Category: Travel Tapas

Ecotourism is defined by the The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.”  

Most of us start each new year with ideas of what we want to accomplish during the next 365 days (or in 2012, it’s 366 due to leap day)! Usually at the top of the list is get in shape, lose weight and/or reduce stress in our lives. Or maybe it’s to be pampered; indulge in beauty treatments, exercise or healthy eating; recover from a divorce or illness; or just overhaul mind, body and spirit.

So much to do, so little time! As we look forward to a new year, I’ve looked at some of the trends out there …. What are you waiting for?  Pick one or a few. Your trip of a lifetime starts with a call or email to your travel advisor.

With the heat index reaching 105-110 degrees this past summer, those of us living year-round in the Lowcountry dreamt of cooler days. Now that they’re here, and the calendar has reached November, holiday travel thoughts are foremost in our minds.

Cruising the high seas brings back memories of a bygone era of travel. While the romance of cruising still exists, today it has evolved from a mode of long distance travel to an experience in and of itself. Here are some of the options available to the Phileas Foggs of the world who still long for the “good old days.”

A ship’s size is one of the more important aspects to consider when choosing a cruise to fit your lifestyle. The larger ships have more activities and amenities onboard and tend to be newer.  They’re great for family reunions, incentive groups and even weddings. The smaller ships are more port-intensive and have a more community-like ambience, creating a whole different experience both onboard and ashore.  “Small ship” has recently undergone redefinition and here’s where you shouldn’t make an assumption of size based on the company as you’ll see in these two ships from Royal Caribbean.

Planning a trip these days can be confusing and time-consuming. You’ve Googled “Caribbean vacation” and come up with millions of responses. You found a good deal for a hotel online and spent your beach vacation overlooking a parking lot that was being paved. The resort for your honeymoon looked great online, but the postage-stamp-sized pool was filled with screaming children most of the day. Who ya gonna call? The following Myth Busters may help!   MYTH #1: ALL TRAVEL AGENTS & TRAVEL AGENCIES ARE THE SAME FACT: Every travel agent is different and has a different area of specialization. It is important when planning a trip to work with a travel agent who specializes in the destination you are thinking about and/or the type of trip it is (adventure, cruise, tour, independent travel, etc.).

With a unique combination of pleasant climate, beautiful coastline, rich history and diverse culture, the Mediterranean region is the most popular tourist destination in the world — attracting approximately one-third of the world’s international tourists. Covering more than 900,000 square miles, the Mediterranean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean. It is unique because it is almost completely surrounded by land, including Europe to the North, Africa to the South, and Asia to the East. It is connected to the Atlantic by the Strait of Gibraltar, which is just nine miles wide.

  Recently London began a countdown to next year’s Olympics to be held in and near that city. Here’s that and a few more of the “tapas” of celebrations for 2012.   Carnaval in South America (18-21 February, 2012) The Party Never Stops: Carnaval in Brazil is an all-around unforgettable experience and is celebrated all over the country. The dates change each year; it is celebrated 7 Sundays before Easter Sunday. The celebration lasts 4 days, commencing the Saturday prior to Fat Tuesday with the crowning of the Fat King (King Momo, the Greek god of mockery).

During summer in the Lowcountry, it’s tough to leave the comfort of the A/C to go outside and exert any type of movement.  I’ve looked at a few active adventure travel tapas to inspire you to escape to the outdoors and stop being climatically –challenged! SPORTS VACATIONS: Ever ridden an ATV down the coastal beaches of Mexico; surfed the “Dinosaur Coast” on the north coast of Peru; or bareboat-sailed down a chain of islands strung out like pearls on a necklace in the Caribbean? 

As we head into the dog days of summer, I started thinking about cooler places or activities that...

It won’t be long before we celebrate yet another Independence Day – our 135th here in the US. I wondered how many other such celebrations there were around the world and Googled that, which generated a rather lengthy list. Here’s a tapas menu of a few of those places with Independence Days during July:

Memorial Day signaled the beginning of summer – break out the white shoes and, if you haven’t...

The kids are out of school for the summer – now what?  Gone are the days of packing everyone in the family station wagon and heading for grandma’s . . . today’s kids are so connected to their world thanks to electronics that they want to hike in the Rockies or ski in South America (remember, it’s winter down there now) or order room service at midnight while cruising the Caribbean.  Ah, to be a kid again!

There are many reasons to travel, but more and more we see personal passions taking over in the planning of trips – in this case, culinary/food/wine.  From a survey done recently, we see that these are sometimes the driving force behind the way we travel: Deliberate food travelers (culinary activities were the key reason for trip) spend, on average, $1,271 per trip; $593 or 50% is spent on food-related activities.  On the other hand, those considered to be deliberate wine travelers spend more of their overall travel budget on wine-related activities ($950 average trip cost; $339 or 36% spent on wine-related activities). Here are some ways you can take your culinary interests “on the road:”

One of my favorite ways to experience some of our local restaurants is to order tapas.  That way the flavors mix & mingle and open up your appetite for either a main course or more of the tasty little tidbits. When asked to write this article, I thought that a good approach might be to mix and mingle topics about travel in much the same manner.  Who knows – one of these may open up your appetite to visit a new spot on the globe, engage in a new activity half-way around the world, or just enjoy and dream about where to go next. So, here are some small bites from the travel world…