Eleven Luxury Domestic Travel Destinations
Discover the country’s most unique and engaging experiences — to dream (and book) now.
Related articles
Ultimate Outback Charter
At a time when distance is arguably the world’s greatest luxury, exploring the Australian outback in a private plane with just six other people could be considered the epitome of travel experiences. Abercrombie & Kent’s journey around South Australia doesn’t cut any corners—or compromise on style. Over eight days (pick between dates in August 2021 and March 2022), you’ll have the opportunity to glimpse attractions both from the air and on land en route.
Your journey begins in the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park—all red peaks, gorges and valleys of striated rock. Your pilot will take you low over Wilpena Pound before landing at Rawnsley Park Station, your base for the night and gateway to the rugged Bunyeroo and Brachina gorges, providing a window through 130 million years of the Earth’s history. Onwards you’ll visit Australia’s smallest town, William Creek, population 16. And then Coober Pedy, the country’s opal capital, where your accommodation for the night takes you deep underground—cave hotel, anyone?
Certain Australian sights bear an enormity that can only be grasped from the air: Kati Thanda, or Lake Eyre, is among these. Come sunrise, you’ll continue by gliding over this spectacle to witness the area’s surreal salt flats that shimmer all the way to the horizon. Your next destination is Mt. Ive Station, where Lake Gairdner’s own glistening salt pans cut a stark contrast against the hills of red sand that surround. The scenic whiplash continues as you reach Coffin Bay on the coast, and the brilliant blues of the Southern Ocean.
Swap sky for sea and cruise out to discover how the region’s Pacific and angasi oysters are grown and harvested, with dolphins, seals and seabirds as your travelling companions. Back on shore, national parkland reveals untouched beaches and dunes, bordered by ancient sandstone cliffs that cast long shadows over the land. Between here and Port Lincoln, your only diversion is for refreshments at a winery—more of which awaits at your final destination, the seafood capital of Australia.
Torres Strait By Superyacht
Set your super yacht’s GPS for about as far north as you can travel in Australia and you’ll reach the Torres Strait Islands, one of the world’s last true wilderness frontiers and a place that steals the soul with its sheer, unadulterated beauty. Off the tip of Cape York, the archipelago of 274 islands strings across the ocean between Queensland and Papua New Guinea, fringed by the northernmost reaches of the Great Barrier Reef—minus any of the crowds you’ll find snorkelling further south.
This remoteness guarantees nature writ large, whether on powdery beaches or atop volcanic peaks on drops of land that emerge from gin-clear water. The same blissful isolation means this part of the country is not easy to explore, unless you’ve chartered the shiny De Lisle III for $165,000 a week.
The price tag provides your group of 10 unfettered access to this 42-metre super yacht, custom fitted with teak and brass, and topped with an enviable jacuzzi for scenic soaks between anchor drops. Which may well be in the middle of nowhere, to snorkel with dugongs, dolphins, sea turtles and giant marlin, totally unperturbed by your presence—because they’ve likely never seen another human before. Then cruise out to more remote haunts to find hidden curves of sand, opaline bays and tiny villages that nurture Indigenous culture and traditions dating back more than 70,000 years.
Many Torres Strait Islands are also people-free, with only 20 inhabited and just a few others permitting visitors. Thursday Island, the area’s capital, is one; sleepy today, but once a bustling hub for pearling with hundreds of ships and divers based here. This part of the country—between Australia and the rest of the world—has also played a major role in defence over the decades, and you’ll still find decaying reminders of this heritage on far-flung outposts. Like Thursday Island’s 1891 Green Hill Fort, built to protect against a potential Russian invasion. And various gun emplacements, trenches and a wrecked aircraft on Horn Island, the only place in Australia where Aboriginal and European-descended soldiers served side by side.
This sobering reminder of the tragic past somehow makes the destinations you’ll sail to even more appealing; beauty can, it seems, survive and thrive, even when tested by the most extreme of human forces.
Exclusive Sitting At Chae
The most talked about newcomer in Melbourne dining, Chae is a six-seat Korean effort housed in an apartment in Brunswick. That’s right, an apartment—the small home of head chef Jung Eun Chae and her husband Yoora Yoon. This is intimate and elevated home cooking—impeccable in taste and unique in experience, something Australian dining is too often lacking. Book exclusive use and, with a group of friends or family, experience something you simply won’t
find elsewhere.
The Dreaming’, Kinara Spa, Longitude 131
Uluru is Australia’s spiritual heart, so it’s fitting that the most upscale lodge in these parts offers spa treatments that conjure blissful, soul-salving emotions. Under the gaze of the world’s mightiest monolith, exclusive Longitude 131° features tented villas scattered among native bushland. Prepare not to leave for three hours when you book “The Dreaming”, a reviving ritual based on philosophies tens of thousands of years in the making by the region’s Anangu people. It all begins with a body mud wrap of desert salts and yellow clay, for detoxification. Then you’ll ease into a Kodo (Aboriginal rhythmic) massage, scalp invigoration and lush facial, before ending your experience with a hand-and-foot treatment. Don’t forget to inhale along the way—products are infused with native ingredients including lilly pilly, munthari berry, quandong and wild rosella.
Exclusive Hire, Orpheus Island
The only way to reach Orpheus Island is a private helicopter transfer from Townsville, your sky-high chariot whisking you off the Queensland coast over a coral-studded sea.
As if your ride north wasn’t exclusive enough, on arrival you can have the entire retreat—all 14 luxurious rooms—to yourself and 27 of your closest friends for $25,000 a night.
In the middle of the Great Barrier Reef and set on 1,300 hectares of national parkland, the island and its only resort began life as a humble retreat in the 1950s—back then a favourite getaway among the likes of glam British actor Vivien Leigh, who came to switch off and bliss out.
Today, the design inspiration is Hamptons-chic, replete with sun-kissed rooms, suites and villas bedazzled in crisp whites, azures and emerald greens—think Robinson Crusoe meets The Ritz.
But the goal remains the same as when Leigh roamed the grounds—this is a place where you can disconnect from technology and reconnect with the nature that encompasses the resort.
First stop should be the world’s largest reef, the waters surrounding this island idyll churning with an astounding 1,100 of the Great Barrier Reef’s 1,500 species of fish, not to mention almost every single species of hard coral ever recorded. Strap on a mask and fins to swim with manta rays, sea turtles and even humpback whales during migration season (May-November). Then dry off to make the most of the resort’s on-land natural luxuries, like gourmet picnics on the sand or dinner degustations under the stars.
If bobbing about in the ocean appeals, plan an extended stay on the resort’s opulent 32-metre M.Y. Flying Fish, able to accommodate overnight jaunts around the reef in serious style. There’s space for eight on board, plus a rooftop helipad enabling guests to chopper off to remote sandbanks for sunset cocktails, or opt for beach fishing whenever the mood strikes.
Ultimate Staycation & Seaplane To Jervis Bay
Few hotels in the world boast as enviable a location as Sydney’s Four Seasons, steps from Circular Quay and with swoon-worthy views over the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. If you can tear yourself away from the vista, a feature central to most rooms and suites, then leave the planning of your day in the begloved hands of the hotel’s concierge. Their little black book of “Extraordinary Experiences” covers everything from a private lobster lunch while cruising the harbour, to sunrise yoga atop the world’s most recognisable aforementioned bridge. Or consider the pièce de résistance: a leisurely seaplane jaunt down the New South Wales coast to Jervis Bay.
This is an outing where the journey matters just as much as the destination, your ride soaring over national parkland, crystalline coves and jagged cliffs before dropping you off on a dazzling beach—the South Coast of the state boasts some of the whitest sands in the world. Your hosts prepare lunch while you recline and spot bottlenose dolphins and (if you’re here from May through November) migrating humpback and southern right whales which regularly create a splash in the marine park just offshore from the open-air dining spot.
Soar back to the Four Seasons in time for a cocktail masterclass and degustation in the opulent two-bedroom Presidential Suite’s dining room. The hotel’s cocktail craftsman Cedric Mendoza will help you shake and stir your way through a private session, with plenty of time to sip concoctions on the balcony of the hotel’s highest floor, while dinner—a five-course degustation—is prepared. Don’t close your curtains; this is a view you will want to awaken to.
Dinner (And Tennis) With MONA’s David Walsh
Ten years ago, millionaire philanthropist David Walsh went on a wild ride to open Australia’s most talked about gallery. His Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) in Hobart lies on a peninsula just a short ride up the Derwent River from the centre of town; when you arrive, you’re greeted by a heritage 1958 Roy Grounds-designed cottage, which then channels you down
a rabbit warren of dramatic subterranean spaces crafted by local architectural firm Fender Katsalidi.
While the museum and its collection of edgy, provocative artworks, themed around sex and death, is the peninsula’s major draw, over a decade the site has evolved to now include accommodation, restaurants, a brewery and neighbouring winery. And you can get a taste for all offerings—and meet their charismatic owner—for $50,000 per person.
The Cultural Attractions of Australia “Dinner With David” offers unheard-of access to this self-proclaimed “maths nerd”. Jet into the Tasmanian capital from Melbourne or Sydney via private plane,
then sit down with Walsh in Mona’s The Source restaurant for a degustation while sipping Moorilla wines, made just a few metres from the dining room.
Sleep soundly in one of the on-site Mona Pavilions—each named after a famed Australian artist or designer—then wake leisurely to enjoy lunch in sensory-exploring dining room Faro. Afterwards, Moorilla’s vintner Conor van der Reest will guide you around the estate, offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse into winemaking in this part of the state. Don’t be surprised if Walsh then challenges you to a hit of tennis—he has a mean backhand, or so the legend goes.
culturalattractionsofaustralia.com
Opera At Uluru
Every year, Opera Australia unites song and spirituality in the heart of the country. Enter the troupe’s exclusive series of September shows at Uluru, which can be enjoyed with just a handful of other select guests, under the stars and backdropped by one of the world’s greatest natural wonders.
Choose Captain’s Choice and fly in for the gala performance on a private, all-business-class charter, sipping fine wines and savouring a gourmet lunch on board before touching down at Ayers Rock Airport beside the Northern Territory’s hulking sandstone monolith.
Your afternoon here is spent wandering through the legendary landscapes of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, with ancient rock escarpments and gorges that appear to cleave off the edge of the Earth. This is a place as inspiring as it is humbling, made even more memorable by the live music that will fill your soul as it does the landscape: such as the dramatic notes of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. You’ll be serenaded by Australia’s finest soloists, led by Opera Australia’s artistic director, Lyndon Terracini AM, in a performance outshone perhaps only by its own setting among the Field of Light.
Created by British artist Bruce Munro, this dazzling union of 50,000 spindles of light blankets the Red Centre’s soil, the stems breathing and swaying through a desert spectrum of ochre, deep violet, blue and pearl. The epic glow—on display only until the end of December—illuminates your alfresco meal, prepared using locally sourced native bush ingredients that speak of the land. When the event ends, check in to your room at Sails in the Desert hotel at Ayres Rock Resort, where rooms encircle a dreamy gumtree-lined pool, and an on-site gallery showcases Indigenous art.
Flinders Island By Helicopter
Tasmania is known, among other things, for wild landscapes, some of the world’s tastiest seafood and standout wines. These attractions all coalesce on a day trip with Unique Charters. Jump in your helicopter from Peppers Silo Hotel in Launceston, then zip northeast to Flinders Island, the largest of its kind in the Bass Strait’s Furneaux Group. This is a place of untamed, windswept beauty, with precipitous cliffs, empty white-sand beaches and rocky shores blanketed in fiery-hued lichen—look out for seasonal whales splashing about offshore as you near your destination.
Your hosts will be waiting with a Flinders Island Gin and tonic—your aperitif while lunch is caught and prepared for you. And what a showcase of local produce your meal is: ocean-fresh crayfish, plump oysters, juicy octopus and cheeses made on neighbouring islets. Your spread is served just steps from the sand at Killiecrankie Beach, a sweeping crescent of azure water that you will likely have entirely to yourself.
If you don’t want the day to end, extend your experience and drop in on some of Tassie’s northern vineyards for a flight or two of a more flavourful kind, before returning to your base.
Day Trip To Lord Howe Island
Off the coast of New South Wales, Lord Howe Island has a permanent population of just 360, and daily visitor numbers are capped at 400. And you’ll be one of the lucky few when journeying here for lunch with Crooked Compass by Air. Before touching down at the petite airport, your private charter plane will circle over record-breaking Ball’s Pyramid, a dramatic hunk of basalt that, at 562 metres high, happens to be the world’s tallest sea stack.
After wheels down on Lord itself, enjoy the morning exploring a setting so untamed and otherworldly that it’s earned a UNESCO listing for natural beauty. Its Jurassic-like landscapes of soaring sea cliffs and tangled jungle serve as the breeding ground for 14 species of seabirds, not to mention 130 permanent and migratory bird species—among them the endemic Lord Howe Island woodhen, saved from extinction by local conservation efforts. They flutter between unspoiled and empty beaches, swirl over the towering kentia palm-clad peaks of Gower and Lidgbird, and swoop low across a crystal-clear lagoon protected by the planet’s most southern barrier reef—you can take a dip here with green and hawksbill turtles, bottlenose dolphins and all manner of fish after lunch. But first, the food.
Your dining venue is Anchorage Restaurant, helmed by executive chef David Chlumsky, who earned his stripes at applauded Sydney restaurants Quay, Otto and Longrain. On Lord Howe, Chlumsky’s mod-Australian menu is produce-driven and seasonal, utilising the best of the island and its surrounds, whether organic fruit and vegetables or sustainably caught seafood.
Dust off the crumbs and decide how to spend your afternoon: gliding about the lagoon in a glass-bottom boat, snorkelling over immense coral bommies to explore shipwrecks in the company of huge schools of Moorish idols, or wandering along the sand being entertained by chattering terns and shearwaters. You’re just here for the day—your private charter plane awaits to whisk you and your entourage of seven back to the mainland in time for dinner.
Subscribe to the Newsletter
Recommended for you
You may also like.
You may also like.
Best fo Europe: Six Senses, Switzerland
Mend in the mountains at Crans-Montana.
Wellness pioneer Six Senses made a name for itself with tranquil, mostly tropical destinations. Now, its first alpine hotel recreates that signature mix of sustainable luxury and innovative spa therapeutics in a world-class ski setting.
The ski-in, ski-out location above the gondola of one of Switzerland’s largest winter sports resorts allows guests to schuss from the top of the Plaine Morte glacier to the hotel’s piste-side lounge, where they can swap ski gear for slippers, then head straight to the spa’s bio-hack recovery area to recharge with compression boots, binaural beats and an herb-spiked mocktail. In summer, the region is a golf and hiking hub.
The vibe offers a contemporary take on chalet style. The 78 rooms and suites are decorated in local larch and oak, and all have terraces or balconies with alpine views over the likes of the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc. With four different saunas, a sensory flotation pod, two pools
and a whimsical relaxation area complete with 15,000 hanging “icicles” and views of a birch forest, the spa at Six Senses Crans-Montana makes après ski an afterthought.
You can even sidestep the cheese-heavy cuisine of this region in favour of hot pots and sushi at the property’s Japanese restaurant, Byakko. Doubles from around $1,205; Sixsenses.com
You may also like.
Best of Europe: Grand Hotel Des Étrangers
Fall for a Baroque beauty in Syracuse, Italy.
Sicily has seen a White Lotus–fuelled surge in bookings for this summer—a pop-culture fillip to fill up its grandes dames hotels. Skip the gawping crowds at the headline-grabbers, though, and opt instead for an insider-ish alternative: the Grand Hotel des Étrangers, which reopened last summer after a gut renovation.
It sits on the seafront on the tiny island of Ortigia in Syracuse, all cobbled streets and grand buildings, like a Baroque time capsule on Sicily’s southeastern coast.
Survey the entire streetscape here from the all-day rooftop bar-restaurant, Clou, where the fusion menu is a shorthand of Sicily’s pan-Mediterranean history; try the spaghetti with bottarga and wild fennel or the sea bass crusted in anchovies. Idle on the terrace alfresco with a snifter of avola, the rum made nearby.
As for the rooms, they’ve been renovated with Art Deco–inflected interiors—think plenty of parquet and marble—but the main asset is their aspect: the best of them have private balconies and a palm tree-fringed view out over the Ionian Sea. Doubles from around $665; desetranger.com
You may also like.
Watch of the Week: TAG Heuer Formula 1 | Kith
The legendary sports watch returns, but with an unexpected twist.
Over the last few years, watch pundits have predicted the return of the eccentric TAG Heuer Formula 1, in some shape or form. It was all but confirmed when TAG Heuer’s heritage director, Nicholas Biebuyck, teased a slew of vintage models on his Instagram account in the aftermath of last year’s Watches & Wonders 2023 in Geneva. And when speaking with Frédéric Arnault at last year’s trade fair, the former CEO asked me directly if the brand were to relaunch its legacy Formula 1 collection, loved by collectors globally, how should they go about it?
My answer to the baited entreaty definitely didn’t mention a collaboration with Ronnie Fieg of Kith, one of the world’s biggest streetwear fashion labels. Still, here we are: the TAG Heuer Formula 1 is officially back and as colourful as ever.
As the watch industry enters its hype era—in recent years, we’ve seen MoonSwatches, Scuba Fifty Fathoms, and John Mayer G-Shocks—the new Formula 1 x Kith collaboration might be the coolest yet.
Here’s the lowdown: overnight, TAG Heuer, together with Kith, took to socials to unveil a special, limited-edition collection of Formula 1 timepieces, inspired by the original collection from the 1980s. There are 10 new watches, all limited, with some designed on a stainless steel bracelet and some on an upgraded rubber strap; both options nod to the originals.
Seven are exclusive to Kith and its global stores (New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Hawaii, Tokyo, Toronto, and Paris, to be specific), and are made in an abundance of colours. Two are exclusive to TAG Heuer; and one is “shared” between TAG Heuer and Kith—this is a highlight of the collection, in our opinion. A faithful play on the original composite quartz watch from 1986, this model, limited to just 1,350 pieces globally, features the classic black bezel with red accents, a stainless steel bracelet, and that creamy eggshell dial, in all of its vintage-inspired glory. There’s no doubt that this particular model will present as pure nostalgia for those old enough to remember when the original TAG Heuer Formula 1 made its debut.
Of course, throughout the collection, Fieg’s design cues are punctuated: the “TAG” is replaced with “Kith,” forming a contentious new brand name for this specific release, as well as Kith’s slogan, “Just Us.”
Collectors and purists alike will appreciate the dedication to the original Formula 1 collection: features like the 35mm Arnite cases—sourced from the original 80s-era supplier—the form hour hand, a triangle with a dot inside at 12 o’clock, indices that alternate every quarter between shields and dots, and a contrasting minuterie, are all welcomed design specs that make this collaboration so great.
Every TAG Heuer Formula 1 | Kith timepiece will be presented in an eye-catching box that complements the fun and colour theme of Formula 1 but drives home the premium status of this collaboration. On that note, at $2,200 a piece, this isn’t exactly an approachable quartz watch but reflects the exclusive nature of Fieg’s Kith brand and the pieces he designs (largely limited-edition).
So, what do we think? It’s important not to understate the significance of the arrival of the TAG Heuer Formula 1 in 1986, in what would prove integral in setting up the brand for success throughout the 90’s—it was the very first watch collection to have “TAG Heuer” branding, after all—but also in helping to establish a new generation of watch consumer. Like Fieg, many millennial enthusiasts will recall their sentimental ties with the Formula 1, often their first timepiece in their horological journey.
This is as faithful of a reissue as we’ll get from TAG Heuer right now, and budding watch fans should be pleased with the result. To TAG Heuer’s credit, a great deal of research has gone into perfecting and replicating this iconic collection’s proportions, materials, and aesthetic for the modern-day consumer. Sure, it would have been nice to see a full lume dial, a distinguishing feature on some of the original pieces—why this wasn’t done is lost on me—and perhaps a more approachable price point, but there’s no doubt these will become an instant hit in the days to come.
—
The TAG Heuer Formula 1 | Kith collection will be available on Friday, May 3rd, exclusively in-store at select TAG Heuer and Kith locations in Miami, and available starting Monday, May 6th, at select TAG Heuer boutiques, all Kith shops, and online at Kith.com. To see the full collection, visit tagheuer.com
You may also like.
30/04/2024
06/05/2024
06/05/2024
8 Fascinating Facts You Didn’t Know About Aston Martin
The British sports car company is most famous as the vehicle of choice for James Bond, but Aston Martin has an interesting history beyond 007.
Aston Martin will forever be associated with James Bond, ever since everyone’s favourite spy took delivery of his signature silver DB5 in the 1964 film Goldfinger. But there’s a lot more to the history of this famed British sports car brand beyond its association with the fictional British Secret Service agent.
Let’s dive into the long and colourful history of Aston Martin.
The origin of the Aston Martin name
The company that would become Aston Martin started out as a car dealership. In 1912, Englishmen Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin partnered to sell cars, but soon after they decided to build their own models. Their first prototype debuted in 1915, named in honour of Martin, a racing driver, and his favourite racing venue, Aston Hills. Thus, the name Aston Martin was born.
A speed-demon co-founder banned from driving
Aston Martin co-founder Lionel Martin wasn’t just a keen racing driver—he was an all-out speed demon. As a student, Martin won numerous gruelling bicycle racing records, including riding nearly the full width of England in one 22-hour stretch. He competed in motorcycle and sidecar races and automotive hillclimb competitions. It seems he also brought that need for speed to the public roadways: In 1909, having neglected to pay a previous speeding fine, Martin was caught driving 41.5 km/ph in London and was banned from driving for two years—during which he set yet another cross-country bicycle record.
A tractor company takes over
The years after World War I were tumultuous for Aston Martin, with financial difficulties and numerous takeovers. In 1947, Aston Martin went up for sale and was purchased by David Brown Limited, a company that specialised in farm tractors and industrial gears. Sir David Brown, grandson of the company’s founder, was a lifelong car enthusiast and racer, having built his own competition cars while working as an engineer at the family company. The first car built by Aston Martin after this takeover was called the DB1, named after the tractor company (and the man) that had saved the carmaker.
An indirect connection to Bentley
Around the same time that Sir David Brown took over Aston Martin, he purchased another struggling British carmaker, Lagonda. The company was developing a revolutionary twin-cam six-cylinder engine called the LB6, and Sir David wanted the engine for his new line of Aston Martin sports cars. The Lagonda engine had been designed by none other than W.O. Bentley—the man who co-founded Bentley Motors, who had long since been pushed out of the company bearing his name.
The history of the DB Series
Aston Martin built seven vehicles named in honour of owner Sir David Brown: The DB1, DB2, DB3, DB4, DB5, DB6, and the combo-breaker DBS all bore Sir David’s initials. In 1972, Sir David sold the car company, and the new owners ended the DB series of vehicles, but the name was revived in 1993 with the DB7 in honour of Sir David—who himself was given an honorary position at the company that same year.
Bond, James Bond
Of course, the most famous Aston Martin of them all is the DB5. Just over 1,000 examples were built between 1963 and 1965, but millions worldwide know this as the James Bond car. In the books, author Ian Fleming had specified an earlier Aston Martin DB Mark III as Bond’s car. Still, the DB5 was introduced in the 1964 Bond film Goldfinger, equipped with gadgets including machine guns, smoke screens, oil slicks, an ejector seat, and rotating license plates. Bond has driven several Aston Martin models over the years, including a V8 Vantage, a V12 Vanquish, and two DBS models, but the original DB5 will always be considered the quintessential Bond car.
The angular years
Today, the Aston Martin badge is most closely associated with swooping, evocatively curvy car designs, but in the 1970s the company was obsessed with angular, wedge-shaped designs. The trend began in 1976 with the Aston Martin Lagonda, a shockingly unconventional four-door luxury sedan with “folded-paper” body styling and the world’s first all-digital instrument panel. The Lagonda’s styling was further evolved in 1979 with the Bulldog, a radical concept car with gullwing doors and a sharply pointed nose. The Bulldog was meant to become the fastest road car on earth, but the project was abandoned before production could begin.
For Bond’s eyes only
While most of James Bond’s Aston Martins have been commercially available to anyone who could afford one, the DB10 seen in the 2015 film Spectre was exclusive to 007. As Aston Martin executive Marek Reichman explained to Variety, director Sam Mendes, producer Barbara Broccoli, and Bond star Daniel Craig were touring Aston Martin’s design studios when they saw a concept sketch on the wall. The Bond team insisted that this should be 007’s next car, and Aston Martin spent the next six months furiously working to turn the drawing into a real-world car. The DB10 was unveiled during the launch of the film Spectre, and eight of the 10 examples built were featured in the movie, with the remaining two used for promotional appearances.
You may also like.
What Venice’s New Tourist Tax Means for Your Next Trip
The Italian city will now charge visitors an entry fee during peak season.
Visiting the Floating City just got a bit more expensive.
Venice is officially the first metropolis in the world to start implementing a day-trip fee in an effort to help the Italian hot spot combat overtourism during peak season, The Associated Press reported. The new program, which went into effect, requires travellers to cough up roughly €5 (about $AUD8.50) per person before they can explore the city’s canals and historic sites. Back in January, Venice also announced that starting in June, it would cap the size of tourist groups to 25 people and prohibit loudspeakers in the city centre and the islands of Murano, Burano, and Torcello.
“We need to find a new balance between the tourists and residents,’ Simone Venturini, the city’s top tourism official, told AP News. “We need to safeguard the spaces of the residents, of course, and we need to discourage the arrival of day-trippers on some particular days.”
During this trial phase, the fee only applies to the 29 days deemed the busiest—between April 25 and July 14—and tickets will remain valid from 8:30 am to 4 pm. Visitors under 14 years of age will be allowed in free of charge in addition to guests with hotel reservations. However, the latter must apply online beforehand to request an exemption. Day-trippers can also pre-pay for tickets online via the city’s official tourism site or snap them up in person at the Santa Lucia train station.
“With courage and great humility, we are introducing this system because we want to give a future to Venice and leave this heritage of humanity to future generations,” Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said in a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter) regarding the city’s much-talked-about entry fee.
Despite the mayor’s backing, it’s apparent that residents weren’t totally pleased with the program. The regulation led to protests and riots outside of the train station, The Independent reported. “We are against this measure because it will do nothing to stop overtourism,” resident Cristina Romieri told the outlet. “Moreover, it is such a complex regulation with so many exceptions that it will also be difficult to enforce it.”
While Venice is the first city to carry out the new day-tripper fee, several other European locales have introduced or raised tourist taxes to fend off large crowds and boost the local economy. Most recently, Barcelona increased its city-wide tourist tax. Similarly, you’ll have to pay an extra “climate crisis resilience” tax if you plan on visiting Greece that will fund the country’s disaster recovery projects.
You may also like.
06/05/2024
30/04/2024
06/05/2024
