accessible by air from San Jose; here boat tours go through a maze of jungle canals to sea turtle nesting sites on the beach. If you only have a long weekend, the main air hub of San Jose has plenty of fun itself. The best nightlife strip is Calle La Amargua in San Pedro, a well-to-do neighborhood east of the center. By day, you can sweat out the San Jose alcohol on hikes up nearby Volcán Barva or to Volcán Poás’ steaming surreal cone-less adventurous walks take in the Spanish-colonial center of Heredia, a 20-minute taxi ride away from the capital.

Transportation

Genuine Access offers all types of transportation for your group in Costa Rica. Chauffeured 4x4s and limos are available for your group, which can take you on jungle tours, thermal spring tours, a night out on the town of San Jose, or hourly rental service anywhere you want. Also, cars, vans, and SUVs are available to rent for the day or the week. We are also introducing Harley Davidson rentals to tour Costa Rica’s beautiful coast.

Restaurants And Nightlife

If nightlife is your thing, then Costa Rica is the place to be. From the laid back bars and clubs in Jaco, to the action paced casinos, clubs, discos, and bars in San Jose, Costa Rica offers it all. Genuine Access can set your group up at the hottest clubs, restaurants, casinos, and strip clubs with VIP access and tables all over Costa Rica. The party starts at 10:00 P.M. and goes until sunrise. Don’t miss the action in the town of El Pueblo near San Jose, with its famous strip of discos and strip clubs such as Infinito Disco, Friends, and Coco Loco. One spot not to miss is Tango Nightclub/Stripclub. Inside is an exclusive Convair 240 aircraft VIP room, with a Jacuzzi. It can hold up to 20 people inside.

Accommodations

Costa Rica has some of the most unique hotels in the world, offering the most beautiful views one can imagine. Accommodations range from five-star resorts, small mom n’ pop cabanas, quaint hotels and secluded jungle lodges, tree-house retreats, to ocean pier huts. Genuine Access can book all your group’s Costa Rica accommodations in all regions such as San Jose, Jaco, Tortuguero, Tamarindo, and many more.

Activities

Costa Rica offers a wide range of activities for your group. Costa Rica is a nirvana for active travelers with recreation or a specific adventure in mind. Whatever your taste in recreation, Costa Rica has something for you. Costa Rica offers everything from the hustle and bustle in San Jose, lush jungles full of wildlife, to quant surfing along the coasts. Genuine Access can book all the activities for your group, along with offering private guides at each activity. See below for a sample list:

White Water Rafting
Scuba Diving
Canopy Tour
Volcano National Park & Hot Spring Tour
Surfing
Golf
Sport Fishing
Motorcycle tour