Channel Your Inner Van Gogh on this Avalon Discovery Shore Excursion in Amsterdam
What happens when you put three non-painters in a painting workshop? Can you really learn to paint like Van Gogh in an afternoon? Those were the questions on all our minds as we walked to an art atelier near where our river cruise ship, the Avalon Vista, was docked in the heart of Amsterdam.By: Lynn Elmhirst, BestTripTVI'm creative but I have zero artistic skill. Even my handwriting is famously illegible. My friends, travel expert Ryan McElroy and travel and gardening journalist Tara Nolan,...
New Wellness Cultural Journeys from Abercrombie & Kent Enrich Mind, Body, Spirit
Run and train like a warrior with the Maasai or hike to a vantage point high above Machu Picchu. Feed your spirit with inspiration at a home for underprivileged girls in India, or a silent alms ceremony in Luang Prabang, and feed your body with healing, Ayurvedic herbs in India, or fresh local produce at a cooking demonstration on Krabey Island. Re-orient your mind through guided meditation with a local teacher at Kuang Si Falls, or learn about the meaning of...
Discover Tropical Romance in 3 Overwater Bungalow Resorts on the Caribbean Sea
(Re)kindle the romance close to home – without long flights to the South Pacific or the Maldives!Overwater villas are the next best thing to a private tropical island of your own – a luxury, bungalow suspended right over top of jewel-toned seas with the rustic-chic experience of living indoors and outdoors. It doesn't need to be Valentine's Day or your honeymoon for you and your sweetheart to deserve an overwater dream holiday. Here are 3 resorts on the Caribbean Sea...
You Can Celebrate Richard Branson's Birthday With Him on his Adults-Only Cruise Line
With flamboyant Sir Richard Branson at the helm, the 2020 launch of Virgin Voyages is one of the most anticipated events in travel. The party-loving, trend-setting celebrity entrepreneur promised his latest travel venture would do to cruise what Virgin Air did to flying: rediscover a whole new level of tongue-in-cheek, escape-with-your-friends-to-a-private-party fun. Only this time, at sea. Bookings are now open for the inaugural season of the Scarlet Lady, the first Virgin Voyage ship, in April 2020. The ship's homeport is a splashy...
Video: A Canadian Veteran of DDay Explains Why You Should Visit the Juno Beach Centre
There are fewer and fewer veterans of the DDay Landing Beaches to tell their stories, but Canada's Juno Beach Centre introduced us to Jim Parks, who shared his memories of landing on DDay as a young soldier, and why he believes all of us should travel there today.DDay remains the iconic symbol of Allied unity and sacrifice to end World War 2. Thousands of soldiers from the US, Britain, Canada and other Allied nations landed on the beaches of France...
Ponies and 3 More Reasons to Visit Scotland's Shetland Islands
They say on St. Patrick's Day everyone's a little bit Irish. So it's fair to say that on Rabbie Burns' Day, we're all a little bit Scottish. The national poet of Scotland – he wrote the song you likely sing every New Year's Eve: Auld Lang Syne – was born on January 25, 1759. And every year on January 25th, Scots and people of Scottish ancestry world-wide celebrate the man voted the 'Greatest Scot' in the country's history.In Scotland and in...
Top 10 Souvenirs from a Trip to Hawaii
You'll come home with a million sun-drenched memories of a holiday in Hawaii. Here are 10 mementos you can take with you. ANYTHING PINEAPPLEThey may be the most common symbol of Hawaii, and you'll find pineapples, pineapple products, and pineapple motifs everywhere. Pineapples are actually native to South America, and their Hawaiian name 'halakahiki' means 'foreign fruit'. They arrived in Hawaii in the 1500's, but it wasn't until James Dole, the 'Pineapple King' came to the islands in 1899, that Hawaii became synonymous the...
'Glamping' in Laos: Luxury Tented Villas are a Rosewood Resort First
Laos may be one of the last, best-kept secrets in South-East Asia. Now, travelers looking for an immersive vacation in the unspoiled environment, unique culture and French-Laotian heritage of Laos have the perfect ultra-luxury destination: the tented villas of the new concept Rosewood Luang Prabang.It's Rosewood's second resort in Southeast Asia – and its very first world-wide to feature tented villas. It's a dream 'glamping' (glamorous-camping) destination. Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the heart of Laos,...
Cunard Joins Crowdfunding to Help Build New Statue of Liberty Museum
Supplies exclusive donor perks for July-long campaign; new museum to launch in 2019. It's the quintessential British luxury cruise line, but Cunard is still the perfect cruise partner to help build a new museum for the ultimate symbol of America.A highlight of Cunard's Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic Crossings from Southampton near London, England, is a sail past the Statue of Liberty before arrival in New York harbor.It's the same route Cunard ocean liners sailed during the Golden Age of steam...
This City Gets Another Designer Parking Garage - Yes, 'Park-itecture' is a Thing
Architecture is the calling-card of a city. Some destinations are made famous by cathedrals or castles, towers or temples, statues or skyscrapers… in modern-day Miami, it's all about the designer parking garage. They even have a name for it: 'park'-itecture.In this glittering city, there's an expanding list of chic places to park your car and gaze on the work of some of the world's leading architects – or 'star-chitects'. In other cities in the world, the likes of Frank Gehry, Herzog &...