The World's Top Luxury Train Journey is Closer to Home Than You Think

Wed, 30 Nov 22 00:21:52 +0000

That’s because a passenger train company rather close to home has been awarded the title of ‘World’s Leading Luxury Train’ at the latest World Travel Awards. Of all the epic train journeys in all the most incredibly scenic places in the world… Rocky Mountaineer has rolled away with the title.

Based in Western Canada, Rocky Mountaineer is the largest, privately-owned upscale tourist train company in the world. It offers luxury rail journeys that showcase some of the most spectacular scenery the Great West – in both Canada and the United States - has to offer. From the perspective of the rails, you get to see a West you’ve never seen before, by air or road.

As its name suggests, Rocky Mountaineer was born to give travelers not just passage through, but a whole new perspective on the Rocky Mountains.

Three of the luxury train company’s routes connect Vancouver on the Pacific coast to the legendary Canadian Rockies national parks towns of Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper, traveling over the Rockies themselves and through scenery unparalleled anywhere in the world, past misty waterfalls where no humans roam, to the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, even “Hell’s Gate!”

The legendary rail route ‘First Passage to the West’ between Banff/Lake Louise and Vancouver is the only passenger train service today on this historic rail route that famously was the first connection from East to West.

A spectacular fourth route travels between Denver, Colorado and Moab, Utah in the Southwest United States (pictured, top). In this rail “Journey to the Red Rocks,” spellbound guests are treated to views only seen by train of vast canyons, inspiring deserts, natural archways and enchanting hoodoos, including Ruby Canyon, and Mount Garfield.

All four rail journeys in both the U.S. and Canada give guests the experience of crossing North America’s Continental Divide: the highest point on the continent, from which water flows down in both directions.

Despite the rugged wilderness outside, inside Rocky Mountaineer cars, guests experience the height of comfort.

Custom-designed, glass-domed coaches open the panoramic view up wide – or you can get even closer to the scenery passing by on the train’s outdoor viewing area.

Unlike train rides you might be used to, where a conductor comes around to check your ticket, leaving you otherwise on your own, Rocky Mountaineer hosts are on hand every mile of track you cover. From ensuring your wine glass is full – to you seeing a special landmark coming up, and regaling guests with stories about historic sites, scenery, and wildlife along the way, hosts help make memories of more than the scenery.

You’ll feel connected to the West through your taste buds, too, with locally-inspired cuisine based on regional ingredients, flavors and recipes featured in gourmet breakfasts and lunches on board.

You might be surprised to learn there are no sleeper cars. Uniquely, every journey is an all-daylight experience so you don’t miss a single sight, sleeping nights in superb hotels – with your luggage delivered to your hotel.

With all of these details thought out, and a focus on making rail journeys through America’s frontiers the very best way to experience the West, it’s no wonder Rocky Mountaineer has been hailed the “World’s Leading Luxury Train.”

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Images courtesy of Rocky Mountaineer.

'Fungi Fest' in the British Virgin Islands: It's Not About Mushrooms!

Wed, 30 Nov 22 00:21:52 +0000

If you've never been to the British Virgin Islands, you might think their 'Fungi Fest' is a culinary event featuring mushrooms. Fungi (foon-gee) is actually the traditional folk music of the BVI’s. And it’s a lot more lively than edible fungus!

Also called 'scratch' music, according to BVI Tourism, fungi music is deeply rooted in African heritage, but also with Euroepan influences. It’s described as “a combination of string and percussion instruments complemented by woodwind and storytelling vocals.” Fungi is also the local music of the neighboring U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI).

There is, in fact, a culinary connection – but still, no mushrooms! The name fungi comes from a BVI dish, ‘fungi and fish,’ a ‘cook-up’ including cornmeal, onions, peppers, and okra. The music/food connection comes from the idea that bringing together these different savory flavors creates something entirely new, just as a fusion of a wide range of instruments and styles of music created a new type of music.

Fungi music features a range of instruments, some even homemade. You may see and hear the distinct sounds of ukuleles, banjos, guitars and bass, as well as bongos, washboard, calabash, keyboards and saxaphones. It’s not just music to your ears – it’s music made to dance by!

Fungi music is a part of the way of life in the Virgin Islands, with the rhythms of fungi bands marking life milestones like weddings and celebrations as well as livening up local parties, hotel and resort evenings and restaurants.

Perhaps the best way to immerse yourself in the Virgin Islands’ fungi music tradition is to go ‘all in,’ at ‘Fungi Fest’ in Tortola in the BVI’s (pictured above, courtesy of BVITourism.) The annual, November music festival has returned to the BVI’s largest and most populated island. For two weeks, fungi bands from the Virgin Islands as well as Anguilla, Nevis and other surrounding islands light up the stage at the Cyril B. Romney Tortola Pier Park. The Fungi Fest is part of the BVI’s broader Culture and Tourism Month.

If you haven’t ever visited the BVI’s, come for the fungi music and stay for the 60 islands and cays of this off-the-beaten-path archipelago in the Caribbean. In addition to Tortola, the gateway to the BVI’s, you may have heard whispers of sophisticated island travelers heading to Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke.

Those in the know consider the BVI’s the ‘sailing capital of the world,’ with annual regattas, boat and yacht charters, not to mention yacht-watching, as the international sailing set breeze in and out of port. You can base yourself on land, in exquisite resorts by Rosewood, Autograph Collection, Wyndham or exclusive boutique hotels and private islands – or ask your trusted travel advisor how you can split a trip to the British Virgin Islands between land and yacht. Small ship cruise lines also call at Tortola and let you sample a unique island life – complete with the rhythms of fungi.

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By: Lynn Elmhirst, cruise/ travel expert and journalist

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The World's Top Luxury Train Journey is Closer to Home Than You Think

Start Your Train Trip!

'Fungi Fest' in the British Virgin Islands: It's Not About Mushrooms!

Start your British Virgin Islands Trip!