Posts Tagged ‘beaches’

Sydney, Australia: One Of The Most Beautiful Cities On Earth

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

Always a magnificent vacation no matter what time of the year, Sydney is a city that has a great deal to offer tourists from across the world. With its fantastic dining experiences, amazing towering high rises and incredible suburbs it is a destination that a multitude of people are proud to visit and that many call home.

Frequently considered the capital of this area it is a city that is rich in everything that makes Aussie living wondrous. The remarkable shore line, that surrounds this city, is merely one of the distinctive features making it a delightful vacation hot spot. Other well liked areas for vacationers to go to are the surrounding bushland region, which is almost entirely undisturbed by man. A land of concrete surrounded by fruit would be a way to define the streets of downtown Sydney and it is an amazingly refreshing contrast to most of the other larger cityscapes worldwide.

Sydney truly began to gain popularity after the 2000 Olympics, for which the city spent four solid years revamping and renovating. Their efforts definitely paid off, since this brought Sydney, in all its glory, into the homes of millions of television viewers, in addition to all who took in the elegance of the city first hand during the games. It was a turning point for Sydney and one that has impacted the all round growth of the region, in locations of tourism and eye appeal.

Sydney is an excellent location to take a trip because it’s truly a world class location which is rich in nightlife, shopping and cultural exhibits of art and local talent. A wonderful experience for all who visit, Sydney provides a distinctive and unusual city experience that far surpasses any location in the world.

Whether you decide on Sydney as your main location or choose to tour the complete region, including visits in Melbourne and Brisbane. This will be an experience of a lifetime and one that you will not soon forget.

With the several sydney hotels to select from, one may find it difficult to decide on which is more suitable for their requirements. For a complete list of available accommodation sydney cbd stop by www.sydneyinformationcentre.com.au

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Feeling Down and Out, Bucko? Time To Begin Planning Your Costa Rica Vacation

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

Everybody seems to be hunkered down in a funk. The leaves have fallen, the days are getting colder. The Boys of Summer are freezing their bats off and nearly ready to put them away until Spring. A Costa Rica vacation may be just what the doctor ordered. Here are some great reasons to take that Costa Rica vacation now.

1. Airfares are unbelievable right now. They have not been this cheap for years. And, with Costa Rica tourism down by about 15% this year, an informed and frugal traveler can really take advantage of the plight of hotels and resorts. Luxury resorts like the Hilton Papagayo are offering rates around $160.00 a night, seniors pay even less, and more budget-conscious folks who travel Costa Rica can stay at very nice Costa Rica hostels (some with private rooms) for about $12.00. For the best bargains, visit between May and mid-November. Tip: look for a cash discount because many places offer substantial price reductions for cash. Do not be shy: ask and ye shall receive!

2. Visit one or more of hundreds of pristine Costa Rica beaches. Uncrowded, tropical beaches on two coasts. Black sand beaches, brown sand beaches, sea shell beaches, rugged rock-strewn beaches. Explore the same Caribbean beach where Columbus named Costa Rica 600 years ago. Fish off of Drake Bay, named after Sir Francis Drake, who visited the Costa Rica Pacific coast a decade before sinking the Spanish Armada and saving England.

3. Frolic on the same Costa Rica beaches as Britney Spears or Mel Gibson (you need to bring your own Russian model). Do not forget to bring your surfboard because some of the best surfing on the planet is found here. Most beaches are completely free but if you prefer to visit a very popular national beach park called Manuel Antonio, there will be a small entry fee.

4. Consider becoming an ecotourist. Check out Ostional National Preserve on the fabulous Gold Coast, where thousands of olive ridley sea turtles come ashore in massive nestings, called “arribadas”, perhaps the largest spectacle of its kind in the world. Arribadas occur year-round but the biggest (sometimes involving hundreds of thousands of turtles) typically are when the moon is in its last quarter during the months of July to November. Or, head over to the Caribbean coast and tour Tortuguero National Park, the biggest green sea turtle nesting preserve on earth.

5. Costa Rica has been called the “Switzerland of Latin America.” This mountainous little country has nearly as many species of birds as in the entire continental U.S., nearly 1000 in all. You can hike every inch of Africa without seeing as many species of butterflies as Costa Rica has. One of every five animal and plant species on the world are found in this country.

6. If you are adventurous and fit, visit magnificent Corcovado National Park on the southern Pacific Coast, a place National Geographic calls “the most biologically intense place on earth.” Though small, it is true wilderness that hosts the largest remaining population of scarlet macaws in Latin America, including crocodiles, monkeys, and six kinds of wild cat, including the spectacular jaguar, all living in some of the tallest primary forest remaining in this region of the world. Bring your camera, bandaids for blisters, and mosquito repellant.

Writer Victor Krumm lives in Costa Rica. Visit his acclaimed website about Costa Rica Vacations and be sure to check out the magnificent Seven Wonders of Costa Rica

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Costa Rica Sea Turtle Satellite Tagging Expedition

Saturday, September 5th, 2009

Recently, a Costa Rica based scientific fin and satellite tagging expedition got underway at Cocos Island to study the migration patterns of marine turtles.

Marine researchers, scientists, and conservation volunteers spent some 30 hours boating to the island in their quest for more knowledge about these ancient marine animals.

They are engaged in a kind of scientific working Costa Rica vacation that they hope will contribute to preserving these incredible animals now endangered in much of their range.

Cocos Island was described by the famous oceanographer, Jacque Cousteau, as the most beautiful island he had ever encountered. The small island, only about nine square miles in size, lies some 340 miles off the Pacific shoreline of Costa Rica, almost halfway to the Galapagos Islands.

It was not the lovely palms or beaches that enthralled Captain Cousteau. Its beauty is just off its shores, under water, in a place that Costa Ricans have voted as one of the Seven Wonders of Costa Rica. It is there that one finds priceless treasure: vast numbers of fish, whales, porpoises, and turtles.

Since the days of dinosaurs sea turtles have roamed the world’s seas.

The mighty Tyrannosaurus preyed on them more than 200 million years ago as they came ashore to nest.

These ancient beings are found in all the seas on the globe except the frozen Arctic and Antarctic.

Sadly , no more. Today, our unrestrained beach development and robbing of their nests have put them at risk. Millions have been in South America to make expensive Italian shoes.

The prescient Captain Cousteau remarked that: “If we go on the way we have, the fault is our greed and if we are not willing to change, we will disappear from the face of the globe, to be replaced by the insect.” A being visiting from another planet might conclude that such a result would be just.

However, more and more governments and conservation organizations are trying to restore at least some turtle populations. International treaties relating to sea turtles are now in place, though many countries have yet to implement them. Conservation organizations, scientists, and researchers have begun tagging ocean roaming turtles in far away places like Cocos Island, the Galapagos, Columbia, and other areas. Some animals are fitted with numbered flipper tags while others bear satellite transmitters that are tracked around the clock. It is all part of an effort to monitor their migration patterns.

These taggingvolunteers, scientists, and researchers know that marine turtles can be around another 200 million years but only if men pay more attention to protecting them than exploiting them.

The writer, Victor Krumm posts from tropical Costa Rica. Follow his lovely site Costa Rica Vacations and for info about marine turtles check out Sea Turtles

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