Island Trip

For many of us a beach trip is like a calling or a ritual. We crave a place where our senses are filled with the ocean breeze, our toes wiggle in the cool sand and there is a respite from all of the manmade environs we frequent. The tropical smells, sounds and sights cleanse our souls.

Once we know we have the time and resources to take a beach trip, it is time to do some beach research. Usually I start with visits to:

>Classic Vacations where I purchased a trip to Kauai and was very pleased.

>PleasantHolidays

Some people have the resources to throw all financial caution to the wind and hope to find something that is unique and maybe even a one of a kind beach trip. The following properties all fit this bill. For interesting opportunities, check out The Leading Hotels of the World or this link to Luxury Link.

In Mexico, visit:

• The Maroma on the Mayan Riviera
• Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Los Cabos corridor

In the Caribbean, visit:

• The Hermitage in Nevis, West Indies
• Fond Doux Holiday Plantation on Saint Lucia.
• Galley Bay Resort and Spa on Antigua

On the Big Island of Hawaii, visit:

• Mauna Kea Beach Hotel
• Kona Village Resort

A Beach Trip to the South Pacific and Thailand

A Beach Trip to the South Pacific and Thailand

Check out Agoda for lots of Southeast Asia properties.

Specific properties worth considering are the following:

In Fiji, try:

• Turtle Island
• Namale Resort

North of Tahiti:

• Manihi Pearl Beach Resort

Bali, Indonesia:

• Hotel Tugu Bali

Visually pleasing sites:

• Starwoodhotels
• Barceló
• Five Star Alliance

It is always a good idea to hit "the big three" not in Michigan:

• orbitz
• travelocity
• expedia

While your are checking out these sites, you might want to hit specific airline sites such as:

• united airlines
• northwest airlines
• virgin atlantic

Before you make a purchase, go to tripadvisor to see what other travelers say about the hotels, flights, restaurants, beaches, and various activities. It is well worth reading others experiences. Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page if there is something you want to share.

Before a recent trip to Mexico, I read about a hotel on tripadvisor, where someone said it had hard beds and I told myself that that person is an oversensitive softy. Well, we went and guess what, the beds were stone hard. I should have given them more credit. My point is that when people share on that site, in most cases they are sharing their honest experience and not trying to persuade.

With the economy hurting everyone, the travel industry is no exception which makes for some good Beach Trip Deals. It is amazing to see the flight, hotel and package deals from all the big travel sites with a huge emphasis on Beach Travel. One site I get e-mails from is hotwire, where they had a 3.5 star hotel in New York for $70/night, which could be amazing or loud or dirty, but still a good price. Ah, the possibility of seeing interesting art, clothes and people by day, a great meal at a one of a kind restaurant, then catching a show at night, is definitely tantalizing. You might want to use your American Express travel reward points to purchase entertainment, hotel rooms or airline tickets.

A Beach trip starts while surfing the web

One of my favorite types of e-mails is beach travel related ones that come from sites with various vacation offers about last minute travel packages, reduced flights and bargain basement deals on hotel rooms. They often have enticing titles like $39 OW (one way) from Booking Buddy, which frequently lists offers that are 30-50% below normal prices. Not too shabby. Almost free, eh? A recent bargain was for a NYC hotel for $122/night, which in the right establishment is a screaming deal. If an e-mail doesn’t come from Booking Buddy, it might be from Cheap Flights, for $59 OW or Travel Zoo.

Sometimes I crave big city, culturally rich experiences and other times I crave the beach. On occasion, it is neither and it is the desire to make a plan and research the destination. All of these things start with jumping around on the Internet. You might feel the same way? If so, start sharing it with everyone.

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