In this festive time we look back on a remarkable year of travel at EliteVoyage, with our team and clients.
The surprises, stories, places, experiences and wow moments that we will remember forever.
Looking back it seems amazing that only 12 months have passed since this time last year! What is your favourite travel memory from 2023?
Early 2023 Was All About New Possibilities
Finally free from pandemic hangovers, early 2023 was when our clients and team members took advantage of new possibilities, with many switching their usual destinations to somewhere new.
Matous Grund got things rolling with a snowy ride on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express.
Tomas Safarik was finding kangaroos on the beach in Australia and reporting back from the islands of Indonesia.
Adela Hubnerova swapped the snow for rum and white beaches, on a trip exploring the best beach resorts in Jamaica.
Unfortunately the snow wasn’t sticking where it should. We quickly rearranged ski holidays for some of our clients, swapping the Alps for family ski and snow adventures in Scandinavia.
The Maldives was an ever popular choice for our clients wanting their winter beach holiday, with JOALI BEING proving to be a top choice. Stepan Borovec discovered you don’t need a wellbeing program to enjoy this contemporary resort.
At the same time there was a trend towards winter beach holidays in the Caribbean. Clients were discovering the Caribbean’s best beach resorts and how travel to the region is actually really easy.
Filip Pačes describes here how he created a holiday in the Caribbean for a client, an insight into creative travel design and island combinations.
And one of biggest hotel openings in recent years dominated the travel world. CEO Petr Udavsky was one of the first Czechs to stay at Atlantis The Royal, a few days after the grand opening.
Spring 2023 Was About Travelling Far and Wide
Spring was a fun time for our team, who were jetting off to the corners of the world, inspecting new destinations for our clients to visit.
Adela Hubnerova went to South Africa for her first safari. Her advice was “safari is a retreat, there are animals everywhere and you can just turn off your brain.”
Stepan Borovec took the new direct flight to the Portuguese island of Madeira. He said: “Madeira is about exploring incredible landscapes and finding authentic local experiences. A long weekend wasn’t long enough”
Michal Patek went to Antarctica and reported: “Antarctica is a constantly evolving experience. I was always seeing more, enjoying more, learning more. And it’s not a difficult holiday to do.”
Closer to home, David Eder took a road trip to Provence and the French Riviera, finding many less known and not touristic places in the South of France.
The variety of destinations our clients were booking in spring was also striking. They were flying to the world’s corners too. For the first time ever, we had clients taking an adventure to the Komodo Islands.
On the radar were destinations like Norway, Georgia, Vietnam, islands in the South Pacific and places in Italy very few people know about.
In Spring we started a new year of Elite Trips too, with a long weekend in Tuscany. These long weekend trips celebrate the best of a single destination, taking eight people from Prague on a private jet.
Summer Was Hot and Sunny…Everywhere
Summer 2023 was the hottest on record and we could all feel the heat, wherever we spent our holidays.
With forest fires and Mediterranean islands topping 40 degrees, we were making changes to our clients’ travel plans right up to the moment of departure.
It was a summer when many of our team and clients didn’t go back to their trusted favourite destination, but instead tried somewhere completely new.
For Stephen Bailey it was Morocco and the Old Silk Road.
Petr Udavský was on an expedition in Nepal.
Stepan Borovec led an EliteTrip to the Faroe Islands.
While Filip Pačes discovered 7132 Therme Vals over the long July bank holiday weekend.
Incredibly high global demand for Mediterranean destinations meant they were poor value compared to previous years. Some of our clients switched to the Maldives, where off season prices meant they enjoyed far more space and privacy for the same price.
Matous Grund did the same. Patina Maldives and Cheval Blanc Randheli were the standouts of his trip to the Maldives.
With all the Mediterranean crowds it was essential we find smaller, more boutique places where our clients could enjoy the exclusivity they deserve.
Petr Udavsky went to check out Bijal, a new all-villa beach resort in Antalya.
While David Eder discovered Abyss Oia, a hotel that completely breaks the mould in Santorini.
The Summer Feeling Continues All Through Autumn
Well…the summer feeling didn’t quite continue at home. Which was a strong motivation for our clients to book a huge array of holidays in the sun, for September, October and November.
Our team was doing the same, with any excuse to jet off and find warmer weather and blue skies.
Matous Grund inspected five resorts in Mauritius and found September to be a great time to travel there, even though it’s supposedly the “wrong season.”
The French Riviera and Carlton Cannes proved to be gems for Dominika Hüttnerová, when she travelled there outside the main peak season.
Petr Udavský and Markéta Udavská went separately to Corfu, an island they found far greener and beautiful than their perceptions. Matous Grund checked it out too. The Ikos resorts and Grecotel Imperial were among their resort inspections.
Stephen Bailey explored the south of Portugal while Maty Dlouhy checked out Lisbon and Porto, with all of Portugal feeling like summer in October.
Dubai is one of the most popular destinations for our clients so we’re visiting at least twice per year, checking out different properties. This autumn it was Stepan Borovec, inspecting Atlantis The Royal, Bab Al Shams, One&Only Royal Mirage and One&Only The Palm.
Even in November it was still warm and sunny in the Mediterranean. As illustrated by Petr Udavský´s trip to Sicily.
Plus Matous Grund’s exploration of Mallorca. And Stephen Bailey’s trip to Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast and Naples.
Autumn has also been a time of finding very new experiences for our clients’ 2024 holidays, from a new hotel like Rosewood Munich to a curated four-day Louis Vuitton experience in Paris.
What’s To Come in 2024?
There’s a lot to come in 2024. But there are still a few days of 2023 to enjoy to the fullest.
Now is a time of reflection. And a little dreaming about the adventures to come.
What is your favourite travel memory from 2023? And what’s your travel daydream for 2024?
