If you are in New York City you no longer need to schlep to Long Island or Montauk for quality beach vibes. This summer, the Tulum, Mexico-based hospitality tastemakers Grupo Gitano have unveiled Gitano Island, a 27,000 square foot waterfront restaurant and beach club on Governors Island. It’s just a five-minute ferry ride from The Battery Maritime Building in Lower Manhattan’s Battery Park.
pen daily for brunch and dinner, with modern Mexican cuisine cooked over an open fire: think lobster rolls, tamales de pipián, crab tostadas, and staples such as chorizo con queso and watermelon salad.
And just like Gitano’s Tulum HQ, expect a soundtrack of classic and nu disco, house, Afrobeats and Latin, with live big-name DJs in the works. Ferry costs $4; options from Brooklyn piers also. gitano.com/nyc
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The K Club. Photo: Ashley Morrison
The K Club. Photo: Ashley Morrison
Kildare’s K Club is best known as a world-class golf destination, but this August 4 it’s set to provide a five-star haven for anyone whose chakras are out of kilter.
Hosted by transpersonal coach Breda McHale, the two-day Celebration of Light Retreat combines life coaching and holistic practices: guided meditations, sunrise yoga, interactive talks, breath work, a guided walk with Celtic insights and, as per the blurb, “a Shamanic Journey by the Liffey weir” – the Liffey has seen many things but Shamanism might just be a first.
Costs from €300 per person, based on two people sharing, and covers breakfast, two lunches and all activities, including an evening ‘Fire Ceremony’. kclub.ie
If going on safari has been on your bucket list for longer than is necessary, why not grab the bull (rhino?) by its horns with TD Holidays’ 13-night Garden Route & Safari guided group holiday to South Africa, starting in Cape Town, home to the majestic Table Mountain and Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was infamously incarcerated.
This trip of a lifetime also includes the south-eastern coastline known as the Garden Route, exploring mountains and lagoons, nature reserves, and – arguably the organised tour’s pinnacle – a stay at the renowned Kariega Game Reserve, a family-owned and operated private safari reserve on South Africa’s Eastern Cape, where dwells the ‘Big Five’ game animals.
From €3,499pp departing Dublin on October 7; includes flights, accommodation, tours, transfers, guides (eight nights B&B, three nights full board). traveldepartment.com
