In celebration of Columbus Day, today’s post harkens back to my summer vacation in Italy.
Lake Maggiore, with its low key atmosphere, has an extensive network of ferry service around and across the lake.  In fact, ferries have landing stages in nearly every town along the lake, making it quite easy to get most places by boat.  In addition to the traditional (and slower) ferry, there is also hydrofoil service.  Not only is it a faster boat, but it has more direct service, rather than stopping at all the smaller towns.  The boats generally operate between 7 am – 8 …read more

A trip to Hawaii is a dream vacation for many, but choosing the islands for a vacation is only the beginning.  Although the Hawaiian Islands is made up of many islands and atolls, along with smaller islets, when it comes to vacation, you’re probably talking about visiting one of the six main islands.
Depending on what you want out of your vacation, frenetic levels of activity, rocking night life, or peaceful sandy beaches, you’ll want to choose an island that fits your personal preferences.  While sharing the basics of beautiful sun, sand, and surf, each island has its own special ambience, …read more

I’ve been doing some research on island and their beaches, and Bermuda has cropped up in that research.  It’s one of those places that I forget about until I run across it, and then I think, “Oh yeah, why don’t I ever check out Bermuda?”
So check it out, I did, and boy – have I been missing a lot!
Turns out that Bermuda is not just one island, but 138 islands, although when someone says Bermuda chances are they are referring to the main island.  Bermuda is an affluent country, and although it has over 300 beaches, tourism ranks #2 behind …read more

I’m trying to come up with a warm weather vacation spot for this fall.  Since it’s been awhile since I’ve been to the Caribbean, I thought this might be a good time to plan a return trip.  Barbados, an island that I’ve not yet visited, is looming at the top of a pretty short list.
Here are 10 reasons why I think visiting Barbados may be a good choice for me:

I haven’t been there before, and visiting a new country takes me a step closer to the Century Club.
It’s a small island, only about 14 by 21 miles, with over …read more

Saint Maarten on the Dutch Side and Sint Martin on the French side, is a small two nation island in the Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean.  The south half of the island is Dutch, the most populated nation on the island, and the north half is French.
Tourism is the main business of the island, with over a millions tourist flocking to the sunny beaches, nightlife, and true duty free shopping that the island offers.
I’m trying to figure out a way to be one of those one millions tourists in the not too distant future.
Anyone visited recently?  Would love any …read more