Travel Blog

You’re kids have been begging for a trip to Disney World since they could speak, but as all parents know, the Disney experience does not come cheap. Most of the Official Walt Disney World Hotels are a bit pricey, so a centrally-located, family-friendly property for under $100 per night is nothing short of exciting, no?

TheOfficial Walt Disney World property that makes this possible is the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort, Walt Disney World, a 3-star hotel located directly across the street from the Downtown Disney area. Kids love its close proximity to Universal Studios and Sea World, and adults love the on-site Director of Fun (an actual job at the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort) whose only job is to keep your kids entertained day and night. What’s more, Wyndham Lake Buena Vista is the only property in the Downtown Disney Resort area that hosts the esteemed Dine with Disney Characters breakfast three times a week.

Sounds great, right? Well, it gets better. The Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort, already regarded as one of the more affordable Disney properties, is attainable for as little as $88 per night with our 50% off sale (going on now). And by booking with us, you’ll pay just $8 per day for your resort fee (usually $15/day), and your little ones eat free. Just be sure your kids don’t stumble across this post – then you’ll really have no excuse for not booking them the Disney vacation they’ve always dreamed of.

If you like most Americans you’re probably thinking “who wants to go the Dead Sea”? Believe it or not it’s one of the most visited landmarks in the Mediterranean area, not only for its unique features, but because people around the world believe that it has unique healing properties for both body and skin. It’s almost a natural spot and another self, it is one of the few places in the world where you never have to worry about drowning because the salt water will always keep you on top.

Let’s get the statistics out of the way first. The Dead Sea is bordered by both Jordan and Israel. It is considered the lowest elevation on the Earth’s surface, at around 1385 feet below sea level. It’s considered a hyper saline lake, which means a landlocked lake not fed by a major ocean, and it’s one of the salt is bodies of water and the world. There are no fish or other animals living in the Dead Sea because of its salinity, which is why it’s known as the Dead Sea. It’s been named as one of the new seven wonders of nature around the world.

It’s a place with a lot of history. Many of the most famous names in biblical history spent time at the Dead Sea including King David, King Herod, and Cleopatra. They visited for the same reasons that people go now, to bask themselves in the salts in the rich black mud of the Dead Sea. The water and surrounding minerals are rich and chloride salts of magnesium, potassium, bro mine, and other things that many feel promote healing and relaxation. It’s also close to the site where John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ.

There are some other things to do in the Dead Sea area other than just sitting in the Dead Sea. There are hot springs in the area that people like to go in for a bit of relaxation. There are many major motels, and there’s even a golf course that was named for Sodom and Gomorrah. There’s Kalia Beach, which has a water amusement park, water slides, and the largest go-kart track in Israel. There’s Qumran National Park, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. There is a nature reserve known as Einut Zukim. And there are desert tours and rockclimbing in an area known as Metzoke Dragot.

Considering a vacation to the Dead Sea isn’t so far-fetched after all.

Cleveland is a city that’s been the butt of jokes for decades, but the reality is that Cleveland is a thriving city with a population that makes up the 33rd largest city in the United States and contains some unique attractions including the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

Cleveland, which sits on Lake Erie, is a city that had problems in the past. Their population is almost half of what it was back in 1950′s due to economic factors. But by diversifying from manufacturing to services, the city has shown a bit of a reverse.

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Cleveland is a city with a lot of sports teams that haven’t had much success over the years. The last championship in Cleveland, with the football team the Browns, was in 1964. Still, it’s a city that has a major sports team in three sports, which includes the Cleveland Indians in baseball and the Cleveland Cavaliers in basketball. The opportunity to see Lebron James in his prime is enough to come to town for a Cleveland Cavaliers game.

But Cleveland has a lot of things offer. For instance, we’ve already mentioned the rock ‘n roll Hall of Fame and Museum. It’s located downtown Cleveland on the shores of Lake Erie, and every year has one of the best induction ceremonies in the country. There’s also The Playhouse Square Center, which is the second-largest performing arts center in the country.

The Cleveland Museum of Art has more than 40,000 works and covers art throughout history as well as art from the Cleveland area. It’s located in the area known as University Circle, which also includes places such as the Cleveland Botanical Garden and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. There’s also the Great Lakes Science Center, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, the African American Museum, and International Women’s Air and Space Museum. There’s even a large sculptured stamp with the word “free” on it that sits in Willard Park, which is near City Hall.

A lot of things do in Cleveland, and if you include both ferry tours and trolley tours, you can book a very nice visit to Cleveland and have enough to do to keep you entertained for week or two.

See more:
Anthony Bourdain’s Guide to Cleveland
Cleveland Magazine – Your Guide to Cleveland
Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Photo Credit: www.nscjets.com

Bangkok is the capital and largest city in Thailand. It’s a prime vacation spot these days for travelers looking to not only partake in a lot of Asian history, but a fun spot for a great nightlife experience. It’s also a prime cultural center for fashion and entertainment, and with a population of more than 6 million people, you know there’s always something to do.

Bangkok feels like a city of water. It sits on the banks of the Chao Phraya River but actually has canals that go through the city. This means they have plenty of water taxis, boating, and boat tours that you can take to destinations both new and old. Dinner cruises are quite popular because the city is beautiful when it’s lit up at night. And, because temperatures are relatively warm all year round, rarely dropping below 50F, you can enjoy the waterways any time of the year.

No trip to Bangkok is complete without a quick tour of the old River Kwai railway system that was made famous by the movie Bridge on the River Kwai. Though most of it has been destroyed there is still 80 miles of track that are in use on a daily basis, and a tour of the area will show you some remaining artifacts from World War II.

Bangkok also has a long history of religion, which means you must visit the Grand Palace and Temple of Wat Phra Kaew, or the Emerald Buddha. This was where most Thai kings lived and prayed, and there are a lot of gold pagodas and sculptures throughout the palace. Next door is the Temple of Wat Pho, or the Reclining Buddha. It’s still regarded as a special religious icon, which means they have a dress code to go inside.

Shopping, restaurants, nightclubs, parties; Bangkok can turn things around quickly and become the place to be to find fun and relaxation. If you want golf, there are many golf courses in the area. If you want spas, Bangkok has plenty of them. If you want to participate in a vibrant nightlife Bangkok has 6 different areas where you can find what you’re looking for. There are shows of all types as well, and Bangkok is gay friendly, which means no one will be hassled for any lifestyle they choose to have.

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And if you’re looking for a luxurious place to stay, there’s the Lebua at State Tower, and 5-star hotel only 3 miles from the Grand Palace, very affordable for American travelers, and even more so if booked through a site like DiscountHotels.com, where you could save as much as 30 to 35% on rooms as opposed to booking your room at the hotel’s site. You can also book tours through the site that will save you money as well.

See more:
Best in Bangkok (Find Local Deals)
Official Website for Tourism in Thailand
Sightseeing in Bangkok

Photo Credit: www.southernliving.com

Why do some people go back to Disneyworld, in Orlando Florida, over and over?

Disneyworld is one of those places where there never seems to be enough time to take it all in, even if you go more than once.  And it’s no wonder, as they always seem to be adding something new, even if it’s just updating something old.

For instance, just talking about one thing, Main Street U.S.A., could fill an entire page on its own.  Representing the best that the past days of the United States had to offer, it all starts out with the Celebrate A Dream Come True parade.  This is a parade where all of the top Disney characters, and a few minor ones as well, come out daily and wave to the crowd, giving something to everyone who’s ever enjoyed a Disney production.  It’s colorful, musical, and funny; even if you don’t like parades, you’ll enjoy this one.

Once that’s over, you can get on one of Main Street’s vehicles and take a tour of the area.  If you’ve ever wanted to ride in a fire engine, here’s where you’ll get your chance.  There are other vehicles as well, including the standard tour bus.  If that’s too slow for you, take a ride on the Walt Disney World railroad, a 20-minute trek around the entire Magic Kingdom theme park.

When night comes, there’s a second parade, the SpectroMagic Parade, although this one doesn’t happen every night, so it’s a special treat if you get to see it.  Once that’s done, it’s time for the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular fireworks show, which can be seen throughout the entire park, yet can be seen best from Main Street U.S.A.

As you can see, we’ve come to the last part of this article and we’ve barely scratched the surface.  There’s actually 7 main attractions, or as Disney likes to call them, “whimsical lands”, and each one contains dozens of things to do and see.  Some are only for kids, such as the “It’s A Small World” exhibit, while others can be for adults and older kids, like the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad rollercoaster.

You can’t do Disneyworld justice in a short paragraph, and think of it this way; there’s 4 other Disney theme parks in the world, Anaheim, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong, and a 5th on the way in Shanghia.  Let the inner child in you out to play.

See more:
10 Things to Do In Orlando
Orlando’s Restaurants
Orlando Adventure Vacations

Photo Credit: www.monorails.org

By now, probably everyone has seen a picture of Sydney, Australia, with their grand Sydney Opera House looking like it’s sitting in Sydney Harbor, sometimes in front of the large Harbor Bridge, and sometimes sitting out in front of multiple skyscrapers. Sydney, the home of the 2000 Summer Olympics, is one of the most popular vacation spots in the world, and one of the top 10 most livable cities in the world.

Let’s talk about the Sydney Opera House first, as its most prominent attraction. The building itself is more than 4.5 acres in scope, and houses multiple theaters that handle more than just opera. The number of seats depends on what you’re going there for:

1. The Opera Theatre has 1,507 seats and also has the Australian Ballet perform in there
2. The Concert Hall has 2,678 seats, and houses the Sydney Symphony, other concert performances, and the Sydney Opera House Grand Organ, the largest mechanical tracker action organ in the world
3. The Drama Theatre has 544 seats, is used by the Sydney Theatre Company

And there are many other smaller venues that can handle other types of performances.

Sydney has a couple of great beaches as well. The most popular is Bondi Beach, which is closer to the city than the other favorite, Manly Beach. Surfing is a favorite pastime of people at Bondi, and since it’s close to the city center, it’s a great jumping off point to the nightlife the city has to offer. Manly Beach is set more within a peninsula, and is highlighted by many outdoor restaurants and stores, and holds many different types of festivals. Because the weather is more often warm than not, the beaches are always crowded.

One of the favorite attractions in Sydney is the Taronga Zoo, home to more than 2,600 different animals. It covers more than 51 acres of land, making it one of the largest zoos by area in the world. A couple of the special exhibits it has are the platypus and elephant exhibits, where they have highlighted the birth of animals in captivity for these species.

Other things to see while in Sydney include the Australian Museum of Natural History, The Powerhouse Science and Technology Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Sports galore are throughout Sydney, and if you’ve never seen it in person, you should try to catch a game of cricket.

With a population of more than 4 million, and its being considered as one of the most multicultural cities in the world, there’s just so much more that could be said about Sydney that, instead, we recommend you stay in Sydney at least 2 weeks to take in as much as you can. And, since your flight will probably be 16 to 18 hours anyway, you might as well get as much as you can out of the trip. But be aware; you might like it so much that you may never want to leave.

See more:
100 Things to do in Sydney
Sydney Top Restaurant Guide
Sydney Sights and Getting Around

Photo credit: www.api.ning.com

Salt Lake City, Utah, is home to the country’s largest salt lake, the Great Salt Lake. It’s what most people know about the city besides its history as the city created by the Church of Latter Day Saints in the 1800′s.

A visit to the city might ultimately start at the lake, which is salty because it has rivers that bring water into the lake, but no way to get that water back out of the lake except through evaporation, which leaves salt deposits. The lake is surrounded by marsh and wetlands, and actually is considered as being next to the city rather than within the city limits. There’s no development around the shoreline because the size of the lake changes within a 15 mile radius at various times, so it’s also considered fairly natural and pristine. No fish can live in the lake, but there are a couple of different types of shrimp living there, as they can handle the saline in the water. People can swim in the lake, and there is a beach, Bridger Bay Beach, which is nice in warmer weather.

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Once you decide you’ve had enough of the lake, of course there are other sites around Salt Lake City, which is the largest city in the state and also the capital of Utah. As it would figure, one of the top museums in the city is the Church History Museum, which is run by the Mormons and has artifacts from the history of their church. There’s also the Utah Museum of Natural History and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.

One of the most popular areas of the city is known as the Gateway District, which has over 100 restaurants and stores, as well as many office buildings, residential properties, and other attractions. The Clark Planetarium, which has an IMAX theater, is located in this area, as well as the Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum.

Of course, one can’t visit Salt Lake City without taking in a performance of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, which performs at the Salt Lake Tabernacle. It’s been in existence for more than 140 years, and has one of the most recognizable sounds in the world. It has one of the largest pipe organs in the world also, with more than 11,500 pipes. They are often accompanied by the Orchestra at Temple Square, but have also performed with the Utah Symphony Orchestra.

Finally, since it was also the home of the 2002 Winter Olympics, you know that it has many winter sports, including skiing and ice skating, that are world class.

See more:
Salt Lake City Visitor Resources
Salt Lake City Restaurant Guide
10 Things to do in Salt Lake City

Photo Credit: www.research.rutgers.edu

If you’re really in the mood to go someplace extra special, and you’re not looking for the best weather in the world, Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, would be a great place for you to visit, and be more than you might be expecting.

Outside of Antarctica, there is one small town of around 1,000 people that’s further south, but if you want to be in a place that has both a population and a few things to do, Ushuaia is the place to go. It’s a city of around 64,000 with its own airport, sitting on Lapataia Bay and the Beagle Channel, somewhere slightly removed from both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It’s a beautiful pristine area where visitors can see mountains and glaciers, crystal clear if cold waters, and animals such as seals, penguins, sea lions and killer whales. There are wildlife tours and cruises that will take you all around the area so you can enjoy being out in the open and see things like the Straits of Magellan.

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The area is known for being able to do all sorts of activities such as skiing, mountain biking, and hiking. You probably won’t be going swimming, as its warmest temperatures on average rarely go above 60, though there has been the rare occasion that temperatures have hit 80′s in the summer, where there is upwards of 18 hours of sunlight, as opposed to 6 hours in the winter.

There are attractions to see in the area also. For instance, there’s the Tren al Fin del Mundo, otherwise known as the Prisoner’s Train, as the area was once a penal colony. There’s another train known as “Ferrocarril Austral Fueguino”, or the Train of the End of the World, which will take people on a tour of the area, into the Tierra del Fuego National Park, with much of the trip going along the River Pipo. And there’s the Museo del Presidio, which was actually a former prison that was closed in 1947, which housed the worst criminals of the country, and these days has wax statues of some of those prisoners.

Ushuaia is a beautiful area with lots to see and do, and pretty much a place where you really can say you’ve gone as far south as you could without going to Antarctica.

See more:
Ushuaia Information from Wikipedia
Ushuaia Sights and Attractions
Ushuaia Restaurant Reviews

Photo Credit: www.cooperstownguide.com

Most people know that the National Baseball Hall of Fame is in Cooperstown, NY. Even if that was the only attraction, it would be, and usually is, enough of an attraction for people to decide it’s worth a visit to. But there’s a lot more to the town than that which can give a lot of people something to enjoy.

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Every conversation starts with baseball, however. The Hall of Fame was created in 1936 to honor great baseball players, and continues to do so to this day. It keeps growing and being modified as technology gets better and as the money keeps coming in. And with more than 350,000 visitors a year, the money keeps coming in.

If you’re a baseball fan of any type, this is the place for you. It’s not only reliving old history, but reliving the history while you were alive. Baseball is one of the few sports where a person of almost any size can play and be an all star, even though some players are getting bigger these days. You can go from guys like Ty Cobb, who is in the Hall of Fame for the highest batting average in history and was a small guy, up to guys like Willie McCovey, who in his time was one of the biggest players in baseball and left the game with over 500 home runs. You can see uniforms, balls, bats, and other memorabilia. You will see plaques and game film of players and plays. You will see special games and moments, such as Carlton Fisk hitting the home run in the 12th inning of a playoff game in 1975 or Kirk Gibson hitting the game winning home run for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988. In essence, anything baseball that you can ever think of is there; well, except for Pete Rose.

As we said, Cooperstown is more than just baseball. There’s the Fenimore Art Museum, which has one of the largest collections of Native American art in the country, as well as a lot of items from the life of James Fenimore Cooper, who wrote Last of the Mohicans, was from Cooperstown and remains its most famous citizen. Also, the Farmers Museum is here, which houses the famous Cardiff Giant, a statue that had many people in the late 1860′s believing it was the unearthed remains of a super human man from the prehistoric era. And it’s the home of the Glimmerglass Opera, one of the best known opera houses in the world, where many brand new operas are often debuted, and it’s still the last facility in the United States that was built specifically for opera.

Cooperstown is worth the trip, but know that you can’t fly directly into the city. So, you will have a nice little drive, but it’s a beautiful drive.

See more:
Where to Eat in Cooperstown
Baseball Hall of Fame Admission Fees
Cooperstown Attractions, Best Places to Visit

Photo Credit: www.offexploring.com

The Vietnamese War ended more than 30 years ago, and Vietnam has become a unified and growing country. Sure, there are still shades of the jungles of Vietnam, which has helped Vietnam become a tourist attraction on its own. But there is also some of the best cuisine in the world, much of it with a French flavor that many might not expect, forgetting that Vietnam used to be a French colony.

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Something else people don’t think about Vietnam is that it has a huge population. There’s more than 85 million people in Vietnam. Hanoi, with a population of around 6.5 million people, is the second largest city in the country, with Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, being the top city by population. Hanoi is also the capital of the country. Hanoi is located right on the Red River, which helps to make one of the favorite things to do for its visitors possible, that being junk rides up and down the river, seeing much of the countryside.

Hanoi is also an old city, as it will celebrate 1,000 years of existence in October 2010. The region, however, has had settlements going back as far as 3,000 B.C. Many exhibits are shown in Hanoi’s many museums, such as the National Museum of Vietnamese History and the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. There are also tributes to artists from Vietnam with the Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts and the Contemporary Arts Museum, as well as tributes for the many wars and city history of Hanoi, like the Vietnam Museum of Revolution, Vietnam Military History Museum and Ho Chi Minh Museum.

There are also plenty of excursions into the jungles around the area, where visitors can get a sense of what it might have been like during the many years of the Vietnam War. For people who want a more contemporary experience, the city has more than 600 pagodas and temples, many area lakes, a puppet theater, and many therapeutic spas. Restaurants can not only serve up local Vietnamese and Chinese favorites, but some of the best French cuisine in the world, at prices that are less than what one would spend in either France or the United States.

There are also luxury hotels in Hanoi, which would figure for a city of its size. One of the oldest and best luxury hotels is the Sofitel Metropole Hotel, which opened in 1901 and has a French colonial style. Its antithesis would be the InterContinental Hanoi Westlake Village, one of its newest luxury hotels that only opened in 2007.

You’ll find a wealth of experiences in Hanoi; think about it for your next Asian vacation.

See more:
Vietnamese Traditional Foods
Vietnam Travel Destinations and Sights
Vietnam Dangers and Annoyances