In The Mood For Something Different This Christmas Trip?

Where are you thinking of heading this Christmas travel season? The usual place? Well, if its been a tough year or a banner year for you you may want to either get away, away or celebrate with an atypical but exciting venue this year. Is it warm and exotic that will get you ready for 2006 or overseas for unique holiday shopping to lift you spirits? Interested in landing somehwere where you won't even hear a single Christmas carole?

Take a peak at these suggestions.

Care for a Mexican Christmas? Think Cabo or Puerta Vallarta if you want all the holds gone and warm beaches. Think Mexico City if fun yet elegant offerings are your thing.

Think Hawaii for the spa fun of it on sand clad beaches between Mai Tai's and pineapple chunks. There are great 5 day packages avaialble some several specialty tour groups since the cost is higher at this time or if offending your overbearing boss is too much.

Last minute holiday shopping can be unbelievable if you head to London, Rome, or Paris for the week before Christmas for some imported gifts. Be on the lookout in the Sunday newspaper for holiday shopping specials and take advantage of the package deals.

For more shopping and sightseeing opportunities thinkGermany for Christmas as all the outdoor activities kick it up a notch for the season. Vienna, Salzburg and Munich are famed for their markets and you can head to one or all three in one trip.

Finally, there are plenty of exotic places left in the world that do not celebrate Christmas except for the tourists they try to attract. Look to Asian countries in general but this year Vietnam seems to have a series of special packages that are attractive.

Other venues are Africa such a Nimibia and Tanzania for great holiday trips that will not feel like Christmas at home. Think of the memories!

Regardless of your choice get to checking out these destinations and book. By November a lot of the specials will be filled.

Family-Friendly Spring Break Tips

You want to take the family on a nice vacation in the Spring but you don’t want Junior to learn what “chug, chug, chug, chug” means yet. You want to have a nice “family” vacation without getting caught up in the “Girls Gone Wild” atmosphere that traditionally surrounds Spring Break. Here are some tips.

Try to take your vacation when most college students are still in school. Spring Break for college students can be from the end of February to the end of March, but most colleges have vacation the first two weeks of March. Plan your vacation after the first two weeks of March.

Avoid the traditional Spring Break college destinations: Jamaica, Cancun, Acapulco, Montego Bay, the Bahamas, South Padre Island off of the state of Texas, Daytona, South Beach, Key West and Panama City, which are all in the state of Florida. Basically anyplace warm, with sand and with beer. However you don’t have to bring your family to Nome, Alaska either. Again, the off-peak college spring break times these destinations can be great, but that doesn’t account for the high school kids who have left the parents at home.

Choose a destination that is “family friendly” such as Disney World in Orlando. There could be a few college students donning a pair of mouse ears completely wasted but since Orlando is far from the beach it is more likely to be a fluke. Look for vacations advertised as “family friendly”, a ski vacation, Disney Land in California, or a trip to Colorado or Destin, Florida as these are all good possibilities. You can also check out your state tourism web sites for ideas of where to go where the drinking age is not an issue. Check out magazines like “Family Fun” which feature family vacation destinations every month for ideas.

Finally, remember -- if you happen upon a partying college student, relax, one day it will be Junior’s turn.

Three No-Nos in Thailand

Do NOT in anyway shape or form say or do ANYTHING that would be considered as being injurious to the dignity of the royal family. This includes but is not limited to saying anything bad about the king, stepping on or defacing Thai money or anything with the image of the King on it.

The Thais love their King. Remember this and act accordingly.

Don’t raise your voice or show anger. This has to do with face and if you cannot control yourself you will look like the ignorant tourist you really are.

Don’t hurt anyone especially a Thai. You will be held responsible and you really do not want to have to deal with the Thai police. It will cost YOU.

DO Smile A LOT and enjoy your trip.

Anyone else have suggestions in this vein, please feel free to add comments. They are most welcome.

Vacation Home Rental Success

You love having a second home but the mortgage is putting a crater in your wallet. Many second home owners turn to renting their property as a vacation rental to help defray the costs of ownership. How do you price a vacation home rental without overcharging but making enough to cover your costs? Do your research.

Find out what other owners of, similar sized homes in the area are charging. You can ask a local real estate agent for a price range, scan local papers or go online. There are also vacation rental sites like eVaca.com. These types of sites have advertisements from owners around the world and weekly rates for the properties are listed.

The time of year you rent out a property is important as well. If you want to rent out a ski lodge in Vermont, August is not going to be your “high time” of year, but January will. If you are going to rent the property in an “off” time of year you will not be able to charge as much as if you were renting the property in a peak time.

You also want to figure out what lengths you want to rent your property for. A Florida property in July near the beach will go for top dollar for a week. However, that same property in January you might only attract the snowbirds who want to rent at a lower price and rent it out on a monthly basis. You have to answer questions like, “do I want to mess around with weekend or nightly rentals” and “is it worth the hassle”.

Figure out how many weeks you need to rent your property in order to make a profit or at least pay the bills. Say you need to make $12000 a year in rental income. If, after looking at other rentals, a rate of maybe $1,000 a week seems reasonable than you know you need to rent the property out for at least 12 weeks a year. But you might have to rent for a few more weeks at a lower rate to make up for “off peak” times of the year or if you do not get someone to fill every vacant period.

Most important, do not forget to spend time in your own vacation home. Owning the property and not being able to enjoy it defeats the purpose of having that second home!

Bienvenue Dans le Monde des Croisieres

Retrouvez tout le prestige de votre serie favorite combinant Las Vegas a la Croisiere s'amuse, pour quelques jours ou quelques semaines, en couple ou en famille!

Pour les amoureux des Caraibes, montez sur l'un de ces navires:

Empress of the Sea, l'un des plus prestigieux. Vous offre pour de bons petits plats le Restaurant Carmen et Windjammer Café, puis digestion au sein des salons Pub Caroussel, Pool Bar, Salon High Society, Salon Viking Crown. A Bord, divertissez vous:Centre de remise en forme, Ping pong, Piste de jogging, Mur d'escalade,2 Piscines extérieures, 4 Jacuzzis dont un intérieur, Casino et decouvrez ses nombreux jeux tels la Roulette Americaine sans oublier sa Discothèque, Salle de spectacles, Salle de cartes, Café internet.
Ce navire vous propose une croisiere inegalabe depuis San Juan:Caraïbes - Antilles, pendant 11 jours. Faites une escale a San Juan, Saint Martin, Saint Johns, Basse-Terre, Castries, Bridgetown, en mer, Isla Margarita, Willemstad, Oranjestad, en mer, pour revenir a San Juan.


Explorer of the Seas: Decouvrez pendant 7 jours le Mexique,Miami en mer,Belize City,Costa Maya. Services similaires a l'Empress. Pur votre bien etre: Salon de beauté, Complexe thermal complet, Sauna, Spa, Solarium.. Alors faites vous chouchouter.Au niveau des loisirs, profitez donc de la diversite, osez melanger culture a farniente grace aux :3 Piscines, 5 Jacuzzis, Casino, Discothèque, Salle de spectacles, Salle de cartes, Café internet, Le théâtre sur 3 ponts qui propose des productions dans le style de Broadway.


Majesty of the Seas: en partance de Miami, profitez d'une croisiere de 4 jours pour vous echapper aux Bahamas , Cocoay, Nassau, Key West et Miami.


Adventure of the Seas: en partance de SAn Juan, profitez d'une croisiere de 7 jours pour une escapade a Oranjestad, Oranjestad, Willemstad, en mer, Philippsburg, Charlotte Amalie, San Juan.


Sovereign of the Seas: plus riche que les precedants en matieres de loisirs pour enfants: au club Adventure Ocean, les enfants beneficieront des activités à la fois éducatives et récréatives (de 3 à 17 ans)
Le FantaSeas Teen centre propose quant a lui une large variété d'activités pour les ados telles que les chasses aus trésors ou repas pizzas.Au niveau de votre detente personnelle, vous retrouverez egalement le Shipshape center avec sauna, bains turcs, massages et salon de beaué
centre médical à bord.


Grandeur of the Sea. Presente les memes services que ses compatriotes. Laissez-vous charmer par la musique du pianiste au Schooner Bar, ou tentez votre chance au Blackjack dans leur casino. Allez voir un show façon Broadway dans une salle impressionnante sans vous déplacer


Enchantement of the Seas:dispose de 2 restaurants principaux qui sont le My Fair Lady Dining room et le Windjammer Café. Les services presentes ci-dessus se retrouve egalement sur ce navire, casino inclus.
Pour une croisiere de 4 jours, decouvrez le Mexique au travers des escales suivantes:Fort Lauderdale, Key West, Cozumel, en mer, Fort Lauderdale. A ne pas en croire ses yeux. A moins que le comfort et le charme de ce navire vous eblouisse au point de ne vouloir debarquer...