(Waianapanapa State Park in Maui; all photos by Maggie Overfelt Valentine) When I visited Maui on my honeymoon, we didn’t make it through the entire Road to Hana, a drive that has become a popular rite of passage for visitors to the island. Maui’s Highway 360 (aka Hana Highway or Road to Hana), features more […]

(photos by Rebecca Webber) Colombia isn’t on most American travelers’ short lists. But its Caribbean city of Cartagena, whose well-preserved port is a UNESCO site and firmly on the cruise-ship circuit, is becoming more and more popular — especially with a direct flight from Fort Lauderdale on Spirit Air. At the end of May, Rebecca […]

I have written about the great meals we had in Florence. But I have not yet written about the fabulous gelato we had there. In Florence (as well as in Venice and Rome), it seems as if they sell gelato about every five feet. If you get an urge for something cold and sweet, you're […]

When I went to Cappodocia, the central region of Turkey whose landscape resembles the American Southwest, I stayed in the town of Goreme, which is famous for the “painted churches” at the Goreme Open-Air Museum. From behind my hotel, Sultan Cave Suites, I could easily see Uchisar Castle (pictured above), which is in the next […]

(The Castle at Sidon; all photos by Heather Cowper of Heather on her travels on Flickr) Guest blogger Heather Cowper spent a week in June driving around Lebanon with a friend to see the sights. Heather has her own wonderful travel blog, Heatheronhertravels.com, but the Bristol, England, native was kind enough to share her thoughts […]

If you want to see the Roman ruins and really get a feel of how the city must have looked when the buildings were fully intact during ancient times, then don’t go after dark. Because they definitely were not lit up at night like this. At least not according to the history books.

If you’re planning a trip to Venice, you’re probably thinking that you want to take a ride in gondola. Then you get there and you find out that it’s going to cost you a minimum of €80. You start second-guessing your plan, thinking that perhaps it’s not absolutely essential that you participate in this time-honored […]

We decided to splurge on our hotel in Rome, choosing the beautiful historic Hotel Eden, which we got at a pretty good rate from Hotels.com. We really enjoyed staying there but, like many fancy hotels, Internet access wasn’t free. Nope, it was €25 a day plus tax. We’re somewhat addicted to the Internet — and […]

Separated by the Bosphorus, the city of Istanbul spans two continents: Europe and Asia. Like most tourists, we stayed on the European side, specifically in the Sultanahmet, which is the historic center. But we were excited to venture over to Asia, so we caught the ferry at Galata Bridge to the neighborhood of Uskadar. It […]

(Temples of Bagan; photos by Jeremy Willinger) Guest blogger Jeremy Willinger just got back from a solo trip through Southeast Asia, where he visited Burma (aka Myanmar), Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. He was especially struck by Burma which, he warns, requires careful planning for even the most adventuresome of travelers. Here, he shares his experiences […]