I hear that house swapping is a viable vacation option, but I’m scared! What’s the best way to go about the entire process without winding up either in a house where I would rather not be or having some other unfortunate experience that will make me stay home for life! Signed, Homebody in Seattle.
Dear Homebody: With the emergence of low cost airlines and local airports mushrooming up across the continent, inexpensive vacations are …
In Greece, the past is always with you. Where ever the traveler looks there is a reminder of not just centuries but thousands of years of history. In some locations, shards of ancient artifacts still lay on the ground like so much rubble, and the ruins of temples and great buildings are so abundant you have the feeling of being in a vast, singular outdoor museum.
From the seaside taverns and restaurants to the wonderful …
If you travel past Kingston and head northeast to Port Antonio, you see the real Jamaica. Once a hangout for the rich and famous, Port Antonio was ravaged by a series of hurricanes from 1988 through 2005. One after another these storms pounded the Portland Parish, wrecking much of the tourism trade. But for those who want to see a side of Jamaica that most never see, Port Antonio is not to be missed. The …
Anguilla lies low on the horizon as you approach by ferry, a landscape at first suggesting less variety than her mountainous neighbors of St. Martin or St. Barths. But distant, outward appearances can be deceptive. Once you come ashore here, and make the easy drive up and down the length of her terrain, you also begin to encounter the color and character of an island and people with a distinct sense of identity.
In fact, …
In honor of the recent celebration of Earth Day, the government not shutting down in the midst of budget crisis, and the blossoming of spring and summer in general, it seems fitting to bring to attention a travel destination often overshadowed by international escapes and beach resorts: Our national parks. Offering some of the most breathtaking views in the country in nearly 400 different places, chances are there’s a national park close by. Convenient, since …
Costa Rica is a land teeming with the paradoxes of its geographical location, bridging North and South America and the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The resulting climate makes it ideal for year-round travel. The forces of nature are at their spectacular best here, churning out rainforest and volcanoes, great beaches and vistas. The animals and plants of the region are of two great continents. The diversity of flora and fauna, of geography and terrain all …
The most memorable experience from when I first visited Darwin back in 1995 was the ‘Beer Can Regatta’. Who in their right mind makes a raft out of empty beer cans to race through crocodile infested waters for the prize of nothing more than bragging rights for a year?
The place is full of similar crazy ideas, and yet after spending more and more time up there the ideas somehow seem less crazy. I don’t …
African safaris are a dime a dozen, especially those in fenced in National Parks or Nature Reserves where tourists are taken on conveyer-belt type game drives. That’s as good as it gets, I thought, and as such lost interest.
That was until I recently discovered the Selinda Reserve in Botswana’s Okavango Delta where game are free to wander across its 320,000 acres of unfenced wilderness. I’d heard much of Selinda ticking all the proverbial green …
Dear Travel IQ: Can you explain the how to properly use a concierge? Many of the nicer hotels I visit have a concierge, but I'm not sure what is an appropriate question outside of a restaurant suggestion or directions. What can a concierge do for me (and should I then do something for them)?
Signed: Confused and Lost in Vancouver
Dear Confused: All large hotels and resorts (and sometimes even smaller …
You’re the kind of person who enjoys the senses, who wants to be pampered, or who wants to make a healthy lifestyle a part of your everyday life. You take candle-lit baths (or wish you could), enjoy aromatherapy and appreciate the stress-relieving effects of a good massage. When it comes time to vacation, you’re not just thinking sun and surf but health, diet and a mud bath! You are exactly the kind of person who …
Just a short, two hour drive heading north from the oppressive heat that strikes Phoenix during the summer months, is Flagstaff, Arizona. While not the most picturesque drive imaginable, it is easy and direct. When temperatures are topping the triple digits on a daily basis, Flagstaff is a wonderful respite to get away from the heat and sink into nature, food and relaxation. It is not uncommon to leave Phoenix on a 118 degree day, …
The minute I step onto the red soil of Prince Edward Island, I relax. I can't help it – the environment demands it. It must be the sea water. No matter where you are on the island, the ebb and flow of tide creates a meditative Zen-like atmosphere that slows your mind, body and soul.
I'm here with several other literature lovers, including one from Japan interested in a certain red-headed heroine. We are here …
The beautiful parrots were bantering back and forth; giant palms obscured light from above; large leaf exotic plants obstructed the path. I felt like a Lilliputian in a land of overlapping green giants, each one poised to grab me should I dare to slow down a bit to gawk. Yet the diversity and unfamiliarity of the plants and trees make it hard not to gape. The only question remained: How did this tropical rainforest end …
There isn’t a single wisp of smoke curling out of the top of Mount Vesuvius as we walk up its stony brown slopes.
A few birds are twittering in the bushes, but we leave we them behind as the path rises above fertile ground. It’s silent, except for the scrunch of feet on clinker. It’s too quiet, too calm. Are we about to get taken out in an unexpected rumble of smoke, ash, flames and …
