Author Archives: Jeremy Albelda
Top 4 Resorts for snowboarders~
Snowboarders and skiers don’t always mix well on the slopes but there are winter sports resorts that welcome boarders with open arms. We look at four resorts in Europe and North America where boarding is a way of life, and where fans can freestyle, freeride and improve their carving technique knowing there are great facilities.
Before you go, make sure your travel insurance covers you for winter sports. Some policies include it as standard. Others, such as those from Barclays, feature it as an optional extra.
USA: Park City, Utah
With many facilities dating from the 2002 Winter Olympics, there are challenges for all abilities in Park City. The celebrated Eagle Superpipe, for example, has walls up to 22ft while the King’s Crown Superpark offers awesome jumps and more for the sport’s very best. Jonesy’s is a better park option for intermediate boarders looking to build confidence. Keen freeriders head for McConkie’s Bowl, where moguls or powder are the order of the day depending on the conditions. Lessons are available for all levels at the Ski and Snowboard School.
Austria: Mayrhofen
Long popular with a youthful crowd and with a reputation for great après ski, Mayrhofen was quick to embrace the boarding culture. A key attraction is Van Penken Park, which has kickers, rails and jumps, a half-pipe and facilities for beginners through to pros. There’s also a section set aside for children. Daredevil boarders (and skiers) continue to be drawn to the area’s hair-raising Harakiri Piste, which is Austria’s steepest groomed slope. Artificial snow-making facilities help when the white stuff is thin on the ground but beware of lift queues, especially in high season.
Switzerland: Laax and Flims
Boarders like their après ski but pretty Laax and its neighbour Flims in Switzerland are a quieter option for much of the season. However, it offers some excellent freeriding with about 220km of marked pistes and plenty of off-piste and powder options, including in the Vorab Glacier area. Freestylers of all abilities are catered for, with the Ils Plauns snow park a particular favourite with experienced boarders and freeskiers. NoName boasts Europe’s largest half-pipe but newbies should head for the Beginners Snow Park.
USA: Breckenridge, Colorado
The facilities at Breckenridge are rated by many, including the British Olympic team, who’ve spent many a winter’s day in training on the resort’s half-pipe. Experts are catered for at the Freeway Terrain Park at Peak 8, which has impressive jumps and rails as well as a superpipe. The same peak is home to the Trygves Terrain Park, which is better suited to beginners. Take 5 Chair to Park Lane, which boasts a collection of rails, boxes and jibs.
And one resort to avoid… Deer Valley in the USA is a skiers-only resort.
The Four Best Beaches in Florida
If you’re looking for a beach holiday outside of Europe this year, then you may have well considered Florida in the USA on a list of possible destinations. The state of Florida is one of America’s most popular – and most beautiful – places to vacation, for domestic tourists as well as international ones. With so many things to see and do, and let’s not forget why it was given the nickname ‘the Sunshine State’, Florida is a fantastic choice for families this year. Not only is it home to Orlando, the theme park capital of the world, but the beaches are simply gorgeous too! Let’s take a look at some of the best beaches in Florida!
Delray Beach
Located just to the north of Boca Raton, Delay Beach is overlooked by a charming village, home to families and retired folk. The beach itself is around two miles long, and is visited by over a million tourists every year, however most of these people arrive in the summer months – in the winter, although still warm, it’s very peaceful. Ideal for the family looking for a sandcastle-building, sunbathing and swimming retreat, Delray Beach offers a wealth of local facilities to make sure you have a great time, from showers and rental facilities to traditional restaurants and bars.
Clearwater Beach
Clearwater Beach can be found on the Gulf Coast’s Piinellas Peninsula, and offers tourists a 4-mile stretch of glorious sands and warm, calm waters. This beach has been attracting families for years, and although it might seem a little light in terms of facilities for international tourists, it’s a great place to enjoy the sun if you live locally. With Tampa Bay to the east and the Gulf of Mexico to the west, there are a number of activities to keep the kids entertained here, such as free beach volleyball facilities, scuba diving, and fishing boat rentals. You can even take a dolphin cruise from Clearwater Beach, or if the choppy waves aren’t your thing, why not visit the mainland aquarium or museums!
Naples
Naples, Florida is not only an amazing stretch of sand, but it also offers a culture much like that of California’s Long Beach. If you’re travelling with a big family, then there’s plenty of space to spread out in Naples, and the sands are nothing less than pearly white. The Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park is another great place to enjoy the ocean view, and from food stands to markets stretching along the Old Naples Peer, you’ll be spoilt for choice.
Sanibel Beach
Perfect for the kids, Sanibel Beach is one of Florida’s natural wonders, with spectacular scenery all around. Not only is it a prime spot for surfers in the Shell Islands, but it’s also popular with families, as there is there a wealth of small coves to explore, as well as beautiful shells to collect. Sanibel Beach is also very quiet, so even if you’re content with reading your book or listening to music while sunbathing, you’ll be left in peace without being disturbed.
There you have it, 4 of the best beaches in Florida!
Top Driving Locations in Europe
Sometimes, the act of driving itself beats the anticipation of arriving at a final destination. There’s nothing better than those magical stretches of road, which seem to have been designed for fantastic driving. That’s why we’ve done our research, pooled our thoughts and created this guide to our favourite driving locations in Europe.
So what are you waiting for? Grab your keys and head off in pursuit of some of the best driving routes the continent has to offer.
S26, Italian Alps
The name may not be very familiar, but we’re sure that you’d instantly recognise this particular road in the Italian Alps if you saw it. Still not sure what we’re talking about? Imagine listening to Matt Monro’s ‘On Days Like This’ as you drive this winding route through the mountains with your shades on…
Of course, this was the road used in the opening scenes of the classic 1969 film The Italian Job. It’s famous twists and turns have made it something of a bucket list item when it comes to European driving and it attracts travellers from all over the world. Take a look at this article from USA Today, for some great ideas about touring the Italian Alps using this majestic route, including things to see along the way.
Adalucia, Spain
Spain is a country that just begs for a road trip. And with so many fantastic routes to choose from, you’re more than spoilt for choice.
If you have two weeks to spare, nothing beats a comprehensive tour of Southern Spain and Andalucía. A great place to begin is Malaga, where you can pick up a rental car from the airport. Arrange this in advance to secure the best deal, using a company such as Economy Car Hire, which offers affordable car hire in Spain.
Collecting a rental car is a much better option than driving your own car to the southern tip of Spain. By the time you get there, the novelty of driving may well have worn off and you’ll resent the amount of time you’ve already spent behind the wheel. Take a short flight and collect a car feeling happy and relaxed. This will make embarking on a trip to discover Spanish delights such as Nerja – heralded as the scuba diving capital of Spain – and the gorgeous beaches of Cabo de Gata, all the more enjoyable.
Germany’s Black Forest
It has to be one of the most popular routes in Germany, if not Europe: yet the iconic Route 500 through the Black Forest can often be deserted for enormous stretches, leaving just you and the road.
Ultimate Driving has some great tips for driving on Route 500, including which parts of the route can get busy at different times of the day.
A highlight along this route is the abundance of hot natural springs, which has resulted in a wealth of spas and health resorts springing up along the way. After clocking up some serious miles driving through Germany’s biggest nature reserve, we can’t think of a better way to relax than sitting in the bubbling waters of a natural thermal bath with a few German beers. Take in the gloriously clean air and indulge in some traditional German fare – as much as you love the driving experience, we’re sure you’ll find it difficult to drag yourself away from so much pampering!
There you have it! some of the best driving locations in Europe to enjoy your next road trip.
Top Reasons to Visit Spain
There are plenty of top reasons to visit Spain. And if you just consider how colorful and long-standing its history is, you’d be convinced of its worth as a tourist destination. Tourism in Spain developed around the 1960’s and 1970’s. And back then, the country was herald as a great summer vacation spot. Today, it presents an array of alternative tourism significance, which attracts as many as 53 million visitors per year (allowing it to earn a whopping $53 billion tourism direct GDP. Spain is essentially a Mediterranean country that is run by a constitutional monarchy. And it was among the countries the nations that pioneered in world exploration, thereby making it a very influential force as far as culture and religion goes.
Many of the tourist attractions in other countries, especially the Caribbean and Pacific involve remnants of Spanish architecture, which are often represented by town halls, forts, churches and old houses. The top reasons to visit Spain are no different. And here, folks can actually appreciate a more sophisticated depiction of its artistic side with landmarks like the Palacio de la Diputacion in Bilbao, Cathedral of Seville in Seville, Fort Sebastian and Santa Catalina in Cadiz, and the Old City of Cordoba. El Escorial is among the most interesting places to visit in the nation’s capital as it was once the center of the Spanish Empire. And in this vicinity, people will get to appreciate multiple facets of Spanish construction. Also known as the Monastery or Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de (El) Escorial, this massive building functioned as a religious sanctuary, royal palace, museum and school. It is a complex made up of a number of well-designed buildings, influenced by 16th and 17th century aesthetics. And it is surrounded by a vast woodland area, which served as the royal family’s hunting grounds. It was inaugurated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 and currently attracts as much as 500,000 guests. And the best part about it is that it’s only 45 kilometers away from other highlights located in Madrid.
If you are interested in more nature-centric destinations, you could schedule a trip to Almeria, where you could indulge in local picturesque natural beaches. As mentioned earlier, one of the top reasons to visit Spain has always been its summer getaways. And Almeria has the best lineup in the world. Las Salinas and La Almadrava de Monteleva are among the undisturbed coastlines it affords people. And as an alternative, Valencia also has a nice beach waiting for foreigners to try out. More commercialized strands are found in Coastal Blanca, Brava and del Sol. And if you are particularly fond of pairing water-sports with that of party facilities, Ibiza and Mallorca are definitely some of the places you should include in your itinerary. If you want to read some more about these places, check out reviews from On The Beach.
Sierra Nevada is another one of the top reasons to visit Spain that is serving ecotourism interests. But unlike the previous, this mountain range in Andalucia offers guests more rugged outdoor experiences, from hiking to climbing, canyoning, paragliding and skiing during the winter. Tenerife is an overseas territory of Spain that also serves tourists the same set of activities, but pairing it up with spectacular beaches and a lively nightlife, making it the ultimate holiday retreat.
Welcome to Home Town Travel Guides.com , your source for travel guides written by locals and those who've been there and done that! ~Jeremy