Wicked Good Travel Tips

Alert! - Luxury Spa Treatments Are Half Price During Spa Week

posted on October 6th, 2008 · by Susan · Comments Off

Pick up the phone TODAY and make an appointment at your favorite luxury spa during Spa Week, October 13-19, 2008. That’s right - next week, so hurry! Treat yourself to an indulgent aroma therapy message, classic European facial, Turkish body scrub, or my favorite, a “Suddenly Slim Wrap” - just what I need for this suddenly pudgy body!!!

For one week, elite spas all across the country will slash the cost of their full service treatments to just $50. This represents a 50% reduction in price, and in many cases much more. Crafted after the now extremely popular Restaurant Weeks, the spa industry has noticed how many new customers venture out during the reduced rate promotional weeks, and hope this marketing event will bring lots of new spa novices in their doors.

Check out all the details at SpaWeek.org and find all the participating spas near you. Just like Restaurant Week, I imagine this will become a yearly event, so from now on you can consider October your ‘pamper me silly month’!

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Tags: Health & Safety · USA · Spas

It’s Time To Plan Your Dazzling Pre-Holiday Weekend in New York City

posted on October 2nd, 2008 · by Susan · Comments Off

No one puts on a party dress like New York getting ready for the holidays. Every shop window glistens with elaborate displays, and the theater scene pops with magical productions. Ever since the Miracle on 34th Street enchanted a nation in 1947, families have been streaming to New York City to revel in the nations most captivating holiday displays. The excitement builds from mid-October right through to New Year’s Eve. You’ll want to book your tickets early so you don’t miss a single event.
Here’s a glimpse at some of the upcoming highlights of the season:

Rockefeller Center Skating Rink - Opens for the season on October 11th.

Cirque du Soleil has a new production at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden entitled “Wintuk” - a touching winter tale of a young lad’s quest to find snow in an imaginary land, opens on October 30th.

The world famous Radio City Rockettes start strutting their stuff from November 9th through December 30th in the annual Christmas Spectacular - over 75 years and better than ever.

And who could miss Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade - on November 27th of course.

Once Santa arrives on the 27th, it’s time for the New York City Ballet to light up the night with The Nutcracker, performing from November 28th to January 3rd. Enchantment personified!

And no little princess should miss the chance to have a Holiday Tree Tea Party at the Four Seasons from November 29th until December 28th, where tables overlook the Grand Lobby and New York City’s largest indoor Christmas Tree.

December 3rd begins the real sparkle season with the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.

And for your rambunctious offspring, venture off to the Bronx Zoo for a Wild Winterland from December 6th through January 4th.

You can find all the information you need to plan a one-of-a-kind visit to New York City in the height of “sparkle” season at NYCVisit.com. Your family will have sugar plum dreams for years to come!

Popularity: 5% [?]

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Tags: Family Travel · New York

Teach English Around the World with a TEFL Certification and Be Paid To Travel

posted on September 29th, 2008 · by Susan · → Post A Comment

Most anyone who speaks English well can be trained to “Teach English As A Foreign Language” through the well known TEFL organization. TEFL Certification courses are offered all across the globe and usually require a 4 week commitment to study the course curriculum and do a bit of practice teaching. This international program enjoys wide appeal to recent college graduates, retiring teachers, and in fact, any adult who has an adventurous spirit and the desire to share themselves and the English language with other cultures.

We’ve found one TEFL certification program that condensess the study course to two weeks, and throws in a whole lot of fun while they’re at it. The World TEFL School is currently offering a two week TEFL course on the “Full Moon Party” island of Koh Phangan, Thailand. Koh Phangan is famous for their pristine beaches, exuberant backpacker population, and the full moon revelers who gather each month for one of the worlds biggest beach parties. This unique program requires participants to complete a forty hour online TEFL course before arriving in Thailand for the 2 week onsite course. And they offer two exceptional guarantees: a money back guarantee if you’re not satisfied with the program, and a guarantee of a paid job placement in Thailand upon completion of the Certification. (Of course there’s probably some fine print and conditions, so you’ll want to check it all out at WorldTEFLSchool.com.

Now if Thailand is not your particular thing… Fear Not - there are TEFL certification courses and teaching posts available in almost every country you would care to visit. You might want to start with a visit to TEFL.com or do a search “teach English as a foreign language in ________ ” and insert the destination you’re interested in.

This is a great way to experience other world cultures on a very personal level, travel economically, expand your own resume, and meet some wonderful people along the way!

Popularity: 7% [?]

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Tags: Asia · Travel Styles · Cultural · How To · Thailand · Money Saving Ways To Travel

Where To Pick Your Own Apples, Pumpkins, Peaches and Don’t Forget the Christmas Tree

posted on September 24th, 2008 · by Susan · → Post A Comment

It’s harvest time again all across the country. Farmer’s fields are bursting with juicy ripe fruits and everyone is anxious to bring in the bounty before the first hard frost. It’s almost your solemn duty to rally the kids (or borrow a few if you have to), throw on an old pair of sneakers and head out to a farm to pick some crisp tart apples, and a bulbous pumpkin or two for Halloween carving.

You’ll want to begin your hunt for a local ‘Pick Your Own’ farm at PickYourOwn.org. This is a no-nonsense, no frills site, that’s bursting with great info. They offer directories of pick your own farms all across the United States, and pumpkin patches, corn mazes and Christmas tree farms as well; all conveniently sorted by State. You’ll be able to do a search for Apple, Corn, and Tomato, festivals in your area, and determine “What’s In Season” so you can track your favorite crop. But the big surprise and bonus to this site are the abundant recipes for using that freshly picked produce. From jams to butters to chutneys to pies, the directions are all here. And they’ll even tell you “How much do I have to pick” to produce enough of your homemade goodies to use for holiday gifts. Add in tips for picking the fruit and complete directions for canning, and you have one great site for taking advantage of this fall’s harvest. Yummmmm!

Popularity: 8% [?]

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Tags: Family Travel · Cooking · How To

Travel Well While Doing Good - Online Travel Auctions That Benefit Charities

posted on September 21st, 2008 · by Susan · → Post A Comment

We all know about Priceline, Hotwire and Luxury Link, where you bid for travel arrangements, but here’s a different angle on these traditional travel auctions. Several online auction sites offer top notch travel experiences for the benefit of charity. It sort of reminds me of attending a local charity auction to benefit the food pantry where folks have donated services, tickets and stays at their luxury vacation property. You are likely to find all sorts of opportunities that wouldn’t ordinarily be offered to the public. Here are just a few examples of terrific charity travel auctions we’ve found:

Bidding For Good - This site is choc-o-block full of great travel and entertainment experiences. Take for instance an auction item we found to benefit the Perkins School For The Blind - a “Chance of a Lifetime opportunity to be a Celtics Ball Boy or Ball Girl”, that starts at $500. Or how about 50,000 frequent flyer miles currently bid at $450? Golfers would jump at the chance to play a round during the 2009 Masters Tournament in South Carolina to benefit Muscular Dystrophy. There are tons of great offers on this site.

Generous Adventures - I’ve known about this site for years and find their offers to be interesting and often times exotic. They offer adventurous travel experiences all across the globe for the benefit of various charities. They select 5 charities at a time to receive the profits from their auctions. I particularly like their “Steel of a Deal” section and the ability to search by auction closing date - which are coordinated to close on the same day once a month. Today’s offerings include several resort offers in Belize with bids starting at $325, or how about a chance sail aboard Dennis Conner’s famous America’s Cup boat Stars and Stripes in San Diego, including airfare on American Airlines and 4 nights stay at the Hyatt - bidding is currently at $2,800 for two. Now if you’re really adventurous, the Mt. Everest Trek for 4 might just be the thing…

Charity Buzz - For all you celebrity junkies, this site’s for you! This site is brimming with opportunities to get up close and personal with your favorite star of stage and screen for the benefit of their favorite charity. Bid on the chance to meet Cher or Bette Midler backstage after their Vegas show, or hang out with Elton John in Paris. Take a private tennis lesson with Andre Agassi or become a Sound Stage intern for a day, or BE STILL MY HEART>>> dinner with Congressman Dennis Kucinich! They’re all here, the famous and the infamous… it only takes money (and quite a bit of it) to meet your favorite celebrity and see if that golden star glow is as great as you’ve been imagining.

So the next time you’re looking for unique and unusual travel experiences, give these travel auction sites a try - you’ll have a great vacation and a charity will be the better for it.

Popularity: 12% [?]

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Tags: Las Vegas · Unique Vacations · Volunteer · Adventure

Never Loose A Phone Number or Directions Again!

posted on September 18th, 2008 · by Susan · → Post A Comment

You know the drill… you need to jot down directions, the name of a great new restaurant, or the email address of the interesting person you just met while waiting in line. So you drag out a crumpled piece of paper and probably with your lipstick scribble down the all important information. Of course you’ll later toss that rumpled piece of paper in the trash without ever realizing an important note was written on it.

Here’s a great new gadget that will capture every note you make, or audio you want to record, and makes it available for download onto your computer. The Live Scribe Pen is a must for business travelers attending conferences. You’ll be able to take notes and record the presentation material at the same time. For the international traveler, Live Scribe can even translate for you. Check them out at LiveScribe.com and put this on the gift list for all your gadget loving friends. Priced around $150 your techie family members will love it.

Popularity: 10% [?]

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Tags: Money & Technology

Ultimate Vacation Weekend For You and Your Gorgeous Dog

posted on September 15th, 2008 · by Susan · → Post A Comment

Just be sure to bring along your sense of humor!!

If you’d rather spend time with your dog than most of the people you know… have we got a vacation destination for you! The canine friendly folks at luxury Paws Up Wilderness Resort in Greenough Montana are hosting their annual “Wine and Bitch”Weekend from November 14-18, 2008. Billed as the ‘The Last Best Place’, Paws Up Resort is a hauntingly beautiful panorama of elegant, rustic, country living at it’s pinnacle. And you and your dog are invited!

This cheeky weekend celebration is designed to give guests and their canine buddies the time of their lives romping through the wilderness. Events feature fashion shows, a doggie parade, hand-made doggie treats, spa treatments, and of course lots of fine wine and ‘tail chasing’. With tongue firmly pressed in your cheek, read all about the festivities at Wine and Bitch.com.

And here I was thinking it was a resort where all us girls could get a little tipsy on vintage wine and gripe about all that annoys us. Oh well, I guess that wouldn’t play in this beautiful setting where nature is so sublime, who could complain?

Popularity: 16% [?]

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Tags: Traveling With Pets · Unique Vacations · West

Break Out Your Movie Star Smile For This Great Photo Idea

posted on September 11th, 2008 · by Susan · → Post A Comment

Every now and then I read about a new travel service that stops me in my tracks and gives me that “WOW- why hasn’t anyone thought of THAT before” moment. Here’s the latest great idea from a photographer in New York City.

NY City Photoshoot offers to snap your professional picture all around the city, capturing spectacular photos of you (and a loved one we’re assuming) at famous city locations. Imagine giving your honey a dramatic kiss in Times Square and having it captured by a professional photographer and packaged into a keepsake photo album. The company offers three different packages with as many as 100 professional photos on a CD-Rom taken during a 2 hour photoshoot. Prices for their service start at $199. So if you’re looking for a dramatic way to celebrate a big event - dinner and a photoshoot in NY City might just make a unforgettable impression!

Now, for those of you who won’t be able to travel to New York, I bet you could arrange something similar with a professional photographer in your area (or at your destination). Click on over to the Professional Photographers Association, click the ‘Consumers’ tab and then ‘Find A Photographer’. This is a great way to capture your excitement of being