Blogs

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?

• It's the age of intense competition among mobile service providers. With some providers floating plans with the low

Sunil Mehta

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

Photology1971

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

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

Minato Mirai with Red Brick Warehouses

• 190 cruise ships to dock in Yokohama in 2019
• New Shinko Pier with its five-star Yokohama Grand-operated hotel to open November 2019 
• Bay Bridge Skywalk to reopen during large ship dockings 
• APA Hotel & Resort Yokohama Bay Tower to open September 20, 2019 as the largest single-building hotel in Japan
• Minato Mirai, "the port of the future," features new and beloved family-friendly museums and attractions, including the pop-up Unko (Poop) Museum to open March 15,

Yobro10


These days, family travel enjoys a wealth of choices, and the profusion of theme parks around the world these days offer hundreds of great options. In the United States, these are my top favorites:

Sesame Place Outside Philadelphia


Younger children will get a big kick out of this theme and water park in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.  Covering 24 acres, it's is convenient to many who live in the Northeast, as it is only an hour and a half from New York City, and just a half hour from