Discovering treasures in every port Embarking in Portugal upon our first-ever cruise, my husband and I looked forward to the quality and service that have earned Viking River Cruises their outstanding reputation. There were many aspects of this river cruise that we loved, and having a wealth of compelling shore excursion opportunities was a big part of the experience for us. Portugal is known for its famous explorers of centuries past who … [Read more...]
Istanbul’s Secret Gems
Istanbul’s Secret Gems Visitors to Istanbul have a general expectation of seeing an exotic place at the easternmost of Europe. This expectation is definitely appropriate but what the city offers is actually way beyond it. It is not for nothing that Istanbul is regarded as a city founded on two continents. The city offers its visitors many examples from both European and Asian cultures, acting as a bridge between them. Sometimes you feel … [Read more...]
Top 5 reasons to have a work retreat on a tropical island
Or I should rather say, the top 5 reasons to convince your boss to take your team to work on a tropical island to reboot and think strategy ? What is a company retreat on a tropical island? It is the process of taking your team to a remote location and mix having holiday times together with working, on a tropical island. This practice has gained in popularity over the last years, primarily because it is a great way to reboot the company … [Read more...]
Christopher Elliot Consumer Advocate and Journalist
Christopher Elliott is a strong advocate for consumers (and not just travel related cases). So serious and passionate about his job fighting for consumer rights - he says he sleeps with his phone! In addition to his consumer advocacy work, he is also a very accomplished journalist. We have followed his career since the late 1990's (he has been online since the early 1990's). Recently we reached out to him with some questions - with an … [Read more...]
The Unexpected Living Treasures of Ireland
Close your eyes and think of Ireland: what do you see? Is it rolling hills of ethereal green and the Ring of Kerry, or perhaps tall, stark, jagged precipices descending into crashing waves, like the Cliffs of Moher? On a recent escorted journey through Ireland with Insight Vacations, I found all these and more, but what captured me beyond the green, grassy countryside were the furry and feathery fauna of the Emerald Isle. Beautiful, … [Read more...]
An Alternative Journey from England to Ireland
David and I had been discussing visiting Ireland for a number of years. We both tend to gravitate towards cooler weather climates - and Ireland in late October would be a good break from our warm Malyasian weather. We arrived into London and rather than continuing via airplane from the UK, we chose to travel by train and fast ferry, in hopes this alternative would create a more memorable travel experience then being crammed into tiny seats … [Read more...]
Here Be Dragons: The “Sacred Terror” of the Alps of Switzerland
"Placed on this planet since yesterday, and only for a day, we can only hope to glimpse the knowledge that we will probably never attain." -Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, 1796 Dateline: Mount Pilates, Switzerland I've penned a few books that have been placed in the category of "wilderness travel." But perhaps the first to stock this shelf was the eighteenth-century mountaineer Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, who wrote in his opus, Voyages … [Read more...]
A Tale of Blue Gold
You might not wonder how clothes or other fabrics get their color, but textile dyes have been around for centuries affecting much more than just the world of fabric. With the introduction of exotic and stunning hues that came from dyes, the world was made a canvas upon which our ancestors painted their history. Dyes were often considered a luxury and a symbol of wealth. Of the many dyes, indigo is the oldest, and its origins are based in … [Read more...]
Sark: Britain’s Lost Channel Island
'Welcome to Sark'- the sign read as I climbed the harbour steps onto the island. With rain lashing down, I ran through a short tunnel carved through the rock of the cliff- the only entrance to the island- and on the other side found a farming tractor, carriage in tow, parking up on the side of the road. 'There's the bus!' someone said, and everyone clambered on for the ride up the hill. This was Sark, an island of only a few square miles … [Read more...]
I Snorkelled Between Tectonic Plates in Iceland
Iceland is hardly the first destination which comes to mind when you think of snorkelling, but in Thingvellir National Park tectonic Activity has formed a rift, which is filled with pure glacial water. And what better place to snorkel than between tectonic plates? It was a cold. So very cold. Frost clung to the ground and the wind was biting into every inch of my frozen body. During the short journey from Reykjavik to Thingvellir National … [Read more...]
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