Visitors to Bermuda in 2009 will see the introduction of several new and redesigned resorts as well as gala celebrations all through the year.  In case you haven’t considered the pleasures of Bermuda in some time, here’s a refresher about the charms that have captivated visitors for hundreds of years.  Bermuda has 21 miles of glorious landscape including quaint harbors, pink sand beaches and dozens of mid-size luxury resorts and inns.  Bermuda is one of the world’s top golf destinations with 9 championship courses – more courses per square mile than any other destination.  200 square miles of coral reefs will delight divers, who will find more wreck sites to explore than anywhere else on earth.  Shopping and dining have always been a top priority in Bermuda, and you’ll appreciate that Bermuda’s currency is on par with the US dollar.  Located just a two hour flight from major east coast cities, Bermuda makes a perfect long weekend escape destination.

There has never been a more exciting time to visit Bermuda and sink your toes into those warm, powdery pink sand beaches.  Here’s a recap of the events and new venues awaiting you lucky travelers:

Tucker’s Point Resort – is a brand new luxury resort, private club and residential community that celebrated it’s opening in April, 2009.  It’s dramatic ocean front location gives wonderful views of  Castle Harbour, Harrington Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.  Guestrooms feature a lovely balcony or terrace, gracious decor, top amenities and amazingly, a fireplace for ambiance.  8 restaurants offer every dining experience you could wish for from formal dining in elegant rooms, quiet wine room or library, less formal palm court, Winter Lounge, Chef’s kitchen table, or Terrace Grill.  Find all their information at TuckersPoint.com

Newstead Belmont Hills Resort – Open for just a year, this resort offers visitors a charming harborside boutique hotel with a dramatic infinity pool looking out over Great Sound.  Each residence offers views over the gardens, to the infinity pool, across to the city of Hamilton and out to Great Sound – wonderful!  Accommodations offer large living space with a kitchen, sitting room, bathroom and bedroom area.  Check out them out at Newsteadbelmonthills.com.

The Reefs – Long considered one of Bermuda’s best hotels, 2009 sees the completion of The Reefs Club – a private club of 19 luxury two and three bedroom residences which will be available for a brief time as one-time rentals.  The Reefs has also new and expanded services at it’s well respected La Serena Spa.  Find the info you’ll need at TheReefs.com

Upcoming events to look for:
Cup Match Cricket Festival – July 30-31, 2009
Bermuda Music Festival – October, 2009
PGA Grand Slam of Golf – October 19-21, 2009
World Rugby Classic – November 8-14, 2009
Bermuda Christmas Boat Parade – December 12, 2009

For all the vacation planning information you’ll need – visit BermudaTourism.com.  And the good news is that there is lots of ways to reach Bermuda.  Eight major airlines serve the island – American, Continental, delta, JetBlue, US Airways, USA3000, Air Canada and British Airways, and a number of cruise lines make stops during summer months.  With all the inbound service to Bermuda, prices stay competitive and reasonable.  If you haven’t considered a vacation in Bermuda latetely – it’s time.

For the ultimate in relaxation, consider one of the 11 car-free island escapes featured in our new photo gallery. (Granted, some are more traffic-free than truly car-free, but at least you won’t need a car when you visit.) Whether you’re looking to relax on the beach, explore cultural riches or go hiking, biking or horseback riding, one of these picturesque islands likely has something for you. With no parking meters, gas stations or toll roads to worry about, vacationing on a car-free island will get you into relaxation mode lickety-split.

We’ve chosen just a sampling of the best car-free islands. What are your favorites around the world? Share your suggestions in the comments section.

1. Disneyland in America – A trip to Disneyland is an experience in itself and is sure to bring out the child in you. With amusements for both children and adults, this location host parades, lightshows and floral tributes in grand style. You can also club your visit with a trip to Universal Studios.
2. Taj Mahal in India – India is a country that has a unique and diverse culture. A visit to the Taj Mahal which has been described as a tribute of love in marble from the Emperor Shah Jahan to his wife is sure to impress you.
3. Niagara Falls in Canada – Pay a visit to Ontario to see the world’s biggest waterfall in all its splendour. You can also get on board the Maid of the Mist and enjoy the waterfall up close and in person.
4. Paris and the Eiffel tower – No world travel itinerary would be complete without listing Paris in its top five destinations. Paris is the city of lovers, bridges and museums and the Eiffel Tower is only a small part of its overall appeal. When you are visiting Paris, make sure to take a day trip down to Normandy to experience the chilling reality of D-Day.
5. The Great Barrier Reef, Australia – Go snorkelling or reef diving off the coast of Australia and take in the sights of the Great Barrier Reef.
6. Mardi Gras in Rio De Janeiro – Mardi Gras is the world’s largest and most exciting party. Full of parades, fireworks, and non-stop entertainment with its colourful dancers and street performers, this is one celebration worth travelling around the world for. When you have exhausted everything there is to do in Rio de Janeiro, the perfect thing to do is to take a full day tropical island cruise. Just off the coast of this magnificent city are some beautiful islands. Sunbathing, scuba diving and snorkelling are all on the list of things to do while on the cruise.
7. The Great Wall of China – China is a beautiful country with a unique culture and any trip you make to this region is sure to change your perspective on life. When in China, make a day trip to the great wall and marvel at the world’s only man made structure visible from the moon.
8. If you are a skiing enthusiast, you can do no better than making a day trip to Andorra from Barcelona. This is one of Europe’s smallest countries with some of the best ski slopes in the world.
9. Wildlife Safari in South Africa – Go on a wildlife safari in South Africa and see nature at its most magnificent as you drive past large African lions and other big cats, elephants, giraffes, hyenas, rhinos and other animals. This can be an incredible experience even if you are not a wildlife enthusiast.

Take a trip to Tuscany – Enjoy the summer sun in this incredible region and sample the local cuisine. You should also go on one of the many vineyard tours and wine tasting sessions here.

Tenerife is a volcanic island, hence its main attraction being Mount Teide – the volcano. Teide is open to visitors all year round and is located in the North of the island, along with the resort of Puerto de la Cruz. I visited this resort for the day and was pleasantly surprised, although more suited to an older clientele, it had nice beaches and a big tourist attraction called the ‘Loro Parque’, which is a bird/animal park that really does make for a great value day out.

Further South, you can find the resorts of Los Gigantes and Las Caletillas along the East coast, which make for a quieter, more relaxed holiday with little fishing harbours and cafés to unwind.

Golf del Sur is another popular resort, only a 5 minute drive from Tenerife South Airport. This has been a firm favourite for years, with golfers originally, but has now grown into a popular tourist resort for all age groups. There are several golf courses nearby and many more further South in Playa de las Americas and Costa Adeje.

Along the Southern-most coastline, you can find 3 resorts that interconnect with each other. Los Cristianos, home to the major harbour ferrying visitors to and from La Gomera, is again a versatile resort suitable for people of all ages. A ten minute walk will bring you to Playa de las Americas – the firm favourite for clubbers and partygoers! Although it can get lively, steer clear of ‘The Strip’ and you’ll experience a nice resort with a great beach and many cafés, bars, shops and restaurants.

Now to my personal favourite! Costa Adeje – A relatively new resort, which houses many new 4 and 5 star hotels. There’s a man-made, sandy white beach in Costa Adeje, with a brand new shopping centre, promenade with exclusive little cafes, bars and restaurants. Although only a ten minute walk further on, you’ll feel as though you’re a world away from the hustle and bustle of Playa de las Americas. A lovely place to visit for a quiet, rather upmarket holiday.

Bandos had a major overhaul during 2005 which added some accommodation and an extension to its facilities. The look of the resort is a good balance between formal and casual styles. The reception has a modern set of conveniences such as internet hotspot, plasma TV, conference hall, etc. but this hasn’t affected the plain natural beauty of the resort which hasn’t been compromised at all. The general feel is of tranquil accommodation with private beach areas shaded by tall palms and other vegetation. The main bar and coffee shop are well-placed near the water, the bar generally being a  hive of activity until the early hours of the morning. The restaurants, while not particularly inspiring in their decor, do serve a range of quality dishes.

This resort has plainly made a great deal of effort to accommodate families, with a childcare facility run by female staff who, in addition to providing daycare, will provide babysitting in the evenings if required. Some of the rooms in the junior and standard class have an interconnecting door for families who are split up between rooms. The resort is popular with families to, so children who are a bit too young to take part in some of the older activities will likely have other children their age around to play with.

Activities

Bandos has one of the major dive centers in the Maldives, even having one of the few decompression chambers in the country. There is a good range of courses from  PADI beginner courses to expert re-breather courses. The dive center here is both a PADI Gold Palm Resort and a Platinum Facility of the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers.

Accommodation

48 Junior suites are available, and are ornately decorated, with a  color scheme of yellow and ochre, a solid wood four-poster bed and a sense of style that makes them feel very homely. The only downside is that the beach in this section of the resort is completely submerged at high tide, but this is a small matter for most I should think. There are 84 standard rooms adjacent to the beach and another 19 that are not beach fronted. They are pleasantly furnished with tiled floors and balconies. These standard rooms alternate between twin and double  bed layout to provide for families again.

The 48 circular Beach villas are the latest accommodations to have been added to the resort. These two-storey rooms, with an upstairs bedroom complete with sea balcony, have been carefully and tastefully done to provide a superior look and feel. The bathrooms are half inside and half outside the villa, and are complete with thatched roof jacuzzi. For those who like to lounge by the pool all day there are 24 Garden villas are mainly based alongside the relatively new swimming pool.

Baros

On top of the sheer beauty of this island, the food and service here is puts it within the elite group of resorts in the Maldives. One of the focal points of the resort is the lighthouse restaurant, which has a white peaked spire, making it the only non-thatched building on the resort. Thsi restaurant is split between two levels with a lounge bar on the top level, offering panoramic views, and the lower-level haute cuisine restaurant serving a menu of Mediterranean and Asian fusion dishes. The other restaurant – the Cayenne Grill – prepares a range of meat, seafood and vegetarian dishes to your own specification and serves you at one of the individual thatched pavilions at the waters edge.

Your first impression of Baros is raised further when you arrive at your accommodation for the first time. There are 30 water villas, 20 Baros villas, 24 Deluxe villas, and a single pool villa. Every room in this resort is just a few strides away from beach or lagoon and each has a large decked verandah complete with a daybed. The attention to detail and quality of the workmanship cannot be overstated, and walking into these rooms for the first time may give you the idea that you have walked into a magazine article for some chic hotel. There designer fittings, concealed plasma TV, quality coffee maker, and more importantly for me, a well-stocked wine cooler. Combine this with the 24 hour room service and the well stocked wine cooler, and its not surprising that many guests stay put by their rooms for days on end.

Activities

The dive school is run by PADI and offers an introductory dive in the lagoon for beginners and open water certificates. There are approximately 30 dive sites within reach of Baros which offers good potential for some interesting dives. The resort also has a resident Marine Biologist providing talks on the local marine life and accompanying the snorkeling trips and excursions on the house reef.Snorkeling is excellant here, with the reef, which runs around most of the island, being easily accessible.