As we gathered in the Fairbanks offices of the Northern Alaska Tour Company – 17 half-awake people in the dim summer light at 4:30 a.m. – there was a palpable sense of excitement.
My wife and I were carrying layers of polar clothing (at least, as “polar” as you can find in Florida!). And so were the sleepy collection of 15 other Americans, Aussies, and New Zealanders gathered around the coffee machine in an effort …
Recently, my spouse and I found ourselves at the epicenter of a masterfully orchestrated convergence of three great loves – music, cruises, and of course, each other. The venue was a premium class cruise ship full of dedicated music lovers and a dozen well-known jazz virtuosos. Living in this magical sweet spot of almost continuous concerts, seminars and socializing for seven days proved to be a life changing experience.
First the backstory –
Music-themed cruises …
Just a few years ago, Myanmar (formerly Burma) was a closed land, with heavy travel restrictions and limited tourist facilities. Since the broad easing of travel restrictions in 2012, tourism in Myanmar has boomed.
Inle Lake in southern Shan State is a popular stop on many itineraries, famous for its leg-spinning fishermen, floating markets and local communities that dot the ring of the nearly 45-square mile lake. Many travelers choose to stay in Nyuang Shwe …
Nowadays in the Caribbean, an all-inclusive resort experience does not have to mean that your own special interest in travel gets lost in the wider shuffle. Big no longer translates to a lack of attention or absence of options for your own travel focus. This is certainly the case around the island of Jamaica – where the all-inclusive hotel concept is said to have originated back in the Sixties – and where that same concept …
Istanbul, the guidebook said, is a melting pot of cultures, of hidden eateries and native food, melt-in-the-mouth pastries dripping with honey and hearty aubergine kebabs found in the city’s ancient backstreets.
As a child, foreign cuisine began and ended with spaghetti out of tins; back then ‘eating out’ entailed selecting from a slightly sticky laminated menu with pictures of food on it. Which is why, sitting in Mercan Café, a small, crowded eatery found along …
While every state in the union now makes wine, you still won’t find any areas as well-known as Napa and Sonoma. They are two of the most recognized wine regions in the U.S. and they also happen to be right next door to each other in Northern California. If your time is limited, how do you choose?
It’s hard to believe that two places producing wine could be so close yet so different, but it’s …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
