Frommer’s reveals top destinations for 2012

by Libby Zay on

What destination are you dreaming of for 2012? The staff at Frommer’s have just unveiled their list of top travel destinations for the coming year. Included in the list is a little something for everyone: large metropolises, secluded beach towns, colorful riverside villas, and more.

But Frommer’s didn’t just rely on their expert editors and author’s for this years list–they also polled readers to find out where they wanted to visit in 2012. Click through the gallery below to see Frommer’s (and their reader’s) picks–including one surprising midwestern city that is the only spot in the United States to make the cut.
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Other Winners:
Top Family Destination: Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Top Cruise Destination: Tromso, Norway
Top Beach Destination: Hanalei Beach, Kauai, Hawaii
Top Adventure Destination: Moab, Utah
Top Food & Drink Destination: Lima, Peru
Top City Break Destination: Chicago, Illinois
Top Endangered Destination: Aysen Region, Chile
Top Value Destination: Albanian Riviera
Top Destination to Get Lost: Whitsunday Islands, Australia

Mexico’s The Tides Resort has a luxury soap concierge

by McLean Robbins on

We’ve heard of concierge programs, pillow menus and even hand-drawn specialty baths to help you relax and unwind while on vacation. But Mexico’s Tides Resort in the Riviera Maya has taken luxury and relaxation a step further with a Soap Concierge.

You read that correctly. A Soap Concierge.

Arriving at the Tides, you are welcomed with a “Mayan Blessing” by the luxury resort’s own shaman, and are personally escorted to your villa by your mayordomo. Then the Soap Concierge arrives to explain and provide this special personalized service.

I’m pretty sure we’d need some explanation too.

The simple story: A variety of soaps are presented in different scents and types – each offering a different experience. When you make your selections, the Soap Concierge slices your personalized bars from large blocks of soap.

Very nice. They REALLY want you to be clean.

The artisanal soaps are made in local Mayan communities following ancient Mayan traditions. They are formulated with organic ingredients found on the Yucatan Peninsula. The wide array of scents ranges from lemon and chocolate to rosemary, peach and oatmeal.

Are you hungry yet? We are.

The available scents change with the seasons, from cinnamon in winter to melon during spring. Each also has a unique property; for instance, oatmeal is excellent for exfoliating, the lemon is refreshing, and the chocolate great for relaxation.

We’re still hungry.

Depending on your length of stay, the Soap Concierge generally offers two or more bars of soap, which are cut in front of them. But if you would like to try additional varieties, the Concierge is happy to bring more selections of these aromatic treats.

You ask, the Soap Concierge will give.

If you want to take the soaps home – to remind you of your time The Tides or to share with family and friends – they are available for purchase in the resort gift shop.

Because there’s no such thing as a free soap.

“Border Crisis” tour shows realities of life on Arizona-Mexico border

by Melanie Renzulli on


No matter what side of the fence you may be on regarding the U.S. immigration debate, there’s a tour in Arizona that wants to show you what migrant life is like along the U.S.-Mexico border. Gray Line Tours of Arizona now offers the tour Border Crisis: Fact or Fiction, which is designed to give travelers an apolitical look at a very sensitive subject.

Gray Line’s Border Crisis tour will take visitors to see the border fence, a pedestrian bridge connecting the United States and Mexico, and a working ranch that straddles the border. Travelers will get to watch Customs and Border Protection Agents in action and take a walk through the desert where hundreds of migrants try to cross into the U.S. each year. Another stop on the Border Crisis tour introduces travelers to 65-gallon plastic tanks installed by Humane Borders, a humanitarian organization whose “sole mission is to take death out of the immigration equation.” “It’s a hundred-and-something degrees out here. You’re dying of thirst. That’s what this is for, with or without a map, whether you found it on purpose or whether you stumbled across it,” says tour operator Bob Feinman in this CNN article about the tour.

Border Crisis: Fact or Fiction begins today and operates approximately every two weeks through next spring. The cost is $89 and it includes lunch.

Photo courtesy Gray Line Tours

Video of the Day – Mexican Holiday

by Stephen Greenwood on

Sometimes, choosing the right song to cut your travel videos to makes all the difference. Exhibit A – today’s Video of the Day, shot by Argentinian motion graphics designer Molokoso.

The footage was shot entirely on a pocket camera (Lumix TZ10) equipped with an underwater housing and edited to “Bombay” by Spanish musician El Guincho. The song lends it an irresistible upbeat tone which brings all of the fun & adventure that Mexico has to offer alive.

Did you capture any of your summer adventures on video? Edit them, pick a fun song, and share it with us – it could be our next Video of the Day!

Last minute tropical Labor Day getaways

by McLean Robbins on

Ready, set, book. The East Coast was largely spared the wrath of Hurricane Irene and no other pending tropical storms are threatening to ruin your upcoming three-day weekend. Why not jet away for a quick tropical vacation? From the East Coast, many Caribbean islands are a nonstop flight away, and from the west and Texas, Mexico is an easy jaunt.

Consider the following great last-minute Labor Day packages and head out on an impromptu trip:

Puerto Rico & The Virgin Islands
CheapCaribbean.com is offering package deals starting at $359 with departures on September 4th and 5th. The four-star Grand Melia golf resort in Puerto Rico is discounted from its normal price of $799 for a four-night stay, and the three-star Chenay Beach is just $399.

Cruise Crazy
Cruise.com is having a massive Labor Day sale. The Norwegian Spirit sails Sept. 4 from New Orleans to Costa Maya, Roatan, Belize City and Cozumel for $499. Upgrade to an ocean view cabin for just $100 more. Other Labor Day deals include:

  • 6 nights to the Western Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale on the Carnival Freedom for $399
  • 7 nights to the Western Caribbean from Port Canaveral on the Carnival Dream for $479
  • 7 nights to the Bahamas from New York City on the Norwegian Jewel for $649
  • 7 nights to the Western Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale on the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas for $745

Airfare to the Bahamas, San Juan, San Jose and Cancun
Forget the two-week rule, you can still snag decently-priced round trip tickets. We used Fly.com and found rates as low as $201 for flights departing between August 30th and September 3rd, returning September 4th through September 7th. Fly Boston to Nassau for $336 round trip, Atlanta to Cancun for $306 roundtrip and Orlando to San Juan for $201 round trip, plus many more.

Cabo
West Coasters love the ease of access and upscale luxury to be found in Cabo San Lucas. Time2Cabo.com has a number of packages, including a three-night all-inclusive options at Solmar Beach Resort for $822, a three-night fishing package at Marina Fiesta Resort & Spa for $349 per night and daily breakfast and a fourth night free in the “Suite Romance” package at Esperanza for $5,630.

Riviera Maya
The luxurious Ceiba del Mar in the Riviera Maya is offering special savings for Labor Day weekend, with rates from $129 per night and include European Plans with daily breakfast or Luxury Gourmet Plans with a-la-carte meals at the resort’s restaurants, as well as snacks and premium beverages such as wine by the glass and top-shelf liquors.

Image courtesy of the