World’s Sexiest Beaches for 2009, Part 2
If you missed it, here is the first part to the sexiest beaches of 2009. Here is the conclusion of the list of the Sexiest and Most Beautiful Beaches of 2009.
Mazunte, Mexico
Originally known for the turtles coming ashore, and therefor turtle meat and turtle soup, Mexico has since declared Mazunte a reserve, and the area has started to focus on sustainable eco-tourism. So if you are in to saving the planet, but doing it from the comfort of a beach, then this is for you.
Goa, India
Goa, India has a number of beaches. From very well touristed beaches to secluded ones. If you can find a spot for yourself, you could definitely enjoy the view.
Skiathos, Greece
Back to the Mediterranean, to Skiathos, Greece. Skiathos is a small island that is a protected environment, so it will never see much development. That is excellent news for those wanting to head to the beach. It will always be a very natural beach setting.
Ambergris Caye, Belize
Ambergris Caye is the largest island in Belize, which is in the Caribbean. No matter what you like to do, you can find it here. Exploring Mayan ruins, trekking through the jungle, snorkeling and scuba on the second largest coral reef in the world, and of course, swimming in the Caribbean and laying on the beach.
Hawksnest Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Hawknest Bay Beach is a National Park Beach. That means no hotels, no restaurants, no resorts no interruptions. Just you and the beach. Maybe some coral formations and forests and rocks to climb, but mostly the beach.
Santa Catarina, Brazil
If you are into surfing, then you definitely want to check out Sanata Catarina, Brazil. Many international surfing championships have been held here, and you can get a piece of the action. Also, Brazilian nightlife, beaches, the southern Atlantic, what else would you want?
Montauk, Long Island, New York
At the end of Long Island, Montauk claims to be one of the best spots in East Hampton. If anyone has watched the new USA Network show Royal Pains, you’ll have seen the Hamptons. However, it stretches the truth a bit, the median income is around $42,000, not millions. Although quite a bit north of many of our other beaches, it does have a warmer climate zone than you would think. Plus, on a clear day you can see Rhode Island.
Posted on November 13, 2009 Filed Under Beaches to go See, Recommended Beaches and Places, Travel | 1 Comment
The World’s Sexiest Beach for 2009, Part 1
It’s that time again, time for Concierge.com to release its 2009 list of the most beautiful and sexiest beaches in the world.
Sometimes I think I shouldn’t read these lists, because they just make me want to leave everything behind and head for some waves.
For past years lists, see the Sexiest Beaches for 2007, and the most beautiful and sexy beaches for 2008. Here is part 1 on the list for 2009;
The Baths, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
With natural pools and grottoes formed by giant slabs of concrete, you will almost always be able to find some privacy at The Baths in Virgin Gorda, BVI.
The Baths are also a great place for snorkeling and Scuba diving with lots of great coral formations.
Muizenberg Beach, Cape Town, South Africa
Muizenberg Beach is a perfect beach for almost every activity, nice moderate waves, yet still some great ones for surfing. Dolphin and whales can be seen not far from here. Muizenberg Beach is set in a Victorian style town for added atmosphere.
Zuma Beach (Malibu), California
Located in Southern California, Zuma Beach is one of the best known beaches on the West Coast. Some rate it as one of the best for surfing.
You can also see dolphins many times when you swim at Zuma Beach.
Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica
South of San Jose on the Pacific Coast, this is what I call a beach bum paradise. Beaches surrounded by forests, mangroves and lagoons. Coral reefs make this great for snorkeling and scuba, and rain forests make it perfect for those looking for some adventure and wilderness. Here is a Costa Rica map.
Hvar, Croatia
If you are looking to go to the Mediterranean, then check out Hvar, Croatia. It has been a center of tourism for over 140 years, and is considered one of the top 10 most beautiful islands in the world.
Homegrown grapes and olives make Hvar the only place if you are into local food and wine.
Gold Coast, Australia
It’s Australia. Do I need to say more?
With many, many beaches, you can pick and choose the beach that fits you, from beaches for kids, for surfing, for snorkeling, everything you want is on the Gold Coast.
Varadero Beach, Cuba
Varadero Beach is known by many as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
It has over 20 miles of beaches, which should make it easy to find a nice private spot. However, it is also one of the largest resorts in the Caribbean, so there will be a lot of people.
This isn’t the end of the list, read part 2 of the world’s most beautiful beaches.
Posted on November 12, 2009 Filed Under Beaches to go See, Recommended Beaches and Places, Travel | 1 Comment
Primal Sky – Caballero Del Mar
Recently, I was sent a CD through my blog here. I have talked about beach music a number of times before, and he thought that I might like this.
Music and the beach go together. Some just fits for unknown reasons (like Darko Rundek), other for more obvious reasons (like Bob Marley and Jimmy Buffett). But when it comes to the beach and the ocean, of style of music stands out ahead of all others, surf music. I have loved surf music ever since I first heard the deep guitar of Miserlou as a kid. So what I was expecting to hear when I played this CD was a lot different than what it actually is.
Primal Sky combines so many types of music, it’s hard to describe. My first impression was that of a New Age artist surfing in Mexico while listening to some acid jazz, and it works. It works fantastically.
The album Caballero Del Mar is one of the more relaxing albums I’ve listened to in a while. I could definitely see myself coming out of the ocean after riding some waves (if I lived somewhere that I could surf of course) and turning on some Primal Sky.
I was scared at first, the name of the band sounds sort of like a death metal band, but it is very misleading. Here is a sample of what you can expect. This song is called Flamenco Beach.
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Posted on November 6, 2009 Filed Under Music | 3 Comments
Jamaican Vacation Part 1 – Sunday
Today was the first day of our vacation to Negril Jamaica.
We left very early in the morning, about 5:00 AM. It made for a very long day and trip. We also had only about 30-45 minutes in Charlotte airport to get to our second plane.
The driver fom Rondel Village (John) was at the Montego Bay Airport waiting for us when we got there. He drove very fast and passed just about everyone on the road. I was fine with that as I really wanted to get to our hotel to get to the beach.
One thing to remember, not everybody exchanges money at the same rate, so make sure you go to the airport exchange. At the airport we had a rate of 88 Jamaican dollars to every 1 US dollar. At the hotel, it was 80 Jamaican to 1 US. So we actually recieved more money at the airport than we would of at the hotel. The restaurant at the hotel also had an exchange of 90:1. So we saved some money there too. For more information, read my previous post on how to get the best exchange rate.
Once we got to the Rondel Village, we had to wait quite a while for our room. Apparently a big tour bus was in the process of checking out, so our room wasn’t clean yet. We also got there very early, so it was understandable. We ended going to the restaurant before our room because I was hungry.
The music at the restaurant was very loud, although it could have seemed louder that day because we had been traveling all morning and just wanted to relax.
We did get to the beach today, which was my whole goal in leaving so early. I wanted to make sure that I was able to get in the ocean every day of our vacation.
I also got some jerk chicken today, and it wasn’t the last time this trip.
Posted on August 11, 2009 Filed Under Beach Vacations, Jamaica Vacation, Jamaica, Beaches, and the Caribbean | 1 Comment
Cancun Vacation Beaches Closed
Cancun, Mexico Vacation Closed for Sand Stealing
If you were planning on going to Cancun for a vacation, you might not be able to.
A beach in Cancun was shut down for stealing sand. That’s right, stealing sand. After Hurricane Wilma in 2005, much of the sand on the beach was washed away, and since then, sand has been pumped in from the ocean floor, but has been washed away.
The Gran Caribe Real Hotel has been stealing sand by building breakwaters to keep the sand in front of their hotel. However, this stops the natural movement of sand and keeps it away from the other Cancun, Mexico hotels and beaches.
Really, if there isn’t any sand, what’s the point of going to the beach?
Posted on July 31, 2009 Filed Under Beach News and Stories, Beach and Vacation Travel Tips and Help, Beaches to Avoid | 1 Comment
Sturgis Bike Rally in SD
The 69th Annual Sturgis Rally is coming up on August 3rd through the 9th. This isn’t the beach, but it is something to go to.
I heard that the people in Deadwood, SD like the bike rally people better than the Corvette people. The bikers are more polite, cleaner and better behaved.
If you are in to traveling on a motorcycle, and would like to go to Sturgis, just don’t miss all the great things that South Dakota has, such as Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, the Badlands, etc. They got all kinds of stuff.
Posted on July 29, 2009 Filed Under Not Much to do with the Beach, Travel | Leave a Comment
Negril, Jamaica Holiday Vacation
What a vacation.
Rondel Village was a beautiful hotel in Negril, Jamaica. It was clean, had great service, and was almost right in the middle of the beach.
These are pictures from our room. You can see that we were right on the beach. Although the entire beach is lined with hotels, Negril the city is actually surrounded by cliffs. This is one thing you have to watch when searching for cheap hotels in Jamaica, if they don’t say beachfront rooms, then they are most likely on the cliffs, and don’t have beaches close.
If you are looking for a vacation or holiday in Jamaica, I would definitely recommend Rondel Village. The restaurant had great food, and there were always people at the bar. However, it wasn’t a party atmosphere, which I liked.
Tours in Jamaica can range in price from cheap to expensive. Going through the hotel is probably not the best idea, rather go through another agency, or ask a taxi driver.
I will be going into much more detail about places we went and things we did in Jamaica in later posts.
See the first day of our Jamaican Vacation here.
Posted on July 29, 2009 Filed Under Beach Vacations, Beaches to go See, Jamaica Vacation, Travel, Vacation Time | 1 Comment
10 Best Beaches for Finding Shells
There was a story at Travel and Leisure about the best shelling beaches in America a few weeks back. These beaches are all over the country and you can find many kinds of shells and more. Especially after a storm, anything can wash up on shore.
Calvert Cliffs State Park, Maryland
Located on the Chesapeake Bay, you can find anything from shark teeth, to snails, to sea glass and even arrowheads.
Ocracoke Island, North Carolina
The Outer Banks are a beautiful, and sometimes empty place to be. Because it is such a long drive to the end, you could be virtually alone on Ocracoke Island. There are many types of shells to find including sand dollars, whelks and cowry helmets.
Sanibel Island, Florida
Because of its location by the continental shelf and the warm waters of the Gulf, you can find more shells than you can carry at Sanibel Island. Some of the shells you’ll find are coquinas, scallops, whelks, and sand dollars.
Point No Point Beach, Hansville, Washington
Located on Puget Sound, you can see almost everything from this beach, a lighthouse, whales and Mt Rainier. You can even rent a room at the oldest lighthouse in the sound. The shells you see there are dogwinkles, limpets, and geoducks.
Gulf Islands National Seashore, Pensacola, Florida
At the edge of the Panhandle on the Gulf Coast, you’ll find these islands off of Pensacola. They are apparently unspoiled by hotels and such, so you can find just about anything. They have comb bittersweets, coquinas, lucinas, sand dollars, and augers.
Shipwreck Bay, Lanai, Hawaii
Of course, just being in Hawaii is good enought reason to go, but if you are into shelling, then this is one place you can’t miss. You can find shells along with all kinds of treasure from boats and other man made things. Some of the shells you’ll find are violet snails, leopard cones, imperial cones, sea slug shells and even on rare occasions, blown-glass floats from Japanese fishing nets.
Cumberland Island, Georgia
You can take a ferry out to Cumberland Island and rent a bike from a park ranger. You can ride your bike down to Dungeness Beach and find all kinds of shells, even a mansion built by the Carnegies. The shells that are home to Cumberland Island are coquinas, shark teeth, heart cockles, ark shells and moon snails.
Point Reyes National Seashore, California
Just north of San Fransicso, you can find Point Reyes. It is home to many species that are beautiful, but also poisonous. The tidepools catch all kinds of animals and shells, including ocher stars, mossy chitons, razor clamshells, and goose barnacle.
San Jose Island, Texas
Along the islands of the gulf coast of Texas, you’ll find San Jose Island. With no cars, this island becomes a beautiful, quiet, relaxing beach. Add in some shells and phosphorescent plankton at night and you can have a great time. Some of the shells you’ll find are sundials, shark’s eyes, and caramel-rippled lightning whelks the size of your fist.
Silver Strand State Beach, Coronado Island, California
Silver Strand State Beach gets it’s name from the oysters that are littered across the shoreline. But oysters are not all that it has to offer. Other shells include sand dollars, cockles, limpets, and scallops.
Posted on July 2, 2009 Filed Under Beach Vacations, Beaches to go See | Leave a Comment
How to Relax on Vacation
Have you ever gone on vacation and then come back feeling just as bad as you did before you left?
Or have you felt that your vacation just wasn’t as good as it could have been?
Vacations come way too infrequently to not enjoy them to the fullest, and I have the answer for how to relax on vacation. Well, I have the answer that works for me. Everyone is different. Some people want adventure, like the Indiana Jones vacation. Others (like me) like to relax. In my last post, I explained how to make your vacation last longer. In this post I will let you in on my secret list to relax.
1. Relax
Sounds simple, I know, but it’s true. If you want to get recharged and enjoy yourself, then don’t start running all over the place. Running around like a chicken with its head cut off is for back when you are at work.
2. Keep Your Expectations Low
Low? Seriously? Yes, seriously. If your goal is to sit on a beach and read a book, then don’t plan on doing everything you can. If you get out and see some sites, then great; you did more than you planned on. Just don’t try to plan too much when you don’t really want to.
3. Adapt, and Overcome
Things change. You have to accept it and deal with it. Sometime we make plans to go do something, and then you can’t do it. Don’t get upset, just go do something else. See #1 and #2.
4. Take the Day After Vacation Off
I know many people who, if they have five days of vacation, they will leave on Friday night, spend all week on vacation, and get home the next Sunday night. This is the worst thing you can do. You enjoy your vacation, then kill yourself by trying to squeeze every last bit out of it. If you get home, and have the next day or two off of work, then you are still technically on vacation, but you aren’t paying for it.
Do the same thing you were doing on vacation, go sit on your deck and read, find something fun to do. RELAX!
5. Don’t do the Tourist Thing
This can be a hard thing to do. If you’ve never been somewhere, you want to see all the tourist spots. However, if you go to a certain place a lot (like we go to Newport, Rhode Island) then stay away from anything touristy. Go and do things that the locals do.
6. Eat Where the Locals Eat
This is the most important point to me. If you eat at tourst places, most likely you are eating the same thing you can get at home. Find where the locals go and eat with them. You enjoy finding new places, and you can relax because the local places will almost always be cheaper than the tourist or chain restaurants.
This list is made form experience. My wife and I have had our share of vacations that felt rushed and short. But last year, we had the best vacation we’ve ever had. We had no plans but to sit on the beach, and we fulfilled every plan we made.
Do you have any tips on how to relax on vacation? Let us know in the comments.
Posted on June 25, 2009 Filed Under Beach and Vacation Travel Tips and Help, Vacation Time | Leave a Comment
Extend Your Vacation
I just read a great post on the Chicago Tribune about extending your vacation. The writer (Mary Schmich) gives 10 tips to make your vacation last longer.
I do think that these are some great tips, and most of them I have already done.
- Start Your Vacation Early: By using the internet, you can look at where you’re going, and get yourself excited and in the mood before you ever start.
- Clean the House Before You Leave: This one is easy as my wife can’t stand to come home to a dirty house even on a normal day, nevermind after vacation. Doing this means you don’t have to do any work when you get home.
- Bad Habits: See #4
- More Bad Habits: Basically, get out of your routine. Make your life different while on vacation. For the second part of this, if you can’t get out of your routine, then go somewhere that makes the routine impossible. Go somewhere without internet, or TV.
- Do Something New: This sort of goes along with #4. Do something different to make your vacation special. If you do everything exactly the same as when you are home, what’s the point of going on vacation?
- Get Some Sleep: This is a good tip, even if you think it might not be. A lot of people might say “I want to get the most out of my vacation, no sleep for me”, but that means you’ll be tired and not enjoy it as much. Also, it means that you won’t feel rested when you get home.
- Act Like You’re Still on Vacation: Even after you get home, act like you are still on vacation. Relax, read a book, don’t work. This will make the transition easier and not so stressful. This is why I usually come back a bit before I have to go back to work so I can still have time to get back into the swing of things.
- Don’t Buy Crap: Yes, everyone wants some souvenirs to take home, but don’t buy something that is just going to sit around and collect dust.
- You Live in a Vacation Destination: This was written for Chicago, but many places are in fact vacation destinations. I live in a boring little town called Canton, but every year in July people come from all over the country (even the world) to Canton for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival. Most places have something to offer. Enjoy these places through the summer to get out of your routine.
- Get Back Online: After you’re done, look at all those bookmarks that you had on you’re browser from when you were planning your vacation. Remember the places you went, the people you met, and the things you did. Keep the vacation memories alive.
So what do you think? Do you have any tips for keeping your vacation going?
Posted on June 10, 2009 Filed Under Beach and Vacation Travel Tips and Help, Travel, Vacation Time | Leave a Comment
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