Jetsettersblog

Turkish Airlines has extended its roundtrip Valentine’s Day fare of $599. Travelers must book the Valentine’s Day special economy class fare between Jan. 24 and 31 for outbound travel between Feb. 1 and 29. The promotion is being offered from several of Turkish Airlines’ top gateways, including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., which fly nonstop to Istanbul.

Windstar Cruises is offering a seven-day Greek Isles & Turkish Delights itinerary from Athens to Istanbul or reverse this spring, summer and fall on the 148-guest Wind Star and Wind Spirit. The cruises visit Mykonos, Santorini and Rhodes, Greece; and Bodrum and Kusadasi, Turkey. Fares start at $2,499 per person, double.

Included are two-for-one savings and plus two free hotel nights on select sailings if the cruise is booked by Feb. 24. Guests sailing from Istanbul also receive complimentary arrival transfers via private Mercedes vehicle from Istanbul airport to any of the city’s hotels, plus a welcome package, bottled water and an English-speaking escort.

Boost your immune system and beat the winter blues with some of the best detox holidays around the world. Health and Fitness Travel (www.healthandfitnesstravel.com), who provides tailor-made active and wellness holidays worldwide share their top five detox holidays to get your new year off to a healthy start.

Detox yourself through good nutrition, carefully chosen treatments and holistic activities to achieve mental clarity, body detoxification and stress reduction with guidance from health professionals. Detoxing is a great way to increase energy levels, clear our skin, boost our immune system and improve overall health. With a carefully tailored programme that suits our body and mindset, a detox holiday can be the first step to a fresh outlook and change of lifestyle.

If you want to re-energise and awaken your senses, take a look at our top five detox destinations. Banish those winter blues and say hello to a new, healthier you! These holidays allow you to relax and enjoy your detox in beautiful surroundings.

SHA Detox
Spain

The world’s first macrobiotic wellness resort focuses its detox programme on the removal of toxins by actively purifying the body, and educating guests on how to maintain their new healthy habits. Experiment with juice fasting, macrobiotic detox specific foods, acupuncture and lymphatic drainage after consulting with a doctor and nutritionist to ascertain your specific needs. Guests are supported post-stay with a personalized post treatment health plan and receive follow up email consultations for two months.

Health and Fitness Travel offers 7 nights at SHA Wellness Clinic from £2,790pp including the detox programme, return flights and transfers

Ananda Detox
India

This secluded Himalayan retreat offers a serene space to free yourself from negative thoughts. Guests are shown how to control and improve their diet, speed up their metabolism, and revitalise their body and mind. The programme begins with wellness and culinary consultations, a fitness test and a body composition analysis. A range of detoxifying baths, massages, showers, salt scrubs, aroma cocoons and a personalised yoga session will follow. You are also invited to participate in scheduled wellness activities, such as meditation, cooking demonstrations, workshops and lectures.

Health and Fitness Travel offers 7 nights at Ananda from £2,859pp including the detox programme, return flights and transfers

Kamalaya Detox
Thailand

Thailand’s award-winning Wellness Sanctuary and Holistic Spa Resort is the perfect location for cleansing and detoxing beginners. After an initial consultation, you will experience a range of low intensity holistic therapies such as massage, meditation, sauna, yoga, and Shakti fitness. Through these you will learn how to improve your health and increase your energy, leading to rejuvenation, personal growth and optimum wellbeing.

Health and Fitness Travel offers 7 nights at Kamalaya from £2,929pp including the detox programme, return flights and transfers

Longevity Essential Detox
Portugal

This luxurious mountain resort overlooking the Algarve coastline offers seasonal detoxing by cleansing the organs and returning harmony to your system. Enjoy massages, wraps, deep skin cleansing and personal training sessions. Through highly personalized evaluations and consultations, guests can expect improved mental clarity, inner balance, a lessening of tension and a complete re-energisation of body and mind. Expert to experience improved health on all levels including internal balance and increased vitality.

Health and Fitness Travel offers 7 nights at Longevity Wellness Resort from £1,990pp, including the detox programme, return flights and transfers

Kempinski Detox
Turkey

The seven day detox programme at this stunning wellness resort over the Aegean Sea above Barbaros Bay in Turkey, is designed to treat your entire body. Aiming to filter out and reduce your bodily toxins, the Sense of Detox programme uses an integrated mix of Anika detox treatments, delicious healthy cuisine and the option of wellness activities to cleanse your body and mind. With improved mental clarity and focus, increased energy levels and firmer skin, you will feel relaxed and refreshed.

Health and Fitness Travel offers 7 nights at Kempinski from £1,695pp, including the detox programme, return flights and transfers

For more information visit www.healthandfitnesstravel.com/detox-holidays or call 0845 5441936

The Argos in Turkey’s Cappadocia region is a hotel built from ancient ruins, caves and underground tunnels in the popular vacation destination. At the Argos in Cappadocia, a valued employee can be rewarded with a luxurious cave suite with its own private pool, dining, selection from the hotel’s own vineyard, and the opportunity to sail silently in a hot air balloon over the volcanic peaks and fairy chimneys of Cappadocia.

With 24-hour concierge service and a highly trained service staff experienced in creating memorable one-of-a-kind special events for corporations and other organizations, the Argos in Cappadocia custom builds each incentive program. For group events, there is even a 2,000-year-old, restored and modernized underground monastery.

Cappadocia is, arguably, Turkey’s most popular destination outside of Istanbul for world travelers, and for good reason. A mysterious, even unearthly expanse of ravines, canyons, mountains and valleys, it was formed by millions of years of soft volcanic lava and ash.

Centuries of wind and water have left oddly shaped tall pillars of lava — the fairy chimneys — that, with their little stone caps and wobbly-looking shapes, remind many visitors of Dr. Seuss’ “The Cat in the Hat.”

Clad in blankets of snow in winter, flowering with red roses, wild oleaster, vineyards and orchards, and gurgling with fountains and freshwater springs in spring and summer, Cappadocia is a surprising, delightful discovery throughout the year. The Argos in Cappadocia began when it was decided to transform 40 ancient dwellings into a luxury hotel.

The inaugural International Hotel Awards 2011 placed Istanbul’s Pera Palace Hotel among its winners. The awards were given out at the Savoy Hotel in London on Jan. 18. Pera Palace Hotel received “Highly Commended” award in the category of “Best Hotel” and “Best Hotel Architecture.”

The event is part of the International Property Awards which have been established for 18 years. The organizers decided to launch a specific program for the hospitality industry due to an increasing number of entries within its commercial categories. The judging panel consisted of 20 professionals whose collective knowledge of the hospitality industry is second to none. The hotel reopened in 2010 after an extensive restoration.

Valentine’s Day Sweetheart Deal for Two
Los Angeles to Istanbul
$618.90* /Roundtrip per person

Sales Period (Ticketing): January 13 – 23, 2012
Travel Period: February 1-29, 2012

Application Rules:

Applicable only for two passengers traveling together on all sectors and same cabin

Applicable on Flights: TK009/TK010 only. Codeshare flights not allowed.

Minimum Stay: Saturday night stay
Maximum Stay: 14 Days:

Rules & Conditions

Valentine’s Day Promotion will not accrue any frequent flier miles.
Advance Ticketing: Ticketing must be made within 72 hours after reservations are made.
Rebooking / Rerouting: Permitted at a charge of 200.00EUR
Refund: Not Permitted
For intra-Turkey and Cyprus (ECN) flights beyond IST, (ECN)35USD/OW, 70USD/RT add on level applies.

*Total fare inclusive of fuel surcharge and taxes. Additional terms and conditions apply. Fare is not guaranteed until ticketed and is subject to availability and change without notice. Fare is not valid with any other offer.

For further information or reservation & ticket request please visit www.turkishairlines.com  or you can call 1-855-277-6011 & 1-310-640-8989 or send an e-mail to reservation@tklax.com

Relief Riders International (RRI) will be returning once again to Cappadocia, Turkey. The inaugural Cappadocia Relief Ride in June 2011 was so successful that RRI will continue riding in through central Turkey in June 2012.

RRI is an award-winning travel company that combines the adventure of riding horses through some of the most beautiful locations in the world with the opportunity to profoundly affect the lives of those they visit.

Those travellers who participated in last June’s Cappadocia trip rode through streams, beautiful canyons, and over mountains, met lovely Turkish people, enjoyed delicious food, and under the direction of Dr. Ozay Mutluay, ran 4 free dental camps and installed 2 playgrounds for local children.

“It’s always so exciting to travel to new places, to meet new people, and learn about another culture,” declared Alexander Souri, the Executive Director of RRI. “And it is so satisfying for RRI to find new ways to meet local needs. It was clear from our initial needs assessment tour of Cappadocia that villagers were unable to find affordable dental care. It only took our first dental camp for us to realize how great the need was. And it is gratifying to know how successful our free dental camps have been.”

Because Dr. Mutluay’s clinic is located within traveling distance to the four villages in which RRI’s team of riders worked in, initial screenings were performed at the Dental Camps. The Relief Rider Team screened 96 people, and Dr. Mutluay discovered, on average, that each patient required 4-6 procedures. Our Relief Riders registered and managed patients for these screenings, and made sure they left with their correct diagnosis and directions to Dr. Mutluay’s clinic. 90 of these 96 patients have already been treated, and have received a total of 378 fillings and 87 extractions. This critical work will continue on RRI’s June 2012 Cappadocia Relief Ride.

The Cappadocia trip runs from June 19 – July 1, 2012, beginning with a hot air balloon ride over the majestic landscape that the ride travels through. Cappadocia is known throughout the world as a region of exceptional natural beauty, with hundreds of spectacular fairy chimneys, its distinctive rock pillars and minaret-like formations.

RRI will be continuing its exciting new Education through Play Program by building durable playground sets in some of the villages they ride through.

Souri notes: “We developed the program to provide local children with a safe, clean, space for outdoor play. It was a thrill to see how much the kids loved their new playgrounds; they couldn’t wait to start swinging and climbing.”

In addition to the dental and play programs, RRI plans to launch its first Garbage Management program. In collaboration with the local officials riders will help install simple, yet effective, public trash cans and help create awareness for the growing waste challenge in Cappadocia.

The most economical way to get to Turkey is with Turkish Airlines at http://turkishairlines.com which flies daily from many cities around the world, with connecting flights throughout Asia Minor.

Cruise specialists ecruising.travel have just released their “Mozart to the Black Sea” cruise tour for 2013 and are offering savings of up to $10,000 per person on the 22-night package, which includes an 11-night cruise aboard the River Cloud II.

Book by December 31 you will also receive free stopovers in Istanbul and Dubai which include accommodation, daily breakfast and sight-seeing with some meals.

Depart Australia on July 24 2013 to fly to Vienna for three nights at the Grand Hotel Wien. Take in a historical city tour, a Schonbrunn Palace tour and see a Mozart concert, before embarking on the superior River Cloud II vessel and cruise along the Danube River through Austria to Romania. There are daily port stops with shore excursions in Slovakian Republic, Hungary, Serbia, and Bulgaria.

After disembarking in Oltenita, transfer to the capital Bucharest for three nights at the Athenee Palace Hilton and sight-seeing. From here you will fly to Istanbul for two nights at the Swissotel Bosphorus, the river that that divides the East and the West. Visit all the highlights of the city including the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar.

Last point of call is two nights in Dubai, plenty of time for last minute shopping and a 4WD desert dune safari with dinner and a belly- dancing show.

Now priced from $12,229 per person it includes return economy airfares from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane with Emirates, 11- nights cruise accommodation with full board, shore excursions with English speaking guides, free internet on board, free use of bicycles during port visits, 11-nights hotel accommodation with daily breakfast and comprehensive sightseeing with a guide and all transportation whilst on the tour.

For more details contact ecruising.travel on 1300-369-848 or check out the new website www.ecruising.travel

Windstar Cruises is offering Sail & Stay packages that include two-for-one cruise fares on 2012 European voyages, plus two free hotel nights on new reservations booked by Feb. 24. The free hotel nights are at select hotels in Athens, Istanbul, Rome, Barcelona or Lisbon on 10 itineraries, including numerous departures from May through October on the “Greek Isles and Turkish Delights” voyages between Athens and Istanbul.

Other eligible itineraries include “Greek Isles and Turkish Delights II,” “Classic Mediterranean I,” “Gems of the Adriatic,” “Islands of the West Med,” “Glitter and Glam of the Rivieras,” “Splendors of Southern Spain,” “Islands of Italy” and “Classic Italy and the Dalmatian Coast I and II.” Fares start at $1,999 per person, double.

For great airfares to Greece and Turkey logon to Turkish Airlines at http://turkishairlines.com