Tampa travelers, check out these tips before summer trips

The travel buzz for 2024 has been all about Paris for the July 26-Aug. 11 Summer Olympics. Before or after watching thousands of athletes compete in 32 sports, why not explore the French countryside? I recommend nourishing your soul and indulging at the new five-star Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa. The region’s first luxury wellness destination has a new 16,000-square-foot spa that incorporates treatments using myBlend and Clarins Precious products from Clarins.

MONACO GRAND PRIX

Race car lovers: Did you get your fix during the Firestone Grand Prix in St. Pete this month? If not, follow your passion and head to Monaco May 24-26 for the Monaco Grand Prix. The glamorous Formula One motor racing event has been held annually since 1929. Stay in the newly renovated and iconic Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo, which dates back to 1864. This slice of Riviera opulence was the setting for two James Bond movies. Stroll a few steps to the Casino de Monte-Carlo, where I learned to play baccarat (and looked for George Clooney).

BY LAND OR BY SEA

Skip the traffic and arrive at Monaco’s yacht-filled harbor by boat. I loved the SeaDream Yacht Club, with a maximum of 112 guests, 95 crew members and five-star service.

Cruising is so popular that The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection announced that their ship, Evrima, is offering 21 new voyages in the Mediterranean from April to November. This is the first time a hotel company has expanded into the luxury cruising category. Watch for the debut of the company’s new yacht, Ilma, slated to embark from Monte Carlo on Sept. 2.

SAFARI ADVENTURES

For bucket list safari adventures, I turned to a local expert. John Harvey started Opulent Africa, a high-end luxury safari company, in 2008. He has been offering African adventures from his St. Pete office since 2020. “We advise our clients to take the direct 16-hour flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg,” Harvey said. His guests then fly into the Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve and choose a first-class lodge (options include the Ulusaba Rock Lodge, Singita Boulders Lodge and the Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge). Here, guests can see the “Big Five” animals (lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and buffaloes) daily.

St. Pete resident Susan Robertson visited Kruger National Park in South Africa in 2022. “We stayed in Ulusaba, the private game reserve owned by Sir Richard Branson. Animals roamed freely and meandered alongside our private Jeep. (Branson) was there greeting guests!”

Phil Yost, a St. Pete-based business owner, visited Africa for the first time in August 2023. “Opulent Africa handled the details, so the magic unfolded with very little effort or stress. Feeding giraffes at the Giraffe Manor in Nairobi was surreal.”

AIRPORT NEWS

Tampa International Airport was named the second-best large airport in the country in USA Today’s 2023 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. The airport also added two new airlines for 2023. Porter Airlines began daily nonstop service to Toronto and Lynx Air started service to both Toronto and Montreal. On April 10, Frontier will resume flights from Tampa to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. On May 16, Frontier will bring back its route between Tampa and the Dominican resort area of Punta Cana, plus nonstop service to Montego Bay, Jamaica.