Caribbean Travel Villa

There are only a few better ways to start a mini-break and far fewer places to stay than a Caribbean travel villa. Dream vacations, holiday getaways, weekend trips, world travels – whatever you decide, you need a place to stay before you go.  Here is a list of our top picks for Caribbean travel villas:

VillaConnection
It’s not called that for nothing. VillaConnection.com provides you with the answer to the question – “why stay in a hotel?” When you can lounge around in a place of your own (for a few weeks, at least).

The site offers Caribbean travel villas in your favorite Caribbean destinations, including St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Little Thatch, Anegada, Grenada, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, and the Dominican Republic. Not only they provide you with top-notch Caribbean travel villas, but they can also help you with all your vacation planning needs from air, car rentals, provisioning and more.

CaribbeanDays.com

In business since 1979, the CaribbeanDays.com offers you a place where you can stay for the whole time you’re on vacation. Whether you’re looking for Caribbean travel villa rentals or intimate hotel get-aways, they can provide you that, even offering evening phone appointments for those who are too busy to schedule during the day.

The CaribbeanDays.com represents more than 1,000 luxury Caribbean travel villa rentals on twenty islands throughout the Caribbean. Just choose your type of Caribbean travel villa from the following list:

• Families
• Active travelers
• Romantic
• Beachfront
• Ultra-luxury
• Large groups
• Weddings
• Luxury resorts and hotels
• Corporate retreats

VillasCaribe.com

An industry leader, VillasCaribe.com represents more 1,100 luxury Caribbean villas throughout more than 25 destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico. The site offers an up-to-date online calendar to show the availability of their Caribbean travel villa rentals, allowing you to search for your villa on your preferred travel dates. What makes VillasCaribe.com truly unique is its exclusive virtual Caribbean travel villa tours and on-island personal inspections.

In addition to Caribbean travel villas, VillasCaribe.com also lists villas and property for sale all throughout the Caribbean. Whether you are searching for the utmost in Caribbean villa rental luxury or the ultimate in tropical private home rentals, you will find it here at VillasCaribe.com.

Goin2Travel.com

If awe-inspiring Caribbean travel villas and condos are to your taste, then Goin2Travel.com might just have the property you’re looking for. The site features quaint and charming beachside properties, from villas to rental homes and cottages.

The properties listed are all privately owned and can accommodate families and groups much better than any resort would. To start exploring the terrific selections Goin2Travel.com offers, just click on any of the Caribbean islands listed on the site.

WhereToStay.com

A hotel and villa guide, WhereToStay.com offers not just villa rentals and hotels in the Caribbean but in various destinations as well. Their villa section offers luxury Caribbean travel villas and vacation homes throughout the islands. What’s more, you can reserve a room on any of these properties through the site. To be sure, WhereToStay.com has come up with a far more convenient means to find places to stay in the Caribbean.

Art Museums still manage to move the Masses

With around 65 museums, it's no wonder that it is quite difficult to narrow down the choices and select the San Francisco museum that you absolutely must visit while vacationing here. The good news is that it is quite possible to narrow down the choices according to your personal preferences. Museums are a great way to discover the history, the art, and the future of a city. If that city gives a great amount of effort into building great places of learning about the art, music, history, and future of said city, then that city has a bright future ahead of it.

Art is something that is becoming more and more often overlooked as budget cuts hit school curriculums and great emphasis is placed on learning specific facts and details rather than the learning process, but art is a vitally important component of societal development. Think about it, the one thing that survives the generations of old and appears in museum today is most often art of some sort. Art is a way of expressing who we are, what we dream, and where we hope we are going. If we take the art from our lives, we are stifling our societies and risking our progeny.

In case you haven't guessed, I'm a little passionate about art and feel that art museums are an integral component not only of preserving our pasts but also of insuring our futures. The first art museum I would like to mention is of particular interest here because not only does it showcases artists that are local to the San Francisco area but it also deals with visual arts, performing arts, and film and video. The name of this museum is: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and I seriously recommend that you take a moment or two out of your busy vacation time be devoted to taking a look around this great center for visual and performing arts.  

Art comes in many shapes and sizes and few places showcase it as well as the de Young Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. From painting to sculptures to quilts this museum offers some fantastic collections of art as well as offering excellent exhibitions that rotate throughout the year. Give your senses a feast of color, light, and texture by visiting the de Young.

If you have the time, you really should check out The Diego Rivera Mural Project. This project is about the necessity of blending all of the cultures and histories that make Americans American into one unified work of art. By using the historical artistic styles of the Indian, the Eskimo, and the Mexican and blending them a style will emerge that is Pan American Unity. While some may find the ideals behind it a bit lofty (I find them applaudable), it is impossible to deny that the mural itself is an impressive work of art. While this is not a museum, I really feel that this is an important work of art that is definitely worth mentioning.

Whether you have a deep and abiding passion for art or not, it's hard to deny the power that art has to move and inspire people. For that reason alone I think it is important that we try to cultivate a love of art or at the very least an education about art within our children, museum exhibits are an excellent method of achieving that goal.

Science Museums Teach Children to Seek Truth

If science is the language that moves you, and for many of us, it is just that, then you really might want to visit some of the San Francisco museums that focus on science more than art. I find both to be of equal importance but there are those, many in fact, that would disagree with me. Whatever your feelings about it, if you have a child that you want to encourage to pay more attention to science courses in school, it is an excellent idea to take them to a museum such as this in order to fan that flame of curiosity.

Science answers many questions about the past and offers many hints at the future of our world and universe. Without science there is much we wouldn't know and even more that we would not understand. I think any of use would be hard pressed to identify the single most important scientific discovery throughout history. There are so many things that are all very significant to the very lives we enjoy today and yet each and every scientific discovery happened because someone, somewhere, asked a question.

I find that truly amazing. When you think about it; physics, chemistry, mathematics, astronomy, none of these things would be studied today if someone hadn't found them curious at some point in history. That is precisely why I believe that museums such as the Exploratorium are so important in developing future scientist. If we spark the curiosity in our children at young ages there is nothing to prevent them from great discoveries later on. The Exploratorium encourages children to explore the world around them, even how science affects other things they enjoy (such as skateboarding). If you can use a skateboard to teach physics, imagine what you can do with a car.

The Morrison Planetarium is a great place to take the family if you are truly interested in seeing the stars. I'm not talking Hollywood starlets but real stars. If you or one of your children has the slightest interest in studying the stars, this will be a treat for you all. I sincerely hope you will at least check it out.

The Natural History Museum offers many exhibits that deal with various aspects of life. Perhaps the neatest thing about the Natural History Museum is the fact that you are allowed a very hands on approach to learning here. From actually handling fossils and skulls to really cool artifacts, very little is off limits. This means that even the most difficult child to amuse might find something of interest here; at least, that is the hope.

Finally, there is the Steinhart Aquarium. This is not the Aquarium at the Bay but a municipal aquarium that holds the distinction of being the oldest operating municipal aquarium in America. Among the awesome exhibits that can be found here are several rare specimens that can no longer be found in the wild. The tide pool is perhaps one of the most anticipated attractions of this aquarium. This is where little hands actually get to touch some of the animals that their little eyes are watching in the tanks. Just be careful that you aren't going home with a car full of future marine biologists as this experience can ignite a passion for marine life that will last for quite a while.

Science is a great thing to be studied and explored. I can think of few things I would rather see my children pursue than an endless search for truth and the evidence to support those truths. I hope that by introducing them to opportunities such as these I will have contributed to a life long process of seeking answers that will serve them well. And it can all be owed to a trip to San Francisco.

San Francisco Feeds its Guests Well

If you have a healthy appetite for good food and good drink, then visiting San Francisco is probably a great plan for you. While you are visiting, there are several places that you really should check out. Not only do these great places offer tours that will explain how they make their goodies, but many of them also offer samples. Even better, some of the tours are absolutely free.

While not every good thing in life is free, there is no doubt that some of the best things are. Among those outstanding freebies is a tour of the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Factory. I love dark chocolate and while I won't go so far as to say they have the best dark chocolate (can't do that as I haven't tried all the dark chocolate there is to have in the world), I will say that there dark chocolate is definitely among the best. The only drawbacks I have found is that children must be at least 10 years old to attend, you must make reservations and you have to wear close-toed shoes (I live in Birkenstock's so this is a minus for me). I really believe that their chocolate is worth the sacrifice however and will gladly send the husband off with the kids to the arcade for an afternoon while I enjoy learning more about this awesome chocolate, err, chocolate company. The tours are free which means if you don't have young children it isn't too difficult to talk your traveling companion into going with you. If for some odd reason there is resistance you can always use the divide and conquer rule. Let them do an activity that you don't relish while you enjoy yours.

Second on my list is Takara Sake. Another freebie, I can't seem to help myself. The Takara Sake Company has a museum that is free of charge and opened daily from noon until 6:00 pm. This museum contains historic implements for making sake as well as a history of sake making in the USA. This is the only museum of its kind in the USA and is well worth taking a look. While you are there, you should consider participating in a sake tasting, which is free as well.

Another must see freebie on my list is the Jelly Belly Factory. See how these renowned beans are made and have a nice relaxing lunch at the café. This is a great way to beat the heat and have a nice relaxing and educational afternoon. Your kids will love you for it.

If you like beer or just know someone who does, the tour of the Anheuser-Bush Brewery will surely be a highlight of your trip. This is another great freebie that will educate and entertain guests of all ages. All ages are welcome and the tour is wheelchair accessible. Samples are available to those who are legally old enough to partake. The tour lasts about 45 minutes and definitely worth checking out.

If these tours aren't enough to keep you happy and full, there are plenty of restaurants in and around San Francisco in addition to a many wineries that will be sure to satisfy your thirsts. San Francisco is a city that definitely wants its visitors to leave well fed and content with drink. The really great thing about visiting any of these places is the fact that most of them have stores where you can purchase plenty of their products to bring home with you.