St. Lucia - A Wonderful Vacation Destination in the Caribbean

While I've had the opportunity to travel to most of the Caribbean in recent years, only a few destinations have stuck out in my mind as being favorites, and one of those destinations in St. Lucia. The island was absolutely beautiful, the locals are incredibly friendly, plus there were so many exciting and memorable things to do.

Direct flights to St. Lucia are affordable, and available from several East Coast cities, including New York City and Miami. Plus, you can choose from a wide range of resort (and all-inclusive resort accommodations) at various price points. The thing to remember, however, is that you should always be on the lookout for money-saving packages or special promotions when visiting any Caribbean destination, such as St. Lucia. Simply by searching the web, you can easily find incredible deals at places like the all-inclusive Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa (866-978-6226, www.cbayresort.com).

With its 254 guest rooms and suites, Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa is truly an all-inclusive resort destination. Yes, everything - including activities, all dining, drinks, access to the private beach and pools, entertainment, etc.) is really included (with very few up-charges or additional fees). The resort offers an amazing kids program, multiple swimming pools, a gorgeous private beach, tennis, an entire building dedicated exclusively to adult accommodations (plus a separate building with family-friendly accommodations), a lovely spa, several on-property fine-dining restaurants, plus plenty of on-property and nearby activities. All of the resort's buildings are also wired with Wi-Fi, and the guest rooms have cable TV.

Another great thing about this resort is its proximity to the airport. While many of the resorts on St. Lucia are located up to a one hour drive from the airport, Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa is located about five minutes from the airport. So, you can literally get off the airplane, collect your luggage, and be on the beach or sunbathing at the pool in well under an hour.

Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa is a beautiful, three-star resort. It's not over-the-top luxurious, but it is extremely clean, comfortable and very nicely equipped, plus the service is top-notch. Up until about five years ago, the Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa was a Club Med property, however, it's now under new ownership. Over the past few years, the resort has undergone massive renovations, and new additions are constantly being added.

This is a great family-friendly destination, or a perfect destination wedding or honeymoon resort. Thanks to the function space, it can also be used for business meetings or retreats.

One of the really special things about Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa is that it's home to 2 Elements - a kite-surfing and windsurfing school that's one of the very best in the world. In fact, the exact location where this resort is located is considered one of the world's top kite surfing hot spots, because of the perfect combination of wind, water and beaches.

If you want to learn how to kite surf, expert private instruction is available. Plan on investing about 10 hours during a five day period into lessons (at an additional cost of $400.00), after which you will be able to kite surf! This is one of the few resorts in the world that has its own kite surfing school right on the premises. If you're not sure this sport is for you, you can sign up for a free kite surfing introductory lesson, or watch expert kite surfers do their thing right from the resort's private beach.

When you're ready to explore St. Lucia, Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa has teamed up with a handful of top-notch local tour operators, for sightseeing, scuba diving, fishing, snorkeling, kayaking, off-roading on an ATV, windsurfing, bicycling, boating, and zip lining - all of which are available on St. Lucia (within a 5 to 30 minute drive from the resort). And, if you sign up for a tour through the resort, all transportation is arranged on your behalf.

In terms of sightseeing, St. Lucia offers some incredible places to visit, from historic fishing villages, to a tropical rainforest. There are also mineral baths and sulphur springs, a volcano, incredible water falls, a wildlife preserve, the Piton mountains, and botanical gardens, all of which are well worth visiting.

As you plan a trip to St. Lucia, you'll definitely want to spend at least five to seven days here, so choosing an all-inclusive resort, like Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa, makes perfect financial sense when it comes to planning the budget for your trip, since you know the majority of your food, drinks and on-property activities will be included. If you're traveling with kids, they'll absolutely love the Kids Klub, which offers supervised camp-like activities, an on-property water park, plus a playground (all included in the resort's all-inclusive price.)

To find the best deals for the Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa, check their website, or visit one of the popular online travel services, like Hotwire.com or Travelocity.com. Discounts on accommodations, guest room upgrades, and free resort credits, are among the special deals you'll find online.

Compared to all of the other potential Caribbean destinations you can visit, St. Lucia is definitely one of the very best and most affordable. Yet, the accommodations, food, service, and selection of activities are all excellent. It really is the perfect, tropical destination for a family vacation, a romantic getaway, a honeymoon or even a destination wedding. So, if you're thinking about taking a trip to the Caribbean, seriously consider St. Lucia as your destination. You won't be disappointed!

Photos (c)2010 Jason R. Rich. All rights reserved.

Florida Getting Just What It Needs...Another Theme Park!

On January 21, 2010, Merlin Entertainment announced big plans for the Winter Garden, Florida region - a new theme park! Joining the ranks of Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld will soon be Legoland Florida.

Merlin Entertainment has purchased Cypress Gardens, and plans to open Legoland Florida on the site by the end of 2011. This will be a 145-acre theme park that will be fully renovated and redesigned, and then expanded over the next several years - probably to include resort hotel accommodations.

Legoland Florida is targeted to kids, between the ages of two and 12, and like its sister park in San Diego, California, will provide at least one full day's worth of entertainment once it opens. Currently, there are four other Legoland Parks in the world, all of which have become very successful catering to kids and their families.

The new Florida park will be located about 30 minutes from Orlando, and will initially feature more than 50 rides, shows and attractions, plus the life-size Lego models that these theme parks are famous for. (The theme parks are based around the Lego building blocks which are so popular amongst kids.)

There's already so much for kids to do in the Orlando area, and later this year, Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure will be opening The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which is probably the most anticipated theme park attraction ever created. The Legoland Florida park will cater to a slightly younger audience, and will no doubt, quickly become a popular day trip for families visiting the Orlando area.

Currently, within the Walt Disney World Resort, there's a Lego Store open within the Downtown Disney area. It features a handful of life-size Lego models, a Lego activity center, plus a chance to purchase the most popular Lego toy products.

Airlines Implement New Carry-On Luggage Rules

Thanks to the Northwest Airlines terrorist attack attempt on Christmas Day, the major airlines and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are reacting in a way that will once again impact all passengers - making flying even less convenient and comfortable.

This time, passenger carry-ons will be impacted in terms of what can be brought onto an airplane, and when items from a carry-on can be used during a flight. For example, one airline is insisting that all passengers remain seated for the final hour of a flight, and will no longer allow laptop computers to be used during that period.

As you go through security at any airport, plan on longer lines as TSA personnel will be looking closer at all carry-on bags and their contents. So, leave ample time in your schedule, and arrive to the airport at least 90 minutes early for a domestic flight.

Before packing your carry-on in preparation for an upcoming flight, check with your airline to determine if any new rules have been implemented. You'll discover that new guidelines and rules are being implemented daily. You can also check the TSA's website at www.tsa.gov.

UPDATE: January 12, 2010 - I recently took a trip which involved visits to several airports across the country, and didn't notice too much of a difference in security, in terms of how long it took to get through security check points. I understand from speaking with several people, that New York airports have experienced delays at security check points, but this doesn't seem to be a nationwide problem, despite the recent security threats.

The Fox World Travel website (http://www.gofox.com/tools/waittimes.php) offers an online airport wait time calculator which will help you determine how long it should take to get through airport security, based on the day and time you travel, and which airport you're flying out of. A realtime calculator is also typically available from the official TSA website (http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/waittime.shtm), but it's currently "under construction."

TIP - While the wait times may not be longer, the TSA security personnel are clearly paying more attention to carry-on luggage. So, if you load up your carry-on with lots of electronic items, such as a laptop computer (or netbook), camera, iPod, eBook reader, noise-cancelling headphones, portable DVD player, plus adapters for your cell phone, and other devices (such as strangely shaped USB thumb drives), your bag may wind up getting hand-searched, which could delay you by five or 10 minutes.

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Travel Tip - Avoid Travel Delays

The number of flight delays and cancellations among the major airlines is staggering and seems to be increasing with each passing month. While delays caused by bad weather can't always be avoided, some airlines are notorious for delaying or canceling flights for no apparent reason, and then blaming imaginary weather or air traffic control problems to avoid having to take financial responsibility for the problems they cause for their passengers.

Before leaving home, check with your airline to insure your flight is running on-time. When you do this, don't just ask about your initial flight, however. If you're making a connection in another city, make sure your connecting flight(s) are running on-time as well. You may discover that getting to your connecting city will be easy, but there are significant delays in that connecting city, which could dramatically delay your travels.

If you determine this to be the case, ask the airline to reroute you to your final destination before you leave your home city. This might change your travel itinerary, but it could save you many hours of sitting in an airport waiting for a connecting flight to depart.

There are several ways you can confirm a flight's status before your departure. You can call the airline directly (via its toll-free phone number). You can go to the airline's website and click on the "Flight Status" (or equivalent icon). Or, you can visit the FlightView.com website, which offers real-time flight information for all major airlines, plus real-time information about major airport problems across the country. (This website also works well on an iPhone and many other wireless phones and PDAs.) Services like Travelocity.com, Hotwire.com and Orbitz.com, for example, also allow web surfers to track flights.

If you need to change your travel arrangements, contact the airline directly. On the same-day you travel, if you need to be re-routed due to bad weather or flight delays, there is no charge to do this. You may, however, have to fly stand-by. If this is the case, make sure you won't get stuck in a connecting city if the flight you want to get on is full.

Every month, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics publishes a report that details the on-time performance of every major airline. You can also track the overall on-time performance of a specific flight to see how often it gets delayed or cancelled. This website can be found at http://www.transtats.bts.gov/OT_Delay/OT_DelayCause1.asp.

Dealing with flight delays can be extremely frustrating. If you determine what problems you might encounter before departing and can get the airline to reroute you to avoid those problems, you might luck out and reach your destination on-time, or at least with minimal frustration. Good luck! Depending on what airline you're flying with, you'll probably need it!

"An overwhelming 77 percent of consumers who said they had flown in the last three months experienced flight delays or cancellations, according to a recent poll conducted by AIG Travel Guard. Nearly 28 percent experienced moderate delays, another 27 percent were met by slight delays, 18 percent had been subjected to extensive delays and four percent stated their flight had been cancelled...Sixty-five percent of consumers polled had been delayed up to five hours, with another 10 percent having been delayed up to 24 hours or longer."