Island hop by ferry or rove on-island on a rented bike or scooter. One of the world’s longest coral reefs, 230 miles of white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters and a bounty of dive spots lure visitors to the Turks and Caicos’ eight major islands, just east of the Bahamas. Bird sanctuary French Cay, underwater Columbus Landfall National Park and Caicos Conch Farm are among the major attractions of these legendarily friendly isles.

Turks and Caicos are a series of small islands in the Caribbean so any neighborhood affiliation would be primarily be by island. Grand Turk and Salt Clay make up the Turks portion, with Grand Turk being the capital island and Cockburn being the central town. This is the administrative and historical hub of the islands, with various museums and old buildings as attractions. It is also reputed to be the island on which Christopher Columbus set foot in 1492.

Providenciales known as Provo, is the most developed island for tourism, with the largest airport of all the islands, many hotels, golf club, and grocery stores. There are also large foreign minorities of Haitians, Dominicans, French, Canadians, Germans and Americans here.  The 12-mile beach at Grace Bay has been praised by Conde Nast and Island magazines, among others, for its exceptional beauty. North Caicos is the island with the most lush vegetation, and was formerly a plantation island. Today, it is home to large flocks of pink flamingos. Middle Caicos is the largest island, with limestone cliffs to the north and swampland to the south. There are also a few plantation ruins to be found here, as well as various wildlife. South Caicos is the fishing capital of the islands and home to the Commissioner’s House, where Queen Elizabeth stayed when she visited the islands in 1966.

East and West Caicos, the last two islands, are uninhabited. So come explore some of the freshest parts on the Caribbean! Enjoy and Relax!

After booking a night at a luxurious hotel in Athens, Greece, board your cruise ship, get settled in and start your relaxation!

Taking a cruise is the most luxurious and comfortable way to spend your holidays. You get on board, unpack your suitcases and act as if you are living in a luxurious hotel. Cabins are obviously smaller in size, but the other entire facilities make up for this inconvenience of space.

Many Greek cruises are organized at regular dates and include some Greek islands (it isn’t possible to include all of them, as Greece has 69 inhabited islands), usually the most popular ones and also some other Mediterranean destinations, such as Venice, Istanbul and the Turkish shores. Apart from the great Mediterranean cruises that make the tour of the Mediterranean Sea and include almost all Mediterranean countries in their schedule, there are also others cruises around Greece and the Greek Seas. These cruises are of shorter duration and depart from a Greek port or island.

This beach is known as “the Jewel of San Diego” - and for good reason! This beach community offers scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming, boating, kayaking, fishing and even golf.  There is also lots of shopping and many fine dining options. This beach is ideal for an active family.


 

 

2. Malibu Lagoon, CA

This lagoon is located where Malibu Creek meets the Pacific Ocean and this magnificent beach has even inspired Beach Boys songs and beach-blanket movies. This popular surf destination has rock reef formations that are great for exploring marine life. This beach also offers natural trails to hike through and a 700 foot pier that is a favorite of locals and tourists.


 

 

3. Santa Monica Pier, CA

This must-see attraction offers fun and games for the whole family. Take a ride on the giant Ferris Wheel, or stroll along the miles of surrounding beaches and coastal mountains. This beach is located in Santa Monica, just west of Los Angeles at the end of historic Route 66. Make sure to walk further south down this beach to the Venice Boardwalk for unique arts and crafts and a lively crowd.


 

 

4. Coopers Beach, NY

This is the main beach in Southampton, New York. Off in the distance are historic mansions and fine dinning, but what draws us to this beach is the clear – and clean – water and the safety that the beach provides to its visitors is a unique feature. This family-friendly destination is great for those looking for a fashionable beach getaway.




5. Crissy Field, CA

This beach is a true marvel.  This broad, pleasant and beautiful beach was once an old military airfield, but now is the epicenter for family picnics, people-watching and offers majestic views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay. The East beach remains popular for windsurfers and kite surfers, and the good afternoon breeze makes for good sailing. This beach offers up so much more than just lounging around on the sand.


 

6. Waikiki Beach, Oahu

This two mile stretch of coast boasts some of the best family beach activities. Besides the clear and warm waters, this beach offers swimming, snorkeling, canoeing and surfing. This year-round destination has been a family favorite for years, and we don’t see that changing any time soon.


 

7. Wailea Beach, Maui

This beach is located on the South Shore of Maui and boasts clear blue waters and golden-sand beaches. This beach is protected on both ends by large black lava points, making these calm waters ideal for swimming. A paved walkway winds between the luxury resorts and restaurants, but as you stroll be on the look out for rare native plants. This beach is also ideal of whale watching December through April.


 

8. Easton’s Beach, RI

The beach is a favorite of tourists and locals since it is home to tournaments and events in the summer months. This long and narrow beach is ideal for walking and the boardwalk offers concession stands and a carousel.


 

 

9. Big Bay State Park, WI

This 1.5 mile beach has campgrounds, picnic areas and more than 7 miles of hiking and nature trails with incredible views of Lake Superior. These calm waters are great for swimming and fishing, too. Â


 

 

10. Pictured Rocks Lakeshore, MA

Mineral-stained sandstone cliffs rise from Lake Superior and make for extraordinary views. There is a lot to discover here and you can catch a boat tour to be sure you see all the great sights. This is also a popular camping destination, but reservations must be made in advance.

- Ron Burgundy

America’s favorite anchorman got it right (aside from San Diego being discovered by the Germans in 1904) – San Diego is a beautiful city full of lush beaches, a vibrant city scape and world-class attractions.  A city that offers such a veritable cornucopia of destination driven excitement, adventure, class and so forth begs quite the quandary: “Where do I stay?” In order to best answer this philosophical inquiry of wanderlust the traveler must first look inward and ask themselves a tough question – “What do I want to do?”  San Diego offers such a wide spectrum of possibilities that it helps to have a solid grasp on the type of travel it is that you’ll be doing.

If your traveling with the little ones you may want to consider a hotel or resort closer to some of the more popular attractions like the San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park, Sea World or LEGO Land.  To get the most bang for your buck find a beach resort nearby.  That way you get instant access to those relaxing beach days while being just a hop, skip and a jump from other major attractions.

If you are looking for more of the city vibe and being near the nightlife hot spots then you will want to stay in the Gaslamp Quarter.  Here is where you will find some of the top restaurants, bars and nightclubs to satisfy your classy, or possibly more debaucherous side.  There are many great hotels in this area but one you must check out is the new Marriott in Gaslamp Quarter.  With 2 lounges, the Soleil @K restaurant, rated one of the top 3 restaurants in San Diego, has gorgeous views of the harbor and unbeatable access to downtown San Diego. This hotel is a hip change of pace for a Marriott.

Formally a dependency of the British territory St. Helena, which is located a little over 1000 miles north of the islands, Tristan da Cunha was founded by Portuguese explorers in the 18th century.  After the first permanent settler (Jonathan Lambert of Salem, Massachusetts 1810) died in 1812, British garrisons were sent to the island to look over Napoleon while he was imprisoned on the island of St. Helena.  Although St. Helena was 1000 miles north of Tristan da Cunha, the British feared the French would plan an escape from Tristan da Cunha.  To counter this, the garrison inhabited the small island archipelago leading to a gradual build up of a civilian population.  The group of islands kept growing as a small colony until the building of the Suez in 1869.  Because of the canal, naval and commercial ships no longer needed to use Tristan da Cunha as a spotting point on their journeys towards the Americas. 

Soon after the canal was built the garrison started leaving the island.  Eventually the entire garrison left except for one.  He then started the colony with fisherman and women who were passing through on journeys.  The island’s population leveled off around 250 inhabitants.  They made revenue exporting fishing catches, stamps, and hosting naval expeditions from allied countries.  The island was still very much a pit stop for many maritime journeys across the Atlantic until 1961 when the volcanic activity became too dangerous for the colony to stay.  Hurling rocks and magma forced the colonists to be evacuated.  They spent a year in England, but even with all the amenities of modern life, the people became homesick and quickly returned to the volcanic archipelago.

The sole town, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas is today a tourist attraction for those gonzo travelers trying to get away from the conventional vacation.  On the Island the women do all the clerical work: run the shops, pub, school, while the men do the labor and tend to the sheep and fishing.  All the textiles are woven by hand and the food is all harvested and grazed on the land.  There is one school for the children which runs grade 6-12, and the local government is run by the town’s people, all of whom have two jobs.  Although isolated, the technology of the internet has made it to the island.  The younger inhabitants do know of what is going on in the world and can leave whenever they want.  The tight community and safeness of the island is what attracts most of them to stay.  The island has free healthcare, but with only one doctor some patients must be boated to South Africa for surgical care. 

The island does make a good amount of money on the giant crawfish harvest.  The crustacean is coveted in the United States and Japan.  The harvest only lasts a few months so other than that, the island sells postage stamps and memorabilia to the tourism agencies in the southern hemisphere.  The economy was self sustaining until a fire in 2007.  The inhabitants have battled through it though, and if you have the time to take a boat into the mid-Atlantic, it would be an interesting adventure to part-take in.  For more information on the unique “modern colony” find a 1958 book by D.M. Booy titled Rock of Exile: A Narrative of Tristan da Cunha.