The Best Family Attractions in Cyprus

Cyprus is renowned for its hot weather, rich cultural background and diverse range of activities, making it the perfect place for a family-friendly holiday.
There is plenty to keep both adults and children occupied, including excellent beaches, a variety of sightseeing opportunities and many water parks and restaurants.
A trip to Cyprus would not be complete without spending a lot of time down by the beach topping up your tan - and the island does not disappoint in this area, with numerous sandy stretches of shoreline overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
Coral Bay Beach is particularly popular, having obtained a Blue Flag certification in terms of quality, safety and conservation efforts.
Close to Coral Bay is perhaps Cyprus' most well-known seaside spot, Aphrodite's Beach.
Greek myth suggests that this is where the goddess of love rose from the foamy waters close to a stone named Aphrodite's Rock.
Whether you believe the legend or not, this is a fabulous place to sit by the shore and soak up the sun's rays while enjoying the stunning scenery, including the waves crashing against the large white rocks that stick out from the sea.
For an educational day trip, a visit to the Cyprus Museum is a great way of learning more about the island, with the institution boasting one of the best collections of archaeological finds in the region.
This includes three limestone lions and two sphinxes with distinct Egyptian features that were uncovered in the Tamassos necropolis.
Tourists can also see the statues of Emperor Septimus Severus and the famed Aphrodite of Soli, which is often used on promotional tourism posters for Cyprus.
One of the most impressive exhibits is a display of terracotta figures found in 1929, which depict a number of warriors and chariots, with references to fertility and the underworld.
For a more action-packed day out that will no doubt keep the children happy, try visiting one of Cyprus' amazing water parks.
The largest on the island is Fasouri Watermania, with the attraction boasting a massive selection of fun-filled rides and water-based activities.
Try out Europe's biggest wave pool or have a go on the Kamikaze Slide, paddle boats or the long lazy river ride, all of which will occupy the kids through the morning and afternoon.
If you are feeling hungry, Fasouri Watermania has a number of options, including Pirates' Cove Restaurant, with diners able to select from a menu of pizzas, burgers and gourmet cold sandwiches.
However, if you are looking for a place to eat out in the evening, there are several high-quality venues to explore in Cyprus.
St Georges Tavern in Paphos is excellent if you like fresh, organic food, with all dishes made from ingredients grown specifically in the owner's allotment and grounds.
You can enjoy the fruits of a large herb garden, wine produced from locally-sourced grapes and dishes prepared using a meat-smoking cabin, making this one eating experience you will remember for a long time.
The menu consists of a selection of authentic meals, including kleftico - oven-baked lamb - and a fantastic meze, which is a collection of small dishes served as a starter.
Paphos is also where the Windmill Restaurant is located, with this popular family-owned business being a favourite among tourists and locals alike.
With great hospitality, a wide choice of traditional Greek fare and a homely setting, it is a must for families hoping to enjoy an evening out.

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La Geria - Lanzarote's Wine-Growing Region

La Geria in Lanzarote is one of the island's most intriguing tourist attractions, with the unique agricultural landscape being used to grow wine.
When thinking about vineyards, most people will conjure up images of luscious fields and colourful foliage; however, the vineyards of La Geria utilise a cultivating technique that is used solely in Lanzarote.
During the 1730s, around one-third of the island was covered in ash following a series of volcanic eruptions that also destroyed most of the crops at the time, such as cereal.
This meant the farmers who stayed in Lanzarote instead of choosing to emigrate to America had to come up with a way of growing produce in the ash that was present on a large portion of the land.
Fortunately, this ashy substance had a number of features that enabled the workers to formulate a process for making wine that proved very successful.
The granules of volcanic rock, called picon, could be used as a porous mulch as it was able to absorb moisture from the surrounding air and distribute it in the ground.
This not only prevented evaporation, but also overcame a problem farmers in the region had suffered over the years with all crops - a lack of rainfall.
Known as 'enarenado', this form of dry cultivation is used solely in Lanzarote, making the landscape a fascinating stop on any tour of the island.
In order to protect the vines from strong winds, each one is planted individually, with a small semi-circular wall named a zoco built around them.
These walls are made from volcanic stone, forming an added layer of defence against adverse weather conditions.
Each vine is also planted at a depth of 1 to 1.5 metres in order to ensure they are fully grounded when winds are high.
This spectacular agricultural landscape is a must-see attraction for anyone visiting Lanzarote and provides some excellent photo opportunities.
Due to the nature of this viniculture, it is fairly labour intensive, with each vine needing to be planted manually, while each grape is handpicked come harvest season.
Around three-quarters of the crop in La Geria is Malvasia grape, resulting in a sweet wine that was once a favoured tipple of European aristocracy. Nowadays, the island is still famous for its dessert wines.
The remaining 25 per cent of the vineyards cultivate Diego, Muscatel and Pedro Ximenez grapes.
If you are keen to actually taste some of the local wines, there are a number of bodegas - small grocery stores - that line the main bumpy road in La Geria.
Here, you can find a vast selection of red, white and rose variants, enabling you to plan your own mini sampling tour fairly easily.
Those keen to learn more about the history of wine-making in Lanzarote should visit the Canary Islands' oldest bodega, the El Grifo winery in Masdache.
Founded in 1775, it has a wine museum that extensively details the island's long tradition in vineyards and agricultural pursuits.
Tourists can view authentic old presses, alembics, laboratory instruments, bottling tools, pumps and filters, as well as other farming equipment used during the production process.
Looking for wine to take home with you? There is also a sales room in the museum where you can find a large choice of some of Lanzarote's best wines.

Villa holidays in Lanzarote are perfect for sampling the local wines - visit Premier Holidays today to choose from a wide range of holiday rental villas, including a variety of properties available through late offers.

Near Disasters - Traveling in Thailand

On my travels in Thailand, there have been times of near misses, dangerous near misses sometimes.
It started in Bangkok after a long time of getting lost in Chinatown and walking to the Indian area to buy fabric, while crippled with blisters and near fainting in the heat. By the time I reached the river to catch the boat back to my starting point, I was over it.
I bought my ticket for the boat and made my way towards the jetty, when suddenly people started shouting at me to hurry because it was about to leave. So I ran down the gangway and was about to step into the boat, when it started moving away. A man shouted "jump"- I jumped alright, straight into his arms, and the momentum nearly took us both hurtling out over the other side into the filthy sludge of a river.
Moral of the story: don't wear rubber thongs when jumping onto boats and don't run and jump when people tell you to.
Ko Mak threatened to crack my head open by way of coconuts. The deadly thud heard just as I had walked underneath an offending tree, was eerily frequent.
Moral of the story: wear a hard hat on tropical islands.
In Trat things were going well until I had a massage with a lady who had muscles of steel. My skin was recovering from insect bite attack, but after the session with iron woman, I was bruised and sore in several places. I didn't really think that was the idea of the massage!
Moral of the story: don't mess with ladies who have muscles of steel.
The tuk-tuk mafia met me at the bus stop in Sukathai and I managed to flick off all but one. This nasty little man persisted, and resorted to poking me on the arm and standing way too close. Well, that was his undoing, because, he may not have spoken much English, but he got the gist of my words pretty quickly. The problem was, he seemed to be the organizer of that band of desperados, and the others had melted away after his shenadigans. I was left without transport into town as no-one else would take me because they couldn't let him lose face, and eventually I was cajoled by another driver to go with the tormentor. On reaching my guest house he was reluctantly paid and the girl at reception was taking me to the accommodation, when he shouted at her for some commission because he had delivered me there! She did the quiet Thai thing of ignoring him; I did the loud Australian thing of telling him to piss off.
Moral of the story: do the quiet Thai thing if possible.
After hiring a pushbike to explore the incredible Sukathai World Heritage site, I meandered around the paths throughout the park. In the early morning it was peaceful and cool and I was lulled into carelessness. Going off road, so to speak, was my down fall. As I rounded a tight corner on a dirt track, the bike slipped from under me and I fell onto my side. Humiliation soon saw me jump up quickly and I glanced around for any witnesses. The park was near empty and I climbed back onto my twisted bike and headed back to the proper road. Then my knee and hip hurt and I noticed some grazing. It wasn't until that night that the bruises came out, and I would have to say they were substantial. Now they are fading to a violent puce yellow color.
Moral of the story: don't hire clunker bikes and watch what's around the corner!
Watching the Mekong flow (or rush) by reminds me of a time in Laos, when a German bloke, an Australian bloke and I tried to canoe across a river flowing just as fast as the Mekong is presently. We got about half way in the strong current, when the German spat the dummy and insisted we return to the jetty. We two Aussies thought he was wimp, so we decided to go by ourselves. The current swirled us in circles and we were pretty hopeless. Unfortunately, we started to go faster and as someone watched from the high cliff, I shouted at him to throw down our passports- I reckoned our next stop was Cambodia! Somehow we banged into the bottom of the cliff way down river, and then had to pull on trees and bamboo with our hands and use our paddles to push off the bottom of the river in order to creep back to the jetty. It wasn't easy. Another Australian with a worried look on his face, met us at the jetty, and said he was ashamed to call us Australians after out pathetic effort!
Moral of the story: don't go canoeing with wimpy Germans and hopeless Australians.
All this leads me to my next boat trip in the coming days on the Mekong and hopefully it will not be a near miss. This time it would be all over rover, as the river is flowing very quickly and full of debris- there would be no chance of surviving if tipped into it.

Sue Gibbins
Long time traveler in the Far East. For more traveling information goes to One-Travel
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How To Use A Taxi Service When You Are Abroad

Traveling abroad, whether for a short business trip or on holiday, often involves the use of local taxi services. Although in most cases taxi drivers are people who honestly do their job, there are some situations where the problem occurs. In this article we will try to give some tips how to conduct yourself when using a taxi abroad.
Although you may be experienced with a taxi service in your country, it is certain that you feel a bit differently when you do it in the foreign country. Your first encounter with a new environment is often made via taxi driver. This meeting may determine the first impression of staying in a country. Here we particularly underline that first meeting, because it usually takes place in a situation where you are "vulnerable" - tired, just emerging from the airport, loaded with luggage etc. Cultural and linguistic diversity, and ignorance of the terrain, creates uncertainty for passengers which feel that taxi drivers view them as potential victims. In the vast majority of cases, of course, it is not so, but it won't hurt to prepare yourself a bit in advance.
Before traveling (while your are still at home), check the Internet for usual prices of taxi services in the city in which you travel. Of course, you need not go into details but it is enough to gain some picture of the amount that you will pay. Since maps for many worldwide cities are now available on the Web, estimate the distance to the hotel from the airport (if you're traveling by the plane). Familiarize yourself with names of some taxi companies in the city (search for city name including name of the service, for example. "Belgrade Taxi") and try to remember some names, or at least logos and colors. Keep in mind that company that takes seriously its presence on the Web, probably also performs its services correctly.
When you come into a situation that you are looking for a taxi, you will most likely be with hands full of luggage, while taxi drivers will approach you, offering transportation. Do not rush with a choice. Look around and get in touch with the taxi driver whose appearance and vehicle gives the biggest confidence to you. Salute the man, and ask for the price of driving. You may agree to drive for a fixed price, or a metered one, but be sure to obtain information about the expected price and compare it with previous estimations you got from your research. Don't forget to specify the currency in which you will pay.
Driving for a fixed price is more expensive than driving on the meter, but most frequently ensures that your taxi driver uses the shortest route to your destination. Make the agreements and about any other costs (luggage fee, tolls, etc.) in advance. Do not give up of the agreed price later. Here is where the language barrier may play a role, so if you can not communicate otherwise - use a pen and paper or even- fingers.
As for the security during the ride, the rules are fairly standard for all parts of the world. Store the large luggage in the trunk of the vehicle, and keep smaller bags (with documents and valuables) with you. It would be useful to prepare money for the ride ahead and put it in your pocket in order to avoid having to subsequently search for the wallet. Prepare a small change too, since taxi drivers seem never to have it. Taxi drivers prefer you to sit in the back seat, so respect it (except, of course, if you have more). Remember the name of taxi driver and vehicle number- just in case. If you get in a conversation, stick to light themes - discussion of politics has no place in a cab.
Like we said, the vast majority of cabbies are correct people, and tips shown above should just help you to protect yourself from dishonorable minority, which, after all, exists in all areas of life, in all parts of the world.

Author is a provider of taxi services and an ex-journalist, living and working in Belgrade, Serbia. His company's taxi services focus on Belgrade Airport transfers, Mini van and Mini bus services and all kinds of private transfers and tours.

Top 5 Clubs In Barcelona

Of course, in order to do this, you are going to need to make sure that you are doing a little research ahead of time, before you leave for your trip, in order to put together a game plan for where you are going.
BeCool
You might think that all of the great clubs will always be found in the stretch where they all seem to thrive together, such as on a main strip. The thing is though, the club BeCool is tucked away from the large night scene and because of this, is generally only known by the locals. However, this doesn't mean that as a visitor you shouldn't check it out. With a revolving dance floor along with the impressive line up of DJs is sure to make your night out a night to remember.
La Macarena
The La Macarena is an underground club with all of the best sounds of the night. Even though La Macarena is a smaller club compared to others, the atmosphere is what keeps bringing people back. There is a ton of techno and bass pumping all through the club to keep everyone in the crowd very happy.
Moog
Then there is the club called Moog. Some might say that "small" wouldn't be the right word to describe it but many of the locals, and even those visiting from all around the world, know why this tiny little club has such a big reputation. With swathes of wood and also spots of iron, there is a gracefulness about this club that simply captivates the crowd. The sunken dance floor and an upstairs mirrored room aims to please.
Row 14
The party starts at Row 14 bright and early at 6:30am and it starts the party off right by blasting the sound system to its maximum ability. There is a separate bar, huge amounts of indoor space, a retractable roof and two terraces. Stop by Row 14 on a Sunday morning and you will be greeted with a large array of techno options such as Marco Carola and Richie Hawton.
City Hall
The club, City Hall, is situated right in the former town theatre, all while maintaining and preserving the beauty of the original structure. The DJ overlooks the dance floor from what used to be that of the stalls. There are disco balls and even a chandelier. Some might say that musically speaking, City Hall has lost some of its luster, but many more would disagree.
As you can see, there are plenty of great options out there when it comes to your choice of clubs in Barcelona. Make sure that you are setting aside a little bit of time to check a few of them out.

I truly recommend Holiday apartments for city breaks and short stay visits. Renting apartments in Barcelona its a great alternative to hotels when you are travelling with your family or a group of friends. apartment rental Barcelona

Find The Very Best Vacation Deals

Getting good vacation deals is way easier than you ever thought possible. For those lucky enough to be able to afford a holiday, the market is heavily skewed in favor of travellers thanks to the recession and current economic woes across the world. Those willing to take a gamble and wait with their holiday dealers until as near as possible to their desired departure date can capitalize even more on last minute vacation deals which see them jetting off for fun in the sun at an incredible price.
There are two schools of thought when it comes to getting affordable, fantastic holidays: get in early to take advantage of early bird offers, or leave it to the last minute to snap up unwanted seats and hotel beds. Getting the very best deals can be done either way with similarly effective results.
Travel companies know that they will sell at least a certain amount of seats on planes and will fill a certain number of rooms in hotels. Barring natural disasters, they can be sure of that fact. There is a specific base limit below which they're almost certain never to fall.
However they need to make sure that the ball gets rolling early and well when it comes to selling vacation packages, and so they price competitively when first opening up deals, allowing those customers who can commit a deposit early to snap up a super cheap vacation to some of the most exotic destinations. Traditionally, that has been the main source of good value holiday deals for tourists.
Recently, though, the tables have turned. With the catastrophic failure of the economy in 2009 came a severe loss of confidence in money as a whole and a reticence to spend cash on fripperies like vacations. Seats that tour operators once thought were dead certainties to sell out suddenly found themselves unpopular and with many spaces to fill.
Last minute bargains entered the travel industry, and have reshaped it beyond all belief. Today, it is often better to try and hold on until the very final moments before committing to the holiday you want to have to ensure the best bargain.
As travel companies panic that they will be left with empty rooms, they try their best to claw back any form of profit, no matter how small, drastically discounting their offerings to a tiny percentage of their actual market worth, leaving travellers with the opportunity to get a cut price, bona fide bargain on their getaways.
Vacation deals have become obscene as these companies try to fill spaces on tours, including trips to far away places. Cuba vacations, for example, have seen some of the most drastic price cuts as travel agents panic at the concept of having hotels empty in the busy summer periods. Five star holidays can be had for two or three star prices by the savvy traveller willing to bide their time. It is most definitely a buyers market out there, so get thinking where you want to go next.

Browse a great selection of cheap vacations, and take the break that you have been waiting for.

Egypt Vacation Packages Offer Great Variety

There is a lot more to Egypt vacation packages than sand and pyramids. The Arab Republic of Egypt is located in North Africa. It has coastline on two seas, the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The Sinai Peninsula offers miles and miles of quiet shoreline. The Gulf of Suez on the western side and the Gulf of Aqba to the east make the country an ideal holiday spot for honeymooners, families and seniors alike.
There is so much to see and do. Make friends with the locals and visit a Bedouin tent. Learn how to make unleavened bread in the morning and the art of weaving rugs on a loom in the afternoon. Dance with the natives late into the evening and peer at the night sky through a telescope with the aid of your very own star guide.
Cruise down the Nile River on a small yacht and laze in the sunshine enjoying delicious food. Talk your captain into letting you take the helm or hop in the water for a quick swim and snorkel. Back on shore, a camel ride is a definite must.
If you can tear yourself away from the seaside, take a tour to the Great Pyramid of Giza. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one of them to remain mostly in one piece. It took twenty years to construct and was completed around the year 2560 BC. It is thought to be the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty. Also in Giza is the Great Sphynx, a statue of a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a man. It stands more than 66 feet high, 20 feet wide and nearly 250 feet long.
If ancient wonders are really your thing, save some time for the Lighthouse of Alexandria. The lighthouse was actually built on the island of Pharos in the year 280 BC. It was commissioned by King Ptolemy Soter, who succeeded Alexander the Great, who perished of a fever at the age of 32. Of course, you might also want to set aside some time to visit the Great Sphynx.
You may want to enjoy your regular hobby in a different setting. Egypt offers golf, fishing, horseback riding and many other activities. Choose a themed holiday built around something that interests you. Archaeology, walking, art and even Christmas are possibilities.
A fully inclusive holiday package might include all flights, including internal flights, airport taxes and other associated fees. It will also include your travel insurance, accommodation and possibly some meals. You can arrange to prepay for any tours (Nile cruise, Pyramids, Lighthouse, etc.). Also, if you sort out porterage of luggage at your hotel, this can save you fiddling with foreign currency and trying to figure out how much to tip.
Many inclusive Egypt vacation packages include the services of a company representative to assist with check-in at the airport. It is useful if your tour company has an office nearby your accommodation to provide assistance with any problems that crop up, especially if you are unfamiliar with the local language.