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Some people were born to be underwater.  Submerged beneath the waves, their bodies take on skills and movements befitting a marine creature.  For them, nowhere under the ocean surface can be left unexplored in the quest for a little piece of submarine magic.  And for these born divers, the Dominican Republic is a paradise with two especially fascinating places: the wreck of the St. George and the Padre Nuestro [Our Father] Cave.

The St. George was built in Scotland in 1962 and for twenty years

Two must-see destinations on your Costa Rica vacation are the Arenal Volcano and Northern Plains of Costa Rica.

The tall, impressive Arenal Volcano rises 5,437 feet above the verdant rainforest and neighboring Lake Arenal, framing the skyline with its near perfect cone shape. The spectacular live volcano is easily one of the most photographed landscapes in Costa Rica.

Formed nearly 7,000 years ago, after four centuries of inactivity, Arenal Volcano roared into life with the famous 1968 eruption.

Forget the kitschy song and dance show at the Hilton on Waikiki; it barely scratches the surface of the amazing richness and depth of Hawaiian natural and cultural history. Here are three recommended spots to wet your feet in what will hopefully be a lifelong interest in and admiration of this beautiful chain of islands.

Bishop Museum


Polynesia and Hawaii 101 starts here. Good thing there's not a quiz at the end ... there's much to learn.

Begin your exploration here. The Hawaiian Hall consis

Vacation getaways that are both appealing and off-the-grid are an endangered species to begin with. But even in this rarefied company, the San Blas Archipelago, stretching across the lower half of Panama Caribbean coast, is in a class by itself. Eighty-percent uninhabited, these more than 350 islands, reachable by puddle-jumper flights from Panama City, are as pristine a paradise as you'll find anywhere in the world these days, with occasional lodges, inns, and villages of thatched huts.

What m

by Mary Bergin

Scattered throughout Chicago, Illinois is evidence of creative minds at play: more than 700 pieces of public art. Although local artists get the most commissions, some of the biggest names in modern art — Picasso, Chagall, Calder, Miro -- have also made their mark here, turning “The City That Works” into a world-class museum of modern sculpture. Even better, this museum charges no admission and its works earn the appreciation of not just art experts, but everyone from toddlers to

In April 1982, Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, became the ‘Sister City’ of Himeji, an ancient city in Japan, now a port and a major industrial centre, most importantly the home of the headquarters of Nissan Steel.

When Colonel William Light laid out the city of Adelaide in 1836, he said that the city centre should be encircled by parkland, upon which nobody would ever be allowed to build houses.

And, in that parkland, to commemorate the link between the two cities, they laid out a Japan

por Cristóbal Ramírez

Uno siente tal vértigo al llegar a México DF que lo mejor es hacerse a la idea de que esta megalópolis está formada por multitud de pueblecitos de profundas raíces. Y es cierto.Coyoacán, que significa lugar de los coyotes, es uno de ellos. Aquí, en medio de callejuelas adoquinadas y placitas donde sólo se escuchan los pájaros, uno no siente el síndrome de la gran ciudad. Podemos contemplar la famosa fuente que representa a los coyotes y luego pasear por el Jardín del Cente

We live in California and two of our best friends reside in Florida. We wanted to visit them during the holidays, but didn’t want to endure the stress and aggravation of crowded airports and airplanes – so an opportunity to sail from nearby San Francisco to Ft. Lauderdale through the Panama Canal was especially appealing.

Our cruise was an anomaly for a Holland America Panama Canal Cruise because the usual port of embarkation for the Canal trip is San Diego. However, it was our good fortune that

Sodium chloride has been a world-shaping mineral indeed, prized back into antiquity and beyond, and over the centuries contributing to the growth of trade and even civilization itself in various parts of the world. And though much of it has come from the ocean and open-air salt ponds, a good deal of salt has been mined from underground as well. On a recent trip to Colombia I had the pleasure of visiting a very cool salt mine (both figuratively and literally), which in turn brought to mind anot

The peaceful and shy manatee has been declared a national marine mammal in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica lawmakers this week passed the bill making the endangered Caribbean mammal a national symbol; the honor had been proposed by two school children from the region of Limón after they learned about manatees in school.

Also known as sea cows, manatees are large herbivorous mammals that live in rivers and oceans in tropical climates. On the World Wildlife Fund’s “Endangered Species List”, there are three

As NASA and the part of Florida known as the ‘Space Coast’ is trying to reshape its selfimage after the permanent grounding of the Space Shuttle program, the agency’s last surviving vehicle, Atlantis.

During NASA’s heydays, the agency drew crowds from all over the world to every new rocket launch at Cape Canaveral. But the days of government organized and financed space adventures are long gone, and as the Traveling Reporter discovered during our visit to the Space Coast, some people seem to bel

The crew of Christopher Columbus first discovered tobacco on the island of Hispaniola (today shared by the  Dominican Republic and Haiti), then encountered it again once they got to Cuba. And over the centuries, Cuba has become famous for cigarmaking, but this craft hardly been limited to this single isle – in fact plenty of other countries turn out them out, too, such as the DR, Honduras, Nicaragua, and even the United States (and in some cases in greater numbers).  But especially because of

Shopping is an something that most travelers love to do. While on vacation it’s always fun to practice the art of hunting out the most exotic and exclusive locales with the most original products or, even better, getting a bargain for that special item you always wanted but couldn’t afford.  And Cancun is a destination with more on offer than you could have imagined.  Losing yourself in enormous shopping malls and haggling at the stands that line the plazas can really make your stay in this Mexi

Jazz lovers from Southern California and all over the Western United States have been coming to Thornton Winery in Temecula (north of San Diego) for an amazing twenty six seasons. And amazingly, both the talent line up and the concert experience continue to get better. I’ve been fortunate to have seen some of the true giants of contemporary jazz, including Lee Ritenour, David Sanborn, Bob James, Brian Culbertson, and Keiko Matsui at this intimate and acoustically excellent venue. But Saturday’s

Your bags are ready, items on your travel check list are all crossed off, and you're thinking: "If I forgot something, I won't miss it."

I hate to introduce doubt into your well laid plans but did you consider identity theft? These days it's not just pickpockets or online hackers you have to worry about. Thieves equipped with scanners are lying in wait for your most vulnerable moments.

RFID Theft

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), embedded in all U.S. passports issued after 2006 and now in most

Saying that you have “The Best Climate in the World” is quite a claim. The little town of Atenas Costa Rica, nevertheless has stepped up and asserted that it has the best climate in the world. The motto is plastered across the backs of all buses in Atenas, on a few billboards, and even graces the name of a restaurant in town. Read anything about Atenas and you will find the “best climate” remark.

But is it true?

“For me, Atenas has a perfect climate because we have long sunny days where the temper

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In the current (Winter edition) of Get Up & Go magazine we have an article on Airbnb. There is some controversy around the company in the USA at the moment but we promote the concept as it is another way for travellers to experience up-close-and-personal local attractions and people. Get Up & Go is not endorsing the product but just sharing the various experiences.

 

                                             Rob & Ro Porter, from Victoria, Australia.

We interviewed a couple from Victoria, Rob

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Nithin Coca is a Freelance Writer and author whose traveled to over 44 countries. This is an excerpt from his first book, Traveling Softly and Quietly, now for sale on Amazon.

I looked up as a cute girl walked up and said something in Italian to the man in front of me and then put her bag on the rack above and sat down in our booth. With lightly tanned skin, medium-dark neck-length brown hair, well dressed in a beige suit that went down to her knees, she was very pretty. I wondered if she spoke

If you believe the industry hype, river cruising is riding the rocket of small ship and adventure products in a rapidly growing cruise market. I tend to agree. The anecdotal evidence points to more travellers seeking out products away from the traditional sea and coastal routes and looking inland to the great waterways.

One of the most famous Asian rivers, the Mekong, is set to stage a great showdown as operators from all over the globe take on locals in their own “warships” in an attempt to out