Your Travel Notes

Archive for May, 2009

Costa Rican Cruises-Rare But Remarkable

If youre planning a vacation to Costa Rica why not bring along your hotel and restaurant? The most delightful way to experience Costa Ricas marvelous beaches and coastal rainforests is from a cruise ship and when you treat yourself to a Costa Rican cruise getting there will be a big part of the fun!

Coata Rican cruises range from sevenor eight night budget trips with a single Costa Rican port of call at Puerto Caldera on the Pacific side of Costa Rica Seabourns to fourweek affairs which begin at Puerto Caldera and wend their way along the Central American Coast stopping at Puerto Quepos and Puerto Moins before touring the Caribbean and ending at Fort Lauderdale.

These Costa Rican Cruises traverse the Panama Canal to get from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea but before they get underway allow their passengers a day at Puerto Caldera to enjoy the sights of San Jose. One of the most popular attractions is the National Theater at the Plaza Del Culturas. Modeled after the Paris Opera House the National Theater houses magnificent Italian paintings sculptures and frescoes.

Coat Rican cruise passengers who want a glimpse of the countrys wild side before heading for the Panama canal can take an excursion to Poas Volcano National park during their day in Puerto Caldera Caldera referring to the volcanic crater. Some Poas tours also include side trips to the Doka Coffee Estate and the village of Sarchi the heart of Costa Ricas artisan community.

At Sarchi you can shop for handcarved wooden figures and elaborate canes handwoven wall tapestries leather goods and toys. You can also purchase charming miniature replicas of Sarchis famous handpainted wooden carts to use as planters or decorative accents. Or you can spend your off shore day river rafting on the Corobici River gliding along through the heart of the Costa Rican jungle and glimpsing some of the hundreds of bird species which make Costa Rica a birdwatchers Paradise.

Windstar is one of the two cruise lines which cruises to Costa Ricas Golfo Dulce where youll find Central Americas largest rainforest and one of the few rain forests on Earth which slopes directly down to meet the ocean. Declared a national treasure by the Costa Rican government Golfo Dulce such a remarkably diverse ecosystem that you can actually identify 100 different species of trees growing on a single acre!

During your stop at Golfo Dulce you can explore the tiny town of Golfito established in the 1930s as a banana port and arrange an excursion to the Corcovado national Park and the remarkable black sand beach at Zancudo.

Even Windstar and Seabourne offer only a few Costa Rican cruises each year and they arent chape. Even when you arrange thses cruises through online discount cruise booking services at 50 discounts you can expect to pay a minimum of 7500 for a fourweek cruise. For your money however youll enjoy a month on one of two of the worlds most luxurious cruise ships. Windstars ships are actual sailing vessels motorsail yachts with automated riggings. The can be under full sail within two minutes of having their riggings engaged and the largest of their fourship fleet has a passenger capacity of only 312. Sailing on Windstar entitles you to complimentary water sports activities including windsurfing snorkeling and kayaking right off the ships Water Sports Platforms.

About the writer:  myroadtotravel was created in late 2007 as way for my wife and I to do what we love most…Travel. We love to share our experiences with others and have recently created our first blog http://www.myroadtotravelblog.com to help us do just that. Through this blog we offer travel tips our own personal experiences/adventures and photos from our vacations. Please stop by and give us your feedback and remember for all your travel booking needs please visit us at http://www.myroadtotravel.com

Choosing Your Camping Gear And Equipment

Whether you are a casual camper or you’ve been camping for years it always pays to bring complete camping gear and equipment. And to ensure safe and hasslefree camping go for camping equipment made of high quality materials and a good value for your money.

Camping Tents

When choosing your camping gear and equipment it is important to take into consideration the type of material its made. The kind of tent you need to bring to camp depends on certain things. If you dont expect bad weather when you go camping then you can go with a low to mid range camping tent. This type of tent is most appropriate for those who go camping once or twice a year. If you’re a seasoned camper and you expect rough weather ahead youre better off purchasing a highend tent. This lightweight tent is suitable for backpacking and can withstand cold and wet weather conditions. As compared to low to mid range tents highend tents are costlier.

Camping Chairs

Camping chairs are best for viewing lakes and mountains. There are different types of camping chairs. They are the reclining chairs camping chairs lounge chairs folding chairs and hiback chairs. When you choose a camping chair opt for the most durable. Like with your other camping gear and equipment select one thats built to last. Choose a camping chair with double stitching all throughout to make sure it stays sturdy for a long time. If you want a camping chair thats certain to stand even the most punishing conditions choose one made of Denier nylon mesh with PVC backing reinforced with seat belt webbing and made of rock solid heavy duty stainless steel frame. As its essential that you take convenience into account in the selection of your camping gear and equipment you should pick out a camping chair that is easy to use. So go for one that can be folded in one easy squeeze.

Camping Sleeping Bags

When you go camping make sure that your camping gear and equipment arent unnecessarily bu

About the writer:  Matt Peters is a camping enthusiast. Get more of his FREE tips and information on Camping Gear and Equipment at http://www.campinggrounds.info.

Choosing To Cruise Is The Best Travel Value

Millions of people every year enjoy cruise vacations. They visit destinations such as the Caribbean Alaska the Far East and the Orient even Antarctica and Africa.

Cruising has become an incredibly popular way to travel with an increasing number of people opting to use this method of travel over any other each year.
There are several reasons why cruise traveling has become so popular. It has many benefits over other travel methods. Here are the top three reasons why choosing to cruise gives a person the best travel value.

The all inclusive price of a cruise covers nearly all costs.With most other forms of travel everything is separate. A person must pay for airfare accommodations entertainment taxes and meals.
With a cruise all of those items are included in the price of the vacation. Landbased allinclusive resorts may include all of those items as well; however cruise trips also include travel between various ports of call.
Add up the costs of other forms of travel and compare them to the price of a cruise ticket and it will become obvious that a cruise is the better value.
Cruises include onboard entertainment as well as opportunities for shore excursions.
A person who chooses cruise traveling will not have to worry about planning entertainment. Between shipboard activities and entertainment and the activities available at the ports of call a person will have plenty to do on a daily basis.

In contrast planning a traditional vacation is much different. A person must make many decisions about entertainment and activities both before and during the trip.

This hampers a person ability to relax on vacation because he must continually think about what he will do next for entertainment. Landbased resorts are somewhat better as there are typically plenty of activities and entertainment available but since the entertainment does not vary much throughout the vacation it is not as good of a value as a cruise.
Cruising allows a person to visit many ports of call in a short period of time.

Choosing to cruise lets a person explore many different cities or areas within his vacation time all without having to worry about the travel. The person simply retires for the night and then wakes up in the morning in a new location with the ship having traveled during the night. Best of all the person does not have to unpack a thing.

With traditional forms of travel and for people who are traveling to a landbased resort visiting more than one city or area requires much planning and coordination.

A person must take care to book accommodations for each city and of course he must pack and unpack his belongings each time he travels to a new locale. A plane ticket or rental car must also be arranged for any travel to another location.

There are so many different types of cruise vacations available; therefore nearly anyone can find a cruise of his liking. The many benefits of cruising really do give a person the best travel value this is why so many more people are enjoying cruising these days.

About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Thomas DeSimone is an cruise consultant for CruiseDealership which can help you Save on ALL Cruises ALL ships ALL cruise lines ALL destinations!Find out how bookingLast Minute Cruises with us is as easy as 123. Log on at CruiseDealership.com.