Blogs

For the third and final leg of my Southern business trip, I pulled in to charming Charlottesville, Virginia and was eager to sample one of the town’s premier lodging offerings.

While the popular Boar’s Head Inn, Omni Charlottesville Hotel, and Keswick Hall all seemed interesting, each – IMHO - had its downside (too big, way too big, too stodgy, respectively). Digging a bit deeper, I found the elegant Oakhurst Inn, and judging from the ebullient reviews on TripAdvisor (4.5 stars), Yelp (5 stars)

The truth is that most people arriving at  Bergamo airport ignore the city and prefer to go to Milan right off the bat. (very often it's cheaper to fly in here on airlines including Ryanair, United, and Lufthansa, then pay 10 euros for a 50-kilometre (30-mile) bus ride than flying directly to Milan). But whether you're flying in, or find yourself passing through the Lombardy region - the wonderful city of Bergamo is well worth a day or two of your precious holiday time.

image source: https://flic

Did you know that one of the more prominent beach resorts of Europe was not so long ago locked away behind the Iron Curtain? Bulgaria's town of Nessebar, on the coast of the Black Sea, is home to a booming and still growing resort called Sunny Beach, which began in 1958 as the then Soviet régime's version of fun in the sun. 

Sunny Beach's menu of beaches, culture, leisure, dining, and activities on water and land is such that the visitor will be have no choice but to leave some for the next time.

Africa is of course a huge continent (despite the belief of a surprising number of Americans that it is a single country), but in all its vastness I can’t think of any other city that serves visitors anything like the heady cocktail that is Cape Town, South Africa: a vibrant, progressive, multicultural metropolis with fantastic historic sights, dining, hotels, entertainment, and shopping, all against a backdrop of spectacular natural beauty and with equally mesmerizing sights and experiences w

One of my absolute favorite scenes in the 2012 movie Life of Pi is when a huge glittering whale jumps out of a sparkling night sea behind Pi’s raft, everything around them glowing from amazing bioluminescence. Another favorite is the illuminated neon forest in the movie Avatar.

Bioluminescence is most common in the tropics. Walking along a tropical beach at night or sea kayaking after dark, especially the closer you get to the equator, you often can see sparkling lights in the water. It seems

A fair number of folks know that Great Britain is still hanging on to its colony at the Iberian Peninsula's southernmost Iberia, Gibraltar. Fewer are aware that Spain, too, has its own enclaves hereabouts – though a big difference is that they’re not colonies – carved out of another country (those who have been paying attention to the international news, though, might have been hearing about African migrants trying to break into them). Ensconced along Morocco‘s Mediterranean coast, under Iberia

Whether or not you’re a shopper (and I can’t say that I particularly am), I do love me some good travel mementos. However, I’m not talking about the rubbish you see at the average stand aimed at tourists who barely know where they are (I’ll never forget the joints hawking spangly Mexican sombreros at the Leaning Tower of Pisa).

Whether you’re shopping for yourself or others, there are certain items that will always be worth seeking out. Paintings and other kinds of art are a prime example – wh

by José Miguel Rodríguez

You think your job is stressful? Imagine, for just a moment, being an air traffic controller. Have trouble imagining? We invite you to read this quick overview through to the end and then tell us: Could this be a job for you

Admittedly, air traffic control is not for the faint of heart. Though very much behind the scenes and (as it were) under the radar, this work has different aspects depending on the individual unit where it’s carried out. In a given tower there will be

Last fall we traveled back east to New England to be part of the annual fall festival of colors. We put over 1,000 miles on our rental car, and were treated to great weather, superb accommodations, and exquisite dining. We also met some wonderful Americans – in the land where the country began.

There’s a lot to see in Massachusetts. On this trip we decided to stay away from the big cities and concentrate on small communities where we might discover something of that hometown flavor we yearn for

“Honey, I still don’t see any action in the restaurant!”  

We were sitting on the balcony of our hotel high above the Adriatic with a view directly into a large, empty, open-air restaurant built in a cave which was also high above the crashing surf. For experienced independent travelers we were getting a little concerned. Did we just make a big leap of faith on a good friend’s recommendation to go to this isolated location for an exceptional dining experience?

The Journey of Faith and a Twinge

Sayulita is a beach for adventurers. Age does not matter, and nor does whether you come as a family, a couple or with friends. What attracts tourists to Playa Sayulita is the fact that it places new experiences, from surfing to camping by the edge of the sea and making friends from around the world, within their grasp. In this Nayarit paradise, relaxation is for the nighttime; during the day, adrenaline and joy will keep your senses alive and your heart racing.

If you are already an experienced s

I love all of the Balearic islands for overlapping but different reasons, and there’s no question that the third-largest is definitely a change of pace from Majorca and certainly Ibiza. Not that there isn’t nightlife, as well as luxury and touches of glam here and there. But Minorca (aka Menorca, as they say in Catalan and Spanish) has managed to make its way into the 21st century with more of that laid-back, old-time island vibe blessedly intact (even despite the fact that tourism has certainl

Costa Rica welcomes rainy season (also called the “green season”) like a parched traveler reaching an oasis after a long, dry desert crossing. Dry season dust is gone and Costa Rica’s landscape springs back to life with lush green vegetation, carpets of blooming flowers, and new animal life.

Costa Rica in general has two major seasons – “summer,” or the dry season from December to April, and rainy season from May to November. Mornings during rainy season are almost always sunny, with showers in

What do you get when you build the world’s highest-altitude glass-walled rotating restaurant overlooking a 360-degree panorama of the Swiss Alps? What if deep below this restaurant carved into glacial ice, you can explore lit passageways connecting large grottos filled with ornate ice carvings, an ice altar for celebrating weddings, and another room completely outfitted as a playground with slides and ladders for the children? My first words to describe these wonders high above Sass Fee atop th

It’s true that Prague, with its ravishing Old Town, bangin' nightlife, and other allures, is enough to hold any visitor spellbound for an entire vacation and then some. But much of the essence of the Czech Republic flows from the cities, towns, and countryside outside the capital. Many visitors don’t make it out here, but there are some marvelous rewards easily reachable in day trips or overnights (in some cases you can even fit two spots in a single day, since they’re fairly close together).

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by Felice Hardy

Happily, powderhounds in withdrawal don’t have to hang on till December to hit the ski resorts. The Southern Hemisphere is happy to oblige us with some superb skiing on amazing terrain throughout the southern Andes, where the reversal of seasons means of course it’s winter there right now.

The South America skiing season in Argentina and Chile runs from June through October, with skiing for all levels, modern lifts, some great off-piste skiing, quirky resorts and e

Are you looking for a​n ideal​ tropical paradise for an upcoming vacation?

One with a 10-acre pristine ,​sandy ​beach, superb food, a fabulous spa and fitness center, a nearby 18-hole championship golf course, yoga and tennis, a choice of three swimming pools with pool activities and tranquil waterfalls, and ​gorgeous lush​ vegetation?

How about a gaggle of friendly peacocks who will welcome you every morning to breakfast or a few resident iguanas to visit with you around the