Getting Out There With Afar Magazine
Traveling home from a conference in Québec last week, I picked up a copy of the premier edition of Afar, the newest travel magazine to grace an already crowded category on airport newsstands. An hour later after a thoroughly absorbing in-flight read, I can report that I was impressed. The magazine is "for readers who are curious about everything the planet and its people have to offer," according to founder and editorial director Greg Sullivan. In this day and age, when magazines seek to impress with the most luxurious travel experiences imaginable or cater to a budget-minded, close-to-home crowd, Afar bites off the essence of experiential travel with an honest, open, and upbeat appraisal of the world we explore. A bimonthly publication to start, each issue of Afar will be organized under the typical See, Connect, and Go sections; its first edition profiled everything from Japan's costume-play fetish to a local's guide to East London to the world's best treetop lodging. As someone who reads a pile of travel magazines each month for work, I'm happy to say that this is one travel magazine that will open your eyes, mind, and heart—not just your wallet!
 |
Comments (1) | | | Email this post | | | TrackBack (0) | | | Permalink |
October 27, 2009
End the Ban on Travel to Cuba Today!
The Pasarela Hemingway Pier extends out into the clear blue waters of Cayo Guillermo, located on Cuba's northern coast. (Jeremy Woodhouse/Digital Vision/Getty)
In May 2009, online travel agency Orbitz.com (of which Away.com is a subsidiary) spearheaded a push to end the travel ban of U.S. citizens to Cuba. Today, the OpenCuba.org campaign has collected almost 100,000 signatures in support of a petition to end the ban. In addition, 180 U.S. Congressmen and 33 Senators have sponsored the bipartisan Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, which seeks to open up travel to Cuba for all U.S. citizens. If you have not yet signed the petition, please do so today, plus be sure to encourage at least three of your friends and family to sign the petition via the easy-to-use "tell-a-friend" page. The petition is open to people from anywhere in the world and is not just limited to U.S. citizens.
Discover the many faces of Cuba in this photo gallery from Away.com.
|
Comments (0) | | | Email this post | | | TrackBack (0) | | | Permalink |
July 08, 2009
Beach Bytes: Barbados in Any Season
FRONT ROW SEAT: Mullins Bay in Barbados (Photodisc)
High season in Barbados officially begins in mid-December when North Americans and Brits (in particular) are eager to avoid their cold, beach-less winters. Nightlife comes alive on the island, and holiday activities are hopping.
But for those in search of a good deal, or who still need a beach getaway even when the weather's warm at home, the good news is that all year is near-perfect season in Barbados. Spring and summer rates for airfare, lodging, and travel packages are also quite enticing. This beautiful, friendly Caribbean island welcomes guests all year round, with its warm, interesting people the foremost asset. You can golf, dive, surf (or try really any water sport), plus swim with the turtles among the coral; there’s never a shortage of activity. The gorgeous beach itself provides the primary entertainment (at least for me), and beaches range from busy resort areas to secluded spots for napping under swaying palms—with an occasional break for a rum punch.
One of the highlights of summer is the Crop Over Festival, a five-week event underway right now. Its origins date back more than 200 years to when the sugarcane crop harvest was finished and called for a celebration. Though no longer based on the harvest schedule, it is the island's biggest event of the year. The extravaganza includes dancing, parades, elaborate costumes, music competitions, fabulous food, arts and crafts, and of course lots of calypso, a style of music unique to the Caribbean. The event attracts thousands of visitors from around the world.
Continue reading "Beach Bytes: Barbados in Any Season" »
|
Comments (2) | | | Email this post | | | TrackBack (0) | | | Permalink |
May 28, 2009
Behind the Image: The Night Parade at Curacao's Carnival Celebration
NATURAL NEON: Carnival in Curacao (Nathan Borchelt)
Of all the places that I've been lucky enough to photograph, the Night Parade (or Marcha Despedida) that marks the end of Curacao's weeklong Carnival celebrations each March ranks as one of the downright best times.
Continue reading "Behind the Image: The Night Parade at Curacao's Carnival Celebration" »
|
Comments (0) | | | Email this post | | | TrackBack (0) | | | Permalink |
May 25, 2009
¡Cuba Libre!: Should the Ban on Travel to Cuba be Lifted?
LONELY LAMENT: Guitarist in Trinidad, Cuba (Chris Cheadle/Digital Vision/Getty)
The incoming Obama administration got the presses buzzing with speculation this past April that it was about to reverse the decades-long ban on travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens. Turns out the changes fell some way short of early predictions, with only a partial loosening of restrictions on travel and remittances by Cuban-Americans. However, pressure is still being applied by proponents of an end to the outright ban, the only such restriction for U.S. travelers anywhere in the world. Travel website Orbitz.com recently entered the fray, launching an online petition that it hopes to use to lobby the new administration to drop the ban, in place now since 1962. You can sign the online petition, plus learn more about travel to Cuba, at OpenCuba.org.
Do you think the travel ban to Cuba should be lifted? Leave your comments below.
|
Comments (0) | | | Email this post | | | TrackBack (0) | | | Permalink |
May 22, 2009
Video: Freediving World Record Set at 288 Feet!
In April of 2009 an astounding mark was set at the Vertical Blue freediving competition in the Bahamas. Will Trubridge established a new world record for constant-weight, no-fin freediving at 288 feet. Check out this video of the dive in its eerie, utterly inhuman entirety here:
As Trubridge explains in the YouTube comments, the reason he starts to sink at the 1:20 mark is because, at a depth of around 60 meters, the body becomes negatively buoyant, letting him free fall the rest of the way. But, Trubridge explains, "This obviously works against you in the ascent, as you feel heavy after the turn at the bottom and have to swim all the way back to the surface." He also wears nose plugs and liquid-filled goggles to reduce the degree of equalization needed as he descends.
The deepest I've ever been is 110 feet—and that was with a full scuba tank. This guy, he's just amazing.
|
Comments (1) | | | Email this post | | | TrackBack (0) | | | Permalink |
April 17, 2009
Top Ten Places to Live Like a Pirate
AHOY, MATEYS!: The Flying Dutchman at Disney's Castaway Cay (courtesy, Disney)
The Away.com office has been abuzz with pirate talk this week after the somewhat surreal events off the coast of Somalia, no doubt pleasing one of our staffers who is one of the world’s biggest pirate-philes judging from his yearly Halloween pirate fest. But beyond all our swashbuckling pirate wit, it got us thinking about where to travel for some good old-fashioned pirate action—without getting in the crosshairs of AK-47-wielding Somali sea bandits (or indeed sharpshooting Navy SEALs). Here are our top ten picks; tell us if you know any other good pirate hideouts in the comments section below.
Continue reading "Top Ten Places to Live Like a Pirate" »
|
Comments (6) | | | Email this post | | | TrackBack (0) | | | Permalink |
Top Travel News Stories This Week
Time for a roundup of this week's biggest travel news stories. I spend tons of time reading blogs, news sites, and Twitter so you don't have to!
- President Obama announced on Monday that he will be allowing Cuban Americans to travel to Cuba, and send gifts and money to the Caribbean nation as often as they like, as long as recipients aren't senior government or Community Party officials. The President described the policy shift as a showing of America's good faith and a step towards leaving behind the attitudes from the Cold War that have tensed relations over the last 50 years.
- As a result of a week of anti-government protests and political turmoil in Bangkok, many governments, including the UK, Australia, and Russia, issued travel warnings against visiting the Thai capital. As of Thursday, the British Foreign Office has ended its warning against all but essential travel to Bangkok.
- United Airlines joined Southwest and others on Wednesday by imposing stricter rules for "seatmates of size," saying that if a passenger cannot fit into a single seat, buckle their seatbelt with an additional seatbelt extension, or put the seat’s armrest down, the airline will ask that passenger to pay for an extra seat or stay behind. The rather controversial policy prompted US Airways and Southwest to clarify their policies regarding overweight fliers, emphasizing leniency and willingness to accommodate passengers.
- President Obama made another important travel announcement, saying on Thursday that he plans to create a high-speed rail system interconnecting many of the country's larger cities. Though a step in the right direction for the environment and cutting foreign oil dependency, Slate magazine takes a hard look at how the proposed rail lines would affect American taxpayers.
- Despite the recent travel warnings made by the U.S. State Department and universities across the country, The Los Angeles Times reports that Mexico's top tourist destinations are up to 26 times safer than similar cities in the U.S.
|
Comments (0) | | | Email this post | | | TrackBack (0) | | | Permalink |
March 31, 2009
New on the Network: Travel Photos
Sea anemone in the waters off of Bonaire (Nathan Borchelt)
Away.com just posted lots of awesome new travel photos on the site. We beefed up our Caribbean inventory (because we know you're all dreaming of sun and sand) with photo galleries of Bonaire Above Ground and Bonaire Under Water. Plus, you can now download screensavers of Bonaire, Grand Cayman, and Grenada.
Also in the spirit of warm, sunny places, we have new photo galleries featuring Kauai, Hawaii; Big Island, Hawaii; and smoking hot lava on Hawaii's Big Island.
Our own Nathan Borchelt put together a great photo essay on the Hudson Valley Wine and Food Fest last fall in New York. This gallery is just one more piece of our blown-out guide to New York, where you'll find great trip ideas for the city and upstate.
We also captured the essence of Bangkok, Thailand, in both a photo gallery and a screensaver. If you're looking for something a little more serene, our new Temples of Cambodia screensaver will do the trick.
Like what you see? View more Away.com photo galleries and screensavers now!
|
Comments (2) | | | Email this post | | | TrackBack (0) | | | Permalink |
March 19, 2009
Win a Trip to Curacao—and a Chance at an Island-Wide $500,000 Treasure Hunt
Kenepa Grandi Beach, one of Curacao's literal (and perhaps figurative) treasures (Nathan Borchelt)
In these all-too-real times of economic distress, it’s refreshing when we see a tourism organization introduce a bit of fantasy. Curacao—a small gem of a Caribbean island in the Dutch Antilles, just miles north of South America—launched the Curacao Treasure Hunt contest on March 16, where participants can enter for a chance to win one of 70 free trips to the island, awarded daily through May 23. Sign up, answer a trivia question correctly, and your entry that day is secure. You can try every day, as many times as you want. Win one of those trips, and you could also become one of ten lucky participants in an island-wide treasure hunt this August, with a grand prize of half a million dollars (now that’s what we call “economic stimulus”).
Continue reading "Win a Trip to Curacao—and a Chance at an Island-Wide $500,000 Treasure Hunt" »
|
Comments (3) | | | Email this post | | | TrackBack (0) | | | Permalink |
