Blogs

After writing scores of articles about ocean cruises, we decided to see what motivates vacationers to take European river cruises. We are glad we did.

So Much to Choose From

There are endless selections of river cruise itineraries on the internet, so we sought the guidance of three prominent river cruise companies in Europe – Amway, Uniworld, and Viking.

Viking River Cruises Comes Through

Viking River Cruises was most generous with their public relations department and customer service time, so we s

Located 120 kilometers south of Cancun, Akumal is a place of virgin beaches with crystal clear water, natural areas and hundreds of turtles that thrive in this area, protected by national authorities. Akumal is one of the calmest places on the Mayan Riviera, 37 km from the Riviera's main city, Playa del Carmen, and the preferred place for those seeking to enjoy nature and the quiet conditions, ideal for diving.

It is as easy to see sea turtles in Akumal as it is for turtles to see humans swimming

We boarded our ship in Buenos Aires, and the cruise would take us right around South America around the famous … or infamous … Cape Horn to Valpariaso.

I thought of the old sea shanty ‘Paddy Lay Back’:

‘… for we’re bound for Valparaiso round the Horn’

Then I remembered more words of the same ditty:

‘ … half the crew were spewing o’er the ship’s side

And the other half were spewing over me’.

Happily, such conditions didn’t happen on this cruise. We called at Punta del Este, Puerto Madryn and Port S

One of the most vibrant and popular destination in Asia, Singapore is renowned for its cleanliness and a garden city with unique cultural fusion of Malay, Indian, Chinese and European immigrants. The city is clean, efficient and safe city because of its laws, enforced strictly for people to follow. However, the different racial groups in the city that retain their own religious and cultural identity including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Taoism and Buddhism, sometimes cause confusion and confl

Latvia has quite the roller-coaster history, controlled by powers including Lithuania, Sweden, and Russia,  until the birth of a new republic in 1918. Then of course it fell back under Soviet Russian subjugation until the rebirth of a new independent republic in 1991.

I first visited its capital, Riga, that very year, and found it to be a delapidated but handsome – and slowly reawakening – gem. Now, on having recently marked a quarter century of re-established independence, it’s positively bo

Tahiti is a goldmine for divers of all skill levels. It has something to offer for everyone and anyone. The dive sites here are some of the best in the world and mostly unspoiled. Tahiti is located in the southern Pacific Ocean, and is home to thousands of varieties of marine life and beautiful Coral Reefs.

These are the spots I liked the best:

Moorea

Moorea is located within the heart of French Polynesia, and is a fantastic place to visit if you are daring and love to try new things. What is the m

by Miguel Martínez Rabanal

If everyone’s a little Irish today on St. Patrick’s Day, you could maybe also say that everyone’s a little Spanish, too. That’s because the culture that has made Ireland as well as Scotland and Wales what they are came didn’t originate there, but in Bronze Age Central Europe in the second millennium BC – and recent genetic studies have confirmed that the migrations of the Celtic tribes led them first to the Iberian Peninsula, centuries before some headed back north to

Astride the coast of the Aquitaine region and France’s Basque Country, the country’s southwesternmost city (just 19 kilometres/12 miles from the Spanish border) has been one of its most famous seaside resorts since the mid-19th century. And still strongly flavoured with the Belle-Époque/Art Deco elegance of its heyday, Biarritz continues to attract a interesting mix of upmarket bourgeoisie with conventioneers – and increasingly in recent years, a younger, more boho crowd which has been making

Nothing wrong with joining the crowds at Maho Bay to stand about five feet under jumbo jets coming in for a landing (what could possibly go wrong?), but I have a new pet attraction in Dutch Sint Maarten: Parotte Ville. It's really three attractions, because it includes an immense walk-in aviary for parrots, a heritage museum, and a medicinal herb garden.

I was amused to learn that the visionary behind Parotte Ville is a man named George Parotte, but this shouldn't have surprised me. After all,

While the Mexican Riviera boasts many stellar lodging options, over on the Pacific coast near Puerto Vallarta, Velas Vallarta Resort has the distinct advantage of offering you an intriguing balance of sybaritic retreat conveniences with plenty of opportunities for genuine cultural immersion.

With Playa El Salado right out front, downtown only a ten-minute ride away, 18-hole Marina Vallarta Golf Course within walking distance, and the airport literally five minutes away, Velas Vallarta is in quite

Savvy travelers know that the best restaurants are the ones where the locals eat.  So when the fam and I took an off-season trip to Ocean City, MD, the good folks at the Dunes Manor Hotel & Suites had two very appealing recommendations for us:  Embers Buffet and 28th Street Pit-n-Pub BBQ.

Embers

• It’s Ocean City’s first and largest all-you-can-eat prime rib and seafood buffet.

• The family that owns Embers has been operating restaurants in OC for over 70 years.

• The buffet offers dishes that include l

The extensive coastline of Morocco offers a great variety of options along their 3,500 kilometers. It’s hard to choose among its many beaches, because you’ll always have to leave out something. It has beaches washed by the waters of the Atlantic and many others facing the Mediterranean, beaches suited for families and modern ones with a chill out atmosphere, some right below a cliff and others directly off the desert sands. You’ll probably agree that it’s a tough decision.  Here is a review from

On a recent visit to Mérida, the capital city of Yucatan State, we opted for a side trip to the Reserva de la Biosfera Ria Celestun (Celestun Biosphere Reserve).

This protected, coastal wetland reserve and wildlife refuge encompasses over 147,000 acres and showcases their hugh flocks of vibrant pink Caribbean flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber). The flamingo nesting area was one thing, but pink was not the only spectacular color on parade.

We were pleasantly surprised by the wide spectrum of other c

As I meandered along the tree-covered hills and winding roads leading to Rancho Valencia Resort in Rancho Sante Fe, California (U.S. News and World Report’s number-one resort in California,) my anticipation grew. I was not disappointed to see this lavish resort, set on 45 acres of gardens and olive groves. Not only did I get to enjoy this beautiful resort and experience a glorious outdoor terrace breakfast, because on the agenda was a seminar with wine tasting about Washington State wines. How

Rio de Janeiro famously boasts one of the most spectacular natural settings of any major world city, a charismatic interplay of ocean with dramatic plunging hills (the most dramatic and reknowned, of course, being Sugarloaf and Corcovado). And though much of Rio has a prosperous enough air, there has always been much poverty here, too, and since the late 19th century, many of those dramatic hills also became home to sprawling, unofficial slums – originally built by decommissioned soldiers and

Deensel

by Maria José Cortes Lamas


Before the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, Bulgaria for Westerners was tucked even farther than most behind the old Iron Curtain. Today the differences are truly astonishing to see: a country vibrant with energy – though obviously not without its problems. And its capital Sofia – with a population of 1.2 million, yet fairly accessible (and bargain priced!) for the visitor – is the place where this energy is especially showcased (though it’s often bypassed by

In the middle of the 19th century, Dickens wrote his famous Tale of Two Cities about life in Paris during the French Revolution. Dickens contrasts the life of les misérables”(the poor) with the life of ceux de bonheur (those living happy lives).  In 2017, Paris once again presents to those who come to it a tale of two cities. 

In February 2017, I was the guest of the CNI-SYNHORCAT, the largest French tourism trade association.  The CNI-SYNHORCAT invited me to address an elite group of concerne

What’s it like to visit the world’s largest city proper (as opposed to greater metropolitan area, which is Tokyo)? A city on the mouths of the Yangtze and Huangpo River roughly midway along the South China Sea coast where the numbers boggle – 24 million spread across 6,340 square kilometres (2,450 sq. miles), now with a highrise skyline and megadeveloment that has transformed Shanghai a prime symbol of the thrusting 21st-century power of China while still preserving in parts a fair amount of t

Remember the old saying about "building castles in Spain"?

No, I didn't build one but I did live in one for a week. My castle in Spain went by the grandiose name of El Castillo de Alarcón.

El Castillo is 200 kilometers from the capital, Madrid, and is set on a rocky promontory surrounded by a deep gorge through which the River Júcar flows.

It looks across the gorge to the rolling green, yellow and red countryside which characterizes so much of inland Spain. The various greens of cultivated areas, f

It all started in Belgium when culinary communications agency Hakuna Matata partnered with The Fun Group, an amusement park ride installer, to offer the first Dinner in the Sky in 2006. Right now you can experience elevated dining in sunny Puerto Vallarta on the lush grounds of Casa Velas Resort. You get a highly choreographed culinary extravaganza incorporating a music soundtrack and various announcements over an on board sound system as you're lifted 150 wow-inducing feet into the air with 22