Summer is not far away now and the chances are you’ve already made your holiday plans for this year. But if you’re still in two minds about where to go for a bit of sun this year, consider these firm favourite destinations and all they have to offer.

The South of France
A long-standing favourite amongst British holidaymakers, the South of France is blessed with a number of Europe’s best holiday resorts that offer a great variety of scenery, atmosphere and activities. From the glamorous marinas of St Tropez on the French Riviera, to the famous film festival city of Cannes, to bustling cities like Marseille and Nice, you will find no shortage of sun-kissed towns and humid nightlife along France’s south coast. Between these larger cities you’ll also find some beautiful coastal resorts where campsites and rental apartments offer something to suit all budgets. Whether you choose to travel across France by car, train or plane, worldwide travel insurance is a wise purchase to guard against any mishaps.

The Algarve
The summer climate in the South of France is hot enough for most people but those who really love the sunshine head to places like the Algarve, where temperatures in summer can push the mercury up over 40 degrees centigrade. Portuguese resorts like Albufeira, Lagos and Tavira are popular amongst families who love beach holidays, adventurous types who enjoy exploring the Portuguese countryside, and also golfers who head to the Algarve to play its exquisite courses. If you’re planning to head to the Algarve and need travel insurance compare prices and deals at online comparison sites to find the best cover for your needs.

Florida
If your family are feeling flush this year, you might be able to book a flight to Florida, where some of the world’s most famous beach resorts welcome summer holidaymakers from all over the globe each year. As well as sunspots like Florida Keys, the Gold Coast and Tampa Bay, Florida offers more adventurous getaways at places like the Everglades, Lake Okeechobee and, of course, Walt Disney World. In fact, there’s very little you could want from a summer holiday that can’t be found in fabulous Florida.

Cornwall
If your summer budget won’t stretch to the states but you still want sun, sea, surf and stunning scenery, consider Cornwall. Resorts like Newquay are hugely popular amongst young people who like to spend their days surfing or lounging on the beach and their nights partying, while places like Falmouth, St Agnes, Penzance and St Austell are steeped in the history of Cornwall and boast a wealth of excellent accommodation options, not to mention some half decent Cornish pasties!

Costa del Sol
Spain’s most famous suntrap runs along its southern coast and incorporates resorts like Torremolinos, Nerja, Fuengirola, Marbella and Malaga. The huge popularity of the Costa del Sol amongst British tourists has shaped the region in many ways, with plenty of ex-pats having moved out to Spain and set up bars and pubs that cater for those looking for home comforts. But the region remains a beauty spot, with spectacular white beaches, lush green mountains and meandering old town roads just waiting to be explored.

I was recently asked to review HotelCalculator.com, a hotel comparison site that crawls all of the engines and delivers results.

Like many of the meta travel sites out there, users begin by putting their  travel dates in and comparing the options returned.  Upon choosing a hotel, users are sent directly from HotelCalculator.com to book the hotel at the hotel booking sites.

Comparing To Other Travel Search Engines
How does Hotel Calculator differ from the other sites out there?  First of all, they compare more than twenty hotel search engines.  That’s quite a few, and more than many meta travel sites.

Hotel Calculator has several ways to list results, including by price, star rating, distance, and popularity.  The popularity option is nice – rather than a biased “our personal picks” selection, like you see on other sites, it allows you to see just what other customers tend to book.  Additionally, it’s nice to have an easy currency changer at the top, allowing you to see the prices in several different currencies.

Hostels, apartments and B&Bs are all included as well as hotels and motels, and it’s easy to separate them by type or look at the complete list as a whole.  Beyond that, you can sort by amenities, including swimming pool, elevator, internet access (albeit not differentiating between paid and free internet, or WiFi accessibility), and accessibility for the disabled.

As far as the site design goes, it’s clean, basic, uncluttered, and very intuitive.  It’s hard to imagine anyone getting confused while using the site!

Hotel Calculator has also developed an iPhone app.  Integrating with the GPS feature on the iPhone or iPod touch, it’s a convenient way to find hotels nearest you.  I imagine this would be most useful when you’re in need of emergency accommodation.

Overall
Like most of the hotel comparison sites out there, Hotel Calculator works primarily with major hotels wired for the web.  If you’re looking for a tiny, family-owned guesthouse in a tiny, somewhat obscure beach town in Thailand, Hotel Calculator may not be the best choice for you.

However, if you’re looking for mainstream hotel accommodation in reasonably known destinations, Hotel Calculator is excellent.  According to the site, the most popular destinations are European cities.

I could absolutely see myself using Hotel Calculator any time I need accommodation.  Even if I already know which hotel I want to stay at, it would be an ideal place to make sure I’m paying the lowest price possible.

There are many places which we can go to experience wildlife within our own country. We can go to zoos, nature reserves, animal sanctuaries and farms amongst others. There are very few places, however, where we can experience wildlife in its own environment. It is for this reason that many people choose to travel in order to experience some of the world’s most amazing creatures first hand in its natural environment. Below are some of the best places to travel to in order to experience wildlife in its purest form:

Costa Rica
Costa Rica has a diverse and magnificent range of wildlife. It is renowned worldwide for its conservation efforts, which include a number of national parks allowing animals to live in their natural habitat. The national parks make for an educational and life changing experience as you will be able to experience an environment which is largely untouched by man. Amongst the wildlife at these natural parks you will find monkeys, crocodiles, jaguars and exotic birds amongst others. The majority of accommodation is built with eco tourism in mind.

South American Rainforest
Widely considered to be home to the largest number of species around the world, the South American rainforest is a magnificent environment which, despite increasing human destruction, still expands over vast areas and provides a home to some of the most amazing wildlife in the world. If you are concerned that you do not want to contribute to the human influence on the forest, there are a number of companies who offer eco friendly trips.

Everglades
Located in southern USA, the Everglades is the ideal place to view wildlife in its own habitat whilst remaining in close proximity to the western world. Amongst the huge range of wildlife to inhabit the everglades include reptiles such as alligators, crocodiles, snakes, turtles and moccasin. The mammals include otters, raccoons and panthers. The birdlife alone is well worth the trip to the everglades, which includes the famous bald eagle together with a range of other rare birds of prey.

Guest post by James who works in the Travel industry and offers Rome apartments and Rome Italy accommodation for European traveller

Source: Pimsleur Approach

Las Vegas is an exciting, vibrant place to visit and to most people the main reason for travelling here is to visit the casino’s and all they have to offer. The Las Vegas strip which is the most famous part of Las Vegas is home to many casinos where you can gamble and enjoy yourself.
Many people think of a casino as just somewhere to gamble, but of course there’s a lot more to the casinos of Vegas than just gambling. Most are hotel complexes where you can enjoy an evening show of dancing ladies (or men), musicals, magic shows, and broadway style shows too.

They all want to draw you in, and so if you walk down the strip you can see spectacular shows designed to entertain you like at the Bellagio where they have a fountain which through the evening at regular intervals has a show of water, music and lights, or at the Mirage where they have an artificial volcano that ‘erupts’ through the evening spilling pina colada scented smoke out into the vicinity.

Las Vegas is home to the tallest free standing observation tower in America. Stratosphere towers (a regular casino and hotel on its lower levels), has a high up observation tower where you can see far out over Vegas and the surrounding area. There’s also a revolving restaurant up there called ‘Top of the World’ where you can eat whilst slowly revolving round to enjoy the views of city, desert and mountains, as well as several rides – The Big shot, a reverse bungee jump shooting you 160 feet up in the air at 45 miles per hour. Sky jump which is a controlled descent bungee jump style ride that plummets down 855 feet before landing you safely at the bottom, and Insanity, where you’re dangled off the edge of the tower and then spun in a circle while the ground revolves waaaay below you.

Although most of the activity is on the Las Vegas Strip, there are other places in and around Las Vegas worth visiting. There’s Madame Tussauds with its famous waxworks. The Shark Reef Aquarium with 15 different types of shark as well as many other animals. And away from the buzz of the city, out in the dessert, you can visit the El Dorado Canyon Mine where you can take a tour of a real gold mine and find out what it was like back when mining was the main industry for the area. If you’ve got the money to spend, or have a big win at the casinos, you could also take a Las Vegas Space flight. It’s not quite a space ship, but the Boeing 727’s that go up here, go high enough that they can perform a series of moves that give passengers the chance to experience true weightlessness, even if it’s only for a very brief period.

New Zealand is a fantastic place and any backpacker there will want to explore as much as possible of the cities, landscapes, forests, jungles and plains. New Zealand truly has everything and is one of the most varied spheres of biodiversity in the world.

Backpacking New Zealand just got better. In 2011, the Rugby World Cup will be held in Queenstown, which will be the host for teams from 20 different countries worldwide, 48 games around New Zealand. Thousands of screaming fans will descend on the country and this is the perfect time to check it out, especially Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu.

What could be better than waking up one morning knowing you are seeing several rugby games in the evening and then looking around you at the stunning mountains and the plateau you are staying on.

Queenstown travel tips include the handy convenience if the international airport that has connections to the major cities in New Zealand and in Australia. The actual cities where the Rugby World Cup will be played are Invercargill, Dunedin and Christchurch and they are a mere 2-6 hours drive away from Queenstown.

Queenstown is the official training location for three of the teams coming to compete in New Zealand, so it’s a perfect opportunity to see your favorite Irish, English and either Romanian or Uruguayan rugby stars (depending on who wins the playoff on November 27th). Throughout the month of September, Queenstown’s pubs and bars will be filled with rugby players and international guests after hard long days of training. This is a perfect opportunity for you to meet some very special and fun people.

There are so many things to do in Queenstown that the list is almost endless. Everything is available, skydiving, bungie jumping, jetboating, canyon swinging, hell skiing and whitewater rafting for the most adventurous and brave. If you’re not so dead set on the adrenaline rush, there’s still walking, sailing, hiking, climbing, fishing, cycling skiing or mountain biking to challenge your senses.

Another great opportunity for young backpackers who still might be students is that you can even live and study there. the town is usually extremely diverse and quiet, a year round unbelievable landscape to inspire and motivate even the worst of procrastinators. Many students, artists and even businesses are moving to the tranquility of Queenstown to realize their dreams in style. There are a number of language schools and colleges in Queenstown and of course plenty of job opportunities in the public and private sectors. The range of courses on offer in Queenstown are from learning English to tourism management and everything in between. The premier Southern Institute of Technology is also located in Queenstown.

For many people, visiting France is limited to seeing one city: Paris. When you watch movies about traveling to France, and learning the French language, people often are going to Paris, or seeing the opposite extreme of the French countryside. For those who were successful in learning a language fast, especially French, France has other wonderful places to visit. Although these locations don’t get as many tourbooks dedicated to them, they can be wonderful to visit any time of the year.

Nice, in the French Riviera, is one of the most spectacular locations that France has to offer outside of Paris. Located on the Cote d’Azur, the name is exactly what you’d expect—a blue coast. Nice offers a unique blend of old styled buildings and architecture, modern architecture, green spaces, and, of course, beaches. The beaches in Nice present a view of the French Riviera and water that’s far bluer than anything you’ll see at home. Nice tends to have a temperate climate yearround, so even though you may not feel like sunbathing in the winter, you can definitely walk up and along the beach if you choose.

Nice also has excellent shopping opportunities through an outdoor market and other boutiques and department stores. Be sure to leave extra room in your suitcase if you’re planning on bringing treasures home, and remember that you can’t bring back any of the excellent produce you’ll find in the markets.

Aside from staying in Nice, you’ll also have the opportunity to travel to outlying areas if you choose. Cannes is a short distance from Nice, and is the location of the famous Cannes Film Festival. With the exception of during the festival, the theatre where the festival is held is open on the outside to the public. You’ll be able to walk up the same staircase that the red carpet is on, and you’ll be able to walk in the footsteps of famous actors and actresses.

Another short distance from Nice is Monte Carlo. Although not in France, Monte Carlo is also French speaking. Monte Carlo has numerous high-end, haute couture shops, and, of course, the world-famous Monte Carlo casino. The casino is that portrayed in many James Bond films, although those rooms are not open to the general public and you won’t be able to see them. The Monte Carlo casino is like none that you’ll experience in the United States—it’s worth the short trip, and the dress code!

While hundreds of travelers take Viking’s Yangtze River Cruises every year, many do not spend additional time in this fascinating part of the world. But, why not? Most travel experts believe that the coming years will bring more travel opportunities for those looking to explore Asia. And while you may think you already know all about some of these destinations, think again because they probably have little-known wonders just waiting to be discovered. Here are some destinations that should be included in your must-see list.

China
A recent survey said China will edge out Spain for the third most popular global travel destination by 2020; putting it only behind the U.S. and France. If you’ve already experienced the hustle and bustle of China, maybe take a step back and get a larger view of all the activity. You can take a cable car to White Cloud Mountain for a bird’s-eye view of Guangzhou, or a walk on the Bund to admire the Shanghai skyline.

Vietnam
For global travelers, Vietnam has emerged as a travel hot spot. With dozens of bars and clubs on Pham Ngu Lao Street and late night shopping at the Night Market, the night life in Ho Chi Minh City can bring out the night owl in even the earliest of birds. And for the slightly more adventurous traveler, the coolest hangout along the backpacker belt in Asia is central Vietnam’s Hoi An. Located just down the coast from Danang, Hoi An is close to spectacular beaches and some of the finest ruins in Asia, including the Champa ruins at My Son, the largest surviving remnants of Vietnam’s Champa kingdom (dating back to the 4th century).

Burma
Officially called Myanmar, this off-the beaten-path destination has been on many travelers’ wish lists for years, but some have avoided the destination for political reasons. Until now. The country’s leader recently dropped her calls for a tourism boycott and is encouraging visits from Westerners. The former capital, Yangon, boasts the Strand Hotel, the former haunt of Somerset Maugham and is also the home of astonishing gold-leafed pagodas. The pristine beaches along the Bay of Bengal are breathtaking and, if you’re lucky, you might get a glimpse of the Irrawaddy River’s endangered dolphins while sailing to Mandalay.

The Maldives
The Maldives offers the closest thing to paradise in the tropics. Visitors to the Maldives enjoy sun, bountiful sea life and impeccable service. This extraordinary country is located in the Indian Ocean and is an archipelago made up of thousands of tiny islands surrounded by a warm turquoise blue sea. A holiday in the Maldives can be a Robinson Crusoe-type experience, but with all the amenities and comforts. It’s also a paradise for divers and snorkelers. In fact, it is nearly impossible to view so much stunning sea life anywhere else in the world…and it water no deeper than your knee.

Some destinations around the world are perennial favorites. Other more remote places are visited by only a handful of the most intrepid globetrotters. But a critical part of the travel business depends on the places in between. The spots that have the potential to draw travelers but have yet to be developed specifically for vacationers are the travel “hot spots” of the future. These reasons and many more, make each one of these Asian destinations an up-and-coming travel hot spot.

There aren’t many destinations that offer fascinating history, gorgeous beaches and a vibrant culture all at once, but the exotic Sousse in Tunisia has all this and more. So whether you’re looking for a fun-packed family holiday, a relaxing break with friends or a romantic getaway for two, Sousse has something for everyone to make your holiday in Tunisia one to remember.

For beach lovers, Sousse offers miles of white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters stretching out from the city centre in both directions. Sousse is a great destination for those who want to enjoy soaking up the year-round sunshine and if you’re after more of an active holiday there’s a huge range of water sports on offer… try your hand at sailing, jet skiing or wind surfing, or learn to scuba dive and explore the fascinating world beneath the waves.

With all this going on plus a range of spas and sports centres where you can indulge yourself, it’s easy to enjoy a holiday in Sousse without straying far from your hotel or the beach. But if you do you’ll find a fascinating ancient city just waiting to be explored. Wander the streets of Sousse old town and haggle for goods in the bustling markets, explore the crumbling ruins within the medina or climb to the top of the watchtower for sweeping views across the city and beyond. Further afield, there are plenty of fascinating day trips and excursions to keep even the most easily bored teenagers entertained; take a trip into the Sahara desert, see eerie locations from the Star Wars films or explore ancient Roman ruins. Whether you’re travelling with family, in a group or with a partner, Sousse holidays represent great value for money. With fantastic holiday deals on everything from self catering accommodation to luxury hotels and cheap flights available online and in travel agents, you’ll be amazed to discover how much your money can buy.

First off, the reason why you’d want to know what the top travel blogs are is simply that you always have access to the best information available when you do want to go on your vacation. The most important thing about a travel blog and choosing the best ones to bookmark is that the information is up to date and precise. This means that the people who are writing the blogs need to be experienced travelers and preferably the type of writers who write about places they’ve been to recently.

You can tell the quality of a travel blog in a number of ways, but the first thing you should do is install Google toolbar which will tell you the page ranking of a page. If it’s a very high rank then you can start to assume that the information is very good.

Another way you can tell is if the blog is a prestigious one that is associated with the best travel magazines. It can either be a blog that is written by people who write for the magazine or the personal blog of a writer. You can generally tell by the quality of writing and the level of research. A good blog writer will also entertain you as well as providing useful information. Their articles may make you laugh and they may also wow you with a lot of details.

The best litmus test to determine whether a travel blog is really the top one is to read their articles on the places where you live or the places that you’ve been to. Do they mention the local cheap restaurants that are hidden in small streets away from tourist thoroughfares? Do they mention the best bars and cafes?

These are just some of the ways you can tell what the top travel blogs are.