casthompson

I just came back from the island of Aruba.  To be honest, it was nothing like I expected.  There’s a saying floating around that goes “Once you’ve been to one island, you’ve seen em all.”  Not true for Aruba

I ended up resting my head in Oranjestad, which is the capital city and the hotel of choice was Talk of the Town.  Usually I shoot for the Marriot but once I began to do my research, I quickly discovered that this is by far the most expensive island in the Caribbean.

If you are traveling alone or with a bunch of fellas, Talk of the Town is adequate.   If you are with your lady friend, wife or family I highly suggest booking any hotel in the Palm Beach area.  This is purely for convenience.  The one thing that I’ve learned over the years is that men can tolerate minor inconveniences more than their female counterparts.  Besides, if you’ve saved up this long for Aruba, you might as well go all out!

The weather was perfect.  It was never too humid but being not to far from the equator, your skin may burn and you wouldn’t even know.   Little did I know that the island is very dry due to the lack of rain and cactus are everywhere.  Native Arubans were extremely friendly and at no point during my trip did I feel unsafe.  Brushing up on your Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese and Italian wouldn’t be bad though.

US money is excepted pretty much every where but Visa/Mastercard isn’t.  ATM machines will spit out cash and without a transaction fee.   As mentioned earlier, the island can get expensive but good food isn’t hard to find.  For those on a budget Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King and Quiznos are all within a mile of downtown.  But honestly, you’re on a tropical island, enjoy the fish and vegetables!

So, what makes Aruba so special?  There is no way you can run out of fun things to do.  Regardless is age, there are tons of activities.  The beaches are beatiful but the snorkeling, golfing, horse backriding, parasailing, diamond shopping, rock climbing, hiking, bar hopping, wave running, jungle touring, ATVing and history learning can keep you busy as well.

There is no need to plan ahead because all of these activities are non-stop.  Just go with an open wallet and an open mind and you will have a great time.

Travel Tips: To check out other places that I’ve been click here. All of my trips are booked via Expedia

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On July 7, 2007, The New Seven Wonders of The World were announced. Ever since I was a kid I knew that one of my “life” goals was to see as many, if not all, of the Wonders of the World before I died. When I looked at the New list, I knew that I had to make a start somewhere. The first stop on my tour… Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico.

I promise not to bore you with too much history but Chichen Itza is a must visit for any Tomb Raider, Indiana Jones loving guy like myself. If you want to tour or see Mayan Ruins up close, then this is it. It is nestled in the Yukaton Penisula roughly two hours away from Cancun.

Twice a year the temple does something amazing. Depending on clear skies the Chichen Itza Equinox occurs. The equinox cast sunlight through the mouth of the serpent located at the base and creates the effect of a snake crawling down the temple. Although I was there on September 22, I missed it because of a lack of sunlight

The observatory, El Caracol, was also a site to see. Little did I know that the Mayans were ahead of the game with their astrology and astronomy. Mathematically, they were just as advanced as the Egyptians and studying the moon and the stars was a daily ritual.

Above are the columns that represent the Temple of 1000 Warriors. Although the Mayans were known as geniuses, they were fighters as well. Many of the buildings that surround Itza display pictures as proof of human sacrifice and blood sport.

I was in Mexico for five days and it wasn’t all geeky and historical. As far as finding food, I mostly ate Mexican (I had to write it). The seafood was fresh and finding economical meals was not a problem at all. If you plan on visiting and you’re putting a budget together please, please plan ahead for tips. I have never been in as many awkward positions to tip as much as I was in the past few days. I don’t consider myself cheap at all but everyone expects a tip even if they didn’t work for it. 98% of everyone I met was friendly but it was hard to determine who was sincere and who was trying to hustle me.

At night, I laid my head at the J.W. Marriott which is located right along the Caribbean ocean in Cancun. I had no problems at the JW and I got around by good ole fashioned public transportation. History, great food, clear water and decent night entertainment made Mexico one of my best trips yet.

Travel Tips: To check out other places that I’ve been click here. All of my trips are booked via Expedia

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I officially have six months left before my Jamaican passport expires. Being the king of procrastination, I decided to hit your favorite blogger’s birthplace one more time on the current passport. I needed four days to relax, read some books and plan for the next four months and the seven mile beach area of Negril was perfect.

I flew Air Jamaica (using my Delta Skymiles) for the first time in years and realized that not much has changed. At the end of the day it’s an airline that is managed by Jamaicans so although they are trying to be courteous, if you ask for a pillow and your stewardess gives you a snarly face, it’s all good, you really didn’t need the pillow anyway.

I stayed at the Negril Tree House Resort which is situated right on the beach and is approximately a hour and half away from Montego Bay. If you are considering staying at the Tree House it is not a five star hotel but it is very suitable for being a beach bum and just hanging out. It is nestled between Grand Lido and it takes five minutes to walk to Margaritaville. I have to thank Savannah for the Red Stripe in the picture above. BTW, it’s a two minute walk from any of the 72 rooms at the Tree House right into the ocean.

The food was awesome. Above you have a tomato omelette, ackee with saltfish, yam and bananas, calaloo with a fried dumpling jump off. The Tree House had complimentary buffet style breakfast fresh every morning. If you are on a budget, jerk chicken and fried fish will keep your pocket’s happy. If you want to live it up there are tons of great restaurants along the beach. If you want to get your groove on check out Rick’s Cafe for a club feel or Alfreds for a Rasta basement party feel. The biggest disappointment was not being able to find a fresh piece of bun and cheese to top off my afternoon swims. The jerk pork and brown stew chicken made up for it. Check my gut after the break.

That being said, Negril is a great place to stay if you feel like doing nothing at all. It runs along the beach so the view is always great. It’s very laid back and the atmosphere is safe and inviting. I personally like Oche Rios better but you can definitely get your chill time on in the heart of Negril.

Travel Tips: To check out other places that I’ve been click here. All of my trips are booked via Expedia

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I just got back from a mini holiday in Puerto Rico. Stay away from the Miramar Hotel on Ponce de Leon. The complimentary wireless internet isn’t complimentary at all. What’s ironic is that in this day and age the ability to “work” would be a decision making factor when picking hotels. Funny.

Travel Tips: To check out other places that I’ve been click here. All of my trips are booked via Expedia

Technorati Tags: puerto rico, miramar

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I just came back from Paradise island and it was amazing!!I can’t compare it to Bermuda, Hawaii or Puerto Rico because it was a different type of trip. It was a business trip so my thoughts are a little biased because it was all expense paid. We stayed at the Atlantis Resort which is nothing short of pure luxary. I did a little research and se

en it on tv a few times but being there was a whole other story. It’s basically where celebrities take vacations. Pamela Anderson and Jada P. Smith were there while I was there and Jordan, Oprah and Nicholas Cage all own homes on the island.

Even though it’s not all inclusive, the hotel has 22 restaurants and there are tons of places to eat off of the island. It’s a five class hotel with a wide range of options to keep you busy. The hotel has tons of pools, three beaches, two night clubs, a full service casino, spa, business center, wi-fi access, full service marina and so on and so forth.

Just like PR and Bermuda, I didn’t rent a car. No need to. Everything is on this island and getting to the main island was simple. You can do it by ferry or taxi.

If you’re thinking about a vacation, honeymoon, family vacation or weekend with the boys, you can definitely do it here.

Have your wallet straight though. The average cost per night is $350 and food can get expensive. Airline tickets cost close to nothing if you plan right. Usually expedia does the job for me if you give them enough time.

I’ll be back after I stack a few more chips…. hmmm maybe Freeport is a little cheaper :

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Im back home from a relaxing week in Bermuda.

Crisp air, fresh cut grass, tons of history, unlimited sailing and wireless internet….. who could want more.

Travel Tips: To check out other places that I’ve been click here. All of my trips are booked via Expedia

Technorati Tags: bermuda, vacation

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I’ve been back for a week and everyone is asking for pics. Overall, this was one of my best trips ever (kawau’s beauty is hard to match). Pretty much if you need to relax but still have the beach, casinos, clubs and bars, great food, salsa music and beautiful people (women) all around you, then Puerto Rico is it. I stayed in San Juan’s Condado Beach Area in the Marriott. My ultimate goal was to get away from my cell phone and the internet but the wireless access in the hotel kept calling me. In the four days that I was there I got everything that I wanted to do, done. Day 1 – Relax and then walk the streets of San Juan, Day 2 – Hit the Beach Hard, Day 3 – Visit historic Old San Juan then Modern Plazas de Americas mall, Day 4 – Chill. If you need to do some shopping, Old San Juan is perfect. Surprisingly enough, they have everything that we have…. Makes sense though since its a US territory….. except, NO TAXES….

Transportation was a breeze…. I walked and took the bus everywhere i needed to go…. ahhhh, i lied….. I took a cab from the mall cause the bus ride to the mall was intense. The buses only cost .25, so getting around was cheap; if you don’t mind riding with native citizens.

Food? What can i say? It’s puerto rico….. No complaints…. Every kind of meal for every kind of budget. But please don’t leave the island without tasting the arroz con pollo.

Im brushing up on my Spanish right now… I’ll be back PR

P.S. Reggaeton is everywhere!

Travel Tips: To check out other places that I’ve been click here. All of my trips are booked via Expedia

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I had to run to Key West for business but I had fun along the way.

The island wasn’t quite what I expected. It was my first time and I was expecting it to be beachy. The weather and people were excellent and I guess if you’re into fishing, it would be ideal. Thanks to Jonathan, I hit Duval St. pretty hard.

The food was great, Cuban and seafood if you’re into that whole seafood thing and transportation is tight. It’s a small island so renting a moped is the way to go…... worth checking out.

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