World Tourism Blog

When Joel Simon was a kid, he and his brother began snorkeling around the pilings in murky Alamitos Bay near Long Beach, Calif. “It was one of the most intriguing places I’d ever been,” he says rapturously, nearly 50 years later. “These old rusty cans lying in the muck underneath the dock were actually like treasure chests containing barnacles and octopus and all kinds of wonderful encrusting organisms.”

He’s never lost his love of snorkeling. Today he runs Sea for Yourself, leading trips that combine snorkeling with marine ecology in places far and away from Long Beach, from Florida to Fiji.

Snorkeling can be one of the best ways to see a tropical vacation spot and gain an appreciation of its wild side — the kind that doesn’t do karaoke at the hotel bar until all hours of the night. It’s an activity that’s easy to do, there are myriad colorful, memorable sights to see and it’s a solid way to stay in shape when the daily routine’s been put on hold.

As a way to see the ocean, snorkeling has plenty of advantages over scuba. For one, it’s easy. If you can swim, you can snorkel with very little training. Second, it’s cheap, with no need for heavy, expensive gear purchased, rented or — worse — lugged onto the airplane.

“It’s not equipment-intensive — just mask, fins and a snorkel and off you go,” says Debbie Manos, co-owner of Salt Cay Divers in the Turks and Caicos. The minimum amount of gear can be liberating. And in some cases — diving with whales, for example — the lack of bubbles allows you to get closer to your quarry than you can with scuba gear. “It’s so peaceful. You can float on top of all the sea creatures swimming below and not disturb them in their natural environment.”

For casual snorkelers it’s possible to pick up a $20 mask and snorkel at a local dive shop, ask around for good spots — and jump right in. On the laid-back Puerto Rican island of Culebra, for example, world-class snorkeling is a short hike away via public transport. From the mainland, hop a ferry to Dewey, then take a bus to Playa Flamenco; Carlos Rosario Beach is just 20 more minutes away — on foot. Swim just a few yards offshore, and you’re snorkeling among a wild selection of coral, sea fans and reef fish.

Similarly, Makaha Beach Park on the Hawaiian island of Oahu  is located just off the main highway. Park the car and jump into fantastic snorkeling. Of course, at nearly every popular Caribbean and Pacific vacation spot, plenty of resorts and outfitters are ready to arrange half-day or full-day outings to the offshore reefs.

Then there are the snorkeling spots for real diehards who plan entire vacations around their dives and seek out some of the world’s most pristine coral reefs, often in remote places. Just getting to Rurutu in French Polynesia is a bit of an adventure (it’s 350 miles south of Tahiti); but then you still have to take a boat to find migrating humpback whales. Likewise, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, one of the world’s great snorkeling spots, lies 12 to 50 miles offshore. In some places it’s possible to snorkel from an island resort; in other cases you’ll have to travel by boat for your day’s swim.

But what’s perhaps most satisfying about recreational snorkeling is that its joys are the same for those who do it on vacation once every few years as for those who live in tropical locales year round.

When Tori Cullins, co-owner of Wild Side Specialty Tours on Oahu, moved to Hawaii, she missed the “warm furry critters” from the mainland. “We don’t even have squirrels,” says the. “I took to the water to satisfy the nature disconnect I was feeling. Reefs are more diverse than rainforests, and what land animal can compete with the beauty, intelligence and evolutionary success of dolphins and whales?”

And on top of all that, snorkeling is a great way to get exercise on an otherwise sedentary vacation. “You are preoccupied with all the beauty of the underwater world and don’t realize how much swimming you are doing,” says Manos.

Whatever your level of commitment, a good snorkeling trip requires just four things: clear water, gentle currents, abundant aquatic life and the chance to get away from the crowds. Home Security Systems.

The Caribbean isn’t exactly known to be cheap, but you can stretch your dollar pretty far on certain islands — even when traveling during the winter high season.

Popular hot spots like the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and others offer great value in terms of easy access and well-priced lodging and dining options. But some off-the-beaten-path islands, from Montserrat to Tobago, are also worth seeking out for the extraordinary bang for the buck that they provide.

All-inclusive holidays dominate the scene on most of these islands — great if you want a worry-free, value-packed vacation, but limiting if you want to experience the destination beyond the resort gates; don’t overlook smaller, locally owned villas and inns for terrific, cost-effective alternatives.

Other surefire money-savers include traveling during the off season (from May to November) and looking to budget carriers for cheap flights — these tips, coupled with our editors’ picks for great-value islands, are guaranteed to leave you with enough cash left over to dole out on those frothy, beachfront pina coladas once you touch down! Hard money training

After the last rice has been thrown and the limousine has left the wedding party behind, many newlyweds beat a hasty retreat to a deserted island, a luxury resort or another once-in-a-lifetime vacation destination. Traditionally, the honeymoon was a time for the newly minted bride and groom to “get to know each other.” These days, honeymoons are also a reward for months—if not years—of planning, budgeting and squabbling with future in-laws.

Some historians credit the Babylonians with creating the original honeymoon—their newlyweds drank mead, a honey-based alcohol, for one full month after marrying. Others believe the honeymoon comes to us from the Norse hjunottsmanathr, wherein a young man kidnapped his bride-to-be and held her captive for one month. No coincidence, that’s the amount of time needed for her to conceive—leaving her family no choice but to approve the marriage.

No matter the regional differences, modern honeymoons are now a global phenomenon and a multibillion-dollar industry. But where do most Americans go for their first days of wedded bliss?

Owing to different data-gathering techniques, compiling concrete honeymoon statistics is nigh on impossible. France’s tourism board, for example, can’t tell us exactly how many tourists from the U.S. are there to enjoy their honeymoons—but we know that France is one of the most popular destinations for American newlyweds. To create this list, then, we relied on a combination of statistics provided by tourism boards; data gathered by other credible surveys; and sales numbers and anecdotes from several of the industry’s largest players. Hard money training

Bonbini, in our native language of Papiamento, means “Welcome”. Welcome to Aruba. The word is ours. But we like to think the meaning is universal.

Our beaches curve like an Aruban smile along the western shores, soft and white and fringed with palm trees, sloping gently toward the calm transparent turquoise of the Caribbean.

The waves of the windward coast crash like incessant thunder against the northern cliffs, carving high, arched coral bridges and deep, dark secret limestone grottoes.

Between the two extremes, in a desert landscape where the cacti grow to the height of a man, great building-sized tumbles of boulders stand like the legacy of some ancient, angry god. Winding roads lead to rocky passes and hidden coves, or sometimes to nowhere at all. Giant green parakeets call to their mates, and troupials flash brilliant orange against the deep blue of the Caribbean sky.

This is not the Caribbean as usual. This is Aruba! And if its true that opposites attract, then this could well be the most attractive island of them all. The fact is, if you’re looking for it, and if it has anything to do with a great Caribbean getaway, you can probably find it here in Aruba.

As you explore, as you get to know Aruba, you’ll soon begin to notice the smiling faces everywhere. Real smiles. Gracious smiles. Sheer-joy-of-living smiles. Aruba, as any traveler here will tell you, must surely be among the most welcoming places on Earth.

Maybe its the Dutch tradition of hospitality. Maybe its the long and prosperous history of the island. Maybe its the year-round warmth of the sunshine and the fresh breezes of the tradewinds. More than likely, its all those things and more. But whatever it is, its absolutely true: Aruba is a genuinely happy place to be. And the people who live here, in the cities, in the villages, in the countryside, are genuinely happy to be sharing it with you.

So, sit back, relax and explore our website, where you will find many things to do, places to go and things to see, as well as important information to help you plan your visit to Aruba, “One Happy Island”. Hard Money Association