The Grand Canyon is spectacular.  I defy anyone to stand at the rim and not be swept away by the grandeur and spectacular beauty before them. Just take a look at the photo we took on our holiday, as you can see there is snow still on the ground.

As we stated in a  previous post, we spoke to a man in Ash Fork who told us that it was just a big hole in the ground nothing to waste your time on. Well he was definitely wrong and if you get the chance to go to the Grand Canyon you won’t regret it.

We didn’t have the opportunity to go out to the new attraction – the Grand Canyon Skywalk, but it is absolutely on our list of things to do when we return.

The Grand Canyon glass skywalk is a unique vacation destination, and if you’re planning a trip to the Grand Canyon then you won’t want to miss it.

What is it? The Grand Canyon Skywalk is a privately owned tourist attraction owned by the Hualapai Indians. Its name is pretty self-descriptive. Perched at the edge of the canyon’s lip is a skywalk that juts out over the canyon itself.

Location: The Grand Canyon Glass Skywalk is located in Northwest Arizona in Grand Canyon West. It is a little over a 4 hour drive from Las Vegas.You have to take a bumpy dirt road to get up to the top of the canyon rim. There is an airport terminal there as well if you are looking to fly in to Grand Canyon West. The Tribe offers bus service up to the skywalk for a few extra dollars.

Pricing: Going to the glass skywalk isn’t cheap. Access alone costs around thirty dollars. On top of that you’re charged an additional thirty bucks to park. Taxes, fuel surcharges etc will run you an additional 10-15 dollars.  Expect to spend about 70 bucks just to get the opportunity to wander out onto the bridge way. It’s a steep price to pay agreed but when you’re going for a million dollar view a few bucks doesn’t seem all that costly.

On the Skyway: Since the skyway is made out of glass a lot of effort is taken to keep it from getting scratched.  You’ll have to wear booties over your shoes. In addition you can’t take any personal items out onto the skywalk. This means no personal pictures. Don’t worry though they will be happy to sell you professional photographs of your trip there.

The Grand Canyon glass skywalk is a unique way to check out America’s most beloved hole in the ground. You’ll be able to walk out on air and get a great panoramic view of all of the Grand Canyon’s majesty.

However, I can’t express enough that the Grand Canyon is a sight not to miss if you are holidaying in the area, or if you are in Las Vegas  it only takes a little over 4 hours to drive out to the Skywalk.

You can book cheap flights, accommodation and a car quickly and  hassle free from Expedia.com to make this a memorable trip to the rim of the canyon.

Hearst Castle is a must see destination when visiting California. There are plenty of historic homes to visit but Hearst Castle is the premier stop when you’re on the west coast.  Read on for a guide to Hearst Castle!

William Randall Hearst, an American Newspaper Magnate,  inherited a 250,000 acre ranch from his mother on her death in 1919. He proceeded to build Hearst Castle later in 1919 and this magnificent home was finally completed in 1947.

It started out as a moderate campsite and quickly morphed into a great estate with a 60,000+ square foot main house featuring  56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms and  19 sitting rooms.  Located in the  vast acreage of gardens  are an indoor swimming pool modeled on Roman baths, featuring  ‘smalti’ mosaic tiles and  8 large marble statues; an outdoor swimming pool that features a the front of a Roman temple that was transported from Rome and a there are Neptune, god of the sea; tennis courts, a movie theater, an airfield, the world’s largest private zoo and 3 guesthouses.

Hearst Castle is a sumptuous feast for the eyes where you can see all the trappings of total indulgence experienced by the Hearst family and friends.

Where: Hearst Castle is located between San Francisco and Los Angeles in San Simeon California. It’s approximately 250 miles between both San Fran and LA. You can get to it off of Highway 1.

Price: Tours of Hearst Castle start at $24.00 U.S. for adults and $12.00 for children. Behind the scenes tours cost $75.00. There are different tour packages to suit every desire. Some focus on the main house, others on the botanical gardens. You’ll need to take several different tours if you want to see the entire estate and all the out buildings. Unfortunately there isn’t a huge inclusive tour that lets you see everything all in one trip. It’s just too big to take in all at once.

What to see: There’s plenty to see at Hearst Castle. Of course there’s the Grand Casa, the main house, as well as the guesthouses, pools, gardens and wine cellars.

When to go: It’s California! The weather is gorgeous year round!  The only thing to worry about is if it’s closed, luckily it’s only closed a few days or the year on the  3 major holidays – Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

This is just a brief guide to Hearst Castle. Be sure to book your tickets in advance so that you are sure of getting in on the day you want to go.

Stay at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Paso Robles so that you can make the most of your time in San Simeon and as it is only minutes from the Hearst Castle you will be able to take a number of tours at your leisure.

Last week we drove from Canberra to Sydney to attend an affiliate marketing conference. This was an event that came out of the blue for us so it was a spur of the moment decision to attend. Now we’re used to travelling at a moments notice – in fact we prefer it – so only having a couple of days to book accommodation wasn’t a big deal for us.

And after quickly checking out the hotels near the event in Hurlstone Park (a suburb of Sydney), we decided instead to stay in the city centre and drive out each day.

We are getting used to driving to Sydney and anyone who has driven from Canberra to Sydney will know that getting to Sydney is not the issue – the big problem is driving through it. Sydney traffic can be horrendous, particularly during peak hour.

So before we left we decided to invest in a GPS. I had done a bit of research on the subject and in general most people preferred the Garmin to the Tom Tom so we settled on the Garmin nüvi 255 . One of the deciding factors was that the reviews stated that Tom Tom after sales service is mediocre to say the least, the routes provided weren’t always accurate and someone had mentioned that any long distance routings didn’t always work too well. Not sure whether that was just one person’s opinion but even so, in general, the Garmin just seemed to receive better reviews.

Before we left Canberra we set the GPS to direct us to our hotel but somewhere along the way we experienced a glitch. It kept telling us that there were ‘no detailed maps to support routing’. We’re not sure what happened or whether it was our fault or the Garmin’s but it wouldn’t allow us to select an address. So we finally had to end up using the street directory that we, fortunately, had in the car.

When we got to our hotel we had a look on the net to see what the problem might be. It turned out that we needed an unlock code to get the thing working again…but to get the unlock code you have to first register the GPS on the Garmin website…very frustrating!

After a small amount of cursing we eventually got to the unlock code which is on the Garmin site once you register. We followed the instructions to get the unlock code on to the GPS and hey presto the GPS started to work again. If you are having the same problem, just be aware that you need a USB cable to register your Garmin online as you need to connect the actual device to the Internet. A USB cable isn’t included when you purchase a Garmin 255 so you will need to purchase one separately or do what I did and use the one that I use for my camera. It fit perfectly.

The Garmin website is not easy to negotiate. I do wish product information websites would realise that their visitors want to find information on how to fix something, quickly and easily without all the pop-ups and a multitude of links to click to arrive at the right page.

For the four days we were in Sydney we had to get from our hotel in the city to Hurlstone Park and the GPS worked beautifully.  So apart from the initial hiccup the Garmin nüvi 255 worked great. It is a great little device which we highly recommend if you do a lot of car travel and don’t want to spend a lot of money on an expensive gadget. This is one of the cheapest GPS’s on the market.

For many couples, the Caribbean is the ultimate romantic escape.  The most popular retreat is a private villa.  Prices and services vary so before you book, you may like to consider the following.

• Many villas offer maid service before you arrive and after you have left but charge extra for daily cleaning and bed making. Also, if you want total privacy, you may not want daily maid service.
• Does your holiday company include (or charge extra for) stocking your refrigerator so that you don’t have to go food shopping the minute you arrive? Nothing kills romance quicker than a trip to the supermarket…even if it is in the Caribbean!
• Some packages offer a cook service that will provide one, two or three meals a day, brought to your villa.
• Not all villas are air conditioned. If this is important to you – make sure you ask before you sign on the dotted line!
• To ensure privacy, many villas are not near resort areas. You may wish to consider renting a car, even if only to avoid the expensive taxi ride from the airport.
• Although hotels often offer a minimum of three nights, villas often require seven.
• If you don’t want to be in a remote area, why not consider a villa in a resort. This gives you the best of both worlds.

Check out the experts

Sandals Caribbean resorts specialize in romantic holidays for couples. The Perfect Romantic Getaway begins at Sandals Resorts their all inclusive packages guarantee a stress-free vacation that can also include the wedding of your dreams…

…and finally, don’t let smoke ruin your holiday!

If you really hate breathing second hand smoke, you could consider a Caribbean cruise on the only ship in the world that is totally non-smoking – the Paradise, which cost $300 million to build.  Even the men who built her in Helsinki were not allowed to smoke while working.  Every week, the 2,052 passengers have to sign an agreement not to smoke – even on open decks!