Barack and Michelle Obama Are Taking a Caribbean Vacation
Update: 1/25/17: Following Barack and Michelle Obama's post-inauguration trip to Palm Springs, the former First Couple is taking a Caribbean sojourn.
On Monday, the Obamas reportedly flew on billionaire Richard Branson's private jet from California to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands where they landed at 8:47 p.m., according to the Virgin Islands Daily News and the Huffington Post. From there, they took a boat to Branson's Necker Island-but not before posing for a photograph with immigration officials.
The 74-acre Necker Island has a staff of 100 and operates as a resort with accommodations for up to 30 guests. Rates to take over the island reportedly start at $78,000 per night. Because of its remote location, the island has long been a favorite of celebrities and royals seeking seclusion; Princess Diana visited the island with Prince Harry and a friend in 1990 (below).
From the looks of it, the tranquil setting is about as far away from the frenetic political buzz of Washington as the Obamas can get.
Original 1/17/17: After Friday's inauguration, the First Family is westward-bound.
According to CNN, the Obamas will take the presidential plane one last time for a flight to Palm Springs, California to begin the post-presidency vacation that Barack Obama reportedly promised his wife. (Since he will no longer be president, the plane will not carry the "Air Force One" call sign though.)
The family has spent time there in the past, and last November it was reported that they were in the market for a house in Rancho Mirage, California, the same town near Palm Springs to which President Gerald Ford retired after he left the White House.
Michael S. Smith, who decorated the White House for the Obamas and whose partner, James Costos, is the ambassador to Spain and Andorra, has a house in the neighborhood that the President has visited, and that's where the Obamas are reportedly planning to stay during this trip.
As president, Obama has taken golf trips to the region.
The White House declined to comment on the president's travel plans to CNN.
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