Laura Guilfoyle will tell you that a few of the people she led on last year’s summer solstice trip to Ireland were surprised by the tour’s emotional turn. At the Drombeg Stone Circle in Glandore, West Cork, for instance, several in the party held a spontaneous meditation session. There’s no telling what mystical events are in store for those who make the “Summer Solstice Tour 2001” with Guilfoyle’s Oak Lawn-based Celtic Adventure. But alternative-travel fans believe that’s as much a reason for the journey as the scenery. This year’s trip runs June 15-24 and is limited to 14 participants. The $799 price covers most everything but the air fare and most meals: eight nights in shared hostel or B&B accommodations, daily continental breakfast (other meals are on your own), ground transportation and sightseeing at places across the bottom third of Ireland, including a stop at the Drombeg Stone Circle, of course, the Cliffs of Moher and a ferry ride across the Shannon River. As you might expect on this kind of itinerary, an encounter with crystals is planned. No, not with the rough-from-the-earth gemstones but with the refined products of the Waterford Crystal factory–always worthy of meditation. (708-557-8140)
FREE STUFF
There are living-history weekends with the Massiac Mariners, performances by the Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico and maple syrup demonstrations all over the place in this guide to Illinois Fairs & Festivals, for events through March. (800-2-CONNECT; or at www.enjoyillinois.com)…This guide’s got Traverse City and its Michigan environs covered from snow banks to sandy beaches. (800-872-8377; or at www.mytraversecity.com)
THAT’LL SNOW YOU
Bernadine’s Stillman Inn, the 1858 Italianate mansion in Galena that counts the Ulysses S. Grant Home among its neighbors, isn’t about to waste this season’s snowfall. Its “Ski Getaway” package puts a couple up for two nights, feeds them a full breakfast each morning and packs them off to the slopes at Chestnut Mountain Resort with two-day lift tickets. Package prices start at $336 per couple, which also buys you raiding rights to the cookie jar and the ice-cream freezer. (815-777-0557; or at www.stillmaninn.com)
FAMILY BREAKER
Viva Resorts, with members spread among the hot spots of the Dominican Republic, Grand Bahama Island and Mexico’s Playa del Carmen and Puerto Vallarta, offer families an attractive price on getaways. Through April 14, all-inclusive rates range $120-$210 per adult per night, depending on the resort’s location. Better yet, rates for at least one location–the Puerto Vallarta resort–are even lower the week of April 15, when Chicago Public Schools take spring break. Here, all-inclusive means accommodations; breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, wine and cocktails; planned activities and fitness programs; non-motorized water sports and lessons; nightly entertainment; and even a special club for kids. (800-898-9968; or at www.vivaresorts.com)
Prices generally are per person double and are good only on a space-available basis.
