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Layovers | Stopovers

Istanbul Layover: Touristanbul Half Day Free City Tour

We had previously taken advantage of Turkish Airlines stopover program where you get a free hotel room simply for adding a day or two to your itinerary to spend in Istanbul. For shorter stops, Turkish Airways also offers their Touristanbul program with a variety of tours at different times of the day and different venues […]

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Trip Ideas

Manila, Philippines: A Half-Day City Tour

With only a day to explore Manila before heading out to our dive resort for some scuba diving in the Philippines we opted to take a half day tour to visit some of the city’s most important attractions. Some of the most notable places we visited were located in and around Intramuros, the historic walled […]

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Trip Ideas

Costa Rica’s Monteverde and Arenal Volcano Areas

Costa Rica had been on our wish list seemingly forever. I even found a guidebook we had purchased in 2008 in the hopes of visiting this wonderful and magical place. We’re not quite sure why it took so long, there are multiple daily short 3-hour direct flights from Miami to both San Jose and Liberia […]

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Trip Ideas

Road Trip: Madrid to Toledo and Cordoba With a Few Castles Along the Way

We had visited Spain previously spending time in Madrid, Barcelona, and doing road trips and excursions to see Seville and other popular spots from Malaga and Torremolinos. We enjoy Spain quite a bit, and when we saw a deal on tickets for a direct flight from Miami to Madrid, we jumped on it knowing we […]

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Scuba Diving South Florida Day Trips

Blue Heron Bridge, a World-Renowned Shore Dive Site

We finally had the chance to dive the famous Blue Heron Bridge dive site and we know now why it has been voted the best shore dive in the United States! Also, snorkelers can enjoy the easy access Phil Foster Park Snorkel Trail.

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Trip Ideas

A Few Days in Montreal for the Holidays

Montreal is so beautiful under a fresh coat of snow! Even more so during the holidays when the Christmas lights are twinkling and glowing through the white snow. Every year since we moved south, we look forward to our holiday time visit. It has become a tradition! To reunite and celebrate with family is the […]

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South Florida Day Trips

Blue Springs State Park: Manatees, Birds, Alligators

One fun thing to do during the Florida winter is to get out and look for manatees. These gentle giants come up the springs looking for warmer water. We sometimes see them at the outlet of power stations and other areas where they might find some warmer water. There are several good spots to go. […]

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South Florida Day Trips

Stetson Mansion Historic Home in DeLand, Florida

Located about 3.5 hours from Miami in Lake Mary, and just north of Orlando, the Stetson Mansion is a wonderful 19th century Gilded Age Estate that is definitely worth visiting. For the past 13 years, JT Thompson and Michael Solari have opened their home for Christmas tours. JT decorates the house for the holidays, and […]

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Conservation

The ReefLine, an Underwater Conservation Project in Miami Beach

We have been anticipating the arrival of Miami Beach’s ReefLine project for some time now. News first broke around the time of the pandemic and the project’s future seemed in jeopardy. The 7-mile-long underwater sculpture park with access for scuba divers and snorkelers is a project that is certainly interesting for us and for many in the […]

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Conservation South Florida Day Trips

The Great Elephant Migration on Miami Beach

We recently went to Miami Beach to see the Great Elephant Migration exhibit which was part of Miami Art Week 2024.

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Travel Tips

Travel Tip:  Pleasant Surprise on Rebooking Policy and Trip Credit Expiry

We tend to book our trips well in advance and love travel planning. At any given time, we may have the next 2 or 3 (or even 5) trips in various stages of planning. In fact, we often do our planning around finding a great price on airfare. If something pops up that looks good, […]

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Cruise Ideas

Weekend Getaway: Bahamas Cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida

We recently had a couple of friends celebrating a special anniversary. To mark the milestone, we were lucky enough to be invited along with a few other friends to join them on a Bahamas weekend cruise. Our friend took care of organizing everything and reserved several cabins abord the Celebrity Reflection leaving out of Port […]

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Trip Ideas

How to Spend Two Days in Mystic, Connecticut

We recently had the opportunity to visit Mystic, a beautiful seaport in Connecticut. About an hour or so from New Haven, this lazy seafront village is made up of shops, restaurants, hotels and museums.