Will Google harness its awesome search capacity, plus its Youtube, plus social indicators from a person's searches to make travel suggestions and shape travel experiences? And book travel too.

We say, yes. It says "yes," too.

It's widely accepted that travelers are seriously unhappy with online travel agents (OTA's) - the big-box airline ticket aggregators like Expedia and Priceline.

The reasons are obvious: OTA's are complex, complicated and have no flexibility to address a traveler's speci

As the economy continues to lag many Americans are discovering the world of vacation rentals. Families in particular are finding that vacation rentals are a much cheaper way to enjoy first class accommodations at reasonable prices. Renters can visit exotic locations and expensive cities for half the cost and three times the space of a traditional hotel. However, despite the perks of vacation rentals, many people have yet to try them out. There are various reasons for this, but one common issue i

Montana is cowboy country, pardner, and cowboys -- and of course cowgirls -- wake up hungry. You, too, will rise and take a shine at breakfast to to these luscious buttermilk flapjacks.

The Resort at Paws Up serves food that will satisfy the Western outlaw in you. Occupying miles of untamed wilderness in Montana's Blackfoot Valley, Paws Up goes way beyond the usual dude ranch, offering modern, spacious lodgings and all sorts of traditional western adventures, like horseback riding and fishing

Why this is one of the best places for walking holidays in Spain!!

The Sierra Nevada

Sierra Nevada represents the highest massif in Europe after the Alps, with Mulhacen at 3482m is the highest peak in the Iberian peninsular. The highest peaks can remain snow capped for the much of the year which is unusual seeing as its only 33km from the Mediterranean coast.  The Sierra Nevada, designated Andalucia's second national park in 1999 after Donana. Extends over a range of 2000km2, through the regions o

There is no shortage of niche travel labels out there – ecotourism, responsible travel, sustainable travel, ethical travel, experiential travel, mindful travel, real travel, good travel, pro-poor travel, community-based tourism, local travel etc. I suspect, though, that more than just a few of them are either meaningless or confusing to travel consumers. And we know that some of these labels have lost their potency as a result of unscrupulous entrepreneurs' false application of the terms (common

Costa Rica is known for its adventures. One that draws adventure enthusiasts from all over the world is scuba diving in Costa Rica’s warm and beautiful waters.

The “Rich Coast” in Central America offers under-the-sea adventures ranging from impressive coral reefs to vast schools of fish and other marine life to shipwrecks. With two coastlines, the Pacific and the Caribbean, Costa Rica presents scuba divers with a myriad of fascinating dive sites. Warm, tropical waters off Costa Rica stay near an

Chau's Fresh Fruit and Juice also serves fresh steamed corn and boiled peanuts. Located at Maunakea Market.

You'll surely wish you'd have a kitchen to cook in when you stroll around Chinatown on a busy Sunday morning. Shop after shop overflows with fresh produce, meats and seafood -- a feast for the eyes as well as the palette. The streets are abuzz with locals shopping and haggling. You'll want to do some of the same if you're tempted by the myriad little shops with Chinese goods ranging from

In a relatively recent article that proved very popular with readers and travel industry pros, New Media Travel asked, "Why Are Hotel Websites so Boring?"

We had our own theories, especially the one that said hotels do not want to offend certain potential customers by showing, for example, mixed-race couples or, say,  real families having fun. These latter images might offend childless guests.

We also argued that hotel websites need to use more video...whatever it takes to create an emotionally

by Barbara Ramsay Orr

For someone with a healthy appetite like me, the lure of Thailand and Thai food is irresistible. I love the temples, the generous and polite people, the golden Buddhas, and all of the colour and drama of Bangkok. But I am an unapologetic foodie, and the moments of culinary bliss that I have experienced in Bangkok figure prominently in my memories of this city, right up there with the saffron-clad monks and the jewelled temples.

Bangkok is a big city, and it can be intimida

I’m standing on the deck of a mighty wooden treasure ship, 170 feet long and 495 tons, watching tourists amble and poke about – but I admit, in my mind's eye I’m picturing pirates, sailors, and skeezy, barnacle-encrusted zombies from Davy Jones’ locker slashing, parrying and whizzing through air filled with flames and cannonballs. 

Forgive me, I’m afraid that over the years, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has wormed its way all too far into my head. But enough - a shake of the head, an

Hey kids, believe it or not, there was spam long before the Internet! And now these leaner times have, shall we say, enhanced the appreciation of many for the canned processed pig known as capital-s Spam, churned out by the Hormel company in Austin, Minnesota since 1937 (though in many places the enthusiasm never really went away -- especially in the Asia/Pacific part of the world, where since the 1940's it's even earned an enduring place in local cuisines of places like South Korea, the Philipp

The movie Anaconda was a box office hit when it was released in 1997. Starring Jennifer Lopez and telling the story of a group of documentary makers who make enemies with a giant anaconda in the Amazon rainforest, it brought the drama of the jungle to cinema screens and TVs all over the world. Much of the movie was shot in the spectacular landscapes around the  Brazilian city of Manaus.

Anacondas: How deadly?

It doesn’t take long to realize why they chose the anaconda to play the leading role in

THE MCKIM, MEAD & WHITE BURIAL GROUND FOR NEW YORK'S RICH AND FAMOUS

Durante el pasado mes de noviembre, la Alianza Francesa en Managua fue la sede de la VIII Bienal de Artes Visuales Nicaragüenses (BAVNIC 8). Contó con los proyectos de cinco protagonistas, un colectivo de 4 creadores y una artista invitada. Asimismo, como jurado se involucró un panel de expertos internacionales provenientes de Colombia, Costa Rica y Guatemala. El gran recibimiento que obtuvo la actividad fue motivo de júbilo para la Fundación Ortiz-Gurdián, organizadora del evento.

Según Juanita

If you suddenly discover that your children's grandparents have gone missing, check their closets to see if their backpacks-on-wheels are gone. Then check your email to see if they sent a quick message from an internet cafe in a South American city. They may have done it again.

Grandma and Grandpa went to do a service project somewhere. More than likely, it's remote and off-the-grid. You might not hear much from
them, until they return home with photos of mud-brick homes and barefoot
children wit

Thoughts of Switzerland don’t normally evoke images of verdant olive groves. But Lugano, Switzerland’s southern-most city  is situated on the Italian border with mild Mediterranean-like temperatures. You can sense Italy’s cultural influence not only in the obvious primary language spoken but in the village bustle clustered around top end boutique shops and historic food markets like Gabbani's Gourmet Store (great olive selection) lining Via Nassa and Via Cattedrale. The landscape is studded with

BA Sohotel

By Roy Heale

Palermo with its cobbled streets, historic architecture, parks, the Zoo and the Botanical gardens, the largest exhibition center in the country, its racetrack, the polo field, and the Galileo planetarium, is one of the city's most historic neighborhoods and well represents the Buenos Aires of yesterday and today.

Considered to be a funky, bohemian neighbourhood, Palermo is popular with residents and tourists alike due its festive atmosphere. It is the largest barrio, or nei

In February 2009, Martinique and its sister island Guadeloupe took an unaccustomed turn in the world's headlines with heated general strikes over inequality and the cost of living, resulting in the first ever cancellation of Martinique's Carnival. The poobahs in Paris responded by raising salaries and other concessions, President Nicholas Sarkozy paid a conciliatory visit last summer, and things pretty much returned to normal.

So when I headed down to check things out a couple of weeks ago, I f