Avoid Staying Near Embassy Row

When planning a visit to New York, Washington DC, London, Rome, Paris or any major foreign city , be certain to locate where your embassy is located and how to contact them, but don’t choose a hotel in the embassy neighborhood.  Unfortunately these days there’s always an increased risk of demonstrations or violence in those locations.  So it’s good to know who to reach your embassy in case of emergency, but choose another neighborhood to stay in.  To find where embassies are located visit Embassies Abroad.

March Madness Free Caribbean Vacation Sweepstakes

OK all you sweet sixteen sports fans, here’s your chance to not only win your office pool, but to win a fabulous vacation by a pool as well.  The famed Nisbet Plantation Inn on the tropical island of  Nevis is sponsoring a contest to name this year’s ‘Cinderella Teams’ in the NCAA finals (both Mens and Womens championships).  Fans who correctly name one of the 2 winning teams will be entered in a drawing for one of two 5 night stays at the historic and very luxurious Nisbet Plantation Inn.  The “March Madness Hoopla Contest” will accept entries until March 17th (tip off day), with winners being announced on April 15th.

If you’re not familiar with Nevis, let me set the stage.  The island of Nevis is most often publicized in tandem with its sister island, St. Kitts.  These enchanting Caribbean islands are located a bit south of San Juan and to the west of Anguilla, and are frequently described as ‘green and serene’.  Read more

Meet Icoon – A Pocketsize Travel Picture Dictionary

Forget all the stress of learning a new language when you go traveling, just pop an Icoon symbol dictionary in your pocket and you’ll be ready for most any situation that comes up.  Icoon is a handly passport size mini-book that contains over 2,000 travel icons sorted into 12 categories for fast reference.  You’ll find symbols for ordering your favorite food, finding accomodations, keeping healthy and shopping for those perfect shoes.  Available on their website or from book sellers like Amazon.com, this is a terrific travel aid for under $10.  And if you’ll be traveling with your PDA, it looks like they have a nifty digital app for your phone, but I have to be honest with you…. I can’t find a link to information of how to get it!!!  My guess is it’s probably available for iPhones, so check with your cell phone provider.

Bye-Bye to Dubai – Major US Tour Operator Pulls Out of Dubai

A leading US tour operator, IsramWorld has made an unprecidented decision to cancel all tour programs to Dubai, saying that “Dubai appears not ready to be a member of the world tourism family”.  The action comes in the wake of a decision by the United Arab Emirates to deny a visa to Israeli tennis player, Shahar Peer, scheduled to participate in the Dubai Tennis Championships (sponsored by British Bank – Barclays).  IsramWorld is a prominant member of the United States Tour Operations Association, offering tours to 56 countries on five continents, and has always been a strong advocate for travel to the mid-east.  It will be interesting to watch the fall-out resulting from this negative publicity.  Dubai is already experiencing a decline in tourism as a result of sagging world economies.  Coupled with tales of unreasonable arrests and detention of travelers for merely traveling with their perscription medications (see our post from 10/07), and less than acceptable attitudes toward women, I’m wondering how many travelers will simply decide to spend their money elsewhere and skip the over built sany glitz of Dubai.

Take A Gap Year Adventure To Expand Your Horizons

The job prospects for graduating students this year are just plain dismal.  Rather than bemoan the situation, it may be the perfect time to consider a “Gap Year” adventure to enrich your life beyond expectation.  Live among the cultures you’ve only contemplated in classroom discussions, and step out of your comfort zone to volunteer for the betterment of the places you visit.

The volunteer travel organization i-to-i.com is a perfect place to begin your research for Gap Year opportunities.  Based in England, i-to-i has planned Gap Year journeys for over 20,000 volunteer travelers around the globe.  Participants are exposed to new cultures, encounter unexpected challenges, learn new skills and return home with a new confidence and independence of spirit.  Check out their sampling of 145 Gap Year trip offerings including community work in Argentina, teaching in Nepal, conservation work in Australia and home building in Costa Rica.  i-to-i has also launched an online volunteer community called Campfire where volunteers share stories, videos and pictures.

To continue your research, pay a visit to these additional Gap Year travel sites:
I Gap Year
Planet Gap Year
Gap-Year.com

Israel Launches Tourist Hotline

One number will connect you to all the vital information you need while traveling in Israel.  Simply dial *3888 from any cell phone or land line while in Israel and you will be connected to information on local attractions, airports, visas, or emergency assistance.  Assistance for the “Tourphone” is provided in English and French.

Super Low London Vacations from Virgin Atlantic

The latest deal from Virgin Vacations is nothing short of WOW! The Virgin group occupies a warm spot in my heart for great service, cheaky humor, and low prices, and their current deal is worth a close look.  From now until March 12, 2009 you can book at 6 night Virgin Value Vacation to London for the low price of $599 (ppdo).  That’s $100 a day for air and hotel! This falls into my coveted “it’s too cheap not to go” category.  The package includes rountrip airfare, 6 nights hotel, breakfast daily, hotel taxes and service charges, mandated fuel surcharges AND an Oyster Card for travel by bus, tube and tram (of 10 GBP value).  Travel must be completed by March 22, 2009 and airport taxes and fees are additional.  Visit the Virgin-Vacations.com site for all the finer details.  With the US dollar gaining in value against the British Pound (at last) now is a great time to jump across the pond and have a “brilliant” vacation before tourist season begins!

Little Palm Island – Tahiti Style Luxury in Florida

I’ve just returned from a fabulous visit to Little Palm Island in the lower Florida Keys.  If you’ve ever yearned to experience the lush verdant beauty of Tahiti, but don’t want to fly half way around the world, take heart – a visit to Little Palm Island is about as close to tropical nirvana as you can find in the continental USA.

Your journey to this island paradise begins on Little Torch Key where the concierge reception center greets you and a classic motor yacht awaits to whisk you on a 15 minute cruise across the bay to 5 acre/5 star Little Palm Island.  Cheerful staff members meet you on the dock and personally escort you to one of the 15 luxurious thatched-roofed bungalows or grand suites.  Take a deep breath and leave your cares behind – you’re about to be pampered in grand style. Read more

Route I-95 and I-75 Road Trip Helpers

I’ve just done the winter escape road trip run from New England to Southern Florida and back, and couldn’t have lived without the terrific website I95ExitGuide.com.  This wonderful guide tells you about all things related to Route I-95 from beginning to end, and every exit in between.

I began by checking the weather all along the route in order to decide which days to travel on.  Next I used the mileage calculator to decide how many miles (hours of driving) we would do each day.  Then I could check the exits in the areas we wanted to stop to find the names of all hotels and restaurants.  I ended up printing out a list of hotels at each area we planned to stop in, so we could decide which exit would suit our needs the best.  The I-95 Exit Guide also enables you to check gas prices all along the route, has road construction warnings, an RV Parks directory , list of outlet shopping malls, rest areas and even theme parks in case you’re traveling with the kids.  In other words…. everything you’ll ever need to know about the route before you leave home.  This site is an invaluable resource for road trip warriors heading south for some sun and fun – check it out http://www.i95exitguide.com.

AND for those of you heading south from Michigan, you’ll be happy to know there’s a new I-75 Exit Guide as well.

Discover All-Inclusive Resorts in Europe

Have you discovered what a terrific bargain all-inclusive vacations can be? These lively resorts have become increasingly popular in the Caribbean as travelers enjoy knowing in advance exactly what their entire vacation cost will be. But few travelers realize that many of the prominent all-inclusive resort developers in the Caribbean have lavish resorts in Europe as well. You haven’t heard about them because they are rarely advertised to US vacationers. Thank goodness the internet has leveled the playing field.

Have a look at this terrific site in the UK that specializes in all inclusive hotels and vacations throughout Europe: All Inclusive Hotels. You’ll find resorts in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Turkey to name a few.  Another excellent resource is Travel Supermarket which compares travel packages side by side (departures with air are from England).

For those of you living a 50+ lifestyle, who can enjoy a longer stays, check out the incredible deals available through Saga Holidays.

I’ve come to really enjoy stays at Iberostar properties in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Imagine my delight to find out that Iberostar has resorts throughout Europe as well. Club Med is another resort company that has properties all around the world. Of course once you’ve identified some properties, you’ll want to comparison price with the resort company directly and check reviews on TripAdvisor.com. So expand your horizons and shop for all inclusive properties wherever you travel.

Booking your stay at an all-inclusive resort in Europe can be a bit of a challenge for those of us in the USA, as the properties are not widely listed on US travel booking sites.  My suggestion would be to contact a reputable travel agent in your area.  Most of the all inclusive companies have ‘travel agent friendly’ relationships with US agencies.  GoGo Worldwide Vacations is one well respected travel company that offers all-inclusive vacation packages around the works and sells their products exclusively through travel agents.