A Walk Through Your Day

Moment by moment, the adventure gets better with every step

The map might indicate a destination that’s your end point for the day. But oh—between here and there, there are a thousand diversions and detours, encounters and enchantments, sights and sensations that no map could chart. You’ll have plenty of choices to suit your energy, your mood, your fascination du jour. Yes, it’s an ordinary day with VBT—but far from “ordinary.”

“The details and meticulous planning that VBT put in to the itinerary and lodging made for a most memorable vacation. Thanks for a job so very well done!”

Patricia R., Quiet Pathways of Tuscany

7:00 am

You awaken to sunlight streaming through the shutters of your Provencal mas … or maybe it’s a Cuzco hacienda … a Portuguese pousada … or an Irish country house. Wherever you greet the day you will do so in comfort, feeling refreshed and ready for a day of surprises. The first may occur at breakfast, where your chef presents some jam he made with the Maine blueberries you helped pick yesterday. Or maybe you wake up with some chocolatey Peruvian coffee and hot churros, fried pastry sprinkled with sugar.

8:00 am

After breakfast your Trip Leaders will review the walking routes with you and help you decide the best options for the day. The support vehicle is loading in the driveway, ready to welcome a traveler or two who want to ride while finishing another cup of coffee. Map in hand, water bottle replenished, maybe a little stretching to warm up, and you are good to go.

9:00 am

On the trail. You might choose to dip in the crystal clear waters of Zlatni Rat beach on the Dalmatian coast after a morning walk. Perhaps you’ll opt for the more challenging scamper along a rocky Andean ledge, using your walking poles to sturdy your footfalls. Wherever you are, you will have options to walk and rest as you wish. You need not stay with the group, so whether you walk a mile or three or none at all, you will feel great.

11:00 am

You rendez-vous with the rest of your group for a morning activity—perhaps a tour of a fortified French abbey, where monks have been distilling a special cognac for a thousand years. Or maybe you’ll enjoy a wine tasting at a Chianti vineyard. Your Trip Leader might introduce you to some local friends—the gardener at an historic estate, some local school children or the proprietress of a local salumeria, cured meat shop, who gives us a tour of her kitchen. Afterward, you walk with your Trip Leader along a marked footpath, and he points out migratory birds on their southern flight to Africa.

12:00 pm

Ambling into Vaison la Romaine, you stop to watch some local French men playing boules beneath shady plane trees. Why not join them? Some of your friends have decided to lunch at a bistro your Trip Leader recommended. But you decide to make your own impromptu picnic and head over to the farmers market for provisions. Afterward, your partner decides to shop for faience pottery, and will head back to the hotel aboard a local tram, using the ticket your Trip Leader distributed at lunch.

2:00 pm

After lunch your Costa Rican Trip Leaders offer a couple of options: Enjoy a leisurely downhill walk to a community butterfly garden, or stay in town where you can browse the hand-painted plates, boxes, and colorful woodenware in the artisans’s shops. When it’s time to head back, the support vehicle awaits in the central plaza.

4:00 pm

This afternoon you are deciding between a nap, a dip in the pool, or a date with a good book in the lounge of your awardwinning resort and spa. Then you’ll board the support vehicle and head into town for a special dinner at a popular seafood restaurant. You’ll have time beforehand to browse the shops, stroll along the seaside promenzade, and watch the sun sink into the sparkling sea. After dinner, your Trip Leaders will distribute notes about tomorrow’s destinations including a preview of the attractions.

10:00 pm

Perhaps after dinner you’ll join friends in one of Killarney’s music pubs for a rollicking Irish seisun. Or maybe you’ll head back to the inn by way of a horse and buggy. Entering the main salon of your hotel, you meet some group members who invite you to join them in a round of poker. But there’s a full moon to admire off your verandah, and your pillow beckons with the promise of a restful night.