Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!The Land Nearest Nowhere
By Linda Tancs
If you have a hankering for a trip to nowhere in particular, then the land nearest nowhere is as good a destination as any. So where is nowhere? Answer: Cape Three Points in Ghana, West Africa, where zero latitude meets zero longitude at zero altitude. You’ll avoid the rainy season this time of year although a weather phenomenon known as the harmattan, a dry northeast wind, blows almost continuously in January and February. The drive from Takoradi, dotted with crop farms, rubber plantations and local fora and fauna is just as amazing as the panoramic views from the solar-powered 1925 lighthouse waiting for you at the Cape. Now that sounds more like somewhere to me.
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Caribbean’s Longest Running Resort
By Linda Tancs
If you’d expect a centuries old, longest running resort to be a bit stuffy, then you’d be pleasantly surprised in St. Croix. The Buccaneer is the island’s (and Caribbean’s) longest-running resort, a legend that balances old-world charm with the wish list of today’s traveler, including spa treatments, a kids’ camp, and golf and tennis lessons. Connections are widely available from San Juan, and U.S. residents can leave the passport home. Book now for 20% off select rates this winter.
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The Hawaii of Korea
By Linda Tancs
Hailed as the “Hawaii of Korea,” Jeju is Korea’s largest island, situated 64 kilometers or so south of the Korean Peninsula. Like its sister in the U.S., it offers a temperate climate, breathtaking vistas, volcanoes and a traditional culture. Unlike Hawaii, it does offer snow–sometimes lots of it. All the better to enjoy the snow flowers of Mt. Halla, a must-see in winter.
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Sri Lanka Requires ETA For Travel
By Linda Tancs
New year, new beginnings. Sri Lanka now requires visitors (except for Singapore and Maldives travelers) to obtain an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) in advance of travel. The ETA requirement applies to a holiday visit, a short business trip or a transit through Sri Lanka. Applications may be made online or in person.
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Craft Market Reopens in Bahamas
By Linda Tancs
After being gutted by fire in 2001, Nassau’s Straw Market in the Bahamas is open for business. The Bay Street fixture offers local handiworks and is accessible by cab or jitney from Cable Beach. Unless you’re a polar bear by nature, you likely won’t be swimming there in January, so why not shop till you drop!
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A Beach in Winter
By Linda Tancs
A haven for beachgoers might not immediately jump to mind as a place to count down the New Year–that is, unless you’re in Ravenna, Italy. Now in its fifth year, Sea in Winter offers travelers the opportunity to enjoy a sea-centered holiday season. Enjoy the sand-made Nativity at the marina, Sunday shopping tours through January, art shows, yachting, and a BBK disco-sponsored New Year’s Eve celebration. Of course, Ravenna was the seat of the Roman Empire in the fifth century and then of Byzantine Italy until the eighth century. Boasting a unique collection of early Christian mosaics and monuments, there’s enough to keep you busy while you revel in the New Year. Buon anno!
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Ski Tours of the Dolomites
By Linda Tancs
Alpine fever is at a peak in the Dolomites, where travelers enjoy some of the best on-piste ski touring in the world. Not just a summer haven for hikers and climbers, the peaks afford some 16 skiing tours through 12 different ski resorts with runs enough for every experience range. With variety like that, why not take the family on a ski safari? You’ll explore the Dolomites entirely on skis, moving from hut to hut each night. Of course, there’s also snowshoeing and backcountry skiing for those wanting a more relaxed vibe. The Dolomites cover 90,000 acres of the Italian Alps. Go ahead, pick your piste.
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Your Own Private Idaho
By Linda Tancs
The idllyic surroundings of Musha Cay and the Islands of Copperfield Bay may seem like an illusion but that first step into the natural nirvana of the monkey jungle assures you that it’s all very real. The jungle is only one of several hidden exotic locations on Musha Cay and the surrounding islands, a Bahamas retreat owned and designed by magician and entertainer David Copperfield. Hosting up to only 24 guests at any given time (at a rate of $37,500 per day with a four-night minimum), this ultra-luxe experience delivers the kind of magical moments only the likes of Copperfield could provide. Are you ready for a wonder-full experience?
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Kayak Race in Australia Ends the Year
By Linda Tancs
Along Australia’s mighty Murray River from Yarrawonga to Swan Hill comes the Murray Marathon. One of the world’s largest annual kayak races, the event is a 404 km, five day flat-water race along the Murray River, which borders Victoria and New South Wales. The YMCA Victoria fundraiser begins on 27 December and heads downstream through Tocumwal, Picnic Point, Echuca, Torrumbarry and Murrabit before finishing in Swan Hill on New Year’s Eve. Just in time for a festive rendering of Auld Lang Syne.
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The Hotel Tell-All
By Linda Tancs
Are you in search of the bare naked truth about your next travel destination? Is the beach really as pristine as those sun-kissed glossies would suggest? Wonder no more. At Oyster, they aim to expose those photo fakeouts that could upend your next holiday. Oyster visits hotels undercover and takes hundreds of photos of each hotel so their members can see the truth before they book–from Bermuda to Botswana. As the saying goes, the world is your Oyster.
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