Costa Rica is a truly beautiful destination and discovering this tiny Central American country was a truly relaxing experience. It is a little taste of paradise, and its hotels and sites are all built around ensuring its visitors that they all have a truly magical experience. My eight day vacation was perfect for sinking into my time in Costa Rica and not sweating the details. My excursions and adventures took me door-to-door and the hotels I stayed at provided me with all the amenities I could wish for.

I flew into Costa Rica where I was greeted by my VIP greeter who was waiting to assist me with my luggage and get me on my way to La Fortuna. When I arrived at Arenal Springs Ecoresort, I officially switched into vacation mode. I had a relaxing evening sipping cocktails on my hotel room terrace while enjoying the beautiful views of the tropical gardens and the Arenal volcano.

On my first official day of my vacation, I took hike up to the Arenal volcano. The massive volcano dominates every view from anywhere in the region but in order to see it in all its glory I took a short hike through the rainforest during the late afternoon up to the observation clearing. It was an amazing up and close view of this natural wonder and made for a wonderful experience. After I’d taken in the volcano, it was off to the Baldi Hot Springs to enjoy the geo-thermally heated waters mineral waters. I could still hear the volcano rumbling in the background as I relaxed in the warm waters. The hot springs came complete with a swim-up bar and dinner buffet to enhance the experience.

Day two and three of my trip were spent on the water. First up was white water rafting on the Rio Balsa, where professional guides took me and my group through class II and class III rapids. The fun and exciting adventure ended up with us in some tranquil river pools in an isolated rainforest river canyon where we enjoyed our lunch. During the afternoon, I spent my time lazing by the pool and working on my tan. The next day it was back to the water for a jungle riverboat ride through the wilds of the Rio Frio and the seasonal Lago Cano Negro. This wetland refuge included some of the best wildlife viewing in all of Costa Rica, including aquatic birds, monkeys, sloths, caiman, turtles, and bull sharks.

One day four of my trip I switched hotels, moving to the beach of Playa Panama in Guanacaste, where I lazily hung out on the beach and went for a swim in the ocean. Day five included a snorkeling adventure above a vibrant coral reef. I saw thousands of colorful tropical fish along Costa Rica’s pacific coast, as well as a large sea turtle. My second last day consisted of zip-line activity through the tropical dry forest canopy. It was fun zipping through the tree tops next to monkeys, birds, and other wildlife.

My last day in Costa Rica was a lazy one, spent on the beach enjoying the paradise of my surroundings. Costa Rica is a beautiful and relaxing destination that still allows for some adventures and definitely fun activities. I loved my time in Costa Rica, and was sad to have to go home.

My wife and I have the following very simple vacation requirements: warm weather, rest, relaxation, good food, fine wine, sun-bathing on the beach, shopping, and occasional dancing. Tropical vacations would seem to provide what’s needed. We found that a Jamaican vacation is designed for people like us. It fulfilled our every requirement, and did so at a reasonable cost. We shopped around on the Internet before we bought, and found a great package deal.

We spent all of our four days in Montego Bay. Our hotel wasn’t on the beach, but within a short walking distance. With weather as fine as Jamaica’s a short walk is worth it for a great inexpensive deal on accommodations. Most of our time was spent on the beach. My wife’s a great swimmer and loves to be in the water. I’m more the jump-in-and-get-wet type. Splash and dash back to the blanket with a good book.

For a change of pace, one day we decided to forgo the beach and spend some time downtown shopping. You don’t play with price tags when you shop in Montego Bay, and I assume anywhere in Jamaica, you bargain. You want a deal, and the vendor does not want to let you go without a sale. Initially it’s frustrating to an American who is used to a fixed selling price, but after a few skirmishes, it becomes fun. It makes shopping a real sport.

In the evenings, after a quick walk back to the hotel to change, it involved only another short stroll to find sustenance in one of the many fine restaurants at the Oceanside. The food is absolutely delicious. I’m not sure how they do it, but I had a black bean concoction that must have been flavored with oranges. I still can’t get it out of my mind.

One other special evening was spent on an cruise around Montego Bay. There was dancing on the boat, which was quite a challenge for one whose entire dance routine consists of the old two step. But the Jamaican crew was only too willing to help me move my two left feet, although it was really my hips that didn’t know what to do. By the time I tried out my new moves at one of the local night spots, I made a commendable effort, overshadowed by my wife, or course, who has naturally mobile hips.

As with all enjoyable vacations, the Jamaican experience ended too quickly, but it was memorable. I enjoyed the place and the people. My wife and I intend to go on another Jamaican vacation in the near future, but this time we’re going to approach it from the sea on a Caribbean cruise.

My wife and I have travelled to many places that compete for “the best place we’ve ever visited.” It’s impossible to pick a favorite. When it comes to picking which vacation destination was the best place we’ve ever visited as a family, however, there’s no hesitation at all. It’s Disney World in Orlando, Florida. For one full week, my wife and I along with our ten year old and thirteen year old sons completely forgot that we had other lives before our visit. We were immersed in what we thought was paradise, smiling and laughing for seven full days.

Epcot Center is definitely the part of Disney World meant for grownups. There is enough activity and enough rides to keep the children entertained, but the real impact is upon adult education provided at each country’s pavilion. The history and the cultural experience can’t be beat anywhere. You actually feel that you have visited each country that has an Epcot area dedicated to its culture. Be prepared to eat. Sampling ethnic foods is one of the most fulfilling activities. In just a few afternoons you’ll be able to experience trips to Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, and the United Kingdom. You’ll enjoy the ambience of each country without wasting money on air fare.

Of course, entertaining adults is not really the purpose of making the trip a family affair. The true enjoyment of Disney World is not the great experience that adults cannot help but enjoy; it’s the joy of seeing your children totally immersed in the world of Disney – the world as it should be. The kids can expend all of their excess energy at Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, swimming, rafting, and careening down some of the longest water slides in the world. Animal Kingdom Park will thrill them as they view the hundreds of exotic animals, with the opportunity to get up close and pet many of them. The real thrill, however, is The Magic Kingdom.

All childhood fantasies and dreams come together here in Disney’s masterpiece of illusion. Whether walking through Main Street USA, Adventureland, Frontierland, Tomorrowland, or Fantasyland, your children’s smiles will never leave their faces, nor will yours from watching their total abandonment into the experience of each theme park.

If you never take another trip as a family, make the effort to enjoy Disney World together. It will be a bonding experience like no other. Your children will never forget that special time together, and will relive it someday in the distant future when they take their family to Disney World for their “vacation of a lifetime.”

My wife and I have always had a tendency to take exhausting vacations filled with lots of moving around with morning till night activity. Visiting the land of the Pennsylvania Dutch, or Amish, was an excellent alternative. Lancaster County, which is a reasonable stone’s throw from Philadelphia, has the well deserved reputation of being the garden spot of America. It owes this distinction to the hundreds of years of effort expended by the local Amish farmers. It’s their lifestyle that draws people to the area, and my wife and I were no exceptions. Imagine spending a vacation being voyeurs to an entire community.

We spent a week in a fine, clean, inexpensive, and unmemorable motel just outside of Philadelphia, which required only a short easy drive to be right in the heart of the Amish countryside, easily recognized by the abundance of horse drawn carriages. As would be expected in a productive farming area, food is plentiful and excellent.

One famous restaurant in Lancaster, called the Good and Plenty, absolutely must be visited. We entered the restaurant, which is always busy, expecting the usual separate tables with two to four seats. Instead we found a great hall with family sized tables filled with guests sharing country style service. The food is excellent. The chicken pot pie is superb, and I can’t really speak about the pastries. I’m still full from the shoofly pie and apple dumplings.
Naturally, shopping for Amish made wares is a prime activity when visiting the area. If you’re into high quality collectible quilts, Lancaster is heaven. Amish women are queens of the craft, and every country store and gift shop has excellent handmade quilts for sale. Homemade jams, preserves, and jellies are also excellent gifts to take home or send to friends.

Not all of Lancaster’s farm products are sold at local shops. Most farmers bring their produce and crafts into the Farmer’s Market in downtown Philadelphia. My wife and I spent a full morning browsing and shopping at the market. It was a cultural learning experience, meeting and talking with the Amish farmers and their wives. During the afternoon, after our shopping spree, we did all of the touristy things expected from visitors to Philadelphia like visiting Betsy Ross’s house, the Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall.

If you should decide to follow in our footsteps into Lancaster County, be sure to plan your vacation during the warm season. Pennsylvania enjoys a robust four season climate. Unless you enjoy deep snow, avoid visiting Lancaster in winter. Enjoy the rich lush green countryside with the bright sun in your face.

On a trip to Australia, not long ago, I visited the fabled Outback and the infamous Ayer’s Rock and was truly amazed by this most marvelous and yet desolate space. Aside from being remote, I was amazed at the interesting wildlife found throughout. The nearest major population center to Ayer’s Rock is Alice Springs, famous for its historic importation of camels from the Middle East and North Africa for use in intercontinental transport of goods and people. When the use of modern technology transplanted the camel, the thousands of dromedaries and their decedents were released or escaped into the wild and today, the area surrounding Ayer’s Rock and Alice Springs is home to the world’s only surviving population of feral (formally domesticated or descended from domesticated ancestors) camels. In addition to the camels, other introduced species in the area include the cat, dog, mouse, fox, and rabbit.

However, the area in and around the Uluru – Kate Tjuta National Park is home not only to imported animals but is also home to a host of exotic and varied native species as well. Perhaps most notorious and iconic is the kangaroo. Similar to the North American white tail deer in terms of their continental distribution, the kangaroo is found throughout central Australia (as well as the whole of the continent) and also lives within close proximity to its smaller but similarly built cousins the wallaroo and the wallaby.

In addition, to the animal life, this part of Australia is known for its isolation and remoteness and, as I said, I was struck as to just how alone we really were out there. The native aboriginal peoples often spoke of the “walkabout” a solitary journey into the bush of the outback in order to find one’s self. Today, modern travelers from the west often attempt to emulate this ancient ritual in an attempt to connect with nature and to leave the rat race fully behind them. Whether you make the journey alone, like the natives once did, or whether you choose to bring along your friends or loved ones, you are sure to find an excursion into the outback rewarding and therapeutic. I know that for me, my trip to Australia – and to the Outback in particular – was a memorable time and destination and one that I long to return to.

During my senior year of college I took a semester abroad in London where I not only went to school but interned as well. It was a very exciting time for me. My placement was with the UK’s Court Service. In the complete opposite of American efficiency, the Court Service exists a giant and useless organization. While people call the agency for legal advice they do not staff lawyers and are therefore not allowed to actually give such advice. I know, I know….it doesn’t make much sense. But enough bloviating on that subject, as despite my objections, the internship afforded me an amazing opportunity as I was given direct access to the infamous Old Bailey. The Bailey is England’s largest criminal court and is the final stop for all the country’s biggest criminal cases. During my time there I was able to see countless high profile cases, including the gruesome slaying of two young girls: a huge story by London standards during my time there.

In addition, I was able to travel the country and participate in “charter mark” award ceremonies. Basically, in yet another display of the UK’s propensity to waste tax payer’s money, we traveled the country congratulating various court districts for a job well done and put on shows featuring motivational speakers as well as hosting luncheons. While the award ceremonies themselves were, bluntly, something of a joke the opportunity to travel England and Scotland by train was pretty darn cool and allowed me enjoy the country in a way many of my fellow travel abroad students could not. I saw green hills and the picturesque British country side, small farms and villages, and even enjoyed my first taste of haggis on a train speeding toward Edinburgh. Even more cool than the things I saw were the people I met. Traveling by train brings with it a certain level of intimacy not offered in other forms of travel and I was quick to converse with those on the train and was able to make a few friends along the way – of course, the fact that the train sold wine in abundance helped this cause immensely. Finally, the last really neat thing about traveling the country was that I was put up in fancy hotels as I traveled. Considering I was only 21 at the time, working for the Court Service might just have been one of the more interesting experiences of my young life thus far.

My first trip to Europe was an epic bike trip that took place the summer after I graduated from high school, a trip that lasted two months and spanned 5 countries. My friend and I had been planning the trip for almost 2 years, scrimping and saving at our high school jobs to put the cash together for our adventure. We had intense training rides for the entire month before we left, with a week of 70-mile bike rides right before our departure. We were as ready as we could possibly be, or so we thought.

We arrived in Paris, wet behind the ears and speaking only some basic French phrases. We rebuilt our bikes in the train station, got hounded by a security guard, and made it to the streets jet-lagged and only a little worse for wear. From there our adventure began, one that would eventually total almost 1,700 miles of riding. We made from Paris to Amsterdam in two weeks, spending our time biking through the breadbasket of France and pitching our tent in farmers’ fields. Contrary to what we had heard from others, the French people we met were very warm and helpful (it may have had to do with the Tour de France being held while we were riding!).

From Amsterdam we flew to Barcelona and then on to Sevilla, where we bike along the Atlantic coast all the way up to Lisbon. That was my favorite stretch of the trip, because our days consisted of biking along beautiful coastline and resting on beaches when the mood struck us. The trip was probably the best preparation I could have asked for when it came to college, because I had learned to survive on my own with no support network for two months already!

I spent two weeks in Tokyo two years ago visiting a friend that was studying abroad there, and had an absolutely amazing time. Tokyo, and Japan in general, is one of those places where a Westerner has no frame of reference culturally. Everything that you encounter is new, strange, and intoxicating. When I first arrived at Narita airport, I had to navigate the subway system on my own to find my friend, which was an experience and a half.

I was the proverbial fish out of water. I am blonde-haired and blue-eyed, and got stares from what seemed like every single person in the subway car. There was to be no blending in on this trip. I was incredibly relieved when I reached my friend’s apartment, and I was also incredibly grateful to have a tour guide of sorts that had been living in the city for the past 8 months. I spent two weeks wandering the city, often on my own, because my friend was still in school at the time I was visiting.

Let me be the first to say that Tokyo is like some Bladerunner-esque city on the moon. The fashion is loud and cutting-edge, and often ridiculous. In the park on weekends there are endless people dressed up in anime character costumes, alongside four guys that sing Elvis every single weekend rain or shine. The nightlife is amazing, especially the karaoke. You can rent your own room, complete with drink services, and sing to your heart’s content with your friends. It is a bit different than the cheap bar setups you usually find in the United States. If given the chance, I would definitely return to Tokyo for a reunion tour, because that city is absolutely insane. There was never a dull moment while I was there.

Buenos Aires has been my home for the last 7 months, and I love it here. I currently live in a hostel, working nights, and write in my spare time to earn a living. I am constantly running near-broke, but I absolutely love it. I could not be happier about my decision to come down here. South America is a breathtaking place, full of cultures and peoples that are completely different from what I am used to in the United States. And that is what I think the most important aspect of travel is, the discovery and experience that comes with living in another culture and language.

My Spanish is starting to come together pretty well after my time here, and I hope to have it mostly mastered by the time I leave at the end of July. I have managed to snag myself an Argentine gal pal, and what they say is true, it is by far the best way to learn the local language. If you can manage to get yourself a local girl, I highly recommend it. I have learned a whole lot more about the city and its people with her than I would have trying on my own with lessons and what not.

I think my favorite aspect of Buenos Aires is its people. I spent time in Sevilla, Spain studying abroad, and the people there are very different than the porteños of Buenos Aires. Here, people are much more open and welcoming to foreigners like myself. I have had no problems whatsoever making friends on my own in a bar, which is how I got around for the first month or so while I was waiting for my roommate to arrive from back in the United States. If you can, come on down to Buenos Aires.