A Trip News

Relax and unwind in a modern European cultural city where urban cosmopolitan lifestyle exists in perfect harmony with nature. Just as Helsinki cannot be described in one word, neither can it be experienced in just one way. Helsinki has something for everyone.
Green city
The beautiful clean nature surrounding Helsinki offers unlimited possibilities for relaxing and enjoying healthy out-door activities. The city’s many parks are enjoyed by tourists and residents alike, and the forests (more…)

Simon Kane stocks up for the festive table in Pas-de-Calais
“Champagne tasting is a strange concept,” says wine critic Oz Clarke, as he kicks off our sampling session. “We don’t usually bother tasting it, we just get on with drinking it.”
Over the next 36 hours I drink and eat a lot, with Oz as one of my guides. I’m on a whistlestop gastronomic tour of the Pas-de-Calais, courtesy of SeaFrance. Along with the local tourist board, the ferry company wants to (more…)

The Cambodian government is hoping that two major sports events at Angkor Wat will boost tourism numbers, the Phnom Penh Post has reported. The country’s tourism Minister, Thong Khon, announced that next month’s half-marathon around the ancient temple grounds has attracted over 2,000 entrants from 31 countries. Four days later, on 11 December, professional golfers will arrive in Siem Reap for the second annual Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open.
“The two events will help attract tourists to Cambodia. (more…)

The small colonial-style house Barack Obama lived in as a child has turned into a tourist attraction since the US President-elect rose to fame. Now, according to an AP report, the owner of the house in a suburb of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, is tempted to sell-up.
One businessman has reportedly already approached 78 year-old owner Tata Aboe Bakar, about buying the property to turn into an Obama-themed bar.

(more…)

Wrapped in his yukata, Rob McFarland finds unexpected entertainment at a traditional inn.
I’m sitting at a bar in a cruise ship-style atrium wearing a dressing gown, listening to a Mexican band singing La Bamba. I’m surrounded by dozens of similarly dressed Japanese, most of whom are smiling and clapping along as if this is a perfectly normal way to spend a Friday night.
It sounds like the sort of bizarre dream brought on by too much cheese before bed. What’s weirder still (more…)

One of the world’s most famous cruise ships, the Queen Elizabeth 2, briefly ran aground on Tuesday before arriving in its home port for the last time, its owners said.
The 70,000-ton vessel ran onto a sandbank as it approached Southampton on England’s south coast, where it was paying its final call before heading to Dubai where it will become a floating hotel.
Two tugs helped by the rising tide managed to re-float it, and the ship eventually arrived in port 15 minutes behind schedule but still (more…)

A safe retreat awaits just an hour’s drive from the city, writes Christopher Hopper.
SOME people would say I’ve discovered the perfect destination. It’s close enough to avoid the “Are we there yet?” pleas from the car’s back seat and also near enough to home to leave the children behind with grandma while you have a break. There aren’t too many places in Sydney where you can feel miles away from hectic urban life just one hour’s drive from the CBD.
Bundeena used to be one of (more…)

It is the largest cruise ship to be based in Australian waters full time and crept under the Gateway Bridge by just 10 metres this morning.
Captain Todd McBain is the born-and-bred Canadian who woke at 2am to get ready to guide the 77,000 tonne Dawn Princess carefully into Brisbane.
Built for $400 million, the Dawn Princess is larger than the famous QE2 (70,300 tonnes) and the infamous Titanic (47,000 tonnes).
Todd McBain’s day began near Calounda for the four-and-half hour entry to Moreton (more…)

The wine, food and accommodation are rightly acclaimed and very close to town, writes Susan Gough Henly.
Just an hour from Melbourne the retail shopping strips fall away and the Yarra Valley’s undulating green landscape opens out before you, a patchwork of vineyards interspersed with the occasional dairy farm or orchard, framed by misty, blue mountains.
The Victorian wine industry was born here more than 150 years ago. Today, it is considered one of Australia’s premium cool-climate (more…)

With the economic crisis biting, finding affordable holiday options is paramount. With this in mind, Travel + Leisure’s correspondents have travelled the globe, from the tiny undiscovered island of Holbox, on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, to the shores of New Zealand’s South Island. What we found: 25 perfect escapes for less than $300 a night. MERIMBULA, NSW
$163
Coast Resort’s (1 Elizabeth Street, Merimbula, NSW; 02 6495 4930; www.coastresort. (more…)