Posts Tagged ‘luxury’

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Maldive Holidays: Top Reasons Why People Want To Visit This Tropical Island Paradise

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Luxury travelers desiring a five-star holiday book their vacation in the Maldives. It’s one of the world’s best tropical island vacation destinations. It’s paradise on earth while being the home to some of the world’s best luxury resorts. Maldives vacations are once in a life time occasions.

The Maldives are strewn across the equator in the Indian Ocean. It’s an island nation made up of nearly 1,200 small coral islands taking up only 1% of its 90,000 km2 territory. The population occupies only 185 islands, while the remaining islands are used for economic purposes such as for tourism and agriculture.

About 28% of the country’s GDP comes from tourism. Over 90% of the country’s tax revenues come from import duties and tourist taxes. Tourism is the largest industry in the Maldivian economy.

Between 1972 and the present, the number of resorts has grown from 2 to over 100. Over 8.4 million tourists have visited the Maldives since 1972.

The Kurumba Village Resort and the Bandos Island Resort have the distinction for being the first two resorts opening in 1972.

The Banyan Tree Resort is a luxury resort located on a secluded island called Vabbinfaru. The resort is famous for its luxurious Maldives bungalow style accommodations. The resort’s name comes from a large tree which is a subgenus of tropical figs called the banyan tree.

Kuredu Island Resort Maldives is on the northern reef called Lhaviyano Atoll. The island has more than 3 kilometers of white sand beaches and is everything an island paradise should be complete with thatched villas and bungalows, clear blue water and romantic views.

Maldives snorkeling and scuba diving is the best in the world and it’s very popular year round due to the temperate weather. The Maldives average temperature is 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).

The Maldives is a popular place for honeymooners. For this reason, resorts are often reserved in advance so it’s best to make your reservations early regardless of what time of year you’re planning to travel. Due to its tropical climate, the Maldives never really gets cold so you can travel there comfortably in the winter months and still enjoy it.

Maldives vacations can be exceedingly expensive; being reserved for those seeking the ultimate in a 5-star destination. Honeymoon in Maldives islands is very popular. In fact, most average people spend years saving enough to splurge on a first-class honeymoon.

Before going on your maldives vacations or your maldive holiday be sure to review the free tips at www.maldivesvacations.info

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Sailing Vacations In The Caribbean

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

There are plenty of destinations for people interested in sailing and if you are tired of the Virgin Islands then try the rest of the Caribbean.

The Caribbean islands are part of an island chain stretching 2,500 miles. Given the enormous distance, it is no surprise that tourists spend weeks out there in order to enjoy the splendour that it has to offer.

Just like in the Virgin Islands, there are lots of charter firms you can go to. for a range of hobbies. These companies come in different sizes, but perhaps the best is the yacht charter.

When you charter a yacht, apart from the yacht, the other features and benefits that come with it are meals, separate guest rooms, a galley, toilet and shower.

Since you are the paying guest aboard the boat, you can customize the menu by telling the cook before the trip what you want to eat. You can help out by buying the provisions yourself, having someone from the crew do it for an additional fee or select a set menu from one of their pre-composed packages.

Since most of the islands in the Caribbean are small and uninhabited, you are certain to explore places that not many have seen. But if you can’t afford to rent a chartered yacht, don’t worry because you can probably get one that will cost as little as $50 if you are able to book a pre-arranged trip with several other guests to split the cost.

One thing you ought to be prepared for during you sailing vacation is the possibility of a storm. These generally occurs during the months of June to November. If you are not sure that this is the best time, book the trip on another date.

But if you are adamant about going on your dates, there are some online tools you can utilize to check if the area you will be sailing in has ever been hit by a storm before.

The other option is to plan your itinerary to the Caribbean islands further south because they are less likely to be affected by a hurricane. These places include the islands of Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, Curacao, and Turks and Caicos.

If you like the idea of going sailing around the Caribbean there are ample choices. You could do a lot worse than start in St Croix in the US Virgin Islands and travel south or west. If you start in St Croix, which the pirates of old used to call Santa Cruz, you will not need a passpert and can take your pets with you, but you will need more ID if you call into foreign islands.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with St Croix Hotels. If you are interested in St Croix Vacation Rentals in the US Virgin Islands, please click through to our site.

categories: honeymoon,wedding,marriage,vacation,holiday,recreation,caribbean,USA,travel,happiness,luxury,sea,outdoor,other

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Luxury Sea Cruises

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

Vacationing on a cruise ship is justly considered to be elite and luxurious. It is definitely the best type of vacation that I have ever had. The luxury far surpasses staying in a five star hotel. On the other hand, it is like an elite all inclusive holiday, because once on board, all the entertainment and all your meals are free. Alcoholic drinks must be paid for, but then they are duty free.

If you have never been on a cruise before you really must try it. I would not recommend it as a family vacation, but I have seen families on cruises. Cruising might suit a family with older children or you might find a cruise which is planned with children in mind. However, in my experience, your average cruiser is over 50 and married.

I know that they do 18-30 cruises and all kinds of themed cruises, but if you just go on a normal cruise, most of your fellow passengers will be older. Many of them are celebrating something too – retirement, Golden Wedding Anniversary, 70th birthday, that sort of thing. These people want a relaxing time and do not really appreciate children running around and jumping in and out of the pool. Dinner can be late and the evening’s entertainment is not child orientated either. If you want to take children, look for a specialty cruise.

A cruise is relaxing and all about pampering. Luxury and pampering and world class food. I put on five pounds on a two week cruise and friends said that was unusually little! I will tell you about the food on my last cruise.

Breakfast lasted from 7 AM to 10 AM and there was a buffet with food from all around the world: fruit, porridge, toast, bacon and eggs, ham, cornflakes and all the variations, sausages, rice, Chinese food, prawns, fish and more. Elevenses started at 11 AM and had tea, coffee, cakes and biscuits, help yourself.

Lunch was a two hour affair starting at 1PM consisting of four courses. There was a choice of set plans, but if you wanted to mix and match you could – I think the plans were only to make it easier for the elderly to make up their minds. With 1,200 people to give food to in two sittings, the waiters try to speed selection up in very subtle ways, but never outwardly. High tea was from 4 to 4:30PM: tea, coffee, cakes, biscuits and sandwiches.

Dinner was at 6:30PM and was a five course meal in the same vein as lunch and at midnight there was a barbecue on deck until 2AM. Everything that was served was first class and there was no restriction at all on how much you could eat.

Entertainment was after dinner and there were two shows to match the two dinner sittings, but you could sit there for both shows if you liked. There was a different show every night varying from solo artistes to bands. There were theater plays and musical shows, it was very majestic. There was also a piano bar playing jazz and a disco every night

I would recommend a cruise to anyone, but it is a good idea to check what sort of cruise you are booking as some are themed and if you do not like the cruise’s theme, you may not get the full enjoyment out of it.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with St Croix Hotels. If you are interested in St Croix Vacation Rentals in the US Virgin Islands, please click through to our site.

categories: cruise,vacation,holiday,recreation,caribbean,USA,travel,happiness,family,luxury,sea,swimming,outdoor,other

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The Wonders Of A Caribbean Cruise

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

People work harder these days than ever before. If not physically harder then longer hours and we deserve a break from that once in a while. The majority of us go on holiday and we look forward to it months in advance and we plan for it even further ahead. Where do you like to go or what do you like to do? I personally prefer to go on a cruise and a Caribbean cruise is a good choice.

People think a cruise, especially a Caribbean cruise as being expensive, and cruise operators want to maintain that elite image, but I see the cruise as being an up-market all inclusive holiday. In all probability, it is the original all inclusive holiday, because once you walk up and off that gang plank, everything except drinks is free. Everything and everything is first class hotel style too! We are not talking pizza and chips here, but five or six course meals and five or six times a day.

It is common knowledge, that if you go on a cruise you can expect to put on a pound or two a week (I gained five pounds on my last cruise), unless you do some exercise. What exercise? Cruise liners have swimming pools and gymnasiums! Not only one but several. Some even set aside a deck for jogging at certain times of the day. There really is no excuse for not exercising on a Caribbean cruise.

Caribbean cruise liners provide more sports facilities than just gymnastics too. In fact, except for horse riding, I think that most sports are catered for. Basketball, volleyball, swimming, clay pigeon shooting, fishing, bird watching … You name it. Caribbean cruise liners also have Internet connections, games machines and full office amenities. During the evenings there are first class shows, often two a night, films in a cinema and a casino.

If you have never been on a Caribbean cruise, it is difficult to explain the amount of luxury that is on offer. It is more than a first class hotel. In a first class hotel, you pay first class prices for everything too, but on a Caribbean cruise liner, everything but drinks is free and even drinks are cheap because they are duty-free. The cruise liner will have a shop too where everything it sells is duty free!

Some Caribbean cruises are themed and it is worth noting this fact. Also some times of the year, especially early February are predictable. I once naively went on a Caribbean cruise for a fortnight which spanned St Valentine’s day. I was a single man then and the other 1200 were amorous couples. There was only one single woman on the cruise and there was no rapport between us. I did not not enjoy that Caribbean cruise, because people took we under their wing, but it made me think about the time of year when I next booked up.

Caribbean cruises, especially the better ones, will fill up quickly, so this is one holiday that you really ought to book well in advance. A year in advance is not too early. I like to book my Caribbean cruise a year in advance, but put my name down for any last minute cancellations, in case I can pick up a bargain.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with St Croix Hotels. If you are interested in St Croix Vacation Rentals in the US Virgin Islands, please click through to our site.

categories: caribbean,vacation,holiday,recreation,USA,travel,happiness,family,luxury,sea,swimming,sailing,outdoor,other

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The US Virgin Islands

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

The US Virgin Islands came into America’s possession in 1917 after Denmark sold the Danish West Indies to it for $25m in gold. At the time, the USA was worried that the Germans would gain control of the islands and use them as a base from which to launch attacks on America.

The status of the US Virgin Islands is one of an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States. This means the residents of the US Virgin Islands are US citizens, but cannot vote in US presidential elections. Therefore, US citizens do not need a passport to visit the US Virgin Islands.

The US Virgin Islands are part virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward islands of the Lesser Antilles along with the British Virgin Islands. The three main islands of this American territory are called Saint Croix, Saint John and Saint Thomas. There is also a much smaller island called Water Island. All together, there are about 60 islands with a total surface area of 133.73 square miles, although most of the islands are uninhabited.

The four main islands of the US Virgin Islands are known to their residents by nicknames. These are ‘Twin City’ (St. Croix); ‘Rock City’ (St. Thomas); ‘Love City’ (St. John) and ‘Small City’ (Water Island) and their total population was 108,612 in the 2000 census.

Since the 1960’s, the islands turned their focus from agriculture to heavy industry and tourism and the US Virgin Islands are a very popular destination for American tourists and honeymooners. It is very easy for Americans to get there because a passport is not required, the islands are only 1,730 miles east south-east of Miami, the currency is the US dollar and everybody speaks English.

The islands enjoy an arid, pleasant climate. The average temperature in the capital, Charlotte Amelie, is 33c in the summer and 30c in the winter. September to November are the wettest months and February and March are the driest. The USVI are subject to hurricanes. Hurricane Hugo in 1989 was particularly devastating, but the islands were also hit in 1998, 1999 and 2008.

Tourism is the industry that most of the islanders are engaged in and about 2,000,000 people visit every year, many of them on cruise liners. St Thomas and St Croix are the best equipped to deal with tourists offering hotels and resorts along with lovely beaches and fine restaurants. Water sports are the main activity, although tourists can also hire horses or jeeps to discover the interior of the US Virgin Islands.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with St Croix Virgin Islands. If you are interested in St Croix Vacation Rentals in the US Virgin Islands, please click through to our site.

categories: honeymoon,wedding,marriage,vacation,holiday,recreation,caribbean,USA,travel,happiness,luxury,sea,outdoor,other

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Are All Inclusive Vacation Packages A Good Idea?

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Are you thinking of taking a vacation in the near future? How do you normally go? Do you fly there and then sort yourself out or do you take vacation packages? It is certain that vacation packages are easier and usually cheaper too.

If you go DIY, you will have to book reservations on an aircraft or a train and a hotel and taxis and a car hire company. If you would prefer to preclude all this, you could book either a vacation package of one of the all inclusive vacation packages.

Although many vacation packages are extremely good, some people decline to use them. This can be for several reasons, but the most common are out of a of feelings of adventure, independence and snobbishness. In fact, most of the people who do not take vacation packages are younger, single people.

Married people with children are the main users of vacation packages and especially all inclusive vacation packages. There is a difference between the two kinds. All inclusive vacation packages are great for families with hungry children. You know, the normal variety, who are always saying: ‘Give me a dollar for an ice cream, Dad’ or ‘I’m hungry, Mum!’.

On an all inclusive vacation package, all of these munchies and three main meals a day and all drinks are included in the cost of the vacation – hence, the name, all inclusive vacation package.

However, there is more to it than that. All inclusives also incorporate on site games and amusements and some others as well. For example, a Caribbean all inclusive vacation package might include the use of snorkels and goggles, but it would seldom stretch to the use of scuba gear or wet suits.

Another benefit of the all inclusive holiday resort is that they often cater for families with young children. They may supply child alarms in the chalets and free entertainment for adult holiday makers in the evening and night too. The resort might also provide baby sitters and a free taxi into town.

All inclusive vacation packages are a very different deal from standard vacation or rental packages. All inclusives are more geared towards families with young children between, say five and fifteen, because children of this age eat a lot, although it is usually junk food, which usually costs a lot on holiday, but is in fact, cheap to make. The evenings’ entertainment is also on site so that parents can be easily reached if there is a problem.

On the other hand a normal vacation package will usually provide breakfast only, so that you can go out for the day and do what you like.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with St Croix all inclusive vacations. If you are interested in St Croix Vacation Rentals in the US Virgin Islands, please click through to our site.

categories: all inclusive,packages,vacation,holiday,recreation,caribbean,USA,travel,happiness,luxury,sea,outdoor,other,uncategorized

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A Few Of The Best Bang For Your Buck You’ll Get With Luxury Vehicles

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

Luxury cars are the stuff dreams are made of. Illusive in reality for most but there are those lucky few who get to own one or many depending on their level of luck.

This article will mull over some of those luxury cars that the majority of people will never own. Regardless of your circumstances, it will be a little fun to take a peak at the high end motor market of today and dream your at the wheel.

If I had the money I would certainly consider the Nissan GT-R. It is a rich persons bargain buy at just $70,000 and is really worth the money when compared to other cars going for the same price.

One of the cars to compare The Nissan GT-R is the Porsche 911 turbo due to it’s excellent engine quality, capable of doing 0 to 60 in just 3.3 seconds among other things.

For more than ten years the BMW M3 had been classed at the top. And with the M3, the German manufacturer continues to maintain higher standards when compared to other cars.

One of the newest enhancements is a carbon fiber roof that both adds to the car’s visual appeal, and makes it even lighter on the road.

I love the Audi RS4, with 420 horsepower, its no ordinary four door car because it looks and drives just like a sports car due to its V8 engine.

Priced in the high $60,000s, this car has so many high tech goodies you’ll feel like you’re driving something straight from the future. Many people believe that this car gives you the best value for your dollar when compared to other cars in the same price range.

While the one that you choose should depend on your personal tastes, it’s safe to say that all of these are finely crafted automobiles that you’re sure to enjoy.

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