Travel Blog

Why just have a drink – when you can have a story, too? That’s the premise behind the cruise ship bar menu that’s won out over competitors throughout the world of hospitality. “Best Beverage Menu” was awarded to Holland America Line for its newest bar concept onboard its newest ship at the 2022 VIBE (that’s the Very Important Beverage Executives) conference.That means this bar menu isn’t just the best at sea. The award is open to any venue in the...

From cultural giants like George Lucas and Bob Dylan, to New York’s Broadway or America's mountain peaks, to milestones in Latino and African American heritage – not to mention spellbinding art from the country's past... and future! - across the U.S., museums are having a renaissance, with new openings that reflect some of the most fascinating themes of modern America. Don't forget to add one of these newly-opened museums to your agenda if you’re traveling to any of these U.S....

Imagine your ideal European summer escape. Chances are, one of the sounds you hear is the splashing water of a fountain in the town square on a lazy afternoon. From ancient times, communities were built up around their local source of water. Eventually, many European cities then gave their sources of water sculptural and architectural treatments. That transformed them from watering holes… to wondrous waterworks and focal points of the European lifestyle travelers love.There’s nothing quite so refreshing as the...

New Zealand is opening again to international visitors at the beginning of May, 2022, and for outdoor travel lovers, it couldn't come at a better time. 2022 marks the 30th year of the country’s ‘Great Walks.’‘Great Walks’ are ‘great’ three times over:  ·They aren’t afternoon strolls. These are walks of epic proportions - a network of ten, multi-day walks across the north and south islands of New Zealand.  ·They are about conservation as much as being active outdoors. The network of ‘Great...

Spring in the northern hemisphere is a wonderful time to visit Argentina as the southern hemisphere cools down from summer heat. From Argentina’s remote mountain ranges, to wine regions and cattle ranches, to its natural wonder of the world, there’s a world of excitement outside the one-of-a-kind atmosphere of Buenos Aires, called the ‘Paris of South America.’ BUENOS AIRESWATCH THE VIDEO to see highlights of our Monograms Tour of Buenos Aires. In the capital of Argentina, we discovered a new...

A Spanish airline has become the first carrier to have a plane ticket ‘minted’ on the blockchain. When that first ‘NFTicket’ was auctioned off, it broke a record for the most valuable airline ticket ever sold in the history of commercial aviation – to the tune of over a million dollars!TravelX, a company building the travel world’s first blockchain-based travel distribution system, partnered with Spain-based airline Air Europa to pioneer a new way of issuing travel tickets – and smashing...

It was three-quarters of a century ago when the founder of uber-chic, trend-setting icon of mid-century jet-setting Pan Am decided to launch a hotel chain to bring its super style to the cities the airline served. Jet setters were paying a premium for the expanding luxury of high-flying air travel, and Juan Trippe knew they wanted their destination hotels to be just as memorable as a Pan Am flight. The iconic airline is no longer – but InterContinental Hotels &...

The return of cruise travel has looked like a bit of a jigsaw puzzle. Piece by piece, cruise lines have worked out how to resurrect itineraries within the Caribbean, from the U.S. to the Caribbean, between the U.S. and Mexico… you can see the picture. Now at last, with the final two pieces, the puzzle – or rather, the cruise map of North America - is complete. Travellers can now book cruises to the entire continent. Holland America Line’s Konigsdam 1st Ship Back...

There’s a new generation of private islands. One that creates an environment for guests to vacation their way to becoming their best selves. Scratch any impressions you have of private islands inhabited by music moguls jet-skiing with nude models, royalty sneaking around with other people’s spouses, or tech billionaires popping magnums of champagne.The new private island experience isn’t just about seclusion away from prying eyes. It’s about the ultimate spirit of togetherness with a group of people you value most in the...

 It’s not just the first national park in the U.S. It’s the first national park in the world. In March, 1872, American president Ulysses S. Grant signed into law the establishment of Yellowstone National Park to preserve and protect some of the country’s most emblematic scenery and wildlife for future generations. That first national park represented the start of the entire U.S. National Park system. Today, the National Park Service manages 85 million acres of land, comprising 63 National Parks and...

Whether or not you loved studying Shakespeare in school, chances are, to this day you regularly hear - and use – lines from his 154 sonnets and 39 plays that are still continuously being staged in theaters around the world, more than any other playwright in any language. That’s not a bad linguistic legacy for someone who was born nearly 500 years ago.Recognize any of these pearls of wisdom? All the words of Shakespeare, who was born April 26, 1564. “To be...

How good is active outdoor travel for your health and wellbeing? It’s so essential that doctors in Canada can now prescribe a ‘dose’ of nature to their patients.“PaRx” is Canada’s first, national nature prescription program. It started in 2020 and has since won over a lot of supporters, including an award from the Canadian Medical Association, and over 1000 registered prescribers.Doctors, nurses, and other licensed health care professionals can help their patients improve their health by prescribing time in Canada’s...

 Kenya may already be on your travel bucket list for a once-in-a-lifetime epic wildlife safari through its sweeping African landscapes. But visitors can now easily connect to its culture and lifestyle in more ways, thanks to a new program by Kenya’s tourism board. The Magical Kenya Signature Experiences Collection is a growing selection of authentic and unique activities, accommodations, and tours for visitors with a wide range of interests in Nature, local arts and crafts, cuisine, sports, communities and more. Each...

Ancient Hawaiian culture meets the astro-tourism trend in this new experience in Lana’i. If you are one of the many people who’ve found a new fascination with the night skies, the new observatory debuting in the Four Seasons Resort Lanai will be keeping you ‘up at nights’ thinking about this trip. Four Seasons Resort Lanai has debuted the Lāna'i Observatory, offering a new astrotourism experience for Resort guests, Lāna'i residents and students. The observatory’s telescope stands 135' high and weighs approximately 3,000...

One of the first signs of spring for travel and cruise lovers like me… isn’t the first tulip or robin. It’s the return of river cruising in Europe. This year especially celebrates a fresh new season, after two pandemic years when many people weren’t traveling to Europe and can’t wait now to return to their favorite European memories and make new ones. Just before the start of the season, I had the chance to meet with one of the founders...

If you’re a mega-ship fan, you have another entry to add to your cruise travel bucket list. The largest ship at sea has just launched in a feat of engineering, design, and imagination. Royal Caribbean has debuted Wonder of the Seas in Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale. The newest ship in the fleet clocks in at 1118 feet long and 210 feet wide. There are 18 decks for nearly 7000 guests plus 2300 crew members.That makes it the world’s largest cruise ship....

This chain of couples-only Caribbean resorts is serious about helping guests ‘get in the groove’ while on vacation. To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Sandals Resorts has launched an ‘Institute of Romance’ to research trends in couples’ relationships with a goal of helping keep the sparks a’ flying. The new trend-house delves into data about modern love, relationships and intimacy… And how they relate to holidays.Through global surveys of paired-up travelers and its past guests, Sandals’ Institute of Romance’s findings will help...

Is it time to change winter blues for island “greens?” The ideal outdoor, distanced, leisure activity, golfing got a shot in the arm over the last couple of years. Even less committed golfers dusted off the clubs during the pandemic, rediscovering the delights to be found on the greens. And now that people are travelling again, the clubs are coming along for the ride.Here are three Caribbean island golf resorts with a unique twist to freshen up your game in tropical,...

“Carnival” and “Mardi Gras” evoke some of the world’s most legendary, annual, pre-Easter parties. The two events are related, with a shared origin and even some of the same cultural traditions. Carnival is a whole season, but Mardi Gras is one special day. They are celebrated in countries with strong, historic Catholic traditions.The calendar tells all. Pre-Easter, devout Catholics observe Lent, a time of solemn prayer and self-denial. Lent begins on the Wednesday 40 days before Easter.Mardi Gras means ‘Fat Tuesday.’ The Tuesday...

At 2021’s Climate summit in Glasgow, something pretty extraordinary for one of the natural world’s greatest treasures happened. Neighboring countries Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama got together and agreed to create an ‘ocean highway’ to allow threatened marine species in and around the richly and uniquely biodiverse Galapagos Islands to safely travel to the territories they need to survive.  The Galapagos Islands famously inspired the pivotal works about evolution of species by Charles Darwin. The Islands are part of...