Celebrate Christmas in the Holy Land
It may be the ultimate holiday trip: a visit to the land of the original Christmas story, especially during the holiday season. For many, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to sites referenced in the Bible that still exist today, like Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Nazareth. According to the Israel Ministry of Tourism, about half of visitors to the country are Christian, and about 20% identify themselves as pilgrims, with 150,000 pilgrims visiting Israel during the Christmas period.Christmas festivities in the Holy Land are...
Doing the Holidays Disney Style in Orlando and Anaheim in 2022
The gift of travel can create precious memories of one of the best holidays ever, and Disney theme parks on both sides of the country have been arrayed in their festive best, unwrapping a full lineup of holiday cheer lasting into the New Year. There’s still time to plan a Disney version of the holidays this year in Anaheim or Orlando, and your expert travel advisor can help you plan the perfect theme park vacation to suit your family’s travel...
7 Festivals and Events that Make Hawaii Irresistible This Fall
You may think of Hawaii as a Pacific paradise. But there’s so much more than mind-boggling sunsets over endless beaches, tropical breezes and scents, hula and ukeleles, surfing and luaus, poke and shave ice. The fall months bring some of Hawaii’s most beloved events and festivals that add new focus and memories to a trip to the islands, as well as opportunities to “malama Hawaii,” helping work to protect the islands for residents and visitors alike. As if you needed any excuse,...
This Island's 'Crop Over' is the Hottest Harvest Festival of the Summer
Move over pumpkin patch. Step away from the apple bobbing booth. Harvest festivals aren’t limited to rural and small town traditions of northern climes memorialized in Norman Rockwell artwork. Almost every culture in the world with agricultural roots has some kind of harvest festival – and Barbados' ‘Crop Over’ heats up summer with a distinctly ‘islands’ way of celebrating its traditional conclusion of the sugar cane harvest.While the agricultural tradition dates back to sugar plantations in Barbados (and several other Caribbean...
Fun Facts About Your Favorite St. Patrick's Day Drinks
What’s the best part of celebrating the day named after Ireland’s patron saint? Is it the ‘wearin’ o’ the green?’ The irresistible beat of Irish music that makes every listener’s toes tap? Your hilarious attempts at an Irish jig or your own version of Riverdance? Or the famous Irish beverages that fuel the festivities in the Emerald Isle and around the world every March 17th? (Courtesy Donal Cawley, Merry Ploughboy Pub)They say on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone’s a little bit Irish....
Masking Up for Fun: the World's Top Carnivals
“Carnival” and “Mardi Gras” evoke some of the world’s most legendary, annual, pre-Easter parties. The two events are related, with a shared origin and even some of the same cultural traditions. Carnival is a whole season, but Mardi Gras is one special day. They are celebrated in countries with strong, historic Catholic traditions.The calendar tells all. Pre-Easter, devout Catholics observe Lent, a time of solemn prayer and self-denial. Lent begins on the Wednesday 40 days before Easter.Mardi Gras means ‘Fat Tuesday.’ The Tuesday...
Theme Parks and Beyond: Nearly 2 Dozen Ways to Celebrate the Holidays in Orlando This Season
Orlando’s claim to fame is its extraordinary collection of family-friendly theme parks standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the balmy weather of the Sunshine State. But the warmth of the holiday season in Orlando outshines even the Florida sun.From Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebration, to re-imagined Christmas and New Year’s Eve experiences at the theme parks and beyond, it’s a great way to get into the Christmas or Hanukkah spirit - or get a change of pace from the stresses of spending the holidays at home - again!Whether your celebratory...
Best Reasons to Travel to Europe's Christmas Markets this Year
If you’re like most of us, your holiday season last year fell a little bit short on the fa-la-la’s. This year, it’s not too late to double down on , and make up for lost time with 'peak Christmas' at the Christmas markets of Europe.Lynn Elmhirst, producer and host of BestTrip TV, shares this video with some of the highlights of a nighttime German Christmas market - and explains why visiting Germany's Christmas markets this year may be the best way...
3 Million Lights for 101 Nights of Niagara Falls' Festival of Lights this Winter
This holiday season will be the brightest ever in the most popular tourist attraction in Canada – and one that conveniently spans the border with the U.S. - just as the land border between the neighboring countries is set to be open in both directions. Beginning in mid-November and running 101 nights all the way to late February 2022, Canada’s largest, free outdoor light festival will take place. It’s the longest Ontario Power Generation Winter Festival of Lights of its...
The One-of-a-Kind Festival that Lights Up Montreal This Fall
Montreal is a year-round global capital of celebration. The world’s second-largest French-speaking city (after only Paris) is famous for its cosmopolitan flair, cuisine, fashion, as a UNESCO City of Design, the birthplace of Cirque du Soleil - and a full calendar of top-shelf festivals that wrap the city in energy anytime you visit. A famously active winter city, Montreal’s star shines even when the temperatures fall, with a mid-winter ‘Nuit Blanche’, ‘Igloofest’ and active celebrations of the city, like giant...