To inaugurate the new initiative, Herb Hiller and Linda Crider, co-founders of the modern-day Florida bicycling movement, will lead a week-long bicycle tour this October 10-16, starting and ending at Palatka, a rural county seat by the St. Johns River in northeastern Florida.

“For too long there’s been no organized comfortable cycling way to discover backroads Florida,” says Crider.  “These tours are organized for that, but also for fun.”
The 260-mile loop takes cyclists through state parks, as well as the Merritt
Island and Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuges. Also on the
itinerary is a stop at St. Augustine, the oldest city in the country
and recently named one of the top ten best places to live by U.S. News & World Report. 

By
2013, the St. Johns River-to-Sea Loop will become the longest paved,
off-road loop trail in the American southeast. That same year will also
mark the 500th anniversary of Spain’s colonization of “La Florida,”
named in 1513 by Ponce de Leon for its flowered land. Because
wildflowers are abundant on the tour’s route, Florida Wildflower Foundation,
a chief sponsor of the touring program, will use the loop to help
launch the state’s wildflower tourism in celebration of its
quincentennial year.

The new effort may be just what Florida
tourism needs to draw more people to the nature, culture, and heritage
of the state (instead of the standard big hotels and beach resorts) and the trademark of these tours will be their local access. Not only will
cyclists experience Florida’s beautiful landscapes, but they will get to do so with local naturalists, writers, and
historians all working to turn Florida tourism green.

Hiller,
a leading advocate of sustainable tourism, understands the economic
value in Florida’s “heads in beds” tourist industry, but also
recognizes its drawbacks. “Tourism doesn’t champion environment or
heritage,” he says. “Yet, apart from making visitors comfortable, what
counts as much as using their presence among us to help accomplish our
aims? I mean, aims that include protecting our natural resources,
helping make our downtowns more livable and advancing diversity.”

Included
in the tours are luggage-carrying support vehicles, on-road guides,
maps and cue sheets, overnights in B&B’s, homestays and motels as
well as all breakfasts and sit-down dinners.

For additional tours and prices, visit bikeflorida.org. For more information on Florida’s greenways and trails,
visit
www.floridagreenwaysandtrails.com.

Photo courtesy of John Moran 

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.

Among all these places, Ladakh city witnesses the largest number of travelers. The main reasons for such huge bulk of travelers every year are its small accessibility period and the beautiful destinations & scope of adventurous activities in Ladakh.

Ladakh lies in trans-Himalayan district of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Both adventure freaks and culture enthusiasts have greater inclination to travel this wonderful location. The place is famous for its high mountain charm and civilization. The place is strongly influenced by the Tibetans culture and due to the strong influence of the Tibetan culture; the place is also called a ‘Little Tibet.’ More than half the population of Ladakh is constituted of Tibetans people.

In the past, Ladakh was a Buddhist kingdom, but after the partition these regions are controlled by Pakistan and China. The two districts of Ladakh include Leh and Kargil. Besides being the largest town of Ladakh and Leh is also known as the capital of Ladakh. One of the most remarkable features of Ladakh is wide scope of adventurous activities here. Some of the popular adventurous activities of Ladakh include:

TREKKING

Trekking is just the kind of adventure sport that every fun-loving traveler would love. The sports involve lot of fun amid the hilly areas in cool surroundings. Some of popular valleys for trekking in Ladakh include the Zanskar valley trek, Markha Valley trek Lamayuru-Padum Valley Trek and Indus Valley Trek. The traditional trekking season extends from early June to mid-October.

RIVER RAFTING

The place is an ultimate spot for river rafting. The place offers wide range rafting option on the Indus and its main branches. However, the best option for white water is between Spituk and Saspol on the Indus. But, it should be noted that this water sport require special skill and the rafter need to be expert before trying hands in this adventure freak. A satisfactory arrangement for rescue coverage is an important pre- requisite for embarking upon a white-water expedition on a river like Zanskar.

MOUNTAINEERING

The walking, hiking, backpacking and climbing on mountains all comes under mountaineering. Generally the climbing season starts from mid-May and exists till mid-October. However, the most appropriate period for mountain climbing in Ladakh is from June to September as this is the time when Ladakh remains unaffected by the monsoon. However all foreign expeditions are required to get permission from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation for climbing all listed peaks.

Now, you must be thinking of exploring all these wonderful adventurous sports option. For this you need a well-organized travel agency to arrange a systematic tour for you. There are several travel agency who arrange meticulous tours for India, but you should bank upon an experienced and Government approved travel agency to avoid getting into any sort of problematic situation.

The park is sure to please even the fussiest vacationers. The Fisherman’s Wharf is located near the ferry pier called the Hong Kong – Macau Ferry Pier.

Whatever the time of year that people drop by to this amazing theme park, it’s always full of activity. There is so much to see and do, as the complex has over a hundred shops and eateries. Each one of these little outlets is housed in structures that resemble international sea ports. They range from Venice and Amsterdam to even Cape Town. If this is not all, the park has its own casino and rides.

The Fisherman’s Wharf is one of the fairly recent attractions that was added as a family friendly entertainment venue to Macau. If visitors are looking to go shopping and have a good time while doing it then there isn’t a better place as this area never seems to go to sleep. One of the highlight of the park is the explosion of vibrant flames of a recreated 40 metre volcano and the accompanying Jet Ski stunts which are simply something to see.

The parks admission is free and upon entering visitors will be spoilt for choice as to what to engage in first. While the rides are family favorites, party goers won’t be able to resist club hopping at the Wharf’s row of clubs.

After an amazing time at the Fisherman’s Wharf a relaxing time at a hotel in Macau would be ideal. There are many hotels that offer pampering of a luxury hotel Macau standard, and one of the more popular choices among business and leisure travellers is the Venetian Macau Resort Hotel.

You’ve saved the money, you’ve applied for the passport… wow, you’re practically ready to pack. But wait… just having made the decision to get a passport and go to Europe is only the first step. There are more decisions to make. Let’s think through some of this.

How much time do you have? One week will have you concentrating on an area or a city… two or more weeks lets you tour around a bit more.

What part of Europe do you want to go to? It’s not like you can just go to Europe. That’s like saying you want to see the United States. There are big areas to be covered, and you need to choose an area to see even if you have several weeks.

Do you just want to see it…? Visit the highlights like maybe London, Paris, Rome, and see the big sights? Or… do you have an agenda? Do you want to find family roots and do a little genealogy research? Is there a festival you’ve always wanted to see like the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona or The Gathering and Highland Games in Edinburgh?

Do you concentrate on one or two countries or try to do a grand circle of Europe?

Do you take a tour? Set up a Custom tour? Or do you want to take your first trip to Europe all on your own and find your own way?

So how will you answer these questions?

If you’re a student, you may be able to travel for the summer… good for you. You won’t find a better way to add to your education! If you’re retired, you can stay as long as your finances will allow… AND you can travel during shoulder seasons when there are fewer crowds.

If you only have one or two or three weeks, try for those shoulder seasons to maximize your experiences and minimize the lines. Try to limit yourself to a country a week. Even at that you’ll just be getting an overview of the area you choose to visit.

A tour can be a good idea and can take some of the anxiety out of your first trip to Europe. There are so many tours offered that you can easily choose one that goes to the area you want to visit for the length of time you want to spend, and you can even get tours that specifically go to those festivals or visit gardens or let you explore just castles. Your hotels will be taken care of and many of your meals too. It’s good way to build your confidence abroad.

If groups just aren’t your thing, being an independent traveler on your first trip to Europe is not difficult either. There is so much information on the internet that it’s easy to plan it for yourself and leave yourself more flexibility.

Just sit down with a pencil and paper and make the decisions one at a time, and that long awaited first trip to Europe will be a reality.

Discover this Cheap Travel Guide Full of Travel Discount Strategies and grab your Free Travel Report

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-tips-articles/your-first-trip-to-europe-important-travel-tips-979617.html

This water front area is very popular with tourists as it is a place where visitors get to experience the local culture and cuisine all in one place. Docas is teeming with restaurants, clubs and bars. But to experience the best of the best visitors should step into the bars and restaurants near the Avenida Sun Yat Sen.

This is the party region of Macau where everything goes on till the wee hours of the morning. The restaurants have their side walk tables and their own traditional names. Most of these eateries attract local crowds with popular bands that play live and best of all the music is a mix of English, African, Brazil, Portugal and Asian, creating a unique blend.

In addition to the food and music, this part of Macau also offers casinos which are many and they dot the area with their bright lights and interesting names. In no way are the casinos for small time ‘try-your-luck’ adventurers although the casinos do cater to these types, the majority who walk through these doors are high rollers who want nothing less that a VIP suite when spending an evening.

For those who are not interested in the big bucks and just looking to have a good time, there are lower risk plays such as blackjack, baccarat and even slot machines. In addition tourist could choose to spend an evening at the Canindrome, which is the only greyhound racing complex in the whole of Asia.

After a hard day of partying at the Docas curling up in a luxury Hotel Macau would be ideal and waking up to some pampering at a resort hotel such as the Sands Macau Resort Hotel would be the perfect ending to a vacation well spent.

So what do tourists have to see? The temple comprises of three main shrines which are placed behind each other. The Buddha of longevity hall, a hall of Sakyamuni and the Kun Iam Hall all have many smaller shrines which surround these main halls. Non Buddhists make the trek to this temple to take in the beautiful art work on the walls of these temples. Typical to its Ming Dynasty origins these halls feature detailed and intricate work making them more beautiful to look at.

A focal point of the Sakyamuni hall is the huge gilded statues, while the statute of Sakyamuni is in the centre. Another unique feature in this hall is that a 300 year old bell is used to invoke the blessings of the Gods.

Kun Iam Temple, during previous years was headed by a Monk called Dashan in the 1600s. Apart from all its religious trappings, the temple has some ancient artifacts in the form of literature and antiques which are rare and sure to enthrall visitors. The temple is also the home to an inscription regarding the reconstruction of the temple written during the Qing dynasty by Zhao Yunjing.

After an exhilarating day of exploring the Kun Iam Temple, tourists could take the Macau Ferry Terminal that is just five minutes away from the beautiful Sands Macau Resort Hotel.  Here, at this luxury Hotel in Macau guests could get pampered and ease those holiday tensions away. This resort hotel in Macau offers amazing ocean and city views while its restaurant offers delightful cuisines ranging from Cantonese dishes to steak cooked in a true Vegas style steak house.