Most of the bases for cruising have already been covered: We know how to keep your floating vacation afloat, how to find the best ships for singles, how to survive a cruise with Norwalk virus and how to cruise with the kids. But, as recent news stories have warned us, there may be a dark side to cruising for those who are not prepared.
Terry Riley, Ph.D., author of the book Travel Can Be Murder…
Museums sometimes seem to fall into the same old categories and might not always be very enthralling, even if a particular museum has a good reputation. At the museums featured here, they don’t have such problems, because their collections are anything but ordinary — and they really can’t even be categorized, as far as museums go. How often do you come across a series of exhibits devoted solely to ghosts, dentistry, shoes, hair or funeral …
For well over 2000 years, the peoples of three faiths have revered the near Middle East as a holy land. No area of the world has been more gifted with religious significance. Christian pilgrims have traveled to Israel, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Greece and Italy to achieve a fuller understanding of their religious heritage. The first pilgrims traveled a difficult path on the dangerous roads of the old Roman Empire. Today’s travelers will find their …
In 1872, Yellowstone National Park became the first national park in the United States. Today, there are 390 areas under the National Park domain. Every state with the exception of Delaware has some National Park Service land. This land includes national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, lake and sea shores, rivers, trails, historic sites, and the White House.
The National Park system provides plenty of opportunity for a variety of vacations and tours. …
Is it really possible that less is more? If you are talking about small ship and niche cruising, the answer is a definitive “Yes!” Whether you want to cruise on a tall-masted ship, sail the Amazon, visit small, secluded islands or see Antarctica up close and personal, niche cruising offers a fantastic alternative to mega-liner cruise ships. Because most niche cruise lines are operated by smaller companies, their itineraries and even their existence is often …
Approximately 20 kilometers north of downtown Quito, smack through the middle of Ecuador, stands the official marker for the Equator…but does it really mark the fabled line? It appears the answer is not quite as rock-solid as the materials used to build the marker.
The “Mitad del Mundo” (or ‘Middle of the World’) is a large, government-sanctioned official marker visited by tour buses, private tourists and public transit about one hour outside of Ecuador’s capital …
There’s a simple requirement for anyone thinking of a garden tour: do you love gardens? If so, please read on. The cultivation of plants for food long predates history. The earliest evidence for ornamental gardens, however, is seen in Egyptian tomb paintings of the 1500s BC; they depict lotus ponds surrounded by rows of acacias and palms. The other ancient gardening tradition is from Persia. Darius the Great was said to have had a “paradise …
One of the nicest things about the world’s greatest art galleries is that they tend to be in the world’s greatest cities – which is incredibly convenient. Once you’ve walked through kilometres of galleries and squinted at countless treasures until your arty-farty quotient is exhausted, you can soak up the vibe of the city around you. Theatres, restaurants, pubs, clubs, parks and shops galore will inject new life into tired eyes and feet, so you’re …
Somewhat dishevelled in my saggy seated Bermuda’s, I passed through customs and sashayed into the arrivals hall at Windhoek’s Hosea Kutako International Airport. A sign bearing my name was flashed by the chauffer sent to deliver the SUV I’d hired.
As I was low on time, a quick vehicle overview was conducted in the airport car park. It was a Nissan double-cab, kitted out for high-end self-drive safari excursions; it came complete with a roof …
As you board the plane, you get that feeling of being special upon hearing those words from the hostess, “Welcome onboard,” as they guide you to your seat. It’s at this point that all economy passengers no longer feel special as they begin the painstaking walk through the first-class section. Some gawk at the ergonomically designed lie-flat seats, others glare at the array of top-quality glossy magazines and others eyeball all the fingertip technology.
In …
Dear Travel IQ: My husband and I are making our lifelong dream a reality: this summer, we’re going to Italy! And not just Italy – we’ll be making our way through Germany, France, Belgium and England! Unlike my husband, though, I’m pretty worried about “fitting in”: I don’t want someone taking advantage of us because they know we’re tourists. On top of that, I sometimes have social anxieties about standing out in a crowd. …
Encountering the gorilla in its natural habitat is an extraordinary experience. The distinction between the observer and the observed is blurred, and you never know just how near the gorillas will venture for a closer look! For animal and nature lovers, the opportunity to meet a mountain gorilla face to face can prove to be the experience of a lifetime.
A gorilla safari is not for the timid traveler. It is an extremely active journey …
When you hear this phrase, the “bread basket” of the Roman Empire, a panorama of beautiful travel photos may spring to mind, from Greece, Turkey, Spain…
Surprisingly, these are the wrong postcards. The “bread basket” of the Roman Empire was their provinces in North Africa, covering vast swatches of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. While today’s Sahara desert is rapidly expanding, there are still areas of these countries where you can get an idea of …
When I took off on a 106-day trip around the world this February, my mind was like a New York City subway platform at rush hour — there were hundreds of thoughts all wanting to come along on the trip, all rushing forward at the same time. The poor little thought that got pushed right out of the fray and missed the train was the one of how much energy it would take to accomplish …
