Amsterdam is the greatest small city in the world. It overflows with character, 17th century merchant houses and distinctive canals who themselves are listed as a World Heritage.
It’s impossible to escape the city’s history, like that of the quietly elegant De L’Europe, built in the 1800s on the banks of the Amstel River in the heart of Amsterdam’s canal area. Owned by Heineken International, who recently gave it a $83-million facelift, De L’Europe is …
Have you ever visited Kaua’i? Chances are, if you did you saw terrific beaches, not to mention great hotels, world-class golfing, sweet local restaurants, and (if you got really lucky), the elusive “green flash” which supposedly appears on the famous north shore of the island just as the sun dips below the horizon.
Of course if you go to Kaua’i for spiritual travel, there’s a lot more to see and do than have a Mai …
Tourists planning to visit Vienna might want to consider renting a car and taking a day trip to Eisenstadt. This town located in Austria’s Burgenland province, the easternmost region of Austria, is situated about 40 kilometers ( 25 miles) from Vienna. Here one finds the home of classical composer Joseph Haydn who lived in this town for over 40 years in his capacity as Prince Esterhazy’s Kapellmeister (music director). While this destination is not as …
Have you ever noticed that despite being a spiritual person—or a good person—it all goes out the window when you hit that airport security line? Perhaps that’s what airports were designed for; to test your spiritual mettle.
I travel. A lot. So on my overseas trip of nearly 30 hours in the air, I created these quick tips to keep your sanity, and maybe a little bit of your spiritual practice, intact:
The golden years are a good time for people to travel. Families are grown, so seniors don’t have to plan their vacations around school holidays. Retired from the nine-to-five work grind, seniors don’t have to limit their vacations to just two weeks a year. They can go whenever they want for as long as they want.
One of the best parts about traveling at this age is the number of discounts available for senior citizens: …
Almost everyone agrees: some very tasty wine comes from Spain. As a Barcelona resident with “localvore” tendencies, I mostly buy bottles from nearby Emporda, Priorat and Penedès. Of the three, Penedès is the most established and also closest to the city, making it an effortless option for a wine-tasting day-trip.
When locals think Penedès, they think “cava.” Cava, if you haven’t been lucky enough to sip it yet, is like champagne but from Catalonia. It’s …
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 …
There’s an exciting moment whenever you set off on a game drive and the ranger asks what you’d like to see.
It always makes me laugh, as if this khaki-clad Dr Doolittle can conjure up spectacular animal sightings on command.
But if you do yearn for a specific view of wildlife – a leopard in a tree or a wild dog hunt, perhaps – you can increase your chances enormously by picking a destination slap …
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 …
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 …
The next move is the most important of them all, our tango teacher said as I wobbled precariously on one leg.
My other leg was provocatively hooked behind my partner’s thigh, and I couldn’t imagine executing any other move except falling on the floor. “The final move is a sexy face,” she said. You can’t get away with a “trying not to fall over” face in the tango, so we aimed for sexy or sophisticated …
Those of you who lived through the 1970s or who have rock-n-roll hearts like I do will know the tune. It’s Iceland’s soundtrack, and it kept playing in my head as I explored the island country’s extreme landscape:
“We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and …
