Blogs

by Cristóbal Ramírez

Parasols, lace dresses and suits, fancy fashionable hats, and a field filled with people - that’s how the great Francisco Goya portrayed the fiesta honoring Madrid’s patron saint in his painting San Isidro Meadow back in 1788. Times have changed enormously of course, but Spain’s capital still makes a big deal of this holiday every spring, harking back to the feel of a popular village festival rather than a big-city shindig.

If you happen to find yourself in Madrid in the

So I was reading this "Do you need a vacation" Quiz in Entrepreneur Magazine and although I found it to be slightly entertaining, I thought I could do better.

So I proudly introduce you to

 Voyages Groupe Ideal's "Yeah, I need a vacation" Quiz.

Answer the questions below and we'll score you using our top secret coding that we have developed over the course of many years and has proven to be practically a science within the confines of our office where things are very scientific on most days and I

When visiting any location we should all try and be the best tourist that we possible can be, looking after and respecting our beautiful nature spots.

If you are planning on booking a US car hire and visiting one of the country’s national parks it’s a good idea to do a little research before you travel. Most parks will have their own website that will tell you the park rules such as opening hours, speed limits and they will also list the areas where you can or can’t drive.

For example the Yosemit

The Great Rift Valley was first recognized by a Scottish geologist, Walter Gregory early 1890s around Lake Naivasha, it is believed to have been formed millions of years ago as a result of continental drift processes. These strong underground forces led to the pulling apart of the earth crust causing the falling of the land between parallel fault lines. It is actually part of the 6000km long Afro-Asian rift system that runs from up north in Jordan, down to Mozambique in south Africa.

The floor of

When wine connoisseurs Linda Kissam and Tom Plant invited me to a wine tasting and food pairing, I was thrilled to attend and the experience exceeded my already high expectations.  Linda and Tom had some special wines for us to taste and we were all encouraged to bring dishes that would go with our assigned wines.  Our group is called the Occasional Wine Council and meets “on occasion” to taste and critique wines along with food prepared by the participants to match specific wines.

Our goal is t

I’m a big fan of Latin pop, but I’ve come across few tunes lately that I’ve found to be such infectious earworms as Ai, se eu te pego! (Oh, If I Catch You!). It’s been a runaway hit in Brazil, Europe, and even Quebec since last summer, and is now starting to make a growing splash in the U.S. As the Miami Herald put it recently, this “may be the most popular song to come out of Brazil since "The Girl From Ipanema" in the 1960s. It’s been zooming up on the Spanish/Latin pop charts in the U.S.

by Andy Jarosz

An out-of-favor American football player turns up in Cozumel in search of a girl. They fall in love amid danger, dirty deals and murder. Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward add the necessary sparkle while a soundtrack featuring the well-known Phil Collins title song ensures worldwide success. 

But it may be the spectacular locations on the Yucatan peninsula chosen for 1984's “Against All Odds” that really steal the show. Chichen Itza, recently listed as one of the "Seven Wonders of the Wor

This adventurous Kenya cultural expedition involves staying awake late at night in an isolated place in the darkness. Most preferably in a cold environment and far away from fire. Do not even try to eat or drink anything hot because it is believed that the wizards have the ability to sense your presence whenever you take anything hot. During the day, wizards are normal people who socialize and mix up very well with ordinary people. When the night comes, they turn out to be completely different a

Since 2004, UNESCO has been promoting cities where literature plays an important role, including festivals and literary events and the existence of libraries and bookstores. Cities like Melbourne, Dublin and Edinburgh were given the chance to promote their local creative scene, as part of of being chosen as Cities of Literature. Trace the footsteps of some of world's most famous writers with our literary cities for 2012:

London, England: Hometown of Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens and many others

Vietnam's best beaches are located from the centre to the southern part. The country is blessed with long coastline and abundant  rainfall. The best season to visit the beaches in the centre is from May to September and from December to May to visit the beaches in the South. The winter months are favourable with clear skies and moderate temperatures ideal for sightseeing.

Listed below are some of the top beaches of Vietnam:

1. The Nhat Le beach: 

The Nhat Le beach is located near the Nhat Le River,

This two-floor bar-lounge has a wooden and brick ground floor lounge with a  circular cocktail bar, DJ and reversible daybeds. Further up a spiral case on  its terrace, you get unsurpassed views of the Bund (the hotel is a five-minute  walk from this waterfront area in central Shanghai) and Pudong. A marble Jacuzzi  is surrounded by daybeds and armchairs, and these all fill up early in the  evening (including the Jacuzzi). The result is a go-to chic drinking  establishment for the expat communit

Or who will turn the tables and keep review sites and their reviews honest?

By now we’ve heard enough to know fraudulent, unverified reviews on heretofore sacrosanct review sites are rampant. In many ways, they’re a violation of the trust travelers place in those sites.
TripAdvisor has been cited by UK authorities and told it can no longer state that its reviews are “honest” or from “real people,”  because there is no way of verifying the accuracy or trustworthiness of posted reviews.

And ther

by Andy Jarosz

The "Godfather" trilogy comprises without a doubt three of the most celebrated movies of all time. Almost 40 years after the release of the first Godfather movie, the plots, the characters and the memorable lines are well known to a huge fan base, many of whom were born even after Francis Ford Coppola directed the final movie.

Havana Hotel Scene

While the characters in the Godfather trilogy may have been able to ‘arrange’ pretty much anything, the movie production team did not en

Ladakh is one of the most attractive tourist spots in India. Surrounded by the mountains on both the sides this snow land incorporates beauty, peace, calmness and serenity and is the perfect holiday destination for summers. Ladhak is also popular among tourist loving adventure sports as it offers unique adventures in trekking, mountaineering and white water rafting.

Tourism in Ladakh has increased remarkably in past few years, majorly because of development of good hotels in the region and better

If you are surfing the net looking for holiday ideas then you can stop right now as I have them! Just a short flight time from the UK and you can be in the beautiful country of Portugal. Apart from the obvious attractions which are great beaches and warm ocean waters, Portugal has a holiday type that will satisfy any traveller plus they are in the same time zone to the UK so no jet lagged felt here!

Wine Lovers:

Portugal has over 25 wine regions, spreading from the north right down to the south. Y

Long flights followed by long meetings and nerve wracking presentations. Should I use PowerPoint or shouldn't I? Should I make a joke here and there or stick with the serious approach? Yeah, I'll stick with the serious approach because maybe what I think is funny, they won't think is funny.

And then the day comes to an end.

Where should I go? To my hotel room to unwind, call home, watch some TV, workout - yeah I should work out but I didn't bring workout clothes so that isn't going to happen.

I c

In the African bushes, Each and every species of animals have been found to have its own social organization. While some like the wildebeests would like to live in big herds, others prefer taking their time alone leading solitary lives. However, the zebras and elephants live in stable family groups and respect and maintain their strong family ties. Sometimes in this environment where survival is always for the fittest, several herbivores come together to form one big herd of mixed families. Duri

I’ve been lucky to spend my time in three cities, San Francisco, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and Los Angeles. One of my favorite things on earth is a hot pastrami or corned beef sandwich from Canter’s Deli in Los Angeles. Canter’s Deli is the closest thing to a true New York Deli on the West Coast. breakfast, lunch, and dinner all served 24 hours a day. Beef brisket, Canter’s reuben, lox, gefilte fish, roast turkey, burgers, tuna melts, and more.  Try Canter's bakery as well. I’ll bike miles through

Nowadays nothing but money counts: a fortune brings honors, friendships; the poor man everywhere lies low. — Ovid

The "Old Man Fountain" and our guide, Francesco

My friend Novelia tells me that the tourists are finally coming back to Abruzzo. It’s been a long, cold, ridiculously snowy winter and she is ready for guests. Ready to make pasta. Ready to tour them through the Abbey where she works. And most importantly, ready to introduce them to her home town and make it heartbreakingly hard for them

TOURISM & MORE'S "TOURISM TIDBITS"

May 2012

International Tourism Month and Tourism Security & Safety

The city of Las Vegas will hold its 19th conference on tourism security and safety during the month of May.  The choice of this month is not an accident as May is the international month for tourism, and the first rule of good hospitality is taking care of our guests.  All too often tourism professionals see themselves as marketers rather than hosts.  Realty is different however.  Visitors eventual