Taking off Travel blog

I love Florida, yet I’ve only seen a small part of it. My first trip there was in the 1980s. I’d just started my first job and a few of us decided to book a long weekend in Miami. Truth to tell, I didn’t do much sightseeing then; it was enough for me to be in a different place and soak up the sun. But I made up for it on subsequent trips. The one thing I haven’t done yet is take an eco-tour of Florida, but I’ve been doing a lot of research and I’ve come up with a list of places I’d like to visit. Here are a few of them: Read more »

When it comes to flying into and out of New York, JFK Airport is not the only game in town. If you’re on a domestic flight or are planning a trip to Aruba or the Bahamas (wouldn’t that be nice), then you’re likely to use LaGuardia Airport. The smallest of the New York Metropolitan area’s three airports, La Guardia has been run by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey since 1947. Its relatively central location means that there are lots of opportunities to enjoy a layover in LaGuardia. Make sure you sort out offsite airport parking so you don’t have the hassle of looking for a parking space in Manhattan. Read more »

Halloween – this spooky festival is one we all love, so why not plan a trip to make the most of the Halloween weekend? It’s one way to make sure you have a spooktacularly good time. (Sorry; I couldn’t resist). As with any trip, it’s important to do your research in advance. There are Halloween events all around the country, so you need to think about what kind of Halloween vacation you want. Here are a couple of ideas.

Haunted Houses

One option to get you in the mood is a haunted house. There are dozens of these around the country, each with a ghost story to go with it. For some reason, many of the most famous haunted buildings are hotels, so you might be able to combine accommodation with a spine chilling Halloween adventure. Check out this listing of the top ten haunted hotels to get started. If you don’t mind international travel, then Sherman’s Travel has a list of top ten places to get spooked on Halloween. Read more »

Some like it hot – and that’s certainly the case in Tampa. This major city on the west coast of Florida is warm all year round, with only an outside chance of snow during the winter months. That means you can spend a lot of time at the beach. The Tampa Bay area is known for lightning strikes and one of the stories about how it got its name is that Tampa meant ‘sticks of fire’ in Calusa. With parks, beaches, attractions and theme parks, Tampa has a lot to offer anyone on a layover or vacation. Tampa Airport (TPA) is only a few miles from downtown Tampa so there’s plenty of time to take in the sights and sounds of the city.

A Trip To Africa

One of Tampa’s best attractions is Busch Gardens Africa. Started in 1969 as a hospitality center for visitors to the Anheuser-Busch brewery, the park covers more than 300 acres. There’s no manufacturing on site now. Instead, you can enjoy thrills and rides inside an African themed park where the animals roam free. The Gwazi double wooden roller coaster is an unmissable experience, as are the Tidal Wave Rapids. (Maybe not the best thing if you’re killing time before a meeting, as you’ll end up soaking wet.) One of the latest additions to Busch Gardens is Jungala, a hidden village in the Congo area where you can get close to the animals. Read more »

Over the last couple of months, we’ve been doing a tour of some of our favorite US destinations in our Layover series. To make these even more useful, I’ve found some videos of some of the attractions we mentioned in our September posts.

1. Venice Beach, Los Angeles
Here’s some footage from Venice Beach, another place to visit in Los Angeles.

(More things to do on a layover in LAX.)
Read more »