Looking for a travel destination where the people are always smiling? You may want to consider Costa Rica for your next trip.
The New Economics Foundation has announced the findings of their Gallup World Poll in their Happy Planet Index. First the poll asked people to rate their quality of life on a scale from 1 to 10. Then, life expectancy and the amount of land necessary to sustain the country’s way of life were factored in. The top 10 happiest countries were found to be:
What do you want to be doing when the world ends in December? If your answer is exploring Mayan temples ruins, gazing upon volcanoes and waterfalls, and basking in Central America‘s warm autumn sun all from the seat of your mountain bike, then Tour d’Afrique has a pretty epic tour for you to consider.
Tour d’Afrique’s Doomsday Ride is a 2,300-kilometer (1,429-mile) transcontinental bike expedition along the “Ruta Maya” timed to coincide with the end of the world according to the Mayan Calendar. The trek begins in San Jose, Costa Rica, on November 17, 2012, and follows a winding, but well-scouted, route through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize. It concludes at the Lamani Mayan Temple outside of Belize City, Belize, on December 21, 2012 – the supposed date of the apocalypse.
Along the way, participants will get to check out Mayan ruins at Tikal and Copan; the great colonial architecture in the city of Granada, Nicaragua’s erstwhile capital; and villages, markets, rainforests, volcanoes, crater lakes and many other slices of life and nature off of the tourist track. If you can’t take off for the full five weeks of the expedition, Tour d’Afrique offers three shorter sections that average between 10 days and two weeks.
Expatify.com asked the question, “Where would you be the safest if World War III broke out tomorrow?” The answers arrived in a post titled “10 Best Places to Live for Avoiding World Conflict.” Irrelevant as it may seem to you, the claws of conflict affect a revolving roster of nations. The knowledge of where not to go because of conflict, or better yet, where to go to avoid it, can be useful if you’re planning to live, or even just spend some time, abroad. According to this article, countries that make the safety cut are: Switzerland, Costa Rica, Papua New Guinea, Canada, Seychelles, Finland, Tuvalu, Iceland, Bhutan, and New Zealand. Most of these choices make sense to me, based on what I know, but the undeniably gorgeous Seychelles seems like a somewhat uncertain choice. News stories covering the Somali pirates swarming the Seychelles area are prevalent. To be fair, I’m not convinced Somali pirates are a current threat for World War III. What are your thoughts? Where would you move in order to be as far removed from world conflict as possible?
Explore More Options with These Art Maps for the Home
If you prefer cute and cuddly animals to the Big Five on safari, you may want to consider a trip to the Netherlands. VICE’s Cute Show takes a look this week at a guinea pig village in Holland, where the hairy rodents go to “retire” when their owners can no longer look after them. You can adopt a guinea pig or just visit them (I’m partial to the scrappy and long-haired Droopy).
The guinea pig village is located in Bakkeveen, about 2 hours northeast of Amsterdam. It’s open Wednesdays and Saturdays to the public, more info available here. Guinea pigs not your thing? Watch the Cute Show visit baby sloths in Costa Rica.
Chicago’s Travel and Adventure Show runs this weekend and features stars from the Travel Channel, professional travel photographers, writers and 20 informative seminars over two days. A great way to preview or plan travel, these shows are held around the country, offering expert help. In person. Close to home.
On the West coast, the Los Angeles Times Travel Show presents two days of informative and inspiring travel talks and panels featuring many of today’s leading travel experts. Organized by topic, there are areas set aside to feature destinations, a culinary stage, a travel in style pavilion and more. In the Xtreme Adventure zone, Don Wildman, host of Travel Channel’s Off Limits and Mysteries at the Museum, Leon Logothetis, author, Amazing Adventures of a Nobody and others.
A little later, in March, comes the king daddy of shows, the New York Times Travel show, hosted by American Express, will feature nearly 500 exhibitors representing over 150 countries focusing on travel destinations, packages and special offers, as well as tour operators, cruise lines and live entertainment.
“American Express is thrilled to once again be the presenting sponsor of The New York Times Travel Show,” says Claire Bennett, senior vice president and general manager of American Express Travel. “We know that consumers love travel, and we are always happy to play a role in bringing this passion to life for them.”
This one even has an iPhone app that allows access to show information, exhibitor lists,
schedules, floor plans, and show specials. Users can also sign up for text alerts to receive
additional special offers, prizes, & more.