Travel Guides

For years, eco tourism was something that no one has heard of, but today thanks to increased pressure by world governments to reduce carbon emissions and become more environmentally friendly, responsible tourism is becoming a big issue for both tourists and also tour operators.

According to a popular newspaper, the Sunday Times, Italy has been voted the most popular country to visit in the world, thanks to its colorful culture, cuisine and most importantly, fashion.

For many it would seem, Italy is the place to ‘be’ following the economic crisis, and Italy is one of the few countries which has seen economic growth recently.  The tourism industry in Italy has thus been kept afloat because as people are forced to travel nearer to home, a trip to Italy is affordable, convenient and great fun.

Photo by Tom Corser www.tomcorser.com. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 England & Wales (UK) Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/uk/deed.en_GB

Imagine a hotel built from snow and ice by artists.  The rooms are beautiful and  icy and cold.  You sleep in a warm thermal sleeping bag on a bed made of a block of ice topped by a thick mattress and  reindeer skins.   You could be in a simple snow room, or in a room filled with ice sculptures. You are at the Ice Hotel in Sweden.

Located 200km above the artic circle ICEHOTEL is literally at the top of the world.    It seems distant and remote, however it is easy to get to with the nearest airport and train station only 15km away in the town of Kiruna.  From year to year the ICEHOTEL is never the same.  Every year artists from around the globe come to build and sculpt the beautiful hotel, only to see it melt away come spring.

Is it Rangoon or Yangon the right name of the former Burmese capital? No matter, Yangon is only a more modern pronunciation for the city’s name.

Downtown rangoon with modern skyscrapers

Despite the fact that Rangoon is no longer the capital city, it remains the most populous and most important city of Burma ( or Myanmar, if you wish). It counts 4 millions inhabitants, and suffers in some of its neighborhoods of its poor infrastructure (no rubbish collection, no permanent electricity). But Rangoon, and the all Burma are really fascinating, despite or due to the military dictatorship. Here comes the key question: doest it worth visiting Burma? Thus shall we support the military  junta, or the simply poor people ? Fact is, that most of the hotels are under the rule of the junta, but I still am  for visiting this country. Thus even the simply people could get contacts and even earn something. The chamber maid, the taxi driver, the street vendor will surely take a profit of your visit, and this is very good for the country.

You probably know that business travelers can often deduct all or a portion of their travel, even if they are having some fun. But did you know that  you can also get a tax benefit from your vacation? You can  if you are willing to do a bit of work as a volunteer with a non-profit organization.

“Voluntourism” is becoming a popular option for travelers that want to make the most of their vacation.  By volunteering with a non-profit organization a person can travel to almost any global destination, experience the  culture of an area in a whole new way, and have a sense of purpose and of doing good with their vacation time.   And then to top it  off, some or all of their vacation expenses can be deducted on their income tax returns.

Remarkable Rocks @ Kangaroo Island, Australia Image by timparkinson via Flickr

Australia, the land down under.  Home to Kangaroos and Opals,  Uluru (Ayers Rock) and the Great Barrier Reef.  The only country that covers a whole continent, Australia is a vacation destination for everyone.

With the US dollar strong against the Australian dollar now is a very affordable time to visit Australia.  Purchase an Australia Airpass from Qantas Vacations and you get  a three city flight  package that is hard to beat.   Book your travel before October 20 and you can fly roundtrip from Los Angeles or San Francisco to Australia for as little as $999. Plus you get three flights within Australia, and a trip to Kangaroo Island.  For your interior flights choose from the following cities, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart.  Book your travel before October 20, 2009.   Travel dates are during the low season, May 1 through June 8. (Remember that is winter in the land down under!)

Recently there has been public outcry in Australia after attempts were made to legalize the hunting of crocodiles for sport.  This form of ‘entertainment’ has been wildly criticized by the RSPCA, Humane Society International and also the International Fund for Animal Welfare to name but a few.

After much deliberation, the International Olympics Committee has finally decided on the location of the 2016 Olympic Games and to everyone’s surprise they will not be held in Chicago.