In addition to the great gambling and spectacular shows, Las Vegas is also a family holiday destination.   The family amusement park in the middle of the city offers canoeing, kayaking, rafting and swimming.  The park is also great for cycling.

Travelling to Las Vegas during the American holiday season around Christmastime and the fourth of July is the best way to experience the full splendour of what the city has to offer.  Christmas in Vegas is a trip to a magical land with towering Christmas trees and magnificent illuminated displays.  The Bellagio Gardens, an awe-inspiring hotel at any time of the year, becomes a place of spectacular merriment with all the staff wearing Santa hats.

With fireworks, parades and barbecues all over the city, spending the fourth of July in Las Vegas is an experience that you would like to repeat every year!  The city literally buzzes with electric excitement on this day. Watching the awesome firework displays is bound to leave a lasting impression.

The New Year holiday period is booked months in advance, but if you plan it well you can be one of the lucky ones that get to be in Las Vegas to welcome in the New Year.

How last minute cruises work 

Cheap cruises are available from most cruise lines during the high travel season as well as in the off-season.  Cruise ships which rely on carrying a fixed number of passengers offer significant discounts – some even up to 75% off the listed price – in order to ensure that their passenger roster for a scheduled cruise is complete.  As a cruise approaches the departure date, last minute bookings will see a drop in price.  Last minute cruise deals are often even more abundant in the off-season.

Benefits

Last minute cruises allow travel-ready holidaymakers the opportunity to enjoy the grand experience of a cruise at a significant discount.  The cruise line also benefits in that filling the ship prevents the wastage of resources that comes from running without a full passenger manifest.

International travellers arrive in Peru at the airport in Lima city.  Visiting the cloud forest citadel of Machu Picchu and the archaeological treasures is a must on any tourist’s itinerary.   The city of Lima itself offers some pre-Columbian culture that dates back thousands of years, when it was part of the Inca Empire.

A flight to Cusco will allow you to see the Koricancha temple of the Sun and other Inca shrines.  Daily flights to and from Lima and Cusco are available.  The cathedral in the main square is an imposing structure and the megalithic work at Sacsayhuaman is awe-inspiring.

The sacred valley of the Incas and a full day excursion to Machu Picchu is best accomplished by taking the local train. The mysterious lost city with its sacred sundial, circular tower and the royal quarters are just a few of the noteworthy attractions.

The idea of pleasure cruising was originated by the British Medical Journal, which endorsed the activity as ‘curative’ and the 1880’s saw further growth in the fledgling industry.  The dawn of the 20th century saw the advent of the super-liner or the floating hotel, with the Mauritania and Lusitania offering a previously unheard of degree of comfort in rough seas.  However, the main emphasis was on speed rather than space, nonetheless, dressing for dinner gave the impression that there was a romance attached to cruising.

The Titanic and the Olympic, both owned by White Star Line, were the first true luxury cruise liners, offering vast public spaces.  Sadly, the sinking of the Titanic ruined White Star Line and the company was eventually bought out by Cunard.

The advent of air travel precipitated the decline of the trans-Atlantic ocean liner, but more recently the 1960’s saw the birth of the cruise industry we know today.  The emphasis is now on the fun of the voyage itself, rather than the speed of reaching a specific destination.  The cruise ship is now a casual environment offering pleasure and entertainment.

Today, the industry caters to all tastes, from the budget fun in the sun cruise, to luxury world cruises offering private suites and side trips to private islands.

What to See

Patagonia is vast and there are innumerable wondrous experiences to be had depending on your time constraints and budget. The following is a list of the top five attractions you won’t want to miss on your stay in Patagonia. First, visit El Calafate, the village at the entrance to the spectacular Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. Second, walk with the penguins in Puenta Arenas, one of the southern-most cities in the world. Third, discover the Cueva de las Manos, filled with hand-painted designs from 7370 BC. Next, discover the oldest inhabitants of Patagonia (the dinosaurs) at the Palaeontology Museum. Finally, do not miss a stroll on the beach or a diving adventure in Puerto Madryn or Península Valdés. 

When to Go

Winters are harsh in Patagonia, as temperatures often remain below freezing. Some of the world’s best whale-watching takes place between June and mid-December in Puerto Madryn.

Glacial water is definitely cold, which is why it is not exactly ideal for many people; however, when an insulated dry suit protects you, you are ready to experience the dive of a lifetime.  

The instability of a combination of Atlantic cold and fiery volcanoes creates this unique melt-water phenomenon, which is located along the European and North American tectonic plates. Called Silfra, the enormous fracture fills with water that begins to melt from surrounding glaciers. This water is naturally filtered through the local lava fields as it travels. The result is some of the clearest water on the planet.  

This spectacular water offers up to 300 ft (91m) of clear visibility, making it a favourite place with divers. To begin this amazing experience you will need to make your way to Thingvellir National Park, which just happens to be a UNESCO site. Here you will suit up and plunge into water that is barely above freezing, to witness, not necessarily marine life, but the structure of the Earth. 

Once you have completed your dive you can also try white-water rafting on the Hvita River, along with caving and hiking, to make your Iceland holiday the ultimate adventure.

Your path then can take you to the delightful Danish city of Copenhagen, Tallinn in Estonia and Gdansk in Poland an area once trapped behind the Iron Curtain as well as Berlin. Other options also include Stockholm, Helsinki and Gothenburg as well as St Petersburg in Russia which is a big attraction for many.

The great thing with a cruise holiday is that you do get time in each port to enjoy the culture, learn the history and relax as well, some highlights on a Baltic cruise include:

-Shop at the handicraft market in Helsinki.
-Visit the church in the Rock, in Helsinki.
-Take a river excursion from Gdansk to Westerplatte, where the first shots of World War Two were fired.
-For some excitement, take a RIB (rigid inflatable boat) ride in Stockholm for a 40-45 knots tour through the archipelago.
-Visit the balsa Kon-Tiki raft and Ra II reed ship, used by Norwegian ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl in 1947, now on display in the Kon-Tiki Museum, Oslo.
-Make a day trip to Berlin, to see Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate and the ruined Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.
-Take in the world’s greatest art collection in the Hermitage, St Petersburg.
-Go to the cellar where Rasputin was poisoned at the Yusupov Palace in St Petersburg.
-Gaze at the fountains at Peterhof, Peter the Great’s summer palace outside St Petersburg.

This under estimated cruise destination can easily be booked from Bon Voyage and you will find for this much history it is not as expensive as you think. For some travellers, visiting the Baltic means travelling north where the climate is, well a little cooler, which may put off some travellers who like the sun. But don’t be fool to think its icy cold, the long summer evenings and calm seas in Northern Europe lend themselves to cruising plus there is a treasure trove of places that awaits them. Also almost every major city in the region is situated on the coast which means it is very convenient when travelling to see a lot of this amazing area.

For your next holiday, try trekking the Mont Blanc Circuit. This 16 km (100 mile) loop takes you through the exquisite countryside of Switzerland, France and Italy. The first thing you will notice is that the scenery is postcard perfect. Keep your camera handy as you come upon sprawling meadows, Alpine villages and some of Europe’s last glaciers.  
You will also meander through rugged wilderness, world-class ski resorts, which include Courmayeur and Chamonix and breathtaking mountainous regions. This is one of the few places where trekkers can actually walk between the three countries and where western mountaineering began.  

Be prepared, as you hike to an elevation of more than 4,000 ft, to where you will find a comfortable mountain hut, with homemade bread, warm soups and Chianti waiting to welcome you.  

Depending on these features, you can find accommodation in cruise cabins of various types. The first kind is the balconied. This cabin has a private balcony that allows you to catch the sea breeze and the breathtaking view of the ocean. These rooms are relatively big in size as you can find a queen or king size bed in them.

The other forms of cabins are found inside the ship and only give you the interior view of the vessel. In these cabins, size and light is limited because of lack of windows. On the other hand, outside cabins also found on the same lower deck as the inside ones; have small windows. The windows provide you with the ocean view and light. Both the inside and outside cabins have small beds because of the limited space. Furthermore, the amenities are basic: a toilet and a shower area.

Suites make the third type of cabins. They are larger and have better amenities than the balcony and inside/outside rooms. These cabins have king size beds. In addition, the bathroom will usually have a bathtub instead of a shower area.

You can choose your ideal cabin from the above options in the front or back of the ship. Similarly, you can pick cabins at a lower or upper deck. Furthermore, you might want to have your cabin positioned in middle of the ship.

By using a cruise holiday website like bonvoyage.co.uk you can usually specify what type of cabin you want, so your holiday can be tailor made to your specifications.

The Narragansett Bay area has been mapped and linked to a wide variety of paddling routes that include the Rhode Island coastline. Local river links include Pawtuxet River, which flows into Narragansett Bay. These routes can be explored, either as day trips or multi-day group expeditions led by experienced guides. Along the way, visitors can expect to see shoals of American Shad and River Herring.  

Although the area is still new for most kayakers, it remains a well-kept secret for those living in the area. If you are looking for a great family retreat idea for your next holiday, you should consider making your way to Rhode Island for a kayak adventure before the secret gets out.