Browsing: Destinations

Planning your perfect holiday involves several exciting decisions: will it be seaside or city, on-tap entertainment or splendid isolation, excellent for culture vultures or family friendly?
How well a country treats its people, its animals and its environment rarely even gets a look in.

But in these days of eco-friendly everything, it’s now possible to choose your destination by its human rights record, conservation efforts and social and animal welfare. So if you’re tired of …

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Traveling to the interior of Central Africa before the advent of the railway was near impossible. On land the journey between Cape Town and Victoria falls could take the better part of four months, on train though, it was just four and a half days. By 1904 the railhead from Cairo had reached the Zambezi and required a bridge to be built to cross the chasm. The bridge was constructed in fourteen months by the …

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So Spring Break is rapidly approaching and you have made no plans whatsoever? And your family is clamoring for a beach getaway? No problem. The Gulf Coast of Florida awaits in all its magnificent sugar white sand and turquoise water splendor.

Although people have their favorite beaches and I have visited plenty of them, none compare to the gorgeous beaches which line the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. With plenty of family-friendly accommodations, great seafood …

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Yes, the rumors are true. Hawaii is expensive. But guess what? It’s also an epic place to visit. An enchanted, breath-taking, must-cross-off-your-bucket-list place to visit. So I say, roll up your pennies, grab your bikini and follow this guide to travel Hawaii on a budget.

First things first, get the cheapest flight there is! Wasting money due to lazy booking is a rookie-traveler mistake. Visit Kayak.com and set up an e-mail alert to notify you …

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When John Cabot set sail to discover Canada back in 1497, Bristol was already a wealthy trading port – and has been for more than a thousand years. Post WW2 Bristol became and industrial centre: home of the Concorde, Rolls Royce and where the wings of the A380 Airbus are manufactured. More recently the buzzing multicultural university city of 500,000 has morphed into a large commercial centre, one of the most popular cities for business …

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Panama is a small nation with a capital that offers an astounding cross-section of cultural and historic experience: from the colonial legacy of its old quarter to a newly energized modern city, to the legacy and continued expansion of the Canal to the easily accessible countryside just beyond.  While all these different routes to exploring within and beyond this vibrant city depends on a visitor’s own interests and time, some of these options to experience …

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This has been the coldest, longest, snowiest and most depressing winter I can recall. And as a sixth-generation Canadian living in one of the coldest places in the country, I’ve seen more than my share. So when the opportunity came up to come out of hibernation for a few days by hopping a plane to glorious Grace Bay Beach on the Turks and Caicos island of Providenciales (locally known as “Provo” ) I couldn’t  …

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My French came back to me with remarkable clarity as I staggered out of the ocean clutching my stinging ankle.

“Je suis blessé,” I wailed, then proved I was injured by tumbling over as my ungainly flippers snagged on the volcanic rocks peppering the beach. Something that felt suspiciously like a crown of thorns had gripped my ankle as I’d waded through the murky water. Now my ankle was punctured by five black splinters and …

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Yeah, traffic may be backed up because of those drivers who are freaked out by ice and snow, the temperatures are so low you simply can’t put on enough clothing, and school has been called off yet again. Why not forget about all that and actually enjoy this fabulous winter? This is pretty easy to do if you head to Michigan to check out three equally marvelous resorts, all of which provide enough winter sports …

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I travel frequently, and always prepare for my various jaunts doing fact-finding, participating in forums, asking friends, and even reading literature from my destination country. I’m prepared, but not too prepared, ever open to the spur-of-the-moment experiences traveling promises. For my month-long voyage to Southern India I spent an excessive amount of time planning. Hours, days, and months were spent investigating the merits of the SteriPEN® and concocting a route south from Mumbai. I weighed …

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Every once in a while, even the most jaded travelers come across a delightful surprise. And if you take the time to peruse some of the “Tourism Hot-Spot” lists for 2014, you’ll come across such a surprise – Ecuador.

This country sits astride the sky-piercing spine of the Andes, and everywhere you look reveals scenes of breathtaking natural beauty, of bursting-with-color valleys, meadows and wildflowers punctuated by snow-capped peaks. But Ecuador offers even more. It’s …

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So Many Marvelous Mini-Adventures!

Truth be told, I did not know that the Abaco Islands were part of the Bahamas called “Out-Islands” nor did I know that the Bahamas are not considered part of the Caribbean, but are a separate region with some 700 islands in the archipelago ( some inhabited and some not) and none of them in the Caribbean Sea! But I had heard that the Abacos – a 120-mile–long chain that covers …

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You might feel like you have escaped to the edge of the planet, but in fact you have just reached the edge of the south Caribbean when you arrive on the island of Roatán. Best of all, that impression of distance continues as you make your way around this best known of Honduras’s Islas Bahias (Bay Islands), thanks to the pristine beaches and interior, the low-impact tourism, and the size and scale of everyday life …

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The holidays are drawing to a close and, once you have taken down all your decorations and are ready for a little getaway, a big city may be your best choice. Often, the prices are lower in the winter, you can get some great and reasonably priced hotel accommodations, and enjoy the local attractions with fewer crowds.

Chicago: Those icy cold winds may whip off Lake Michigan during the winter in The Windy City, …

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