Tag: Island Travel

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'An Idiot Abroad' Spends a Night Alone on a Desert Island

Where: Vanuatu
January 23, 2012 at 3:35 PM | by | Comments (0)

Over the weekend, the Science Channel series An Idiot Abroad returned, and this time around Ricky Gervais' sidekick Karl Pilkington is crossing dream trips off a bucket list. The only problem is—it's not his list.

Once again, Ricky and his pal Stephen Merchant are sending Karl off to exotic locales around the world, where he must check items off a list of "100 Things To Do Before You Die" - or what Karl calls "death stuff," and once again he's complaining his way through each journey.

In the premiere episode Karl is sent out to spend a night alone on a deserted island, but first stops off in New Zealand for a quick bungee jump. Of course, he couldn't go through with it so instead Ricky sent him to the island of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, where bungee jumping originated.

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Leave It to St. Barts to Drain LA of Its Celebs This Season

December 1, 2011 at 12:39 PM | by | Comments (0)

While most of us will likely spend the holidays schlepping through snow to the homes of our various friends and relatives, many in Hollywood are gearing up for their own holiday tradition of hitting the surf and sand on St. Barts.

The secluded Caribbean island is a true hotspot for international celebs looking to get away during the winter, partly because there are only about 20 hotels on the entire island, and most have only a few rooms so their famous patrons get plenty of individual attention. Of course there's always house rentals, but in case you're cool with dropping four digits per night on many, we'll leave those to the A-list.

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'From JFK, on the Beach the Same Day': Hawaiian Airlines to Fly Direct from NYC to Hawaii

November 16, 2011 at 3:39 PM | by | Comments (2)

212 and 808. Respectively, they are the area codes for dialing New York City and Hawaii. Today, however, they are also the prices for a one-way economy or first class seat on Hawaiian Airlines' just announced direct flights from New York-JFK to Honolulu starting in June 2012.

That's right. $212. To Hawaii. Non-Stop. With complimentary in-flight meals, pillows and blankets. That's all great and good, but the problem is these sale fares are going fast. Already we're seeing them raise to the $300s as planes fill for—believe it or not—autumn 2012. It just goes to show how needed this route is, since United née Continental is the only other airline making the 10-hour, 5,000-mile trek (and they dumped their free in-flight meal and other niceties almost one year ago).

The details: flights will be on an Airbus A330-200, with 18 first class seats and 276 economy (32" seat pitch in econ). Book 'em, Danno.

For a better perspective on how the new Hawaiian flights will go down, we met with the airline's CEO Mark Dunkerley this morning, mere hours after even airline crew found out they'd soon be flying to NYC.

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A Weekend on the Isle of Man: Prop Planes at Ronaldsway Airport

October 14, 2011 at 5:17 PM | by | Comments (0)

The Isle of Man is a mysterious place, a nearly sovereign territory out in the middle of the choppy Irish Sea between England and Ireland. What sort of people live there? What's there to see and do? These are all questions we wanted to answer, so we went ourselves...because why not? All this week we'll be sharing our experiences in this curious island destination.

There's thousands and thousands (tens of thousands?) of itty-bitty, obscure airports out there around the world, but after a visit to the Isle of Man's Ronaldsway Airport, we think we've found one of the coolest. If you aren't getting to the Irish Sea island by ferry, then you're landing here and likely in a small prop plane.

Flights come in from London-City, London-Gatwick, Blackpool, Glasgow, Dublin, Belfast, Manchester and a few others destinations sprinkled about, but may we recommend hopping a Manx2 plane for the most authentic experience? Yep, the Isle of Man has its own airline.

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A Weekend on the Isle of Man: Castles, More Castles and Some Crazy History

October 13, 2011 at 5:55 PM | by | Comments (0)

The Isle of Man is a mysterious place, a nearly sovereign territory out in the middle of the choppy Irish Sea between England and Ireland. What sort of people live there? What's there to see and do? These are all questions we wanted to answer, so we went ourselves...because why not? All this week we'll be sharing our experiences in this curious island destination.

Like you need another reason to rent a car and drive around the Isle of Man, but we have to say that the transition between architecture on the island is something else. It's like this: BOOM you're at a castle. BOOM you're on a Victorian promenade. BOOM you're along a harbour with a tide so low the boats stick in the mud. BOOM it's a fishing village. BOOM another castle. BOOM another castle. Yea, it's awesome. And here's the thing, that's only in a couple hours of exploring.

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A Weekend on the Isle of Man: Tracking Down Rare Money, Rare Stamps and Good Coffee

October 12, 2011 at 5:09 PM | by | Comments (0)

The Isle of Man is a mysterious place, a nearly sovereign territory out in the middle of the choppy Irish Sea between England and Ireland. What sort of people live there? What's there to see and do? These are all questions we wanted to answer, so we went ourselves...because why not? All this week we'll be sharing our experiences in this curious island destination.

The Isle of Man is not a particularly warm place. It may be an island, but keep in mind that it's an island in the Irish Sea, with a population more used to drizzle and wind than sun and gentle breezes. We went in the summer and still froze our butts off in certain areas (like the top of Mount Snaefell and The Ayres).

That said, the Isle of Man does know how to make itself special enough to warrant visit after visit, and that's by producing its own currency, its own stamps, and some unexpectedly damn fine coffee.

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A Weekend on the Isle of Man: Driving a Mountain Race Circuit Without Speed Limits

October 12, 2011 at 10:14 AM | by | Comments (0)

The Isle of Man is a mysterious place, a nearly sovereign territory out in the middle of the choppy Irish Sea between England and Ireland. What sort of people live there? What's there to see and do? These are all questions we wanted to answer, so we went ourselves...because why not? All this week we'll be sharing our experiences in this curious island destination.

Step off the jet catamaran ferry from Liverpool onto the pier in Isle of Man's capital of Douglas, and you'll immediately figure out why so many people enjoy venturing out to this island and especially with their cars and motorcycles: it's home to one of the most prestigious street race circuits in the world, a mountain course celebrated each year with a motorcycle race called the TT (Tourist Trophy).

The Isle of Man TT happens in late May or early June each year, and though our visit fell with about ten more months to go until the next one, TT souvenirs and flags were everywhere. The famous Manx roads—"Manx" is the word for anything Isle of Man-ish—are a year-round attraction, and you know we weren't leaving without some time spent on the race-striped curves and speed limitless roads. That's right—there's no speed limit in some parts of the island!

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A Weekend on the Isle of Man: Setting Sail on the Steam-Packet Ferry

October 10, 2011 at 5:05 PM | by | Comment (1)

The Isle of Man is a mysterious place, a nearly sovereign territory out in the middle of the choppy Irish Sea between England and Ireland. What sort of people live there? What's there to see and do? These are all questions we wanted to answer, so we went ourselves...because why not? All this week we'll be sharing our experiences in this curious island destination.

We'd been in London too long. It was time for a sidetrip, and with Liverpool only two hours away by train and the Isle of Man only another two hours by ferry from there, the mini-adventure was a no-brainer. If we were actually close enough with time enough to make it to the Isle of Man, then by all means we were going to go.

Some hotel price comparisons later, we decided on a holiday package from the ferry company Steam-Packet (the only ferry company between Liverpool and Isle of Man), for 109 GBP ($170) per person for two nights' hotel and roundtrip ferry tickets. Not bad! If you're thinking of going anytime soon, the price has dropped to 99 GBP and here's the link.

Anyways, all aboard!

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REDjet Continues to Do Their Thing with Three New Nonstop Options

September 23, 2011 at 9:15 AM | by | Comments (0)

It’s been a little bit of time since we last checked in on the comings and goings of REDjet, and it looks like there’s some good news. The Caribbean’s first low-cost carrier isn’t flying to and from the lower 48 just yet—bummer—but they are working on expanding their route network between several different slices of island paradise.

REDjet is already flying between Barbados, Trinidad and Guyana, but they’re looking to add up to three new routes this November, and the new spots include Antigua and Barbuda as well as Jamaica. New nonstop flights include Barbados to Jamaica, Trinidad nonstop to Jamaica, and Guyana right over to Antigua. Again, all the fun begins towards the end of November—like the 21st and 22nd—but you can go ahead and book your tickets now.

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Lady Gaga Takes Time Out to Learn Surfing Before Sunday's VMAs

August 23, 2011 at 1:16 PM | by | Comment (1)

Lady GaGa finally took some time out from shooting videos, performing live, and appearing on TV last week to have a little fun in the sun in in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. So what does a groundbreaking pop star do on her summer vacation? Take surfing lessons of course! Gaga tweeted a photo of herself surfing with the caption "yeah thats me. no heels baby."

But what's more shocking than seeing that GaGa actually does have normal, human feet, is how she paid for her Mexican hotel room. Some reports claim she spent more than $7,000 a night for a luxury suite.

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Bora Bora Gets the Kim Kardashian Bikini Treatment

August 16, 2011 at 1:45 PM | by | Comment (1)

Love them or hate them, everyone has an opinion on the Kardashian family and their hit E! reality TV show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians. That's precisely what makes it so popular—the sweet hate or jealousy their shallow adventures inspire, or just the over-the-top glamor of it all; there's something for everyone. Truth be told, we only tune in when the whole Kardash-klan is packing up like twenty trunks to head out on vacation.

And now an announcement of immense importance: the big family trip this season was to Bora Bora in French Polynesia and those episodes—a 3-part series culminating in Kris' marriage proposal to Kim—begin airing this weekend.

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Foreign Grocery Friday: 'Queenies,' or Queen Scallops on the Isle of Man

July 22, 2011 at 11:54 AM | by | Comments (0)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

They're the cutest little scallops you'll likely ever eat, and some of the rarest too, since Queen Scallops—or "Manx Queenies" as they're more popularly called—are a specialty of the Isle of Man. This small island situated in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland is technically British, but also technically not. It's no member of the EU, it prints its own Pound Sterling paper money and coins, has its own postal system and government and proudly flies its triskelion flag seemingly every few feet.

A two-hour jet catamaran ferry trip from Liverpool brings travelers into the capital harbour of Douglas, and into the land of the Queenie. When we visited the island for the heck of it last week, we rented a car and headed to the west side of the island, for a smaller town experience and some Queen Scallops in the castle-topped town of Peel.

The taste: Just as succulent as regular scallops, the Queenies differentiate themselves by being both way tinier and much sweeter. Unfortunately this means it's easy to pop one after the other into your mouth and polish off the plate quickly. Resist the urge, as Queenies are not only rare, but the harvesting of them is highly regulated. There'll be no all-you-can-eat deals like on cheap shrimp at Red Lobster.

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