The world’s top 10 most beautiful beaches

The world’s top 10 most beautiful beaches: "A guest post brought to you by David from the team at travelsupermarket.com, a price comparison site which compares prices on hotels, flights, holidays and car hire.

Oludeniz Beach, Turkey

The beautiful Oludeniz Beach is undoubtedly one of the most photographed beaches on the Mediterranean and it’s clear to see why. Known as the Turquoise Coast due to the stunning blue and aquamarine shades of water, the crystal clear sea is perfect for swimming in. Many water sports activities take place on the beach including scuba diving, water skiing, canoeing and banana boating. The most popular activity however is paragliding with many visitors taking to the skies to take in the spectacular views from 2,000 metres above the sea and beach.



Whitehaven Beach, Australia

There were plenty of Australian beaches that were candidates to make this list but due to its sheer beauty it’s Whitehaven Beach that has to be included. This picture-postcard beach is very special and not just for obvious reasons like the gorgeous fine, white sand which is 98% pure silica giving it its bright white colour or the warm, clear, azure waters which are perfect for swimming in. What really makes this beach stand out is the surrounding tropical forest and various islands dotted around in the distance.



Anse Source d'Argent, Seychelles

Anse Source d’Argent in the Seychelles is without a doubt one of the most stunning beaches in the world. The perfect exotic beach is the ideal tropical escape and the beautiful coastline is a series of soft pink sand beaches, turquoise lagoons and colourful corals. Other stand out features of the beach are the rounded granite boulders and palm trees which make the beach feel even more tropical. The water is invitingly warm and makes the Anse Source d’Argent a popular destination with couples and families alike.



Fernando De Noronha, Brazil

Some 200 miles plus off Natal on Brazil’s north-eastern coast is Fernando De Noronha, an archipelago of 21 islands and islets in the Atlantic Ocean. Despite the fact that Fernando De Noronha isn’t a single beach, it had to be included on the list because of its natural beauty and stunning surroundings. What makes this area so special is that there are so few tourists on these islands,
meaning that those that do visit Fernando De Noronha are often left alone in paradise. The clarity and warmth of the water and the abundant underwater life means that these islands are also popular with divers and snorkelers. As well as fish, dolphins, sea turtles and sharks there is a Brazilian warship, which sank in 1987 and is lying in pristine condition at around 60 metres deep.



Matira Beach, Bora Bora

Widely recognised as the most beautiful lagoon in the world, Matira Beach is one of the few accessible beaches in Bora Bora. Perfect for activities like swimming and snorkelling, the water is warm, crystal clear and extremely calm. The beach is free from large groups of tourists but should anyone be looking for even more peace there are even more isolated beaches nearby. From the white sand beach you’ll likely see dolphins out in the ocean which is a spectacular sight.



Maroma Beach, Mexico

A beautifully romantic beach which is situated on the Yucatan Peninsula coastline in Mexico, Maroma beach is blissfully peaceful despite being only 30 miles away from the hustle and bustle of Cancun. The pristine white sands, crystal-clear waters and warm tropical breezes have helped establish Maroma Beach’s reputation as somewhat of a paradise. Regularly nominated as one of the top 10 beaches in the world, the amazing landscape, vast expanse of uninterrupted pure white sandy beaches and the attractive green tropical foliage has helped Maroma Beach establish itself as one of the finest beaches on the planet. On top off all this there’s the Cozumel reef which is the world’s second largest barrier. Located just off the Maroma beach, it is a famous deep sea diving spot which also allows visitors to swim with dolphins.



Pink Sands, Harbour Island, Bahamas

Pink Sands Beach ticks all the boxes required to be considered a fantastic beach. It certainly has the beautiful soft sand, the warm clear water and the fantastic weather. There’s another unique feature however which helps this beach stand out from the crowd. The clue as to what this might be is in the name of the beach. Pinks Sands beach is known as such because it has, as you’ve probably guessed, pink sand! Attracting tourists from all over the world, the colour of Pink Sands Beach comes
from the reddish shells of microscopic coral insects called Foraminifera. When these insects die, they leave behind their shells which are then crushed by the waves and brought to the shore to mix in with the sand. The result of this is the pink sand which covers the Pink Sands Beach.



Kondoi Beach, Japan

Taketomi Island is an island just off the coast of Ishigaki Island and is home to one of the world’s best beaches. With its emerald green water, white sand and warm water that is ideal for swimming in, Kondoi beach is undoubtedly one of the finest beaches in not just Asia but the world. Nearby are grassy, shaded picnic areas which are great if you want to get out of the sun for a bit.



Sinclair’s Bay, Scotland

When you think of beautiful beaches you probably don’t think of Scotland. However, when the sun comes out on Sinclair’s Bay it has the look of a Caribbean beach with a very Scottish twist! At either end of the four mile arc of white sand are the ruins of 16th Century castles. Home to a spectacular array of wildlife including plovers, dunlins, porpoises and orca, there’s plenty to take in when you visit and the best way to see all of the beach is on horseback.



Lanikai Beach, Hawaii

Like Australia, there were plenty of candidates from Hawaii but Lanikai Beach is probably the best of the Hawaiian contenders. The name Lanikai means ‘heavenly sea’ in the Hawaiian language and it’s certainly a fitting name for this beach. With warm clear water and a fine white sand beach, the beach is popular with locals and tourists alike. Located on Oahu's Windward coast, anyone in the area should be sure to check out this stunning beach and its beautiful surrounding areas.



Once more a big thank you David and hope to have you writing here again soon!

Originally posted in vacationandtravelphotos.blogspot.com

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Montreal, Canada

Montreal, Canada: "This time is thanks Schacin for this great text about Monreal, Canada. Also thanks to Roy for the pictures from FreeLargePhotos.

For this post for our travel photo blog, we’re going to show you one of the most fascinating cities in North America: Montreal. Combining old-world charm with new-world modernism, Montreal is a multicultural city with a vibrant cultural and economical life. It is the most important city of the province of Quebec, and the third most important city in Canada. If you are planning to visit after reading our post, don’t forget to get a travel insurance, because medical costs can run high for foreigners.


For fans of architecture, there are several interesting buildings in the city, but you will find most of them in the historical neighbourhood of Old Montreal. Montreal was founded in the 17th century, which makes Old Montreal one of the oldest in North America. You will find a few 17th century buildings preserved, and you will see the evolution of the city through its buildings until today, with the post-modern Pointe-a-Callières museum. You will also find the city’s famous Notre-Dame Basilica, where Celine Dion was married. For fans of great public architecture, there is also the Montreal City Hall and the Bonsecours Market.


Downtown Montreal is the home of most Beaux-Arts buildings of the city: the Sun Life building on Rene-Levesque and Metcalfe; the Gazette building on Ste-Catherine and the Fine Arts Museum on Sherbooke. These buildings attest to the city’s wealth during the late 19th and early 20th century; the Golden Mile Square, between Peel and Bishop, then home to the richest merchants in the city, has now become a very popular shopping and clubbing destination.

If you enjoy religious architecture, then you won’t be disappointed. Aside from the famous basilica, you will also find the St. Joseph Oratory on the north side of the mountain, as well as hundreds of churches throughout the city, Catholic as well as Anglican. Most of them are open to visitors outside of mass hours, and the priests will be happy to give you a guided tour of their establishment. Montreal has been nicknamed “the city of a hundred bell-towers” (la ville des cents clochers in French) for a good reason!


For the best views, do not miss the Mount Royal park. Landscaped by the same architect as New York’s Central Park, the mountain is the green oasis of Montrealers. From it, you can see all the way across the St. Lawrence towards the south shore, as well as the east and west of the island. You can test your health by hiking up there, or take one of the frequent buses that depart from the Mont-Royal metro station. On summer Sundays, the park on the eastern side of the mountain is home to a weekly “tam-tam”, where people meet to play their percussion instruments and dance in a festive, low-key and family-friend ambiance.

This is just an overview of the many great sights to see in Montreal; spending some time there and losing yourself in the streets (most of them easily accessible through the great transit system of the city) will afford you many more. Get a cheap travel insurance to keep some money for shopping, because Montreal has some of the nicest boutiques on the East Coast.

Originally posted in vacationandtravelphotos.blogspot.com

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World's 10 best driving roads in the world

World's 10 best driving roads in the world: "After the top 10 beaches of the world here's another guest post and photos from David - It's driving time today :)

There are some roads in the world that stand out from the crowd. Whether it’s the views, the terrain, the danger or the potential speeds that can be reached that make these roads stand out, anyone choosing to visit them will not be disappointed. This list brought to you by Moneysupermarket discusses 10 of these amazing routes and explains what makes each of them so special.

Great Ocean Road – Australia

Running along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool, the Great Ocean Road is a 160 mile stretch of road that was built by more than 3000 returning soldiers between the years of 1919 and 1932 as a memorial for the 60,000 Australians killed in World War 1. A scenic drive with spectacular coastline vistas, stunning rock formations and many other splendid sights including the Otways rainforest, the impressive views make this road undoubtedly one of the most inspiring in the world.


Millau Viaduct – France

Opened in December 2004, the Millau Viaduct is the world’s tallest vehicular bridge. Designed by the French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux and British architect Norman Foster, the Millau Viaduct spans the river tarn which is near Millau in Southern France. The bridge’s tallest mast is 343m tall which is taller than the Eiffel Tower and nearly as tall as the Empire State Building and the views from the bridge are quite spectacular. In fact, the views are so good that when the bridge initially opened drivers would regularly stop on the hard shoulder to admire the landscape and the bridge itself.


Transfagarasan Road – Romania

The most popular road in Romania with driving enthusiasts has to be the Transfagarasan Road and it’s easy to see why. Connecting the historic towns of Transylvania and Wallachia, this dramatic route reaches as high as 2,034 metres above sea level in some places and provides drivers with a real challenge. This winding road is dotted with steep hairpin turns, long S-curves, and sharp descents which is a big reason why drivers rate this road so highly. Constructed between the years of 1970 and 1974, the 90km stretch of road also has more tunnels and viaducts than any other road in Romania with the longest tunnel being 884 metres long. Due to its layout and altitude, weather dictates that the road is usually only open between June and early October.


Stelvio Pass – Italy

Regularly voted as the best driving road in the world due to its 60 hairpin bends and the fact that it is the highest paved mountain pass in the Eastern-Alps, the Stelvio Pass in Italy is a driving enthusiast’s paradise. Reaching 2757 metres altitude, it is the second highest mountain pass in the Alps, only 13 metres lower than the highest mountain pass in the Alps. The road was built between 1820 and 1825 and has changed very little since then. The northern side of the pass is far more challenging with 48 of the hairpin bends located on this side. The steep ascents add to the excitement/terror as drivers often have little or no visibility of incoming vehicles.


Overseas Highway – America

The 127.5 mile Overseas Highway in America was built back in 1938 following the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 that heavily damaged and partially destroyed the Overseas Railroad that had previously been in place. The route which is mainly over water runs from island to island across 42 bridges and it arcs through the Florida Keys. If you drove the full route in one go it would take less than 4 hours but with so many great sights to take in like the ocean, mangrove vistas and fantastic sunrises and sunsets, the journey often takes visitors slightly longer!


Guoliang Tunnel Road – Japan

Located in the Taihang Mountains which are situated in the Henan Province of China, the Guoliang Tunnel Road was amazingly built by a group of villagers who raised money to buy the hammers and steel tools needed to build the tunnel. 13 villagers initially started the project which took around 5 years to complete and cost a number of villagers their lives. The tunnel itself was completed in 1977 and is 1.2km long, 5 metres tall and 4 metres wide. As you might imagine, the road is regarded as one of the most dangerous in the world but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the Guoliang Tunnel road is a stunningly beautiful scenic route.


Hana Highway – Maui

Connecting the small town of Hana to the rest of Maui, the Hana Highway is a 60 mile stretch of road that is extremely popular with motorists. Firstly there are the waterfalls, beaches, ocean views, rainforest and other stunning natural sights that make this route so attractive to visitors. Then there is the road itself which has over 600 turns, 54 one-lane bridges, blind bends and narrow pavement edged by cliffs which make this route one of the most thrilling in the world. Together, these two things make this road stand out as one of the must visit routes for car enthusiasts.


Autobahn – Germany

If you were to look at the Autobahn you might struggle to see what all of the fuss is about. Just like highways around the world, Autobahns have multiple lanes of traffic heading in each direction which are divided by a central barrier. However, in many ways the Autobahns are the ultimate road for driving fans. The reason for this is that parts of the German Autobahns have no speed limit (except at junctions and various danger points) which means that motorists are free to drive as fast as they want. Obviously this is a hugely attractive proposition to motoring fans, meaning that the German Autobahn had to be included on this list.


North Yungas Road – Bolivia

High in the Andes Mountains in Bolivia is the North Yungas Road. The road is also known as Death Road and it’s easy to see why when you see the figures relating deaths and injuries sustained whilst travelling on the road each year. On average, there is a fatal accident on the road every few weeks and there are also remains of numerous cars, lorries and buses at the bottom of the abyss which serve as a reminder of just how dangerous the road is. Built in the 1930’s, the road stretches 43 miles between La Paz and Coroico and has huge ascents and descents, extremely tight hairpins and very narrow passages. What really makes the road dangerous though are the vertical drops off the side of the road which in some places are more than 1,500 metres and there are no guardrails to prevent vehicles falling. The North Yungas Road certainly isn’t for the faint-hearted but it’s also this danger that attracts so many people to the road.


The Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road – UAE

This amazing road is located in the Jebel Hafeet Mountain and spans 7.3 miles, climbing over 1,200 metres along the way. The perfect road surface and 60 corners make this road unquestionably one of the best driving roads in the world; its mix of fast straights and sweeping curves are what driving enthusiasts dream of. A 90 minute drive away from the city of Dubai, people flock to the Jebel Hafeet Mountain to experience the tight, technical and thrilling driving experience.

Originally posted in vacationandtravelphotos.blogspot.com

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7 Vegetarian Turkish Foods For Visiting Travelers Who Don’t Eat Meat

7 Vegetarian Turkish Foods For Visiting Travelers Who Don’t Eat Meat: "

Turkey is often a country whose cuisine is associated with meaty kebab dishes, doner sandwiches, and lahmacun; where essentially the food revolves around beef or lamb. Although finding Turkish foods with meat isn’t difficult, the vegetarian variety is also plentiful – even if you’re eating out often. An overwhelming majority of Turkish foods are vegetable-based and these are 7 staple dishes you can add to your animal-friendly diet when traveling in Turkey.

1. Cig Kofte (Raw Meatballs)

Probably the most deceptive vegetarian food name you’ll find, cig kofte was, until very recently, typically made with raw meat. Although meaty cig kofte is mostly banned and uncommon in Turkey, it’s spicy vegetarian variety (substituting bulgur wheat rice for meat) is found on many a street corner, particularly in the central and south-eastern regions.

2. Menemen (Turkish Omelet)

This typically spicy, runny egg dish with onions, tomatoes, and green peppers is commonly found at bus stations, diners, and the table of many Turkish homes. Menemen is a breakfast food that’s not an uncommon sight at dinners and is best eaten with plenty of bread to soak up the left over juices.

3. Borek Varieties

Often cut into small squares, this cooked pastry dish can be filled with cheese, spinach, or served plain in countless variations. Borek can also be filled with ground beef but most cafes and places offering it usually have at least one vegetarian version. The most common vegetarian Turkish borek recipe uses either spinach or feta cheese, but if you ever find the (newer) eggplant variety, I suggest you not miss it.

4. Coban Salatasi (Shepherd’s Salad)

A mix of chopped tomatoes, cucumber, along with onions, that are usually topped with dill or parsley in a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Almost every restaurant in Turkey will have coban (pronounced “CHO-bun”) salads on the menu and if not, it’s just about the easiest dish to whip up in your hotel or hostel.

5. Cacik

Sometimes refereed to as the Greek “tzatziki”, Turkish cacik is a more watery version of this yogurt, salt, and cucumber mix. Served as an appetizer, cacik (pronounced “JA-JUK”) is spiced up a bit with salt, olive oil, garlic, and dill as a base and found in all classes of Turkish restaurant.

6. Zeytinyagli Dolma (Can Be Either Stuffed Grape Leaves Or Peppers In Olive Oil)

Both of these dolmas (yaprak sarmasi for grape leaves or biber dolmasi for stuffed peppers) also have meat versions that are served hot but these “zeytinyagli”, or in-olive oil, dolmas come cold and filled with rice. Below are an example of stuffed grapes leaves and here’s a glimpse of stuffed green peppers.

7. Nohut (Chickpeas)

Chickpeas are one of the traditional peasant foods in Turkey that also tend to be vegetarian. I use the word ‘tend’ since some restaurants and cooks will flavor this (and other vegetable dishes) with a bit of ground beef. In most smaller restaurants and street kitchens however, that’s not often the case; just make sure you confirm the dish has no meat in it before ordering.

Many More Varieties Of Vegetarian Turkish Food

The majority of Turkish food has a vegetarian base and is abundant in vegetables and grains. Despite this, kebabs and meat dishes are disproportionately advertised, potentially worrying vegetarian tourists about where they’ll find a decent meal. In a few days I’ll have much more comprehensive post for vegetarian travelers headed to Turkey; although you don’t have to be a non-meat eater to discover and enjoy this (rather large) side of Turkish cuisine.

Related posts:

• Top 10 Most Bizarre Travel Foods


• Turkey Travel Information


• Top 10 Power Foods

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