Now is the best time to start planning a quick getaway in sunny Portugal. June is already the beginning of the high season, but still not plagued with the crowds of July and August, making it the perfect time for an escapade in southern lands. And least you should think that there's nothing more to be found in this lovely country other than beautiful beaches, let me prove you wrong. June is a time of celebration in Portugal and many cities and towns hold their annual festivals around this time.

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The City of Light has many things to offer besides welcoming locals, famed French cuisine and the Eiffel Tower. A bustling city year-round, this tourist hot spot is home to some very exclusive restaurants and shops, also custom-made finds or 'bespoke,' including jewelry, scents, fashion, and more.

In the high-end jewelry district of rue de la Paix is a shoppers treasure for timeless and unique creations by Phillip Tournaire. Tournaire has been creating unique jewelry for clients for more than 3

Visitors to Costa Rica’s northwest Guanacaste region probably don’t realize the area was once a thriving community for the indigenous Chorotega tribe. Indigenous history and traditions maintain a low profile in the Central American country, yet if you look closely they are all around you.

Spreading across Costa Rica’s entire northern Pacific zone, Guanacaste, for instance, is called the “Chorotega region” after its original inhabitants. The Nicoya Peninsula is named for a Chorotega chief who rule

I love my husband and we are truly best friends but when we get into one of our arguments about something meaningless in a “drive me crazy” kind of way; I need to head for the hills.

One of my favorite ways to get the lay of the land while traveling is to go walking and one of the things I love about San Francisco is that it is a great walking town. There are so many places you can reach without ever getting into a car. It is a great place to get in your daily exercise without resorting to the hotel's workout facility just by sightseeing.

Here are a couple of my favorite running/walking routes. Whether you are staying in the Union Square area or south of Market (where most

by Hardie Karges and Kaleel Sakakeeny

(please watch the 1-min Video PostCard below)

Twenty years after the fall of communism, tourism is finally on the rise in Eastern Europe, and for those in the know, it’s the number one tourist destination in the world—cheap, beautiful, and friendly.  So why is it so hard to find a budget hotel in a region where incomes are still only half that of the West?  

Mostly, people are looking in the wrong places. 

The government-related agencies are now deeply i

Nice is one of Europe’s oldest tourist resorts and the beach is right in town, just a stone’s throw from shopping, entertainment and culture in the world. Nice is France‘s fifth largest city and a perfect destination for those who want to combine sunbathing with sightseeing. Furthermore, it is only a day trip away to the mountains and the beautiful Provencal villages.

1. Stunning 7 km of beach right in town

Promenade des Anglais is a 7 km long walk avenue along the Mediterranean coast. The crowd h

There are of course a bunch of Mexican patriotic holidays that come around every year.  But the that's caught on most outside Mexico is Cinco de Mayo – especially in the next-door United States, most notably out on the West Coast, but really, pretty much wherever there’s a taco/burrito/chimichanga emporium (I mean, when you’ve reached Omaha…).  As with St. Patrick’s Day, for many CDM has had its origins obscured and become just another excuse for carousing, so I’d like to take a moment to remind

High up on a hillside overlooking the waters of a vast silvery blue lake...Montana. Serenity and sweeping views yet minutes away from a bustling historic village...Montana…Hotel Montana, that is, in Lucerne, Switzerland. Embodying art deco magnificence with no expense spared, this grand dame is one of the last of its kind, built in 1910 on a former dairy farm perched in resplendent isolation yet no more than a minute vertical ride via Switzerland’s shortest funicular to the lake shore promenade

Tourism is not only the world's largest industry, but also often its most misunderstood.  Many people outside of the industry believe that tourism professionals are on a permanent vacation.  Others complain about tourism's negative impact.  They see greater traffic on the streets, they note the waits in restaurants and cultural events, and complain that visitors often get lost, are loud, and even rude.  While certainly the tourism industry has to plead guilty to some of these charges, any fair m

Costa Rica surfer Carlos Muñoz has made it to the top 10 in the Junior Men’s World Ranking of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP). The 20-year-old rising star surfer is currently tied at ninth place in the world in the Junior Men’s Division with eight other surfers from Australia, Hawaii, Brazil, USA and Japan.

Nicknamed “The Flying Costa Rican” by Surfer Today, the team Red Bull surfer has been spotlighted by the youth sportswear company Volcom as one of the “up-and-coming talents exp

by Chelle Koster Walton

I watched tidily uniformed schoolkids climb aboard as the crew loaded sacks of flour, a boxed microwave, some spare luggage, and various other unidentifiable bundles onto the 50-foot fiberglass ferry boat. Despite the early hour, everyone was cheerful as they made their way to their wood benches, nodding good morning to fellow passengers whether they knew them or not. The captain crawled through the window, gunned the engine, and we began powering our way through the bra

Hotels live and die by the number and kinds of reviews they get. Especially on TripAdvisor, because the quantity, quality and frequency of reviews a hotel receives there, determine a hotels  all-important ranking.
Very little is said about the authenticity of a review, but regardless, even a small change in TripAdvisor's rankings can send shock waves, and deeply impact a hotel's website and revenue.

Hotelmarketing.com points out that TripAdvisor's rankings are based on a propriety algorithm cal

Chiang Mai, Thailand, is known for its elephants, tigers, resorts, parasols, temples, hill tribes and mountains.

So what's in it for Levelers? All of the above and more.

Old city gates

Start with Chiang Mai which means "new city" despite its being 700 years old. Once capital of the Lanna ("a million rice fields") Kingdom and center of Buddhism in northern Thailand it is now the country's second largest. For many years it was accessible only by river or elephant. A railway line wasn't finished un

Want to beat the summer rush to the Mediterranean? Then consider a visit to Greece in May. Traveling to Greece before the summer rush has a lot to offer. Less crowds when you visit ancient Athens and the Acropolis, or the Temple of Apollo at Delphi makes taking photos and hiking around ruins and monuments a much more enjoyable experience. The cost of accommodations in the favorite Cyclades Islands of Santorini, Mykonos, Ios, Paros and Naxos are still in low season pricing. Sit at a taverna and

by Susan E. Frost

You may have heard that my hometown (and Oregon's biggest city, with 500,000 people and 1.6 million in the metro area) has more than a whiff of cool about it these days. True enough, but what I like even more -- and what clinches the deal for many visitors -- is its scenery, greenery, and water everywhere, in fountains, rivers, lakes, and ponds. Fall foliage season is, to my taste, the most beautiful time to visit, though to yours it may be springtime, when our famous flowers

Fuel and insurance are often two of the most misunderstood issues when it comes to hiring a car. In this article we try to shed some light on these topics.

Things to Consider About Fuel

There are two main types of fuel policies in the car hire industry: "full to full" and "full to empty". For many years, "full to full" was the norm. With this type of fuel policy, clients were given the car with a full tank and had to return it with a full tank, thus avoiding any fuel charges by the rental c

When people heard we were going to Mexico City they were shocked, how could we go to such a dangerous place. Our response was always, What do you know about Mexico City, why do you think it is dangerous? To us, it was a chance to experience one of the biggest cities in the world. With a population of roughly 18 million, it is thought to be the third largest city!

Mexico City is a city full of vibrant culture, unique neighborhoods and delicious food. Mike and our friend Chris arrived a few days be