Sharm El Sheikh is heady mix of sun, sand and mountains located on a promontory at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula along the Red Sea in Egypt at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba.

Owing to the many peace conferences held there it is also called ?The City of Peace?

Being located at a strategic location sharm as it is popularly known was used by the Egyptian navy as a port and naval base until it was captured by Israeli forces in 1956 but restored to Egypt subsequently in 1967.

In the past it was a small fishing village until it became a naval base and today it is a commercial hub and a stunning and magnificent landscaped beach resort. It is also home to a number of sulphur springs, which have therapeutic value.

The virgin fossilized coral reefs in the red sea put the small fishing village and naval base of Sharm El Sheikh on the world map. Sharm El Sheikh has three protected areas- the Ras Muhammad Natural Protected Park, St. Katherine National Park and Nabq Protected area. To gain access to these areas you have to take permission from the tourism department and respective authorities.

If you are interested in taking a diving course while in sharm el sheikh, there are a number of private companies offering the course along with a PADI- Professional Diving Instructors Certificate at a very cheap price!

Like Nuweiba, sharm is also roughly divided into three parts- Na?ama Bay, Ras Um Sid Cliff and Sharm al Maya.

Na?ama Bay

This is long sandy bay home to one of the first hotels of the area built in the eighties. Today it is fully developed bay with a beautiful paved walkway lined with bougainvillea and oleander along the entire stretch of the bay.

Ras Um Sid Cliff

The cliff links the Na?ama Bay and Sharm El Maya centrally located from both the bay and Sharm El Maya. It has magnificent view from atop overlooking the sea. A lot of hotels, restaurants and resorts dot the cliff.

Sharm El Maya

This is the bay area of the old town of Sharm El Sheikh, developed recently for tourism. The magnificent bay is a natural harbor and home to many boats local and tourist. Palm trees line the lovely endearing sandy beaches making it a perfect place to laze around and sun bathe!

Go scuba diving and snorkeling:

There are a number of reliable diving and snorkeling operators in the area. The Tiran strait and the Red Sea have a diverse marine life, and its turquoise clear waters make it even more enchanting for diving.

Some famous dive centers are Anemone Diving Center at Na?ama Bay, African Divers at Sharm el Maya; Aqua active Dive center at Nabq Bay, Aquamarine and Aquanaute are other dive centers. Some virgin untouched diving sites are the Ras Mamla and Ras Abu Gallum; to go there you have to take permission from the Tourist Police and Protect the Reefs Office because these sites are under the Ras Muhammad National Park.

Colored canyon excursion:

This is in the middle of the desert. It is a gorge formed by water passing through the mountain for hundreds of years revealing the different colored layers of rock. The sheer size of the canyon leaves awed.

There are no facilities at all here. You have to take all that you need with you and as for natures call you will have to make do with going behind the rocks! Tour operators arrange tours in four-wheel drives to the canyon.

Go back into the past:

You can also visit the famous St. Catherine monastery between Nuweiba and Taba. The route via Nuweiba is a picturesque one along the flat plains. St. Catherine’s monastery was built around the 4th century, which is believed to be the site of the burning bush. The fortress that surrounds it was built around the 6th century and is still an operating monastery.

Have a Bedouin dinner:

If you are a foodie and love to try different cuisine you can go for a special Bedouin dinner at one of the Bedouin villages.

The Night Life:

Being a beach resort Sharm El Sheikh has an active nightlife. Most hotels have a pub, disco, and arrange beach parties. As for drinks, you can opt for the local brand-Stella, which is cheaper, or an imported one such as Heineken obviously more expensive.

Darren Panto sales & marketing manager for Peltours – a leading tour operator to Egypt and the Red Sea. For more information on Red Sea holiday excursions visit http://www.peltours.com/tabaheights Alternatively, for a full and comprehensive Egypt holiday search visit http://www.peltours.com

Liverpool is a city located in the north west of England. The city rests to the east of the Mersey Estuary and it boasts a population of 444,500. The Borough of Liverpool was founded by King John?s Charter in 1207 and the city quickly developed a firm reputation as one of Britain?s busiest ports. By the beginning of the 19th century, the city was receiving 40% of the world?s passing trade. The wealth that Liverpool generated at this time is still apparent in the numerous impressive buildings dotted along the docks and harbour. In fact, the city?s waterfront was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004.

Liverpool?s rich history offers visitors some fascinating attractions as it is home to over 2,500 listed buildings, a large number of public sculptures and numerous beautiful Georgian houses. Just a few of the city?s abundant attractions include: The Anglican Cathedral, which was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, and features the world?s largest organ and highest and heaviest peal of bells. Another essential attraction is the Tate Liverpool, a modern art gallery located on the beautiful and historic Albert Dock. Another popular landmark is the Philharmonic Dining Rooms (known locally as ?The Phil?). The building?s exterior features stunning Art Nouveau architecture, while the interior features Art Deco designs. The Phil was a popular hangout spot for Liverpool?s most famous sons, The Beatles.

The city is home to three universities and as a result it hosts a vibrant and youthful population. Liverpool is a cosmopolitan, bustling city, which features a wide variety of shops, restaurants and bars to suit all tastes. For sport fans, Liverpool also proudly boasts two Premier League football clubs: Everton F.C. and Liverpool F.C., who play at Goodison Park and Anfield, respectively. Popular excursions from Liverpool include a visit to the historic city of Chester, just 40 minutes away, and a relaxing trip to the sandy beaches of West Kirby.

Dara Ward is a fanatical Liverpool F.C fan. He also manages Hotels in Liverpool along with many other travel Irish and UK websites including Hotels in Manchester.

During the last decades, Netherlands also known as Holland has become the symbol of freedom due to its legalization of light drugs, euthanasia and marriages between gays and lesbians. Amsterdam, its capital, is the most visited city in the country but besides the access to the above-mentioned liberties visitors have a great chance to see very beautiful city with a lot of cultural attractions.

The government of Amsterdam now is trying to make the city one the world leading business centers and their efforts have a success ? now Amsterdam hosts a significant number of international fairs, business meetings and conferences. Many of the influential multinational corporations have their headquarters in Amsterdam.

Netherlands? capital is a mix of the new and old ? ancient houses of the XVII century border with the up-do-date office buildings.

Amsterdam received its name in the honor of the river Amstel crossing the city. It was founded in XII century as a small fishing village. Now Amsterdam status has some paradox ? although it?s a capital of the country, the capital of its province is Harlem and the country?s government is situated in Hague.

Amsterdam has rich, glorious history. It reached it highest peak in the XVII century the most of the historical attractions belong to that time. In XVII the famous Amsterdam channel net was created. Due to the huge number of channels Amsterdam has become a city of bridges. Now there are about 1200 bridges of different styles, sizes and beauty. A lot of Amsterdam’s canals were filled in the beginning of the 20th century because of the sanitary reasons.

The city has a numerous amount of the museums, some them are world-famous. The Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum are the most renowned, but the full list counts about 50 names.

The centre and the heart of the city is Dam Square, a place with historical significance, still boasting beautiful buildings, one of which is Royal Palace. Koninklijk Paleis – The Royal Palace dates back to 1648. Another Dam square?s attraction is Nieuwe Kirk dating back to the 15th century. Although Amsterdam is trying to escape the reputation of the world?s drug capital coffee shops belong to the things Amsterdam is famous for. There are few hundreds of coffee shops in Amsterdam. Popular ones are the commercial and franchised Bulldog and the Grasshopper.

Coffee shops in the country are allowed to sell only small amounts of cannabis. Furthermore, coffee shops must not sell to anyone under 18 and they must not sell more than 5g to any customer. Hard drugs are strictly prohibited.

Another thing Amsterdam is famous for is Red Lights district. It occupies the significant part of the historical centre of Amsterdam.

The whole Holland is known for its love for flowers. Vondelpark is considered to be one of the most beautiful parks in the world. Its style reminds of the best examples of the English style of the XIX century. A lot of lakes, meadows, walking routes present the great opportunity to spend your free time.

For booking a hotel, please, go to Amsterdam hotels page.

Many people travel during the holidays, as well as during vacations. Likewise, business deals are often made as a result of travel. When selecting a hotel, you can learn a lot–and improve your luck–from the Feng Shui of the building.

For example, is the hotel’s main door at the center, left side, or right side of the building? If the door is at the left side, you’ll probably get good advice about things to do and places to see in the area. If the door is in the center, it’s ideal for business travel. However, if you’re on vacation, the best location for a hotel’s door is on the far right side. In Black Hat Feng Shui, the far right side supports travel and indicates helpful people.

If the hotel has a concierge, he or she should be facing the front door. If the concierge has his or her back to the front door, or–worse–is positioned behind a column, don’t be surprised if you received a chilly reception and limited help. Then again, that may not be very important to you.

For the best experience, choose a hotel where the guest rooms open onto a corridor rather than directly to the outside. In Feng Shui terms, if you walk outdoors to your hotel room, the hotel management may not have a sense of connection to its registered guests.

In other words, once you’ve registered and arranged payment for the room, you may feel as if you’re on your own.

Hotel guest rooms can also indicate good or bad Feng Shui. The bed that you are going to sleep and should not be in direct line with the door; they rarely are. Likewise, if the bathroom is at the far left or far right corner of your room, ask for different floor plan. Any other placement of the bed and bath is fine.

Check the view from your window. If you’re only sleeping there overnight, any view is fine as long as it is not a slum. However, if the view is important, if you’ll conduct meetings in your room or suite, or if all you see is poverty, request a different room with a better view.

Many business travelers are phobic about staying in a room above the third floor. Therefore, those rooms are often empty and also provide some of the best views. In addition, if you stay on the top floor, you won’t have of the sound of footsteps overhead. Finally, in Feng Shui terms, higher rooms are generally better; there is less (literal) weight on top of you.

Consider the impression that you received upon entering the hotel as well as your guest room. Look for these Feng Shui signals: Lighting should be adequate, neither glaringly bright nor too dim. If a strong aroma indicates a heavy reliance on air fresheners, look for other signs of problems with housekeeping. From the moment you enter the hotel, you should feel comfortable, relaxed, and welcomed.

Keep in mind that most hotel chains use the same floor plans repeatedly. Therefore, you can visit hotels near your home before you travel. Whether your local hotels are Hiltons, Holiday Inns, Marriotts, or some other line, you can get a good idea of their typical Feng Shui, and what to expect at related hotels when you travel.

Once you have chosen a hotel chain that meets your standards and offers consistently good Feng Shui, make that your first choice when you travel. This will reduce stress by making travel planning simpler, and improve your travel experiences.

(c)2005, Aisling D’Art, Houston, TX

Aisling D’Art is an artist and a Feng Shui consultant. (Feng Shui is pronounced like fung shway. It is the Chinese art of design and placement.) She is the Feng Shui columnist for BellaOnline.com, and offers free Feng Shui advice at Shui To Go! – www.ShuiToGo.com

The modern four-star Parador here occupies its own small, pine covered peninsula that juts out into the Mediterranean Sea. This coast line – the Costa Brava – is spectacularly beautiful. Driving along here, you will come upon many enticing inlets and nearly hidden bays. Cute and timeless villages abound. It has been fairly well built up, but unlike some of the other Costas – it remains aesthetically pleasing.

The Parador Aiguablava provides accommodations that are very special. All bedrooms have incredible panoramic views of the turquoise waters below. There is a gymnasium, swimming pool, and a sauna. The grounds are a delight to stroll. You’ll dine in a sea-side dining room with incredible views. It specializes in seafood – and the cuisine is the finest and freshest available anywhere. A short walk brings you to your own beach. As well, you can arrange boat trips to completely private, nearby coves.

The Parador boasts a very nice game room, as well as a room that provides comfortable seating and accommodation for wireless connections to Internet for guests with laptop computers. There are an abundance of activities of which to partake in the area. Including; canoeing, golfing, mountain biking, parachuting and para-sailing, swimming, horseback riding, and trekking.

Interesting day trips include:

- Don’t miss the medieval villages of Pals and Peratallada – you’ll have them to yourselves on weekdays. Ullastret is the best preserved of the ancient Iberian settlements and is an archaeological work still in progress.

- Walk up to the lighthouse and hermitage at Sant Sebastia near Llafranc – you’ll be rewarded with spectacular views.

- The Dali Triangle is a must see for all art buffs. The southern point of the triangle is the Castell de Pubol – a Gothic-Renaissance mansion re-done by Dali in his outlandish and wonderful style. The other ‘points’ of the triangle are alluring Cadaques – where Dali lived for a time (several of his works are in the Cadaques museum) and Figueres, where is located perhaps Europe’s most unusual museum – the Teatre Museu Dali.

- If you are here in February, you can dress up in outlandish costume of your choosing and lose yourself in the carnival in the nearby town of Palamos.

- Visit the birds reserve of Aiguamols National Park.

The Parador of Aiguablava is a haven for lovers of the sea – and those seeking a tranquil holiday in absolutely stunning natural surroundings. Stay for several days and really soak yourself in the luscious ambience of the place – it will be an experience you’ll want to come back to – again and again.

SpainParador.com makes it easy for you to plan and arrange your next trip to Spain. This time stay in palaces, castles, and other places of great historical interest and rare beauty – the wonderful Paradors of Spain. www.SpainParador.com

Dubai was until recently not well known for tourism. How has Dubai managed to catch up with major tourism destinations such as Hawaii, Cannes or Bali? Other destinations have spent decades building up reputations and infrastructure with the hope of becoming a major travel destination. Dubai has managed to surprise all hospitality and tourism experts. These experts did not expect any destination and especially not one in the Middle East to become dominant player in the travel industry.

So how did Dubai manage to build a beautiful oasis in the middle of the desert? Dubai started its rise to fame just over a decade ago with the launch of the first annual Dubai shopping festival. The local government decided to use this festival as a tool to promote Dubai as a holiday destination.

The Dubai Sheikh and his sons spend years building an infrastructure and resort area for the tourism industry The Sheikh had learned from oil experts that the oil supply of Dubai could run out by as early as 2010. The leader of Dubai realized that the 2nd largest of 7 United Arab Emirates could not survive without the oil revenue. The Sheikh of Dubai therefor looked for alternative sources of income and came up with the vision of turning Dubai into a luxurious holiday destination as well as an important business centre .The Dubai rulers invested most of the oil revenue into tourism and this has lead to Dubai being a leading holiday and business destination.

Dubai is superbly located geographically as it?s situated at a point where Europe, Africa and Asia meet. This has benefitted especially the MICE segment of the Dubai hotels and travel industry. MICE stand for the Meetings and Incentives branch of the tourism industry. Dubai has several world class facilities for trade shows and exhibitions including the ever so popular Dubai World Trade Centre. Practically every day some form of event or exhibition is held in Dubai which brings thousands of businessmen each day to this busy emirate. Large number of luxurious business hotels in Dubai cater exclusively for these visitors.

Dubai is an excellent choice as a venue for meetings or trade shows as it?s ideally located for events which attract people from various continents. If one looks at the number of flights arriving daily at the Dubai airport and the vast size of the airport, it?s hard to imagine that Dubai only started an airline in 1985 while most countries have had airlines since early 1950?s.

The Jumeirah beach area offers a select number of world class resorts such as the Burj Al Arab. The Dubai Burj Al Arab hotel must certainly be the most famous hotel in the world and its quality of service and its magnificent and luxurious facilities are unheard of in the hotel business. The other Dubai beach hotels are also of excellent quality and some are surprisingly affordable. The Dubai Hilton Beach hotel and the Jebel Ali resort for example offer great deals for families or visitors that can?t afford the rates at the Burj Al Arab but still would like to stay at a 5 star Dubai resort along the beach.

Dubai has plenty of tourist attractions and activities for both the young and the old. An indoor ski piste was even created and opened its doors only a few months back. Other great Dubai activities are the Dubai desert safari?s by jeep, snowboarding on the sand dunes, playing 18 holes at one of the many world renowned golf courses or even just going shopping at the numerous shopping malls. Prices for many items are considerably cheaper then back home so do have a look as you will surely find a great deal. You should spend a few hours at one of the Dubai souk?s such as the Dubai gold souk. A visit is a great experience which should be done by anyone visiting Dubai. Don?t forget that you are expected to haggle about the price but always do it with a smile on your face!

The nicest period of the year to travel to Dubai is from October until about April. During these months the weather in Dubai cools down so that it?s ideal for travelers. The weather in July or August is unbearable with many local residents even trying to get holiday so that they can take their family abroad to a place with more humane temperatures. The trends so far do seem to suggest however that Dubai will have considerably more visitors this year for July and August than any previous year. Many Europeans are now choosing Dubai for their summer holiday destination as opposed to Jamaica or Cuba.

The future of the Dubai tourism industry just keeps getting brighter and brighter and there is no sign that the growth will slow down any time soon!

James has extensive experience in the hospitality and tourism industry. He has managed hotels and resorts in Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and North America. The cheapest rates for Dubai hotels and Dubai beach hotels can be found at the Discount hotels specialist.