Sunday, January 31, 2010

Leaving Las Vegas...not quite!

Everybody should go to Las Vegas at least once.

While it was once the ultimate cheap meal city with a buffet available at every Casino, created it seems just to draw potential gamblers in, the city and the Casino's have transformed.

Today, not only will you still see some of the best entertainment in the world, but the restaurants in the hotels are frequently high end gourmet establishments.

That doesn't mean you can't still eat on a budget. But today the dining is as much a draw as everything else in the properties, along with many stand alone quality options off the casino resorts themselves.

I will be going back at the end of the month and looking forward to reporting on the changes...even from a year ago.

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posted by That Travel Guy @ 2:16 PM  |  0 Comments

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Gosh This is Cold

I got back from Playacar Thursday.

We were supposed to take another trip to Huatulco this coming Friday.

I cancelled because of too much work and other trips I have ahead of me.

The temperature is driving me crazy at 30 below C. I think I should have kept the trip.

Life is that way...isn't it?

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posted by That Travel Guy @ 4:26 PM  |  0 Comments

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Want to know more about the Mayacoba Golf Classic?

I will be interviewing Melina Diaz, the Tickets Sales Coordinator on my weekly travel show this Sunday at 12:30 CST.

To listen live just go on to www.cjob.com then click on the listen live link.

If it doesn't come on after the short commercial message, you can download the free program.

You can also listen to that and other shows anytime later by going to Audio Vault instead of live.

Then click on to Sunday's date and click on 12pm.

You don't have to listen to the news as the scroll button allows you to move past the news and subsequent commercials.

For past columns in my Ask journeys series you can go to our journeys website and click the link on the bottom which says Ask Journeys.

On the destination stories link you will find other stories I have written and which have been published in various papers.

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posted by That Travel Guy @ 10:56 PM  |  0 Comments

Playa Del Carmen...What a great area to Vacation

The following story I wrote appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press only a couple of months ago.

While we put all my stories and columns in our main site at www.journeystravel.com since we are here again I thought it worth publishing on the blog as well.

I hope you enjoy it.

CALL IT PLAYA...THE BEACH AND MORE

Sport fishing boats dock on the beach as the sun starts to go down. A fisherman tosses leftover bait to wide-mouthed pelicans, necks stretched out for the feast. A local restaurant owner bargains with the captain for tonight’s Catch of the Day special. A crew member fillets a large fish on the sand for a waiting customer.

Fisherman tosses bait to waiting pelicans.

What makes this idyllic scene unique is that only a couple of hundred metres behind all of this, hotel properties can almost hold hands with each other as the guests who have not gathered round to gawk, watch from the beaches and pool sides.

This is my first trip to Play del Carmen and I am fascinated by this blend of traditional, old Mexico and the city’s emerging role as the centre of the Mayan Riviera hotel expansion.

It is still a small city, with less than a hundred thousand people, but it definitely has its attractions, one of them being that it still carries the feeling that it is more of a Mexican community than a tourist centre.

The main street for tourists, Fifth Avenue, runs just beyond the beach and the hotel side streets. No one seems to really know how the first street from the beach came to be named Fifth Avenue. But anyone who gets to Playa del Carmen quickly learns how to find it.

It is the pedestrian corridor in this quaint Mexican community that is the gathering stroll for vacationers who choose to take time away from the dozens of resorts that dot the Mayan Riviera.

Sunset over the palm trees and thatched palapas casts a relaxing glow.

Shops, restaurants, and nightclubs flow from one to the other all along this singularly commercial street.

During the day the street appears quiet and serene, with shop owners enticing you inside to view their goods. At night, the avenue transforms into a kaleidoscope of music, aromas, and colour, with enough interest in what the shops are displaying that no barkers are needed to bring customers through the open entrances.

Sun and sand, as always, are the common denominators that attract us to Mexican destinations. Both are in plentiful supply in Playa del Carmen.

For many, sand is a place to lay out our blankets or just relax on our beach chairs for hours. But here, the sand offers enough firmness for fitness enthusiasts to walk for hours as well, if they so wish.

From morning until nightfall, there seems to be no end to the walkers who appear to thrive on burning off some of their all-inclusive calories, by going back and forth on this expansive beachfront.

Only a few hundred metres away, ferries make a number of trips loaded with day tourists going to and from Cozumel.

Smaller boats, filled with scuba divers, head out to some of the best dive waters in the Caribbean.

Crash course training is available for the novice willing to be satisfied with a 30 foot dive. But it is certified divers from around the world that fill the boats going out to view some of the most impressive underwater caverns and caves anywhere.

After taking the crash divers course on the barrier reef during my first trip to Australia a few years ago, I loved it so much, I was determined to become certified as well.

With some degree of regret, as I watch the camaraderie of divers leaving and returning from their dives, I wonder if this time, I will follow through with that promise for next year. On this trip however, I am not ready to be satisfied with a shallow dive, experiencing only a part of the discoveries I hear the others excitedly relate to each other.

At the same time, my consolation prize is not that bad. This is a beautiful beach to sit on, while sipping rum and Coke or a margarita.

These are postcard beaches. Blue green sea punctuated by the occasional boat or cruise ship passing. It truly does quell the racing mind, for a while at least.

Vacationers are presented with a postcard view everyday.

While my wife can absorb the sun for a good part of the day, I need to be on the go.

I choose to spend a couple of my days on the golf course that hosts the only recognized PGA Golf Tour event in Mexico. The Mayakoba Golf Classic will go into only its fourth anniversary in February, but it seems to have carved its place into the early PGA tour schedule, with many of the top pros choosing to come back year after year.

The El Camaleon Golf Club, and nearby Mayakoba Resort, are both managed by the Fairmont hotel group. The course itself, designed by Greg Norman, is kept in exceptional shape.

Norman created a course tough enough to test the tour pros, but built with enough alternate tee locations to make it playable for the average golfer.

What makes playing Mayakoba most interesting is the change of landscape that confronts you as you move from hole to hole. From jungle, to oceanfront, to dense mangroves; there is always something to impress the vision, while challenging your play.

Guests of the Fairmont can be carried to the first tee on one of the boats that flows along the canals that wind through the golf course. Norman was also able to incorporate a massive ancient cavern, called a Cenote, common in this part of Mexico, into the opening fairway as an unusual, and unexpected challenge should your first tee shot be off line.

Back at the resort, we are ready for another exceptional dining experience.

We shared our stay at two side by side beachside resorts, The Royal Resort and the Gran Porto Real, two of the Real resort properties, a group of 4 and 5 star hotel properties in both Playa del Carmen and Cancun. In the heart of Playa del Carmen, our resorts front on some of the best sand on the Mamitas beach.

Earlier this spring, The Royal was upgraded even above its five star status, when it was given the International Star Diamond Award by the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences.

The Royal Resort is one of the resort properties in Mexico that represent part of a growing trend towards more gourmet food options, within the all inclusive environment.

At the Chef’s Plate, a different menu is prepared every day. The Pelicanos, overlooking the beach, offers a variety of fresh seafoods. If you are staying at the Royal Resort, you also have access to another ten restaurants situated on the property and at the Gran Porto. You could go almost an entire week, trying out different menus, before having to repeat a restaurant.

After dinner on most evenings, we were attracted back to Fifth Avenue. It is here where the personality of Playa del Carmen and the entire Mayan Riviera become fused.

The avenue itself is wide enough not to be crowded very often, while the streets that run off it also hold interesting places to explore, dine or shop.

There are hotels and resorts in Playa del Carmen to suit every price range. We found being in the town itself a distinct advantage when we wanted to go out in the evenings.

Playa del Carmen is becoming a centre of expansion activity along the Mayan Riviera.

Even though we often stay at all-inclusive resorts, we also like to try other restaurants in the area, at least a couple of times during most vacations. In Playa del Carmen, it was especially fun finding a restaurant along Fifth Avenue that we believed featured the kinds of fish taken from the boats we saw being unloaded hours earlier.

If you Go:

What to Do: Be sure to take a day trip to Tulum and/or the Xcaret Eco Park. We visited them on a previous visit, and they were both worthwhile excursions.

The ruins at Tulum go back as far as the 6th century, while the Eco Park is an educational adventure for the entire family.

It’s a bit of a trip by motor coach at over an hour each way, but for shopping on a broader scale, plan a day tour to Cancun as well. If you do, you will appreciate the contrast between the large and small in Mexican resort communities.

Fishing enthusiasts can easily find a number of options for sport fishing as well.

Where to Stay:The two Real properties we were at were excellent, but there are others in and near Playa del Carmen that are also worth considering.

The Royal Hideaway Playacar and the Iberostar Grand Hotel Paraiso are two highly recommended 5 star hotels. The Marina El Cid Spa and Beach Resort is a 4 star property vacationers seem to like.

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posted by That Travel Guy @ 10:48 PM  |  0 Comments

Holy Mayacoba, Who will I meet on a golf course next!

In just over three weeks, Mexico will host its only official men's PGA event at theEl Camaleon Golf Club in Mayakoba, just a few miles from playa del Carmen and Cancun.

Last years winner Mark Wilson will be back, along with Boo Weekley and a large number of the tours top players, along with fan favorite, John Daly, golfing on a sponsor's exemption.

I wanted to walk the walk the many of the best players did in the past, and get a feel for this great golf track once again.

On our first visit to Playa del Carmen last year, I golfed the course and loved it. Wanting to keep the feeling of layout as I follow progress of the event next month, I went back this morning.

If you are coming to this area this is a challenging but magnificent golf course to play on.

Many of the views are spectacular, and rock faces and river gorges can share their beauty or cause you pain.

Anyway on this day I am golfing by myself...not something I usually like but there was no one else, other than foursomes, scheduled near my tee off time.

As a single, I pass every one and there is no one around by the time I reach the 16th hole.

There seems to be five people in the group as I see them from a distance.

As they move off 16 I thankfully hit a nice iron shot on to the green.

Part of the group seems to be coming back to me, and as the cart passes a recognize the female.

It is Lorena Ochoa, Mexico's proud athletic daughter, who has won almost 30 tour events, including two majors.

As it turns out her first events of the season will be in Thailand and Singapore in February.

A Guadalajara native, now living in Mexico city, she is here practising in the windy conditions common in this area in order to be prepared for the similar conditions she will face in Asia.

I watch her plop shots near the pin consistently after a few adjustments following her first couple of shots.

They wave me over and before you know it I have a couple of great photos with her, as well as an autographed cap.

Guess who I will be following this year?

Apparently she loves this course and so will you if you play it on your vacation.

And if you are coming here during the week of the Mayacoba Classic, be sure to spend a day or two following the players.

There really is something special walking along the course watching the golfers you see on television every week.

The weather wasn't perfect today, which kept a few golfers away. For that I guess I am thankful because it not only did not rain, but I likely would not have had a chance to meet my new found friend, at least I will call her that, Lorena Ochoa.

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posted by That Travel Guy @ 4:47 PM  |  0 Comments

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The Royal Hideaway...Playacar

Walking around the property and dining in the restaurants, it is clear the resort is not near 100% occupancy.

That is really unfortunate because it really is a beautiful resort.

What is unique about the Royal Hideaway is the way the units are stuctured. Two stories with only 16 rooms in each unit with a concierge, and a good one, to take care of your every need.

The rooms are spacious and as my wife stated, "The bathroom is as big as my kitchen".

There are pools everywhere you look. And what I insist be at a property I visit if it is all inclusive, are lots of dining options.

Here the Azia restaurant serves Sushimi and Sushi to your heart's content, in addition to the normal Tepanyakki should that be your desire.

The Italian restaurant was excellent and we will go back tonight to their signature restaurant.

Unlike many breakfast buffets, the one here overlooks the ocean and becomes a Meditteranean restaurant in the evening.

It is an adults only property, which could explain the lack of numbers. As a AAA 5 diamond property its standards are obviously very high.

What is also nice, the golf course is less than minutes from here...if that is your option.

The beach got eroded somewhat from the last hurricane but is being filled in now.

The people are very nice here and, as you should expect, always friendly.

The keep reinforcing your name so that by the 3rd day they really do know who you are.

Out of Canada, it is one of Transat Holidays premier properties in the area

The Royal Hideaway is part of the Occidental chain...check them out on line at www.royalhideaway.com .

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posted by That Travel Guy @ 8:41 AM  |  0 Comments

Golfing Again???

Yesterday again I reinforced the belief I wrote about in my previous entry.

Golf courses are a great place to expand your mind about the world around you, mind you in small snippets of time.

I golfed with two gentlemen from Montana. One was a wheat farmer so that automatically led to an easy conversational exchange.

The other was a technician of some kind...he must be good at what he does because I wasn't sure I knew...but he was a smart guy and great to golf with.

I recall many of the people I have met on golf courses and appreciate having learned from them about where they live, and to some degree how they live.

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posted by That Travel Guy @ 8:31 AM  |  0 Comments

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Why I like Golf when I Travel

As I have stated any number of times on my radio show, in my weekly column, and in this blog, I am not much of a golfer.

But I love the game, the outdoors, and the fact, rightly or wrongly, that golf courses are carved out of some of the most picturesque countryside in the world.

It is not just the walk in the park concept that enthuses me.

Today I golfed on the playacar golf course with a 9:30 am tee off time.

I was partnered with a gentleman from Argentina. His English was not perfect but I understood most everything he said.

Over four hours we found out about each other and will try to team up on Monday morning again.

As it happens Jorge Perez owns a small hotel in Argentina, a business we are much akin to as well.

We talked tourism, about our children, our travels, and pretty much saved the world over that time.

The game itself was just ok for both of us from a scoring perspective. I am convinced the Mexicans have so many sandy beaches they felt they needed to get rid of some of it in sand traps in the regional courses.

I think I may have taught Jorge a few new English words...and I think I know at least one or two new Spanish phrases.

All in all it was a morning well spent. And that's why I like golf when I travel.

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posted by That Travel Guy @ 3:48 PM  |  0 Comments

Friday, January 22, 2010

Back in Mexico

We are back.

Last year we stayed in Playa del Carmen at the Real Resort, within metres of 5th Avenue.

We loved the area and this year we are in Playacar, a gated community which is actually a part of Playa del Carmen.

We are at the amazingly beautiful Royal Hideaway.

The golf course is near by and I will be on it tomorrow.

What surprised me driving in was the number of houses for sale. The recession that really hit the U.S. seems to have clearly had an overlap.

We had an exceptional meal last night in the Italian restaurant here. The lamb chops were as good as I have ever eaten.

I will report more during the week.

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posted by That Travel Guy @ 7:37 AM  |  0 Comments