Browsing: Holiday Travel

If you are bored with the uniformity of five-star hotels and prefer personalized treatment, a daily gourmet food experience, sport followed by wellness to recover, you want to read on.
The 89-roomed Grand Park, with its understated elegance and obliging service staff, is Bad Hofgastein’s only five-star hotel. Its location is perfection, in the midst of the Alps, the gateway to world-class hiking and skiing. The hotel itself, Georgian in style, is located well for …

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There’s nothing like boarding a plane, sitting back in the seat and enjoying a movie, reading or some sleep before landing at your holiday destination. But with the cost of airfares on a steady increase it’s becoming harder to find the right price for that desired destination. Airfares change throughout the week and even during the day, so, how do you know when is the best time to get more bang for your buck? Well, …

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Keane is an international super-group who herald from East Sussex. Bexhill, Hastings and Battle are the towns that will forever be remembered collectively as ‘Strangeland’, the name of the band’s fifth consecutive number-one album, which speaks of places that influenced their lives. Now, a local initiative together with Keane, share a geographical and emotional journey that helped shape the Strangeland album via an intuitive and well informed website that connects the lyrics with the actual …

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If you know better, you avoid London’s Victoria and Albert Museum like the plague when it rains, especially if that rain happens to be falling on a Sunday afternoon when most of the world finds itself at the start of Spring Break. You especially avoid the V&A if a new exhibit has just opened up, all the more so if it’s an exhibit that’s going to be popular with artist-types and design students who are …

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Whales are one of the Earth’s largest mammals, the beauty of which is best seen in the open waters of the ocean. There are numerous destinations around the world where you can observe these gentle creatures swim, thrash, and play in the water. All that is needed is a quiet boat or even a motor-less sailboat to venture out to sea to experience whale watching at its best. And, with a little patience and understanding, …

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Can you imagine heading to the mall and having your family begging to come along? The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, is more of a city than a shopping mall. It has a selection of attractions which include an indoor amusement park and an aquarium. It also has its own hotels, tax free shopping, and restaurants to please every palate.  Consider it more of a vacation than a shopping experience.

A Full-Size Amusement Park

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Quebec is one of the safest cities on the world, especially for women, my new friend tells me.

That’s lucky, I think, because I’ve just jumped into his car and we’re driving up into deserted forests. If I disappear, nobody will ever know why.

All such thoughts vanish as my impromptu tour guide Philippe Guerriere starts telling me about the battles that raged in Quebec between French and English soldiers, leaving a stunning legacy of …

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It seems unlikely that anything could be thrilling enough to waylay me when I’m walking to Victoria Falls, already armed with a rain coat and a silly grin.

But when the hotel gardener I’m breezing past says: “Hello, do you want to see the giraffes?” it stops me in my tracks.

I’ve never had an offer like that before, so I instantly say yes and follow him into the scrubby bushes.

I’d already seen zebra …

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For years the little island of Sri Lanka has been a place that lots of people wanted to visit but very few actually did.

A devastating civil war was followed by the brutal 2004 tsunami. Now the country is rising above its past to become a holiday hotspot, with its exotic beauty, fabulous food and its intriguing yet traumatic history. Sri Lanka is like India for sissies, with spectacular scenery, great activities and friendly people, …

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When most people think about going on a cruise, the first thing that comes to mind is the dreamy vacation onboard a luxury ship surrounded by the sea. Spending evenings watching the cabaret shows, having a posh dinner and walking on the deck under the moon and stars. There are also various onboard activities and entertainment areas such as theatre shows and comedy night that lure people to take a cruise. All of this and …

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The best thing about summer has got to be splashing about in water, after all, who doesn’t like getting wet when the days are balmy and hot. While many kids and adults look forward to the seasonal opening of the summer water parks there’s always the worry about the unpredictable weather, going on a rainy day or when there is extreme heat, dehydration or sun burn. So, what other way can you enjoy a

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If you ever think about how politics influences your travel, it’s probably because you want to avoid war or terrorism. I never imagined politicians could affect travel by making a currency so weak that you should jump on a plane and go immediately, because a country has become so cheap to visit.

Well – say hello to South Africa! Come and experience amazing safaris, be awed by Table Mountain, pay homage to Nelson Mandela and …

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There’s something about snow that inspires us to escape with that special someone to a peaceful and quiet hideaway from the crowds and hustle and bustle of life. Thankfully, there are places with elegant mountain cabins, tranquil rivers and sleigh rides through frozen landscapes.

 

Estes Park, Colorado

Nestled on the edge of the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, sits the charming town of Estes Park.  You can choose accommodation from logs cabins, bed

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While traveling in Asia this last summer, my wife and I had the unique opportunity to visit Malaysia and to celebrate the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan with Dayang, a Malaysian friend of ours. The fast-breaking festival, known as “Eid al-Fitr” in other parts of the Islamic world, is called “Hari Raya Eidal-fitri” (literally: day of celebrating Eid al-Fitr), or simply “Raya”, in Malaysia. During the month of Ramadan, practicing Muslims around …

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