Thanks for paving the way for so many.
Well done thy good and faithful servant!
http://ow.ly/i/5Dg47
Check out this Quarter’s Hosted Newslet
Check out this Quarter’s Hosted Newsletter.
Featured in this issue the 2015 SpringFling Cruise hosted by the Atlanta Travel Associates. http://ow.ly/x1Fv8
Looking for a great place to enjoy your
Looking for a great place to enjoy your libations while cruising?
Cruise Critics list the 28 Best Bars on a cruise ship.
Surely, you’ll be able to find a favorite. http://ow.ly/x1rmb
60 Second Travel Destination – Aruba
Aruba is a relatively small island. it is only 20 miles long and slightly less than 6 miles across at its widest point. It is one of the Dutch “ABC islands” consisting of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao and only 19 miles off the north shore of Venezuela. It’s easy to get around in Aruba. The public bus is efficient and runs through the hotel zone. Taxis, cars, motorcycles and bicycles are also available for rent.
Anguilla is more than a destination. Anguilla is an experience, a special feeling found nowhere else. Anguilla represents the ultimate in escape from the ordinary, the opportunity to leave behind the busy everyday to wrap oneself in the very essence of relaxation. Visitors come from all over the world to Anguilla to rejuvenate the mind, body and spirit. As they say in Anguilla “Feeling is believing.”
They must do something right in Aruba. It has the highest hotel occupancy rates and the highest rate of return visitors of any destination in the Caribbean.
Aruba’s leading industry is relaxation. Over 500,000 people visit each year, bringing a lot of money to the island. As a result, Aruba is quite prosperous by Caribbean standards. The locals have good housing, healthcare and education. There is very little history of racial or social strife, so the inhabitants are friendly, warm and open with travelers.
The city of Oranjested is the capital and was named after the first king of the Dutch Royal Family, Willem van Orange-Nassau, in 1824. Today it is known as the House of Orange. In Oranjested you’ll find the Aruba Historical Museum and the oldest building in Aruba, Fort Zoutman (1796).
One of the real graces of Aruba is its near-perfect weather – a nearly constant phenomenon of sunny skies, warm temperatures, and cool breezes driven off the Caribbean. This island’s low humidity and desert like terrain is likewise nearly a full-time affair as it almost never rains and the island is far below the hurricane belt of the Caribbean.
Aruba’s beaches are some of the best in the Caribbean with miles of white, sugary sand. The nearly picture-perfect beach settings and gentle surf are what many people have in mind when they think of this part of the world. Aruba is a desert island full of cacti, iguanas, more cacti, a few aloe-vera plants and unusual boulder formations.
While the resort area of the island has very calm, pristine beaches, the north coast features craggy limestone cliffs, caves, sand dunes, and a more energetic surf. 
In Aruba, there are plenty of activities. It’s a great place to experience snorkeling, scuba diving, windsurfing or kite surfing. Both experienced and novice practitioners of all these sports find great outlets on Aruba. When you tire of the beach you can dine at the restaurants or do some local shopping. Aruba has two horse competitions each year. The horses are descendants of Andalusian and Arabian horses that were brought to the island by the Spanish conquistadors.
Are you ready to getaway to picture perfect Aruba? Contact Atlanta Travel Associates and get started.
60 Seconds Travel Destination – Jamaica
Jamaica is a world apart. Few locations on earth have been so graced with amazing natural beauty, wonderful climate, crystal clear water and rich culture. The Jamaicans say their land is the “biggest little island in the world. Indeed, one trip is not enough. To fully take in Jamaica you must travel there again and again. And why not? There are tropical rainforests, waterfalls, wonderful sand beaches, shimmering sands and a turquoise sea, a wide variety of resorts, and a culture with a rhythm all its own.
Tourism in Jamaica is well established and the resort infrastructure is excellent with a wide variety of accommodations at every end of the budgetary scale. Properties range from independent hotels to all inclusive resorts.
Most of the hotel development is on Jamaica’s North Shore at Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Negril. Jamaica is home to many all-inclusive resorts, but also offers alternatives from locally owned properties to luxury villas.
The mountainous interior of Jamaica provides an idyllic setting. The island’s Blue Mountains contain a wide variety of plant and animal life and ecotourism here is seeing a healthy interest.
Contemporary Jamaican culture, epitomized by the music of Bob Marley, expresses the national pride in the island’s heritage. The English wrested Jamaica away from the Spanish in the mid-1600s and used the island as a base throughout the Caribbean. They permitted pirates to hold sway over some areas of the island like Port Royal to continue to threaten Spanish interests in the rest of the Caribbean.
Jamaica has more churches per square mile than any other place in the world. Every denomination finds a home here, as well as Jews, Hindus, Muslims and Rastafarians.
Most resorts and hotels will arrange for guided drives around the island for visitors. It is a great way to get off of the beaten path, see the real Jamaica, and to slowly acclimate to a side of the island not found behind the gates.
Contact Atlanta Travel Associates now and start planning your Jamaica vacation.
60 Seconds Travel Destination – Costa Maya
Costa Maya, Mexico in 60 seconds!
Don’t be led to believe that beaches are all there is to the Costa Maya region. If you want to venture a bit further and immerse yourself in some true Mayan culture, you have several options. The region is home to some lesser known (but still important) Mayan ruins with the most prominent one being Chacchoben, a city dating back to around 350 A.D. The seaside village of Mahahual is also worth a visit. It’s history began as a fishing village, but now, with the advent of Costa Maya and more recently some financial gain from Hurricane Dean, there are seaside huts, beautifully groomed (and calm) beaches which are perfect for families, and a boardwalk. However, be aware of the buskers who will be selling the traditional souvenirs.
- The Chacchoben Ruins are the most popular site in Costa Maya. For many years the ruins of Chacchoben remained silent as evidence of the greatness and glorious past of the most brilliant civilization of the new world. Today Chacchoben has become the most popular shore excursion in Costa Maya! Kohunlich Ruins is also popular. This city is dedicated to Kinich Ahau, the Sun God for the ancient Maya.
- Chacchoben Ruins
- The Dzibanche Mayan Ruins are located in the heart of the Costa Maya region. It may take a while to get there, but it is one of the more impressive ruins in Mexico with some of the greatest examples of architecture and urban organization. The city is an ancient ceremonial center surrounded by many religious buildings. Excavations in the larger temples in Dzibanche, revealed tombs holding jade offerings for members of the elite and ruling families. A set of inscriptions recently discovered in Dzibanche, suggest that it could have been home of one of the most powerful dynasties in the Mayan territory.
- The Ruins of Kohunlich are one of the most studied sites in the area with the centerpiece being its spectacular temple dedicated to the Sun God. You will see temples housing stucco masks that are part of a symbolic decoration system reflecting the importance of the cosmos for the ancient Mayans. Kohunlich also features residential complexes and palaces that present a very elaborate architecture, that evidence the importance and status of the families who once lived there.
Check out the latest video of Costa Maya and the Riviera Maya – The Best of the Yucatan.
The ruins are begging to be explored. Contact Atlanta Travel Associates and get started!
60 Second Travel Destination – Viva Las Vegas!
LAS VEGAS IN 60 SECONDS!
Vegas is a city of stories, amazing facts and history. Over 37.5 million people visit Las Vegas each year. Each one arrives with the small glimmer of hope that this trip could be the one where they return wealthier than they arrived. At the very least, each leaves with a story of their own to tell.
- Seventeen of the 20 largest hotels in the United States are in Las Vegas.
- The first casino was licensed 1931. The current number of licensed gambling places is over 1,700.
- There is gambling aplenty, from penny slots to the highest stake tables and even private card games.
- Mobster Bugsy Siegel named the Flamingo after the long legs of his girlfriend. Siegel’s “financiers” were unhappy when the budget for the casino went from just over one million dollars to nearly 7 million dollars.
- Las Vegas is one of the most popular places to get married in the world with very few legal requirements and even a drive-through marriage chapel.
- Las Vegas has historically been an adult destination, but during the 1990’s city leaders and publicists attempted to remake the city into a more family-friendly destination. Results were mixed.
- Visitors almost always underestimate the amount of walking they will do in Vegas. The hotels are huge, the distances between hotels equally long. Take comfortable shoes!
- Not everyone spends time outdoors, but a good sun block is important as well. Speaking of the outdoors, Vegas hotels are famous for their lavish and lively collection of swimming pools, some of which are adult only.
- There is nothing subtle about Las Vegas architecture. Where else will you see the New York City skyline next to the Eiffel Tower next to the canals of Venice, next to one of the Pyramids, next to Camelot?
- Las Vegas casinos are famous for their bargain dining options and buffets, but the city is also home to world-class dining in many of the major hotels with a collection of famous chefs that rival any city anywhere.
- Vegas weather is predictable. If you are looking for cooler weather come from October to February. Looking for hotter weather? Come March through September.
- The casinos are not the only attractions. Grand Canyon tours are popular as are trips out to the desert.
Get out there and “Live the Dream!”
Ready to experience Las Vegas? Contact Atlanta Travel Associates to get started.
60 Second Travel Destination – Cancun and the Maya Riviera
THE CANCUN AND THE MAYA RIVIERA IN 60 SECONDS!
The Yucatán coast has been a staple of travelers from the United States for forty years or more. The rapid development in and around Cancun became a model for the best and the worst in the ways in which tourism could enrich a population. This area was largely isolated from the rest of Mexico until the Mexican government selected the region for development.
- The Yucatán’s Caribbean coast is more than 236 miles and stretches from Cancún in the north all the way to Chetumal, on the border with the nation of Belize.
- The northern half of the Yucatán’s coast is known as the “Maya Riviera” to the south, the “Costa Maya.” Between the two is the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve.
- South of Cancun development along the Mayan Riviera is on a smaller scale, with a greater understanding for the principles of sustainable tourism and a respect for native cultures.
- The second longest reef system in the world runs much of the length of the coast. Playa del Carmen, Xpu-Ha, Tulum and the other magnificent beaches occur where there are gaps in the reef and the tidal action of the ocean’s waves pounds the reef into fine sand.
- The reef provides great snorkeling and diving and the beaches are some of the world’s finest.
- Ancient Mayan ruins dot the coast and are easily accessible from the resort communities along the coast
- Inland, vast caves are present and under ground rivers run where travelers can explore with experienced guides.
- The choice of accommodations is large and varied from cabins to all inclusive resorts or boutique hotels.
- The ancient Mayan cities of Uxmal and Chichen Itza remain some of the best examples of the mysterious cultures, the vestages of which exist to this day in the native populations.
Ready to go to the Yucatán coast? Contact the Atlanta Travel Associates and get started planning your trip.
Still time to cruise on the SOUL TRAIN C
Still time to cruise on the SOUL TRAIN CRUISE.. “The Hippest Trip at Sea!”
Sailing Feb. 23 – March 2, 2014
Rub elbows with The Isley Brothers, Charlie Wilson, Roberta Flack, Jeffrey Osborne, The Commodores, Stephanie Mills and many others throughout the cruise.
The cruise is 90 percent sold, with only Deluxe Verandah Ocean view Cabins remaining.
Call for our special rate of $2,000 per person total (Including port charges, taxes and onboard gratuities) Based on double occupancy.
Call me…..770-656-8668
Email me…info@atlantatravelassoc.com
Cruise Therapy Travel Blog by the Atlanta Travel Associates 