Italy, a veritable treasure chest of culture and heritage - with its food, wine, culture and history, is always on the top of a European tour list. A tour to Italy would not be complete without going to Florence. This city is in the heart of Tuscany and is sometimes considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. It is a place that is famous for its abundance of fine art and architecture and in the modern day, its fashion and leather goods.
 

If you are feeling a little tired out after a few days of sightseeing in Florence, a Florence hills tour can be a great way to relax and wind down. With a great ambience and an aura of solitude the hills of Florence are very popular and ideal for those who wish to take a break from the city.

If you only have a few hours to spare and don't want to venture too far from Florence, then a trip to the town of Fiesole is highly recommended. Set amongst the hills, just 5 miles from Florence, Fiesole makes a pleasant half-day trip from Florence and provides a wonderful view of the city. You can get there by bus from the centre of Florence in around 20 minutes.

If you're feeling more energetic or have a little more time to spare you can walk from the centre of Florence to Fiesole in around 2 hours. Once in Fiesole you can easily spend two or three hours wandering round, taking in the sights and the views of Florence and the valley below. Sights include a Roman Amphitheatre and baths dating from 1 BC, the Duomo and a few small museums.

If you have a full day to spare there are numerous tour companies that can organise day trips by bus, walking tours or biking trips. Alternatively you can hire a car and use a map to discover the delights of the Tuscan countryside for yourself.

A guided walking tour of the Florence hills will provide you with an insider's view of Florence & Tuscany - you can discover the hidden treasures and learn of great legends and stories, giving you a more intimate experience of the region of Tuscany. A walk through the Florence hills is invigorating and you can soak up the beauty of the surroundings as you breathe in the fresh air and bask in the warm sun. You'll also find plenty of photo opportunities as you pass by churches, castles, hill top towns and villages, olive trees and vineyards.

If you're reasonably fit and have cycling experience you may want to take a Florence Hills Tour by bike. There are many tour companies that offer guided biking expeditions of the area. With these tours you will cover more ground than the walking tours and you will see many of the different terrains and landscapes that the Florence hills have to offer. Be sure to find out as much information as possible about the cycling route before you go, as many tours of the Florence hills by bike can be arduous because of the steep climbs that you have to make.

If you want to make the most of the peace and quiet and spend a few more days enjoying the countryside you may want to book a stay in one of the many bed and breakfasts, hotels or villas in the Tuscan hills. Hiring a car will allow you to venture just that little bit further afield and visit some of the beautiful Tuscan hill towns such as San Gimignano, Colle Val D'Elsa and Monteriggioni.

Regardless of how much time you have to spend there, a trip to the hills surrounding Florence will give you a taste of the Tuscan countryside that will help to make your trip just that little bit more special.

Suzanne Morrison is a keen independent traveller and considers Florence one of her favourite European cities. Visit her website to learn about more www.placetovisitinflorenceitaly.com

I recently visited the San Diego Zoo, and it was much more fun than I expected it to be. First off, the price was very reasonable. When you get there you have the option to buy the regular Zoo ticket or the deluxe ticket. I paid around $30 for the deluxe ticket which seemed like a deal to me since I am used to paying around $50 for Disneyland and Sea World tickets. The deluxe ticket is definitely worth the extra ten dollars. It consists of a 40-minute guided tour, unlimited access to the express bus that takes you from place to place, and unlimited access to the aerial tram.

If you have never been to the San Diego Zoo before, I would suggest going on the guided tour first. It only lasts about 40 minutes, and takes you around the entire zoo. The tour has plenty of stops where you can see many of the most popular animals such as African elephants, tigers, and bears. The Zoo is huge, so taking the guided tour is also a good way to familiarize yourself with its layout.

The bus drops you off near the elephants, where you will also find tigers and leopards. If you want to grab a bite to eat, there are a couple of nearby places where you can get some good food. After you finish the tour I would suggest walking around the edges of the park. The Zoo is round, so you will see most of the animals by going around the edges. You will find zebras, bears, camels, and many other interesting animals that I never even knew existed.

Down the middle of the Zoo was probably my favorite because we got to see the Absolutely Apes exhibit. Here you will find orangutans and chimps in action, and in my personal opinion, I think they were trained to entertain visitors. They seem to love the attention of all the people watching them because they come right up to the glass and find funny things to do. The more people point and take pictures, the more creative they get.

If you continue down the middle of the park and go down the long escalator, you will run into the most popular exhibit at the San Diego Zoo, the Giant Panda. As you would imagine, this exhibit is always crowded. I had to wait in line about an hour to see a not so giant, but very cute sleeping panda bear. If you have never seen a panda in your life, then I would highly suggest that you check it out. You will probably never see one outside of the San Diego Zoo.

The San Diego Zoo is definitely worth a visit, and I would recommend getting there early because it closes pretty early, around 4pm. Fortunately there are tons of things to do within Balboa Park and plenty of nearby places to hang out.

Written by Scott Olivares Editor of San Diego Hotel and Travel Guide

The legendary Rocky Mountains stretch from New Mexico up through the United States and into Canada. The Rocky Mountains are over 3000 miles long, spanning parts of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming before continuing into Canada. Stories of early adventurers like Lewis and Clark exploring the Rocky Mountains are legendary.

The majestic Rocky Mountains are a major tourist destination in the western United States. Visitors can participate in a number of activities, including hiking, skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, and many more. The Rockies are home to several campgrounds, ghost towns, gold prospecting sites, and national parks. Some of the biggest tourist attractions in the Rockies are Pike’s Peak and Royal Gorge. There are several world famous national parks in the Rockies, including Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, Grand Teton, and Glacier.

The Rockies are a tourist attraction all year round. The summer months are fairly warm, with the average temperature reaching 82 degrees Fahrenheit. January is the coldest month, with an average temperature of 7 degrees Fahrenheit. The year-round average temperature is a brisk 43 degrees, a perfect temperature for many outdoor activities.

Just about everyone will find something to enjoy on a Rocky Mountain vacation. Aside from all of the great outdoor activities, the Rockies have a number of other attractions as well. The Telluride Film Festival is a prestigious yearly event that attracts some of the biggest stars in Hollywood to a small Colorado town. Many Smoky Mountain resorts offer spa treatments and other relaxing diversions.

There is a plethora of lodging options in the Rocky Mountains. Travelers can camp, visit RV parks, stay in hotels or ski resorts, or lodge in unique cabins and chalets. Vacationers on any type of budget will be able to find an affordable place to stay.

A Rocky Mountain vacation is a perfect getaway from everyday life. Travelers can find a wide range of activities to suit their desires in the Rockies. Mountain Vacations Info provides detailed information on vacations in the Rocky, Blue Ridge, and Great Smoky Mountains, as well as mountain biking vacations and mountain rental cabins in Colorado, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and other destinations. Mountain Vacations Info is the sister site of Dude Ranch Web.

Populated by Native-American Indians, the name Pocono means "stream between two mountains," and rightly so, since the Delaware River runs between two mountains. The history of the Poconos dates back to the 1800s where the first tourists stayed at boarding houses close to the riverside. Soon New Yorkers and Philadelphians made the Poconos their little hideaway for vacationing with their family during the summertime by the mountain lakes. Even World War II soldiers were reported to have gone to the Poconos for rest and relaxation before leaving for combat overseas.

The Poconos have become such a favorite vacation hub that families have purchased second homes there, just so that they can enjoy all that the resort has to offer. A visit to the Poconos is an escape from the monotony of everyday life. The area is built up with franchise restaurants and major shopping malls, without sacrificing the unspoiled nature that the mountain resort has become associated with. When it comes to having a good time there, those who visit have lots to choose from, activities such as wildlife, bird watching, horseback riding, fishing, kayaking and even golfing.

Most of all, visitors to the Poconos are enthralled by skiing down the mountains during the winter. The Poconos experience four-season weather but some nights are undeniably colder than during the day, even around spring and summer. The coolness of the breeze though, is more than refreshing, especially to those who vacate their 70-plus degree summer weather.

And if outdoor activities don’t excite you, there are local wineries and breweries that you can tour, or perhaps a visit to an art museum and antique shopping.

For more information about Poconos, visit: www.e-poconos.com

A complete Travel Guide, www.travelgoindia.com that focuses completely on India has been launched. The days of scratching about for information on India before you embark on a tour of this beautiful country is passé. Learn more about the beauty of this enchanting land from this exhaustively informative website www.travelgoindia.com. This travel guide has quite a few useful tools that enable it to become a traveler’s best friend.

Are you ready to pack your bag but not very sure about your destination? At TravelGoIndia.com you will get to know about some tourist locations, whose existence you were never aware of. No wonder, this is by far the best India Travel Guide that you will find in the Internet. Rich in information, this exclusively India centric travel guide is surely destined to become a tourist’s best pal.

TravelGoIndia.com is conceived to provide travelers with enough information on travel so that it becomes easier for them to take decisions. The website enables you to book hotels in more than 150 Indian cities. You also have the choice to book a luxury hotel or a budget hotel. One added advantage that this complete India Travel Guide has is its ability to book hotels real time through partners and give instant confirmation facility. It has more than 500 hotels of all categories throughout India in its database. You can, therefore, be pretty sure of getting a hotel room anywhere in the country.

This extremely informative guide on Indian tourism will help you plan you tour without getting sand between your toes. Tourists who love to stay off the beaten track will find this website to their liking. There are plenty of exotic tour packages like safari tours, golf tours, beach holidays and adventure tours. If you want to re-live history, you will have plenty of information on historic places like Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. Enjoy life in throbbing metropolitan cities like Mumbai. The website aims to provide you will all the travel resources that you may need. Here you will find popular tourist destinations as well as lesser known paradises on earth.

Knowledge is power. Your tour can be safe and delightful if you have all the information about the place where you wish to go. At TravelGoIndia.com, you will have more than enough information on tourist attractions. Small things often make big difference. TravelGoIndia.com has an eye for detail. Here you will get the direction of tourist hot spots from different transit points like airport, railway station and even bus stop. You will also get to know about the hotels near that attraction. TravelGoIndia.com has the ability to book a flight or car too.

This complete India Travel Guide is the only one of its kind. It has more information than a typical travel search engine. At the same time it enables you to book hotels, flights, cars and packages online. These entire things combine together to make www.travelgoindia.com a unique India oriented travel guide.

For those of you who don't know where Punta Cana is, it's located in Dominican Republic. When Christopher Columbus called the Dominican Republic "the most beautiful land on earth," he did not realize that it would one day be one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Caribbean. Columbus could well have been referring to Punta Cana!

Located on the southeast coast of the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana is a nature lover’s paradise with 20 miles of white, unspoiled sandy beaches lined with swaying coconut palms. What makes this stunning Caribbean island all the more inviting is the average year-round temperature of 25°C (77°F) and an average water temperature of 23°C (74°F).

Punta Cana’s shoreline is protected by law, ensuring that no manmade structure can detract from its natural beauty. The calm, tranquil beaches with their warm tropical breezes are perfect for those who love the outdoors and adventure travel. Visitors can enjoy their favorite water sports amidst the stunning scenery. Whether it’s diving, a 4x4 motorbike excursion along the beach, swimming with dolphins or taking a walk in the jungle, Punta Cana has something for everyone.

Apart from its breathtaking beaches, Punta Cana has a 2,000-acre natural forest reserve maintained by the Punta Cana Ecological Foundation and 14 kilometers of protected coral reef directly parallel to the coast. Punta Cana also has a number of unique natural features like freshwater lagoons and coastal mangroves that make it a delight both for visitors and environmentalists.

For the most part, Punta Cana has a European ambiance as can be seen in its European style hotels. Punts Cana is hardly a town; it is more of a resort area. The cheap prices of land have attracted many a hotel owner to set up hotels and resorts with extensive facilities for swimming, water sports and golf. Most resorts have their own golf courses, each of them well maintained and situated in stunning locales, making them second to none.

Other attractions for visitors are the Manati Park Bavaro, with performing dolphins and sea lions, an authentic replica of an ancient Taino Indian Village and more. Its no wonder that Punta Cana is called an escapist’s dream!

For more information on Punta Cana, visit: www.e-puntacana.com.

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