Just Hangin' 2013 Florida Keys Road Trip

Key West is Nothing Short of Awesome

A memorable vacation awaits at one of many Key West Resorts. Experience “Old Town" and it’s legendary charm.

Feel the old world history blending with contemporary luxuries to create the perfect American tropical getaway. This picturesque island is nothing short of awesome. 

The drive down is considered one of the best in the country and the city is different to any other in the world.

The tropical, crystal-clear Caribbean waters create brilliant colors for fantastic watersports. Watersports rentals are everywhere, making getting on or under the water, a popular Key West activity. Key West and the Florida Keys expose a wonderful Caribbean flavor.

Now it’s time for deciding on a place to stay in "The Southernmost City." What's your preference, there are many all inclusive resorts in Key West,  also plenty of Hotels, Guesthouses, Historic Inns, or how about a quiet, cozy Bed & Breakfast. Lets check-out a few?

Southernmost Hotel Key West

The Southernmost Hotel Key West is one of three unique properties in the Southernmost Hotel collection of dynamite hotels in Historic Old Town.

I have performed a lot of research on Florida Keys and Miami Beach hotels, and this hotel collection can compete with the best of them.

Check in was easy with most all the guests, reviews stated that the rooms were clean, tastefully decorated, and any questions to the staff were answered in a friendly and efficient manner.

I would certainly recommend this hotel to anyone wanting a place on Duval Street close to the beach and within easy walking distance of the Southernmost Point monument and to much of the HOT ACTION on Duval Street. The Southernmost is also within strolling distance to many of the other top attractions on the island.

The Marriott Key West 

Awarded Marriott’s Customer Excellence Award for overall service, and one of the highest rated Key West hotels with a consistent customer review rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. The Marriott Key West beachside sits on 7 beautiful acres and was originally intended to be a condo complex, so expect large rooms with about 6 buildings separated into different rooms and suites. 

Try an oceanview 1 bedroom suite at the Marriott beachside Key West and you will be surprised by the quality of the room and its amenities. The oceanview suites provide marble flooring throughout,  offers a half bath with toilet and sink basin for guests, a closet with an in-room washer and dryer with iron and ironing board, and tinted hurricane glass on all doors and windows.

An open gourmet kitchen and dining area includes all of the modern features such as stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, microwave, modern refrigerator, and fully stocked kitchen with plates and utensils, for one of your best Key West vacations ever.

Parrot Key Resort

I'm sure you don’t need any more of those “that’s not how it looked in the pictures” moments, right! The Parrot Key Resort property features 118 exceptional hotel rooms, suites, and cottages each fronting one of the resort’s four spectacular swimming pools.

You’ll know from the moment you step on the property of the Parrot Key, this will be a great vacation. 

The Parrot Key Key West is away from the noise of the city and once your in the hotel, it seems
you have entered into a private paradise.

This lushly landscaped haven will give you a turnkey vacation experience with four-diamond service in a Key West boutique style resort. 

Key West’s newest resort opening in 2008, the Parrot Key hotel has the classic “old Town” Key West architecture, with distinctive design motif exemplifying ship-building practices adapted from the Caribbean and New England. 

The classic design is characterized by fine Victorian craftsmanship and millwork. The Resort can be your paradise, within minutes of the world famous nightlife, dining and shopping of Duval Street, or the Sunset Celebration Mallory Square.

Enjoy fantastic water activities and learn about the islands rich maritime history, on one magnificent island.

How to Find the Best all Inclusive Vacation Package Deals

Are you in the process of planning a vacation? If you are and if your trip will require air travel, you will find that you have a number of options when booking your travel arrangements.

One of those options is to purchase a all inclusive vacation package.

Although vacation packages do have their pros and cons, there are many travelers who love them, as well as recommend them to friends.

There are two main reasons for this. The allure of vacation packages is that you often save money and that it is easy to book multiple travel arrangements all at the same time. 

Although you will find some variations, vacation packages should include more than just airline reservations. Depending on the package in question, they may include overnight accommodations and a car rental as well.

If you are interested in booking your next travel arrangements in the form of a package, you may be wondering how you can go about doing so. The good news is that you have a number of different options.

The first place that you will want to look at is some of the online travel sites. These are travel websites that focus on large areas, such as both domestic and international travel. Many of the well known vacation travel websites will give you some freedom when looking to buy all inclusive vacations.

For example, if you already have your overnight accommodations arranged, like if you are staying with friends or family, you can still book a vacation package that only include airline reservations and a car rental.

As a reminder, be sure to visit travel websites that are well known for their great deals and good reputations. These websites can easily be found with a standard internet search. If you are concerned with reputation of a travel site, you can easily do a little bit of research first online. There are many that are designed to assist travelers, as well as online message boards where other travelers, just like you, talk about their trips and arrangements.

In addition to top travel sites, you may also want to visit specialty websites. These are sites that focus on a particular area, such as Hawaii or Florida. Many of these smaller sites are still trustworthy and reputable and many also offer inclusive packages. In fact, depending on where you look, you may find a vacation package that includes a stay at a vacation rental, like a vacation home. These types of vacation packages can sometimes be hard to find, Homeaway and VRBO are two.

If you are traveling to a vacation destination that is popular or well known, like the Caribbean or Hawaii, you may be able to get all inclusive resorts vacation packages directly through the resorts. While many of these packages may only include overnight accommodations, a car rental, and a few nearby activities, you may be surprised with what you find. As a reminder, you may have the best luck when dealing with large or well known hotels and vacation resorts, as they are the ones more likely to have all inclusive vacations with airfare.

As a reminder, vacation packages come in a number of different formats. Even if you have purchased your airline tickets, you may still be able to benefit from a package. There are some deals that only include overnight accommodations, like a stay at hotel or vacation resort, and a car rental. These types of packages are ideal for those who have found a great deal on airfare independently or for those who have already made their airline reservations.

St. Lucia is a Volcanic Island

The Caribbeans, St Lucia is a volcanic island which has a very unique feature, the world's only Drive-In Volcano Park. Don't worry, there hasn't been an eruption at the site in centuries!

You'll have a drive-in show complete with boiling mud pools, multiple steam vents releasing steam and sulphur into the air, and a cool feature that adds to the attraction, a majestic waterfall.

The name of the islands attraction is the Sulphur Springs Drive-in Volcano and for good reason, the smell of sulfur is almost overpowering, but really just adds a unique flavor to the attraction.

St. Lucia is one of the more mountainous Caribbean islands with Mt Gimie (3,120 ft) above sea level. It is moderated by northeast trade winds and has a warm tropical climate. The capital city is Castries where the majority of the islands population lives and where most of the commerce, restaurants, and shops are.

If you're planning a vacation to this one of a kind tropical destination, St. Lucia's climate is like most of the Caribbean, the wet season is from June to November with the dry season from December to May.
Expect temperatures around 90 degrees in summer and 75 to 80 in winter.

Scuba diving and snorkeling on any of the Caribbean islands can be an eye opening experience, but with St Lucia's shoreline mountainous terrain, it is an experience that will be hardwired into your memory bank, for the rest of your life.

Coral walls that start at the mountain base and drop off steeply to deeper water, create a snorkel or dive that will not disappoint the most experienced diver. Scuba divers and snorkelers can swim amongst various marine creatures and connect with the underwater world.

The crystal-clear Caribbean Sea can be so tempting you will want to, at least, get-in-on some snorkeling or diving while your down!

Unlike many of the Caribbean islands which are surrounded by flats, and have turquoise colored water, St. Lucia has deeper surrounding waters which creates a clear cobalt blue water.

The clear blue water with the lush green terrain is a backdrop which is nothing short of magnificent. Coral formations start 25 ft from shore and with endless sandy lagoons and coral walls plunging into the depths, you'll have tons of breathtaking tropical water to explore.

St. Lucia’s has always been known to be tourist friendly. All beaches on the island are open to the public. With one side of the island bordering the Caribbean Sea, and the other the Atlantic Ocean, St. Lucia’s diverse landscape represents virtually unlimited places to discover.

Besides all the snorkeling and diving a person could ask for, hiking the mountain terrain can be a vacation in itself.

How about a zip line ride through the tropical rain forest canopy? That should get your adrenaline flowing!

Let me go over some of the unique features of this impressive Caribbean Island: the world's only drive-in volcano, a rich and protected natural tropical rain forest, complete with a zip line ride through the canopy, the largest banana plantation in the Windward Islands, fantastic Caribbean cuisine, and to top it all off....world class diving and snorkeling.

Wow ! Impressive !

St.Lucia is also a popular destination for newlyweds, and I can see why, the romantic Caribbean, and a ton of things to do. Most honeymooners leave St. Lucia with smiles on their faces !

For more reading visit my other travel sites at....Hotels on South Beach Miami or Key West Resorts

Thanks for stopping by!

Cancun Mexico is a Caribbean Hotspot

If you would like to experience a travel destination in the Caribbean with a little more action than most, a happening nightlife, and very active tourism, then look no further than the party in Cancun.

The Cancun weather along with the popular Cancun all inclusive resorts, this hot spot has been the happening place for young adults, spring breakers, and the partiers for more than three decades.

In the beginning Cancun was nothing more than a coconut plantation, but the Mexican government decided to make an investment in the 1970's to try and make it into a tourist hot-spot, well their gamble paid off, and today, Cancun is one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

Now there is a fantastic selection of Cancun hotels, Cancun all inclusive resorts and many restaurants that serve this Caribbean Paradise to bring the tourist trade to this once-struggling region.

Much like South Beach Miami, this Mexican beach destination is known for its wild parties and happening night clubs.

For people who want a simple, quiet vacation without too much hassle, consider all inclusive trips to Cancun. If your looking for affordability,  the all-inclusive resorts in Cancun are something to consider. 

These rooms can include everything from your breakfast, lunch and dinner, to all of your alcoholic beverages.

In addition, many have the gratuity built right into them so that you won't have to worry about tipping the staff every time you go up and get another drink.

These packages are especially attractive to the college crowd visiting Cancun to have a good time and relax away the stress of classes. 

College kids tend to save up for an all-inclusive trip to help defray the cost of the vacation and eliminate the worry about going into debt.

Don't worry if you can't speak Spanish while in Cancun. Because of its largely American client base, it's a very English-orientated vacation spot - most of the people who live and work there speak fluent English. In fact, if you want, you can even go into downtown Cancun and shop in a local Wal-Mart.

While there are sure to be a few differences between this store and the one right in your home town, there are also a lot of similarities, which can really help to ease any homesickness you may experience.

The Cancun weather is ideal, ranging from seventy-five to a little over ninety degrees depending on the time of the year. 

This constant tropical feel is one of the reasons why so many people from all over the world decide to come this perfect vacation getaway every year.

The recorded high temperature in the area is one hundred and two degrees, while the recorded low temperature is forty-five degrees - but these extreme temperature fluctuations are uncommon.

If this happening tropical paradise sounds like the perfect place for you, travel to Cancun can be very affordable, look into a combination hotel and flight package which is usually the most economical way to travel to the Caribbean. 

Since it's such a popular vacation destination for so many different people, there are great deals to be found to visit Cancun year round.

If you want to save a little more money, try not to go to Cancun during its peak season times, like spring break and summer vacations, but instead look for deals on trips in the late fall or winter.