Travel Writers' Favorite Vacations

BJT’s travel writers seem to barely unpack before they’re off again to another far-flung destination; and over the years, they’ve been just about everywhere. We wondered which places rank as the all-time favorites for such seasoned travelers—so we asked. Here’s what they told us.

Ireland on Horseback
by Joe Sharkey

Fifteen of us were on horseback, riding in the bleak and rain-driven wilds of Connemara, on the untamed Irish coast northwest of Galway.
Renowned Irish horseman and raconteur Willie Leahy, his weathered face barely visible under a battered wide-brim felt hat dripping with rain, raised a hand and we brought our horses ’round. These horses—sturdy, swift Connemara ponies and big, fine Irish hunter-jumpers—snorted, shook their manes, and found footing on the soggy hillside. Below us was a ruin, once a famine village; now all that stood intact were just a few dozen pitiful tumbledown stone huts surrounded by a rock wall.
“For these people during the famine, this was the end of the line,” Leahy hollered over the wind. The slate-grey sea crashed just past the ruins where desperation and hunger drove the wretched to the edge of Europe during Ireland’s Great Famine in the late 1840s. The rain picked up. The horses’ nostrils flared. With Leahy in front, we turned and threaded our way down a rocky path to the sea, where we crashed through the surf and galloped on the desolate beach into the grey mists, horses and riders as one.
 This was in 2000, and my wife and I were on the Connemara Trails ride, a six-day, five-night trek that Leahy and his family lead from April through October in the wilds of Connemara. We’d been a few times before and kept coming back for the riding, the staggeringly beautiful scenery, and the camaraderie that quickly develops among former strangers tossed together in the rain. (It’s always drizzling or raining, even when the sun is out and you think you’ve never seen such splendid shades of green.)
You ride hard all day and stop at small inns along the trail for dinner, lodging, and, of course, drinks. Then, the next morning, groaning from the previous day’s riding, you tromp with Willie Leahy into the pastures to round up the horses for another grand day of it.

A Romantic European Cruise
by Margie Goldsmith

I never thought I’d love cruising, but my “Romantic Rhine & Moselle River Cruise” through Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands was like staying in a luxury resort. There was no need to follow roadmaps or book restaurants and never any packing or unpacking even though we visited a variety of cities, including Strasbourg, Cochem, Bruge, and Amsterdam. The Scenic Tours ship, Scenic Diamond, offered a choice of excellent restaurants with five-course dinners with wine pairings. One price covered everything—all meals, snacks, open bar, electric bicycles, personal butler, Wi-Fi, and even gratuities (rare for any trip). Our posh cabin had a spacious glassed-in balcony that converted with the push of a button into an al fresco sun lounge.  

Each day we sailed to villages with centuries-old half-timbered houses and medieval hilltop castles that were surrounded by steep-sloped vineyards. On docking, we could choose one of three guided tours or explore independently. Every cabin was outfitted with a GPS device loaded with photos and audio tours. There were also cycling tours, and with the bike’s variable electric assist, we never had to pedal uphill.

Everywhere we went, we sampled the local fare. In Germany, it was sausages; in Belgium, chocolate and mussels; at a dairy farm in Veere, the Netherlands, we tried fresh unpasteurized milk and cow’s cheese. And while I loved cycling or walking on the cobblestoned streets of medieval towns, my favorite activity was sitting on our private sundeck and watching the world go by.

Cheeseburgers in Paradise
by Debi Lander

Every year for a decade, my extended family and friends would cast off our worries and shoes and vacation on St. John, the smallest of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Two-thirds of the island is a protected National Park, which limits hotels and shopping malls and offers more mountainous landscape, wildlife and beaches than other Caribbean islands.

We’d rent a luxury villa for maximum privacy and an ideal vantage point for sunrises and alluring nighttime skies. The best views overlook the Drake Passage atop Peter Peak in Catherineberg. Villas offer more space than hotels, and provide kitchens for relaxed meals, coffee on the patio, private plunge pools, happy-hour gatherings, and shared dinner duties. For fancier cuisine, we loved elegant Asolare and laid-back Morgan’s Mango in Cruz Bay. Lunch faves were cheeseburgers in paradise from the grill on Bordeaux Mountain or Skinny Legs in Coral Bay. And nothing beats afternoon creamy coconut Pina Coladas at Caneel Bay’s beach bar.

Why return? We were never disappointed: uncrowded Cinnamon and Trunk Bay beaches, crystal-clear water, nearby British Virgin Islands, and the steel pan-Caribbean vibe. We’d charter a boat and explore the Baths at Virgin Gorda or the caves at Norman Island; swim ashore to down a “painkiller” at the famous Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke, or snorkel around delicately patterned brain and fan coral and schools of colorful tropical fish at Waterlemon Cay off St. John’s shores. Scuba enthusiasts can book a dive at Caneel Bay Resort or with local outfitters.

First-time visitors should follow a National Park Ranger-led hike down the Reef Bay trail that includes a boat ride back to National Park Headquarters in Cruz Bay.
 

Croatia’s Unexpected Delights
by Kimberly Button

It’s the destinations that are unknown—free from preconceived notions and overly ambitious checklists—that often make the most memorable vacations. I knew next to nothing about Croatia before flying into the capital city of Zagreb and spending a week traveling from the heartland to the coast. My family feared for my safety, having heard about the country only in connection with war two decades before. What I found, though, were stunning landscapes, surprising gastronomical delights, and a pervasive relaxed attitude toward life. Combined, they made the perfect balance of rest and rejuvenation that I always look for on a vacation.

The sprawling farmers market of Zagreb was my first introduction to the bounty of local foods that would soon become fine dining at every meal, from the farmlands and vineyards of the interior to salt mines and seafood along the Dalmatian coast. A hike through Plitvice Lakes National Park revealed a hidden storybook landscape of walls of waterfalls rushing into turquoise lakes. In Split, I strolled through the beautifully preserved Roman ruins of Diocletian’s Palace, the retirement home of the former Emperor. Dubrovnik, with its 16th-century walled city of distinctive red clay roofs jutting out into the Adriatic Sea, was picture-worthy at every turn. On the last night of my journey, standing on top of Dubrovnik’s historic walls, I watched a blazing sun set beyond the craggy coastline and marveled at how this country had quickly—and unexpectedly—stolen my heart. Then I started planning my next visit.
 

Vietnam Road Trip
by Mark Eveleigh

The Reunification Express clatters along 1,726 unforgettable kilometers of railway line between Hanoi and Saigon. This is one of Vietnam’s most iconic experiences but to do the country justice you should employ as many exciting forms of transport as possible. First, a Hai Au Airlines Cessna Amphibian swooped me down to a watery landing in Halong Bay, with silverfish still flapping on the floats. I cruised the islands in the luxurious Jasmine Junk (kayaking and cycling when the opportunity arose) before heading back to the capital in a military Jeep to explore the backstreets of Hanoi on a classic Russian Ural sidecar motorcycle.

While the Reunification Express’s superior “Soft Sleeper” class could hardly be described as luxurious, it was a pleasure to check into my compartment and feel the train rocking me to sleep. At Hue, I abandoned the train again and caught a cycle-rickshaw to my suite at La Residence, one of the colonial-style gems of Southeast Asia. I spent a day cycling around Hue citadel and the city’s lush paddy field hinterland. If you’d like to get around town slightly faster you might need a “hug.” Motorbike taxis are known here by the charming name of “Honda om.” “Om” means hug in Vietnamese and the name derives from the posture of the passenger as he clings fearfully to the rider.

The train rolled onward through some of the most startlingly beautiful coastal scenery in Asia to arrive in Saigon at dawn. My three-week whirlwind journey through Vietnam was almost over and the last leg was a trip through the Mekong Delta by bicycle and boat. But there would still be time for more Vietnamese “hugs” on the back of a classic Vespa scooter before I left old Saigon. 

Exploring Ancient Myanmar
by Gemma Z. Price

When Myanmar released opposition political leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest in 2010 and the world’s superpowers began strengthening relations with the country, I knew I had to visit.

In the capital of Yangon—formerly known as Rangoon and still a beguiling mix of British colonialism and Myanmar tradition—I discovered a raft of great places to explore, dine, and stay. My room at the two-story 1920s Belmond Governor’s Residence Yangon featured canopy beds bordered by silk-paneled walls and doors overlooking leafy treetops, gardens, and a blue-and-green-tiled pool. Also memorable was the Strand Hotel, one of the region’s most luxurious lodgings during Burma’s colonial heyday, which still boasts many of the Victorian features that made it famous: a vast, marble-inlaid lobby, butlers in dress jackets and traditional longyi (sarongs) and killer whiskey sours.

But it was the sights “upcountry” that captivated me the most.

Aboard Belmond’s colonial-inspired river cruise Road to Mandalay, I gained a new perspective on Myanmar’s life-giving Ayeyarwady waterways. I met people who live on Inle Lake, growing tomatoes, beans, and fruits in floating gardens of knotted vegetation. Then I reflected on my experiences over a glass of excellent local Red Mountain wine from my cozy private terrace at Inle Princess Resort, where chalets crafted by local carpenters from bamboo and reclaimed native teak and pyingado include clay-oven-inspired fireplaces for warmth on chilly evenings.

Bagan’s plain of temples, nearly 400 miles north of the capital and one of Myanmar’s biggest draws, testifies to the area’s vast wealth in the 11th and 13th centuries. Around 2,200 of the 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries remain. The new safari-camp-inspired Bagan Lodge offered me a luxurious base from which to explore.