Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Cruise to Alaska and Canada

I am quite sure that at many points in your life you pictured yourself taking a perfect cruise vacation. If this is what you want you will need the services of a company like Direct Line Cruises, one that is specialized only on cruises and sells tickets across the Celebrity Cruise Line. Several Alaska Cruises and Canada Cruises are available for you to choose from. Those towards Alaska depart from Washington, Vancouver, British Columbia or Seattle. Take advantage from the Celebrity Cruises offered, including Celebrity Millenium, Celebrity Infinity and Celebrity Mercury. The cruises going to Canada are available in October through the Celebrity Constellation, which sales a round trip from Cape Liberty in New Jersey.

If you are in the area do not miss the opportunity of going on one of these unforgettable Celebrity Cruises. Be sure to check the deals offered and take into account the possibility of Group cruises. Other destinations are also available and all is of the highest quality possible, something you are surely looking for.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Tourist Attractions for Mississippi

When thinking about a tourist attraction for Mississippi you are no doubt looking for a special place to spend a memorable vacation. With this in mind, let us recommend some tourist attractions for Mississippi that you might not have heard of or that you might have considered and was not sure whether or not you should visit.

Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site Tourist Attraction for Mississippi


This area is located on MS HWY 370, just 2 miles of Baldwyn. It is a one acre site that commemorates a battle with 1 objective: the Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest need not interfere with General William T. Sherman's railroad supply line during the Atlanta Campaign, linking Chattanooga to Nashville.

Cottonlandia Museum Tourist Attraction for Mississippi

Contrary to popular belief given by the name of this museum, Cottonlandia goes around archaeology, animal, agriculture, antiques and art. It is situated in what was once the Billups Petroleum headquarters and if you decide to visit this place you will get to see a lot of artifacts you will surely love. Temporary art shows are also held and changed every 2 months. As a tourist attraction for Mississippi this location has become quite popular and for good reasons.

Greenwood Blues Heritage Museum & Gallery Tourist Attraction for Mississippi

For the music lovers, this special museum is dedicated to the music and life of Robert Johnson. This museum houses some artifacts that will be enjoyed by people that like blues and not only. Special elements like original albums and CDs plus cover recordings and the collection of platinum and gold record sales awards, films and books will surely be enjoyable.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Travel Insurance - Getting One or Not?

The whole topic of travel insurance, be it medical travel insurance, foreign travel insurance, health travel insurance or basically any type of insurance for traveling is controversial and does create a debate. The truth is always somewhere in the middle and as you can imagine, so is the case here. We need to think about the topic from two main point of views.

First let us discuss the perspective of the one that sells you the travel insurance. Let us face the truth! In most cases travel insurance is useless because nothing happens. This basically means that the travel agent will get some extra benefits, usually money, from you getting insurance for travel. Also, many problems can be avoided if your client has travel insurance. This depends on the type of insurance, of course.

Now strictly thinking about the tourist, you might think that travel insurance is simply useless because you are basically losing money on this operation. This is NOT true because you never know what might happen and it is always better to be safe than sorry. It is true that sometimes you pay in vain for coverage that would not help you at all. That is why your job is to do research before you go on your trip. There are so many different types of travel insurance that you might want to choose the one that is best for you, right? For instance, one travel agent might offer you the option of choosing between a health travel insurance, a damage travel insurance, a complete travel insurance or a simple foreign travel insurance. In such a situation individuals usually choose the one travel insurance that best fits their pockets, without really looking at what is covered. There have been many situations in which accidents happened and the damage was not covered because the tourist was not insured for that particular type of incident.

With all this in mind, our recommendation is for you to take a close look at the travel insurance you will purchase. Read everything, including the fine print and ALWAYS get travel insurance when you want to go on your holiday. It is not money lost and it is something that needs to be purchased, besides tickets and everything else.

Visiting Falun - Sweden

Falun is mostly considered by tourists as a small town of Sweden that has nothing to offer. Well, it is not exactly like that and let us take a look why. Falun is a central Swedish city that has a population of just around 35 thousand people but they are very warm and we are talking about an impressive history and a lot of ambition.

Most tourists come to Falun because of it being included in the UNESCO World Heritage List due to the Great Copper Mountain mining area. This location actually drew the first people to the country in the 17th century. We are talking about what was once the biggest copper mines in the world, a site that employed 12 thousand people and made a lot of money for Sweden.

Unfortunately, as time passed less and less visitors started coming to Falun. The main tourist flow is drawn exactly from the inclusion in the Heritage List in 2001. With this in mind it is plain to see why a lot of people think that only the copper mine is a tourist attraction here. This is not true as other attractions are available. Just as a quick example, you can visit the 19th century house located in Sundborn. This was the house of Karin and Carl Larsson, one of the most visited attractions in the country. You might also want to visit the Dalarna Museum of Falun while in the area.

Falun is one of the most beautiful cities in Sweden and it is a shame that tourists choose to neglect it. A lot of incredible landscapes that inspired painters for years can be seen and all you really need to do is book a vacation here to be amazed. One day can be enough for a lot of pleasant memories and some pictures you might want to frame.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Visiting Frederiksberg - Denmark

When mentioning Frederiksberg we are talking about a municipality of Denmark that is situated on the island of Zeeland. It covers a space of 9 sq km and has a population that is currently higher than 91 thousand inhabitants. Frederiksberg is actually one part of Copenhagen and it is a highly modern residential area. That is why it can give a lot to tourists that decide to visit the region.

There are a lot of travel agencies that include this municipality in their tours due to many reasons. For instance, here we can find a lot of parks and various facilities that make up for a perfect relaxing setting. Also, historically speaking there are sites to be visited even if most areas are quite new. Talking strictly about tourist attractions the most popular one is considered to be Frederiksberg Have. It is a garden that was built by Frederik the 4th and was inspired by the Italian gardens of the time. Tourists will find Chinese elements combined with a Baroque style, all combined with a very rich bird life, all summing up into a location that draws thousands of tourists yearly.

Once in Frederiksberg we recommend that you also visit the Royal Havaselskab Garden, which was built in 1884. We are talking about one of the most beautiful parks that Copenhagen has to offer. Here you will find a lot of exotic flowers, bushes and rare trees, not to mention having the possibility to attend one of the many classical and Jazz concerts during summer.

If one is traveling with the family he should go for a visit at the Copenhagen Zoo, which is located in Frederiksberg. This is actually the largest such garden on the continent and was founded in 1859 as an element of Frederiksberg Have. We can even visit a Children’s Zoo that holds over 2.5 thousand animals from all around the world with variety in mind that takes kids from butterflies to rare birds. You could also visit a lot of other popular tourist attraction sites like the Book Forum, Frederiksberg Slot, Bakkehuset or the Royal Copenhagen Antiques.

Tartu The City of Good Thoughts - Estonia

Tartu (also known as The City of Good Thoughts) is one of the less known cities around the world when talking about tourism and this is a shame because it does have a lot to offer. It is located 185 km South of Tallinn, Estonia, with a population of just over 100,000 but with a long history. Few people know that this is the second most important city in the country and that tourists have a lot of possible attractions to choose from.

Most tourists said that they enjoyed the Toomemagi (Dome hill) most, a location that is perfect for a relaxing and quiet walk. We are basically talking about a park that is filled with a lot of trails leading to the old Observatory and the Cathedral Ruins. Take a stroll through the Toomemagi and enjoy statues of Estonian figures and several ruins of pagan settlements. Add sites of historical wars that are linked with Estonia and you will understand why tourists are amazed and always remember how beautiful this location is.

Although you might think that the town is small, you can not really visit it entirely in just 1 day. You will need around 2 or 3 nights so that you can experience the number of attractions offered. Take a walk across some of several bridges that go over the river that flows through the town as each is different and is an attraction in itself. Do not miss the botanical garden, one site that was founded in 1803 and enjoy the over 6 thousand plant species here, all covering and area of 3.1 hectares.

Keep in mind that these are just few of the many tourist attractions in Tartu. Take a look at the official Tartu Web site (click Here) and plan your vacation in the area. Make sure that you take a look at the tourist attractions mentioned on the web site and if you want to learn more about the city just visit the Tartu Wikipedia page (click Here).

Monday, August 18, 2008

Popular Tourist Destination Waikiki

Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the south shore of Oahu, Hawaii. When one talks about Waikiki Beach, he/she is referring to the shoreline that fronts Waikiki and this area is actually one of the best known beaches in the world and a highly popular tourist destination. If you are planning a vacation here be sure to book in advance to be sure of your spot, especially during Summer months.

Waikiki has been a location perfect for relaxation for a long time. It was a well known retreat area for Hawaiian royalty in the 1800s and is even more popular today. To make it even more special, the beach and neighborhood are considered to be the main tourist industry area in Hawaii. It comes with a combination of historic hotels (for instance the Royal Hawaiian Hotel or the Moana Surfrider Hotel) and luxury hotel-resorts (for instance the Halekulani hotel or the Hilton Hawaiian Village).

Talking strictly about Waikiki Beach you will need to know that the dormant volcano Diamond Head makes up for the most special views in the area. Because of it we are dealing with a warm and mostly cloud free climate. One thing you probably did not know is that the tourist beach is actually quite short and half marked for surfing purposes. The waves can also come with a lot of force, especially when the wind is blowing and there are rocks at the bottom of the water, even if it is shallow for a long distance. Surfing is a high attraction in the area and this place is even perfect for beginners and tandem surfing because of the long rolling break brought to the table. A lot of events are hosted each year here, including outdoor performances, canoe races, hula dancing and surf competitions.

As time passed Waikiki beach was no stranger to problems caused by erosion. This even led to sand being imported from California. The good news is that now everything is perfect and erosion is no longer a problem for tourists, as some might think.

Ever since 2001 Waikiki hosted a special event called "Sunset on the Beach". This is basically a special stage that allows tourists from around the world to view a movie outdoors on a 30 foot screen. Combine this with the many public places you will want to visit in the area like: Ali Wai Harbor, Fort de Russy Military Reservation and Kapiolani Park and you will see why this neighborhood of Honolulu is so popular among tourists.

Recommended Beach Vacation Spots

Sometimes it can be difficult to choose where to go for a memorable beach vacation. There are so many places to think about that we thought of recommending some that might be special for various reasons.

Hawaii

Hawaii needs to be included in any tourist destination recommendation list one can create. The island of Hawaii is perfect for relaxing on the beach, playing golf, swimming in the ocean or even going through special spa treatments. To make it even better, Hawaii does come to the table with some of the best weather in the world. That makes it perfect for a beach vacation.

Oahu

Oahu Beach Vacations can be memorable and they actually are in most cases. Get ready to be treated like never before at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental and make sure that you visit the spa, swim with the dolphins or even take scuba diving classes. The Oahu resort is located just a quarter of an hour away from Waikiki Beach and Honolulu.

Georgia

Georgia is a perfect spot for a Beach vacation and golf. With this in mind do not miss the Cloister at Sea Island, one club that gives you 54 holes of championship golf combined with sandy beaches and a lot of possible activities. We will get back to this resort later in a future post.

Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands are well known for sandy beaches and blue waters. We recommend the St. Thomas and Ritz Carlton resorts. They have the best quality when talking about luxury hotels in Virgin Islands.

Jamaica

Jamaica needs to be listed here as it comes with some of the most special scenery and unique rooms in the Caribbean. Add incredible beaches, gourmet cuisine and The Caves resort and you will not have any doubt that you made the right choice.

South Beach, Florida

The list would not be a list without South Beach Florida. Not much to be said about it that you did not hear about already. Make sure you learn When to Visit Florida and all will be perfect here as well, making a wonderful beach vacation.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Culinary Delights in Glasgow

Glasgow is a highly popular tourist destination, probably one of the most visited cities in Scotland. Nowadays it is labeled as a quite cosmopolitan town that is filled with everything for every type of people. To make it even better, Glasgow is conveniently located within easy reach of all major cities in the country. For instance, a 45 minutes drive would get you to Edinburgh and 1 hour is all you need to reach Perth.

Glasgow comes to the table with a diverse cultural background. You will find it highly visible in the many culinary pleasures offered thanks to a lot of cafes and themed restaurants all throughout the city. You can basically get anything from a good sandwich to a buffet or a high quality elegant meal in a restaurant that will make you remember that day/night. This city will definitely satisfy all tastes.

The first thing you will find out about culinary delights in Glasgow stands in the well known term of curry capital of Europe. This is due to the fact that a lot of people enjoy this dish and you will find so many curry houses across the city. To make it even better, the real delight will appear during night as the street lights will draw attention to the many restaurants and bars that are special for whatever purpose you might have. It is basically impossible not to find something that will suit your tastes.

We recommend a visit to the west side of Glasgow due to the many sandwich bars and coffee shops present, all with street seating that makes it perfect to see the action outside. You can also visit one of the many pubs in the area, perfect for lunch or drinks after work or after an official meeting. Glasgow is one city that grew a lot and we could say that it went through a world of changes, culminating with the exploding culinary market.

Do not be misled into believing that culinary attractions are the only elements that will make a vacation in Glasgow unforgettable. This is just the icing on the cake. Make sure you read about the Glasgow Attractions you need to visit!