Travel with the Tide

The Best Time to Travel to Akumal Mexico

Beautiful Newfoundland Canada

Newfoundland is one of the beautiful provinces in Canada and has become a vacation spot for anyone who loves to participate in all that nature has to offer. There are several outdoors activities that the whole family can become involved in and fully enjoy including skiing and hiking.

Hiking is at its finest in the Newfoundland province. You can hike the Trans Canada Trial which leads to every province in Canada. The Tans Canada Trail is over twenty thousand kilometers long so you will probably only want to hike a very small portion of that trail.

Skiing has always been and still is one of the sports that make Newfoundland a distinctive destination in Canada. There are many different areas that are open in the cooler months for skiing including the Marble Mountain area in Steady Brook. There is even a snow school for anyone who has not had skiing experience to learn the ropes involved in this sport.

Skiing takes on a new life in the beautiful mountains of Canada which are filled with all of the traditional foods and culture of the country. Moose is a particularly interesting food and certainly something that the adventurous members of your family will enjoy trying at least once.

If you are in Newfoundland on a hiking trip then you will encounter some of the various wildlife first hand as you wander around the region. Moose are the most common animals that one finds in the area although there are plenty of birds and small mammals there to observe.

The Gos Morne National Park offers hundreds of animals including bears and fish that make their home in the Newfoundland area. You will also want to spend some time observing the birds of the area since there are over two hundred different varieties in the park.

The cities of Newfoundland are quaint and offer a wide variety of home cooked meals for everyone to enjoy. The specialties of the region include the traditional fish and chips as well as a wide variety of seafood dishes. The town of St. Johns is a must visit in Newfoundland since it boasts a traditional Irish atmosphere that is unique to the region. St. Johns offers charming bed and breakfast lodging that will make even the most cautious traveler feel right at home since the people in the town are just as friendly as the friends you already have.

Newfoundland is a wonderful place to visit offering both sports activities and wonderful homemade foods and crafts that will tempt you to extend your trip for an extra week or so.

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Experience the Wonders of the Riviera Maya

The Mexican Caribbean has long been a popular destination for tourists with Cozumel, Cancun and Playa de Carmen booming with tourism and nightlife. While many people enjoy the exciting pace of these popular destinations, they also enjoy paying a visit to the small, laid back town of Akumal, known for its quaint shops and restaurants, the best snorkeling and diving in the region, and its jungles and Mayan ruins that harkens back to the days when Akumal was a major trade route for this ancient civilization.

A day trip to Akumal is only 20 minutes away from Playa de Carmen and offers quieter beaches, unspoiled ecological sights and some of the best diving in the world. Day tours can be arranged from Cancun and other destinations in the region and is the perfect opportunity to escape the overcrowded beaches of the more bustling resort towns. You can explore the lush jungles and the ancient Mayan ruins of Tulum, which is conveniently located just 20 minutes away. Exploring the jungle and the Mayan ruins can give you a taste of the ancient civilization that once thrived here and see a part of Riviera Maya that you can’t see in Cancun or Playa de Carmen.

Akumal is a diver and snorkeler paradise and has the world’s second largest reef located just off its coast. Cancun does not offer much in the way of diving and snorkeling, but Akumal has many opportunities to explore shipwrecks, caves and the largest number of cenotes on the Yucatan peninsula. Cenotes are naturally occurring sinkholes that dot the landscape surrounding Akumal. The Mayans believed them to be sacred, and they still provide fresh water swimming, diving and snorkeling today. They have many underwater cave diving experiences that hardcore diving enthusiasts or even the novice diver are bound to find fascinating.

A day trip to Akumal offers travelers the opportunity to explore the turtle beaches, the natural habitat of several species of sea turtles who come from the sea in April to nest and leave with their hatchlings in November. Akumal is a town that prides itself of its ecological heritage and preservation of natural marine habitats. It’s the perfect day trip excursion for the ecotourist, with a large natural aquarium where you can observe marine life in their natural protected habitat.

The quaint town of Akumal offers shops and restaurants that are sure to please any traveler. With the beaches and bays within walking distance, you can buy Mayan crafts and dine on traditional Mayan cuisine. Spending a day exploring Akumal and its pristine beaches and beautiful jungles may lead the day tripper to consider Akumal as a destination for a longer stay in the future.

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Beautiful Alberta Canada

Alberta, Canada is a wonderful travel destination that is relatively close to home. You will love the fact that most of the inhabitants speak English and that there here you can find all of the amenities that you are familiar with. If you are traveling to Alberta in the winter however you will definitely want to make sure that you bring all of your warmest winter gear along.

Alberta is a wonderful place to travel when you want to experience the outdoors lifestyle found in North America. There are several camping sites which are great for complete family trips. You will find that there are several lakes and rivers in the area as well.

After you have spent some enjoyable time fishing and camping you can head to the Rockies which lie in the Alberta region for some simple or complex hiking experiences. If you are an inexperienced hiker you will want to hire a guide to assist you on your first hiking trip into the Rockies. The wonderful feel of the Rockies and the plains of Alberta are deeply intertwined in the cities as well. The main cities of Alberta offer many parks and rivers that snake through the cities borders. You can wander through several national parks in the Alberta region including the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

The climate in Alberta is temperate with very cold winters and hot summer seasons. If you travel to Alberta in the summer months you will still need to bring along some warm clothes especially if you are spending your evenings camping. The nights in the region are known to be especially cool and you will want to be prepared for this weather. The mountainous areas around the Rockies are particularly cool as is the areas around the rivers and lakes of Alberta.

The cities found in Alberta are considered some of the safest locations in the world with a relatively low crime rate. There are many hotels, shopping malls and restaurants in the city of Edmonton which is the capital of the province. Edmonton is home to over thirty plus yearly festivals which feature everything from music events to sports activities.

The city of Edmonton offers a variety of wildlife and nature exhibits such as zoos and parks which tend to line the valley. The river flowing through the valley is boasted as one of the cleanest and most ecologically green in the continent especially since Edmonton has begun to engage in more Earth friendly practices.

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Touring the Mayan Ruins of the Riviera Maya

A trip to Akumal and the Riviera Maya region of Mexico would not be complete without a visit to one of the numerous Mayan ruins in the area. This area is steeped in the history of this ancient civilization that still influences the art, cuisine and culture of the region today. Akumal and its surroundings were important trade routes for the Mayans and archaeologists are continuing to uncover many ruins of this once mighty civilization.

One of the most popular ruins to visit not only near Akumal but in all of Mexico is Tulum. There are also the Coba and Xel-Ha which are all conveniently located not far from Akumal and other areas in the Riviera Maya region. They are accessible by car or if you prefer, you can arrange to take a tour bus.

One of the biggest secrets to really enjoying the Mayan ruins in Tulum is to get there early in the day. The ruins open at 8:00 a.m., long before the sweltering heat of the midday sun. Most of the tour buses don’t arrive that early, so if you want to spend some quiet time taking in the site, you can rent a car and get there early in the morning. The tranquility coupled with the milder temperature will help you really enjoy the beauty and wonder of these ancient ruins.

Arriving early means you can explore a little bit on your own before taking a guided tour. The beauty of the ruins of Tulum are that they are situated on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean, and you can take the steps down to a pristine private beach and enjoy some serene time before you take a more formal tour and learn about the ancient civilization that once thrived in this region. To really enjoy having some private time, get there early and get to the ticket counter as soon as possible so you can really enjoy the cliffs and beaches amidst the ruins.

Tour buses arrive at 9 a.m. and if you prefer that route, you can take a guided tour of the ruins. Each of the ruins are marked with plaques in several languages so you can take a self guided tour, or hire a tour guide to get some real insight to the Mayan culture and the history behind these majestic ruins. Tour guides are available just outside the ruins and most of them are multilingual so you can find one that speaks your language and can give you a full tour of the ruins and answer any questions you may have. You can also tour the ruins on your own. The ruins at Tulum has a bookstore where you can purchase a book about the ruins and guide yourself through the ruins. Either way, a tour of the Mayan ruins of this region is a must-see on any itinerary.

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