by Cristóbal Ramírez
As we all know, the capital of Costa Rica is San José. But it was not always thus. A bit over an hour's drive to the west is a city dubbed the "Vieja Metrópoli" (Old Metropolis). The first successful settlement by the invading Spaniards, in 1563, Cartago - honoured as "Very Noble and Very Loyal" by Spain's parliament - served as Costa Rica's capital till 1823.
Actually, little remains of Cartago's very first location, as the city was moved twice (and then
Thailand's capital has the proverbial something for everyone - a mix of exotic traditional culture, cuisine and shopping with no shortage of fun from tame to notoriously naughty. Days are sunny and beautiful, nights are exciting, and there's never a dearth of things to do. It's perhaps for this amazing versatility that Bangkok is often referred to as a tourist paradise. The city of course also serves as a gateway to many other parts of Thailand, including Phuket and the other islands and beach d
Argan oil is part of the Moroccan way of life - as well as prized by quite a few international chefs. Apart from a few isolated places in Mexico, the argan tree grows only in Morocco. It yields a lemony-yellow fruit, from the kernel of which argan oil is obtained. If oil is extracted from raw kernels, it’s used for making cosmetics; if the kernels are roasted first, it produces a cooking oil which Moroccans say is even superior to olive oil.
Argan fruit is harvested in a similar way to the ol
izusek
Many holidayers are sceptical about activating international roaming on their phones. We dispel a few myths about these plans.
If you have heard stories about how international roaming plans can cost you a lot of money and the providers charge exorbitantly per minute, then you need to read this post to correct a few notions.
How much do international roaming plans cost?
Mysore is the most popular and the second largest city in Karnataka state. Often referred as the City of Palaces, the royal city still retains its old world charm with its heritage buildings, traditions, temples - and of course palaces, foremost among them Mysore Palace, former abode of the former royal family. There are also many lesser known but beautiful royal buildings spread across the city. Here are five of the best:
Lalitha Mahal Palace
Located close to Chamundi Hill Road, the s
The "Norway-in-a-nutshell" tour can be undertaken throughout from Bergen or Oslo as a single-day trip or spread over three days. However, if planning a one-day excursion, Voss would be a more convenient and relaxing base. This small, thriving town nestles on the shore of Vangsvatnet Lake beneath mountains which, in winter, provide some of the finest skiing in the country. Throughout the summer, the ski lifts continue to operate, taking visitors onto the plateau to the north, where cross-country
Oleg Albinsky
by Judith Glynn
“That Staten Island Ferry is our front door,” a disappointed Staten Islander told me. "But too many people take it right back to Manhattan. We want them to stay here and see what we’ve got." And though "what we've got" is far more than most visitors suspect, New York City's fifth borough across the harbour does find itself almost always far from the minds of those who come to the Big Apple - partly because it's a bit isolated (the ferry is the main way over here; t
Courtesy of Christopher Elliott
Eric Hochstein found something unusual on his bill at the Gregory Hotel in New York City recently.
No, it wasn't the mandatory $35-per-day resort fee that covers local and domestic calls, a 24-hour fitness center and coffee and tea. And it wasn't the $259-per-night room rate, which was below average for Manhattan.
It was that the resort fee – which the Gregory calls a "tailored fee" to fit its garment theme – including a donation to charity to
Riderfoot
In recent years, Central America has become a major destination for adventure and ecotourism, beaches, and culture, and lately the star of its largest country Nicaragua, has been on the rise - the bad old days of post-earthquake trauma (1970s) and civil war (1980s) long behind it. These days stable and in fact considered by many the region's safest country, it offers a mostly tropical climate and extraordinary (not to mention wallet-friendly) menu of options appealing t
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Spyderskidoo
To most people, staying fit while they travel is probably low on their list of priorities. After all, traveling entails sampling local foods from different cultures, not to mention often a busier-than-usual schedule at home with touring and other activities. This often means setting aside the good routine and consistency in terms of diet, working out, and other positive lifestyle habits. But it doesn't have to be that way - you can have both fun and fitness on the road without t
I am a member of the Temecula (California) Wine Review Council, and at a recent council tasting of Missouri wines, I was surprised to learn that the first officially recognized American Viticultural Area (AVA) was Augusta, Missouri, dating back to 1980. Located just west of St. Louis, along the Missouri River, August AVA has a silt-loam soil. South of the river, Hermann AVA and Ozark Highlands AVA designations followed. Herman and Ozark Highlands are also a part of the Ozark Mountain AVA (cons
Tonyystarcreations
In India's northwest, the country's largest state is packed with great great heritage, culture, royal palaces, temples, fortresses (it's even been dubbed "the land of forts"), ecotourism, and activities - a truly magical land to explore with holiday packages.
Ride a Camel
A good part of the state is made of of the vast Thar Desert, and from the cities of Jaisalmer, Bikaner, and Osian you can take desert safaris into the Thar during which you'll ride beautifully adorned
Especially for travelers to Europe on a budget, there's no better place to hang out than the capital of Portugal, considered one of the continent's most affordable countries. But even apart from that, it's a romantic city with amazing history, culture, dining, and architecture including Gothic, Renaissance, neoclassical, Art Deco, and more. Here's my list of the top ten things to do - mostly free or inexpensive - on your visit to Lisbon:
Stroll the Lovely Old Alfama
Lisbon's oldest district, s
Flashpacker Travelguide
by Marita Acosta
A short boat ride out into the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Town, just over five square kilometres (2 sq. miles) in size, sandy Robben Island (robben being Afrikaans for seal) was always remote and largely uninhabited (except at one point for a whaling station) - which made it a perfect site for a penal colony (and at another point, also a lepers colony and quarantine station). And so it was used, by the founding Dutch colonisers, the subsequent
courtesy of Christopher Elliott
If you click on Vrbo to find a summer vacation rental, you'll find something new. There's a suite of new online tools to help you plan your next getaway. There's a psychedelic new "Vrbo" logo. And they're even changing the way they pronounce the site, from "V-R-B-O" to "Ver-boh."
It's a whole new Vrbo.
Sorry, I mean Ver-boh.
"We decided to refresh the brand," says Vrbo's president, John Kim. "We want people to be just as excited about finding the perfect pl
photos | Italo Morales
Many are the guidebooks that have been written about this tropical Latin Caribbean island, but few by Puerto Ricans themselves, and even fewer which focus on its delicious and sometimes exotic cuisine, fed by fresh local ingredients. Three years ago, now 40-year-old writer (and U.S. Marine reservist!) Jessica van Dop DeJesús (the "van Dop" courtesy of her Dutch husband) set out to remedy that by spending a month touring her native island with skilled photographer frie
Arad Mojtahedi
Also spelled Esfahan, this city in central Iran - a five-hour drive or hourlong flight south of Tehran - is the country's top tourist destination for very good reason. Dating back as far as 2700 BCE to the pre-Persian Elamite civilization, Iran's third largest urb (pop. nearly 2 million, metro area nearly 4 million) flourished especially from 1050 to 1722 - the last 124 years of which it was the capital of the Persian Empire - and the Persians called it Nesf-e Jahan, meaning
