Want an extraordinary vacation? Experience your winter and summer adventures at ICEHOTEL and Swedish Lapland, no frustrations are guaranteed!

ICEHOTEL is an art project that captures the heart of any guests alike. It is a giant multi-domed igloo, located at Sweden, North of the Arctic Circle, right in the comforting village of Jukkasjärvi. In its 22nd year, its size grew from just 60 sq. m. into 5500 sq. m., making it the world’s biggest hotel of ice and snow.

It’s really cold inside, with a maintained temperature of between -5 °C to -8 °C. ICEHOTEL has a room accommodation of 100-200 guests. The space is just enough for memorable times you have ever wished. If you want a cold holiday for a change, this would be a great way to spend a very perfect vacation.

Upon entering two (2) big fur-covered doors, you will find yourself in a very long hallway. Voila! Everything is ice. Wonderful ice sculptures decorate in rows. They matched the crystallized glow of the hotel’s really huge ice chandeliers. Where the colors, amaze your eyes with fibre optics, so beautiful! Adding to the scene are the chiseled pillars, which are, of course, made from ice, too. There is even a cinema. In its sister hotel, during summer in the land, you will find the ABSOLUT ICEBAR, where they serve drinks in an ice glass. Along with, three (3) Art suites and a room for ice sculpting.

The most interesting part of the ICEHOTEL is its frozen chapel. Where tourists can pray in silence and enjoy the very cold ambiance as well. Each year, in every winter passing, it is refreshed with 40,000 tons of ice and snow.

Accommodations: single and twin rooms are both available. With featured offerings of:

• Art Suite – where, guests are allowed to stay with magnificent ice sculptures.
• Ice room – where, guests enjoy a well-furnished room of ice creations in fittings. It is designed with unique artworks to add color to the mood.
• Snow room – is the most spacious room available, where guests will enjoy everything, made from ice, too.

With a very big ice head board, guests can sleep in an ice bed that is covered in luscious brown reindeer furs, with an Arctic grade sleeping bag. The bedside tables are, also, in ice with pretty ice lamps placed on its tops, you can light during the night. All rooms at ICEHOTEL have near the post of the bed, two (2) big sculptures, like sea horses. These give an underwater ice adventure to guests. It, also, has more added lighting for the desired room effect. Each room bear walls made from white hard snow, while the floors are in soft snow. An ice dresser and closet completes an ICEHOTEL room scene.

Other activities are Northern light tours, skiing, snowmobiling, dog sledding, boating, hunting, fishing, river rafting, boat excursions and ice sculpting classes.

For online reservations, you can visit its site at www.icehotel.com.

Rome, the “Eternal City” is one of the most popular stops in Europe. All you need to do is consider the wonderful architecture, the amazing antiquities and the scrumptious food and you’ll start packing your suitcase and heading toward the airport to inquire about cheap flights to Rome for your next holiday.

Now, about the Romans: one only has to remember why the Coliseum was built to realize that they were extremely into violence in sports. But they were also quite inventive as with the aqueducts, roads and city design.  The Coliseum design is one of the most impressive in sights in the world. It was built to hold more than fifty thousand people who would watch as lions and gladiators battled it out to the death.

The Romans were also an artistic, creative people. The Roman and Imperial Forums which were the historical centres of the city. They once housed the works of great poets like Homer where performers would re-enact his plays to resounding cheers of the audience. The Fontana di Trevi in front of the Palazzo Poli is also a beautiful site.In popular Roman lore, if you toss a coin into the fountain, you are destined to return to Rome someday.

A very religious people, the Romans built great temples to its gods and goddesses such as the Forum of Vespasian dedicated to peace as well as temples to Saturn, Castor, Pollus, Venus and Roma in the Forum of Trajan.  St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican is a great tribute to Christianity with its historical masterpieces and architectural wonders. The Santa Maria del Popolo church contains works by Bernini, Raphael, Caravaggio and Bramante. And the Santa Mara Minerva is a gothic-style church where the remains of St. Catherine of Siena are entombed.

This year, my children and I enjoyed a family holiday to Sharm el Sheikh. This beautiful city, on the Southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, on the Red Sea, Egypt, was absolutely perfect for me, my 14 year old daughter and 10 year old son. Sharm el Sheikh is a more exotic take on a sunny family resort. We chose to stay in the Concorde El Salam hotel, which is all inclusive and offers a wide range in food and entertainment. The hotel had five swimming pools, but is positioned right on the beach, so we seldom made use of them!

Na’ama Bay is a stunning white sand beach, perfect for relaxing in the sun. The Red Sea is so temperate, between 21 – 28°c all year, which amazed by children – they spent hours in the sea (so be sure to pack plenty of sun block!). We visited Sharm el Sheikh in mid-May and the temperature was around 32°c. Na’ama Bay is split from Sharm El Maya by Ras Um Sid Cliff (which boasts some wonderful coral reefs). Sharm El Maya is a charming natural harbour, filled with the boats of local fishermen and traders. My daughter loved taking beautiful photographs of the boats at sunset.

After dark, Na’ama bay is filled with entertainments. There are some wonderful restaurants and a number of ‘sheesha’ cafes to partake in a local custom. Contrary to popular understanding, ‘sheesha’ has no intoxicating affects and isn’t dangerous. Sharm el Sheikh’s ‘sheesha’ cafes are beautifully decorated in Egyptian style, with huge cushions across the floor. Many serve delicious fresh juices and sorbets. My son devoured an enormous cherry sundae, to the great amusement of our excellent waiter, who spoke fluent English –as do most of the locals. Also around the city are some lovely craft stalls selling hand-made items by the local Bedouin culture. My daughter absolutely loved this and bought beaded necklaces for her school friends.

Just 12km outside of the city is Ras Mohammed Natural Protected Park. This is, understandably, one of the area’s most famous sights. The costal park is one of the best sites in the world for snorkelling and scuba diving. Our hotel offered classes by PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), but as we are all beginners and I felt that by son was a little too young for scuba diving, we snorkelled. Ras Mohammad has over 1000 species of fish and 220 species of coral. Snorkelling among all this natural wildlife was an experience that I will never forget. My children were absolutely spellbound. The highlight of the day was spotting a sea turtle that swam by about two metres below us. I was told that these are a common sight. It was so wonderful to see the excitement on my children’s faces.

The Jumeirah Carlton Tower is among the more well-placed hotels in London. It is found on the upscale location on Candogan Place near Knightsbridge. It is a 5 star hotel situated near Harrods, Harvey Nichols and the boutiques of Sloane Street to satisfy every shopping desire. Due to its amazing location, everything you’ll need is within a ten minute walk including entertainments which abounds in the glittering West End and Theatreland.

Jumeirah Carlton Tower in London

Awards for Jumeirah Carlton Tower includes:

• Voted Europe’s Leading Business Hotel 2011 at the World Travel Awards
• Top three best hotels for service in the UK in the Conde Nast Traveller Gold List 2011
• 4th place for Best UK Business Hotel in the 2010 Conde Nast Traveller Readers’ Travel Awards

Offering unparalleled hospitality in an outstanding Knightsbridge location, the Jumeirah Carlton Tower is the London hotel of choice for the discerning guest including the participants and spectators for the London Olympics 2012.

Rooms in the Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel are  beautifully furnished in a modern manner, and the bathrooms are immaculate.  The contemporary bedrooms combine sophistication with true luxury are equipped with satellite TV and high-speed Internet access . Tip: Ask for room overlooking the gardens or with view to the Cadogan Place.

There is a great health club – the Peak Health Club and Spa. It has a fully equipped gym and 20m indoor pool.

Within a five minute walk, you will find Knightsbridge and Sloanne Square underground stations, providing links to all Central London destinations. Hearthrow airport is 25km (15 miles) away and limousine service is available upon request.

Rome is a stunning and wonderful city. It is a perfect place for you and your family to spend a time together and have unforgettable holiday. This city is a beautiful place if you want to get rid off your daily hectic, boring and everyday routine. The most important ancient monuments and sites in Rome are the Colosseum, Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Domus Aurea, the Mausoleum of Augustus, Trajan’s Column, Trajan’s Market, the Arch of Constantine, the Catacombs, the Baths of Caracalla, Castel Sant’Angelo,  the Ara Pacis, the Pyramid of Cestius, and the Bocca della Verità. Rome, the capital of Italy has its worth and no doubt it is a place that you must visit when you travel to Europe.

All tourists are eager to see historical, architectural and cultural places. You have a perfect chance to walk through history by visiting Rome. It is no wonder why it is one of the most popular tourist destination in the world. It welcomes 7 to 10 millions visitors a year.

One of the main tourist attractions in Rome is the Colosseum, an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome, amphitheatre used for gladiatorial contests and public events. Also, you should plan your vacation trip while going to Rome. Choose one of  holiday rentals in Rome from the wide selection of accommodation in Rome. These vacation rentals are easy to find on the internet since various websites offering apartments that are available for rent.

There was a cliché that says, “when in Rome do what the Romans do”. And in our modern world, I can say that this is still very true. Rome, in itself, is a museum city where you can find endless ancient monuments and timeless architecture of church buildings and ruins.

If it’s your first time to travel or visit Rome, there’s a big possibility that you might get lost in this ancient jungle. I bet you can’t even choose which Ristoranti Roma you will have your dinner. Bed and breakfast rome are also everywhere. So in order to make your vacation more relaxed and comfortable, I highly recommend to hire a local tour guide or better yet, check your travel agency if they have a travel package for Rome. Tour agencies offer discount packages combining airfare and hotels.

And here’s another tip, when looking for a tour agency or travel agent company, try to choose that caters to small number of tourists only. Usually, big travel agencies, specially those that are located inside Hotel rome often take out fun in the process such as walking along corridors and meeting the locals.

If you are not sure where to go, you can always approach any branches of ENIT ( Italian State Tourist Board), the Italy’s national tourist office. They’re branches are located in most major capital cities. By the way, they also offers free guided walks, usually at weekend.

Tourism is booming in New York with really great spectacular shows to see at the Big Apple Circus this holiday season.

There are improved acts on juggling with fancy moves, a performing mechanical doll in a balancing act, routine hours acts, great dog shows, together with small acts from a capybara and porcupine for added amusement attractions. If you want to spend your holiday vacation in the west, this should be the best way to fun this time of the year. You can bring your children and the whole family to watch the greatest show ever and watch the whitest snow falling outside.

The World’s Greatest Circus artists also include brave acrobats, Grandma’s classic jokes and stunts, so high dances from flying trapeze actors and magnificent magicians for the grand illusions ever made. While, the music are adorned by the Ringmistress act as well as its own the Big Apple Circus Band.

This year Mr. Renaud Doucet will be the circus’ director in its 34th season. In the past, he was, as well, too has been a choreographer, ballet master, theater actor and solo dancer in various dance groups from all over the world.  Every year’s grand performance of the circus is joined by talents coming from a lot of countries. This 2011 famous artists of China, Mongolia, Russia, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Kenya and America shared their talents to spectators.

Visit its website online to buy tickets today and dream big at www.bigapplecircus.org.

How can you tell if it’s a very good golf course to play with your buddies? Actually, there are so many to choose from online today with a lot of special theme and attractions in golf courses all over the world. Fishing, meditation classes and other fun activities are now included in golf packages. The biggest favorites are the ones that also cover golf classes for amateurs, as well as local and international competitions or tournaments.

In the Philippines, there are really luscious green hills and healthy grass growing in its golf courses. Some of the type of trees you can find there are mango, pine and coconut. For added effects and challenge, man-made lakes and creeks are placed. This makes the scene more beautiful. Any golfer would enjoy playing in the country at all seasons. During a hot day, tropical drinks and fruits are available to freshen up guests. When there are light rains, the soil won’t be slushy, because the slopes are built according to the original mountain line or scope. Meaning to say, the land used was not dumped. This only makes golf courses in the country firmer and more solid. It is also cold during the holiday seasons from December and January. Resulting to scenes similar abroad in golf courses you can find in countries like the U.S.A., Japan or Europe.

The secret to a successful golf course is not how big or small the place that is available, but teaching golfers to always ask themselves upon starting, “Why am I here today?” Of course, amateur golf players do this for entertainment, socialization, admire the landscape and view or simply to have a good time. Yet, you are not on a million dollar tournament, so relax. When you miss a shot, don’t get so frustrated and go nuts. Just have fun and enjoy the show. Else, accidents might occur like breaking really expensive clubs. Just correct your mistake and see to it that the next shot will be perfect.

Another secret to a successful golf course is strategic planning. Get a good golfing group with at least 16 or more players and search online for the best golf vacation package from clubs and resorts. This way even if a golf friend is abroad, he or she can still know where your golf game is currently held. Budget wise, the package should also fit your wallet. Talk to the agent. Ask for arrangements like group discounts and promos. Using golf carts or hiring a caddy can add more expenses. If you have a low budget, be sure to ask these ones for free or in group discounts. Sometimes even the airfares are gotten cheaper during really good negotiations with the agent.

Being at a world renowned golf club and resort will give you the time of your life. Not only is the game great, but achieving this with a very nice milieu will be a lasting memory to you and your buddies. Make the best deal, be a real golfer and not a looser.

Best Golf Courses Philippines

Here is a sample list of the different golf courses in the Philippines and their contact details:
1. Mimosa Golf & Country Club, Angeles City (Holes: 18, Yardage: 6793, Par: 72) – Telephone: 6395
2. Camp John Hay Golf Course, Baguio City (Holes: 18, Yardage: 5428, Par: 68) – Telephone: (74) 442-7902, Fax: (74) 442-6798
3. Baguio Country Club, Baguio City (Holes: 18, Yardage: 4156, Par: 61) – Telephone: 815-3517
4. Cebu International Golf and Resort, Cebu (Holes: 18, Yardage: 6621/5974/5132, Par: 72/72/72) – Telephone: (63-32) 345-3339
5. Cebu Country Club, Cebu (Holes: 18) – Address: Gov. M Cuenco, Banilad, Cebu City, Cebu, 6000 Philippines, Telephone: (32) 2310345, Email Address: cebucountryclub@yahoo.com
6. Alta Vista Golf and Country Club, Cebu (Holes: 18, Yardage: 6034/5472/5029, Par: 72/72/72, Rating: 69.4/67.1/65.1, Slope: 126/121/117) – Address: Pardo Hills, Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines,
Telephone: 6332 272-7971 to 75
7.  Calatagan Golf Club, Batangas (Holes: 9 and an 18) – Telephone: 813-2636
8. Evercrest Golf Club and Resort, Batangas (Holes: 18, Yardage: 6704/6083/5617, Par: 72/72/72) – Address: Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines, Telephone: 712 9293, 712 9298, 712 9299
9. Del Monte Golf Club, Bukidnon (Holes: 18, Yardage: 6390, Par: 72, Rating: 72) – Telephone: 6473, 6472, 3322, Fax: 817-4717
10. Puerto Azul Golf Course, Cavite (Holes: 18) – Telephone: (632) 521-0004, Fax: 572-201
11. Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club, Cavite (Holes: 2-18s) – Web Site: www.manilasouthwoods.com, Address: Bo. Cabilang Baybay, Carmona, Cavite; Masters Course (Yardage: 7225/6613/6033, Par: 72/72/72, Rating: 75.8/73.0/70.3, Slope: 140/135/130); Legends Course (Yardage: 7093/6535/5895, Par: 72/72/72, Rating: 74.1/71.5/68.6, Slope: 135/130/124) – Telephone: (6346) 430-0268
12. Riviera Golf and Country Club, Cavite (Holes: 36) – Address: Tagaytay, Cavite, Philippines
13. Apo Golf & Country Club, Davao (Holes: 18, Yardage: 6787, Par: 72) – Telephone: 74-220, 81-944, 81-979
14. Club Intramuros, Intramuros (Holes: 18, Yardage: 5262, Par: 60)  – Telephone: 478-470 or 492-806
15. Canlubang Golf & Country Club, Laguna Province (Holes: 2-18s) – Telephone: 890-9321 and 897-6887; North Course (Yardage: 6929, Par: 72); South course (Yardage: 6785, Par: 72)

You can read the rest of the group at the Word Golf site (www.wordgolf.com). There is also another listing available at the Golfers Club Shares, Inc. site (www.golfersclubshares.com).

When the Yellow Pages or phone directories were still popular, you will always here the saying”let your fingers do the walking”.  Today, with the proliferation of the internet, what you can hear is “let your mouse do the walking”. Meaning, do the searching over the internet.

If you want to travel to a foreign land and you don’t know anything about that place, basically all you do is visit a travel agency or search it on the internet first, right? For example, if you want to visit any of the Caribbean islands, do you know where to find villas or the antigua rentals? Honestly, I’ve searched the internet just to find where is Antigua located.

Aside from knowing the location, you can also search for special offerings of the place you want to visit. Another example, if you want to visit Portugal, do you know that apart from the hotels you can rent your own self-catered portugal villas? Of course, I wouldn’t know this without consulting Mr. G (Google).

Learn from my mistake. I was looking for some pollensa villas in Mallorca and the first thing that came to my mind was to call a friend of mine who has her own travel agency. I only mentioned “pollensa” to her. Unfortunately, she was not even aware where Pollensa is! Since her travel agency company caters to North America, Asian countries, and only to major cities around the world, she could not even find the place that I’m talking about in her map. I instructed her over the phone to open her laptop and search “Pollensa” on Google map.

Travel agencies are mostly busy in processing your plane tickets and making sure your preferred holiday package is met.  Apparently, from my own experience, there are travel agencies that are not updated with some exotic vacation destinations, specially if it’s not within their niche market – just like my friend who doesn’t know where Pollensa is.

What I want to emphasis is, before even visiting your friendly travel agency, it would be nice to gather information prior to the visit.

And by the way, with the popularity of tablets and touchscreen smartphones, the saying “let your fingers do the walking” is coming back again.  Either using your mouse or your fingers, take the advantage of the technology for your travel needs. With so much data and facts you can find over the internet, this will give you an upper hand when negotiating for your next vacation holiday.

San Franciso in the United States is only 7 miles square. It is very easy for a tourist to get around the city rather quickly. If you are a first time traveler, the best way for you to get around is by the well-known cable cars. The cable cars are operating since 1872.  A tour to San Francisco is not complete unless you’ve ridden on a cable car.

However, if you are thinking to visit some relatives or friends and you know how to drive, consider hiring or renting a car so you can visit more more popular landmarks afterwards. Of course, if you can borrow a car for a day or two from a friend then enjoy it to the max!

Driving in San Francisco is just like driving in any progressive city in the world.  All you have to do is be responsible. Follow the rules and the law of the land. Always bring your license with you,  and all your insurance information. Always drive safely.  If there’s a mechanical trouble in your car, call a professional mechanic right away. There are a lot of  shops in  San Franciso than can help you right away in fixing your car.  Nonetheless,  be wary of “fake mechanics” victimizing other people that doesn’t have much knowledge when it comes to fixing a car. If you can fix your car by your own self or with the help of your friends, then do it. If not, I suggest that you get in touch with Spectrum Auto. They’re one of the most reliable and professional mechanic in the city.

In case an accident happens, inform the owner of the car first or the rental company, if you’ve rented the car.  You can also bring your car to any progressive body shops to have it checked and repaired.

Aside from the well-known cable cars and renting a private car, there are two famous landmarks in San Franciso that you have to ride a boat in order to go there. These are the Alcatraz and Angle Island.

Visiting Alcatraz will takes you at least 2 1/2 hours of riding the Alcatraz Cruises, the authorized transport in the island. Make you to bring a coat as it could get windy and cold fast.

Angle Island is the largest island in San Francisco. Access to the island is by private boat or public ferry.