Trusted Adventures Consortium Presents Extraordinary Active Vacations

If active travel is your thing, it's time to get acquainted with Trusted Adventures. This alliance, headed up by executive director Brad Moss, is made up of like-minded travel providers that focus on cruise and yacht vacations, eco trips, biking and hiking getaways, rafting adventures, and more.

Read about the group and explore each member's website. I guarantee they'll be a few trips you bookmark for future reference.

American Safari Cruises—focus is on active and luxurious yacht cruises in Alaska, Mexico's Sea of Cortez, the Columbia and Snake Rivers, and Hawaii.

Austin-Lehman Adventures—specializes in adult and family vacations around the world, including Yellowstone, Bryce/Zion, Grand Canyon, Costa Rica, the Canadian Rockies, the Galapagos, South Africa, and several western European countries.

Ciclismo Classico—offers expertly designed biking expeditions in many locations, including Croatia, Norway, Italy, Vietnam, and New Zealand.

Great Alaska—this is the place to find sport fishing and wildlife adventure trips to Alas.ka, Costa Rica, and Mexico.

InnerSea Discoveries—this is the sister company to American Safari Cruises (mentioned above); InnerSea offers active cruise adventures at a more affordable price in Alaska.

Myths & Mountains—unusual excursions to Asia (Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Tibet), Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam), and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, and Peru).

ROW Adventures—from Idaho rafting adventures to the Galapagos Islands and everything in between...ROW offers whitewater rafting, kayaking and canoeing, fly fishing, barge and yacht cruising, biking and hiking trips, and much more.

The Wayfarers—unique walking tours in the British Isles, South Africa, New Zealand, India, and Alaska.

Western River Expeditions—looking for a rafting adventure? Western River Expeditions offers trips in the Grand Canyon, Utah, and Idaho.

Wildland Adventures—Wildland has a varied list of itineraries that feature the best of wildlife viewing and active pursuits in the United States, Africa, Central and South America, the Antarctica, and the Far East.

For more information about these travel companies, visit their websites, call your travel agent, or do some research at Trusted Adventures.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com

Forbes List: World's Most Decadent Hotel Amenities

True luxury travel is more than just a nice big room - it's what comes with the room. Come one, come all, and read about the extravagant amenities available at some of the the world's most luxurious hotels.


Pet Services - Pet's are luxury travelers too! If you think you love your pet, image to what lengths a rich pet owner would go to make sure their furry friend is taken care of. At the Lowell New York, the pet room service menu includes filet mignon tartar and organic buffalo marrow bone. Sounds more gourmet than most of my meals. It doesn't stop there. Pets that need pampering will enjoy an aromatherapy spray, oatmeal shampoo or paw moisturizer treatments.


Butler Service - There are more than 150 butler programs around the world, including those at the Marriott Moscow Royal Aurora, the Rixos Hotel Premium Belek in Turkey and the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel in Hawaii. Butler service gets pretty specific at Keswick Hall, an Orient-Express hotel in Virginia. New moms can take advantage of the baby butler - they warm bottles, place a rocking chair and personalized crib in the room and rock the baby to sleep while mom soaks in the tub.


Excursions - Who says you can't go on vacation while you're on vacation? At the Banyan Tree Phuket, guests can fly by private plane to a secluded island where they'll watch the sunrise over breakfast.


Transport - Instead of arriving at the hotel by taxi, why not roll up in a Bentley or Rolls Royce? The JW Marriott in Beijing will escort guests from the airport in one of these. At Taj Palaces in India, guests arrive in a restored vintage car and are greeted by hotel staff--as well as elephants and camels.


Details - It's hard to feel truly doted upon without the little touches. At the Ritz Madrid in Spain, monogrammed robes are placed in a guest's room before arrival. The Conrad Bangkok in Thailand provides its guests with personalized milk, white and dark chocolate business cards.


Tech Stuff - It's a tech world and the hotel industry is not one to be left behind. Plasma TVs, DVD players and iPod docking stations are increasingly common at high-end hotels. Aloft, a W Hotel brand, offers guests the ability to plug and play with a 42" LCD TV that hooks up to other electronic devices. At Pueblo Bonito's Cabo hotel, Pacifica, guests are provided with their own iPods - while they lounge on a private beach bed and enjoy a gourmet 3 course dinner and champagne.

Want to read more? See the full list of Forbe's World's Decadent Hotel Amenities!