Ann Petronio, Author at Shared Adventures

A heavenly honeymoon in French Polynesia

December 29, 2015 by Ann Petronio Leave a Comment

Lots of honeymooners come to me with visions of overwater bungalows dancing in their heads. Too often, they end up abandoning those dreams because of time limitations (it’s not really worth flying all the way across the world if you only have a week’s vacation) or budget constraints (those bungalows don’t come cheap!)

Nick and Kristi are among the fortunate few who were able to make the dream a reality. They had two key things in their favor…they live in California (a shorter “commute” than for us East Coasters) and they were travelling during “shoulder season”, in November, when room rates dip a little bit. The end result, as you can see below, was a honeymoon to remember! Scroll all the way down for their detailed feedback about the islands that they visited.

a honeymoon couple on the beach in Tahiti

Hi Ann-

We are just getting back into the swing of normal life after the wedding and amazing honeymoon. Here are some notes about our trip! Overall it was incredible and we cannot thank you enough for all of your help.

Moorea was gorgeous and we had a great time, but we were not necessarily blown away by the accommodations at the Hilton. Our room was nice, but the AC was a bit of an issue…the electricity in the garden villa was controlled by our room key, so when we left our room and didn’t come back for hours, the room got incredibly hot and took a very long time for the AC to kick in and cool off the space. We ordered room service the first night and it was average, but other than that we ate out around the island, which was fun and had very good food. It was very nice that the restaurants offsite would come pick you up to dine with them…very nice touch. It was a great first stop on our trip. We rented a car and drove around the island which was fun and also participated in Albert’s Snorkel adventure where we swam with sting rays, black fin sharks and then ended with a traditional Polynesian BBQ feast. While this was a fun adventure, it was very touristy and there were so many people around the sting rays and sharks, it didn’t feel very natural and we felt as if the sharks and sting rays had been a bit domesticated….snorkeling around the Hilton was nice and it was great that the hotel provides the snorkel gear as well. We met a lot of other honeymoon couples at the Hilton which was fun.

Bora Bora was absolutely gorgeous. There is nothing like getting off the airplane and seeing the gorgeous teal lagoon. The Four Seasons was so incredibly luxurious…this was by far our favorite place and we honestly never wanted to leave. The bungalow was amazing and the restaurants on the property were fantastic. In fact we never left the resort. We participated in a jet ski tour around the island through the Four Seasons and that was a blast. We also went on a Pure Snorkel tour and that was incredible…a much more natural snorkeling experience…we had the opportunity to swim with manta rays, sting rays, sharks and saw the gorgeous coral gardens in Bora Bora. We had a very hard time leaving…

LeTahaa was great as well and definitely had a more authentic Polynesian luxury feel. Our bungalow was very nice and we loved that the patio was on the side of the room, it was like having an outdoor private living room with a breathtaking view. We spent a lot of time relaxing there. We indulged in the French dining experience at LeTahaa which was very nice and a great way to end our trip. The spa was authentic, nice and relaxing. It does not have the american luxury feel but it does makes up for it by being remote, intimate and has a unique Polynesian charm . We did the snorkel tour offered through the hotel here as well and it was unforgettable, we got up close and personal with the sting rays and sharks, our tour guides were authentic and sang to us while on the boat as well as created a Polynesian picnic in the middle of the lagoon for us. The offered fresh coconut, pineapple, mango, bananas and beer for us to enjoy after a morning of swimming.

Timing was perfect and we had left just in time as rainy season was coming upon French Polynesia.

Our honeymoon was hands down one of the best and most memorable trips we have ever been on. The only thing I think that we would have changed (if possible) was to do LeTahaa as the second stop and finished the trip in Bora Bora, other than that we had an incredible time and are so happy that we found you to help us plan our amazing adventure.

Hope this helps, thank you again for everything!

Kristi and Nick

Priceless Peace of Mind

November 21, 2015 by Ann Petronio Leave a Comment

Every honeymoon couples wants their “escape” to be magical, memorable, and stress-free, but with a life-threatening food allergy to contend with, the #1 item on Allison and Greg’s wish list was to be able to eat/drink at an all-inclusive resort without worrying about a medical crisis. We chose a Sandals resort in St Lucia, because of Sandals’ strong track record in accommodating special dietary needs, and they were able to relax and enjoy their honeymoon knowing that they were in good hands!

Hi Ann,

We had a fantastic time on our honeymoon. I’ll break my email up into sections to make it easier!

Resort

The resort (Sandals Halcyon Beach) was perfect for us- quiet, romantic, and tropical. It was exactly what we envisioned.

Dietary needs

Sandals was amazing with my dietary restrictions. Within five minutes of arriving at the resort, the executive chef was waiting to meet me. We discussed all of my concerns then and he went over the restaurant options and menus. All of the waitstaff was extremely cautious as well. The first question the servers asked was “are there any food allergies at the table” so even if I had not warned them, I would have been fine. I ate great all week without being sick.

Sandals Honeymoon Registry

We did a lot of great excursions through the Sandals Honeymoon Registry, which I would definitely recommend. They had prebooked everything for us, but were open to changing them if needed. This took a lot of stress out of the registry process. Unlike others, you didn’t have to estimate how much the excursions were, find a place to do them, get the money from the registry, pay for the excursion, and then book it yourself. Everything was taken care of.

Excursions

The excursions/extras we did were: Zip Lining, Soufriere Jeep Tour, Piton Sunset Cruise, Couples Massage, and the Private Candlelit dinner. We absolutely loved every single one.

Zip Lining

We did it with Tree Top, who is #1 on TripAdvisor. This was through the Honeymoon Registry. They were great. Everyone was assigned a “guide” who assisted during the excursion. Our guide took great photographs and videos for us. The zip lining course was awesome. There were 12 lines, each of different heights, lengths, and speeds. I was totally petrified before doing it, but I got over it and had so much fun. The views of the rain forest were gorgeous as well.

Soufriere Jeep Tour

This was from our registry as well and was our favorite. We were picked up at the resort in a big open air jeep and were able to stand in the back. We viewed the Pitons, went to the Sulphur Springs, went to a waterfall, ate lunch at a local restaurant, and stopped in a lot of towns/villages. We really felt like we got to see so much of St. Lucia. The views were breathtaking and we had so much fun at each stop.

Piton Sunset

This was on our registry, but not purchased, so we used the Tour credit we got when we booked the honeymoon. Also a very fun excursion. We took the large catamaran out to the Pitons, snorkeled between the Pitons, and then sailed back. The sail to the Pitons was relaxing and scenic, while the ride home became a party with a DJ and rum punch!

Couples Massage

One of the best massages I have had! The massages are all done in gazebos outside throughout the resort. It was very romantic, with candles that we got to pick the scent of, and take home for a souvenir.

Private Candlelit Dinner

A can’t miss! The food was exquisite and the service was excellent. You can choose to have the dinner on the beach or in a gazebo. We chose a gazebo because of the rain. We had a private server. It was a four course meal, with a bottle of champagne (and other drinks if you wanted) and a rose. Very romantic!! We just loved it!

Weather

I know I voiced our concerns about the weather before we left. It was definitely rainy! Not so much like Florida. It rained almost every day we were there. A few days it rained all day long. Friday was a complete wash out, the towns were flooded, the shuttles were canceled between resorts, and the beaches were a mess with debris. Even the locals were amazed with how much it was raining. For this reason, I would probably not suggest St. Lucia during this time of the year, although of course overall we would highly recommend St. Lucia. We made the most of our trip and didn’t let the rain affect us at all, but a lot of guests were complaining!

Airline

We had a good experience flying into St. Lucia, but the trip home was horrible. The shuttle got us to the airport very early, so we waited forever!! Then when we landed in Miami, they didn’t have a gate for us so we sat on the tarmac for over an hour. We had to rush through customs and security. We made out connecting flight with honestly not a moment to spare. We boarded, but then were delayed because of a missing lifejacket. By the time we were at our house, it had been 14 hours of traveling! We seem to always have problems with American Airlines like this and probably won’t fly with them again.

I hope this all helps! Let me know if you have any other questions! Thank you again for helping us plan our dream honeymoon!!!!

Northern Lights / Red Lights

November 21, 2015 by Ann Petronio Leave a Comment

Vacations often involve compromise — and the best ones leave everyone feeling that he/she got everything that they wanted! Cousins Jen and Vanessa wanted to go to Europe, but had differing views on which destinations were the most compelling. I helped them put together an ambitious “escape” that combined Iceland and Amsterdam, and it looks like it got two enthusiastic thumbs up 🙂

Hi Ann!

Our trip was AMAZING 🙂 Hotel Midgardur (in Reykjavik) was cute, comfortable, clean and friendly. The breakfast was simply but yummy…and vegan friendly 🙂 Grey Line tours did a really nice job. Our Northern Lights tour was cancelled the first night, due to weather…but the upgraded tour went out (it was double in price of ours…so we opted not to go). HOWEVER, the lights came out that night and were supposedly super bright over Reykjavik (we were totally bummed when we heard that the next day).

Our Golden Circle tour was great…tectonic plates, waterfalls, Geysers, horse farms and an old church. It was a LONG day…we rushed back to the hotel and had an hour to eat and get ready for our Northern Lights tour. We were out until 2am…no lights to be seen…and then slept for a few hours and had to wake up early to ride horses. It was cold…the horses were cool but once we were on them, the guides didn’t speak to us…tell us anything about our scenery, where we were going or for how long (I was through Laxness farms). We then went to the Blue Lagoon…it was nice and relaxing…then back to the hotel, where we had an hour to eat and go back out for the Northern Lights. Luckily, our guide and driver were much better than the previous night, so we SAW THE LIGHTS…yay. They were amazing and magical…we got home close to 2:30am…packed, showered and took at 4am shuttle for our flight to Amsterdam.

In summary, Iceland was great. We had super yummy vegan/veg meals (though food was expensive)…I would go back and maybe add an extra day for a break between tours. We definitely left exhausted!

We landed in Amsterdam after a night of no sleep, and proudly powered through the day without sleeping. The Hampshire Hotel Amsterdam American is older, but has character…and the breakfast…oh the breakfast. Never let me complain about all inclusive breakfast again. We spent at least an hour and a half each morning enjoying breakfast 🙂 It was delightful. We took a canal boat tour, visited the Anne Frank house, took fun pictures on the I AMSTERDAM sign, walked to the old windmill next to a microbrewery, had waffles, chips, checked out the red light district, went to the nine streets for shopping…and had AMAZING Indonesian food (also a vegan friendly city). Amsterdam is so walkable…Vanessa and I totally fell in love with the city. If any of your clients need places to eat (in either city), let us know, we can tell you where we went.

On a side note, we toyed with going to Paris for the day on Friday 11/13 (we looked up flights and train times)…and thankfully, it was too expensive for a day trip. Crazy and sad.

It was an amazing trip. I would go back to either city in a heartbeat…thank you for organizing…you have two very happy clients 🙂

-J

California Dreamin’

November 21, 2015 by Ann Petronio Leave a Comment

Long-time clients Linda and Fred had a conference in San Francisco and wanted to extend their stay by adding a quick road trip down the coast with some friends. I helped them plot out an “escape” that included a little bit of everything (from food/wine, to Pacific beaches, wildlife and scenery) and it sounds like it was a hit!

Hi Ann – now that I have a few minutes wanted to give you some more details. The trip was absolutely fantastic. Paso Robles is a beautiful town. Usually we are not big fans of riding in the car but the scenery from SF to Paso was just beautiful — lots of farms and hills. We had lunch in a small restaurant called Berry Hill Bistro (great Paninis and good wine.) Walked around for a short time (wish we had more) but wanted to get to Hearst Castle before it closed and wanted to see the sunset on the Pacific. The Castle was amazing with spectacular views.

Checked into the Pelican Inn — what a wonderful place, right on the ocean — we made it in time to watch the sunset and it was breathtaking. We were still full from lunch so we enjoyed the complimentary wine, veggies, cheese tray and dessert. The room was beautiful with a gas fireplace. It was really nice to relax in front of the fire after the hustle and bustle of San Francisco. Had our complimentary breakfast, walked along the beach, and on to Monterey.

We stopped along the way to see the elephant seals and then went to Big Sur (Julie Pfeiffer Burns State Park, which was recommended by someone in SF) it was beautiful and then we stopped at Nepenthe for lunch ( extraordinary views of Pacific and mountains) which I highly recommend. It is supposed to be beautiful at sunset.

The hotel in Monterey (Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa) was perfect — overlooking the harbor with the seals and otters frolicking in Monterey Bay right outside our room. We had dinner in the hotel and the next day we explored Monterey in the AM and then Carmel in the afternoon. We had breakfast every morning on our hotel balcony overlooking the bay. The hotel was fabulous! I had been told we might be able to see whales in Monterey Bay (one thing I wanted to see was whales) It looked like it wasn’t going to happen but we woke the morning we were leaving and I overheard some people talking about seeing something big in the harbor. I jumped into my clothes, grabbed the binoculars (provided in every room) and ran downstairs. There they were 3 whales spouting and breaching in the harbor. I was in awe.

We left and went to Henry Cowell State Park to see the Redwoods. They were beyond my expectations. We had time before our flight so we headed back to SF for what we hoped would be a walk across the Golden Gate bridge however it was jam packed and we couldn’t get close. We still had time so we backtracked to Half Moon Bay which was where you were going to have us stay if we were staying an extra day. Beautiful trip there — fabulous views of the Pacific. We found a restaurant on the beach where we sat for 3 hours enjoying a fire pit outside and having a very leisurely dinner waiting for the sunset. We even met a woman from RI who had been in CA for 40 years. We enjoyed our last sunset over the Pacific and headed back to SF for our trip home.

So, again, thank you for your help and expertise in another trip of a lifetime. The weather was perfect and we thoroughly enjoyed everything in and out of San Francisco. It was perfect.

A heavenly honeymoon in French Polynesia

Priceless Peace of Mind

Northern Lights / Red Lights

California Dreamin’

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