After the festive season, many of us yearn for a post-holiday travel break. We long to fly away someplace with balmy breezes, aquamarine water and 82-degree all-day sunshine. Maybe you are seeking a little romance and a reprieve from family responsibilities, as well as a beachy respite from the ravages of winter and the exhaustion of the holidays. This is a great time to bid farewell to the kids and grandkids and head to the Caribbean.
Or maybe you're searching for a Western adventure to put you on a horse, dogsled or cross-country skis. Want more pampering? You could channel your inner princess for a Roman Holiday. Read on for three great winter getaways to shake the post-holiday blues.
Post-holiday travel at an island resort
Of all the sun-drenched islands, Antigua stands out with its 366 fine-sand beaches. With direct flights from New York, Miami and Atlanta, it’s an easy trip that offers a round-the-clock balm for the cold and weary soul. Antigua also is rich in history for exploring on land, and rich in marine life for deep sea fishing or snorkeling atop coral reefs.
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Locals exude a welcoming warmth. At the adults-only Galley Bay Resort and Spa, a romantic sanctuary on the Caribbean side of the island (Antigua, in the Leeward Islands, also has an Atlantic coast), I sensed this in almost every interaction, from Nequiba, who served me a thimbleful of vanilla rum at the Rum Shack, to General Manager Antoine Brown, who walked me around the property, lush with red flame trees and feathery Areca palms.
The resort’s hydroponic plant and vegetable gardens occupy 13 acres. “Everything is grown here, so we are literally farm-to-table,” Brown says. Galley Bay has a grass tennis court, a croquet field, one-speed bikes available for use and its own three-quarter mile curving beach, with blush-colored sand.
The hotel is all-inclusive: all restaurant meals, drinks (even premium liquor), and beach activities such as Hobie Cat sailing and paddleboarding are included. I had no need to carry cash, not even for my multiple flat whites at the coffee shop. The resort's chill and unusually calm atmosphere felt like a rarity to me. A first-class gym is alongside the dunes, by the thatched huts at Gauguin Restaurant.
But my mood was for surrender, so I beelined for the spa. There, I opted out of relaxing music for my outdoor massage, as the lull of smashing waves was tonic enough. Just a few steps from my villa stretched my own spot of beach, with an umbrella and private chaise lounges. My low-key luxury room had a breezy sitting area, and the roomiest hotel bathroom I have ever seen, tiled in a mosaic of soft white pebbles.
Galley Bay inspires loyalty, and offers rate premiums for repeat guests. People I spoke with throughout my visit were on their third, fifth and even 10th visit. For the best rate-guaranteed and special unpublicized offers, call Elite Island Resorts at 800-858-4618 and mention Kiplinger. If there isn’t availability at Galley Bay, the group has four other properties on Antigua.
As for me, I am already planning my return. This time, I’ll leave behind my overstuffed suitcase and pack just a swimsuit, a coverup and a couple of casual dresses for dinner. At Galley Bay, I hardly even needed shoes, and that was the beauty of it.
A getaway in Big Sky Country
Montana is in the zeitgeist these days, in part due to the streaming series Yellowstone starring Kevin Costner and a cast of rugged cowgirls and cowboys. And then there is Yellowstone, the national park, where bison, wolves and grizzlies roam across 2.2 million acres of wilderness.
Eighteen miles from the park is Lone Mountain Ranch, a historic property consisting of 25 private cabins that was homesteaded in 1915 and renovated in the last few years to something remarkable: extreme comfort meets old western (and ultra-tasteful) splendor. These days, you can still find true winter in Montana, and this is the place to engage with the snowy outdoors, thaw your bones beside a blazing fire, and inhale the crisp air while stargazing in the night sky. When you wake under a thick downy blanket, a little truck arrives at your cabin with a thermos of coffee, just the way you like it.
Located close to the Big Sky Ski Resort, Lone Mountain extends across 148-acres of spectacular wilderness and has 53 miles of riding and cross-country ski trails. The property’s all inclusive Winter Discovery Package starts at $800/night for a cabin. Most of the guides are Montana born and bred, and they can lead you dogsledding, cross-country skiing (including a lesson), on a sleigh ride to North Fork Cabin for dinner, and ice fishing.
The package also includes dinner at Auric Room 1915, a concept restaurant resembling an old west saloon (albeit one with Hermès-Saint Louis barware), accessible by a hidden doorway, that is also a museum of sorts dedicated to the culture and heritage of Montana. The dress code is Yellowstone fancy, meaning jeans without tears, and well-worn boots. Under the sexy amber glow, the Old West has never been so contemporary, so glamorous, or so delicious.
Roman winter holiday
Ubiquitous crowds can turn any trip into an ordeal, and sticky summer vacations can become desperate quests for air conditioning. My advice to anyone who will listen: Stay home this July, and jump over to Rome in wintertime. You can absorb iconic sights such as the Vatican, the Colosseum and, my all-time favorite, the Pantheon, and do it in the bliss of (relative) privacy. And, you can find yourself in the company of actual Romans, elegant city dwellers who flee to the beach during the congested summer months. The weather, too, is fairly mild: it’s the Mediterranean, after all.
Keep in mind that this will be a busier year for Vatican tourism given that the Pope declared 2025 a Jubilee year. And remember that American tourists will need a special visa when visiting EU countries like Italy starting in 2025.
My favorite hotel in Rome is a grand one, Anantara Palazzo Naiadi, with its jaw-dropping regal exterior and walkable location near the Trevi Fountain and the Piazza de Spagna. It inhabits a crescent-shaped, marble neoclassical former palazzo, built in 1887.
The staff is excellent; the service is warm, not condescending. The hotel’s bones are magnificent, too, and its location just above the ancient Baths of Diocletian lends the place a feeling of consequence. The concierges can arrange everything, including a visit to the hotel’s spa, or dinner at cozy and romantic Ineo for one of chef Heros De Agostinis’ ingenious meals (I loved his deconstructed maccheroni that was arranged like a shield on my plate). The staff even booked me a Vespa sidecar tour. It was amazingly clever and a thrill to watch my guide skirt Roman traffic jams. And yes, in winter, you are given a blanket and a hot water bottle to keep the chill at bay.
Prices begin at about $470 per night, and it is more economical to pre-pay. I might pay the extra dollars for a city view, and even more for one of the loveliest vistas in Christendom: the Piazza Della Repubblica, the fountain, and the Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri church, which was designed by Michelangelo. You can hear the organ music from outside the doors, and in winter, it’s warm inside.
Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Retirement Report, our popular monthly periodical that covers key concerns of affluent older Americans who are retired or preparing for retirement. Subscribe for retirement advice that’s right on the money.
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