Options abound for kosher travel

Years ago, Passover travel usually meant shlepping to Miami Beach - where great operatic tenors such as Robert Merrill and Jan Peerce would conduct the seder at a fancy-schmancy hotel - or to the Catskills, which was more haimish but just as fattening.

Today, however, Passover travel options have expanded to encompass experiences ranging from the Caribbean to a dude ranch in Wyoming. And you can get some decent deals on Miami Beach, too.

In fact, the entire kosher travel business - especially around the United States - has grown dramatically in recent years, according to industry executives.

"It's exploded," says David Lawrence, an executive with Kosher Expeditions, which has offices in Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles and offers kosher-catered trips to places ranging from Alaska to Zimbabwe.

Lawrence attributes a lot of the increase in kosher travel to the situation in Israel, where the Intifada discourages many would-be tourists from vacationing in the Holy Land. "We're getting a lot of day schools that used to go to Israel but are now looking for other options," he says.

Kosher Expeditions and other travel companies are also becoming more adept at reaching specific Jewish market segments, according to Margo Dix Gold of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta.

"Trips are no longer marketed only for seniors and empty-nesters," says Gold, who notes that more and more vacations are being designed for singles or for people desiring adventure travel.

For example, Lawrence says, his company can provide food for observant Jews who want to take a leisurely cruise or climb Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro. "Kosher-trained chefs and mashgiachs (kosher inspectors) travel with our groups," he said, "and we'll fly in food if necessary."

The Jewish travel business is especially good around Passover, says Gold.

"Research has shown that Passover is the most celebrated holiday amongst Jews, even for those who are not very observant," she notes. "Almost all Jews will celebrate Passover in some way."

And that has led a variety of companies to offer Passover vacation packages.

The Ontario Travel Service is booking passengers aboard the "Deep South Caribbean" kosher cruise, departing from Fort Lauderdale on April 22. The cruise package includes seders on the first two nights of Passover conducted in a separate area of the dining room under Conservative supervision.

The "Deep South's" itinerary includes Martinique, Barbados, Antigua, St. Maarten and the Bahamas.

Greg Bernhardt, a resident of Manhattan's Upper West Side, took the cruise with his mother and daughter, enabling him to spend Passover with his mother for the first time in years since he became observant.

"People who do not keep strictly kosher feel comfortable on the cruise, and the kashrut was good enough for me," he says, "but the best part was reuniting the family and spending the holidays together."

At one point during the cruise, Bernhardt recalls, Jewish passengers who were not part of the kosher contingent asked if they could participate in the Yizkor service, while another passenger - an adult - celebrated his bar mitzvah with the group. That kind of cohesiveness appealed to Bernhardt, and to his teenage daughter, who made friends from Scotland and Ireland while on the ship.

For something really different, Kosher Expeditions offers a dude ranch adventure in the not-so-wild West. Participants can ride horseback, go white-water rafting, relax in a hot spring, and explore nearby Yellowstone National Park (the ranch is just 26 miles away).

Joel Weinberger, a Maryland resident, took his two daughters on the trip a couple of years ago.

"My kids got the experience of being out there in rural America," he recalls. All meals were glatt kosher, served family-style in the ranch's dining room, with several barbecues during the week.

There's no roughing it, either. The Kosher Expeditions package includes modern cabins with private baths and maid service.

For something a little more laid back, Club Kosher offers their yearly package dubbed "Passover in Paradise," with two destinations to choose from: Canc£n and Tucson. The Canc£n trip, at a Hilton, offers guests typical resort amenities and expansive child-care programs, as well as atypical Mexican fiestas for those looking for a good party. In Arizona, spa delights abound and the resort features an expansive golf course. There will also be ample opportunity to explore spiritual realms with scholar-in-residence Rabbi Manis Friedman. For details, go to www.ClubKosher.com or phone (866) KOSHER-2.

Soriya Daniels is a freelance writer based in Florida.

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