My travel

There are lots of great dive sites in the Caribbean, but which ones make it to the top of the list? We’ll give you our opinion. We’ve done lots of diving all over the Caribbean, but these sites are the ones we still remember and compare all other dives to.

Our list:

• Wreck of the Chikuzen, Tortola, British virgin Islands

I loved this site. It was (and still is) the best wreck dive we have done.

The wreck of the Chikuzen is located off of Tortola’s east end and 12 miles NW of virgin Gorda. This site is weather dependent so you may or may not be able to get out there. Luckily, the weather cooperated and we were able to dive the wreck (we were staying on Virgin Gorda).

When we descended the mooring line to wait for the other divers, we went straight into a huge school of barracuda. Now I’m used to seeing a lone barracuda, or a few together, but there had to be at least a hundred of them. And this was just at the bottom of the mooring line. It got better from there. Definitely one of our all time top dives in the Caribbean.

We saw black tip sharks, lots of stingrays, horse-eye jacks, pompano, spadefish and lots more. This is the place to come if you like big fish and lots of fish. And to top it all off, we heard whales singing at the end of the dive. And we haven’t even mentioned the wreck. How could it not be one of our top dives?

• Pidgeon, Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

This one is usually a surprise (and to us too because the rest of the diving we did in Bequia was good but not spectacular). However, this dive was wonderful. It was just my husband, myself and the divemaster (right there it is better than a lot of dives).

The water was crystal clear and the sun was shining on the coral, making the colors brilliant. There was a slight current so we could just drift along the reef with barely a kick. Lots of marine life to observe.

I remember thinking, “This is why I dive.” It was just a fantastic, easy underwater sightseeing trip. Definitely one of the top dives we have done.

• Name Unknown, Bimini, Bahamas

I know, I’m sorry - but you’ll be able to find it. We went over to Bimini from Florida in a boat and dove off our boat rather than with a dive shop. We tied up at a mooring buoy while we got ready. Then we jumped in. And that was the start of one great, fun drift dive.

We were flying! The formations and coral were beautiful and since it was a nice, sunny day, the colors were brilliant. Since the current was strong we couldn’t stop and examine many things, but that was fine. It was one heck of a fun dive.

Along the way, we saw an underwater plaque dedicated to someone that had died. So between the mooring buoy and the plaque, one of the dive shops or a local will be able to tell you where we were (my brother-in-laws’s GPS broke so we lost the coordinates). Next time we go to Bimini, we will find it again and I will post the update.

• Horseshoe, Cozumel, Mexico

Cozumel is pretty much a divers mecca and we’ve been there several times. You will find alot of great dive sites off of Cozumel but this one stands out and is one of my favorites.

This site has incredible formations with tunnels in and around the formations. We saw alot of marine life including eels, sharks, barracudas to name just a few. A cool dive and definitely on of the top dives in Cozumel.

So there you have it. Our list of 4 of the top dives we have done. If you dive these sites, we hope you enjoy them as much as we did. To read about our all time favorite top dive in the Caribbean, #1 on our list, visit our website.

Dianne Rein runs a scuba diving website at http://www.scuba-diving-smiles.com To find out her #1 dive in the Caribbean visit her page of top dives You will also find a list of her top 3 overall destinations to go scuba diving in the Caribbean as will as much more dive info including gear guides and pages of scuba diving tips.

If you’re going bareboat yachting in Tortola and the British Virgin Islands, you’ll need to be prepared for everything. That means you need to provision the boat. Fortunately, in most towns with bareboat charter companies you’ll also find provisioning companies who will be happy to deliver proper provisions to your boat at prices comparable to an ordinary store, and who will help you select the provisions you need. This can be a significant savings over asking the charter company to do this for you, and it allows you to easily modify your provision needs by yourself.

If you choose to provision your bareboat yacht yourself, remember the following tips.

Plan your own meals before you go bareboating. Consider what you’ll really need to feed the crew, keeping in mind that most crews tend to eat a lighter than usual breakfast and that dinners are often eaten on shore, especially when you spot tempting restaurants that are easy to tie up at. Once you’ve planned your menus, go online and look for provisioners and their inventories. Often, you can do most of your shopping online before you go on your trip, saving time and worry.

When planning meals, figure on eating breakfast and lunch onboard, but probably only half your dinners on the boat. The rest will be at some of the nice area restaurants.

Small, portable foods can be purchased at home and brought to the British Virgin Islands with you. This will save money on some of the most expensive provisions. Coffee, spices, and meat, for instance, are easy to transport (freeze meat and bring it in a cooler as a carryon) and cost much less at home than at Tortola’s provisioners. If you’re planning to fish, you can also figure on at least one meal being your tasty fresh catch.

Bring lots of ziplock bags. This saves time, as you can more easily pre-prep and separate out meals, toss them in baggies, and then store them in the ship refrigerator, labeled and ready to prepare. It also makes it very easy to store leftovers. You’ll find dozens of other uses for ziplock bags, from storing extra fish fillets to sorting medications or creating quick ice packs.

Buy your rum, gin, and vodka at the British Virgin Islands, but if you want wine and are picky, you may want to bring your own or check ahead for availability.

Because ship water, despite being potable, gains an interesting and unpleasant flavor from the tanks, it’s a good idea to get bottled water. Figure on a half-gallon per person per day.

Roaches, unfortunately, are a problem on many boats and yachts, even the nicest ones. Ensure that the charter company you’re renting from has recently sprayed for vermin on board before you get on the ship. To avoid carrying more critters onto the boat, take your provisions out of the cardboard boxes the provisioner delivers in before carrying them onto the boat. Roaches like to piggyback in cardboard, and this is the route through which most boats get an infestation.

Barry Monteiro is a world traveler specializing in great tropical destination getaways. He enjoys writing about his favorite subjects Tortola Beaches and Tortola Yacht Charters.

You’re strolling along white sand beaches, your toes digging into the warmth. Sunshine is sparkling off whitecaps on the crystal blue as you splash in the sea. Perhaps another cocktail? A seaside concert? Dinner at a 4-star restaurant? Wow, surely you must be vacationing along the famed Amalfi Coast in Italy, or along the luxurious French Mediterranean, or maybe even one of the tropical Hawaiian Islands, right?

Wrong!

You’re in Croatia!

That’s right - this once war-torn country that just recently won its final independence is quickly becoming known as one of the best beach vacation destinations in the world.

That’s right - this once poor eastern European country hidden under years of oppression is now being revealed as the seaside gem that cannot be missed for the jet set and suburban traveler alike.

With some of the most well-known world vacation beaches being overrun by crowds, exorbitant prices, and tourist traps on every corner, the time to find a new sandy retreat is desperately needed. Acclaimed as being more hospitable, more beautiful, and more affordable than almost any other coastal destination, Croatia offers a lot of everything for any beach lover. Let’s take a look at the three best Croatian regions within which to dip your toes into the Adriatic.

Istria

If you have never been to Croatia, there is no better place to start than Istria. Located in western Croatia, Istria’s coastline stretches on for miles and is dotted with numerous gorgeous beaches, bays, and quaint villages that will magically transport you to a better time. Bordering Italy, Austria, and Slovenia, Croatia is like a European smorgasbord of culture, cuisine, and cool sea breezes!

Because Istria was held by Italy before World War II, you will find colorful Italian traditions and culture around every corner. Whether you want to eat authentic Italian truffles, stay in a beautiful palazzo, or simply feel like you are in Italy for a fraction of the price, Istria the place for you.

If you want a break from sunbathing on the beach or one of the countless offshore island paradises, Istria is filled with incredible historical and cultural attractions. Whether you want to take a tour of the medieval architecture in Pazin or take in a concert in Groznjan, Istria is the place to be (and, if you don’t ever want to leave, lucky for you, there’s never been a better time to buy real estate in Istria either). It’s hard to imagine any more romantic destination than Istria, but - believe it or not - you can find just that in nearby Dalmatia.

Dalmatia

One of my all-time favorite regions of Croatia is the Dalmatian Coast. Located in the southern part of the country, Dalmatia is reminiscent of the most dramatic spots along the French or Italian Riviera - but without nearly as many tourists as either of these locations (or of Istria either).

The first thing you’ll notice in this region is the water. It’s the clearest, most sparkling blue you’ll find anywhere in the world. The entire coast - all its islands, coves, and beaches - seem to glow with an enchanted feel.

Again, if you’re looking for a sightseeing break, historical cities like Sibenik, Zadar, Dubrovnik, and Split, along with the nearby spectacular mountain ranges like Biokovo and Velebit, are just a hop, skip, and jump away. With its renowned national parks as well as the Krka rapids, the Kornati archipelago, and the Mljet Islands, you may just have to move here to take it all in.

After you finish your day - whether soaking in the sun or taking in the sights, you’ll be happy to know that Dalmatia loves the Italian tradition of the midday siesta. So even if you become exhausted after your daily Dalmatian adventures, you can rest assured that you’ll be able to take things slowly and learn what rest and relaxation really means.

Kvarner

In northern Croatia you’ll find the Kvarner Gulf. With mild weather, exotic beaches, and amazing islands, this is one of the most popular regions along the coast - made even more enjoyable because the ideal climate makes a visit enjoyable at any time of the year.

Spilling over with quiet seaside cities and breathtaking scenery, Kvarner is the ideal place for a vacation or for peaceful living. For those seeking a more laid back trip, Kvarner was custom made for you - relaxed, easygoing, and everything at your pace.

Plus, with limitless activities to fill your day or sandy beaches where you simply lay back and relax, Kvarner has a little bit of something for everything. However, if you choose to sightsee, there is no better daytrip than the short trip across the bridge to the beautiful island Krk, or to view the one-of-a-kind architecture in the heart of Rijeka.

As you can see, Croatia - this hidden gem that’s tucked away along the Adriatic Sea - is just waiting for you. Don’t delay - the time to see Croatia, to tuck your toes into its coastal sands, and to sip on a romantic cocktail as the sun sets over the sea is right now. Take advantage of favorable prices, small crowds, and untouched pristine coastlines that are guaranteed to be more beautiful than anything you could imagine.

International real estate expert and investor originally from San Diego, California, Scott P. Taylor is a world traveler and international real estate expert and investor living and working in Panama City, Panama. With years of experience traveling and investing in countries around the globe, Scott P. Taylor, is proud to announce the release of his highly acclaimed real estate eBook, Living and Investing in Croatia, and his new website, http://www.LiveAndInvestInCroatia.com Taylor’s eBook and site are quickly becoming the premiere online destination for individuals and investors from around the world who are ready to discover the joys of living and investing in Croatia.

What springs to mind when you think of Italy?

From pasta to poetry, Roman architecture to the roar from within a football stadium, there’s something for everyone.

With a rich cultural history and a variety of hotels to cater for all tastes, thousands choose to head to Italy for their holidays each year.

Many of the country’s main cities - such as Florence, Milan and Venice - are steeped in history, and tourists flock to take in the sights and sounds of these cultured cities.

Indeed, Venice remains a popular destination for those looking for something a little more romantic during their holidays. Many choose to head to the city of canals and carnivals for Valentines’ - and with a wide variety of classic-style hotels it remains a popular destination for city breaks.

In the north of the country, Milan is a popular destination for those seeking fashion, football and Formula 1. As well as the glitz and glamor there is a rich cultural history, which can be seen in the many cathedrals and art galleries dotted round the city - in which some of Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous works can be seen.

For a taste of Roman history, head to Rome itself (for all roads lead to Rome apparently)

Many flock to Rome to experience a taste of the Romantic, with a rich mix of architectural styles and some of the more instantly recognizable tourist attractions - such as the Colosseum and the Vatican - to explore and enjoy.

For those looking to avoid the hustle and bustle of the city, there are a wide range of hotels in Italy that cater for the more serene side of the country.

Indeed, the region of Tuscany remains popular with those looking to get away for a relaxing break in the Mediterranean countryside.

However, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy is one that doesn’t stand anymore, but has a significant history.

Today, the ancient city of Pompeii - which was engulfed by an eruption of Mt Vesuvius - remains popular with visitors to the region.

With a wide variety of hotels and sights in some of Europe’s most beautiful cities, you’ll never be short of things to see, do, eat and experience.

Looking for hotels for your trip to Italy? Compare from a wide range of cheap hotels and hotels in Italy to help plan your perfect trip.

Because of the rise in wellness tourism business owners on the Big Island of Hawaii have got together to promote a travel initiative that they collectively hope will prove so successful that it will eventually be adopted by the rest of the state.

The Hawaii Island Wellness Travel Association, composed of 120 business owners and holistic professionals, has set up a meeting with both the Big Island Visitors Bureau and Hawaii County officials to take the initiative further at which they hope to agree marketing strategies, develop effective packaging and adopt a set of rules for health and wellness travel to Hawaii, which they regard as a booming business.

As recently as 2005 almost $50,000 was set aside by Hawaii Tourism Authority to be used to quantify how well wellness tourism could be developed in the archipelago. A leading research company was approached to produce a comprehensive study of the health and wellness tourism market for the state of Hawaii. However, significant progress stalled once the report had been produced, and only now, some two years later, is the idea being re-launched.

One of the most vociferous proponents and advocates of wellness tourism Lew Whitney, co-founder of the Kokolulu Farm and Qigong Center based in North Kohala said: “We’ve been trying for years to persuade the Hawaii Tourism Authority that this (wellness) offers a great opportunity for the whole state of Hawaii and not just the Big Island.” Over the last nine years the Center has offered a range of cancer retreats and meditative healing programs and Whitney admits that it has been a struggle getting the message across to tourism chiefs. However, Whitney highlights that the Center, located on the northern tip of the Big Island, has been successfully trading for almost 10 years, and with little promotional help from the Hawaii Tourism Authority has managed to remain in business, albeit with the help of some charitable contributions.

Indeed, leading research group Mintel produced a comprehensive Market Research document which looked at wellness tourism being offered throughout the world in places as far flung as Japan, Hungary, India, Austria and Thailand. It concluded, amongst other things that markets were expanding as more and more people, of all ages, made their vacation choices based on health and wellness travel demonstrating that that the sector had a bright future.

As more people take to using alternative and natural remedies, tying wellness into hotel deals in Hawaii could herald a bold new initiative that in the long run may well add an extra string to the already well developed tourism bow for the state.

Everyone has this inherent desire to travel to any country. Australia, with its no. 3 ranking in the World Health Organization’s most health-responsible countries, is a prime destination for immigrants and visitors alike. Australia is also home to several remarkable spots such as the Story Bridge in Brisbane, and the Sydney Opera House in the capital.

However, not all people make the trip to Australia. This is because everyone, no matter what class they belong to, is constrained by one common thing: the budget. Everyone wants to travel on a budget, to minimize their expenses while maximizing on their experiences. The budget and accommodations, unfortunately, take up most of a traveler’s budget that they don’t get much out of their vacations like sampling local restaurants or going to the local tourist spots.

Hence, there is the need to travel on a budget, including airline tickets. Fortunately, it is possible to find cheap two-way airline tickets for the budget conscious tourist.

Research Carefully

The best-though not the quickest and easiest-way to find cheap airline tickets is to make careful research. This means that you have to comb through as much offerings as possible in order to come up with the best flight for you and your family for your vacation to Australia.

The Internet is a wonderful thing. In the old days, you would have to make visits physically to each and every travel agency in your area in order to find good bookings for a fair price. Nowadays, however, you can just sit in front of your computer, visit your favorite search engine, and find travel agencies with just a click of a mouse. You can also access information faster with the Internet.

The same rule applies. Visit as many websites as you could, compile their information on bookings and accommodations, and make comparisons so you can come up with the offering that has the best service while having the lowest price. The “best” at this point is defined by a balance of quality service and reasonable price.

Cheap International Flights to Australia

There are a number of airlines around the world that offers cheap airline tickets to Australia. Some of these airlines include the JetStar and Virgin Blue airlines.

JetStar. JetStar is an international airline operating from countries like Singapore, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Japan, among others. It also has domestic flights within Australia itself. It is one of the newest airline to ply the air routes to Australia, having started flying within Asia only on 2004. It is wholly owned by Qantas but it is operating independently from the parent airline.

Virgin Blue. Virgin Blue is another “young” online, having started flying only in the start of the new millennium. It claims to be the first airline with the cheapest rates in Australian domestic flights. Its international operations started when it launched Pacific Blue, its New Zealand-based international airline. The airline is owned by the Virgin Group.

It has two-way flights from New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, Cook Islands and Samoa into Australia.

The author writes for the online travel guide Cheap Holiday Accommodation, which offers tourists a comprehensive guide to Australia accommodation, including Australia flights and tourist hotels.

As the price of oil and gasoline has continued to climb in the last couple years, just about everything that is dependent on fuel in any way is increasing in price too, and significantly. Airline tickets are one of the many items that have increased in price recently and this fact has many people scrambling to find ways to save money on their travel expenses by searching for cheap plane tickets.

This has made it more difficult to find those really great discounts and special deals on flights around the country and abroad. On top of that, there are more and more people who need to travel by air because the cost of driving has gone up with the increase cost of gasoline. This means that in many cases it is now cheaper to fly, even for short distances, than it is to drive even with the higher cost of the ticket prices.

However, the good news is that there are still a number of ways that people can find some good deals and get their hands on cheaper airline tickets. Since the cost of the air tickets is usually a significant part of any person’s vacation or travel budget, the more they are able to save on their airfare, the more they will have more to spend at their destination.

One of the easiest and best methods of finding great deals on tickets is to take advantage of the websites that are so plentiful these days, which can help you to unearth those elusive cheap plane tickets. While you can always go directly to the official websites of the airlines, you can save a lot of time by using the travel websites that will draw the ticketing data from all of the airlines that fly to your destination. Just enter the date you wish to travel and your destination and soon you will have a very complete list of all your options, usually arranged to show you the cheapest ticket prices first.

If you have not yet made a firm decision on the destination of you trip, then you can also spend a bit of time perusing the various airline sites to see which destination have the best ticket prices. Often, a certain airline carrier operates from a few hub cities and it can be less expensive to fly into those hubs than to other destinations.

If you compare the cost of flying into different cities, then you will soon see a pattern that will reveal which airlines are using that city as a hub. You can use this information to your advantage to get the best pricing on flights to those hubs. Often the hub cities are also great places to visit for vacations as well.

Many times, one of the best ways to find bargain prices on airline tickets is by signing up for the email newsletters that the various airlines publish. The airlines typically offer their subscribers the first chance to take advantage of their deepest discounts and any special ticket prices they have available. All of the airlines are motivated to fill every seat on a flight, so when a departure date nears and they still have empty seats available, they will offer cheap plane tickets to try to fill the plane.

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