E10
SUNDAY • NOVEMBER 5, 2017
GETTING AROUND IN
SCOT TS DA L E Couple surprised by depth of attractions and easy access without renting a car STORY BY JOANNE DIBONA PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOANNE DIBONA AND TONY DIBONA
M
y first trip to Scottsdale, Ariz., took me quite by surprise. Somehow, I imagined Scottsdale as a predominantly golf and spa mecca, surrounded by miles of luxury resorts and lush greens with dramatic mountain backdrops. To be sure, that image stands true and is an important part of Scottsdale’s appeal. What I didn’t realize is that this decidedly hip and romantic city can be easily enjoyed without a car, and
so many of the city’s charming venues can be accessed on foot or with clean and efficient public transportation. My husband and I chose Scottsdale for a muchneeded getaway, since it is less than an hour’s flight from San Diego and was a part of Phoenix we had never explored. Since we aren’t golfers, we decided to check out the urban scene, having discovered that downtown Scottsdale boasts nine walkable neighborhoods within a square mile. SEE SCOTTSDALE • E12
Clockwise from top: Scottsdale’s desert landscape features saguaro cactuses which have a lifespan of 150 years. Scottsdale can be easily enjoyed without a car, and so many of the city’s charming venues can be accessed on foot, bicycle or with clean and efficient public transportation. FnB is a vegetarian restaurant in the Southbridge neighborhood of downtown Scottsdale. A Martin & Co. guitar in the Dragons and Vines Exhibition in the impressive Musical Instrument Museum in nearby Phoenix.
AMERICANS IN THE MOOD TO EXPLORE THE CONTINENTS Fall-winter getaways rise; destinations span the globe BY SHIVANI VORA Where are residents of the United States traveling this fall and winter? Pretty much everywhere. The 10 most popular vacation destinations cover nearly every continent, even Antarctica, compared with several years ago, when the lineup wasn’t nearly as diverse. Why the shift? Ignacio Maza, the executive vice president of Signature Travel Network, a group of travel agents and hotels, said it’s because an increasing number of travelers have a global mindset and are willing to go anywhere. “Many destinations used to have an offseason and peak season, but the concept of seasonality is disappearing and so is the idea that anyplace is too far,” he said.
ARMANDO FRANCA AP
The 16th century Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon, Portugal. The country is on a growing number of U.S. travelers’ must-see list.
The top locales are more varied this fall and winter, and there are also more U.S. residents traveling, compared with fall and winter last year: Signature, with $7 billion in annual sales, is on track to have $500 million in trip sales for this fall and winter, an increase of 15 percent, compared with last year; Maza said that this number does not include sales of airline tickets. At American Express Travel, a network primarily for leisure travelers, overall travel this fall and winter is up 29 percent, based on airfare bookings, and the New York City travel company Ovation Vacations, which generates $400 million a year in leisure sales, has seen a 29 percent increase, compared with last year, in sales for fall and winter trips, according to the company’s president, Jack Ezon. Below, our list of the five most popular getaway spots come autumn and through the winter. If these don’t pique your interest, maybe the destinations on the
bottom half of the top 10 list will: Paris, Bali, Israel, Antarctica and South Africa.
Portugal The country has become a mustsee country, Maza said. “Signature now sells several thousand trips to Portugal a year, but five years ago, it used to be several hundred,” he said. The travel search engine Kayak has seen searches to Lisbon for fall travel increase 46 percent, compared with last fall, and Made for Spain and Portugal, a Madridbased company which sells luxury trips to Portugal, has sold 30 percent more trips to the country for this fall and winter, compared with last year, said the company’s founder, Virginia Irurita. “Portugal has lots of cultural attractions, a sophisticated wine and food scene, and is a great value for money,” she said. Another plus: The weather in SEE GETAWAYS • E11