Featuring three hotel options in Costa Rica

Following my recent trip to Costa Rica in May we are pleased to feature these three fabulous hotels. Nestled between Nicaragua and Panama, Costa Rica offers a huge diversity, wonderful nature, beautiful hotels etc. I always love going to Costa Rica, the people are just wonderful and so welcoming.

---

 Hotel Parador

 I have stayed at this hotel lots of times and I always love it. Hotel Parador resort and spa is located at the end of a Peninsula in the Manuel Antonio area, on the pacific coast of Costa Rica. The 12.4 acre property is surrounded by tropical rain forests with spectacular views of the ocean. The hotel features a large swimming pool with a swim up bar & resident crocodile (not real!), an adult only pool with a cascading waterfall as well as the pool solely for the use of guests staying in the suites. Hotel activities include tennis courts, miniature golf, fitness centre and nature trails. The wonderful spa has a steam room, Jacuzzi and plunge pool. On my last trip I stayed in one of the new suites & highly recommend them. The views are stunning & the rooms ultra comfortable. The hotel have their own YouTube video giving you insight into the fantastic hotel:

If you would like to know more about this hotel option I would be more than happy to discuss itinerary options with you. You can contact me or request a brochure for Costa Rica. 

Nicuesa Lodge

 My visit in May was my first time at Playa Nicuesa and I absolutely loved this lodge. It offers a wonderful combination of nature & beach, the rooms are beautiful, the staff lovely & the food exceptional. Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge is a 165-acre private preserve located within the Golfo Dulce on Earth. This area contains Central America’s largest remaining Pacific Coast rainforest. Playa Nicuesa is a road-less paradise for nature lovers The lodge is only accessible via boat & is in an idyllic jungle meets beach setting. The lodge’s five private cabins (three 1-bedroom and two 2-bedroom) and the Mango Guesthouse with four rooms offer privacy and comfort in a natural setting. All cabins and rooms have canopied beds, ceiling fans, private terraces, and private baths with hot water and open-air garden shower. You may be interested in the lodge’s YouTube video showing some of the areas highlights.

Tango Mar Hotel

 I love staying at this hotel as it is so relaxing & quiet. It is directly on a beautiful beach & the food was fantastic. The Tango Mar Hotel is situated in Tambor along the Nicoya Peninsula & is situated directly on a beach generally regarded as the most beautiful beach in Central America. The hotel is a 60 hectares exclusive private beachfront reserve; it offers a 9 hole golf course, 2 swimming pools, tennis courts, restaurant and lots of activities including scuba diving, snorkelling and horse riding- from their own stables. Curu Reserve is only 20 minutes away & a boat trip to Tortuga Island is really nice.

 Read more about the Tango Mar.

We are very pleased to be able to offer these new options to clients and look forward to planning some exciting itineraries – all of our itineraries are tailor-made to your precise requirements. If you are thinking about a trip to Costa Rica or are interested in some Costa Rica itinerary options I would be happy to help. You can contact me or request a brochure.

A great time to visit the Galapagos this year

Now is a great time to visit the Galapagos with Worldwide Holidays. We have some fantastic special offers for Galapagos cruises with some saving customers up to £750! We only have certain dates available so it really is first come 1st served.

25% off the Santa Cruz

The 46 cabin M/V Santa Cruz was built exclusively for Galapagos Islands with its flat bottom build the boat can travel much closer to the islands than other larger cruise ships. The Santa Cruz has gained worldwide recognition for its excellent standards, including superb service, expert crew, the most knowledgeable multilingual naturalist/guides and menus that feature the very best international cuisine and celebrated Ecuadorian dishes.

You can explore this amazing boat in detail by visiting our new 360 degrees virtual tour page. You can browse some of the cabins available or take a stroll along the Sundeck and Jacuzzi

Worldwide Holidays are able to offer you 25% off the Santa Cruz allowing you to explore the outstanding Galapagos Islands much closer than other boats can offer.

2009 prices held for 2010/11

Planning a Galapagos trip for 2011? Prices for 2011 are held for early bookings on some Galapagos products. A visit to the Galapagos Islands is an inspiring experience for most – the “holiday of a lifetime”. Immediately on arrival, you sense that you have landed in a place like no other on earth. We would be happy to put together a tailor-made  itinerary for you and help plan the perfect trip. You can request a brochure or contact us for a qoute and we will be happy to help.

New refurbished cabins on the Antarctic Dream Expedition

Good news about the Antarctic Dream Expedition in Argentina the Amundsen deck on board the cruise ship has recently been refurbished providing 26 twin cabins for those passengers who are willing to share or have an opportunity to get to know other explorers. The Antarctic Dream Expedition is a 10 night cruise operating from November to March. With departure and return from Ushuaia, Argentina, guests make an exciting crossing through the legendary Drake Passage to arrive in the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula.

You may also be interested in the Antarctica XX1 Fly Cruise – The crossing through Drakes Passage can be unpredictable and this option is ideal for clients who want to avoid Drakes passage or have a limited amount of time. In less than 2 hours of flying from Punta Arenas to King George Island clients will arrive in the white continent. On arrival clients are taken by zodiac boats to the Ocean Nova Cruise boat to start the 5 night cruise.

This is the trip of a lifetime that needs to be booked well in advance. 

Peru, Ecuador & Galapagos Islands updates

Hola everyone..

Some updates…

* Peru: Good news for Machu Picchu, the train service will start operations again on the 1st April. Hurray!!

* Ecuador: We have some excellent Galapagos Island cruise offers for this year, which is saving clients up to £750 per person. We only have certain dates available so it really is first come 1st served.

This year & 2011 are going to be big years for the Galapagos Islands as a huge change is due to be implemented from January 2012. The Galapagos National Park has issued a notice to all Galapagos operators informing that, as of January 1st, 2012 all Galapagos vessels must operate with 15-day/14-night itineraries, which can be cut into two 7-night itineraries or as two 6-day/5 night and one 5-day/4-night itinerary. The purpose of this measure is to re-arrange all itineraries in an orderly way, to control the number of persons visiting a determined visitor site at a given time. So basically a boat will only be able to visit a particular visitor site / island once every 2 weeks rather than every week as they currently do.
I urge anyone that is thinking of visiting the Galapagos Islands to do so sooner rather than later. 2011 rates are going to be higher than 2010, by approx 10% & discounts are not likely.

We also have some wonderful specialist Ecuador & Galapagos itineraries for clients interested in Geology & Photography. Here are the PDF details for each programme. Please do let me know if you would like full details.
Ecuador & Galapagos Geology Tour

Ecuador & Galapagos Photography Tour

Costa Rica here I come!

My next visit to Costa Rica.

I am planning my holiday / work trip to Costa Rica for May. This time I am going to re-visit Tortuguero as it has been a while since I last went there. I really want to check out Manatus Lodge as it looks beautiful & very comfortable.
Then to Tiskita Lodge for a couple of nights- this is a favourite with my bird watching clients. Next is a stay @ the El Parador to see their fabulous new suites & maybe a few hours to relax- that will be nice!!
Off next to Arenal Volcano, perhaps to check out the new Springs Resort which is creating a lot of attention – so best I check it out.
Then I finish off with the holiday bit- 3 nights @ the Tango Mar. I have not been here for 10 years so am looking forward to seeing the changes – which clients have raved about after their visits. I cannot wait to relax on the gorgeous beach the hotel is on..

My last night will hopefully be spent @ one of my most favourite Hotel- The Xandari Plantation y Spa. A great end to what will be an amazing trip.

This year I am not planning on doing any adventure activities. Last time I did the white water rafting & the zip lines so I really think that once ever 10 years is fine!!.. I will leave these activities to my more adventurous clients!!

Nasca Lines in Peru- National Geographic Society article

Nasca Lines, Peru

I am delighted to share with you a recent article on the Mysterious Nasca Lines, in Peru, published by the National Geographic magazine in their March edition:

Below is the link to view the article.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/03/nasca/hall-text

The Nasca Lines are located in the Ica region, approx 460 km south of Lima. The lines decorate the desert floor & have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. These lines, which were made by the Nasca Civilization between 500 BC and 500 AD, are one of the world’s greatest enigmas because of their quantity, size and natural preservation.

At Worldwide Holidays we tailor-make all of our clients holidays so that your trip perfectly suits your specific interests, priorities & preferences- within the budget you have in mind.

If you would like to discuss a trip to Peru, I would be delighted to hear from you.

Take Your Family on a Galapagos Cruise – Under 18’s Get 50% off with Worldwide Holidays

Worldwide Holidays is now taking bookings for special family cruises to the Galapagos departing in July. A 50% discount for children aged 6-18 now makes this adventure holiday of a lifetime more affordable. With the children’s Galapagos discount extended to include older children up to the age of 18, this makes for the perfect trip for families with older children too.

On these special Galapagos family tours, age-appropriate activities are scheduled for both teens and younger children. You will be snorkelling in a real sea aquarium and swim with playful sea lions and giant sea turtles. You will enjoy exciting Galapagos treks with experts while strolling by incredible and unique animals only found in the islands. And what better surroundings to learn about the evolution of the species while participating in the Young Pirates workshops led by specialist naturalist guides?

Ayubowan.. (Sinhala for Hello)

Today is my 1st day home after a fantastic trip to Sri Lanka. When I decided to take a holiday to Sri Lanka it was amazing how many people asked me if it would be safe to go there. The press coverage of the problems the country is having between the government & the Tamils is so misleading.. I felt completely safe throughout my trip & in fact tourists have never been a target for the Tamils in the 3 decades this has been going on. It is such a shame that ambiguous press coverage has affected the amount of tourists visiting this very special country.

This time I only had a 1 week stay but I definitely will be going back to do a longer more exploratory trip. I am now desperate to visit other areas & experience more of the huge amount of diversity Sri Lanka has to offer..

Experience the Authentic Buenos Aires Tango!

Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina is the tango capital of the world. This improvised and passionate dance was born in the bordellos and immigrant neighbourhoods of the city in the late 1800s.

On my recent visit to Argentina, I wanted to find out what the whole tango fuss was all about and discovered that to experience the real tango you need to get away from the Broadway-esque stage shows and find the Milongas – tango dances housed in former cafes, community centres and even old basketball courts. Normally, when watching a show, you are purely a spectator, in the Milonga, you have the chance to be one of the active characters!

Cruise Galapagos on La Pinta

La Pinta is the newest boat to cruise the Galapagos Islands, with its arrival in March 2008. It is now the top boat sailing the waters, with wonderful guides & excellent accommodation. To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin, there are now a number of special offers for a cruise on La Pinta or one of its sister yachts that sail around the Galapagos Islands.