The Vacation Guy Blogs

The latest Royal news has us all abuzz and reminds us it's time to book a trip to England's capital and home of the British Royal Family. We may not be invited to the latest gathering, but here are 4 places we can immerse ourselves in Royal history and put into context the images we see of the ceremonial events and...

Some hotels help define their destinations.   Not only with an historic pedigree, but with a location that makes them central to the local lifestyle.The Belmond Copacabana Palace helped create the mystique of Rio de Janeiro that thrives even today.Imagine a time when Rio’s now-epic beaches were unused and unfashionable. In the 20’s, Brazil’s upper classes lived in the cooler elevations of...

The Caribbean’s second-biggest country (behind only Cuba) may also be its most diverse. The Dominican Republic’s beaches are the headliners, but centuries of history, magnificent mountain ranges, vivid riverways and national parks, one-of-a-kind culture, cuisine and local products, all combine to provide a tropical island destination that goes well beyond the sunny coasts.You can do more than defrost on the...

It's been a physical test of spirituality since the Middle Ages.  And more recently, Christian pilgrims have been joined by active travel enthusiasts on the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile (800 km) route across northern Spain to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.Whether you're making a modern-day pilgrimage for your own spiritual growth, interested in retracing the most...

Can you believe there's been a whole century of commercial airline flight? We all know about the Wright brothers' historic flight in 1903, and in a little more than a century since that shaky flight, look how far air travel has come! After the fabled use of airplanes and the first Air Forces launched during the First World War 1914-1918, countries clamored...

There are fewer and fewer veterans of the DDay Landing Beaches to tell their stories, but Canada's Juno Beach Centre introduced us to Jim Parks, who shared his memories of landing on DDay as a young soldier, and why he believes all of us should travel there today.DDay remains the iconic symbol of Allied unity and sacrifice to end World...

It may be the most idyllic island escape you can reach without a passport – for US citizens, that is.The US Virgin Islands are a piece of American apple pie in the heavenly seas of the Caribbean, and the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas is the most luxurious retreat in the USVI.It was the first Ritz-Carlton hotel in the Caribbean, and since...

What happens when you put three non-painters in a painting workshop? Can you really learn to paint like Van Gogh in an afternoon?  Those were the questions on all our minds as we walked to an art atelier near where our river cruise ship, the Avalon Vista, was docked in the heart of Amsterdam.By: Lynn Elmhirst, BestTripTVI'm creative but I have...

It was a week at the end of May 1969 that became an iconic, unforgettable moment of 60's counter-culture and protests against the Vietnam War. 2019 marks the anniversary of the legendary time when music uber-star and peace activist John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono booked themselves into Montreal's Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel, and held their 'Bed-in for Peace'. The...

Everyone experiences travel differently, and this may be most true of historic sites. Standing on the spot where history was made is a profound experience that transcends any amount of studying, reading, watching documentaries or films. When you are actually there, the sights, sounds, perspective and your historic imagination all combine for a more meaningful understanding of moments that changed...