Travel plan idea blog

Disney meal plan and restaurant recommendations

My parents, my wife. and I may be going to Disney this winter as we have some close friends who are crazy about Disney and live in the park (or very close to it - not exactly sure). Anyway, I'm considering the meal plan where you eat at the park restaurants so thought I'd collect some information. Here are a few personal recommendations from people I know:

Epcot Canada = good steak and beer. Mexico is also good. Do not do too many buffets because you will be sick of it by then end of the week.

Liberty Tree Tavern = Buffet with family style turkey, beef and ham, potatoes and greens, plus characters for the kids.

At MGM-Disney Studios, the Sci-fi Diner is a hoot. You sit in tables which resemble cars at a drive-in movie. You watch old 50's Sci-fi movie trailers while you eat. The food is not so great though.

San Angel Inn in Epcot's Mexico Pavilion is a good one. Eat there for dinner and then go outside and watch the fireworks.

Coral Reef Restaurant at Epcot = you sit in a room where one entire wall is made of glass and you watch fish of all kinds swim by. Sharks, sea turtles, you name it. Food is very good too. Must have a reservation though.

The Flying Fish at the Boardwalk = the oak grilled New York strip was out of this world.

If you want to take a second mortgage out you can try Victoria and Albert's in the Grand Floridian.

The Contemporary Grill was very good as well make sure you are there for the fireworks display from the roof, it is great.

Maya's Grill in the Coronado Springs hotel = great steaks, one of the best buys when using the dining plan.

The Plaza Restaurant between Main Street and Tomorrowland = best kept secret in Disney world. A few bucks more expensive than fast food, but excellent. The strawberry/pear salad (depending on season) is great, along with the grilled chicken sandwich - nothing fancy, just excellent food.

Boma is terrific and located at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Best buffet I have ever been too. The chef there is excellent.

The buffet at The Cape May Cafe located in the Beach Club is also very good if you like seafood.

I don't know if I'll be there long enough to try them all! Anyway, I'm told that the Disney meal plan is good for one snack (Soda, popcorn ice cream up to $4.00), one counter meal (pizza, burger, chicken fingers-lunch), and one sit down dinner at almost any Disney restaurant, per person, per day. There are a handful of high end restaurants that aren't covered, but you can trade two regular dinners for one of those dinners if you want. But please don't quote me on that - check the Disney site for details like I will before I make reservations.

Do you have to travel on vacation?

This is an interesting article with some activities for a vacation at home. From building a computer to building a robot while teaching your kids (or yourself I guess) how to solder...

I guess this vacation at home will be a reality for many - according to this article, 80% of New Yorkers are cutting back on vacation because of gas prices. Not all are staying home obviously, but I'm sure some are.

Maybe the opposite of a vacation at home would be working from your RV for 2-3 years and driving all over America. Sounds awesome except for the gas...

Is the Oktoberfest too expensive and overcrowded?

Thanks for your patience while we moved servers - back to our regularly scheduled program...

Tables for the Oktoberfest need to be reserved several months in advance (think January or February) and a beer costs around €9, if you can get one. The nearly seven million visitors to the city while the Oktoberfest is happening make the experience, unless heavily intoxicated, oftentimes very unpleasant.

Many people, including most of the locals, certainly do feel like the Oktoberfest is too expensive and overcrowded, but what can you do?

The Oktoberfest is the world’s largest beer festival and of course is an experience like no other because of that, but it certainly isn’t the only Bavarian festival. In fact, many would argue that it is just too much of a hassle and they prefer any number of the smaller “volksfests” (people’s festivals) of the area.

The smaller volksfest alternative is dramatically cheaper and for people looking for something similar, but without the hassle, any number of these may be ideal.

Major Beer festivals in or near Munich include Rosenheim’s Herbstfest, the Dachauer volksfest, and the starkbierfest. At these festivals the atmosphere is very similar to the Oktoberfest, but with cheaper beer, more locals, and less tourists. They do not happen all at the same time, in fact they’re spread out through the spring, summer, and fall so that pretty much whenever you visit Bavaria you have a reasonable chance of being able to visit a volksfest and have most of the atmosphere with nearly no hassle at all.

This website lists volksfests from all around the Munich area, so you can easily find one that is going on while you’re in the area.

Here are some pictures of the Dachau Volksfest (as a typical example) from 2007 so you know what to expect. Also, there are a couple pictures of the spring festival with its opening weekend flea market (it’s only on the first Saturday, sorry) on the Theresienwiese (Oktoberfest grounds) here.

Since spring is here, it’s time to put on the Lederhosen and head down to a massive beer tent to drink beer and eat pork knuckle with the locals. There are lots of options, just pick one of the many festivals and have fun. I'll see you there.

-Mike Richardson, The Professional Tourist

Australia – Inside the Great Barrier Reef: Hamilton Island

The 74 Whitsunday Islands in the Coral Sea lie west of the Great Barrier Reef just off the coast of Queensland. One of the largest of these, Hamilton Island, is a popular tourist destination, with an estimated half a million people visiting each year. Occupying the same latitude as Honolulu, the year round tropical weather typical of Tahiti and the Bahamas is ideal for sightseeing, hiking, tennis, golf, and every kind of water sports, including sailing, kayaking, fishing, diving, and windsurfing. From December to February, there are brief showers that add beauty to the lush gardens and scenic splendor of this island paradise.

With so much to see and do on the Island, we will only highlight a few attractions in this article. Each year, the renowned Hamilton Island Outrigger Cup in June for canoe enthusiasts and the Hamilton Island Race Week, Australia’s largest offshore yachting regatta, are held here. An estimated 170 yachts are expected to enter the competition in this year’s Race Week, August 20 – 28. Race Week culminates in a festival on Whitehaven Beach for yacht owners from Australia and New Zealand. Many avid scuba divers travel to Australia primarily for the thrill and excitement of exploring down under the waters around the Great Barrier Reef, the home of manta rays, sharks, turtles, and an abundance of other interesting marine life. Others may prefer to snorkel in the lagoons for a view of the fascinating and colorful coral formations and underwater caves. Daily tours to the Reef by high-speed catamarans, pontoon boats, and glass bottom boats are readily available. Whale watching is an added attraction from July to September.

Many of the accommodations on Hamilton Island are operated by the Oatley family, who lease the island on a long-term basis from the Queensland government. In addition to three and five star hotels and resorts, visitors can rent apartments, villas, and houses. These range in style and price from standard studios to deluxe split-levels and two-stories, with floor to ceiling windows, spa baths, and wraparound terraces. Many of these are self catering with fully equipped, modern kitchens and numerous other amenities, which are ideal for families or larger groups. Garden bungalows, with great views of the sea and the islands, offer a romantic, secluded setting for couples.

For something truly unique, the Qualia Resort on the northern tip of Hamilton Island is the ultimate in a luxury retreat, featured in a number of international travel magazines. With individual pavilions that open onto the sea, visitors have a choice of three types of accommodations including the one-bedroom Leeward or Windward pavilions with living room, infinity pool, or sundeck. The Qualia is expensive indeed – prices for the one bedroom pavilion per night are around $1,700. The much larger Beach House, great for entertaining, has two bedrooms, flat screen TV, a 10-person dining room, full-size private pool, plus a separate guesthouse. Rates for the Beach House begin at $3,100.

In addition to pools, excellent dining, a library, and fitness center, there’s a full-service spa with steam room, Roman baths, and a yoga and meditation pavilion for hours of pampering and relaxation. The Spa Qualia features all organic products, hot stone massages, and chakra-therapy sessions with Australian essential oils. Dining in the Long Beach Pavilion includes an upscale menu of gourmet entrees and desserts - as might be expected, no prices are given! For the more informal, there’s the Pebble Beach restaurant with a tempting lunch menu of shrimp, tuna, and other seafood salads, sandwiches, and desserts, and afternoon cocktails on the terrace by the shore. Qualia is self contained, but guests can take advantage of other activities and adventures nearby including day trips by sea or helicopter for swimming and picnicking on Whitehaven Beach or enjoying any of the other scenic areas in the Whitsundays.

Travelers have a wide choice of cuisine on Hamilton Island, from a variety of Australian to Italian, Eastern, and American. Restaurants offer kids-for-free menus, and a fun visit with the koalas after breakfast. Couples will enjoy the ambiance of dinner cruises through the Whitsundays, jazz at the Toucan Tango on Catseye Beach, or dining on fresh seafood in the Marina Village. Transportation on the Island is usually by two or 4-seater golf style buggy, for hire, or often included with accommodations. Free shuttle service is also available on the island.

Several airlines fly from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Cairns direct to the Hamilton Island airport. Airfare from Brisbane, the closest city, is under $200 U.S. round trip for a short flight of about 1 ½ hours. If you prefer to go by water, but can’t afford a charter, there’s Fantasea Cruises, which offers daily regular ferry service from Shute Harbor, with prices for adults - $41 and $22 for children.

Sharon Slayton

One of the highlights to any visit of Rome: a tour of the excavations under St. Peter’s Basilica

I’m writing this over Easter, so I thought I would choose a Christian theme for this one. Whether you’re religious or not, if you’re going to Rome, this might be very important to your trip.

I had heard about and then read about this tour long before we visited Rome, however was very unsure of what to expect as there is very little information given on the Vatican website about the tour and they certainly don’t advertise. What we ended up with is what my girlfriend considers the absolute highlight of our trip... and she’s not even catholic.

As we always do, we had thoroughly looked through two of the major guide books to look at all possible tour options for Rome. As I’m a tour guide myself, I understand that sometimes it’s impossible to see something without a guide and even if it were possible, it’s better to have someone explain it to you and then later you can look everything up if you need clarification. In this case the only way you can see the excavations under St. Peter’s Basilica is to take the tour operated by the Vatican excavations office.

When I ask some people if they took the tour, they say “well, yeah, that’s how we exited the basilica”, which means they didn’t take the tour. To take the tour is not just a simple “Oh, I’ll show up that day if I decide I have time.”

St. Peter’s Basilica was built above the spot where St. Peter was buried. Below the main basilica today is the crypt where most popes are buried. Below the crypt is where you find the mausoleums of ancient Romans around St. Peter’s time which were built on a hill at the edge of the city of Rome. In this ancient cemetery is where St. Peter was buried, although not openly.

On the tour under St. Peter’s Basilica you see several of the mausoleums as well as what they believe to be St. Peter’s actual grave. This is, in fact, the only way to see St. Peter’s grave and an indescribable experience. It is completely different than seeing the catacombs and I believe different than any other experience you can find as your guide walks you through the ancient burial grounds and then up to the level of the crypt.

The tour must be booked weeks in advance. The tour can only be booked through the excavations office of the Vatican. Only groups of 12 or less are booked to go through the excavations and you must be over 15 years old as well. There is no photography allowed.
Follow the website’s directions and then on the day of the big event, go to the side of St. Peter’s Basilica (while looking at St. Peter’s from the front, go to the left side, outside the semi-circle of columns). Talk to the Swiss Guard in English, Italian, or German (they prefer German). The Swiss Guard will direct you to the excavations office. For me, just having to deal with the Swiss Guard and going where 99% of tourists don’t go was a highlight.

-Mike Richardson, The Professional Tourist

Landshut: the forgotten capital

Landshut (pronounced lands-hoot) is not a normal tourist destination. However, it is always on the top of my list of places to bring friends and family while visiting the area. I’m a tour guide of Munich, Neuschwanstein, and Salzburg. When people visit me I make a serious effort to show them the best that southern Germany has to offer, which includes Landshut. I even included it in my top 5 best day trips from Munich. The reason I do not recommend it to the average tourist is that the difficulty level is much higher than some of the near by tourist traps and major cities. The reason that the difficulty level is higher is that although there is a lot to see, it is not a major city and has yet to be discovered by the hordes of tourist backpackers. Even in late July, you might be the only English speaking tourists in town.

So what does Landshut have that is so impressive? To start with, it is an easy day trip from Munich as it is only about 70 km (43miles) to the North East of Munich which by car or train should be approximately 45 minutes. Once in town, two of the main sights are quite obvious.

The first major sight you will probably see is the castle up on the hill overlooking the city itself. This castle (Burg Trausnitz) is a real medieval castle built in 1204 and used by the royal family of Bavaria, the Wittelsbachs, until 1503. Although parts of the castle have been partially ruined by fire over the years, the castle is one of the most impressive, inside and out, of the entire region. There is a museum section which displays oddities that the dukes of Bavaria collected during the time period they lived in the castle (like a unicorn horn for example) and then the main sections of the castle are only available to see with a guided tour.

The second major sight you see while entering town is St. Martin’s church (dating from 1380-1500), which has the tallest brick church steeple in the world. However, they do not allow visitors up the 428 foot tower, so that is slightly disappointing until you see the inside of the church. This is a gothic basilica minor with several late gothic wood and stone carvings. The most striking image seen in the St. Martin’s church, however, is a stained glass window with an image of Adolf Hitler as part of a scene showing the martyrdom of St. Kastulus.

The third most impressive sight of Landshut is the Stadtresidenz (city residence), which is the oldest Italian renaissance style palace north of the Alps and dates from 1536-1543. The baroque façade was added in the 19th century and fits in with the rest of Landshut’s architecture. When I visited the palace in late July, at the height of the tourist season, we were treated to a personal tour. The only problem is they do not normally do tours in English, but I still feel it’s worth seeing even if you don’t understand much of what the guide is saying.

The city of Landshut is an easy get away destination from Munich with lots to see and yet is a peaceful city with cobblestone streets and beautiful baroque architecture in its historic altstadt (old town). I highly recommend it for your next trip in the area so you see more than the average tourist.

-Mike Richardson, the professional tourist

The Plaza (still in the news)

If Mancunian's recent blog wasn't enough to convince you to stay at New York's Plaza hotel, this article will also try to convince you. People claim it's not about price - it's about experience. I don't know because I've never been in the Plaza, but imagine you're a big Beatles fan for a moment. I think that visiting the John Lennon memorial in Central Park is a more authentic experience than staying in a hotel the Beatles once stayed in. Of course, if you can afford it, the Plaza is close to Central Park...

Or take the money you save from not spending a few nights at the Plaza and go to Liverpool!

Travel To Dubai - An Experience In Extravagance

I've briefly mentioned Dubai a couple of times. Their marketing strategy is pretty brilliant (doing a bunch of crazy stuff that gets people talking about them). And commenters on this blog seem to say it's worth visiting. Anyway, here is a longer look at Dubai (not written by me):

If you’re looking for the ultimate destination and perhaps an experience of a lifetime, Dubai is worth considering. Situated on the Persian Gulf coast, the once obscure little village of fishermen and pearl divers has come to life in a big way. The thatched huts of 20 years ago have been replaced with amazing architecture you have to see to believe. Covering an area of over 4,000 square kilometers, the second largest of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai is expanding into the sea with a series of man-made islands in The Palm and The World.

Although the desert climate can be hot and humid, the pleasant, balmy winter months attract swimmers and surfers to the warm waters of the sea. Families gather beneath the palm trees near the coast for picnics and barbeques beside the popular Jumeira beach. In direct contrast to the tropical atmosphere and scenery are the modern marvels that continue to bring the most seasoned travelers to Dubai. Here you’ll discover the underwater Hydropolis hotel, the manufactured islands of The World resembling the seven continents, the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building at three times the height of the Empire State, and One Central Park, a residential high rise of apartments for the elite.

If money is no object, you can really splurge on accommodations such as the luxurious 7-star Emirates Palace, known as the “Taj Majal of the Middle East,” or the Burj Al Arab, built on its own man-made island and accessible across a bridge for a mere $55. These hotels are obviously the latest in style and elegance, with rates far above the average traveler’s budget. Fortunately, you don’t have to be among the rich and famous, however, to enjoy the obvious appeal of Dubai. For the more budget conscious traveler, there are a number of modestly priced hotels, some for under $200 a night, such as the Sheraton at Jumeira beach, or the Shangri-La and the Dusit near the Dubai World Trade Center. Some visitors will prefer hotels in the heart of the city for the convenience of downtown shopping or the leisure in watching the abras, or water taxis, and dhows that travel on the Dubai Creek. From beach, spa, golf, and city resorts to villas and hotels, there is no lack of places to stay.

Of course, you could always rent a villa by the sea; buying these million dollar properties is in high demand, especially on the Palm Islands. The engineering of these three islands is a marvel in itself. Each is constructed in the shape of a palm tree, with 17 branches, surrounded by a reef, 7.5 miles long x 3 miles wide. There are over 900 foot bridges connecting the branches to the mainland, as well as two harbors to accommodate those traveling by water. Actually buying an island of your own may be well out of reach, but in Dubai it seems that anything is possible. Investing in real estate here has some advantages with financing available, no capital gains tax, low registry fee, and good quality in an area of relatively low crime and an up-and-coming tourist destination.

For those travelers who aren’t fond of sun, sand, and sea, Dubai offers its own ski vacation. The huge indoor Ski Dubai resort has the largest snow park in the world with five ski runs, and plenty of entertainment for the entire family with skiing, tobogganing, and snowboarding.

The wide variety of restaurants caters to the international tourist trade by featuring an excellent selection of Asian, Middle Eastern, European, and American cuisine. The Arabian nights come alive with pubs, bars, discos, and upscale clubs and cocktail lounges for the casual and the more sophisticated crowd.

Shopping in Dubai is another experience to enjoy, where the scent of perfumes, spices, and incense fills the air at the Wafi, Bur Juman, and Emirates malls. These exotic smells mingle with the familiar ones of a city, the local grocery stores, and the enticing flavor of cardamom coffee. When evening comes to Dubai, you’ll experience the tradition and distinctive fruity aroma of hubbly bubbly, or shisha, as men gather in cafes to smoke a pipe of these unique types of Arabian tobacco. Other activities include the Art Dubai fair, an international film festival, golf classics, football, cricket, and thoroughbred horse racing.

Transportation in and around the city is plentiful with reasonable taxis, buses, and cars for hire. A metro system with above ground and underground stations is currently under construction, as well. Traveling to Dubai by air is facilitated by a number of airlines including the national Emirates airline, and other international flights. Future plans in tourism entertainment include Dubailand, Eco-Tourism World, Leisure and Vacation World, and numerous other shopping and retail establishments.

Many travelers will add Dubai to their list of must see places, as it continues to build the largest, the tallest, and perhaps the best, if not the first, wonders of the world.

Guest entry by Sharon Slayton

Italian food in Buenos Aires?

I've mentioned Buenos Aires before, and it is still high on my list of places to visit so I was interested in this article on the food there.

When I do get to plan my Buenos Aires trip, I'll use this article (and the comments since it seems the article is not entirely correct) to help figure out where I'm eating. One thing that got me excited was the mention that Italian food and gelato are very good (I think they said the gelato in Buenos Aires is even better than the gelato in Italy but I don't know I can believe that until I taste it for myself).

Typical babymoons

On a New York Giants message board I was reading an off-topic post about babymoon experiences and thought I would share with you what New York Giants fans have been doing for babymoons recently:

Front Row Endzone: Although the wife did get depressed on tequila night when everyone else was drinking and having fun. Went to Maroma, an exclusive resort south of Cancun.

BUgiantfan: The Mrs. is about 5 months along and we're going to Sanibel Island, Florida. We're going ahead with the trip even though I insist we have no money. She immediately pointed out my silliness in considering our financial situation. Never even heard of such a thing.

Mwheeler: My wife and I went on an cruise to Alaska before our first one came along. She was about 5 months pregnant at the time. I didn't consider it a "babymoon", rather our last chance for a nice vacation for the next 20 years.

A week or two before our second was born her parents came from out-of-state and took care of our daughter for a night while we hung out at a nice bed-and-breakfast across the street from the hospital. My wife had been having contractions fairly regularly since 32 weeks and had been on bed rest for a number of weeks, so we wanted to stay close.

Adevin: We decided to stay away from the resorts and do something with a 5 hour drive. Yes a 5 hour drive can be painful with a pregnant woman. There is a great Hotel up north Lake Placid area the Mirror Lake Inn. Plenty to due, some shopping for her good food and a spa. Plus you can relax and enjoy each other.

Jim: Wife is due in April. We have a 1 1/2 year old, so we figured we better do it now before we're in lockdown for 1 - 2 years. 5 days/4 night in the Bahamas.

Well that's it. Just thought it would be fun / different to share a few babymoon ideas from regular people who've done it.

My unfinished business on Italy's island of Capri

This article on Capri got me thinking about my honeymoon. My wife and I spent 2 or 3 days on Capri, in a bungalow with no heat. Capri isn't real warm in October...

Apparently we got in right before they shut the bungalows down for the winter season. Lucky us... I wish I could remember the name of the place in order to warn you all but this was almost 7 years ago.

If I can digress some, this reminds me of the talk we had about what travel agents are supposed to do for you. Now we didn't use travel agents for our honeymoon - it was very unscripted (we had planned to travel all around Europe but ended up spending 4 weeks in Rome first; then 4 weeks in Assisi with trips to Perugia, Florence, Venice; and finally a week traveling around which included Naples and Capri).

Yes, we were very much in debt after that trip!

Anyway, I was thinking that most travel agents wouldn't have known the bungalows were unheated any more than we did. The guide books didn't help either.

Anyway, back to Capri. The article lists some attractions at the end. Some ring a bell - some I may have missed - some I may have forgotten. Here it is:

Piazza Umberto I. This is kind of the center of activity in Capri. It was plenty busy in late October.

Gardens of Giardini di Augusto. The article says they are just off the piazza but I don't remember seeing any gardens.

Villa Jovis. According to the article, "playground of the Roman Emperor Tiberius (who reputedly discarded his lovers from the cliffs)". That doesn't bring back any memories as it's not very descriptive.

Arco Naturale and Punta Tragere. The article says you go here to look at the offshore rocks of Faraglioni. I saw rocks but don't know which ones.

Anacapri, a less touristy village according to the article. This is where we shivered through the night.

Chairlift to the top of Monte Solaro. My wife and I loved the chairlift.

Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra) - long waits in the summer according to this article. That wasn't an issue for us in October but the boats didn't go out due to bad weather. If we return to Capri it will be to see this "natural wonder of the world".

Do I recommend Capri? Sure, but I would (and did) see at least Rome, Venice, and Florence first. Assisi and Perugia are also great but not necessarily better than Capri depending on your tastes. If you like medieval looking stone buildings, Assisi is better. If you need to see the blue grotto then off to Capri.

Again I never did see the blue grotto so maybe it is better than the rest of Italy's attractions put together. I doubt it's better than Rome, Florence, or Venice but can't say for sure.

London is so Expensive!

Its common knowledge that London is one of the most expensive cities in the world, although apparently not as expensive as Moscow.

London also has some of the most expensive hotel rooms in the world, and as I found out when I started looking for a reasonably priced hotel, it’s now very difficult to find a hotel room under $200. Apparently, the average cost of a hotel room in London is now around $300 per night. (I just booked a room for April at the Eden Plaza Hotel, which seems like a bargain at $220 a night! Has anyone stayed there…? I hope it’s OK)

It isn’t just the hotels that are expensive. Originally I planned to take the Heathrow Express between the center of London and Heathrow Airport – until I looked at the prices. It’s about a 15 minute train journey each way and for three of us, the cost is about $142.00 round trip. This is the internet discount rate – it’s a little bit higher if purchased on the day of travel.

First class costs even more – around $230.00 for three people. Why you would even bother to pay more for first class on a 15 minute journey is a mystery to me.

Transport in London is generally expensive though – a ticket for a single journey on the London Underground (or “tube” as the locals call it) costs anything from $1.80 to $10.00 depending on the distance. This compares to about $2 for a journey on the New York Subway and 70 cents for a journey on Moscow’s metro system.

The least expensive major city in the world to visit is considered to be Asuncion, Paraguay, (where a hotel room can cost as low as $15) followed by Harare, Zimbabwe; Karachi, Pakistan and Bangalore, India.

The good news is that most of London’s museums are still free and there are many other attractions that don’t cost anything either. And walking – which is still free - is a great way to see London.

Guest entry by Mancunian

Related: Eurostar, Sherlock Holmes, Da Vinci Code, London and Amsterdam, England travel plan, Europe travel plan, Harry Potter.

A couch to crash on anywhere in the world

This article talks about couchsurfing, when travelers stay in a stranger's home (well someone they met online anyway) instead of going to a hotel. It does sounds interesting to get a local person to show you around and to see how a local person lives - no doubt this would teach you something about the culture of wherever you're visiting.

It also has the added benefit of being cheap.

Now I feel like making a bit of a digression and expanding on a relatively minor point in the article.

One student teacher had this to add: "A lot of Americans, they vacation, they don’t travel. I differentiate between vacationing and traveling," Breault said. "You’re learning something about the world, rather than viewing the world."

Here I have a problem. When I was a poor college student I was an elitist traveler like this student teacher. I drove to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, slept in my car every night, ate loaves of bread and unheated cans of spaghetti (totally disgusting by the way), hung out with apparently homeless New Orleans kids for a day, etc. I thought I was a real traveler especially compared to the tourists staying in expensive hotels.

Now I stay in hotels, but I still think I'm traveling. I don't understand people who say you can view the world without learning something. It kind of reminds me of those people who said I shouldn't go shopping when I travel.

I didn't do any shopping when I was 22 and in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Now I shop when I'm on vacation. The experiences certainly are different but I don't think anyone can say one is 'real' and the other is not real traveling.

Anyway, enough about how young people who travel cheap think they are the real travelers. Let me ask a discussion question:

Would you crash on a stranger's couch while traveling in your own country or abroad? Would you invite someone you met online into your home so that they could travel cheap?

Personally, I would have no objection to sleeping in a stranger's house as long as I had talked to them online or something. But inviting someone into my home would be entirely different. I don't think I would. I guess it seems like it would be easy to leave the stranger's house if I was uncomfortable there (partially because I have money for a hotel) but kicking someone out of my house would be more trouble.

Interestingly, I blogged about one of these couch surfing sites 2 years ago. I'm still waiting for hospitalityclub.org to review my application...

Orlando beyond Disney plus resort press releases

Here's an article on things to do in Orlando other than family-oriented Disney. The list does include some Disney though: Walt Disney World Speedway where people get to drive a NASCAR-style stock car.

Other activities listed in the article include golf and airboat tours, sky diving, hang gliding, water-skiing, canoeing, and the "sophisticated nightlife" in Winter Park, a tony suburb of Orlando (I don't know what a tony suburb is but the article also spelled skiing as skiiing with an extra i...).

I didn't find much else in the regular news I went through but I thought these 2 press release excerpts would be interesting:

Mike Ditka, former NFL Coach of the 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears, will soon celebrate the official grand opening of the first two Mike Ditka Resorts in Orlando, Lighthouse Key Resort & Spa and Runaway Beach Club Resort on Feb. 27th.

Lighthouse Key Resort & Spa and Runaway Beach Club Resort are both located in the heart of the Orlando attractions area and are minutes from Walt Disney World Resort. Lighthouse Key Resort & Spa is a gated resort community featuring spacious two-, three- and four-bedroom lakefront villas. Runaway Beach Club Resort offers one-, two- and three-bedroom villas and loft villas.

And excerpted from a different press release:

BookIt.com Deal: $99 per night at the Regal Sun Resort. This official Disney hotel is part of the Lake Buena Vista Hotel Resorts. I don't know what's so special about this deal since the same price is available from a link on the hotel's home page. That link sends you to ihotelier.com instead of bookit.com...

For more on Orlando I searched my own blog and found the following:

Tampa Bay vacation plan (with Orlando side trip)
Disney honeymoon experience
Disney honeymoon discussion
Disney resort comparison

At least I found one that wasn't Disney focused! So has anyone here gone to Orlando and not gone to Disney?

Winter vacation in or near Chicago? Bowling, candy, Key Lime Cove

This article talks about winter vacation ideas in Chicago. Not surprisingly that's when hotels are cheapest. There's a bowling weekend getaway, a feed your kids as much junk food as possible vacation, stuff aimed at locals who aren't going to leave the Chicago area, and another interesting one...

I do like water parks but I'm not so sure this one is for me (seems to be geared toward kids):

And opening Feb. 29 right in Gurnee is the 30-acre KeyLime Cove Resort, where you can pretend that it's not winter and it's not cold outside. It's like an indoor mini-vacation to the Caribbean. Guests stay ins suites that include flat-screen TVs with cable and refrigerator, and they have exclusive rights to use the 65,000-square-foot Lost Paradise Indoor Water Park with whirlpool, body slides, water slides, river tube rides and kiddie pools. The Rip Tide Reef Arcade features foosball, air hockey and loads of other kid-oriented games. KeyLime has also created its own cast of charismatic characters like Toukie the Toucan and Marty the Chameleon who tell stories and do performances throughout the resort.

"KeyLime Cove is putting a new twist on the way Americans vacation," said managing director Andrew Bateman.

And parents, get this -- you can purchase a predetermined amount of "fun" for your kids at the resort.

Babymoon article

This article talks about babymoons, specifically the Mohonk Mountain House 'Hello Baby!' BabyMoon package. This hotel is in New York (Hudson Valley area).

$374/person (Sunday through Thursday) gets you three meals daily, afternoon tea and cookies, and resort activities. That includes time in the spa in the Couples' Treatment Room, where moms-to-be get a 50-minute Maternity Massage and dads-to-be have a choice between a deep tissue massage or revitalizer facial.

You get chocolates each night, a spa gift for the new parents, and a gift for the baby.

It sounds like quite a nice package but the article doesn't say if it's $374/person total or each day...

They also have some tips for babymooners. It's simple stuff like talk to your doctor and buy travel insurance in case you need to change you plans. This previous article I blogged about also had some stuff about pregnant women in spas (hot tubs are bad for example).

This blog entry also talks about babymoon packages. I think in there I also talked about how free gifts seem like a waste to me. Personally I wouldn't even consider that if I were pricing any sort of vacation package.

Super Bowl travel articles

3 years ago I wrote about traveling to the Super Bowl, concluding that the money would be better spent on a European vacation. Well maybe because I just got back from Europe (though it wasn't easy) or maybe because the New York Giants (my team) are in the Super Bowl, I'm not going to insist on saving your money for other travels this year.

I'm not spending my money on Super Bowl travel, but now I understand (well almost understand) people who do.

If you want to go, here is a bit of quick advice. It's pretty standard stuff (make sure your hotel exists, make sure you get to see the game from the inside the stadium and not just some Phoenix sports bar, etc.). Obviously you need to be careful - lots of scammers want to make money selling counterfeit tickets to the big game.

According to this article, 125,000 people will visit Phoenix for the Super Bowl and many of them will want to play golf. People have been requesting tee times since a year ago so maybe people are crazy about football and golf...

Here is an interesting article on the business side of things from the hotel / resort perspective. According to this article the Super Bowl won't make the hotels a whole lot of money, but it does give them a chance to impress new guests and hopefully win repeat business.

Numerous possible destinations in Spain

This British article talks about Spain and includes a bit on Valencia, Malaga, Mallorca, Lanzarote, and Tenerife. Plus several I've never heard of: Vejer de la Frontera, Pitres, Murcia, Aigues Tortes National Park in the Catalan Pyrenees, Zaragoza, and more.

Boca Raton, other warm vacation spots, a ski guides, genealogical research

At least once before we talked about how vacations could be nearby and might involve only one day off from work. Now this one (Boca Raton) is a bit more extravagant than the local mall for holiday gift shopping, it's interesting to read about people looking for vacation ideas close to home.

Of course for those of us who don't live in Florida, Boca Raton still involves a flight and all the potential delays as do many of our favorite vacations. For example, in Vermont, some popular destinations this time of year are Cancun and Mexico's Mayan Riviera, cruises, the Dominican Republic, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Hawaii, and Costa Rica.

I suppose it's no surprise that Vermonters want to go someplace warm right around now. For those of you who like it cold, this Newsday guide on skiing in the Northeast might help you.

And for those who aren't on vacation yet but have the desire to do some genealogical research, possibly giving you future travel ideas, this article on checking railroad history for clues will be interesting.

Vermont hiking and snowshoeing, travel agents, dangerous destinations

Here's an article on hiking and snowshoeing between inns in Vermont. They speak specifically about winter, but personally I would opt for the hiking option and go during one of the other seasons...

I also have an article on the travel agent vs. booking yourself online discussion. It seems always to come back to the same thing - travel agents offer better advice and are better problem solvers when things go wrong.

That reminds me of the card mill debate - what happens when a ton of random people become "travel agents" by paying $500 plus $50/month? Inevitably you end up with travel agents who don't give good advice and who don't fix problems that well. I don't mean all network marketing travel agents are incapable but I'm sure many are. Of course I'm also sure that some regular travel agents also offer bad advice and aren't very good at solving problems...

Of course no matter how inexperienced a travel agent is, they probably know enough not to send you to one of these dangerous places. According to the Forbes list you probably don't want to go to Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, Pakistan, Sudan, Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Lebanon, Zimbabwe, or Palestine.

In Search of Santa Claus…and somewhere warm to spend Christmas

It’s that time of the year again…you have probably come across Santa in your local mall; you may even have paid for your children to sit on his lap and tell him what they want for Christmas (Hopefully, nothing too expensive)

But of course, you should head for Lapland, the remote region in the north of Finland, close to the Russian border, if you really want to see an authentic Santa. Since 1985, Santa has had his own village here and can be found at home every day of the year - with the exception of Christmas Eve. (If you want to see where Santa is on Christmas Eve, you can track his progress)

In addition to the Great Man himself, Santa’s Village also boasts an exhibition on Christmas traditions around the world, as well as the chance to stand on the nearby Arctic Circle. The Arctic Circle is also a great place to experience the northern lights during the winter, or the midnight sun during the summer.

Tours are popular from the UK to Santa’s Village – apparently it’s possible to fly there, visit Santa and fly back home, all in the same day. There’s even an international airport at Rovaniemi, a couple of miles from the village, from which you can fly even further north to Murmansk, the largest city north of the Arctic Circle.

However, if you want to spend the holidays somewhere a little bit warmer, you could always head to the aptly named Christmas Island. This tropical island is a territory of Australia and is a tiny speck in the Indian Ocean – it’s actually closer to Java than Australia. It isn’t particularly easy to get to – you have to fly from Perth or Singapore although once you get there, there’s quite a lot to see and do including snorkeling, bird watching, hiking and shopping.

Anyway, happy holidays to all the readers of this blog!

Guest entry by Mancunian

Tourism of Doom

Tourism of Doom is a phrase I just came across in this article. I've compiled a list of 'doom destinations' mentioned:

Glaciers of Patagonia (melting)
Coral of the Great Barrier Reef (threatened)
atolls of the Maldives (eroding)
Kilimanjaro (see the sunrise on the highest peak in Africa before the ice cap melts)
Galápagos Islands (getting worse)
a stay at a remote lodge in the Amazon (might be a cattle ranch soon)
Cruises of Antarctica (melting glaciers and sinking ships)

Are there any other good tourism of doom destinations you know of?

Different types of vacations: luxury in Bhutan, Moscow

I thought this article had a funny line: "Beautiful and unspoiled locales aren't just for backpackers anymore."

The article is about travel spots like Bhutan, which has "succeeded in marketing itself as an exclusive destination for highly selective travelers." Rich people get to go some place their friends probably haven't been and get to stay in expensive hotels.

According to the article Moscow isn't a big draw for the wealthy yet. However it may be soon:

Moscow has regular flight service to and from the U.S. but has attracted few discriminating Western tourists. That may change this summer, when the Ritz-Carlton opens its first Russian property in Moscow as part of a corporate strategy to develop hotels in cities with growing economies. The hotel, constructed on the site of an 18th-century tavern, cost $350 million to build, and the plan is for it to become a culinary haven: Its restaurant has a three-star Michelin chef, Heinz Winkler, and boasts specials like a $700-per-person Tsar's Breakfast that includes champagne, Kobe beef steak, foie gras, Beluga caviar, and a truffle omelet. After some grand-opening specials, standard nightly room rates will start at $1,000.

Why not fly to Moscow for what might be the world's most expensive breakfast?

New Buffalo casino & new luxury resort in Costa Rica connected by a weak transition

This article says that staying in a casino / hotel is like experiencing a foreign culture. I remember a professor from my university days who hated this sort of thinking. Going to Disney's Epcot to expereince 24 different countries or whatever they have and Las Vegas's street where everything is enclosed and the lights make it seem to be day or night absolutely infuriated him.

When I was in university his thinking was pretty influential but these days i find myself agreeing (with some hesitation) with the author. I would like to spend a weekend in Vegas and another in Disney to experience whatever that is. I won't equate it with experiencing a foreign culture - living in Korea the past 6.5 years has been experiencing a foreign culture so a weekend in a hotel doesn't really compare.

Anyway, the article is about a new casino in New Buffalo, Michigan. Supposedly this is a beautiful casino that "resembles nothing of the gaudy glam of Vegas." I'm still pretty sure that my old English professor would disapprove.

One of the attractions is that it's easy to escape the casino:

But it's also easily escapable. Downtown New Buffalo, which brings a healthy dose of weekender retreat, is a five-minute drive west; the southern tip of the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail is a 10-minute drive; Warren Dunes State Park is 15. There is the lake; there are antique stores; there are quaint cafes at which to sip coffee. And none of them is smoky or ringing with slot machines (see 5 More Reasons to Go).

That sounds nice, but so do most of these Las Vegas day trips.

I'm going to make a rickety transition to my next article if you'll bear with me. The author of the first article says:

Think about it: Top-notch restaurants, well-appointed hotel suites, luxurious spa services, live entertainment, boutique retail outlets, free-flowing alcohol and, of course, gaming galore -- in most cases, at all hours. Minus the whole "experience nature" thing, casinos essentially provide all the major amenities of a luxury vacation under one neon-clad roof.

If you're main interest is experiencing nature, you might be considering Cost Rica (like I was last summer). Enter my second article. This is a luxury resort in Costa Rica that aims to protect the environment and help the local community. Well, probably they mostly want to make money but they say they want to help the environment and the locals. Hopefully, it's true. Supposedly the resort will be integrated with the local communities somehow though it's hard to imagine how that works in practice considering the huge income gaps between the locals and the people living in luxury but it sounds nice:

“There are a lot of walled-off resorts in the world,” Mr. Case said. “There is a better way. What we’re doing here is taking the best property in the hottest market, and designing a resort community that integrates with the neighboring communities in an environmentally sustainable way. That is the future standard of luxury resorts."

By the way, funny story about living in Korea. I was playing World of Warcraft online the other day with a fellow American. When I told him I was living in Korea he asked what state that was in. I said, “Korea the country.” He said he’d never heard of the place before. It seems a little hard to have not heard of Korea considering the political turmoil of the past few years with North Korea and how so many products are imported to the US from South Korea. Then there was that war most people should have studied in school at some point...

la Plagne 2100 Club Med in the French Haute Savoie

I didn't know that European ski vacations had a somewhat bad reputation, but this article says you can avoid all the negatives of a European ski holiday by going to la Plagne 2100 Club Med in the French Haute Savoie.

I think of beaches when I think Club Med, but in this case you need to think Mont Blanc and "breathtaking Alpine vistas".

As for the bad reputation I had never imagined, this article says:

For many of us, a European ski vacation conjures up images of big bucks and rude people invading your space and trashing your skis in the lift-line. Or of snooty waiters demanding $20 plus tip for a slope-side coffee.

Christmas seems to arrive earlier each year (Christmas themed travel ideas)

I enjoy Christmas as much as the next person (unless the next person is the Grinch!) but isn’t mid-November a little bit too early to be celebrating the season? One of my local radio stations (in North Carolina) usually starts playing non-stop Christmas music around the beginning of November (due to popular demand, apparently) and I suspect that the Christmas tree outside my local mall will be put up in a few days.

I personally think Christmas should not start until December 1st. But if you really are one of those people who like to celebrate Christmas year round, here are some places that might be fun to visit...

Spencer County, Indiana

Perhaps the ultimate year-round Christmas destination. Spencer County is home to the small town of Santa Claus which lives up to its name with a museum, post office and theme park dedicated to the great man. These attractions are all open year round. Spencer County was also the boyhood home of Abraham Lincoln, although he has been somewhat overshadowed by Santa Claus.

Kathe Wohlfahrt’s Christmas shop, Rothenburg, Germany

There are plenty of shops that sell Christmas ornaments and decorations year round, but this is probably one of the biggest and best. The shop sells Christmas decorations of all kinds, including some beautiful handmade wooden ornaments. There is also a small Christmas museum on the premises and at Christmas, the shop puts on special exhibits (and sells more decorations as well, I imagine) Here are some photographs of the shop and some of its wonderful displays.

Elkhorn, Wisconsin

If this town looks somewhat familiar, apparently it has been the inspiration for many Christmas cards over the years. In fact, Elkhorn is known as the “Christmas Card town” and has an exhibition of Christmas cards on display year round at the Chamber of Commerce.

Bronner’s Christmas Store

This establishment in Frankenmuth, Michigan calls itself the world’s largest Christmas store, and covers an area of over five football fields. They offer over 50,000 different decorations, lights and ornaments. Bronner’s also has a memorial chapel and features nightly displays of Christmas lights. Every year, over 2 million people visit the store, which is open year round – but closed on Christmas Day.

Anyway, if you are celebrating Christmas six weeks early – Merry Christmas!

Guest entry by Mancunian

Crater of Diamonds State Park in the news again

Apparently Crater of Diamonds State Park yields so many stones that one man was able to make a living from selling the diamonds he found there. He now has a job in a convenience store, but after finding a 4.38 carat diamond I wonder how good that job looks.

I really want to look for gold or diamonds or something on one of my upcoming vacations. Imagine coming back from vacation richer than when you left...

You don't have to ski if you travel to the Midwestern US

This article looks at some resorts that offer more than skiiing in the Midwest. Attractions include ice skating, sleigh rides, dog sledding, snowshoeing, and full-service spa treatments.

It reminds me of the first time I went skiing. We had spent hundreds of dollars on ski clothes only to see them sit in our closet for a few years. So eventually we went to a ski resort to use them. Luckily, they still fit!

Skiing was too hard to be fun. The next day we went sledding and had a blast. And we finally got to break in our ski clothes.

Round-the-world with kids

I'm sure many of us have dreamed about traveling around the world for a year. Some people actually do it and they do it with their kids. This New York Times article talks about that.

One family did all the planning themselves (that must have taken a while!) and spent $140,000. They also say that it works best with kids between 9-12 because they are old enough to appreciate and remember stuff but not old enough to resent their parents for dragging them away from dating and whatever else.

Bonfire Night in the UK

It may seem a strange thing to celebrate, but every November 5th, people in the UK remember the exploits of a certain Guy Fawkes, who unsuccessfully tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament back in 1605. Some say he was the only person ever to enter Parliament with honest intentions! If you are reading this in the UK, you or your children may well be making last minute plans for an event that’s celebrated almost as enthusiastically as Christmas or Halloween.

Festivities usually take the form of a bonfire and fireworks and if you happen to be in Britain on November 5th, a visit to a bonfire night celebration is an experience not to be missed. You can find bonfires today all over Britain, from the smallest village to the largest city, but the largest and most famous celebrations are held every year in the town of Lewes, East Sussex, about 50 miles south of London.

The town even has different bonfire societies that try to outdo each other with their bonfires, fireworks and fancy dress competitions. Huge effigies of Guy Fawkes are carried through the town by thousands of people wielding burning torches, turning the streets into rivers of flame.

In addition to the usual bonfire, the town of Bridgewater in Somerset, in the southwest of England hosts a huge carnival and nighttime procession through the town – calling itself the largest illuminated carnival in the world.

Not to be outdone, London also hosts a series of spectacular bonfires in its many parks and open spaces every November 5th. One of the best fireworks displays takes place at Alexandra Palace, a huge Victorian structure which offers spectacular views over north London. As well as watching fireworks, you can listen to live music and sample an ice rink and an inside funfair.

Today, you can still see the place where Guy Fawkes was executed by hanging, in the Old Palace yard adjoining the Palace of Westminster – ironically just a few yards from where he intended to hide and detonate tons of explosive. The adjoining medieval Westminster Hall is one of the few parts of the Palace of Westminster that remains unchanged since that day and is still free to visit.

And today – over 400 years later - the Palace guards still search the cellars of the Houses of Parliament before every state opening of Parliament to make sure there are no explosives hidden there – although hopefully this routine is carried out as a quaint tradition rather than an actual deterrent!

Guest entry by Mancunian

Some scary places to visit!

Yes – it’s that time of the year again! With Halloween just around the corner, I wondered what were considered to be the most haunted places in the world. There is no shortage of sites that claim to list some of the most haunted places – this web site lists a dozen of the most haunted in the US, including such predictably eerie places as Gettysburg battlefield, Alcatraz prison and the quirky Winchester House, near San Jose, Ca.

New Orleans is generally considered to be the most haunted city in the United States – at least 10 hotels in the city are reported to be haunted, and several companies offer ghost themed walking tours. I have been on one of the ghost walks and it was quite fascinating. It also seems as though New Orleans is quite a place to spend Halloween!

Other cities with more than their fair share of ghostly inhabitants include Charleston, SC, Savannah, Ga and Salem, Ma, famous for the witch trials held there during the 17th century. Salem is also quite a place in which to celebrate Halloween, with witch and ghost themed events happening throughout October, culminating with the town’s official Witches Ball on Halloween night.

But the most haunted place in the world is apparently the city of York in England which has a total of 504 recorded ghostly sightings, according to the Ghost Research Foundation International. And York is also home to the oldest ghost – the famous Roman Legionnaires that are supposedly seen marching through the Treasurer’s House. At least six companies offer ghostly walking tours of York, costing around $8 per person – although they don’t actually guarantee a ghost sighting.

But if you really want to communicate with the other si