Fort Blog - For What You Need To Know » Travel

• Fort Blog - For What You Need To Know Home

Archive for the 'Travel' Category

« Previous Page — Next Page »

Top 5 Spots To Visit In Kauai, Hawaii In Your First Trip

Thursday, November 6th, 2008 by www

Kauai, Hawaii is considered as a tropical paradise with its clear lagoons, majestic palm trees and wonderful sea breeze. It is known as the Garden Isle and was the location of the movie Gilligan’s Island and a favorite of many celebrities including Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Matt Damon, to name a few.If you are visiting Kauai for the first time, make sure to visit these spots.

1. The Wailua River was the location of the show, The Fantasy Island. Here you can see the famed Fern Grotto and the natural ampitheather formed by lava.
2. The Hanalei has beautiful beaches and is famed for its wonderful ambience. It was the location of the film South Pacific.
3. Another must-see is the Napali Coast. Its dramatic view of the 11-mile coastline is a great area for snorkeling. You can also try the Poipu Beach and go hiking to the remote areas.
4. Another historic town you don’t want to miss on your first trip to Kauai is the Koloa. It houses the island’s first sugar mill and the Souting Horn, a famous geyser, 50-feet tall! The area is great for hiking, biking and driving!
5. Before leaving Kauai, make sure to stop by the Koke’s State Park and access 4,345 acres of wilderness and Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific!

Before your departure, make sure to book one of the vacation homes in Kauai because you’ll be too busy sightseeing once you gets here!

Best Beaches In Maui, Hawaii

Thursday, November 6th, 2008 by www

Maui, Hawaii is like one fantastic beach. Unsurpassed for swimming, skin diving, surfing and beach combing, Maui is still the top choice for people who are fascinated with the beauty of the sea. In Maui, the sea may look calm, but it can be treacherous, especially to those who are careless.

The Kapalua beach is considered as one of the safest areas for swimming. Its waters are calm, and the shoreline has a scattering of coral reefs and rocky peninsulas. When in season, whales can be spotted from the beach and is one of the main attractions in Maui.

The Napili Bay Beach is a favorite among sun bathers with its palm fringed beach of white sand. During summer, the area is a perfect site for snorkeling and swimming and is a favorite among surfers during the winter months. The view of Molokai is magnificent all year round.

Right off the 16th hole of the Kapalua Golf Club is D.T. Fleming Beach Park. This is a great area for sunbathing but inexperienced swimmers should not venture out to the sea as the current can be strong but lifeguards are posted at the beach during the day.

Expert windsurfers love Maalaea Beach, courtesy of the natural wind tunnel’s powerful “freight train rights”. Non-experts best not surf here because the winds are pretty strong and taking control of your sails can be difficult.

A travel to Maui is best experienced with a group. As such, you best reserve one of the many vacation homes in the area.

5 Things You Can Do In Molokai, Hawaii

Thursday, November 6th, 2008 by www

Molokai have been dubbed as “the Most Hawaiian Island” and “the Friendly Island” because this is where the “aloha” spirit is found the most. If you are looking for breathtaking natural beauty, rainforests and deserted beaches, then this is the perfect destination.

In Molokai, no building is taller than a palm tree; traffic is almost nil that their government no longer bothered to put up traffic lights. The area is in a rural setting and so peaceful that a visit to Molokai is like stepping 50 years back in time. If you want respite from malls, elevators, neon lights and burger wars, go to Malakai, Hawaii.

Molokai may be rural, but it isn’t a boring place. There are hundreds of things you can do here for little to no cost. Here are some of them:

1. For tourist, a Molokai Mule Ride to the leper colony is a must-do. It’s like smelling the flowers in the park, only this time you’re on horseback. Take this time to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature.
2. Ever tried lei making? At Molokai Plumeria you can handpick the Plumeria blossoms in the orchards. Here, tourists can attend a short lesson on picking the best blossoms and lei making, so you can create leis for yourself and your loved one!
3. A visit to the Kalaupapa National Historical Park is a place with unique geology and history, there is no other place in the world like it. Make sure to visit it when you go to Molokai.
4. Another thing you can do in Molokai is camping. Indulge with the beauty of untouched beauty of nature while you sit by the campfire at night. In Molokai, there are two county campgrounds and two state campgrounds, where you can sleep peacefully.
5. What is a Hawaiian visit without a trip to the beach? While you’re there, go kayaking or perhaps snorkeling. Make sure you choose vacation homes near the beach – this is probably the only way you can enjoy the endless waters to the fullest!

Some Travel Tips For Oahu, Hawii

Thursday, November 6th, 2008 by www

Going to Oahu? Well, one helpful information I can give you is to get a 4-day passport at any ABC store so you can get on and off any TheBus buses – this is a lot cheaper than riding a taxi, plus, you can get almost anywhere with those buses! If you are planning to hire a car in Oahu, remember this one thing: never honk your horn. In Hawaii, this is a big no-no and the horn is used only for emergencies.

Lost in Oahu? Never fear to ask. Residents of the island are very friendly and helpful so you can be sure to reach your destination in one piece.

For first time visitors to Oahu, it is best that you schedule more than a week’s vacation because you will surely need more days to explore the whole area. Waikiki is just one area; don’t stay there for too long because there are other places you can explore. The area is also teeming with events and festivals, the largest of which is the Merrie Monarch Festival, held every year to honor the king.

Looking for accommodation? There are about 105 hotels in Oahu, with daily rates ranging from $400 to $800 per day. If you are travelling with a group, you can rent one of the many vacation homes near the town center for added convenience.

Find more information at http://www.rentalmadeeasy.com

Lanai, Hawaii, The Best Place To Have Your Wedding Or Honeymoon

Thursday, November 6th, 2008 by www

Once known as the capital of pineapple production, Lanai, Hawaii is now 98% by David H. Murdock, earning it the name “Secluded Island”. It is also the sixth largest of the Hawaiian Islands and is the home of two of the world’s most elegant resorts and golf courses. But sports aren’t the only highlight of Lanai; people choose lanai for their weddings and honeymoon as well.

Want to know why people choose Lanai for their wedding? First, wedding requirements in the area are minimal – all you need is a marriage license application, a government issued ID with your photo and approximately $60 in cash and you can already get married! Of course, you need a divorce certificate or death certificate if you’ve been previously married. You don’t even have to make church arrangements just a licensed marriage agent and you’re all set. You can download your application form at http://www.rentalmadeeasy.com/

Southwestern America Vacations – How To Prepare

Sunday, November 2nd, 2008 by www

These are a few preparation tips-suggestions to get the most out of your Southwestern United States Culinary tour.

Have a Big Appetite
The best way to do justice to any food vacation is to have a big appetite. What’s the purpose of paying for the opportunity to taste the best culinary delights of a given area or culture when your stomach can’t accommodate more than a bite?

Of course, possessing a big appetite doesn’t mean denying yourself the day before.

Just make sure you don’t overeat the day before your vacation. If possible, take a pill to ensure your stomach’s certifiably empty for the food fest ahead.

Prepare for the Heat
Hot is a term often associated with the Southwest in more ways than one.

First, a majority of the tastes of Southwest food are extremely spicy. Chimichangas, nachos, taquitos, stuffed peppers, chile relleno, chili con carne, and salsa are just a few of the well-known dishes that could get you hopping mad out of the restaurant with burning taste buds. If you’re not accustomed at eating spicy stuff, make sure you have a small bottle or jug of iced water with you at all times; there may be instances when you just can’t wait a second longer to cool your tongue off.

Secondly, Southwestern states are not particularly the coolest regions of the country. The climate in this region, especially in Arizona and Texas, can be quite ovewhelming in its heat. You can’t beat Arizona travel. But be sure you’re dressed comfortably in light, airy clothing. Wearing a hat or sun visor as well as a pair of shades can help shelter you from the heat.

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are always a possibility, so again, having an ample source of water with you at all times is important.

Prepare for the Heat
Concerning the heat, there are also certain characteristics of the weather that you might need to watch out for. Mosquitoes are a nominal but annyoing problem, but one that a mosquito repellent can easily cure. Rainfall could also be a cause of trouble, but not if you come
ready with a rain jacket and umbrella.

Clothing
While we’re on the subject of clothing, make sure to ask your tour organizer if you’ll visit any locations with a requisite dress code. Knowing how to dress can also help ensure that you pack light for your Southwest US tour.

Bring a First Aid Kit with You
Tour planners always have first aid kits with them, but there’s no telling when you’ll find yourself lost and separated from your group. As such, it would do you no harm to have your own first aid kit with you.

However, if you’ve considerable experience touring, you probably already have a first aid kit packed with your bags. There are, specifically, extra things you could add to your kit in consideration of “special dangers” you might encounter during your Southwest US tour.

If your vacation includes a trip to the desert, antidotes for snake bites and treatments for other types of bites (remember: scorpions and spiders can cause harm, too!). High altitude sickness or acute mountain sickness (AMS) is also a problem if your food tour includes a short but challenging mountain climb.

Double Check Everything
Lastly, review your travel checklist several days before you depart for your trip. Call your tour organizer to ensure that everything’s ready in their side as well.

How To Plan A Family Vacation: Top Travel Help

Friday, October 31st, 2008 by www

Planning a great vacation for your family can be easier than you think with a little planning and thought.

Include All Family Members
You must include every family member in the planning of the vacation. Make a list of every destination, attractions, theme parks, and amusement parks that every member would like to visit first. Check if you can find any similarities, then pull them together into one trip. For example, does an amusement park pop up in several lists? Maybe Las Vegas appeared in several of the lists. You could combine the two by staying at the hotel/amusement park Circus Circus in Las Vegas. Or, if Disney World and water sports are on your lists they can readily be combined by staying in a hotel close to the beach.

Even the youngest member in the family should be involved in vacation planning. If your tot hates water, try to avoid the beach. If he or she adores the snow, perhaps a ski break with plenty of sledding is the ideal family trip.
Remember, a toddler or baby will need regular naps and rest stops, so don’t jam-pack your days, and your family on a strict schedule of activities. You may wish to arrange to put your toddlers and kids in “vacation care” while you and your spouse go out to dinner or dancing. A number of cruise lines and some hotels provide these programs. These age appropriate programs are intended to keep children happy and entertained while giving their parents a break.

Think of Safety
Many parents don’t think about safety as a top family vacation planning issue, but it should be. be sure that the hotels or other accommodation you stay at have child safety devices on patio doors, a high place or safe where medicines can be stored, and gates around pools. And be sure that the banister around any upper-level balconies is sufficiently high that your daughter or son will not be able to clamber over and that the spindles are close enough that your daughter or son will not be able to fall through.

A number of hotels offer 360-degrees previews of the rooms on their websites. If you cannot obtain the information you want from the website don’t be afraid to call the hotel. Most will be more than happy to provide you with the details you need.

More and more hotels are making their facilities child and baby friendly. Many are supplying mini fridges and nursing rooms for new mothers, cribs, play yards, and calming music for the baby and toddlers to make for a more relaxing family vacation.

Quality parent and child time is vital whether at home or on vacation. Why not learn to face paint?
face painting designs
face painting instructions
animal face painting
Knowing how to create a number of face painting designs is so useful for many occasions such as birthday parties and of course Halloween

Culinary Delights To Savor In Southwestern American Dining Trips

Thursday, October 30th, 2008 by www

Enjoying a food tour through the US Southwest is not a trip for the easygoing. The Southwest is filled with culinary style that is as simple to prepare as it is flavorful – as full of spicy ingredients as it is filled with the healthiest of vegetables. If you’re looking for a food tour in the US Southwest, don’t expect to stop in a big Mexican restaurant with a dizzying array of fillings for burritos. In fact, don’t limit the Southwest and categorize it all under one blanket, because you are in for a gustatory awakening.

Southwestern cuisine can actually be summarized up into hybrids of different cuisines. Border cuisine, sometimes fancifully referred to as South of the Border, may be more toward your local Mexican restaurant fare, with some menu items flavored mildly to suit a wider range of palates. You also have Tex-Mex cuisine, a blend of Texan and Mexican, heavy on the meats and spices. There is also the fresh, corn-rich American Indian flavors, the richer and hotter Mexican offerings, and even nueva Latina, a modern version of Southwestern cuisine that is springing up in various places across the Southwestern states.

If you are going on a Southwestern culinary trip, then you’ll surely pass through the Lone Star State, and get a hankering for large Texan meats and steaks. You’ll go cross Kansas, where you may sink your teeth into wonderful corn breads and products. Nothing beats a Kansas attractions. You will traverse Southern California and the Baja, where the burritos are spicy and the tamales are even hotter. You will discover yourself in New Mexico and Colorado, even parts of Oklahoma, and you’ll find yourself lots of American Indian cuisine that is as historic as the hills but plenty flavorful, too!

It is no surprise, then, that the Southwest is often described as the grandfather of all American cuisine, encompassing the roots of its indigenous cooking. Ponder it: even before Jamestown and Salem got their first taste of Europe, a whole lot of food was already cooking in these parts! A food tour through the Southwestern United States, therefore, is an excursion through history, where you can actually taste the meals that have been around for ages, and are testaments to stories long past but never forgotten.

So what should you discover? Look for blue, purple, or even red maize, all of which can be prepared into various tasty tacos, among other things. You will also find a whole lot of heat, so try for fire-roasted chilies, and other chili dishes that will make your mouth water immensely (and your eyes tear up, too!). You’ll find meat grilled with mesquite, searing the air with flavorful aromas. Whether you’re washing it all down with a pint of South of the Border Tecate, or a glass of European wine, you’ll surely discover something to look forward to in the US Southwest.

If you are taking a trip to the US Southwest on a food tour, there are a few things that you will need to remember. First, since many of the dishes are spicy, you may need to check if you have any palate or health sensitivities with spicy foods. For example, if you have irritable bowel syndrome, then you may want to ease up on the chilies. You will also need to check with your tour group if the tour covers all the lodging and transportation, while you have to pick up the expense when you stop for meals. Don’t forget to examine the fine print and ask questions. Take the necessary precautions, and you can manager your Southwest US Culinary vacation into a fantastic getaway.

Vacations In Dumfries And Superb Visitor Attractions Worth A Visit

Thursday, October 30th, 2008 by www

Dumfries, situated, not too far from the Solway Firth, on the banks of the River Nith is, by a great number, the largest town in the southwest of Scotland (the population is far more than 30 thousand people). Dumfries, like Ayr, has a countless associations with, the poet, Robert Burns life.

For folk planning to take a vacation in Dumfries below we have listed information about 3 popular places worth a visit; Dundrennan Abbey, Lochmaben Castle and Robert Burns House:

Dundrennan Abbey

King David I founded Dundrennan Abbey in 1142. At this time, Scottish abbeys were more often built of a reddish sandstone, but Dundrennan Abbey was made of very hard-wearing, local grey sandstone. This is probably the reason why many of the unique architecural mouldings and forms have survived. The first monks to live in the Abbey, were supposedly to have come from Rievaulx, Yorkshire. Mary Queen of Scots spent her last night on Scottish soil at Dundrennan Abbey in 1568. She then found her way across the Solway Firth to Workington, and was soon imprisoned and captured by the English. Following the Scottish Reformation in 1587, the land passed into the hands of the Crown.

Lochmaben Castle

The Lochmaben Castle, that we see today, was not the first Lochmaben Castle. The first was built by the Bruce family, Lords of Annandale, in the beginning of the twelfth century. In 1298, King Edward I of England captured the castle, and then commissioned another Lochmaben Castle in a more efficient defensive position. This second castle was finished at the beginning of the fourteenth century, leaving the old castle abandoned. From 1306 to 1588, the castle was either in the hands of the English or the hands of the Scots. It was in 1588 that James VI besieged and captured the castle from the Maxwell family. The castle was eventually left derelict after the Union of the Crowns in 1603.

Robert Burns House

One of Scotland’s most famous men, Robert Burns, resided in Dumfries during the last years of his life. The house that he and his family once lived in has now become a place of pilgramge for his fans from across the globe. He passed away prematurely at the age of thirty seven in 1796, at home. Today, one can catch a glimpse of how he and his family lived, back in the late 1700’s. The desk and chair where he sat and wrote are displayed, as are many of his orginal manuscripts. There are personal items on display as well, that once belonged to his family.

If you are thinking about taking Scottish vacation and you plan to stay in Dumfries you may wish to book your accommodation online and you will find listings of Dumfries hotels and accommodation at http://dumfries.hotelreservationhelper.com.

Berlin Amusements

Thursday, October 30th, 2008 by www

Since 1987 the successful blue trio “The Blue Man Group” has been entertaining people across the nation. What started with 3 men in New York is now a team of 500 people who present the show in New York, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Berlin, London and Toronto.
The founders of the show are Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton and Chris Wink who invented the concept in 1987. During the first three years they were on the stage in New York on their own without any help or backup.

Today there are 30 Blue Men and more than 50 musicians. The main idea was to create something original…something where the audience can participate and use their imagination. And one thing is certain, they definitely succeeded.

They show is totally different from anything you have seen before: Music, Dance, Theatre, Humour and an array of colours make the Blue Man Group something really special.
The audience is involved during the whole show so be careful if one of the men comes a bit close

You can’t put the Blue Man Group in any one particular genre as it is so diverse and has so many aspects to it that simply being called a musical or a play is rather insulting.

Playing music on self-made instruments and having a lot of special effects will make it a highlight. Therefore you can be sure there is something in the show for everyone.

The Blue Man Group has been in Berlin since spring 2004 and is still a great success in the German capital. This was the very first production outside the USA and in February 2007 the group moved into their own theatre after more than 1 million people saw the show. In the BlueMax theatre at the Potsdamer Platz there is enough space for that special show. One of the saloons was converted so that 600 visitors can sit there comfortably.

You will find the program, prices for the tickets and the chance to book on the homepage of the organizer Stage Entertainment (www.stage-entertainment.de)

Come to Berlin and see the unique show of the Blue Man Group. Have a look for good accommodation (Ferienwohnung in Berlin) like one of the cheap Hotels in Berlin. Most of the apartments (Unterkünfte Berlin) are very central and due to the very good metro system you can reach every point of Berlin easily. Plan your trip in advance since the accommodation as well as the tickets for the Blue Man Group are booked out quickly.

« Previous Page — Next Page »

Work From Home

Copyright © 2008 Fort Blog - For What You Need To Know