If you’re looking for cosmopolitan urban culture or beautiful buildings, Port Elizabeth won’t be your first choice for a South African holiday destination. It’s a busy yet relatively crime-free industrial city (important to the South African motor industry) that marks the eastern end of the Garden Route. Although the city has been ravaged by industrialization and thoughtless modernization, one or two buildings do stand out in an otherwise featureless city centre. Thankfully, a couple of …
Browsing: planning
Dear Airline Industry,
The time has come for you to start listening to travelers’ concerns. Not just hearing, but actually listening.
I have many years of personal and professional experience in the travel industry. My father was a pilot for a major U.S. carrier and my brother currently flies for another major U.S airline. I was raised around planes, understanding from a very young age about respecting other passengers, the flight crew, and airline representatives. …
Wales is a place that’s impossible to dislike. Tucked away on the west side of Britain, Wales marches to the beat of its own drum — one packed with Celtic lore, friendly faces and a unique identity all its own. The people of Wales — wry, welcoming and incessantly warm — are perhaps the country’s strongest selling point. But behind these warmhearted souls is a land full of charm, history and culinary delights. Animal lovers …
I wrote a piece a while ago about the risks of travel. My point, mainly, was this: Travel means taking risks, and travelers, in turn, should be prepared for things to go wrong. Why? Because, on the other hand, it is just so awesome when things go really, really right.
There is nothing you can do to guarantee your safety. Should you get blackout drunk by yourself, and stumble alone down a dark street? Best
It’s been thirty years since I last visited Puerto Vallarta, but in retrospect, that trip in my early 20’s turned out to be a life defining one. I credit the time spent among the locals there –so welcoming and eager to include us in their daily lives- for my later foray into travel writing as a profession.
Located on Mexico’s Pacific Coast where Jalisco and Nayarit meet, the town is tucked among the lush rainforests …
Located about 50 miles off the coast of Venezuela Bonaire is the “B” of the Dutch Caribbean “ABC Islands” (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) and has long been known among scuba enthusiasts as a diver’s paradise. (In fact, that slogan is emblazoned on their licence plates!) Due to the island’s forward thinking preservationists, all of its surrounding waters have been strictly environmentally protected which makes for resplendently healthy reefs and thriving marine life. Bonaire’s diving is …
Only a few months ago, I found myself in Costa Rica. I was staying with a friend at an all-inclusive resort. Lounging next to the pool with an umbrella in my tropical drink, I found myself thinking about how these all-inclusive resorts are known in French as “colonie de vacances.” Literally translated, this means “vacation colony,” like a little settlement established on some distant planet, or a late 19th century bastion of the …
If you’re tired of being clobbered by hotel bills, find traveling alone has lost its allure, or you long to see a city through the eyes of a local, it’s time to go CouchSurfing.
That’s the amazing international initiative where people open up their homes to travelers and show them around the local sights. Although a free bed is certainly a huge attraction, it’s not just a scheme for cheapskates. It’s also the best way …
Whether you’re heading to the Caribbean for your honeymoon, planning a European tour to celebrate your 25th anniversary or simply pitching a tent for the weekend with your new partner, you need to remember that travel can bring out the best—and the worst— in people. In addition to the usual hazards (flight delays, unexpected thunderstorms, lost luggage and so on) there’s the added pressure of simply being together.
This is, of course, the …
Adventurers have found many ways of conquering the legendary Cape to Cairo route – by pedal bike, motorbike, battered Land Rover or fragile aircraft. But if you really want to travel this fabled journey in style, climb aboard the Rovos Rail.
This South African train bills itself as the most luxurious in the world, and for once it isn’t over-the-top hyperbole. The exquisitely restored carriages cocoon you in a world far removed from reality, in …
Nobody leaves on a trip expecting to lose their travel documents or have them stolen, but it does happen. Sometimes the thieves are so slick, it will be hours before you notice your passport is gone. You’ll obviously notice it much sooner if your purse, along with your money, credit cards and other items, is stolen.
Such thefts are devastating and can ruin your holiday abroad. Even if you’re careful and take precautions, it can …
Recently, I had a client contact me regarding her upcoming trip to India. “Allison, I am embarking on a new adventure,” she said. “I am traveling to India for dental work. A fifth of the cost and the facilities and technology are just as good, if not better,” she told me. The previous week, another client called regarding his knee-replacement surgery in Hyderabad. “Visiting India has always been on my list. Instead of bringing home …
There is nothing like traveling internationally. For me, I love the thrill of seeing new people, learning new cultures, butchering a new language and living the history of the world! Of course the best part of an international trip for me is coming back home—for me returning home always puts things in perspective. However, traveling abroad is not without some perils. A good travel agent can guide you through them, but there are some passport …
Those looking for an August getaway without paying the high hotel costs associated with visiting Europe at the height of tourist season might want to consider booking a stay in Brussels. After business-people frequenting the capital of Belgium and the European Union vacate the city, you can find a range of hotels that offer weekend rates during the weekdays.
Using Brussels as a base, you can then take short day trips via car, boat or …