Viajes / Travel

Escaping to a luxury heritage villa in small town Europe

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30 June 2013 Darren Ballegeer Print Email
Villa Tripalo is referred to as a ‘luxury heritage villa’ by Orvas Hotels

Luxury is its own escape, whether it is the simple luxury of being in a tranquil place or the five-star kind that soothes senses and indulges pleasures. A recent visit to a luxury heritage villa in Sinj, Croatia was an experience in both kinds of luxury.

Sinj is a pretty and tranquil place of escape from the larger, more crowded, and more commercialized tourist centers of wonderful Croatia (See our article about Sinj here).

TouristLand vs. Hinterland: Experiencing small-town Croatia

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18 May 2013 Darren Ballegeer Print Email
The town of Sinj in central Croatia is a prime example of how tourists are rewarded for traveling ‘out of the box’.
 
Breaking from your travel habits is always rewarding, especially when you go against the crowd. Avoiding tourist crowds, though, is not a goal of most tourists, who choose to visit the familiar, recommended, or most popular places. They are often looking for certain comforts and attractions instead of thinking about the overall experience. People generally know that the most popular travel destinations are neither the most authentic nor the best value for their tourist money.

Dubrovnik: A traveler’s jewelry box delivered with Croatian hospitality

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16 April 2013 Darren Ballegeer Print Email

View of Dubrovnik from the ancient wall.

Arriving to the postcard city of Dubrovnik a few weeks ago, I saw a calm, tranquil community that was still enjoying a rest before the tourist crowds start arriving for another season of urban archaeological explorations and food/wine recreation, all served with old-world hospitality of a most gracious flavor. The hospitality of the Croatian people is exceptional, even by European standards.

Ancient bath therapy reborn

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07 February 2013 Darren Ballegeer Print Email

Photos of Hammam Baths, Athens. Photo: Courtesy of TripAdvisor

A healing and history lesson at a modern bath house --- 

Most tourists and locals in Athens, Greece discover the Hammam Baths by chance – only a relatively small (but growing) number of people are aware of hamam, either in word or concept. It is not something that people search for, but it should be.

A hamam combines the functionality and structural elements of the Roman baths with the Central Asian Turkic tradition of steam bathing, ritual cleansing and respect of water. Hamam is also known as a Turkish bath, and naturally so –

Five star sweat: The luxury of experiential travel

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28 October 2012 Darren Ballegeer Print Email
One of Mexico’s most honored and oldest rituals is the temazcal, a pre-Hispanic sweat lodge used in ancient Mesoamerica as part of a curative ceremony to purify the body after battle or aid the sick.

What is the difference between tourists and travelers? Tourists want an easy, relaxing trip focused on basic needs of accommodation, food, drink, and perhaps recreational activities. Travelers seek experiences and people that define a destination – they seek the essence of a place. Directly experiencing the traditions and rituals of the local culture is one of the best ways to learn about a place and its people. Such experiential travel is a luxury of its own whether you spend a lot or no money on a certain experience.

Adobe, sand, and surf

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02 March 2012 Elena Miramar Print Email

The attraction of eco-living and eco-tourism--- 

There are still many places in Mexico that are unspoiled and untouched by tourist development. Foreigners and Mexicans who value un-crowded places where nature still dominates are attracted to places like Cabo Corrientes, which is South of Banderas Bay in the state of Jalisco. Driving two hours from Puerto Vallarta, our destination was a unique eco-resort in the Cabo Corrientes region.