North Carolina may be most widely known for the tranquil shores of it’s picturesque beaches. The coast of North Carolina covers over three hundred miles of pristine beaches, wetlands and marshes. Needless to say, there is something for everyone on the coast of the Tarheel state. From the historic lighthouses, museums, golf courses and fishing piers – a vacation to one of North Carolina’s many beaches will be enjoyable for everyone in your family.
The Outer Banks: The Outer Banks is the 200 mile string of barrier islands that stretch from the south east corner of Virginia to roughly half the North Carolina coast. The Outer Banks are a popular vacation destination, with it’s vast beach front and temperate climate.
The Crystal Coast: The Crystal Coast stretches roughly 85 miles and extents from Cape Lookout National Seashore, it includes 56 miles of protected beaches. This location is perfect for families, diving and fishing are two of the major activities for visitors to the area. The beaches are a sandy white, and the water is a beautiful crystal blue.
New Hanover Beaches: Home to the popular Kure Beach and Cape Fear, the stretch of land known as New Hanover Beach is roughly 15 miles south of Wilmington. The population of the surrounding areas is very small. So you can expect your vacation to any of the New Hanover Beaches to be very quiet and secluded. This is perfect for a weekend getaway.
Brunswick Beaches: Located in Brunswick County – the Brunswick Beaches communities are also small and somewhat isolated. Bald Head Island is the most recognizable of the all the beaches as the 1989 hit film, Weekend at Bernie’s was filmed there. Cars aren’t allowed on Bald Head Island – and the population of the village is under two hundred people. But don’t let that keep you away. Bald Head island provides a peaceful getaway perfect for families and couples in search of a relaxing time.
If you are looking for an affordable beach vacation you should definitely include at least one of the beaches along the North Carolina coast on your list.
By: Bella H
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Travel the Beautiful Beaches of North Carolina
March 9th, 2010Boutique Destinations of India
March 7th, 2010
Boutique hotels are taking the world by storm, and there are a couple of new breeds springing up in India. The first caters to the really rich, creating a designer mirage of the Merchant-Ivory meets yogi-Vogue variety; the other is a collection of almost private homes that offer a mixture of family life and desi cooking.
Explore the luxury and grandeur of Rajasthan royalty in one of the Taj Group’s boutique palace hotels. The group manages three of the world’s most celebrated boutique hotels (of the more decadent variety) housed in palaces throughout India:
Jaipur
The hot pink city of Jaipur is not only the state capital but the retail capital, where designers such as Isabelle Fraysse and Celia Forner Venturi get their jewellery and accessories manufactured. This is the city for gemstones, abounding with skeins of rough-cut emeralds and rubies.
Rambagh Palace: Sleep a la Maharaja in Rambagh’s presidential Suryavanshi suite, which was part of the personal chambers of the royal family.
Udaipur
Home to the Kingdom of Mewar, Udaipur lies south of the Aravalli ranges; lush rolling green hills following the monsoon contrast vividly against the parched spurs in the arid season, with the City of Lakes and Palaces in its shadows.
Taj Lake Palace: Constructed, because Maharana Jagat Singh II took umbrage at his father’s refusal to allow him to have moonlit picnics with the ladies of his Zenama (women’s quarters) on the neighbouring island palace. No wonder James Bond picked the summer palace of the royals, which remains a quintessential pleasure palace.
Jodhpur
Jodhpur is encompassed by the Umaid Bhawan to the east and the Meherengh Fort to the west; the fort is one of the best preserved heritage sites in Rajasthan with a collection of historical artefacts dating back hundreds of years.
Umaid Bhawan: Commissioned in 1929 and designed by the British architect H.V. Lanchester, the palace took 16 years to complete and stands now as a perfectly-preserved monument to the art-deco style of the ‘Twenties. Inside, it’s a treasure trove of elaborate furnishings and finely worked exports.
Homey Boutique Hotels
Equal to these palace retreats in comfort and ambiance, if not in scale, are some smaller boutique hotels of the homespun variety:
The Cottage: A very lovely hill home that has been opened to guests by its owner Bhuvan Kumari. They serve delicious, homemade food, and there is nothing arch or fancy about the place. The cottage’s gallery of exquisite doorways and window frames recalls the time when the kings of Nepal ruled the region.
Sitla Estate: An old apple estate further east, where you can sit on the roof and watch the sunrise over the Himalayan peak of Nanda Devi. Run by Vikram Maira, a delicious action man who doubles as kitchen genius, the atmosphere breathes warmth and simplicity.
By: Tom Ingrams
Useful Tips When Traveling by Air to India
March 1st, 2010
Traveling is one of those things virtually everybody would love to do, even though high price ticket costs usually can keep your travel plans from ever leaving see any heights. One popular destination for travelers is India. This is a beautiful country with wealthy culture and with an impressive landscape.
When you go here some of the most widespread and popular airports to fly into are Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. Which one you choose depends partly on where you would like to go, partly on where you can get the cheapest tickets.
The departure city flights to India typically range from quite cheap up to about five hundred dollars. Climate is also of concern when you are booking a flight to India. There are essentially four seasons with winter being about the same as in west, the weather is cool and dry. March through May is the summer months and temperatures in might sometimes be unbearable. Overall, the simplest time to fly to Mumbai and Delhi would be mid-September through spring. The most affordable time to fly to India is throughout the Monsoon season, June through September, thanks to serious rain. Keep in mind that Monsoons will often offset plane schedules and sometimes fully shut off electricity.
Looking for good flight deals on the web or booking through airline websites directly are both fast and efficient ways that to seek out flights, though not perpetually the cheapest. Some nice websites to check for deals include Kayak and Orbitz. Though it is a chance, some times waiting till the last minute (some weeks or so before the departure date) will extremely pay off as airlines are providing lower prices to fill the seats on upcoming flights.
If you’re a student there are also lots of internet sites dedicated to finding low cost student air fares. A terribly well-liked web site for students is S.T.A. Travel. Here you can find out is they currently run monthly deals to multiple destination cities and the travel agents can work closely with you to seek out the best deal for you out there.
Some airlines like Korean and Cathay Pacific run deals on some flights to India, but usually the discounted fares they offer don’t seem to be given to the customer directly. Travel agencies often purchase seats in bulk at a discounted price and pass the savings on to you. Therefore it would be wise to appear into a Indian travel agency in your area. This might be a sure way to search out regarding any current flight deals.
Again, depending on your departure city, date and your relationship with flying, it might be a good idea to stay on an open mind to multiple flight connections. In a perfect world it would be the best to steer onto one plane and a matter of hours later walk off at your destination….then once more, in an ideal world, everyone would fly in their private jet.
If you’re someone who can tolerate multiple take offs and landings while not running the risk of air sickness, allowing multiple connections it may be a sure method to knock some hundred dollars off your price tag price. Also, if you allow some flexibility along with your travels dates your search results can also yield greater savings.
By: Johnny Smith
