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Winning a national magazine award is nothing to sneeze at, but the staff at Virtuoso felt especially proud when the company’s flagship publication, VIRTUOSO LIFE, won “Best Consumer Travel Magazine” in the 2009 FOLIO awards, beating out competitors like National Geographic Traveler and Travel + Leisure . Exclusive Reading for Luxury Clientele What makes this win even more sweet is that, unlike its competitors, VIRTUOSO LIFE isn’t for sale on the newsstands. It’s considered a “private” or “corporate” magazine that only goes out to the best clients of Virtuoso’s member travel advisors. View the winning issue here . Esteemed Awards The FOLIO awards competition is the largest of its kind, this year drawing more than 2,000 entries from a who’s-who of well-known consumer magazines. Other gold winners included Time, Newsweek, Food & Wine, Field & Stream, Harper’s Bazaar, Golf Digest, and Entertainment Weekly . See the complete list of winners here. To find out more about what a

  Hong Kong Overview Located on the Pearl River Delta in China . “Hong Kong” translates to “fragrant harbour” or “incense harbour”. Human settlement dates back to the Paleolithic and early Neolithic era. Was occupied by British forces in 1841 and was formally ceded to the British under the Treaty of Nanking. During Japanese invasion in World War II, Japan had control from 1941-1945 until it’s surrender after the war. Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997. Today, it is a Special Administrative Region (SAR). According to experts, Hong Kong has the world’s freest economy. Common Etiquette Rules Don’t show the sole of your feet to others. Putting your feet on a chair, or on a train seat, is regarded as very bad manners. Always use chopsticks in your right hand. Don’t leave chopsticks vertically or horizontally in your bowl. Vertical chopsticks look like incience sticks in a bowl of ashes, a remainer of death. When using toothpicks, cover the hand holding the toothpick

CAPTURING MOMENTS || October 2015 ITINERARY 10.2-10.5 (Kathmandu, Nepal) → 10.5-10.14 (Changu Narayan/Bhaktapur, Nepal) → 10.14-10.18 (Pokhara, Nepal) → 10.19-10.21 (Chitwan National Park, Nepal) → 10.21-10.24 (Kathmandu, Nepal) → 10.24-10.28 (New Delhi, India)→ 10.28-10.30 (Agra, India)→ 10.31-11.3 (Udaipur, India) HIGHLIGHTS Volunteering for ten days in the quaint hilltop village of Changu Narayan at the Village Villa Homestay where Tim and I became a part of a Nepalese household and befriended backpackers from all over the world (miss you already Bertrand, Karolina, Babette, Marcos, Luke, Nick, Lucie, and Helene). My contribution was revamping the homestay’s website – check it out: Village Villa Homestay Spending a day whitewater rafting in a river fed by the Himalayas and sandwiched between one of the world’s most dangerous highways Due to a fuel crisis in Nepal, rode atop a bus and got to see Kathmandu from a different view and sweet locals paid for our f

When I took this photo in an alley in Holetown, I had no idea there was a tortoise in it! A year had passed since I had returned from that trip in Dubai where absolutely everything went wrong. Fuelled by the cat-saga which I experienced in Dubai, I had become obsessed with photographing cats. My parents couldn’t keep my hands off their snazzy Sony digital camera so for my birthday they gave me the best gift – my own bright pink Sony Cybershot digital camera! I loved it. It was the newer model of their camera so was actually even better. There was no stopping me now. My weekends and evenings after school were spent snapping away with my camera. I started off by bothering my own felines with my continuous camera snaps but soon graduated to taking photos of every single cat I saw whilst on regular walks round my local area. Sure, I was weird and different, unlike any other 13 year olds, but I was having the time of my life. When the Easter holidays finally ar

(This post contains affiliate links, for more information read this  privacy policy ) On my second day and also last day in Brussels we decided to sign up for a beer tour that the Meininger Hostel was offering. It seemed like a good idea since Belgium is definitely known for its rich beer culture. The price was 22 euros and all it said in the description was that we would learn a bit about Belgium beer culture and get one beer and three samples included. Didn’t sound like a lot and I also wasn’t expecting much but it did turn out to be a really nice evening. At around 5:30pm we met at this bar called Scott’s Bar, located in the city centre. We waited outside in the cold for a while because on our ticket it said to meet outside which was a little confusing because everyone was already inside. The bar itself looked really fancy from the inside and we got to meet the other participants. After our tickets were collected we walked up the stairs and met our tour guide. I have n

After all our trips to Las Vegas, my friends and I have the arrival down to a science. Here’s how to arrive in Las Vegas in style: PART I: BEFOREHAND If you’re flying to Las Vegas from the East Coast, go to sleep as late as you can.  Sleep late if you can as well, but it’s most important that you go to bed late to get yourself used to the time change. Try to book a flight that arrives in the late afternoon or evening. However, if you arrive earlier, you can do this: Most people arrive on Friday, and my friends and I like to arrive on Thursday because it’s far less crowded and gives us a better pick of rooms. The day before you leave, make sure you’re confirmed on the guestlist at your club of choice for the night you arrive.  At least a week before, confirm a dining reservation for that night. Before leaving for the airport, shower and get ready as if you were going out for the night. PART II: THE FLIGHT Don’t check any luggage.  You don’t need more than a carry-on bag for

Love snowboarding? If so, visit Conc ó n, Chile for SANDboarding! Conc ó n is close to Valpara í so and is easy to get to as a day trip. It was our first time seeing huge sand dunes and loved the views of the ocean and neighboring cities from above. The sandboarding experience included cheap equipment rental and falling down dozens of times. Heads up that sand gets everywhere on your body, clothes (including underwear!), and shoes. How to Get There from Valparaíso, Chile From Valpara í so, we walked to the main street along the pier and waterfront and took the 602 bus. One of the bus coordinators helped us with ensuring that we didn’t miss our bus. The ride was over 30 minutes where you pass through the beach cities, Viña del Mar and Renaca. The ride for 2 people cost 900 CLP (450 CLP ($.70 USD) per person) one way. Exit the bus when you see the sand dunes on the left side and the Express Lider (Chile’s Walmart) shopping area on the right. The Sandboarding Experience in Concón, C

Such a fun age is the book on everyone’s lips right now and for good reason. If you haven’t got yourself a copy yet, do yourself a favour and buy yours now . Kiley Reid’s debut novel stormed in at the beginning of 2020 and picked apart inherent racism in western culture. Yet to our delight, it does so in both a charming and challenging way. It doesn’t feel like there could be a book that we need more right now in this sphere. If you haven’t heard of this book yet, we’re here to tell you why it should be your next read. And if you’ve already heard about it, there is no time like the present to dive in! Such a Fun Age has been chosen by Reese Witherspoon as a bookclub pick. What’s more, it has already been acquired by Lena Waithe for a TV adaption. Not bad going for a debut!   buy the book Such a fun age Book Review The story focuses on the character of Emira, babysitter to three-year-old Briar. Emira is stopped at the beginning of the novel by a supermarket secu

A Day trip to Bruges in Winter Our journey begins in Antwerp, one of Belgium’s less visited cities but arguably its best secret. The more popular choice to visit is of course the Belgian capital, Brussels, however I much prefer the low key lifestyle in Antwerp. The sun doesn’t rise until nearly 9:00am in winter so once you’ve made the most of your breakfast buffet or grabbed something on the go, make your way to the train station and book your ticket to Bruges. Once you arrive in Bruges I would highly recommend dropping in to the tourist information centre and grabbing a free map (in English – don’t make the same mistake we did!) We also asked the lady behind the counter for the best walking route in to town and I’m so glad we did as it isn’t the most direct route. The map (the freebie, go grab one) highlights the best walking path into the city centre. Bruges Grote Markt After a brisk walk in to the city centre (it was 0 degrees when we visited), be sure to dr

Burma’s history of isolation and the ban on tourists means the country has kept its unique charm and individuality. It was closed to tourists until 2012 so the Western influences that have diluted the culture of many other countries hasn’t been allowed to change the way of life here at all. Since Burma opened up to tourists it’s become a hotspot on any backpacker’s trail. On the border of India, China, Laos and Thailand it can fit right in to anyone’s South East Asia itinerary. There are a few things to bear in mind however. It’s not as simple to get about as you’d find in the likes of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Typical tourism features – accommodation, restaurants, excursions – have not quite been set up to meet demand yet, but that’s all part of the charm. It will also be more expensive than those countries mentioned, but absolutely and totally worth it. Here are a few of the hotspots to include in your itinerary and a few words of advice on getting around… Naypyidaw As th

Thailand is pretty much the most popular gap year destination in the world, and for good reason. There’s so much to do there, you could easily spend a year getting to know the country’s intricacies and quirks. Top gapper Rebecca Root has compiled this comprehensive list of all the top things to do in Thailand, as recommended by the gap year community past and present and by the gapyear.com team. Here goes… 1. Take a tuk tuk Check out this guide to landing in Bangkok and it’s pretty clear that it’s the tuk tuk all the way. A snug sofa with a small engine and a colourful hood, the tuk tuk is perfect for dodging lorries, swerving sidewalks and jamming taxis. They are the cheapest and by far the most fun travel option in Thailand. 2. Visit the Grand Palace As one of Bangkok’s main tourist attractions, it can be tempting to dodge the throngs of cheery snappers in the afternoon heat but it is worth the sweat-breaking agro. The collection of intricately painted white and gold temples