Celebrating World Cocktail Day with a Travel-Inspired Cocktail... or Two
What’s not to love about May 13th? World Cocktail day has two of my favorite words: world, and cocktail.For those of us who love to travel… and love to get into the ‘spirit’ of the moment with a locally-sourced beverage, cocktail recipes can be some of our most cherished travel souvenirs.And drinks at a smart bar can be among our most cherished travel memories. Here are just a couple of mine:The Original Daiquiri at the House of Bacardi, Puerto Rico Rum,...
Riding the Rails AND the Waves in the Latest Travel Trend
There’s a phrase in travel: ‘Multi-modal’. Think of ‘planes, trains and automobiles,’ where you complete your trip via a number of different types of transportation.Multi-modal travel is not new. But one version – larger-than-life journeys combining the romance of both cruise and rail - is picking up steam.Ships and trains are a natural fit, even mirror images of each other: one on land, the other at sea. Cruise and rail modes are both steeped in storied history and traditions, and many travel...
10 Reasons to Visit Columbia on Your Next Trip to Latin America
Colombia is reborn. Named after the 15th century explorer of the Americas, Colombia stands out as the only nation in South America with coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean, as well as being the leading source of coffee and emeralds in the world. Colombia has found new followers among savvy global travellers, who, in survey after survey cited the warmth and kindness of Colombians as one of their top reasons to visit. Now, Colombia has given itself a...
5 Ways to Explore this Country’s Desert From the Traditional to the Extreme
If you missed your dose of exotic scenery and culture – or even winter sports adrenaline this year, one country’s desert can feed your travel imagination.The Qatar peninsula juts a hundred miles out from the Arabian Peninsula into the Persian Gulf. Most travellers to the region focus on the thrilling, ultra-modern capital city of Doha. But most of the small country is covered by sand, from barren plains to the Khor al Adaid “Inland Sea” of rolling sand dunes where...
Signs of Spring Worth Traveling For
Spring may be the most hopeful season.There is nothing more uplifting than seeing Nature reborn every Spring. It’s like an assurance that life will get better again, no matter how tough the dark days of Winter – or life – have been.Between March’s Spring Equinox and the start of Summer on the Solstice in June, the days get progressively longer, dousing us in light, and sparking the renewal of life after a long, dull winter.So it’s no wonder that so...
A Twist on 'April Showers' at This Country's New Year Celebrations
Many modern holiday celebrations put an irreverent twist on their historic – and often more solemn -traditions.Thailand’s Songkran may be one of the most extreme examples of that phenomenon.Ancient Thai culture marked the New Year in what we now call April. The word is Sanskrit, meaning ‘astrological passage’, and it coincides with the rising of Aries and the New Year of the Hindu and Buddhist calendars. Songkran is a three-day ritual, from the 13th to the 15th of April. The final...
Get Into the Spirit of the 'Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports'
Spring brings longer days, warmer weather… and the thunder of hooves as horse racing begins in North America and Europe. On this side of the pond, there’s no better way to get your heart racing than to be in the stands for the legendary Kentucky Derby. Held on the first Saturday of May, the epic race gets the serious horse racing season going as the first leg of the American Triple Crown.The Kentucky Derby was founded nearly 150 years ago by...
Spring Gardens, Tropical-Style in Costa Rica
'Spring flowers’ takes on new meaning in the tropics.With Costa Rica’s epic biodiversity and commitment to conservation, lush, green landscapes are a given any time you visit. But some of the Central American country’s botanical gems are best discovered not in the wilderness, but in gardens crafted by human hands.Here are five gardens to add ‘color’ to your trip to Costa Rica. Botanical Orchid GardenNorth America has 200 varieties of orchids. Luscious Costa Rica? 1300.The “Guaria Morada” orchid is even the...
'Astro' Travel Will Have You 'Seeing Stars'
International Dark Sky Week, held during the week of the new moon each April, calls for people worldwide to turn out their lights and take in the beauty of the night sky without light pollution dimming its brilliance. It’s also an annual reminder that some of the very best travel experiences aren’t under the bright lights of a city. Some of the most awe-inspiring and life-changing travel moments involve absorbing Mother Nature’s greatest spectacles above us.Astrotourism is a growing trend that...
Cruise Ships: New, Improved, and Coming Soon
The latest designs, innovations, and features, in a sparkling white cruise ship gliding over the waves. If that’s not enough to get you excited about taking a cruise on a new ship, there’s always ‘new ship smell’. A new cruise ship may not have a distinctive scent like a new car, but knowing you’re among the first to experience a new entry to the world’s fleet of cruise ships is a not-to-miss sensation. Not every new ship comes ‘hot off the press’....