9 Cruise Trips You Are Sure to Love

There are so many places to go and things to see, and I have a lot of ideas for amazing cruise trips. I enjoy exploring glaciers in Alaska and wonderful tropical beaches in Hawaii. And what about you? Whatever your dream, check out a few cruise trips you will definitely love.

1. Alaska

Most people think of cruising as a perfect way to visit some tropical places. However, there are many amazing Alaskan cruises departing every year in summer from such locations as Vancouver and Seattle. Explore glaciers, plan a whale watch and don’t forget to attend a salmon bake.

2. Caribbean islands

From Puerto Rico, St. Maarten to Jamaica, the Caribbean is one of the most popular destinations for cruisers any time of the year. No matter whether you’re going to learn about an island’s history, shop, or just chill out at the beach, you will definitely enjoy your trip.

3. Hawaii

Whether you depart directly from Honolulu or sail across from the mainland, there’s surely nothing more romantic and amazing than traveling from island to island with your love. And the best thing about visiting all Hawaii is that you will gather lots of ideas about which island you would like to visit again in the future.

4. New England and Canada

Cruises throughout Canada and New England allow you to enjoy all the best entertainment and food. With stops in such cities as Halifax, Portland and Boston, you are sure to be impressed by breathtaking scenery each step of the way. I’m going to take the cruise this fall and I can’t wait for this moment!

5. Bahamas

Want a quick tropical getaway? A cruise to the Bahamas offers the great chance to relax and enjoy beautiful landscapes and scenery. Even if your cruise is short there are still a lot of fun things to do. Plan to swim with dolphins, to go snorkeling or experience parasailing.

6. Europe

European cruises are popular choices for people who want to experience the best of the Old World. Many companies offer unique options, such as sailing along the Danube, Main and Rhine, so check them out when planning your next trip. Whether you stick to the sea or travel by river, both of adventurers and history buffs are sure to have a great time.

7. Australia and New Zealand

Cruising in Australia and New Zealand gives you a wonderful opportunity to take in everything from unique wildlife species to the Great Barrier Reef. Often these cruises last more than a week, so you will definitely get the absolute most out of your trip.

8. Bermuda

The turquoise waters and pink sands of Bermuda are something that attracts more and more tourists from all parts of the world to this destination year-round. June, July and August are the best months to visit Bermuda, when beaches are in high demand, a majority of itineraries are ready to launch and tour operators offer parasailing, scuba, snorkel and sailboat tours. You will have the wide selection of ships, itineraries and home ports during the peak season. Another great thing is that the water temperature reaches 85-degrees or warmer.

9. Cayman Islands

They are pristine and electrifying! From wonderful white beaches and amazing underwater reefs to breathtaking cliffs spouting waterfalls, the Cayman Island area is a piece of heaven on Earth! The biggest draws are scuba diving and underwater snorkeling. There are many shipwrecks nearby, which divers can visit and there are thousands of colorful tropical fish.

What amazing cruise trips have you been on? Share your thoughts, please!

10 Unique Places to Discover This Summer

Traveling is always a journey into the unknown, for even when we plan it out, there can be twists and turns along the way. Finding locations so unusual we feel breathless when we see them is just what some parts of the world have to offer.

These ten destinations can only be called unique, one-of-a-kind experiences that reveal the astonishing diversity and the incredible creativity of places we can find on this earth of ours.

1. Tunnel of Love, Ukraine

In Kleven in the Ukraine there was a tramway that followed the same route over and over for many years. The shape of the rail car “trained” the trees into an arbor that in summer flourishes as a marvelous, wide, and vivid green tunnel. This is a stunning route to walk, and it is popular with families, but perhaps most of all when used as a romantic setting. People can make wishes and if their love is true, legend says the wishes will come true.

2. Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park, Gansu, China

It took twenty-four million years for Nature to create the red sandstone and minerals that make up the Zhangye Danxia hills. The spectacular strata emerged over time as one layer after another was formed. The colorful patterns will take your breath away. It is a region that brings inspiration and awe.

3. Wisteria Flower Tunnel in Japan

Wisteria vines are native to the United States but also to Japan. In Kitakyushu there is a botanical garden – the Kawachi Fuji Garden – and in it there is a tunnel absolutely covered by different species of Wisteria. Walking beneath such a dazzling array of flowers is one of those experiences you don’t want to end – it is completely enchanting. The plants are known to rise over sixty feet!

4. Merry Cemetery of Sapanta

The Merry Cemetery is in Sapanta, Romania. The people creating the tombstones believe that death is not an end but the beginning of a new life. The designs and paintings and sayings written on each headstone are entirely original and are meant to celebrate the immortal nature of the soul. Some of the paintings are drawn from the actual lives and occupations of those who have passed on. It is a tourist destination that leaves the spirit more joyful than sad.

5. Antrim, Northern Ireland

The remarkable Giant’s Causeway is on the coast of Northern Ireland. It is the result of a volcanic eruption an eon ago – well, sixty million years, at least. The over forty thousand columns of stone are made of basalt, which essentially is cooled lava. The distinctive feature is that the majority of the columns have a hexagonal shape and smooth tops. This allows you to walk on them! They progress down from a cliff and the formation continues into and beneath the sea.

6. Fly Geyser

This strange object is manmade, though inadvertently. An oil well was created in 1916 and abandoned, but the crew had opened up a geyser. Because of the natural fountain of boiling water, minerals developed and eventually surfaced to create a five-foot “volcano.” Other geysers were spawned near it, so that the whole area has the effect of some alien creature. Now the previous desert floor has small pools and ponds that welcome fish (though no one knows how the fish got there) and even swans.

7. Dead Valley

This white clay region in Naukluft Park in Namibia is more like a Salvador Dali painting than a real-life setting, but real it is, all the same. Its name means “a dead marsh” and it was created when flood waters withdrew, leaving a drought-filled plateau. The camel thorn trees that had thrived when there was water eventually succumbed to the heat. The few that have remained (for hundreds of years) are burned dry from the sun and appear like sentinels on the landscape.

8. Glen Brittle, Scotland

Here are magical, lilac-covered slopes that exist in a glen on the Isle of Skye. The water flows softly and the stories abound that if you listen carefully, you can hear the voices of fairies in the depths of the flowering shrubs. Such ideas are drawn out of ancient Scottish stories told long before they were written down. This place has been unchanged for just as long.

9. The Wave, Arizona

Arizona has many extraordinary places of natural scenery, but The Wave is an experience like no other. It is a Navajo Sandstone formation shaped along the Coyote Buttes in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. Believe it or not, you can hike on it and obviously it is a great draw for photographers, as well. There are no tracks to follow to get there – you just walk wherever you want. The effect of the wave patterns when you are in the middle of them can sometimes feel like being at sea!

10. Petra, Jordan

This city of Petra was carved out of the rose stone that has made it one of the wonders of the world. Some have suggested it is the origin of Mount Hor in the Land of Ebon, referenced in the Book of Numbers. It is situated in the desert with the Dead Sea to the west and the Red Sea to the south. The sandstone foundations are becoming more fragile, but the city still reveals religious and political structures and artifacts. It also has a fascinating system of reservoirs and strategic pools that were once used to supply much needed irrigation and water. Encountering Petra is like entering another dimension of perception, one that stays with you long after you leave the site. If at all possible, it is not to be missed.

Have you been somewhere that has captured your imagination and spirit in a unique way? Perhaps you have been deep sea diving and viewed coral reefs in their silent but ever-changing environment? There are many possibilities. Is there a unique place you have visited that you would recommend to readers?

3 Ways to Watch the Winter Solstice the Way They Did Over 5000 Years Ago

Honoring the Winter Solstice is an ancient tradition, perhaps the oldest one humans have. For the people who lived thousands of years ago in Britain, it was a celebration of the return of light after months of darkness. Occurring in deep midwinter, on the shortest day and longest night of the year, the solstice was seen as the harbinger of renewal and hope. It was a spiritual experience. With extraordinary intention these people built massive and mysterious structures in which passageways allowed the light from the sun to enter exactly on the solstice. How they did this is well-known today, and the ritual comes to us across nearly six millennia.

Three megalithic sites in the U.K. remain as a testament to the powerful purpose and beliefs of the ancient inhabitants: one at Newgrange in northeastern Ireland, one at Maeshowe in Scotland, and the most familiar of all, Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England.

You can visit Newgrange and Stonehenge and participate in ceremonies welcoming the Winter Solstice just as it was done over 5,000 years ago. At Maeshowe, a webcam has been set up to allow you to participate in the event on December 21, 2014, from any place in the world.

Newgrange

Newgrange was built in Ireland in 3200 B.C. It is shaped in a high mound rising up from an isolated field in the Boyne Valley in County Meath. This mound contains tunnels and channels. It has what is called a “roof-box” made of specially aligned stones over the entrance. On the Winter Solstice, at first light, the sun sends a beam of light through this roof-box. The light moves steadily up a 62-foot passage and into the central chamber. When the sun has risen fully, the entire chamber is illuminated. This event doesn’t happen at any other time of the year. The reason Newgrange was created in Neolithic times was to honor the Winter Solstice.

Access into Newgrange for this remarkable event is allowed every year through a lottery carried out by the “Brú na Bóinne Visitor’s Centre.” A special post box is made available for applications in person or by regular mail. Only 50 respondents are accepted, drawn randomly by local school children. For the upcoming Winter Solstice 2014, 30,532 applications were submitted! Applications for the 2015 event are required by September 25, 2015.

However, if you do not win the lottery for the actual solstice event, you are still allowed to enter Newgrange in groups of fifteen after the sun has risen and no longer sends light into the passageway. You are led into the center chamber and stand in absolute darkness under its high dome. The effect carries you across millennia, as if time did not exist.

Maeshowe

Maeshowe, on the distant isle of Orkney, Scotland, is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave built around 2800 B.C. It rises as a grass-covered hill twenty-four feet above an isolated field much like Newgrange (which lies 530 miles to the south across the North Channel). This structure, too, is filled with a maze of passageways and chambers that become illuminated by sunlight during the Winter Solstice. It holds an atmosphere of mystery and wonder and curiosity. What led the small community in this cold outpost to construct such a monument? What did it symbolize to its creators?

The interior of Maeshowe is made of huge stones set up in lintels with symmetrical rectangular openings everywhere. The whole plan of it is meticulous. The effect is profound, for it signals death and life at once. The Winter Solstice is an end and a turning point. Moments after it is done, the sun begins to move in its six-month journey to midsummer.

A webcam has been set up at Maeshowe for the period from November 2014 through February 2015. You can visit www.maeshowe.co.uk to view a live feed (GMT) of the chambers, see webcam locations, view videos from previous years of the Winter Solstice, and learn more about Maeshowe.

The live feed is scheduled for December 21, 2014, though the link Home page does indicate that Orkney has been inundated lately 333 with days of thunder and lightning storms and heavy snow. The staff expects to be able to ensure broadcast if at all possible at sunrise.

Stonehenge

Most people have heard of or visited Stonehenge, a 5,000-year-old massive circle of stones set on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. The site has inspired legends and folklore for centuries. No one yet can fathom how the builders raised the giant sarsen pillars or placed the lintels above them. We don’t really have any knowledge of the purpose of Stonehenge, though some feel convinced astronomy played a role, or the cycle of seasons and crops, but still, there is no way to know. Many others claim the intention of the circle had a spiritual meaning.

It has been determined that the smaller stones that create the inner ring were taken from the Preseli Mountains in Wales, over 200 miles away. There are those who say the Preseli Bluestone has a shamanic energy drawn from the Merlin of ancient legends!

Stonehenge is carefully aligned on a sight-line that points to the winter solstice sunset. The sun’s rays align with two significant stones: the central Altar stone and the Slaughter stone.

Still, visitors from around the world will gather at Stonehenge early in the morning of December 22, 2014, to mark the Winter Solstice. The reason is that in 2014 sunrise is celebrated just after 8 a.m. on December 22. Why not the 21st? This is unique to Stonehenge because the celebration at Stonehenge is not fixed to a specific calendar date but aligned with the solar year. (It also might be because sunset can be very cold out on the windswept plain…) After many decades of restoration, in which the fallen stones were reinserted into their assigned slots in the ground, Stonehenge was brought into the true state it had millennia ago.

Many sites like these three megaliths were built around the same time in other parts of the world. They all contain in their shape and solidity an identity and affirmation for the people who created them. For us, making a connection with our ancient past is, in a way, making a connection with ourselves. The people who lived thousands of years before us show an attention and caring and reverence for things we also understand in much the same way. For us, too, the entrance into the dark of winter is a rite of passage, and our relief at seeing the days grow longer is a kind of faith in the journey of life restored.

What does midwinter mean to you? Does the symbol of the Winter Solstice hold mystery and enchantment for you? Do you feel that the ritual of honoring the passage from dark into light is a way for us to allow the rhythms of life to guide us, to ground us in the vitality of who we are?

Top 10 Best Cities And Towns To Celebrate Halloween

Halloween is coming and we all have to choose the city or place to celebrate this awesome holiday! Have you already made this choice? If not, maybe you will be interested in my list of 10 best places to celebrate Halloween! And if you are in love with all these scary things like vampires, ghouls and ghosts you will really like them!

1. London, England

London with pleasure presents you the best Halloween celebration ever. There are a lot of places, where you can shrill, scream and laugh a lot! For example, the London Dungeon: Jack the Ripper, Sweeney Todd and Killer Queen are waiting for you here. If you want, you can also visit the Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, the London Tower and, of course, the Highgate Cemetery! How can Halloween be without any cemetery?

2. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Oh, there is one scary place, so be ready for the really exciting moments in your life! This is the Bytown Museum, and all visitors can tell you that six ghosts live here. Somebody has heard the children crying, others have seen the ghost of Duncan McNab, and as you may know, he died about 150 years ago. They tell, that he likes to get scared a lot of people, for example, he likes typing his name on the some museum’s computers. Also, somebody has seen how dolls winked and moved!

3. Forks, Washington

The first I want to tell about a lumberjack who wanders around the Forks Dam and about a pregnant woman who can be seen walking lawns late at night. And of course, I don’t want to miss to tell you about the fact that a very popular saga “Twilight” was written about this place. It was a usual peaceful town, where timber industry based in. But this love story between the girl and vampire turned this place upside down. Now, due to the Stephanie Meyer’s vampire saga this place is very popular for the teens and those who really love these books.

4. Tombstone, Arizona

Since there were a lot of gun-fighting skirmishes, it has spawned of appearing a lot of ghosts here. You can talk with a lot of spirits in the special town’s saloon, but don’t forget to visit the reenact places of the infamous gunfights that end in the Boot Hill Cemetery.

5. Long Beach, California

If you really love to wander through very entangled and scary labyrinth, you should definitely go to the Queen Mary Ship. You will be very excited of many surprises that you will meet here and I’m sure you will like some live performances at the Dome of Doom and at very terrifying Purgatory Park.

6. Salem, Massachusetts

Salem is perhaps the spookiest town in the United States. Some situations with “witches” had happened here, so this place has a really dark reputation among others. But if you want to add something special to your holiday and if you want to feel some extra scary moments, suit costumes and come to the Hawthorne Hotel. Usually, they present the Annual Halloween Costume Ball for everybody here.

7. New Orleans, Louisiana

I have never heard about this before, but this city is the main place of voodoo story! If you take some tour through the cemeteries, you will get a lot of incredible feelings! There are cemeteries in a ground crypt-style, so you will see something very interesting. Don’t forget about the voodoo temple! I want to add that the last showplace also has been used till the present days!

8. Orlando, Florida

If you don’t want to be spooked a lot, you can visit Halloween Party “Mickey’s Not So Scary” in the Disney World’s Kingdom. But if you want to be spooked, you can go to the Halloween Horror Nights in the Universal Studios Park. You will see something extra special in their shows. Don’t miss it, you will be glad to be here.

9. Transylvania, Romania

Do you love “Dracula” and “The Land Before the Forest”? Yeah, I really do. So, if you want to plunge in this atmosphere, you must certainly visit Bran Castle, also known as Dracula’s Castle. This is the castle, where Dracula had lived and also there are two places: Hunyad Castle and Poenari Castle, which were associated with Vlad the Impaler in the 15th century.

10. New York

If you have a lot of costumes and some of them you have never used before, you can show them all in New York! So, put on one of them and don’t miss one of the most interesting events in this city – the Village Halloween Parade! Also, there is great Nightmare Haunted House, where you will never feel boring!

Where are you going to celebrate Halloween this year? What are you going to be for Halloween? Do you have any other place to add to this list?

9 Tried and True Ways to Save Money for Traveling

Nowadays travel excuses are everywhere. The most common excuses for not traveling are ‘I can’t afford it’ and ‘I don’t have time.’ But traveling is one of the most wonderful and memorable experiences you have in your life time. You can afford to travel, you just need to find some ways to save money for it. Check out my list of tried and true ways to save money for traveling.

1. Stop shopping

Every woman loves shopping and it’s so difficult to quit shopping! But if you want to relax on the pristine sandy beach or walk the ancient streets of European countries, you should save money. While shopping is amazing, it will not get you to your desired destination any sooner. So hold back and don’t buy that beautiful dress, it will be there later and even on sale when you return from your trip!

2. Cancel your gym membership

I know, paying for a gym membership makes it much easier to motivate yourself to exercise, but canceling it is one of the best ways to save money for traveling. After all, gym membership can cost from $25 to $100 a month and it’s pricey! Exercising is something that doesn’t require a specific place or much equipment. Working out in the house or running in the neighborhood is a great option!

3. Go to the library

If you like reading and you buy a lot of books every month, stop buying them and start borrowing! Visit your local library and you will find many interesting books! I have a huge stack of books and I prefer to buy the books. I’m not against libraries but owning and borrowing are two absolutely different things. However, when I want to go somewhere, I save money on books by going to the library!

4. Save on your morning coffee

When I go to work early in the morning, I always drink my Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks. I like it, but the only problem is that it costs me $4.79. It may not seem like a big deal, but it can really add up over time. $4.97, 5 days a week is $24.85, for a month it’s about $100 and for a year it’s around $1,200! That’s why I start saving on my morning coffee and advise you to do the same!

5. Bring your own lunch

Plan your own lunch and take it to work with you. It will save you a lot of money as well as all those unwanted calories. Perhaps the best thing about bringing your lunch to work is that you decide what you want to eat. This means that you will eat healthier and save money for traveling! I always take some healthy and tasty salad or some fruits to work for lunch.

6. Do your own nails

Every woman likes to get her nails done. Getting your nails done is amazing, but it can be a little pricey, especially if you go every week. If you like traveling, but don’t have money, start doing your own nails! I know it sounds strange, but it will actually help to save some money.

7. Watch good old movies

Stop renting a movie and watching all those TV shows or movies on Netflix, because all these things cost you tons of money. If you have a large stack of good movies, why not watch them? Sure, they are old, but free and favorites. Save a few dollars and re-watch all those movies.

8. Get a part-time job

If you don’t want to watch all those old movies and you have plenty of free time in the evening, then take a part-time job. You won’t be bored and earn some extra money. If you calculate right, it will cut your waiting time to travel in third! You can even try to turn your hobby into a home business! Excellent! 

9. Opt for rewards credit cards

To tell the truth, I don’t like recommend credit cards, but rewards credit cards could come in handy when traveling. There are even some travel rewards credit cards for rewards bonus. It will redeem miles for airline tickets, car rentals and hotels. Apply for a credit card and use it for a few months while traveling, but don’t forget to pay it off each month.

There are numerous ways to save money for traveling. You just need to find the best one that you can stick. Have you tried any of these ways to save money for traveling? Do you have any other tips? Please share them!

10 Amazing Places To Visit Before They Disappear

Have you ever thought of the places to see before they vanish? I’ve never thought of them until now. Many of these places are quite devastating since they’re so beautiful and rare. No matter where they’re situated, they’re still places that will not be around much longer. Check out a few amazing places to visit before their beauty will disappear forever.

1. The Dead Sea

Renowned for its awesome beauty products that could make anyone look younger,the Dead Sea is one of the great places to visit before they disappear. In the next 50 years, you will not be able to find Dead Sea products. The thing is that the sea is shrinking at an alarming rate. When you visit the Dead Sea today, you see that all hotels and resorts that once were on the coast are a mile away from where the sea lies these days.

The Dead Sea beaches are well known throughout the globe. The high salt levels allow you to float on your back and enjoy the wonderful view surrounding the sea. The climate varies depending on the season. During the tourist season temperatures can become extremely warm, ranging from 30°C in the spring to 40°C in the summer. The shores of the Dead Sea have something to offer for every age and every taste.

2. The Maldives

The Maldives is the smallest Asian country in both land area and population. The islands of Maldives are also the lowest nation in the world. With 80% of the islands less than one meter above sea level, within 100 years the Maldives could be uninhabitable since they could be underwater.

In fact, there are many reasons to visit the Maldives today. The great number of atolls makes it a perfect place for snorkeling and scuba diving among the native marine life. Kayaking, canoeing, surfing and rock climbing are another amazing activities to enjoy while on holiday.

3. Madagascar

Madagascar is world-famous for its lemurs. Over 20 different species of lemurs and the 80% of the wildlife and plants that are found in Madagascar are not found anywhere else in the world. If nothing is done to save the island, it will disappear in 35 years. The ecosystem is being destroyed by poaching, logging, and burning for subsistence farms.

Madagascar is just a perfect place to embrace a simpler way of life. The only noises you will hear are the birds and the waves. Diving is another reason why so many people visit Madagascar. Clear warm water, vibrant ocean life and unusual underwater rock formations make this island a true diver’s paradise!

4. Venice

Venice has sunk 9 inches in the last 100 years. Just imagine, 9 inches! Even though officials are trying to stop the sinking, there’s not much to be done. Scientists estimate that in 70 years, Venice will be underwater. Probably, that’s why tourism has jumped dramatically since 2007!

If you are an Italian-cuisine-loving gourmand, you should definitely consider visiting Venice. Its cuisine will please you with its simplicity of dishes and focus on fresh local seasonal ingredients. Go to one of the out-of-the-way restaurants, listen to what the locals order, and order the same thing, that’s a truly amazing experience!

5. The Great Barrier Reef

The world’s largest coral reef, the Great Barrier Reef is another fabulous place to visit before it disappears. The continuing rising of ocean temperatures, cyclones, coral bleaching, and water pollution are destroying the reef every year. Experts estimate that about 60% of the reef may be lost by 2030. Sadly, those 8,000 years of natural creation could vanish within your lifetime. So make sure to see the Great Barrier Reef before it disappears.

The opportunity to visit the tropical city of Cairns is probably the best thing about taking a trip up to the Great Barrier Reef. Cairns is the city where the summer never ends, so you can enjoy your holiday any time of the year. And if you like whale watching, Cairns is an ideal for whale as well as dolphin watching, as there are 30 different species of whale and dolphin live in the reef.

6. The Congo Basin

The second largest rainforest in the world after the Amazon, the Congo Basin spans across six Central African countries. It is a collection of forests, rivers, swamps and savannas. It’s also responsible for 40% of the world’s oxygen. The United Nations has estimated that more than 2/3 of the forest and its plants and animals could disappear by 2040. Illegal logging, mining, ranching, farming, and guerrilla warfare are destroying the basin yearly.

7. The Alps

One of the great mountain range systems of Europe, the Alps are well worth a visit. There are many resorts including Saalbach in Austria, Oberstdorf, in Bavaria, Chamonix in France, Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy, and Davos in Switzerland recording over a million visitors every year.

In the past century, the Alps have lost about half their glacial ice because of increasing temperatures. Since the 1980s, the glaciers have lost 20% of their size. If the temperatures continue to increase, the Alps will disappear in the next 40 years!

8. The Taj Mahal

Being one of the most popular tourist attractions in India, the Taj Mahal attracts over 3-4 million people every year. However, it could soon disappear. The air pollution and the crowds are eating away its white stone facade, so tourism officials are considering closing this monument to the public. You have 5 years to visit it, why not book your ticket right now?

9. The Glacier National Park

A little more than 100 years ago, the Glacier National Park had more than a 150 glaciers strewn throughout it. Nowadays, there are only 27 glaciers, which could disappear by 2030. There are also more than 1,500 species of animals and plants that could be lost. That’s why I decided to take a road trip and do a little camping in the Glacier National Park to experience its beauty and wonders.

10. Patagonia

A massive and untouched land in South America, Patagonia could be greatly altered by global warming. Because of increasing temperatures and precipitation declines many of its glaciers are steadfastly retreating. Maybe this land won’t vanish entirely, but its landscape will soon be changed beyond recognition if climate change persists.

When you travel to Patagonia, make sure you visit the main tourist attractions like the Valdés Peninsula, the Perito Moreno glacier, Torres del Paine National Park, Ushuaia and Argentina’s Lake District. If you are interested in Patagonian cuisine, it’s greatly the same as the cuisine of Buenos Aires – pasta and grilled meats with different local ingredients. Lamb, grilled over an open fire, is considered the traditional meat of Patagonia.

10 Places to Visit That You’ve Never Heard of

Are you tired of visiting the same locations as millions of other tourists? Have you visited locations like Disney World, the Grand Canyon, and Niagara Falls but now feel yourself yearning for something a little less ‘normal’? It might be time to discover destinations that are definitely not on most people’s radar. Check out the following ten places to visit that you’ve never heard of to see if you can find your next travel destination. Do you think you have it in you to shatter your own comfort zone and venture into places unknown?

1. Turkey’s Pamukkale

Turkey’s Pamukkale is one of those spectacles of nature that will leave you scratching your noggin in amazement. The hot springs of Pamukkale stretch into the distance and are especially tempting at dusk. It’s breathtakingly beautiful place that everyone should visit at least once in a lifetime.

2. Arizona’s Coyote Buttes

Arizona’s Coyote Buttes is a not-to-be-missed natural landmark. While the Grand Canyon gets all of the tourist attention, Coyote Buttes is actually more stunning. If dunes carved by centuries of sand are to your liking, you’ll definitely want to add Coyote Buttes to your travel temptations list.

3. Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda

Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda is known to the mega-rich of Europe, but is still a treasure hidden from many global visitors. Hugging the Mediterranean, Costa Smeralda is home to sailing races, yachts moored at sunset, and whispered secrets beneath the Sardinian sun.

4. Lanai’s Keahiakawelo

Lanai’s Keahiakawelo just might leave you thinking you have been dropped off on the face of the moon. Desolate and haunting, the red clay dunes are covered with gigantic boulders and tiny tuffs of vegetation. Breathtaking!

5. Wuppertal in South Africa

Wuppertal in South Africa is an exotic combination of waterfalls, hillside boulders, and breathtaking pools of tranquility. If you ever travel to Cape Town, be sure to add Wuppertal to your itinerary. Your soul will thank you for the indulgence.

6. Providence Canyon in Georgia

Providence Canyon in Georgia, USA is a tempting treasure you don’t expect to find in the southern United States. Shades of taupe, tan, and rust color the rocky walls of this exquisite destination. Spindly trees watch over the canyon, causing visitors to wonder how vegetation manages to grow with no source of water in sight.

7. Yemen’s Socotra

Yemen’s Socotra is another beautiful place o visit that you’ve probably never heard of. Barren, rocky desert is speckled with incredible mushroom-like trees that will leave you wondering how on earth beautiful vegetation manages to grow in such a desolate place.

8. Lencois Maranhenses National Park in Brazil

The sand dunes of Lencois Maranhenses National Park in Brazil are a spectacle of nature that will leave you stunned into silence. White sand ripples amongst deep green water in tunnels that look like a giant carved them with an outstretched finger.

9. Sumatra’s Mentawai Islands

Sumatra’s Mentawai Islands are known to insiders in the surfing community, but have yet to be discovered by the mainstream traveling public. If blue water, coral reefs, and miles of marvelous beaches are the sights you daydream over, you’ll definitely want to pay a visit to the Mentawai Islands.

10. Coronation Street, Providence, Maine

If you are a fan of cobblestone streets and enchanting taverns like the Rover’s Return on Coronation Street, you’ll want to check out Providence, Maine on the east coast of the United States. You’ll have to watch where you are walking along the rickety pathways of Providence. Puddles, protruding grates, and worn out cobblestones just add to the charm of this memorable destination.

While the rest of the traveling public visits popular tourist locations like Paris, London, or New York City, you can be experiencing the truly tempting travel spots if you are willing to venture into lesser known locations. Do you think any of these hidden gems will make it to your bucket list of places to visit before you croak?