Solo Sentiments

Golf holidays in Portugal can provide a mix of course styles, terrains and even climates. For many seeking the perfect golf holiday Algarve and Estoril are the key locations for an abundance of championship courses. This short list brings together four great courses loved by visitors and locals alike.

The Vale Do Lobo Royal course is one of the best links courses in the Algarve. The 18 holes run the length of a 5 kilometer stretch of beach, with a nature reserve being its other neighbor. The links play fast due to the sandy soil and the undulations to both the greens and fairways can result in some odd bounces – all part of playing links golf.

The San Lorenzo is another Algarve course, although this one is a parkland course which regularly features on top 10 European golf course lists. The par 5 holes are a real challenge to make the greens in regulation, as are the long par 4s. The landscaping around the course shows a great eye to detail with woodland used to shelter dog-legs and add an extra challenge if the wind is up.

Playing a course that hosts an Open championship is always a real treat. The Penha Longa Atlantic golf course is host to the 2010 Portuguese open and has been toughened up for the pros. The greens are fast but always provide true consistent lines across all 18 holes. Amateurs shouldn’t be put off by the Open factor, as course management is going to be more important for amateurs here playing off the front tees.

Finally the Estoril Golf Club has long been a favorite of visitors and Lisbon golfers alike (which is a seal of approval by any standards). The short 6200-yard course has a variety of holes that favor accurate iron play rather than long drives with bunkers and rough playing a role on each hole. The short length makes it especially popular on hot summer days when longer courses would be exhausting.

The majority of Doolin hotels make an ideal base for exploring the surrounding countryside of County Clare and enjoying the renowned musical entertainment in the village bars. This shortlist brings together three fine hotels that provide some of the most comfortable lodgings, super food and spectacular views in Doolin Ireland.

The Ballyvara Guest House is a short walk from the village and is a welcoming family-run guest house featuring a most eclectic mix of rooms. The modern built house has standard twins and doubles along with huge family suites with their own balconies, luxury suites with balconies (which sport the best rural views) and even 2 self-catering studios.

The hearty breakfasts will set you up for a day enjoying the nearby activities (trails/fishing/golfing) or when the weather is inclement then the guest house’s game room, pool room and library provide an ideal spot to relax.

One of the most unique hotels in Doolin is the contemporary designed Tir Gan Ean with its Celtic round tower styling. Inside the hotel has a boutique feel in the common areas which continues into the 12 large guest rooms each furnished with funky furniture, modern en-suites, under-floor heating and plasma TVs.

The hotel’s own bar and restaurant are an ideal spot for a relaxing drink and some modern Irish cuisine while the scrambled eggs with smoked salmon breakfast are just one of the specialty breakfasts that cater for all palates & tastes.

Finally, one of the old guard of Doolin hotels is the Aran View House hotel overlooking the village and sporting the best views of the Aran Islands. This 19 room Georgian country house has a friendly feel from its welcoming staff to the traditional decor throughout.

While the views from guest rooms are the principal attraction to the Aran View the hotel restaurant has long been a favorite of locals for their authentic Irish cuisine, with seafood dishes being a particular specialty thanks in no small part to the daily catches arriving into Doolin harbor.

The last decade saw a rise in the number of Ballybunion hotels due to the rise in tourism to the area’s principal attractions – Ballybunion Golf Club and the popular sandy beaches. The hotels listed here have survived this boom period and managed to stay popular without sacrificing on great food, service and accommodation.

Arriving at the 15th century Ballyseede Castle Hotel is like traveling back in time. Thankfully the renovations to this authentic castle’s exterior were also continued through to the 12 uniquely designed/furnished guest rooms with ornamental plasterwork, antique fireplaces and cornice work being some of the fine period features that were restored.

The hotel restaurant continues the elegant, almost regal, theme with a formal dining room setting overlooking the lawns and a menu of traditional Irish dishes prepared with a contemporary flare using the best local Kerry produce.

The more traditional Ballygarry House Hotel is a wonderful country manor style hotel set in a lovely tranquil rural location. The hotel started welcoming guests back in 1958 and the rooms have been upgraded in recent years to cater for modern tastes with improved en-suites.

The owners haven’t rested on their laurels though and after establishing their own top class restaurant they recently added spa treatments to the facilities with a variety of mud baths, thermal suites and aqua treatments to choose from.

Last, but not least, the Glin Castle Hotel manages to combine both the unique experience of staying in a castle with a more traditional Irish hotel experience. The hotel is a popular spot for its eclectic mix of rooms (sizes and styles) all of which have wonderful views of the Shannon and the estates rural woodlands.

Of particular note is the hotel restaurant which provides a hearty breakfast in the mornings and a large selection of lunches and dinners that proves popular for the wholesome Irish dishes. The hotels walled gardens are a fine spot for an after-dinner walk to ramble and relax.

Traverse City is a medium sized town that sits on two bays of Lake Michigan.  It is a picturesque city that has a lot to offer for travelers  On one hand, it is a resort town, and on the other hand, it is large enough to provide an excellent place for people to live, work, raise families, and enjoy themselves year around.

First let’s take a quick look at the accommodations in the area.  There is an excellent State Park, which is located on East Bay.  You can camp, or RV in the park.  They have a nice beach and standard facilities for a State Park.  Numerous motels are in the area with many on the water.  Rates vary by the season and are higher on the weekend.  There are some timeshares in the city on the water, and a number in the surrounding area.  Most timeshares in the surrounding area are connected to a ski area, if that is your interest.  Great Wolf Lodge is located within the city limits.  This is a  resort with a large indoor water park.   You must be staying at the resort to use the water park.  That will make you want to sell my timeshare now and switch to the lodge with a water park once you see it!

Because it is a resort area, you have the usual mini golf, regular golf, all kinds of water sports, and skiing available.  There is a mall and an excellent downtown area which offers good shopping.  Because it is a good size city, you find the usual large stores like Kohl’s, Wal-mart, Best Buy, and many others.  They also have a Baseball team called the Beach Bums and a hockey team called the Traverse City North Stars which provides more activities for the sports-minded traveler.

There are numerous wineries which provide excellent tasting and tours around the area.  Traverse City also makes a good base for short trips to surrounding towns.  Places like Suttons Bay, Glen Harbor, and Leland make great day trips. Also, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park is close and offers numerous activities.  You can adventure a little further with trips to Petoskey or Mackinac Island for your vacation travel adventure.

It is a great area with plenty to do and enjoy.  Have fun!

Japan is quite a unique country and is an endlessly fascinating place to visit. Japan holidays have the potential to be some of the most exciting and memorable you will ever experience.

Japan seems almost to contradict itself at times. It combines ancient tradition with ultra modern high-tech gadgetry and if you want modern, then look no further than the capital city of Tokyo.

Tokyo is a true twenty four hour city in every sense of the word. At times it seems that you can hardly move for people on the streets and the subway is even worse, indeed, the Tokyo authorities actually employ white-gloved guards to stuff every last person onto their trains.

The ancient city of Kyoto (featured in the Scarlett Johansen movie, ‘Lost In Translation’ makes an excellent day trip and here, visitors can experience first hand the beauty and grandeur of Japan’s imperial past.

Eating out in Tokyo can be quite daunting for the unsuspecting westerner as many of the menus are only printed in Japanese. And as not many people speak English, it can be a bit of a struggle to order your sushi. However, the Japanese people are always very friendly and hospitable and will go out of their way to help you and make you feel at home.

Japanese customs such as bowing to strangers can seem very formal to the visitor from the west, however, you should remember that the Japanese people have great pride in their customs and their respect for other people and will be honoured if you give them a little bow as you do to them.

Tokyo can be an expensive city, but no more so than it’s big city cousins London and New York and it can slightly over-whelming at times especially when walking downtown and seeing only Japanese faces and Japanese writing. It can be a real culture shock, but one that should be experienced at least once by the adventurous traveller.

For more holiday reviews and advice, visit Smashing Holidays.

Have you ever set foot in a wonderful area of the Costa Blanca? If you are just planning to visit this beautiful vicinity, you should prepare a list of activities to make your stay really worthwhile. You can also add these few things to do in the Costa Blanca to add more fun and excitement during your stay.

Benidorm Palace Show

The allure of Benidorm City starts at night. You will be captivated by the beauty of the city especially if you come and watch the Benidorm Palace Show. You will be entertained by graceful dances, magic and other surprises that only the Benidorm Palace show can offer. This place has also been a breeding ground for great singers and comedians. Singing groups like The Platters, Los Panchos, the Supremes and many others have performed on stage and entertained thousands of audiences of Benidorm palace.

Mundomar Aquatic Park

Mundomar Aquatic Park is a great place designed to entertain children and adults alike. You can watch dolphins perform right before your very eyes. One thing that you will surely admire in this place is that this park has also been designed to be the habitat of dolphins. Lots of dolphins have even been born in the park.

They also have sea lions that can perform several tricks. You will also be taken by surprise with how the seals perform skillfully in every show.

Another thing that never fails to amaze visitors is watching the natural habitat of dolphins and other marine mammals. You will be in awe to witness how the dolphins perform even without the crowds.

Terra Mitica Park – Benidorm’s Ancient History Theme Park

Terra Mitica is also popular in Benidorm. This is another theme park that the whole family should not fail to head to. This park provides you a brief tour to some of the world’s great places such as Rome, Egypt, Greece, and many more. Your day will definitely be filled with oh’s and ah’s as you explore the amazing theme park.

Your stomach will do somersaults as you go for a roller coaster ride in Terra Mitica Park. This longest wooden roller coaster in Europe is called Magnus Colossus. If you could no longer take the adrenaline rush, you can also try one of the other exciting rides.

You can actually fill your vacations with countless activities that you can do in the Costa Blanca. You can’t just sit back and relax as Costa Blanca will give all the reasons to be always on the go.

Taking a holiday could save your life, it sounds a little dramatic but actually it’s quite true – going on holiday and unwinding is good for you in every way – mentally, physically and emotionally. The power of relaxing really shouldn’t be underestimated but many people think that they don’t have the time or money to go on holiday, but more often than not this is simply not the case.

If you are burning the candle at both ends you probably find you are not working as efficiently as you could be and actually by taking a week off and rejuvenating yourself by going on holiday will mean you come back firing on all cylinders and will actually – overall in the year – get far more work done. Relaxing on holiday will also help to keep your blood pressure low and give your body time to recover from the amount of hours you are putting in.

If you have a family and money is tight self catering holiday could cost you no more than £200 a week. I’m willing to bet you’ll spend £200 on something you don’t really need that won’t have any significant bearing on your life. Spending just £200 a holiday could give you some really valuable time to relax with your family. If you’ve got a little bit more money than that then from about £350 you be able to hire out fantastic log cabin, you could take it bikes and go at cycling through the forests that many of these cabins are found in.

Having some form holiday at least once a year is not only important to your health but also for your relationship with your loved ones. It is an ideal time to catch up and be together to enjoy some games and exercise. The importance of a holiday really should not be underestimated.

photo credit: Maufdi

Now of course I realise there are beautiful girls and women all over the world and I don’t want to upset anybody by suggesting that there aren’t. I just wanted to take a moment to praise the good looks of a select few who hail from the small city of Perpignan in France ,close to the Spanish border. Perpignan is in the Languedoc region of France and to be honest there aren’t more or less good looking people than average in the rest of the area, but the woman of this city are different. I think it’s to do with the mix of Spanish and French blood. Perpignan used to be part of Spain and so you find a great many girls with sultry Latin looks and that great style and flair that the French are famous for.

photo credit: akk_rus

I would love to get my hands on some good European travel packages for the family soon.  My kids are getting a little big, and eventually, travelling with mom and dad won’t be that exciting anymore.  I went over to Europe for the first time in my life a few years ago for my brothers wedding in Ireland.  It was an amazing adventure.   What a beautiful place.  I was only there for about five days, but that was long enough to have a burning desire to go back.  I think the whole family would really like it, and if business keeps getting better for me, than that may become a reality.  Europe has so many different places to go to, that I really want to go back.  Looking for cheaper travel these days, is actually getting easier.  What with the economy taking longer to recover, travel sellers are willing to do anything for the business,

Air travel :- People travel from one place to another either by road, rail, air, and even the sea. The sea route takes the longest time while traveling by air consumes the least time of travel. Air travel in all probability is the costliest mode of traveling in the shortest period of time and each and everyone cannot afford to travel by air. A few years back there were not very many air line companies for either domestic or international flights. In India there were only two air-lines:- Air India and The Indian Airlines now better known as Indian. For international flights each country had its own air-lines. The UK has British Airways, Japan has Japan Airlines and so on. In recent times quite a few private players have entered the arena such as Kingfisher, Jet Airways etc. In America one of the biggest airlines is offering american airline codes to it’s frequent flyers for better deals. The thrill of a flight can never be forgotten. The atmosphere inside a plane is exciting with beautiful Air hostesses smilingly and politely catering to their needs. Looking below from the window of the aircraft is a beautiful site. The amount of comfort depends on class of travel that is the economy class the business class.