10 Best: New travel adventures for 2016

© Auscape/Universal Images Group:Ng Hock How/Moment/Getty Images; NOSHE

Why not make 2016 the year you try something completely new? While people are traveling more than ever, there are still unimagined adventures to be had, says Tom Hall, editorial director of Lonely Planet, which this week released its free e-book New in Travel 2016 at lonelyplanet.com. "People are looking for brag-worthy experiences — the excitement and the exoticism about travel that gets them on the road in the first place." He shares some favorite adventures recommended by Lonely Planet correspondents with Larry Bleiberg for USA TODAY.

Source by: http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/10-best-new-travel-adventures-for-2016/ss-CCra0J#image=1

The World’s Friendliest Islands

THE WORLD’S FRIENDLIEST ISLANDS

As part of Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards survey, readers were asked to evaluate islands around the world, ranking individual characteristics like romance, food—and even how friendly they are. It’s no surprise that far-flung destinations like Fiji, the Maldives, Bali, and Tasmania took the top spots. We get it: what’s not to be happy about when there’s a beautiful beach everywhere you turn?

They’re all known for their tropical surroundings, aquamarine waters ideal for a swim, and abundance of hotels that take the idea of getting away from it all to another level. Yet over and over, voters made it clear how much local culture impacts their experience. “[The] most friendly and kind people I have ever encountered,” said one T+L voter about the Fijians they encountered on their trip. “Beautiful islands, beautiful people.”

But in the world of travel, friendliness also equates to standout service, and on each of these islands, our readers found that the people working at the hotels and resorts where they stayed played an integral part in making their experience a memorable one. On a trip to the luxurious Katikies Hotel in Santorini, Greece, one voter said, “The people are the best on the planet, and Katikies Hotel in Oia is one of my favorites on earth.” It’s hard not to smile when you spend your day on a cliff overlooking the Santorini caldera basin, with views of the Aegean in the background. For many—visitors and residents alike—Santorini is heaven on earth. And even in the face of economic distress, locals remain “warm, friendly, and hospitable,” said Ed Hall, a T+L subscriber.

A handful of winners are closer to home, including Washington State’s San Juan Islands; Hilton Head, South Carolina; and Mackinac Island, Michigan—proof that you don’t have to travel halfway around the world to find a getaway where the locals are warm and inviting.'

Source by: http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/the-world%E2%80%99s-friendliest-islands/ss-BBq0Jaf

Sonesta Resorts | St. Maarten

A stay at the upscale adults-only Sonesta Ocean Point is a ticket to eat and play, without any additional costs, at the adjacent Sonesta Maho Beach and at Sonesta Great Bay Beach closer to the capital city of Phillipsburg. (Photo: Melanie Reffes)

It’s called ‘Stay at one, play at three’ and without any fine print, it’s a deal too good to pass up. A stay at the upscale adults-only Sonesta Ocean Point is a ticket to eat and play, without any additional costs, at the adjacent Sonesta Maho Beach and at Sonesta Great Bay Beach closer to the capital city of Phillipsburg. For those staying at either Sonesta Maho or Great Bay, you can eat and play at both resorts for the price of a stay at one of them. Fun and fabulous, the trio of Sonestas are the only all-inclusives on the Dutch side of the island. For the party hearty, both Maho resorts are across the street from the Casino Royale; the largest on the island and the Tantra Nightclub; also the largest on the island.  The trio of resorts all front terrific beaches and come with boatload of free fun in the water from swim-up pool bars to water sports galore.

Source by:http://experience.usatoday.com/caribbean/story/best-of-caribbean/2015/10/05/caribbean-all-inclusive-resorts-best-value-free-stuff/73230416/#

World Legacy Awards 2016

National Geographic Traveler recognizes leaders in sustainable tourism for 2016.

The Destination Leadership winner, Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark, ensures that O'Brien's Castle and the soaring Cliffs of Moher are not just photo ops for day-trippers

By Costas Christ

“Tourism is like fire. Out of control, it can burn your house down. But if you harness that energy, you can cook your food with it.” With those words, we launched the World Legacy Awards in 2002.

Our goal was a simple one: Applaud, support, and raise the bar for nations and travel companies in the vanguard of sustainable tourism, at the time an emerging concept based on safeguarding the world’s natural and cultural treasures for future generations

Those early ideas gave rise to a travel philosophy that continues to redefine how we explore the planet. Among the initiatives recognized in these profiles of the 2016 winners are a grassroots organization that is empowering village women as conservation leaders and a Maori tour company that is helping travelers understand New Zealand’s indigenous heritage. Our winners prove that a great holiday also can make the world a better place

 Source by:http://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/features/world-legacy-awards-2016/

Best Fall Trips 2015

Want to snorkel in a Bahamian blue hole, ring in the Ethiopian New Year, or taste maple leaf tempura in Japan? Whether you’re ready for an island, wilderness, or urban getaway, our editors’ list of ten Best Fall Trips—plus one reader’s choice—is sure to inspire your next autumn adventure. —Maryellen Kennedy Duckett

Celebrate The Sound of Music's 50th Anniversary

Photograph by Jan Wlodarczyk/Alamy

Salzburg, Austria

Throughout 2015, fans of the 1965 classic movie The Sound of Music have been flocking to Salzburg to mark the world-famous film’s 50th anniversary. Join the party by attending Sound of Music-themed events, including the Sound of Music Gala 2015 (October 17) at the historic Felsenreitschule and the Sound of Music musical at the Salzburg Landestheater. (Check the website for performance dates.) Round out the celebration by visiting actual Sound of Music filming locations, including Nonnberg Abbey, founded in 714, and Mozart Bridge, named for native son Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Best bet: Pedal around the city and see key sites featured in the movie on Fräulein Maria’s Bicycle Tour Sound of Music route.

How to Get Around: From Salzburg Airport, take a taxi or public bus for the 15-minute ride to the city center and main train station. In the city, travel on foot and by bike, public bus, and subway. Buy a Salzburg Card for 24-, 48-, or 72-hour use of public transportation and admission to popular city attractions, plus various discounts.

Where to Stay: Although no Sound of Music filming took place inside the Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron, the palatial rococo estate, built in 1736 as the family home of the prince archbishop of Salzburg, was featured in the movie. Set designers used the palace’s Venetian Room as the model for the much larger ballroom in the von Trapp villa, and long shots of the estate’s former lakeside gazebo appear in the film. There are 12 suites in the historic palace and 55 rooms in the adjacent Meierhof building, renovated in 2014. Three of the Superior Doubles are billed as “Sound of Music” rooms due to the light, bright interiors and the lake and mountain views.

What to Eat and Drink: Opened around 1542 as a brewery and completely renovated in 2014, the iconic Sternbräu is one of Austria’s largest restaurant complexes. Austrian dishes such as fiakergulasch (meat and sausage goulash) and Salzburger nockerl (an egg soufflé dessert) are served in the multiple dining rooms, bars, and beer gardens. Buy tickets in advance for the Sternbräu’s Sound of Salzburg dinner show (through October 15), which includes musical selections from The Sound of Music, Mozart, and traditional Salzburg operettas.

What to Buy: Salzburg is the hub of Austria’s tracht (national dress) production. Get fitted for a dirndl, lederhosen, loden jacket, or other traditional costume at H. Moser. The family-owned custom tailor shop has been manufacturing trachten since 1928 and created the cast costumes for the Sound of Music musical at the Salzburg Landestheater.

Practical Tip: To easily access maps, travel guides, and other helpful information as you bike around the city, download Salzburg mobile apps to your smartphone or tablet.

What to Watch Before You Go: The five-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition Sound of Music (20th Century Fox, 2015) includes the feature film remastered in HD, plus lots of bonus features, including a virtual map of the Salzburg filming locations and the new, hour-long documentary The Sound of a City: Julie Andrews Returns to Salzburg.

Helpful Link: Official Salzburg Travel Guide

Fun Fact: Actual filming of the Sound of Music “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” singing scenes took place inside a gazebo constructed on a Hollywood set. But that didn’t stop movie fans from trespassing on the grounds of Schloss Leopoldskron to see the glass gazebo used for exterior shots. Due to the heavy tourist traffic, the gazebo was disassembled, moved, and reconstructed in its present location in the gardens at Schloss Hellbrunn.

Staff Tip: Salzburg's historic c​o​r​e​ is a ​hive​ of museums, shops, cafés—and ​visitor​s, especially in summer. Head just beyond the old city walls, however, and you come upon parks, lakes, and local​ly popular​​​ ​attractions. A standout: the Gössl Gwandhau​s​, or "​Gössl ​​cloth hall​.​" ​A​ showcase ​for the Salzburg-based Gössl clothing brand's famously well-crafted dirndls, lederhosen, and boiled wool jackets, ​it has blended "as much tradition as possible and as much innovation as necessary" ​since the 1940s, in the words of founder Leopold Gössl​. ​Housed in a centuries-old country palace surrounded by gardens and meadows, the Gewandhaus ​includes a small museum chronicling the evolution of dirndl and lederhosen fashion. Take a tour, then drink in the surrounding scenery over a glass of award-winning Austrian wine and servings of fresh asparagus, ​knödel​ dumplings, and Wiener schnitzel at the elegant terrace restaurant—a setting that​ ​one ​can ​imagine inspir​ing​​​ ​​a composition by ​Salzburg-born ​composer ​Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart​. —Jayne Wise, senior editor, National Geographic Traveler

Source by:http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/best-fall-trips-2015/

36 Hours in... Hobart

All too soon we completed the gentle 2½-mile stretch to that first night’s halt, Surveyors. It’s more sophisticated than I’d expected: cabins house four and eight-bed bunkrooms (bring your own sleeping bag), while “hubs” provide cooking facilities and a library covering Tasmania’s flora and fauna. Modern toilet blocks and a welcoming deck complete the picture.  

A maximum of 48 hikers are allowed to depart in each tranche, though only 11 of us – mostly mainland Aussies – gathered around a glowing wood-pellet stove for host ranger Robin’s briefing that evening. He paid respects to the region’s traditional Aboriginal owners before outlining practicalities. “Don’t leave food or rubbish lying around, or we’ll be overrun with possums,” he said, smiling ruefully. “They’re smart enough to open doors, so close them all carefully.”

                       A rain forest in Tasmania CREDIT: FOTOLIA/AP


Then came warnings that were to become familiar. “Watch out for snakes on the trail. We have three species, all of them venomous.” (They’re also shy, and a single antivenin covers all three.) “And be prepared for bad weather. But as the cliché goes: if you don’t like the weather in Tasmania, wait five minutes and it’ll change.” 


Next morning I woke to mizzle, offset by the joyful sight of Bennett’s wallabies grazing around the cabins. But by 8am the skies cleared, revealing glorious vistas across to Cape Raoul jutting into Storm Bay. This is the third cape alluded to in the track’s name, though it doesn’t actually visit Raoul. 
Source by: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/oceania/australia/tasmania/articles/three-capes-track-tasmania-walking-holiday/

How to refine your palette in the hills of Umbria

The hill town of Montefalco can be visited on a day trip from the painting school

Playtime. That’s the spirit in which I start my first ever art course. Bosh, swipe. A few strokes of charcoal and that’ll do for the slice of lush, landlocked Umbria in front of me. Had Leonardo da Vinci been here, he would have approved of this approach, reckons my tutor for the week, Fiona Graham-Mackay. “You are the creator,” she says, “and this is the playful time. Leonardo was very aware of this.” Fiona is as diplomatic as she is encouraging, describing my sketches as “painterly” (ie, messy) and my one oil painting as “musical” (ie, messy). But the week-long course, based in a hilltop villa with views of hills, olive groves and vineyards, is not about producing masterpieces, or even just about art. It’s about, well, getting a bit messy in your head: losing yourself in the creative process and finding a renewed self on the other side – not to mention enjoying top-notch wine and food from the very hills and soils you’re trying to do justice to on paper.

So, here I am on my first morning, sitting in a foldaway canvas chair surrounded by olive trees, board on my lap, charcoal in hand, recalling Fiona’s introductory words of an hour ago: “Drawing is a very, very magical process. Ruskin said that everyone should learn to draw, even before they write.” It’s just as well, then, that my olive grove resembles the free-form splatter of a three-year-old.

Source by:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/italy/umbria/articles/painting-courses-in-umbria/

Here's the Best Time of Year To Visit These 13 U.S. Cities | Because crowded vacations aren't our thing

HERE'S THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT THESE 13 U.S. CITIES

What you want to do on your vacation: Relax, sightsee and maybe get some sun. What you don’t want to do: Spend half the time waiting in lines. Or get heat stroke. Or pay a million dollars for a hotel room. Check out the best time of year to travel to these 13 U.S. cities--and plan your next getaway accordingly.

Source by:http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/heres-the-best-time-of-year-to-visit-these-13-us-cities-because-crowded-vacations-arent-our-thing/ss-BBpVTt5

This is the best time to book a flight to 10 destinations around the world

THIS IS THE BEST TIME TO BOOK A FLIGHT TO 10 DESTINATIONS AROUND THE WORLD

While many of us might think booking a flight early is the best bet to lower costs, sometimes the opposite can be true.
To help make it easier, KAYAK analyzed flight searches from the US and Canada between November 1, 2014 and October 31, 2015, determining the change in cost for 10 luxury cities when booking from a period of one month to six months before departure.
The data is part of KAYAK's 2016 Travel Hacker Guide, in conjunction with the 10 Luxury for Less Destinations list within the guide.
Keep scrolling to see when it's best to book early and when you can get away with that last-minute trip.
Source by:http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tips/this-is-the-best-time-to-book-a-flight-to-10-destinations-around-the-world/ss-BBomywJ

The Cheapest Places to Travel for Each Month of the Year

THE CHEAPEST PLACES TO TRAVEL FOR EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR

You’ve heard the myths: Tuesday is the best day to book airfare. Wednesday is the best day to fly. January is the cheapest month to travel. All of them are up for debate, to a certain extent. But according to new data from Booking.com, you can count on getting good hotel values by picking the right destination for the right time of year. Here, your month-by-month guide for great vacation deals in 2016.
Source by:http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tips/the-cheapest-places-to-travel-for-each-month-of-the-year/ss-BBoqZTM

Here's the Best Time of Year To Visit These 13 U.S. Cities | Because crowded vacations aren't our thing

HERE'S THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT THESE 13 U.S. CITIES

What you want to do on your vacation: Relax, sightsee and maybe get some sun. What you don’t want to do: Spend half the time waiting in lines. Or get heat stroke. Or pay a million dollars for a hotel room. Check out the best time of year to travel to these 13 U.S. cities--and plan your next getaway accordingly.
Source by:http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/heres-the-best-time-of-year-to-visit-these-13-us-cities-because-crowded-vacations-arent-our-thing/ss-BBpVTt5