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Category: Adventure Travel around the world

San Francisco and Yosemite : a 5 day trip in Spring

San Francisco and Yosemite : a 5 day trip in Spring

Exploring the Enchanting Charms of San Francisco and the Spectacular natural beauty of Yosemite : a 5 day trip in Spring Welcome to our captivating exploration of one of America’s most iconic cities: San Francisco. Nestled on the picturesque California coastline, this vibrant metropolis has long been renowned for its breathtaking landscapes, cultural diversity, and innovative spirit. With its famous fog-kissed hills, iconic Golden Gate Bridge, and bustling waterfront, the grand Palace of fine arts, San Francisco is a city…

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Istanbul – A city across 2 continents

Istanbul – A city across 2 continents

Istanbul is one of the oldest cities in the region, established in the 7th century BC (or earlier) as Lygos, which became popular as Byzantium after the roman conquest in the 2nd century AD and came to be known as Constantinople in the 4th century AD after Constantine, the Roman emperor and finally changed to Istanbul in the mid 15th century AD when it fell to the Ottomans. I could not find any relics from its pre-roman past but has…

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Best of Jordan – 5 day Road trip

Best of Jordan – 5 day Road trip

The flight from Cairo landed in Amman around 1.30 pm. Since we had bought Jordan pass online, we did not have to pay any extra visa fees. We bought a SIM card, took our rental car and started towards Petra or Wadi Musa. Apart from Petra, our itinerary included a night in Wadi Rum and a day visiting Aqaba and the Dead sea. I was fascinated by Petra from the time I had seen the pictures of its tombs and…

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Egypt – 4600 years of history

Egypt – 4600 years of history

We reached Cairo early morning around 6.15 am and were welcomed to the “Land of Pharaohs” by our guide from Egypt Tours Portal. The airport formalities were very swiftly completed as we had our e-visas. A representative from our private tour company was waiting to assist us with the passport control formalities. 2 points to remember – The currency exchange rate at the airport is not good, so change your CAD in the city. The phone plans at the airport…

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Ancient Treasures of the Middle East – Egypt, Jordan and Istanbul in 19 days

Ancient Treasures of the Middle East – Egypt, Jordan and Istanbul in 19 days

This part of the middle east, the region of Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Turkey, is steeped with rich history dating back 4600 years, has witnessed evolution of civilization, been the centre point of many religions, has immense natural beauty and of course has many wonders of the world which bear testimony to the immense creativity and capabilities of man! No wonder that this was in my bucket list of places to visit and experience and I would highly recommend this…

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France – Italy : 6 cities in 14 days!

France – Italy : 6 cities in 14 days!

France – Italy : Paris, Nice, Venice, Florence, Rome & Pompeii 6 Cities in 14 days : Apr 18 to May 3 Summary Itinerary : Toronto to Paris – 9 hours flight Paris – 3 nights / 3 days Paris to Nice – TGV Nice – 2 nights / 1.5 days Nice to Venice – EasyJet flight ~ 1 hour Venice – 2 nights / 2 days Venice to Florence – Trenitalia 2 hours Florence – 2 nights / 1.5…

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Portugal & Spain (SW) in 11 days – A road trip

Portugal & Spain (SW) in 11 days – A road trip

Once again, I was looking for exciting places to visit in Dec – Jan, some place which would allow me to escape the Toronto freezing temperatures and have lot more than just beaches. Portugal, with 10 – 18 C day temperatures, treasure of historical monuments (some dating back to the Roman times), beautiful cities and great food, seemed to be the perfect destination. On further research, I realized that there were a lot of sights to see in smaller towns…

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Hawaii – The Land of Aloha

Hawaii – The Land of Aloha

Hawaii Island (Big Island) in 12 days The reason I decided to visit Hawaii was, in one word, Volcanoes, to be more precise, Active Volcanoes. Just the thought of seeing red hot molten rock flowing and seeing it from a close distance, as close as 2 feet, got me in top planning mode. I read a lot of literature on Hawaii and found that it was a treasure trove for explorers with hundreds of natural marvels and exciting activities that…

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Austria – Hungary – Czech – a road trip

Austria – Hungary – Czech – a road trip

Summary : 13 days; Fly Toronto – Munich; Rent car in Munich for 11 days; Drive to Salzburg – Hallstatt (night stay); Hallstatt to Vienna via Melk; Vienna stay 3 nights; Mozart concert; Vienna to Budapest in Hungary – stay 3 nights; Local folk music and dance; Budapest to Bratislava to Prague ( stay 3 nights);  Opera; Prague to Munich via Cesky Krumlov; Munich Centrum 4 hours; next morning fly back to Toronto Medieval and early modern history, architecture, music and…

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Mesmerizing Morocco – 13 days of adventure and exploration

Mesmerizing Morocco – 13 days of adventure and exploration

Mesmerizing Morocco – a 2 week trip Key words: Ancient history; Roman ruins dating back to 300 AD; Culture; Sahara Desert; Atlas mountains; Todra Gorge; Medinas; Beaches Researching for warm places to visit in Europe in Dec – Jan, I kept moving south looking for reasonably warm and exciting places when I came across an article on Morocco, a north african country which is just south of Spain. It said that Morocco was a popular destination for european visitors, especially,…

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Florida in 12 days – a unique 7000 km road trip in a Nissan Versa

Florida in 12 days – a unique 7000 km road trip in a Nissan Versa

Florida : Family Trip | Road trip | Adventure | New places | New activities Florida Keys : Key west – Marathon – Islamorada – Miami Beach – Everglades : Homestead – Flamingo – Cypress – Beaches – Naples – Sarasota – Bradenton Beach – Tampa – Theme park : Celebration – Orlando

Las Vegas in December

Las Vegas in December

Las Vegas Great place to visit for everyone; whether you gamble or not, you will find Vegas entertaining; great place for families too. We had booked our stay at Hotel Paris (one of the best locations right in the thick of things) almost 2 months in advance. TIP: look for deals on all online websites. Hotel website are not the best place to look for deals.

Enchanting Sedona

Enchanting Sedona

Grand Canyon to Sedona: We started early from Grand Canyon for Sedona which is a 2 hour drive. Reached Sedona at 9.30 or so. Grabbed a coffee at a local cafe, enjoyed it in the sun; temperature was about 6 – 8 C.

Grand Canyon – South Rim

Grand Canyon – South Rim

There is a ton of authentic information on Grand Canyon on the park website. I am giving below my experiences which you may not find anywhere else. Enjoy! If you want to stay on the canyon rim, book well in advance, 6 months in advance. If you want to camp at the Phantom ranch at the bottom of the canyon, book a year in advance. The North rim is closed in winter so we could only visit the South Rim….

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Costa Rica in 15 days : Dec 2012 – Jan 2013 – an exotic family vacation

Costa Rica in 15 days : Dec 2012 – Jan 2013 – an exotic family vacation

15 days in exotic Costa Rica : Dec 2012 – Jan 2013 Costa Rica is a beautiful Central American country nested between Nicaragua on the north and Panama on the south. It is a small country where you can travel from east to west in less than an hour by flight but would take you a very long time to drive because of its mountainous terrain. You can see the Caribbean coast, tropical rain-forests, mountains and volcanoes, cloud forest, sunny…

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