The Gilded Horizon

From the foggy mountains of Zagreb, with its strong Central European influences, to the sun-drenched terraces of Dubrovnik, every day in Croatia feels like walking through time.

If you’re anything like me, you hear the words “group travel” or “organized tour” and you cringe. The phrases conjure images of giant tour buses laden with octogenarians and a peppy guide in uniform. But having recently experienced a 9-day escorted itinerary, I can personally attest that those stereotypes no longer apply to all tours. Better yet, there’s a way to make this mode of travel work for you that you may have never considered before.

Golf trips among male friends has been a popular group vacation for decades and as the boomers are retiring and their children are hitting their career stride, golf resorts are pulling out all the stops to impress multiple generations in this surging market.

From the moment I started designing travel, I knew that I wanted to try Virgin Voyages. They are racking up awards left and right, shaking up the cruise industry, and I kept hearing that they are unlike any other cruise line on the market.

So when three of my girlfriends expressed the desire to take a trip together, it wasn’t hard to convince them to try a Virgin Voyages sailing with me. We sailed out of Miami on the Scarlet Lady and went to Key West and Bimini, The Bahamas. Here are some of things that set Virgin apart from the pack, or should I say fleet?