Blogs

by Asli Pelit

Along with the dramatic blue waters of Turkey‘s Bosphorus, the opulent dome and minarets of Topkapi Palace and the Hagia Sophia, travelers to Istanbulalways come away wowed by its incredible cuisine. And I confess, as a seventh-generation local, I dream about the sight of a well prepared Turkish table when I’m away from home.

Atop seven hills where two continents meet, encircled by the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, the perfect setup of the ancient city once known as Constantinop

Santa Teresa is one of those iconic Costa Rica tourism spots. Paradise found for so many international and Costa Rican tourists who “discovered” Santa Teresa’s pristine beaches, world-class surf breaks and lushly forested coastline. Yet as more and more travelers flock to experience these beautiful treasures, the isolation bubble stretches to the max, bringing with it the growing pains of any popular tourism destination.

The laid-back beach town sits near the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula

How surprising is this: In the second half of last year, fewer that 1% of visitors arrived at a hotel or travel booking site, "via a social media link or a link shared by by a friend. So reports Hotelmarketing.com

Does this mean hotels are wasting their time chasing the Holy Grail of Twitter and Facebook?

Could be. We love our friends' photos and status updates, the report goes on to say, and it's very true that social media platforms and channels do develop loyalty.
The contests do lead to deep

Manor on Golden Pond is named after the hit movie classic On Golden Pond starring Katherine Hepburn and Henry Fonda. Heck, the cast and crew stayed here during the 1981 filming which was a huge PR boost for a village of a few specialty shops and marina on Squam Lake. Although monumental, this movie is but one event weaved into the much broader fabric of time in New Hampshire's Lakes Region. For over 150 years, tranquility and natural beauty have been the main features of escaping here.

Manor on

Figuring out a way to get my kids to learn how to ski exhausted me.

It was mainly the tedious, multi-faceted preparation/research process that freaked me out, like deciding on a destination that was easily accessible from my home in northern New Jersey.  And choosing a resort that was appealing, well-reviewed, and as parent-friendly as it was kid-friendly.  And making sure that other activities were available to keep my 14 year-old son (Eddie) and 11 year-old daughter (Lee) occupied after their

In the post-war years, a new tram system was being born. Although tramways were being dismantled all over the United Kingdom, tram enthusiast Claude Lane, who owned a factory which made battery-electric milk floats, adapted his manufacturing techniques to build a scaled-down double-deck tram, to run on a 15-inch gauge track.

Lane’s miniature tram ran off batteries, and the minimum-gauge was easily portable. So, Lane was able to amortise some of the costs of building his miniature tram by exhibiti

Will Smith y su hijo Jaden protagonizaron el filme futurista «Después de la Tierra» (After Earth). El largometraje fue estrenado en EE.UU. durante el pasado mes de junio. Parte de su grabación fue realizada en medio de la naturaleza de Costa Rica. Esta sirvió de ambientación para una trama que gira en torno a la supervivencia en un planeta Tierra indómito y hostil.

La película tiene lugar en un futuro lejano de aproximadamente 1.000 años. En ese entonces, sucede un cataclismo que obliga a la hum

Britain is acknowledged as the musical capital of Europe.  It is famed for being home to the The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Elton John, Rod Stewart, the Sex Pistols, The Clash, Elvis Costello, Coldplay, Adele, Florence+The Machine, One Direction – legendary figures  across the world.

VisitBritain and UK Music have joined forces to exploit this worldwide interest in British music to boost tourism. A report – Wish You Were Here - suggests that with the right backing th

Hello, all FantasyFesters!

You are in for a treat both for the Fantasy Fest event itself and for Key West. While I've only been 11 times, I have learned a few things through personal experience or the experience of others, so here are the TravelSlut® 's top tips for first-time attendee (in no particular order):

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Key West is a walking town especially on and around Duval Street so comfortable, soled shoes or sandals area must. Don't walk downtown in barefeet as the str

Buenos Aires, Argentina

By Roy Heale

In a surprise move during the first week of October the Spanish Axel Hotel Group announced the sale of its Buenos Aires property to a group of Argentine investors and henceforth it will be known as the BeHotel. The former owners did not give any reasons for this unexpected move but local travel industry speculators blamed the decrease in LGBT visitors to Argentina during recent years and the national government's foreign exchange controls. However, the new owne

Starting today, the starting cannon for the first ever Cretan Union Cup will announce not only a great regatta, but a celebration of 100 years of Greek unity. A century ago, Crete united with mainland Greece in a momentous union, and this morning in Chania (some boats below) a centuries old sailing tradition will be reignited.

Crete, the cradle of European civilization since the time of the Bronze Age Minoans, is now the scene of a renewed pledge of oneness in between mother Greece and the fabled

Most people have no idea where the little island I call home is. Prince Edward Island known as the "Gentle Island" or "Abegweit" this in Mi'kmaq, Epekwit'k, meaning cradled (or cradle) on the waves. Prince Edward Island is on the east coast of Canada, right beside New Brunswick. And no.. we do not live in Igloos. We live in houses! The population of PEI is around 141,000 give or take a few. The capital city is Charlottetown and our only other big city is Summerside. To give you an idea of how sm

por Cristóbal Ramírez

La luz es suave y nos envía destellos ocres al escaparse por las callejuelas. Estamos en el Mediterráneo y Montpellier, la capital del Languedoc-Roussillon, se muestra vibrante y resplandeciente. Y no solo por su arquitectura, de corte burgués y parisino. También por su vida, que se hace en la calle, al contrario que en otros lugares del centro y norte de Francia. La Place de la Comedie, el centro neurálgico, podría estar en cualquier capital europea: balconadas elegantes,

One of the top day tours on Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast, Veragua Rainforest Research & Adventure, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month.

The highly popular nature and adventure attraction, and important scientific research center, was four years in the making and now five years open. In that time, the tour destination has achieved a long list of successes.

“Everyone is very proud of the work and effort we have given during these years,” said Federico Quirós, Administrative Financial Man

Walking upward on steep cobbled lanes through the village of Lugano Switzerland still enshrouded by morning mists rising from Lago di Lugano is certainly one of life's finer ways to get a workout. If you're up for even more climbing (or a short cab ride), include a visit to Fattoria Moncucchetto, Lugano’s only urban winery.

On a narrow plateau carved out high above the village with breathtaking lake views, family-run Fattoria Moncucchetto sources their base Merlot grapes from a tiny 2.5 acres ons

There are 270 clubs and resorts in the United States, Canada, Mexico offering clothes free vacations of all kinds. And the American Association for Nude Recreation reports 213,000 members spending 400 million plus bucks on nude vacations. It's a global industry.

The Florida-based site is pretty savvy about its mission ("to responsibly enjoy nudity in the company of our family and friends…and to be treated as law-abiding citizens"), and offers many pages of insights including "From a Women's Pers

After school wrapped up in June, my family (me, my wife Sue, our 15 year-old son Eddie, and our 11-year-old daughter Lee) began scouting locations for our summer vacation.

We established three key criteria to follow in the choosing of our destination.  It needed to...

1.  Offer easy access to a combination of fun as well as relaxing activities.

2.  Be a top-rated, well-established resort facility in a beautiful location.

3.  Be situated within a three-hour drive of our northern New Jersey abode.

W

Uganda is host to slightly more than half the world’s remaining population of mountain gorillas. With a wild population of just 880, mountain gorillas are one of the most critically endangered species on earth, according to Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder and CEO of CTPH (Premier Safaris Intimate gorilla experience partner). 

Inspired by the emerging field of “conservation medicine”, Kalema-Zikusoka launched CTPH in 2003. Today the initiative reaches some 40,000 people, teaching them how to pre

Miami’s South Beach is the quintessential “party capital of America.” But what if your goals run more toward sun-drenched beaches and culture? On a recent sojourn to SoBe, I had the opportunity to stay in the elegant and refined “colonial grand dame” of Ocean Drive, the Betsy Hotel. In the crowded South Beach hotel space, the Betsy stands out like no other. Sure the Delano, National, Shore Club and more attract a vast amount of attention, but it is the boutique Betsy, that is my rationale for a

El Parque Nacional Piedras Blancas (PNPB) fue creado por el decreto ejecutivo #20.522 del MIRENEM el 17 de setiembre de 1991. Se encuentra en la costa sur del Pacífico de Costa Rica, específicamente en el golfo Dulce (Puntarenas). Está al oeste de la ciudad de Golfito, al noroeste de la autopista Interamericana. Colinda al este con el Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Golfito y al oeste con la Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce y el Humedal Térraba-Sierpe.

Tiene un clima tropical muy húmedo, con una