New Meaning of Adventure Vacations by Stephen Hansen

Family vacations have taken a new meaning in this day and age. Hiking trails and tent camping have taken a completely new meaning with today's adventure vacations travel industry. Bike tours and kayaking are no longer a solo man's journey in the wilderness. Today families are setting out internationally to places that where only once frequented by the casual backpacker. A region that has seen more than its share of backpackers until recently is the Mayan world. This is the region that Duende Tours seeks to preserve through an alternative style of adventure vacations meant to educate, entertain, and culturally enrich the foreign traveler.

The Mayan world is comprised of five countries: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador. Within specific regions of these countries exist protected, some more than others, Mayan Jungle zones. Over the past decade, these zones have become one of the adventure travel industry's main attractions. Beyond the traditional jungle trips that include hiking trails, tent camping, and the occasional canoe, new businesses have sprouted within the jungle community either from foreign or domestic origin, and are beginning to offer more "alternative" trips. Take for example the traditional biking tours in Colorado: the tours are done on trails meant for off road biking. But this is not so much the case in the Mayan Jungle, where the trails are, at best, incipient. This doesn't stop tour companies from offering their product, and it certainly doesn't stop families from buying and enjoying it; this is just one of the wonders of third world red tape (it doesn't always exist).

tent camping If biking tours aren't quite appropriate for the family, then the next best, or sometimes vise-versa, is horseback riding. There's not much in the world that could ever compete with riding a horse or bicycle through the dense, lush, exotic jungles of the Mayan World, traveling on routes that the Maya used to take thousands of years ago to ancient Mayan pyramids and Mayan temples.

These are the type of tours that Duende Mayan Jungle Tours offers. In a globalized world Duende seeks to preserve the culture and environment that escapes the world's manufactured human problem. Adventure vacations, according to Duende Tours, should not be just about escaping from the world to which you belong, but also about learning, appreciating, enjoying, and experiencing a completely different way of living and traveling. The point is to take your newfound experiences and knowledge home and apply it you your way of living, one that will hopefully help preserve not only are vanishing jungles, but the earth's environment as a whole. Taking family oriented adventure vacations that include bike tours, tent camping, crocodile watching, local community interaction, and Mayan culture learning is something that every member of the traditional or untraditional family can enjoy, learn, and grow from in ways that were never imaginable only 20 years ago.

Traveling Closer To Home: It's Safer And Easier by Peter Gregory

Thinking about getting away?

Let's face it, traveling can provide a "reset" to our lives and refresh even our day-to-day experience when we return home.

But traveling -- especially outside of the U.S. -- can seem scary these days. Either the prices are out of sight because of unfavorable exchange rates, or fuel costs have escalated ticket prices out of existence.

And that's not even to mention the uncertainty of health conditions like the recently-discovered Swine Flu or simply the fear of terrorist attacks.

So traveling closer to home makes a lot sense.

And it sure is a lot easier to handle -- no passports or visas and no special vaccinations to worry about. Definitely the avenue to friendlier and easier family vacations.

What sorts of places make for great family vacations?

Well, Orlando Florida, for instance, is home to a great variety of theme and amusement parks. You'd have to live under a rock to not be aware of the "magnet" theme park, which anchors the rest of the theme parks like Macy's anchors a shopping mall: DisneyWorld.

There are no less than 9 different major theme parks, with a variety of restaurants, waterparks and other amusements within the area.

If you decide that Disney World is your destination -- and, if you've never been there, it's certainly one of the "must see" amusement parks -- be aware that it is actually many theme parks in one.

Before you go, it helps to peak over the shoulder to see how one family vacationed at Disney World, which you can see here.

In addition, SeaWorld also has a home in Orlando.

Why might you prefer going to SeaWorld instead of Disney World?

Well, you can find out why one family chose SeaWorld in an article here.

Beyond amusement parks, venturing into the history of our great country can truly be awe-inspiring.

If you've not spent time in Washington, D.C., seeing some of the original founding documents of our country not only is exciting, but educational as well.

These are just three destinations that might be worthy of investigating when considering your family vacation. While the large number of tourists attracted to Orlando, with its many theme parks, can help to bring the cost of the vacation down, traveling to Washington D.C. may be a tad more expensive. But standing next to the Lincoln Monument, or the Washington Mall, or seeing the Smithsonian "Castle" can make it more than worthwhile.

You can discover even more places to visit here in the U.S. at the new travel review site.

Tree Climbing Lions in Botswana!

TREE CLIMBING LIONS IN BOTSWANA! By Jacquie Stafford

I've been visiting game parks in Africa for 40 years and was knocked out on a recent trip to Chobe National Park to see a couple of lionesses in a tree. Yes, no hallucination. This was a first for me - and also for our game ranger. I'd heard of the tree-climbing lions at Lake Manyara in Tanzania but have never seen anything like this in my travels in Southern Africa.

These two beauties looked as though they had eaten and had decided to climb a comfortable tree for a nice afternoon siesta. We watched them for at least half an hour and they just slept, occasionally sat up to gaze at us, then flopped down again. They clearly weren't going anywhere in a hurry. What an incredible and truly unique sighting!

Just a note for anyone planning a safari - in National Parks you are not allowed to go off the road, whereas in private game reserves you can and do in fact track the animals right into the bush for a really close encounter. In this instance I couldn't get a very good photo because we were too far away and I only had my ordinary digital camera. However the event was nevertheless recorded for posterity...... by Jacquie Stafford

Tropical Island Vacation - Your Dream Vacation

Tropical islands located close to the equator offer a perfect setting for a memorable vacation. With warm weather round the year you can plan a tropical island vacation at any time. What's more, you are spoilt for choice when it comes to the vacation spot. You can choose - the Caribbean, Hawaii, the Fiji islands, Bora Bora or any other exotic place to holiday in.

The Caribbean Islands are a vacationer's delight. With opportunities for swimming, diving, snorkeling and fishing along with being surrounded by the beauty and bounty of nature to enthrall you, you feel as if you are in the seventh heaven. There are many islands in the Caribbean which you can choose like Jamaica or Barbados, Bahamas, or the British Virgin Islands.

A tropical island vacation in Hawaii is something that everyone wishes to have on their travel itinerary. Well, Hawaii indeed is a dream vacation with lush green tropical vegetation and luxury resorts. If you are lucky you might also catch a Hollywood movie being shot at the Big Island. The Big Island is a famous island in Hawaii which has been used as a backdrop in many films. The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and beautiful waterfalls also enthrall you. If you love teeing away, then Maui is the place to be in. It has 16 golf courses. Oahu however, is the most popular amongst the cluster of islands in Hawaii.

If the color of beach sand is what amazes you then Fiji will certainly take your breath away. Its azure waters and white beaches will amaze you to no end. Yasawa Island resort or Vatulele, whichever island is your chosen destination you are in for the time of your life. Prices are affordable for every budget so you can relax. Fiji is particularly popular as a tourist friendly island in terms of rates and other facilities.

Your other option to choose Bora Bora islands in Tahiti which have coral reefs protecting their beaches. These islands are a vacationer's paradise because they offer luxury resorts where an overwhelming experience is guaranteed. Tropical islands are a gift of nature and a must for all to experience. So have you begun to plan for your tropical island vacation? It could be the best possible getaway that you could enjoy with your family, leaving all your stress and tension behind. You will get mesmerized by the beauty of your surroundings and the culture of the local people around you would be a memorable experience. If it's not with family then also you can enjoy your tropical island vacation on your own and rediscover yourself.

A tropical island vacation needs to be perfectly scheduled so that one is able to enjoy everything that these locations offer. Don't forget to click loads of pictures as they will always bring back the memories of the spectacular vacation you had!. by elmer1111a