Tweet and win with the Valentin Imperial Maya Resort

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Blast your thoughts in 140 characters or less, and you could find yourself under the sun in Mexico. The Valentin Imperial Maya Resort is launching a new contest, “Follow Valentin & Win,” so if you’re a Twitter ninja, this is a user you want to follow – by the end of the month.

The Valentin’s goal is pretty simple: the adults-only resort on in Riviera Maya wants to reach more than 1,000 followers. Make yourself one of them, and you have a shot at being one of the three guests to receive a free three-night stay at the resort. The Valentin will pick three secret numbers. If one of them corresponds to yours (i.e., as the Xth follower), you’ll be on the receiving end of a relaxing getaway which includes a 45-minute Primax swim with the dolphins, round-trip transportation to the resort and a DVD of your experience.

There is a catch … there always is. Each winner will be asked to keep a “Valentin Journal,” documenting the stay. These journals, along with photos and videos, will be popped onto the resort’s Facebook page, showing the experience through the eyes of a fellow vacationer.

The contest closes at the end of April, and the winners will be announced on May 3, 2010. You can follow the resort at @valentinmaya.

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Daily Pampering: Renew your vows in Fiji this year

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Sometimes, it’s worth celebrating the best day of your life as though it were the first time.

Spend five nights in absolute luxury, and you’ll pick up another two! Turtle Island in Fiji is doing the unthinkable. The incredibly upscale resort has put together a package that can’t be topped. In addition to getting two free nights when you book five, you’ll spend your stay in a two-room beachfront “bure,” have all meals covered – including picnic lunches packed for you to munch on the beach – and enjoy all the wine and alcoholic beverages you like. A “bure mama” will attend to all your needs, and activities such as SCUBA diving and sport fishing are included in the price.

And the revisited nuptials?

Turtle Island will set you up with a private vow renewal ceremony on the beach, complete with flowers, champagne and traditional Fijian garb. This will make the photos spectacular, and the resort will provide you with an album to keep the memory with you forever.

The package is good through the end of the year and starts at $2,499 a night. But, that’s the price you pay for 14 private beaches, amazing culinary creations and lomi-lomi massages, right?

Rates start at $2,499 per night, per couple. Offer not available during certain blackout dates and scheduled family times. Restrictions may apply. Offer is good now through December 31, 2010.

Want more? Get your dose of Daily Pampering right here.

Professional honeymooners: dream job or nightmare?

by Laurel Miller on

Does a half-year working honeymoon sound like your idea of a dream job? If so, you might want to contact RunawayBrideandGroom.com, an Irish travel agency catering to destination weddings and honeymoons.

But wait- there’s more! You’ll also be paid 20,000 euros (about $27,000). “The Ultimate Job” is the latest in a series of promotions designed to capture the public imagination and serve as a “brilliant” marketing tool for people and places. The idea was inspired by last year’s blockbuster “Best Job in the World” campaign in Australia.

Winners will travel the globe for six months, and get paid to test out the most romantic wedding and honeymoon destinations around the world. More than 1,000 couples have already applied for the chance to be sent to resorts in Africa, Europe, Asia and the United States. You don’t have to be Irish to apply, but you do have to tout Ireland as part of the process.

Hopefuls have until April 7 to apply for the “horrendous assignment” — as the company teasingly calls it (hee.) — which starts mid-May. B.Y.O. Viagra and UTI medicine.

The winners will be asked to blog about their experiences a few times a week, “when they can get out of the hammock after sipping a glass of champagne,” says Rosemarie Meleady, managing director of RunawayBrideandGroom.com. Assuming they stay sober long enough, they must also write for The Irish Times once a month.

While 182.5 days of globetrotting is a dream job for many (mainly real travel writers), it would still test the limits of even the most solid of couples. Here’s hoping the company also throws in a good divorce lawyer.

A unique retreat at the Lost Iguana Resort in Costa Rica

by Tom Johansmeyer on


So, what are you doing in May? If your plans are open, check out the “Volcanic Yoga & Spa Retreat” at the Lost Iguana Resort in Costa Rica. You’ll save almost 40 percent off the price of the six-night getaway with a price tag of only $800 while enjoying the “eco-chic” property and (more important), giving yourself the break you deserve.

From May 14 – 20, 2010, the Lost Iguana is hosting this unique retreat, which includes airport transportation, breakfast and dinner every day (you’re on your own for alcohol, though) and a $300 Golden Gecko spa credit along with your accommodations. And, there are daily yoga and water fitness classes to keep your body moving – when you’re not out on a guided nature hike.

Now, let’s get to the spa – nothing beats an amazing spa treatment. With your $300 spa credit, you can take advantage of a wide range of treatments in private open-air thatched bungalows. Volcanic clay and stone facials are on the menu, not to mention exotic body polishes to help you push out the toxins and stimulate your circulation. I’m particularly interested in the cocoon stream therapy treatment, which purifies and softens your skin.

If you have an open week in May and an itch to get on the road, this is the only way to scratch it. Sit in a spa, and let someone else do all the work of stretching your muscles for you.

Resort may close to save local tribe

by Sean McLachlan on

The Indian government is considering closing a resort on one of the Andaman islands in order to save a formerly remote tribe from extinction.

The resort, run by Barefoot India, is near the forest home of the Jarawa tribe. This group lived almost entirely isolated from the rest of the world until the 1970s, when road construction and immigration from the mainland began. The Jarawa kept clear of the newcomers until the 1990s, when they began to interact with tourists and settlers.

Foreign diseases such as measles have hit the tribe, and groups such as Survival International are worried their unique culture may die out or even the entire tribe may become extinct. Only about 320 Jarawa are left.

Numerous tour operators take visitors along the Andaman Trunk Road and visit the tribespeople, even though this is forbidden by law. Poachers often trespass on Jarawa lands.

In an attempt to protect the tribe, a buffer zone was created around their reservation and the resort was closed down. Barefoot India has appealed the ruling and now India’s Supreme Court is weighing the matter.%Gallery-78607%

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