Tourist First: January 2011

Tourist First

Above, the daily flight from Managua at the San Carlos, Nicaragua, airstrip.

Welcome to Steve Bailey's Tourist First. You can use the search function in the upper left corner of this screen to look for particular destinations. You can also simply scroll through the more than 100 postings. Or you can click on one of the terms below to find postings on a variety of topics and destinations.

African safaris, Southeast Asia, Cambodia's Angkor Temples, the Balkans (Greece, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia), France, Iceland, Iran, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Turkey, Washington DC, Zanzibar.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Favorite Hotels

Tripadvisor has compiled lists of the "top hotels" in several categories. Of the top 25 hotels in the world, according to Tripadvisor, the only ones in the United States are the Cedarbrook Lodge in Seattle, Henderson's Wharf Inn in Baltimore, and the French Quarter Inn in Charleston, S.C.

One of my favorites didn't make any list. It's the Duchamp in Healdsburg, Calif. The photo here of the spa and pool area gives some idea of the serenity offered by this inn in an olive grove. Almost all travelers can recall at least one place that for one reason or another seemed absolutely perfect. I've stayed at a lot of excellent hotels, but the minimalist design of the Duchamp, the fact that each room is its own tiny villa, and its almost invisible location in the heart of town make it a favorite. By the way, Healdsburg is a must on any serious tour of California's Napa and Sonoma wine country.

Do you have a favorite hotel? Please post a comment!

Friday, January 7, 2011

Tips for Saving on Travel

Michelle Higgins, who writes the Practical Traveler column for the New York Times travel section, offers 11 tips for saving money on travel.

For example, she recommends shopping air fares on Tuesdays because most airline sales begin on Monday evenings and within hours other airlines have reacted and adjusted their fares.

There are also tips for minimizing baggage charges, finding discount codes and avoiding foreign currency exchange fees. Michelle mentions several strategies for making low-cost international calls, too.

Save enough money on the trip itself and you can reward yourself with drinks at sunset. (That's Santa Monica, Calif., in the photo.) Cheers!

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Argentine Patagonia

They're called what they look like: Mexican hats. They occur naturally in the highlands above the town of El Calafate. The water in the distance is glacier-fed Lago Argentino. An hour's drive east of El Calafate, near the headwaters of the lake, visitors can hike on the Perito Moreno glacier and take a boat ride among icebergs that have fallen off the several glaciers in the Parque Nacional des Glaciares. El Calafate is basically a summer (Nov. to Feb.) tourist town, and there are a number of hotels at all price points. We stayed at Esplendor El Calafate, a very stylish hotel with a full restaurant and bar. The South American picker-upper drink mate is available at breakfast. The hotel is an uphill walk from the commercial area, but that's not much of a drawback. Click on the photo to visit the Esplendor online.

Dominica

Probably the greenest island in the Caribbean, in terms of color and ecological awareness, is Dominica, just north of Martinique. It was named by Columbus, who sailed past it on a Sunday. The island nation is one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, but it is rich in friendly people and natural attractions, including a boiling lake, hot and cold waterfalls, a parrot jungle and hill after hill of dense green jungle. There is also a cable-car ride through the jungle canopy (http://www.natureisland.com/AerialTram.html). I wrote about Dominica years ago, and much of that article is still relevant: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/travel/winter-in-the-sun-an-island-where-less-is-more.html?scp=2&sq= Unfortunately, one of the hotels I mentioned, Petit Coulibri, has since closed. Fortunately, there's still a wonderful eco-resort called Papillote Wilderness Retreat http://www.papillote.dm/), four acres of lush gardens, hot-spring-heated soaking pools and modest cottage rooms.

Galapagos

This is Lonesome George, thought to be the last of his specific species, though there are lots of other giant tortoises to be seen, especially on Santa Cruz Island, where the late George lived in the Charles Darwin Research Station. The Galapagos can be visited only as part of government-supervised tours, and the professional guides make sure you learn a lot about the unique creatures and fantastic landscapes that you see there. Click on the photo to link to International Expeditions' Galapagos site.

Palm Springs

Palm Springs, Calif., is a great destination for nature lovers -- Mount San Jacinto State Park is a wonderful gondola ride (shown above -- click on it to visit its website) away, and Joshua Tree National Park is a short drive away. It's also a great destination for naturists; there are several major clothing optional resorts in the area -- and for fans of Mid-Century Modern architecture. For a dose of mid-century style, stay at the Orbit In (http://www.orbitin.com/), which does ask that you keep your clothes on.

Pompeii

If you're driving from Naples to the Amalfi Coast, and it's hard to imagine anyone who wouldn't want to visit the Amalfi Coast, you should plan to spend a night in the modern city of Pompei, adjacent to the ancient city of Pompeii. Above are the murals depicting an unknown ritual in what's called the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii. If you can, devote most of a full day to exploring the site. Afterward, you'll want a good hotel. Click on the image for info about Hotel Amleto, a small and friendly hotel in the heart of the new town and an easy walk from the ruins.

St. Vincent

This is one of the "rooms" at Petit Byahaut, an isolated (access by boat only) eco-resort on St. Vincent, the largest island in the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Bequia, mentioned above in this column, is one of the Grenadines. The photo above is of the living deck and doesn't show a relatively enclosed area that had a real bed. Did you notice I said "had"? That's because the place has closed and is for sale ($3.5 million). If you're interested in buying, contact me and I'll put you in touch with the owner. To read about the property in its heyday, click on the image for a New York Times article I wrote. The article has a link to a slide show with more images of the resort.