My Trip Blog

Has your family chosen where you want to go on your summer vacation?  You are not alone, most families have not yet decided where they want to go.  It can be a quite time consuming activity to find that perfect vacation escape, so explore the options for your South Carolina tourism.  You will find exciting options and it may not be an easy decision!

However, if you are thoughtful and appreciate the commitment to do some planning, it should make your summer vacation exciting and one of those “family events” that you will treasure forever.  The most frequent mistake people make is first selecting a “destination.”  The ideal vacations begin when you first choose “what you want to do”!  Do you want to go camping, tanning on a beach, playing and relaxing at a park, or touring cultural or historical locations?  By deciding “what you want to do” first, you are off to the best start of selecting that perfect family vacation destination!

Once you know “what you want to do” – you can sift through the various tourism destination locations and find those appealing attractions that you hope to go see or do.  By taking a short time planning, you can also choose those destinations that have a variety of attractions that are of interest to both you and your whole family.  Online destination guides are invaluable that can help you find detailed information about attractions that are more comprehensive than a vauge attraction name and address.   Now that you know “what” you want to do and “where” you want to go, a professional high quality online South Carolina attraction guide will provide you a quality article detailing each attraction to assist you making an educated decision about what you want to do and where you want to go.

Here are 3 South Carolina vacation possibilities that you might want to consider:

Idea #1: Visit the Patients at the Sea Turtle Hospital. A part of the South Carolina Aquarium, the Sea Turtle Hospital is a very important part of the conservation of this beautiful and wonderful marine creature. Sea turtles share beaches with humans on a regular basis. Partly because of their close contact to humans, the turtles sometimes become sick or injured.

Idea #2: Explore History at the Anderson County Museum.  Located on the western side of South Carolina, the county of Anderson was named after the Revolutionary War leader Robert Anderson. Many of the towns that populate the county have significant historical importance, and the Anderson County Museum makes sure to catalog all the various parts of this history.

Idea #3: The South Carolina Aquarium located on Charleston Harbor is a fascinating place to visit if you love animals and enjoy learning about nature. There are over 10,000 animals residing at the Charleston Aquarium, and exhibits include much more than aquatic creatures.

As you can see, you have a wide choice of options available to you when it is time to select that ideal family vacation escape.  Enjoy your chance to plan carefully what you want to do and where you want to go.  Use a professional travel guide to help you find that perfect South Carolina attraction.  And you will find that you will experience a wonderful vacation with a lifetime of stories.

There’s no shortage of good quality accommodation on Lanzarote. As this popular holiday island has been a hot favourite with tourists for over forty years.   Especially with visitors from the UK – who account for over 50% of the 1.5 million foreign arrivals every year.

The majority of them will find themselves staying in one of the three main resorts of Costa Teguise, Puerto del Carmen or Playa Blanca.  Although rural tourism has grown in popularity in the last few years as a growing number of independent travellers seek to connect with the more authentic side of the island.

Lanzarote certainly represents good value for money in relation to many other destinations.  Especially during the winter months when more exotic locations require a much greater investment of both time and cash.

Currently for example it is possible to book Lanzarote apartments from as little as £160.  Which buys a weeks stay on a centrally located complex in the heart of Puerto del Carmen, which is the biggest and liveliest resort on the island. 

Rates at 250 plus Lanzarote hotels are also equally reasonable.  Especially in the four star category, where tourists can book standard rooms in good quality establishments on a bed and breakfast basis from around €70 per night. 

Playa Blanca is home to the largest selection of hotels – but head for Costa Teguise for some real luxury.  As the Gran Melia Salinas is the best five star on the island.  Thanks in no small part to the input of a local artist called César Manrique who had a hand in the design of the hotel and dreamt up the stunning indoor atrium garden – which is the Gran Melia´s central showpiece.

Villas in Lanzarote are much cheaper than on many other Spanish holiday islands.  Where the shorter seasons tend to push prices sky high. Here for example it’s still possible to book a standard two bedroom property with private pool for as little as £450 per week.  With Playa Blanca and Puerto del Carmen the best locations to search.

Keen to escape the hustle and bustle of the main resorts?  Then check in to one of Lanzarote´s rural hotels or fincas.  Such as the Finca de Salinas in the pretty village of Yaiza.  Distinguished by its terracotta paint job and Moorish turrets.  This upmarket establishment is also home to an excellent restaurant and boasts great views across to Lanzarote´s number one tourist attraction of the Timanfaya Volcano Park.

Planning a kiteboarding holiday in Asia? Why don’t you come to Thailand this season. Here some facts about this destination for all you hardcore kitesurfers and newbies who want to pick up kitesurfing.

Before all, Thailand is a wonderful, very diverse country with a unique Buddhist culture. The climate is great and the landscapes are spectacular. There is literally something for everybody, whether you are looking for a quiet stay and serenity or you are a party animal and want to hit the nightlife hard: it’s for sure around the corner of your bungalow. As you might have read in the press, Thailand was going through some trouble a while ago. Things have been very exaggerated in the media coverage. Rest assured, to spend your holiday in Thailand is very safe.

Kiteboarding in Thailand has become very popular in the past recent years. Along the coast of Thailand you will find a couple of excellent spots. Important when you plan your trip is to observe the different wind seasons in Thailand. There are various credible sites for this kind of information to be found on the web. A web service with lots of information about kitesurfing in Thailand and all other Asian destinations is KITOONS Asia Kitesurf Spots. The winds in Thailand are thermal so web services like Windfinder and Windguru won’t display them correctly or not at all. The wind range is typically between 12kn and 20kn. So your bigger kites is what you need to pack. The thermal wind starts normally around noon and increases until sunset. So there is lots of time to have several kitesurf sessions a day.

Hua Hin – The Most Important Kiteboarding Spot

The nearest kiteboarding beach from Bangkok is Hua Hin. The town is recognized as one of the best kitesurfing spots in the world. The wind season starts end of October and lasts typically until April. Hua Hin is a developed little city with a wide range of hotels for different budgets. The kitesurfing action takes place along a 5km long wide sandy beach. This is the spot with the biggest kitesurfing crowd in the country. The best wind conditions can be found from February onwards until the start of the raining season in early April.

Pranburi – The New Alternative

Not far from Hua Hin is Pranburi. This is the latest location and not many know of it yet. It is just a 20 minutes drive away from Hua Hin. It’s a rural small town with a Thai feel to it and just a few beach hotels and resorts. The kitesurfing beach is beautiful and offers scenic mountain views. Some reports mention the wind picks up earlier here and is a bit stronger than in Hua Hin. The newly formed KTA (Kiteboard Tour Asia) will hold an international kitesurfing competition in Pranburi from March 25 to March 28, 2010 as part of their tour. If you want to see a competition with Asia’s best pros in action, the beach of Pranburi is the place to be in March.

Chumphon – Thailand’s Windiest Kitesurfing Spot

265km to the south of Hua Hin you will find Chumphon, definitely the windiest beach in Thailand with a couple of extra knots to offer compared to the other destinations. The beaches in Chumphon are wonderful and you can get a beach bungalow right where the kitesurfing action is. The town is large, but is not yet very developed. The nightlife options for westerners are scarce, but you can always hit the Thai places. If you want to kitesurf in best conditions and like it quiet, that’s where you should go.

Phuket – A Major Tourist Hub

Phuket has a different wind season than the spots already discussed: in Phuket the wind blows from April until September. Phuket is one of Thailand’s biggest tourist destinations and you can find a wide range of offers from budget hotels to 5 star resort hotels. The nightlife is as diverse: you can find the whole range from expensive clubs to beer bars in one walking street. The kitesurf action takes place at Chalong Bay and Nai Yang beach. Both spots are half an hour away from the main beaches and you need to arrange for transportation to go there. The best places to stay are the main tourist areas Patong, Kamala and Karon.

Samui and Phangan – Kiteboarding on the Islands

Koh Samui and Koh Panghan might also be mentioned here. These two neighboring islands offer kitesurfing from November until end of February. You will need a little bit of luck, because the winds are usually not too stable. Nevertheless, these islands are beautiful and if you have some time and want to explore other things as well, one of them could be your pick. If you want to party: on Koh Panghan are each month the world famous full moon parties.

Kitesurfing Schools in Thailand

You look for a place to learn kitesurfing? Then Thailand could be perfect. There are a number of Kiteboarding Schools at every kitesurfing spot. You can typically decide between private and semi-private lessons with an experienced IKO teacher. Book before your holiday to make sure you can take the course where and when you like. The course prices include all rental gear. To get you on the board will take about 3 or 4 days and after that you can practice alone. How fast you can make progress, depends on good wind too. Plan at least a week in for the course to give yourself some margin.

Buying Kitesurf Gear in Thailand

To buy your Kitesurf Equipment in Thailand is probably cheaper than in most other markets. For Europeans the exchange rate is very good and you can get great deals. All the schools offer gear and have usually one or two kite brands in their shop section. A word of caution: be aware of grey market products. Some outfits are very aggressive in their selling tactics and claim falsely to be a distributor of certain brands. The products that you will buy are grey imports with no warranty at all. You can reckon with 10-15% lower prices, incredible deals beyond are very likely not regular ones. To find out information about a certain dealer you can always check the website of the kitesurfing brand they sell. In the dealer section you will find all shops listed.

Ride hard and see you in Thailand soon.

There are plenty of attractive beach holiday destinations around the world.  But few that boast the raw, surreal scenery of Lanzarote.  One of the seven Spanish owned Canary Islands that are located off the coast of West Africa.  Which has been forged in the heat of a series of volcanic eruptions which have left much of the island looking like the surface of the moon.

These seismic shocks rocked the island for six years during the 1730´s.  Before returning for a fiery encore in 1824.  Devastating villages, farmland and the livelihoods of the Lanzaroteños.  Many of whom were forced to emigrate for a new life abroad.

Today fortunately all of these volcanoes are now dormant and this whole region is known locally as Timanfaya or the Fire Mountains.  And is firmly established as one of the most popular National Parks in the whole of Spain – attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.

Away from the petrified lava flows and lunar scenery Lanzarote boasts a great selection of beaches and wonderful year round weather.  Two factors that help to explain its huge popularity with tourists.  As the island welcomed over 1.5 million foreign visitors during the course of last year alone.

Package holidays here first started growing in popularity during the 1970´s – as the Canaries became the hot new holiday destination for sun starved Northern Europeans.  Thanks to the fact that the islands are only a four hour flight from key markets such as the UK and Germany and provide reliable sunshine even during the winter months.

Visitors arrive at the sole international airport of Arrecife before onward transfer to one of the three main resorts of Puerto del Carmen, Costa Teguise and Playa Blanca.  With the latter offering a wide range of Lanzarote villas and hotels for tourists to select from.  Whilst Puerto del Carmen is better suited to visitors searching for holiday apartments in Lanzarote.

There are plenty of fascinating attractions and places to explore.  Such as the Cactus Garden and the former home of a local artist called Cesar Manrique.  Which has been built over five bubbles in the surrounding lava flow.  And as the island is small it is very easy to explore.  Aided further by low cost car hire and petrol.

Whilst the island is an attractive destination all year round the best time to visit Lanzarote is during the autumn months.  As the heat of summer and the tourist crowds have subsided a little by then.