World Travel Guide

Harare The Affordable Metropolis

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:53:31 +0000

Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe, is also the largest city of the country. It is the administrative and commercial hub. Indeed it is an international standard metropolis. Tourists and travelers from world over often plan to go to Harare but hesitate as it wasn’t convenient until now. Airfares to some African cities like Accra, Cape Town and Lagos had been reduced, which attracted millions of tourists every year but to get to Harare, it was never easy. Owing to the strategy, travel agencies are now providing cheap flights to Zimbabwe. Hence they have made it so easy to fly to Harare as never before.

Previously, it was due to the lack of funds that, for quite a long time, Harare could not be developed properly and could not get its right share of tourists annually. Therefore, bringing a change in the trend and meeting the requirements of the tourists, Harare now has a lot to offer to its visitors. Nature has also helped Harare become an international attraction by providing it with reasonable climate all year round. The city has all that a traveler would like to have on a holiday from shopping to food and wine to fashion and style to events and sports.

Zimbabwe has a deep rooted history and Harare has grown from Fort Salisbury, housing a few military settlers, to a metropolitan city. On the visit to Harare, tourists can enjoy the both the history as well as a metropolis, beautifully fused with each other in the old preserved buildings. The National Gallery houses valuable collections of the country and also organizes exhibitions. The gallery has a permanent exhibition of Shone soft-stone carvings that explain the craftsmanship of the country. Hence it is an attraction to anyone who visits Harare. The National Archives is home to many diaries, articles, notebooks and reports that provide a good literature about the founding of Zimbabwe and to becoming what it is today. This is a good place for those who are traveling for educational purposes and for history lovers.

Eating out in Harare is a great and distinguishing experience. Along with the traditional restaurants, Harare has many continental restaurants which provide ease for those travelers who have a limited taste so as to be able to survive on what is unusual to them. In spite of this, it is more fun to eat at the road side cafes in Harare. Wine and beer in Harare need to be surveyed before being bought but there are a few, worth trying. The Harare restaurants attract crème de la crème from world over. Hence Harare is a paradise for food lovers of all the classes.

Thanks to the travel agencies, particularly those of U.K that cheap flights to Harare are now turning it into a major tourist destination. Air Zimbabwe is one of the airline services that offer low airfares to Zimbabwe. All what needs to be done is, to take a survey of packages and offers that travel agents and airline services have to offer. The best deal that suits one must be selected and the flight taken to the beautiful land.

Online Travel Guide:Grand Cayman air/hotel, 4 nts., from 4: The Reef Resort, 3.5 stars

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:24:32 +0000

Article Summary:

Online Traveling Journal with Free Advice and Guides on Travel, Hotels, Bed and Breakfast, Lodging and more. Articles and tips on travel and travel accommodations.Sample 4-night air/hotel package from New York to Grand Cayman from 4 based on travel 2/25 through 3/1. Sample prices are per person, based on double occupancy and vary by dates of travel, availability, and departure city.
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Online Travel Guide:St. Thomas and St. John air/hotel, 4 nts., from 8: Bluebeards Castle Hotel, 2.5 stars

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:24:32 +0000

Article Summary:

Providing up to date information on Travel guides and guidebooks, Travel advice, tips and destination information to give you the best possible ideas.Sample 4-night air/hotel package from New York to St. Thomas and St. John from 8 based on travel 3/4 through 3/8. Sample prices are per person, based on double occupancy and vary by dates of travel, availability, and departure city.
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Online Travel Guide:Aruba air/hotel, 4 nts., from 6: Brickell Bay Beach Club, 3 stars

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:24:32 +0000

Article Summary:

Research destination guides, get inspirational world travel guide recommendations, see photos, videos, trip plans, and more here.Sample 4-night air/hotel package from Boston to Aruba from 6 based on travel 3/4 through 3/8. Sample prices are per person, based on double occupancy and vary by dates of travel, availability, and departure city.
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Travel Guide:Grand Cayman air/hotel, 4 nts., from 4: The Reef Resort, 3.5 stars

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:24:28 +0000

Article Summary:

Research destination guides, get inspirational world travel guide recommendations, see photos, videos, trip plans, and more here.Sample 4-night air/hotel package from New York to Grand Cayman from 4 based on travel 2/25 through 3/1. Sample prices are per person, based on double occupancy and vary by dates of travel, availability, and departure city.
More: continued here

Online Travel Guide:St. Thomas and St. John air/hotel, 4 nts., from 8: Bluebeards Castle Hotel, 2.5 stars

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:24:28 +0000

Article Summary:

Find information before your trip from quality travel guides, travel reviews and travel articles on Asia, Europe, Australia and all destinations around the world.Sample 4-night air/hotel package from New York to St. Thomas and St. John from 8 based on travel 3/4 through 3/8. Sample prices are per person, based on double occupancy and vary by dates of travel, availability, and departure city.
More: continued here

World Travel:Aruba air/hotel, 4 nts., from 6: Brickell Bay Beach Club, 3 stars

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:24:23 +0000

Article Summary:

Find information before your trip from quality travel guides, travel reviews and travel articles on Asia, Europe, Australia and all destinations around the world.Sample 4-night air/hotel package from Boston to Aruba from 6 based on travel 3/4 through 3/8. Sample prices are per person, based on double occupancy and vary by dates of travel, availability, and departure city.
More: continued here

Travel Guide:My top 3 family travel secrets

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:24:21 +0000

Article Summary:

Providing up to date information on Travel guides and guidebooks, Travel advice, tips and destination information to give you the best possible ideas.Which places in the world are not as well known (nothing is really a “secret”) for fun travel with kids?
I was recently tagged to answer this question by the globe-trotting SoulTravelers3, in a blog post about her family’s travel secrets.
The whole meme was started

Article Content:
Which places in the world are not as well known (nothing is really a “secret”) for fun travel with kids?

I was recently tagged to answer this question by the globe-trotting SoulTravelers3, in a blog post about her family’s travel secrets.

The whole meme was started by Tribase in this post - I’m supposed to tag three more bloggers but sorry, don’t quite have the bandwidth these days to figure out who hasn’t already participated. Still, I’m happy to play here….

You know how tough it is to pick just three? Sigh.

And of course I feel compelled to cover the planet….here goes my best shot:

In the United States
My choice is Memphis, Tennessee.

Go here for coupons/discounts from the city’s CVB (Convention and Visitor’s Bureau) because remember, a CVB’s whole job is to ensure a happy visit.

Memphis is big enough to have a variety of things to do, but not so sprawly as to wear everyone out. Amenities and lodging are reasonably priced, and so is good food. Summer is hot and muggy, but there’s always the Memphis in May festival.

We’re big music fans in my family, and the Birthplace of the Blues offers many ways for even young children to learn more about this country’s musical history and offerings. For starters, the popular Beale Street historic district is actually pretty open to kids (I call it a civilized Bourbon Street) and when we visited, the guys at the door at several venues let the whole family in to listen to live music as long as it was fairly early in the evening. There’s also the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Sun Studio (where Elvis and many others were launched) and the Center for Southern Folklore.

Before we arrived I showed my preteen an Elvis documentary (to try to explain the hype) then took her through his home at Graceland. Believe it or not, she’s now an Elvis fan and the envy of her friends because she’s been to Graceland. Boring and weird Mom wins again!

Take the kids to see the formerly segregated Lorraine Motel (an important US civil rights landmark) where Dr. King was killed - it’s now part of the acclaimed National Civil Rights Museum.

Other kid-friendly places include Mississippi River attractions like the Mud Island River Park (including the Mississippi River Museum and a scaled down version of the river that begs for barefoot splashing) plus the Memphis Zoo, a children’s museum and in season, Redbirds minor league baseball at the downtown AutoZone Park.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn at Peabody Place, which was perfectly located downtown and was also attached to a small mall that occupied certain wiggly toddlers when needed.

In Europe
In a previous blog post here (titled Wonderfully off the tourist beaten path: Wadden Sea / Waddenzee Islands with kids) I’ve written about the tongue-twisting but lovely Dutch islands of Texel and Terschelling.

They are only a short drive and ferry ride away from Amsterdam, but they’re very laid back, very Dutch and very nice for a beachy getaway. Settle in, get some bikes for everyone (of course - it’s the Netherlands) and relax.

Here is the related Dutch tourism Web site about the islands - check it out.

If you can figure out how to pronounce the island of Schiermonnikoog, more power to you.

In Asia
I love the buzzy energy of Tokyo, and it’s a perfect destination with preteens and teens, but a bit too mind-blowing for little ones. The crowds that older children find exciting are simply overwhelming when you’re two feet tall.

That’s why I like Yokohama, the seaside city south of Tokyo.

Make no mistake; it is Japan, so it is crowded, but somehow the location near the sea makes it feel more open. There’s a big mall/hotel highrise called Landmark Tower (with a Pokemon Store - yay!) and it’s surrounded by an amusement park and wide pedestrian seawall.

This Frugal Traveler article in the New York Times about exploring Tokyo through its ramen shops mentions the terrific Ramen Museum in Yokohama, where you can get lots of different kinds of ramen to eat and walk through a sort of living history museum. Super for families!

Here’s one of my very early posts on this blog: Kids in Tokyo - Escape to Yokohama.

There are my three family travel secret places; please share yours down in the comments!

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World Travel Guide:Travel, tourism and the social web on Blog Talk Radio

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:24:20 +0000

Article Summary:

An travel guide providing unbiased hotel reviews, destination guides, cruise reviews, flight information and much more.Last week I enjoyed spending 30 minutes on Blog Talk Radio with Australian entrepreneur and coach Des Walsh. He has a regular program called Des Walsh and Friends, with a wide variety of guests all discussing some aspect of technology and business.
The noteworthy advantage of Blog

Article Content:
Last week I enjoyed spending 30 minutes on Blog Talk Radio with Australian entrepreneur and coach Des Walsh. He has a regular program called Des Walsh and Friends, with a wide variety of guests all discussing some aspect of technology and business.

The noteworthy advantage of Blog Talk Radio (or any “Internet radio” service) is that not only can you listen live, but the shows are usually archived if you can’t be there at broadcast time, plus they’re also downloadable for later listening on your iPod or other digital audio player.

It gives radio/audio the worldwide reach that it never had before, as I discussed in this post about online radio and destination marketing for the Beaumont, Texas CVB (Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.)

Des and I talked about my background in travel, how Becky McCray and I launched Tourism Currents to teach tourism professionals about social media, and why businesses need to ensure a strong Web presence as customer search and interaction preferences shift online.

I loved having a fun chat with someone halfway around the world, and the time zones worked in my favor since it was afternoon my time, but very early morning for Des. :)

Here is our episode: talking social media, travel and tourism with Des Walsh.

(This is cross-posted on my Sheila’s Guide to the Good Stuff blog.)

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Travel Guide:Carnival of Cities for 10 February 2010

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:24:20 +0000

Article Summary:

Find information before your trip from quality travel guides, travel reviews and travel articles on Asia, Europe, Australia and all destinations around the world.

Article Content:

Welcome to the February 10, 2010 edition of the Carnival of Cities; the blog carnival where we take a trip around the world in one blog post.

This is a special edition of the Carnival - hurray! - because today is the 4th birthday for the Family Travel Logue here on BootsnAll, and this month is also the 3rd birthday for the Carnival of Cities. Our first one was posted on February 19, 2007, and I launched it with Jon Symons on his unfortunately now-defunct blog network Home Turf Media. In 2008, this blog became its permanent host - but it’s a carnival, so it travels!

Thanks very much to the host for the previous Carnival edition, Glennia on the excellent blog The Silent I, and we’re looking forward to meeting Jordy Clements, who will host the next edition on Wednesday, February 24. Send her your ONE recent blog post about any aspect of ONE, single city by noon on Tuesday, February 23 - here is the Carnival submission page.

If you’d like to host this bi-weekly carnival on your blog, please email me at Sheila “at” sheilascarborough “dot” com. Thanks!

Off we go….

Cities in the Americas
Detroit, Michigan, USA Justin Kownacki presents Detroit: America’s Self-Loathing of the Rust Belt (And What That Says About Us) posted at Justin Kownacki, saying, “As a lifelong citizen of the ‘Rust Belt,’ I’m concerned about America’s willingness to write the region off while focusing on sunnier stories and greener pastures. Maybe changing the way we think about the region will help change the way America thinks about itself.”

Chicago, Illinois, USA Ms. Smarty Pants presents Restaurant: Jeri’s Grill in Chicago posted at Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All, saying, “a 24-hour diner that’s been open since 1963.”

Des Moines, Iowa, USA Brooke Allen presents Starbucks: Iowa vs. California | Rambling Brooke posted at Rambling Brooke.

Charlotte, North Carolina, USA Sonny presents Lois Mailou Jones: An Artist, and a Life, of Color posted at Seize the Day.

Cancun, Mexico Timothy Scott presents New Sand for Beaches of Cancun and Playa del Carmen posted at Luxury Latin America Blog, saying, “Cancun’s beach will be much wider this spring break period as the government has dumped tons of new sand.”

Savannah, Georgia, USA The Creative Coast presents I mean, WOW. When was the last time two HUGE icons were joined together on one stage in Savannah? posted at The Creative Coast Alliance’s Blog, saying, “Savannah and Georgia history will be made when Ted Turner and Hank Aaron arrive in town to be honored by the Georgia Historical Society and the Office of the Governor at its annual Birthday Bash and Awards Gala.”

San Jose, California, USA June Tree presents What The Silicon Valley Startups In My Life Taught Me posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “A look at Silicon Valley startups.”

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA Jennifer Miner presents Walnut Canyon - Unique Arizona Travel Activity posted at The Vacation Gals.

Omaha, Nebraska, USA Morgan Schwartz presents Valentine’s Day Dating Guide posted at Omaha.net - Local Writing from the Heartland, saying, “A fun guide to spending Valentine’s Day in Omaha, Nebraska.”

Caguas, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico BW presents Discover Caguas Botanical Garden: A Fine Blend of History and Nature posted at Visit The Coqui, saying, “The Caguas Botanical Garden, where history and nature meet”

Kahaluu, O’ahu, Hawaii, USA Jack Norell presents Byodo-in Temple, Hawaii posted at Eyeflare - Travel Articles and Tips, saying, “Hawaii is one of the most beautiful destinations in the world and for a peaceful and relaxing trip while you are in the country, a visit to the Byodo-In Temple makes for a great day out. This Buddhist temple is one of the most picturesque locations in the country, as it is situated at the foot of the beautiful Ko´olau Mountains in an area known as the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park.”

Lake Tahoe, California, USA Jim & Martha presents Our Lake Tahoe Trip posted at Wanderlust Journey.

Washington, DC, USA Jon presents Georgia O’Keeffe Abstracts at The Phillips in Washington DC posted at The PlanetEye Traveler - Washington DC, saying, “Big upcoming exhibit of American painter Georgia O’Keeffe’s works in Washington, DC.”

Denver, Colorado, USA Arian Adams presents The Denver Chronicles posted at The Dumbass Chronicles, saying, “This is a humorous story about 3 Florida boys who get stuck in Denver on their way to Vegas. There’s lots of nightlife/city description.”

Sebastopol, California, USA Jon presents Wacky Lawn Sculptures from Junk posted at The PlanetEye Traveler, saying, “This week I’m submitting a post about some really wacky sculptures I recently saw just north of San Francisco. Very fun!”

Buenos Aires, Argentina Tim Leffel presents Argentina Says Screw You to Foreign Tourists posted at Tim Leffel’s Cheapest Destinations, saying, “If you are flying into Buenos Aires, it’s going to cost you 1 more per person than it did last year thanks to a new entry fee.”

Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA Stephanie Seacord presents Portsmouth Peace Treaty Trail follows steps that led President Roosevelt’s Nobel posted at Examiner, saying, “Portsmouth NH is a National Trust for Historic Preservation ‘Distinctive Destination.’ Named in 2008 for its ‘longstanding commitment to historic preservation, Portsmouth, New Hampshire has never forgotten its sense of place,’ said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

San Antonio, Texas, USA Sarah V. presents Tortillas, Pizza, and Thai Curry: Five Kid-Friendly Restaurants in San Antonio posted at Wandering Off.

Cities in Asia, Australia and New Zealand
Auckland, New Zealand Lyn Harris presents Auckland: Water, Water, Everywhere posted at Traveling New Zealand.

Hue, Vietnam Jonny presents Hue’s Royal Tombs and Pagodas posted at Vietnam Travel.

Osaka, Japan reesan presents Umeda Sky Building posted at loneleeplanet, saying, “the Umeda Sky building. a must-see on any trip to Osaka.”

Cities in Europe
Cassis, France Kristie Lawler presents Cruising the Coast of Cassis posted at Nom Nom Nom.

Rome, Italy Mary Jo Manzanares presents The Roman Coliseum: Birthplace of Civilization posted at Traveling with MJ, saying, “Studying about the Roman Coliseum paled in comparison to actually seeing it.”

Cologne, Germany Kristie presents Back In Europe (Pictures!) posted at Norway - An American In Oslo, saying, “Just wanted to say that I love the carnival of cities. I am so happy to participate in it and have for years now. I think this is one of the best blog carnivals out there on the web.” (Awww, thanks, Kristie!)

That concludes this edition, and thanks so much for celebrating with me!

Submit your (one, recent, non-spammy) blog post about any aspect of just ONE, single city (or fair-sized town) to the next edition of the Carnival of Cities using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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