Celebrate Christmas in the Holy Land
It may be the ultimate holiday trip: a visit to the land of the original Christmas story, especially during the holiday season. For many, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to sites referenced in the Bible that still exist today, like Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Nazareth. According to the Israel Ministry of Tourism, about half of visitors to the country are Christian, and about 20% identify themselves as pilgrims, with 150,000 pilgrims visiting Israel during the Christmas period.Christmas festivities in the Holy Land are...
Doing the Holidays Disney Style in Orlando and Anaheim in 2022
The gift of travel can create precious memories of one of the best holidays ever, and Disney theme parks on both sides of the country have been arrayed in their festive best, unwrapping a full lineup of holiday cheer lasting into the New Year. There’s still time to plan a Disney version of the holidays this year in Anaheim or Orlando, and your expert travel advisor can help you plan the perfect theme park vacation to suit your family’s travel...
This Island's 'Crop Over' is the Hottest Harvest Festival of the Summer
Move over pumpkin patch. Step away from the apple bobbing booth. Harvest festivals aren’t limited to rural and small town traditions of northern climes memorialized in Norman Rockwell artwork. Almost every culture in the world with agricultural roots has some kind of harvest festival – and Barbados' ‘Crop Over’ heats up summer with a distinctly ‘islands’ way of celebrating its traditional conclusion of the sugar cane harvest.While the agricultural tradition dates back to sugar plantations in Barbados (and several other Caribbean...
Fun Facts About Your Favorite St. Patrick's Day Drinks
What’s the best part of celebrating the day named after Ireland’s patron saint? Is it the ‘wearin’ o’ the green?’ The irresistible beat of Irish music that makes every listener’s toes tap? Your hilarious attempts at an Irish jig or your own version of Riverdance? Or the famous Irish beverages that fuel the festivities in the Emerald Isle and around the world every March 17th? (Courtesy Donal Cawley, Merry Ploughboy Pub)They say on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone’s a little bit Irish....
Masking Up for Fun: the World's Top Carnivals
“Carnival” and “Mardi Gras” evoke some of the world’s most legendary, annual, pre-Easter parties. The two events are related, with a shared origin and even some of the same cultural traditions. Carnival is a whole season, but Mardi Gras is one special day. They are celebrated in countries with strong, historic Catholic traditions.The calendar tells all. Pre-Easter, devout Catholics observe Lent, a time of solemn prayer and self-denial. Lent begins on the Wednesday 40 days before Easter.Mardi Gras means ‘Fat Tuesday.’ The Tuesday...
7 Top Caribbean Destinations to Ring in the New Year
Can you imagine a better way to greet the New Year than on a tropical beach in the Caribbean? Plan ahead to make this travel dream a reality next year. Several Caribbean island destinations have unique, local traditions that will make the countdown to the New Year even more memorable. Here are 7 places to ring in the New Year and create new, travel New Year’s traditions. Onion Drop in BermudaYou’ve heard of the Big Apple dropping in New York’s Times Square?...
Theme Parks and Beyond: Nearly 2 Dozen Ways to Celebrate the Holidays in Orlando This Season
Orlando’s claim to fame is its extraordinary collection of family-friendly theme parks standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the balmy weather of the Sunshine State. But the warmth of the holiday season in Orlando outshines even the Florida sun.From Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebration, to re-imagined Christmas and New Year’s Eve experiences at the theme parks and beyond, it’s a great way to get into the Christmas or Hanukkah spirit - or get a change of pace from the stresses of spending the holidays at home - again!Whether your celebratory...
Best Reasons to Travel to Europe's Christmas Markets this Year
If you’re like most of us, your holiday season last year fell a little bit short on the fa-la-la’s. This year, it’s not too late to double down on , and make up for lost time with 'peak Christmas' at the Christmas markets of Europe.Lynn Elmhirst, producer and host of BestTrip TV, shares this video with some of the highlights of a nighttime German Christmas market - and explains why visiting Germany's Christmas markets this year may be the best way...
3 Million Lights for 101 Nights of Niagara Falls' Festival of Lights this Winter
This holiday season will be the brightest ever in the most popular tourist attraction in Canada – and one that conveniently spans the border with the U.S. - just as the land border between the neighboring countries is set to be open in both directions. Beginning in mid-November and running 101 nights all the way to late February 2022, Canada’s largest, free outdoor light festival will take place. It’s the longest Ontario Power Generation Winter Festival of Lights of its...
8 German Words You Need to Fit in at Oktoberfest
It’s Oktoberfest time again. The festival traditionally held annually in Bavaria’s capital of Munich, with similar events throughout the entire region, is one of the world’s most epic celebrations. Name notwithstanding, Oktoberfest actually runs for just over two weeks from mid-late September to the first Sunday in October. It’s been cancelled again in 2021, but that gives you time to brush up on your vocabulary – and German beer drinking skills – until you can visit Munich’s Oktoberfest soon. Here are...