The low down on taxis

Most people can say that they have been in a taxi at least once in their lifetime. I have been in many throughout the US and around the world. With all the convenience that they bring, they can also bring hassle. An article I found on Dave's Travel Corner gives some great insight into the world of taxis.


The following items are problems that I have run into when using taxi drivers.

Not using the meter
This can be a complicated excuse. First of all, many taxi drivers do not even have meters. Some taxi drivers such as in Bangkok as a whole, simply may refuse to use their meters in the case of terrible traffic. However more often than not an excuse to not use the meter means the driver is trying to cheat you for extra money. A common problem is taxi's will have meters but neglect to use them.

Miscommunication
Miscommunication is one of the biggest problems with using taxis. You may not speak their language and they may not speak yours. They may pretend not to speak your language. Having an address written down sometimes helps. Be sure they understand you and *always* repeat their important responses after they say it to get confirmation

Refusing to speak
I've been in situations where taxi drivers refuse to speak - or pretend not to speak English after initially conversing with me in English. This usually occurs when it comes time to pay.

Don't have Change
This is a pretty common excuse. Some taxi drivers will claim not to have change for that large bill you just gave them or even not have change for the not so large bill. Sometimes they will "magically" produce change if you tell them you have to get out of their car and go find someone who will make change.

People already in the Taxi
Taxi drivers in some countries will pick up as many people as can fit in their car and then drop them off as they go. This can be very problematic especially if you are trying to get somewhere in a timely manner. I've had drivers tell me its only going to take a few minutes and it ends up taking a lot longer to drop off the other people already in the car. The people already in the taxi typically will have priority over your destination and you will have to wait until they are dropped off first.

For more taxi issues, visit Dave's Travel Corner

Bring on Bordeaux

Ahhh Bordeaux... a magical place, with excellent cuisine, beautiful people, and of course their wine. During my backpacking trip my friends and I made an extra effort to make it to the city as well as the country. When I was there I enjoyed taking wine tours in only a few of the many wineries throughout. My friends and I stayed in the cheapest hostel of our entire trip - at just $8 and night, we were in heaven. TravelLady Magazine wrote a great introductory article Welcome to Bordeaux:

The wines of Bordeaux inspire descriptions like "extraordinary balance" and "gorgeous showstopper," but many people do not know there is actually a city of Bordeaux.

Bordeaux is one of France's largest cities and has some of the country's finest 18th century architecture. Adventuresome chefs, hoteliers and winemakers are infusing both the city and its surrounding countryside with a welcome new energy. And an ultramodern new tram system provides service to most of Bordeaux’s neighborhoods. Nestled along the western coast of France, Bordeaux is lush with 2.3 million acres of vineyards. There are about 40 different wine regions, the four major ones are: Pomerol, Graves, Pessac-Leognan, St-Emilion and Medoc. Visitors to this region can stop at a chateau to taste young wines from the barrel and then, to complete the experience, enjoy a mature vintage of the same wine with dinner.

Like most wine capitals, Bordeaux has always been a good eating town, and its inhabitants are fond of its oysters with little sausages, foie gras, and roasted chicken, duck, and lamb.

For more information, visit TravelLady Magazine

Cruising Alaska

Cruises I am told can be a wondrous experience - full of music, people, sights, smells, activities, and of coarse GREAT food. I have yet to go on one, but my family and I have been discussing doing one to Alaska. Which cruise is the best pick though?? Looking around online I found this great article with some helpful suggestions on a trip to AK. I picked out some good tips from the Chicago Suns article "Alaska's Inside Passage: Wild coast":

Options aplenty

Now, as then, the basic coastal voyage remains the standard, the trip most travelers try first. Sailing between the ragged Pacific coastline and hundreds of outer islands, the route charts a path between Vancouver, Canada (or Seattle) and the Gulf of Alaska, skimming the highlights and calling at A-list ports like Ketchikan, Sitka, Skagway and Juneau.

Convenience vs. close-ups

To give them their due, mega-ships are a thrill a minute. More hotel than ship, these floating resorts have panoramic views and glam entertainment. Luxury dining, dance bands, spa treatments, nightclub acts, casinos, Internet access, a choice of restaurants and staterooms with picture windows are standard fare. Art collections, investment seminars and children's programs juke up the choices. And storm friendly? Most definitely. These goliaths are so stable, it's hard to tell when you're moving.

But that same giant will be too wide and sit too deep in the water ("draft" it's called) to sail close to shore. If there's a brown bear prowling that distant beach, he'll look like a dot. If the captain has his hand on the throttle and you're not standing in the stern holding your binoculars you'll miss the sea lions on the rocks.

Best compromise

For a combination of small ship convenience and large ship entertainment, check out the Empress of the North, Majestic America Line's 231-passenger sternwheeler. This riverboat look-alike sails seven-night loop cruises out of Juneau, reprising the bawdy days of the 1898 Gold Rush to the Yukon. You'd never guess that that Victorian silk upholstery, brass railings, gilt mirrors and silk pillows are new. So are the amenities, including TV, DVD player, telephone and minibar. Bathrooms come with showers and tubs. The onboard historian is a fount of Gold Rush anecdotes.

Finish this article and more at the Chicago Sun Times

Tu hablas Ingles??

The title - Do you speak English is one such phrase you might hear if you were traveling in Spain. But imagine if you could go to Spain and not have to understand or speak any Spanish at all?! On GoNOMAD they listed an article about a school of sorts in Salamaca, Spain where you eat, sleep, talk, and play in English. Participants from Spain go there to learn English - you would be the teacher more or less. If this is of interest read this clipping from Habla Ingles? English Language Immersion in Salamanca, Spain

Pueblos Ingles is not exactly a school for English. It’s more like an intense English ‘experience.’ It’s a unique opportunity for native English speakers to immerse themselves in Spain’s culture and people firsthand in exchange for just chatting with Spaniards.

And for the Spanish people, it’s like an intensive week-long English ‘sleep-away camp’ which gives them the opportunity to improve and practice their English-speaking skills the best way -- by force of course.

For the duration of the week, they are forbidden to speak Spanish and must converse in and listen to English at all hours of the day… easy for me, not so much for them.

The idea scared and intrigued me at the same time -- not only would I be able to travel for one week without spending a dime (that’s 15 cents in Euro), it would enable me to meet and connect with real Spaniards who mostly come from the professional business world -- something often hard to do when you are a tourist.

The beauty of this program is your entire schedule is laid out for you. There is really nothing to worry about. I had my own small ‘villa’ that I shared with Potola, a sweet and hilarious flight attendant from Madrid.

Our ‘casa’ was just steps from the lobby and bar so it was so easy to stumble to bed before sunrise, and get up the next morning (even if it was only a few hours later) and just walk over to my next session of speaking English. There was no commute, no metro, no taxi. You just walked home in two minutes. Life was good.

To finish this article visit GoNOMAD.com

The World Music Conference - Miami, Florida

If standing on your feet and making your body move to the dancing beat is something that makes you groove, then you should check out the World Music Conference in Miami, Florida. Every year music listeners from all over the world gather in sunny Florida for the one event that is regarded as the singular networking event in the dance music industry, attracting music professionals from over 62 different countries. At the event, all aspects of the industry are represented including "technological innovators, artists, DJs, producers, radio and video programmers, retailers, distributors, audio manufacturers and more." This coming week will mark the 23rd year of the conference and the 10th year anniversary of Ultra - the closing event - which is where top music artists can be heard in a live, two day, 15 hour event. Below is more information from The World Music Conference:

The music industry is engaged in a profound structural metamorphosis. CDR's, MP3's, download streams and other new technologies are forever changing the ways in which people create, buy, sell and listen to music. Such matters are among the many debated at Winter Music Conference.
The WMC program brings together informed professionals to present new ideas, discuss industry issues, and build new inroads for business development. Meetings and seminars focus on topics such as market strategies, artist development, copyrighting, publishing, writing contracts, artist management, distribution, radio, promotion, internet retailing, and the media, just to name a few.

The level of exposure WMC provides for artists and DJs is invaluable. WMC offers endless opportunities for DJs and artists to network and have their music heard by an international audience of music industry professionals. The Demo Listening Workshops, CD compilation, DJ & performance stages, DJ Spin Off and a host of other performance events, showcases and release parties throughout the week, provide limitless opportunities for innovative DJs and artists to break out of the box.

Venues throughout Miami feature a non-stop schedule of nighttime events showcasing legendary artists and DJs from all over the world. WMC also presents the International Dance Music Awards, revered as the premier annual awards event for the dance and electronic music industry. Ultra Music Festival, the largest music festival of its kind in the U.S., is the official closing event for WMC. Nowhere other than WMC will you experience such diverse and unique talents gathered together to share one week of exclusive music industry events.

Among the major themes of this year's 23rd installment of Winter Music Conference are better and bigger. Much bigger. Just check the numbers:40,000 people are expected to attend various events; 20,000 area hotel rooms are booked; more than 1,780 artists and DJs will perform; over 85 venues will throw parties.

In short, Miami Beach and downtown will transform into a dance music city of sorts.

For more info on music, DJs, events and times, visit WMC

Budget Hotels in Miami

Fresno in springtime

California in the springtime: full of flowers, tree blossoms, and plenty of sunlight - again, nothing like western mass. at the present time. No despite yesterday being the official first day of spring, we received another 1/2 inch of snow and with winds as strong as they are, the snow will never melt.

Spring will come though, but in the meantime this article on the Blossom Trail that I found in the LA Times will have to suffice. The author and her family were able to take a leisurely bike ride down this magical trail. Below is a piece from "Blossom Trail: Fresno County road trip plum gorgeous" :

We drove several stretches of the 62-mile Blossom Trail on March 1. The self-guided route, which officially opens Feb. 1, showcases this agricultural area's flowering plum, almond, apricot, peach, nectarine, apple and citrus trees. We stopped first in Sanger for the Blossom Days Festival, its yearly nod to the ritual. The feeling was one of lazy fun. We sat on a curb on 7th Street and dined on plates of barbecue beef and potato salad while petals from nearby trees dropped like gentle rain. Kids gathered them into piles and threw them in the air.

We had come to blossom country to take the annual drive, which covers an area about from Sanger on the north, Reedley on the south, California 99 to the east and Orange Cove to the west (including the part of the trail filled with orange trees). Some trees were just beginning to bud. Others were already bountiful.

Along one length of the trail, we glimpsed the snowy tops of distant mountains, which I first mistook for a long line of clouds. Early March, we found, was a great time to catch the serene scenes.

Peace also reigned at Pine Flat Lake, where we made camp at Island Park, one of several camping areas at this lake, run by the Army Corps of Engineers. The lake is about 18 miles from the Blossom Trail, a drive that took us more than half an hour. If visiting both sites, drive the trail on the way up from L.A. or on the way back home.

To finish the article and for more travel articles, visit Las Angeles Times

Know & Control Altitude sickness

Have you ever gone skiing, hiking, biking or done any activity that required going to high altitudes?? Have you ever felt even a hint of altitude sickness - such as dizziness, nausea, trembling, headaches, or lack of coordination? Well if this sounds like anything that you may have experienced, you may know as I do, that it is not a fun experience. I felt my first wave of sickness during a trip to Colorado to ski. One of the authors for GoNOMAD was also a victim of altitude sickness and wrote an article with some tips to help the rest of us overcome it! Below is part of her article How to Avoid Altitude sickness

Beginning at about 6,500 feet, oxygen becomes thinner, and if you are not used to it, you can find yourself in the beginning stages of altitude sickness. Your body requires time to acclimate to the reduced oxygen and changes in air pressure.

Even if you live at a higher elevation, it is still no guarantee that you will avoid altitude sickness. According to Better Health Channel, Healthier Living Online, if you’ve had elevation sickness before, you are more likely to experience it again.

*Acclimate yourself before you reach your elevation. At sea level your blood oxygen is 98%. At 10,000 feet it is reduced to 89%. With exertion you can easily drop below the level required to stay conscious. So take it easy the first day or two.

*It’s always a good idea to be in good physical shape before you exert yourself on the mountain with skiing or hiking. Not everyone experiences altitude sickness, but sometimes even a healthy person can feel out of sorts.

Young and old, healthy and not so healthy, everyone is susceptible to altitude sickness.

To finish this article, please visit GoNOMAD.com

Camp - not just for the kiddos!

Perhaps you were one of the lucky few who got the chance to go away to summer camp as a child. Or maybe you were like me and you were woken up at the crack of dawn to be shipped off on a school bus every day to summer camp. Either way camp brings up fond memories, new friends, and lots of activities! If you loved camp as much as I... well it's not over - you can STILL go to camp as an adult! I found an article on Travel & Leisure that mentions a few of these camps. Below is part of "The World’s Quirkiest Adult Camps" :

No matter what your fantasy may be—to become an astronaut on a shuttle mission, an elephant trainer, even a ghost hunter—chances are there is a program or camp waiting for you.

"In recent years, the number of specialized camp opportunities for adults has grown significantly," says Peg L. Smith, chief executive officer of The American Camp Association (ACA). "Camp isn’t just for kids anymore," she says. "In a hectic world, it offers an oasis, with opportunities for learning in a fun environment." And more people are opting for unique learning programs over your typical park-yourself-on-a-beach getaway. "Many adults find a camp vacation to be more rewarding than a week at a resort," says Smith.

...sometimes, camps can turn mere aficionados into experts—or even working professionals. Just 90 days after graduating from Atlantic City’s World Poker Tournament Boot Camp in 2007, poker amateur Lee Childs used his training to make it to the finals of the World Series of Poker. The computer engineer advanced over 6,348 people and took seventh place, winning $705,229. And on Stan Newman’s Crossword University cruise to Cozumel, Belize, Guatemala, and Key West in 2004, one participant, Donna Levin, was inspired to create her own puzzles, which she has since sold to The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Newsday, and other publications.

To see all the camps listed, visit Travel & Leisure

When you got to go... you got to go!

Everyone does it, some just do it in fancy state of the art bathrooms while others go make friends with the woods. Either way, going to the bathroom is a way of life for creatures of all shapes and sizes. But what the group of people who created The Bathroom Diaries figured, is since we all must give in at some point... knowing what type of bathroom establishment is awaiting you can make the experience a much better one!

The Bathroom Diaries is a helpful and in a sense, comical website that any traveler can browse through to find a bathroom around the world. It provides a list of over 8,000 bathrooms of hotels, airports, and other public facilities around the globe, each with either a good or bad rating in terms of sanitization, safety, and aesthetics. Over 100 countries are included in this list such as Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, Greece, Morrocco, South Africa and more.

The Bathroom Diaries allows you to add other bathrooms that you’ve used onto the list with your own ratings and comments. Not only do you get to submit your own experience with a bathroom in a foreign country, but you also get to nominate the best, unique and/or creative restroom you’ve ever seen into the Bathroom of the Week contest.

You can also read several amusing or disgusting travel essays submitted by other travelers’ personal experiences with the restrooms on The Bathroom Diaries’ Travel Essays section. If you want, you could also submit and share with other viewers your own bathroom tales for this site.

For the rest of this article and more, visit GoNOMAD

Damian Barr - Raising the bar at Andaz

Last week I was fortunate to attend the University of Massachusetts career fair and in the process I got the chance to speak with recruiters from the Hyatt. A recent graduate came to talk to us fellow students to encourage our journey into the hotel world. One topic, among many were the several different brands of Hyatt hotels out there - the newest approach being the casual luxury brand Andaz.

This new friendly, personalized and laid back hotel has recently opened its doors in London and will be introducing a new concept into the hotel industry. Damian Barr was welcomed in to help encourage more artists and writers to stay and have a space to spread out and create. Prior to this agreement you might know Barr as a co-writer for plays on BBC radio 4, a regular writer for the Times, and a resident at the Royal College of Arts. Barr will be making not only room calls, but phone calls, dinner consultation dates, and book selections to others in the hotel. For more please read on to get a good grasp on this quiet interesting and brilliant idea:

Staring on April 14, Andaz will host noted writer Damian Barr as the hotel’s official Reader-in-Residence. To launch this new program, Damian Barr will live at the hotel for a two week period offering his services throughout the day and night. At the conclusion of his live-in, Barr will continue to act as the hotel’s resident Reader with sessions available upon request. Hotel guests will be able to book Damian to read aloud to them in their rooms choosing from a specially devised Book Menu.

There are no banned books: guests can also ask Barr to read anything they like. Or they can just book him for a private literary lunch or dinner in one of the hotels five restaurants and bars.

Over the phone or in person guests can consult Barr for what he calls ‘bibliotherapy’: “Basically I’ll talk to guests and find out what they love/loathe reading. I’ll diagnose their needs and prescribe appropriate texts: revive travel-worn senses with a sumptuous Georgette Heyer, enjoy a classy giggle with Nancy Mitford or some glamorous gangsters with Jake Arnott.”

Western Mass - Still the land before time

Western Massachusetts - Home of Tanglewood, Jacobs Pillow dance festival, endless miles of woodland, scenic lakes, mountains and the town of Otis. Founded in 1810, Otis, Mass was built up around the idea of community, the outdoors and the hills of Berkshire county. A visit here is sure to bring you beautiful sights, wonderful people, little to no cell phone reception and no high speed internet. It has captured the beauty of life and the lack of the new high tech society. Otis was also featured on the front page of the New York Times travel section in the article In the Berkshires: Turning back the clock. Below is a snippet for you to enjoy:

DURING a broadcast of “A Prairie Home Companion” from Tanglewood last summer, Garrison Keillor called the Berkshires a "beautiful place - New England towns where people come to enjoy a way of life that’s practically vanished.”

Mr. Keillor’s description perfectly captures Otis, Mass., just 20 miles from Tanglewood, which is in Lenox. Known for its lakes, modest tree-covered mountains, outdoor recreation and a slightly dated lifestyle, Otis does feel like the kind of place where Ozzie and Harriet or the Cleavers would have bought a second home decades ago.

One of Otis’s biggest draws, in terms of recreation and real estate, is the Otis Reservoir, referred to locally as “the lake.” It used to be that most cottages on the reservoir were summer homes, shuttered in winter. But increasingly, second-home owners have turned their cottages into year-round getaways, adding skiing (downhill and cross-country), snowmobiling, ice fishing and ice-skating to their menu of outdoor sports.

There are two general stores in East Otis, Katie’s Country Store and Hall’s General Store, across the street from each other. Hall’s has a working soda fountain, serving up ice cream and floats at the counter in summer. Katie’s is a rustic collection of sunken shelves heavy with groceries that serves as something of a town water cooler.

Otis is about 13 miles north of the Connecticut border, 140 miles from New York and 117 miles from Boston.

For this and many other articles, please visit The New York Times

Great guide for the New Year

If travel is on your calendar this year make sure not to forget to pack up your travel guide! This week GoNOMADs own Max Hartshorne wrote a short article on a new travel guide that might just be your next travel friend. The company Ideo Eyes Open Chronicle books are not your average guides. No, instead these books open the eyes of the traveler from seeing the tourist hot spots to looking—"really looking—at their surroundings." A clip from Max's article, Ideo Field Guides: A Stand-out Among the Travel Books is below:

Here is what's cool about these books: The shape of the book, laid out horizontally with a hard cover, is easy to flip through, so you don't have to hold the page open. They have a little elastic you can wrap around so you can mark your place. The text is minimal with very arty and cool photographs with each entry.

They aren't trying to be your Uncle's guide to New York, with info on all of the sites. They instead pick out places and things most of us have never heard of, like Metronaps, where you can take a snooze in a pod in suite 2210 of the Empire State Building.

The book categorizes travelers into logical groups, as they say 'each one of us is an Observer, a Diner, a Shopper and a Mingler.

For the rest of this article and other travel articles, visit GoNOMAD

The inside scoop on Minneapolis

I city I still have yet to visit was the main focus in a front page article on GoNOMAD. Minneapolis, Minnesota -Home of the oldest running theater in the country and the most golfers per capita than in any other city. Author Kelly Westoff grew up in this city and her article gives readers a sneak peak into what this great city offers. Below is a piece from her article "Mini-Apple No More: Minneapolis Steps Into the Spotlight":

Long before I ever got to go to the city that never sleeps, I knew that New York was called “the Big Apple.” I latched on to this nickname, perhaps because it evoked a vivid image in my childhood mind, yet the moniker also appealed to me as I lived in a city that went by the opposite claim: the Mini-Apple.

There was the obvious play on words — Minneapolis/Mini-Apple — yet beyond that, explained my dad, Minneapolis did share some attributes with New York City.

A subway system runs beneath the Big Apple connecting one corner of the city with another while in Minneapolis the far ends of downtown are connected by a skyway system.

The skyways are an enclosed system of sidewalks located one story up from the ground and thus bridging over the streets below.

While New York is often thought of as the nation’s literary mecca, Minneapolis is also home to an impressive number of bookstores, small presses and authors. In fact, in 2007, Minneapolis was declared the most literate city in America by Jack Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University, who has been ranking the country’s literary bright spots since 2004.

Visit GoNOMAD for this and other articles

Walk your way around the world

Looking to see the world but not interested in taking crowded trains or buses? Well then I might have found the perfect website for you. I came across Country Walkers in a Best in Travel list in the Travel Smith catalog and I had to let others know about this alternative travel deal! Below is a blurb about who they are and what they offer:

Country Walkers, a premier walking tour company, offers unsurpassed walking tours and hiking vacations around the globe. With exceptional local guides, distinct, breathtaking regions, sumptuous cuisine, and authentic accommodations, Country Walkers proves that walking is the best way to explore the world.

From the lush green hills of Ireland to the vast wine country of Tuscany, our European walking tours promise an enriching journey by foot. Traverse the breathtaking terrain and immerse yourself in the culture and culinary delights of New Zealand, Bhutan, Morocco, Peru, Vermont, Nova Scotia, Alaska, and many more exciting locations. On our Family Adventures, each hiking vacation discovery becomes a cherished family memory in the making. Our woman's walking tours are for our female travelers who enjoy the companionship and spirit of women with enthusiasm for active travel.

Whether on an invigorating hike through a national forest or a leisurely stroll in a quaint, historic village, our walking tours and hiking vacations will enliven the senses and soothe the soul. As a walking tour company, we interweave health, adventure, culture, and awe-inspiring vistas in a single hiking vacation trip and walking tour, which is why so many of our guests are Country Walkers repeat travelers. So join us for your next walking tour adventure in travel and explore the world one step at a time.

To read on please visit their website!

The eco-friendly driving guide

To drive or not to drive... that seems to be the question of many environmentally aware car owners. There are over 600 million motor vehicles in the world today and if this rate continues, the number of cars on Earth will double in the next 30 years. That is a lot of cars and a lot of emissions being pumped into our atmosphere - slowly killing the only planet we have. The only thing to do at this point is be aware of the situation and take the initiative to decrease the amount we each contribute. An article passed along to me from EcoTrekker titled The Ultimate Guide to Hypermiling: 100 Driving and Car Tips and Resources lists ways to help protect our planet by making small adjustments to our lives. Below are just a few of the things suggested:

Hypermiling, or driving your car “in a manner that maximizes mileage,” has become more popular among drivers worldwide, as concerns over increasing gas prices and environmental issues heighten. Whether you’re trying to make a difference by helping the environment, or you’re just aiming to save a few more dollars at the pump each month, check out this ultimate guide to hypermiling, which provides tips and resources for smart driving.

1. Drive a stick shift: If you’re used to driving automatic, switching over to a stick shift might take a little practice, but it’s definitely worth it. Once you have more control over the vehicle, you’ll be able to master more hypermiling tricks.
2. Stop speeding: The harder you press the gas pedal, the more gas you’re using. If you’re driving over the speed limit, you might save time, but you’re definitely wasting gas and money. Slow down a little if you can so that you’re driving at or just below the actual speed limit.
3. Get an oil change: Keeping up with scheduled oil changes will help your engine run more easily. Adequate oil levels and lower-weight oil can also make a difference in how quickly your vehicle burns fuel
4. Check your tire pressure: Tires that are beginning to lose air and go flat put more stress on your engine, making it work harder and burn more fuel. Keep a tire gauge in your car and frequently check the tire pressure.
5. Ridge Riding: If you want to save gas during or after a hard rain, hug the right side of your lane, or the shoulder if you’re already driving in the far right lane, to avoid driving in the puddles created by other drivers.
   
6. Drive in electric mode: Toyota Prius drivers know that driving in the all-electric mode is “advisable” at the very end of a trip because “the batteries will recharge [more] quickly on your next start-up.”
7. Downhill run: If you’re driving downhill, take your foot off the gas pedal and coast all the way down until you absolutely must brake or give your car a little more gas.

To read all 100 ways to help out visit EcoTrekker!

Spring break isn't just for the kids

As a student in the middle of a crazy jam packed semester full of papers, tests, and projects... spring break sounds like music to my ears! Many of my fellow students have booked cheap travel to the usual Cancun Mexico, Miami Beach, Florida or some other "hot spot" around the USA. Although my break won't be as exciting, just seeing my family and dogs is good enough for me.

But kids are not the ONLY ones who deserve a spring break vacation. Adults who work just as hard at their jobs, who put up with their kids and who barely have enough time for coffee in the morning are just as much in need of a getaway. On the front page of MSN Travel today I found the perfect article for all the non students who are interested in a week of bliss. Listed in "Spring Break Escapes for Adults," are several different types of vacation options. From your typical sandy beaches, to different cultural excursions, there are also volunteer options and international. Below is a snippet of a few of these:

During March, sun-kissed areas of the United States as well as Mexico and the Caribbean become virtually off-limits for anyone not currently affiliated with a college fraternity or sorority. Find salvation, though, with these adult-friendly getaways that offer cultural, recreational and sensory delights.

Island adventure: St. Lucia

Unlike some of its Caribbean neighbors St. Lucias has never been a prime spring-break destination, leaving grown-ups and families free to traipse through the island's tropical rain forest, bike along the ocean or ride horses across its beaches.

The island may also offer the Caribbean's best windsurfing, while Rodney Bay Marina and Marigot Bay have long been yachting favorites.

Volunteer vacation: Costa Rica

Costa Rico is well-known as an excellent entry point to Central America: safe, beautiful and home to some of the region's best beaches. The volunteer organization United Planet (http://www.unitedplanet.org) can help community-minded visitors get even more out of their Costa Rica experience by arranging a volunteer vacation.

Glam getaway: Miami

Though spring-break crowds render much of South Florida inhospitable to the over-21 group, Miami is big enough to absorb them almost invisibly. Plus, there have never been so many reasons to visit the cultural capital of the South, especially given the tremendous success of the city's Art Basel and Design Miami shows.

For more vacation option visit MSN Travel!