Adventure Suites

Adventure Suites has many exciting themes to choose from, making it perfect for any type of guest from honeymooners to family vacationers. Ever wondered what it would be like to live in the Roman Ruins? Well here is your chance to find out! At night, you will sleep with plants and shooting stars twinkling above your head. There are so many other themes as well such as Log Cabin, The Cave, Victorian Spa, Tree House, and Deserted Island.

ICEHOTEL

ICEHOTEL in Sweden is like no experience you have ever had. You will sleep in a thermal sleeping bag on top of a bed made out of ice blocks. The bed is framed with wood and covered with reindeer skins. And in the mornings you will be awakened with a cup of hot lingonberry juice. Here the temperature never gets below -8 degrees Celsius.

Fanta Suites

Here is the perfect place for you and your special someone to get away to. Here you can choose the perfect fantasy to live in. From Cinderella’s Castle, Cupid’s Corner, Space Odyssey, Northern Lights, or many others. With so many to choose from you may have to book a different room each night!

Fantasyland Hotel

Fantasyland Hotel is one of the most favorite themed hotels by many. They have over 100 different themed rooms for you to choose from. There is sure to be one that is perfect for you! Some of the most popular rooms include Hollywood Nights, Roman, Polynesian, Western, and Arabian.

Palms Resort

This Las Vegas hotel will make you feel like a celebrity when you stay here! There are 11 different types of fantasy suites to choose from here. Some of these include the King Pin Suite, which includes an indoor bowling alley, and the Hardwood Suite for the ultimate basketball fans, including an indoor basketball court.

When your tour group is on the go there’s no time to be lost in translation. From SPF necessity predictors for sunny regions to places in the vicinity to park (preferably free to park in), your trip is that much simpler to make the most of with these gotta have ‘em apps we’ve picked out for you below!

 

1. CHIMANI’s National Parks for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android platforms

This is more than a bundle of pretty pictures of parks around the country, this one comes with a professional voiceover tour, 12 months worth of sunrise, sunset and tidal data, moon phases, park ranger tours throughout the seasons, a passport builder to track your travels, national park symbols and what they mean (like Raft Launch, Viewpoint or Amphitheather), professional maps, trail finder and anything else you could imagine needing to steer your group’s journey through Chimani parks!

 

2. iTranslate for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android platforms

Who needs the stress of fumbling through bulky pocket language guides that leave more to be desired when all you want is to know where the bathroom is? With iTranslate your travel team is covered in over 60 languages! Everything from Azerbaijani to Yiddish and beyond makes you all language experts at the drop of a hat! This universal translation genie surpasses its competitors with voice recognition, suggestions, meanings and optional landscape mode for big screen convenience!

 

3. Washington, DC: A to Z for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

You’ve always heard that the best way to get to know a new place is to meet the locals. Now you can do it without fear of stranger danger with this handy app on hand! Programmed by a DC regular who’s been documenting the best of the city for nearly three decades walks you through everything from the perfect mint julep to vegetarian friendly restaurants. 22 neighborhoods, 67 restaurants, 43 nightlife venues, shopping options and over 125 attractions packed into one all-out guide!

 

4. Exit Strategy for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

If your travel mates have never been to a big city before, getting from A to B by subway can be downright nerve racking. Featured in the NY Times, NY Post, NY Mag and other established publications makes vouching for this nifty app a snap! Combining neighborhood street maps, five boroughs worth of bus maps, address ranges, exit locations, transfer spots, elevators, doorways, hours of operation for exit ways, it even tells you where to stand on the train so that upon reaching the subway stations you will already be ahead of the game standing right before the exit! Need more? Exit Strategy goes so far as to display which side of the train the door is going to open on and all without internet connection or phone service!

Stuffed to the gills with historic landmarks, Boston delivers education and excitement to students from all corners of the world of any age. Keep your eyes peeled as you meander along cobblestone streets that all eventually lead to more of the gorgeous colonial architecture that aid in the definition of the peak of Boston’s time as the Cradle of Liberty. The American Revolution took it’s first steps here, and the significance of this is apparent all around the city. Taking the Freedom Trail tour stops your group along 16 historically recognized sites as well as providing an opportunity to step off the trail to locations such as Dorchester Heights and the Commonwealth Museum. Head over to Plymouth Rock for a flashback to the 1620s beacon whose symbolic nature endowed the Pilgrims with religious freedom.

Also undeniable is the spectacular variety of menus! Seaside dishes include not only the traditional butter basted lobster and steaming, tender clam chowder, but also the Chinatown twists for those with an adventurous palate! Here you may choose from deep fried crab claw, fried quail, stir fry sea conch, walnut shrimp, shark fin, sea cucumber, frog with veggies and many more curious concoctions! Some of the most highly regarded seafood joints in Boston range from Neptune Oyster and Belle Isle Lobster & Seafood to Island Creek Oyster Bar and D’Amelios Off the Boat Italian & Seafood Restaurant.

Boston also has a smattering of other less obvious entertainments such as visiting over 3,000 handblown glass plants at the Harvard Museum of Natural History’s botanical gallery. Fenway Park is the ideal location for Red Sox fans while the Franklin Park Zoo caters to visitors seeking lions, tigers and bears. The New Bedford Whaling Museum harbors hands on exhibits featuring everything from whale blubber to whalebone jewelry. Lighthouses, swan boats, beaches and poetry, Boston is a rich town for anyone after culture, education and merriment.

When your team is on the go in the windy city and you’ve come across a block of free time in your itinerary, you can fill it with fun for practically nothing! Don’t waste your time in Chicago thumbing through pamphlets and consulting the locals, we’ve got the lowdown right here!

1. 365 days a year 35 acres of 1,200 animals make up one of the oldest and best zoos in the country! The Lincoln Park Zoo offers not only free parking but free admission! A gem at the top of our list!
2. Millenium Park is more than a town square, it’s a a rhythmic beat of exhibitions, artwork, concerts, tours and gatherings, all for free! Don’t pass up a warped city photo with “The Bean” sculpture for a Chicago only experience!
3. For the arts-oriented group on a budget, a visit to the Chicago Cultural Center provides free art shows, film screenings, concerts, tours, discussions and the world’s largest Tiffany stained glass dome! Even the ceiling here is awe inspiring!
4. Surging from the center of Grant Park is the glorious and enormous Buckingham Fountain! April through October mesmerizing water shows during the day are available but the evening offers colored light displays!
5. Inside the Garfield Park Conservatory your group can discover a prehistoric Illinois shrouded in ferns, 84 kinds of palm trees, a Midwest cacti collection and scores of potted plants to add a burst of color! This conservatory is a supremely beautiful indoor oasis.
6. By now you may have noticed a trend in Chicago’s grandeur and love of the large, and their National Museum of Mexican Art is no exception! The largest Mexican cultural center in North America showcases the artistic bounds from the ancient Mayans all the way to art today beyond our borders.
7. Inside the city rests an unrestricted retreat into the wilderness, the 46 acre North Park Village Nature Center. Trails will lead you all through a savanna, prairie, wetland and woodland all in the company of the resident creatures that frequent them.
8. If the outside looks like just another architectural landmark, step inside and prepare to be blown away by the sheer unrivaled beauty of the Elks Veterans Memorial. Grandiose sculptures, astounding stained glass windows, glimmering chandeliers, marble floors and neoclassical paintings are hidden within.
9. The University of Chicago’s campus in Hyde Park houses three museums ranging from the Eastern orient, the Renaissance and masterpieces from India. This multi faceted collection explores the world through ancient artifacts and modern arts.
10. Last on our list of the top 10 free places to visit in Chicago is the Museum of Contemporary Photography near Millenium Park. A stimulating collection of photographs lends itself to anyone searching to expand their appreciation of present-day topics like natural disasters and hard working peoples amidst destitution.

The thought of group travel across the country to somewhere new can be daunting and let’s face it, downright scary for members with a phobia of planes. Especially with a large team, car pooling can be out of the question entirely. So aside from hitch hiking, what’s left to get you to your destination in a timely fashion? Classier than you may have guessed, hop aboard an Amtrak train for service, style and speed!

Avoiding the traffic on the road leaves you with nothing but eco-friendly views of the countryside and other perspectives you wouldn’t have gotten by motor vehicle. No traffic jams, no aggravation. Be it rivers, lush, rolling hills, towering, silent trees swaying in the sweet breeze, twinkling far off cities or simply a golden field of wheat reaching for the sun, every window caters to the nostalgic feeling that sweeps over passengers aboard the Amtrak.

Aside from accelerated transportation, the food beats the tar out of airline menus any day! Why? At such an altitude and decibel rate, a person’s sense of smell and taste significantly decreases! Another reason to stick closer to the ground. Included in your faire, meals are hot including yummy dishes like french toast, steak, salmon fillets, breaded chicken, pasta, herb roasted chicken, maple sausage, and oh so much more! Some of the trains even offer complimentary wine and cheese tasting on certain afternoons where you can purchase a bottle of wine to take home!

Amtrak is a pleasant choice beyond the scenery and food, it also offers larger restrooms, 2 carry on bags per passenger, 2 free checked bags, bicycle racks, Wi-Fi service, bedrooms, showers, attendants, dinner reservations, spacious leg room, pick your own seats, a bar car, less uptight staff and security and the option to leave the tracks should there be a delay. Airplanes have their place, but for a less frantic experience and a more tranquil and composed passage, consider beginning your journey not when you step off the plane, but when you step into the train station. Also consider an Amtrak vacation next time you get away!

While hotel rooms are nearly unavoidable when traveling away from home, germs can be! Make sure your group is prepared with antibacterial hand soap, disinfecting wipes, and common sense. While each lodging establishment has a code of cleanliness to abide by, there are always a few that slip through the cracks unbeknownst to their guests. Maybe it was a busy weekend and one of the housekeepers was in a rush to get weary customers out of the lobby and into their rooms, so they scrubbed a tub with the toilet brush, or perhaps they cut a few corners and didn’t disinfect remotes and phones so they could get to their lunch break. Messages between staff members are not always communicated and rooms are not always properly cleaned. From walls to windows to air conditioning units, cleaning every thing every day just doesn’t happen. The worst part is that you would never know the difference.

Here is our list of the biggest cootie catchers in common hotels:

1. Remote Control.

This is an obvious one as it dictates the only source of standard entertainment in hotel rooms.
2. Door Knobs.

Another usual suspect, it’s impossible to get into the room without handling this.

3. Light Switches.

Touched by the guests, the housekeepers, the inspectors, the management, the pest control guy, the carpet cleaners, and everyone in between.

4. Sheets.

Sometimes, particularly neat guests don’t untuck their sheets. Instead, they rest on top of them with a blanket of their own from home. On occasion, they might even make their own beds to save housekeeping the trouble. This may leave only a few wrinkles behind. If the bed looks clean after check-out, it’s components aren’t necessarily washed and replaced.

5. Bedspread.

Even when the sheets are changed, the bedspreads are very rarely washed in between every single stay. This can apply to the provided blanket(s) as well. You’re better off just removing these.

6. Toilet Handle.

Depending on whether or not rags were switched out in between cleaning the bathroom floor, toilet seat, sink or tub, it’s unlikely that a brand new rag was used only on the toilet handle.

7. Faucets.

Same as the toilet handle, the less rags required to clean a room the faster it goes.

8. Toilet.

Back to common sense, this can never be clean enough.

9. Bathroom Floor.

A popular method of cleaning hotel rooms leaves the bathroom floor the last thing to be wiped down before vacuuming, so it may get scrubbed with the same rag that just wiped down the inside of the toilet.

10. Tub.

Check for a soap scum ring, this stuff builds up fast and can be difficult to remove. Also, check the ledges used for shampoo and shaving cream where stubborn residue can be found.

11. Pillows.

Pillow cases should be washed in between each stay, however, the pillow covers and pillows themselves are rarely laundered.

12. Alarm Clock.

If it has a radio equipped, it was probably handled.

13. Mattress.

Aside from being flipped every few months, these are expensive to replace, and not generally at the top of the budget expenses. These can easily store skin cells, hair, mites, pollen, bodily fluids and other bacteria.

14. Phone.

Touched by many hands, also consider the faces that have been pressed against the handset. A quick button wipe down to make sticky spots vanish does the trick to make it appear clean, but that can unfortunately suffice.

Travel was made possible many years ago through horses and railroads, however, than it was used mainly as a form of moving somewhere else. People today are lucky with the amount of opportunity available to them when it comes to traveling. But there are a lot of people who take this for granted and do not use the opportunities that are there in front of them. What most people do not understand is the reason behind why travel is so important in their life. Travel is not a destination; it is the perspective that is brought back with them.

            People can, at times, get the wrong impressions about what other places are like.  They tell themselves that, that place has a high crime rate or there are no good people that live there. Therefore, they would never want to visit a new area. Ancient Roman Christian Theologian, Saint Augustine, once stated “The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”  He understood that there is much more to life than what we are able to see in front of us. Going somewhere new gives others the chance to see that maybe they don’t have it as bad off as they think. Many places in the world are starving and homeless, however, most people that do not live in these areas do not fully understand how hard it is in these other places. Given the chance to see these places for themselves, people may do more to help later on.

            Most people are taught, from a young age, not to talk to strangers; there is a problem with that. How are they supposed to meet new people if they never give strangers a chance? It is true, there are bad people in the world, but there are also many good people as well. Travel gives us an opportunity to meet these people and see them for who they really are. Different places have very different cultures and ways of life. By knowing why these people act different than others, it sheds a whole new light on the world around them.

            Where a person goes is nowhere near as important as what they do when they get there. If all they do is keep to themselves, it will not be worth the trip at all. Sooner or later, without stepping out of their comfort zone, that trip will be forgotten and they will have gained nothing from it. When traveling, people usually go to the places that are well known and familiar. They eat at popular restaurants and tour the famous museums. There is nothing wrong with this, but if people would take the time to try out a new spot that they haven’t heard of, it may give them an even deeper thought into culture. Even trying a food that would never be eaten back home is a great start. They may end up loving it; if not they at least get to say they were brave enough to try it.

            Without travel, a person will never fully understand the world they live in. There are so many opportunities in the world today that gives the chance to explore and go farther than was ever thought possible a few centuries ago. Travel gives others the opportunity to see things in a completely different way. If people would open up and take a look at the different lives in this world, they would be slower to stress about some things in their own lives. They may even realize that things could be much worse then they think.

For many of us, music is a pleasant escape from silence on the dull commute to work, or a rhythmic backdrop that makes everything from elevators to group gatherings less awkward. However, there are others that fill their entire lives with it; taking the long way home just to finish a great album, tirelessly studying the techniques of favorite and upcoming artists, therapeutically composing their lives with the passion that is music. These people are music lovers, and these are the five best travel sites where they fit right in:

1. NEW ORLEANS

Steeped in African influence, the deep south is a melting pot of jazz, funk, gospel, blues, hip hop and every strain in between. The Big Easy offers a plethora of music festivals like Satchmo SummerFest, Vieux To Do, Voodoo Music Experience, French Quarter Festival, Swamp Fest, Old Algiers Riverfest, Jazz and Heritage Festival, Essence Music Festival, Bayou Boogaloo and Ponderosa Stomp are some of the local favorites. Home to the ever alluring Mardi Gras, this beaded block party has become synonymous with Louisiana and beckons to culture enthusiasts from every corner of the world!

2. MEMPHIS

Abundant with party bus rentals, group travel tours love the birthplace of rock n’ roll! The first stop on the list is usually Beale Street for the Beale Street Music Festival each spring where 3 days of live performances offer a line up of not only incredible music, but mouth watering food and beverages are served on the side for the ultimate dream concert! Along the rest of the street your tour group will find tattoo artists, fortune tellers, unrivaled BBQ eateries, shopping venues and nightclubs. Other noteworthy visits in Memphis include: Graceland, Sun Studio, Stax Records, Memphis Rock n’ Soul Museum and multiple Elvis infused rockabilly sites!

3. NASHVILLE

For all inclusive vacations of the musical variety your group won’t even have to leave Tennessee for this one! Country music fans may frequent the city’s biggest attractions but any member with a spirit for historic adventure will opt to partake in a tour of the legendary Grand Ole Opry! Step inside where backstage you will discover the sound studio, the famous perfumed dressing rooms and up on the stage lies that oak wood circle where the world’s best performers have greeted frenzied masses. American tradition further expands to the likes of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Ryman Auditorium where haunted tours are also offered, Studio B, Music Row, Ernest Tubb Record Shop, Bluebird Caf, Willie Nelson and Friends General Store and Museum, Robert’s Western World and the Music City Walk of Fame.

4.  SAN FRANCISCO

Back in the 1960s the counterculture Bay Area hit the big time with billboard sized names like Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane and all the rest of the hippie era rock stars that flocked to the Haight-Ashbury scene. Thanks to that decade the streets of The Golden Gate City are littered with historically significant gems in the history of music! Some have remodeled into white collar residences, others have burned to the ground with their wildest memories. A bittersweet sanctuary, Candlestick Park is where The Beatle’s publicly performed for the last time in 1966. The Fillmore Auditorium music venue, The Record Plant recording studio, Rod’s Hickory Pit and many other sentimental garages and dives own the spirit of the beatnik movement lifestyle and tunes.

5. CLEVELAND

Complete your travel tour package with a jaunt through Cleveland, Ohio! Travel services point you first to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; a major hotspot for music connoisseurs and rightfully so! From one hit wonders to 50 year band careers, this museum is a shimmering beacon in town! When you’re ready to brush up on landmark concert venues and other gigs Cleveland has claimed, snag a tour of Cleveland Music Studio, Lava Room Recording, House of Blues, Hard Rock Cafe Cleveland, Pat’s in the Flats, Euclid Tavern, Pirates Cove, Cleveland Stadium, Grog Shop, Cleveland Agora Theatre and Ballroom, House of Blues, Brothers Lounge and the rest of the lengthy list that completes the chart toppers for the best five cities chosen by true music lovers!