Ultimate Travel Experience

During my family vacation to California, we planned to take a drive along ‘the most beautiful drive in America’ on Lake Tahoe – East Shore Drive. The pristine Lake Tahoe is surrounded by the Sierras offers the best picturesque scenery in America. There is plenty of sun the whole year for any activities ranging from golf, water sports and hiking in this area.

We made many stops along the way to take so many pictures of the beautiful Lake Tahoe and Sierras. The scenery was so spectacularly beautiful and we were totally satisfied with the drive on ‘the most beautiful drive in America’.

It was so nice that we just want to linger on and spend more time to enjoy the scenery but we had to leave to check into our hotel. We promised ourselves to come back again to spend more time along this route again We drove towards the north check into the condo hotel in North Lake Tahoe that we have made our reservations. The North Lake Tahoe vacation rentals are very easy to book via internet. 

We drove towards the north check into the condo hotel in North Lake Tahoe that we have made our reservations. The North Lake Tahoe vacation rentals are very easy to book via internet.Lake Tahoe family vacation program is suitable everyone in the family. They have activities for the adults and children for all seasons. There are casinos for gambling, shopping malls and hiking trails for the family, water sports, golf and ski vacation in Lake Tahoe region.

Tags: Accomodations · America · Driving

Many years ago, I visited 3 state capitals in Australia. Qantas was running a promotion that allowed you two additional stopovers in a single direction without any additional charge. Since my primary destination was Sydney and I have been to Melbourne before, I chose Perth and Adelaide as the other two cities to stopover for a short visit.

Visiting Sydney is simple and easy with ample facilities for tourists such as Sydney Pass to move around and most of the tourist attractions are centered on Circular Quay. Sydney accommodation is easily available and booking was done via the the internet.

From Sydney, I flew to Adelaide to visit this South Australia state capital. Adelaide is a small city compared to Sydney. However, Adelaide has many things to offer to tourists. One of the first stop was to visit King William Street for shopping, meals and great Australian wines. After this, it was to the nature. Australia has great nature for tourists. I went for a 4-wheeldrive tour of the Flinders Range and the outback. After the backbreaking tour, I went back to the Adelaide hotel for a good rest.

I left Adelaide for Perth on an early flight. Upon reaching Perth, I checked into the Perth hotel that I booked earlier via internet. In Perth, I hired a car and drove along the Australia Coral Coast to see the blue ocean and enjoy the natural sea wonders along the coast. I drove to Monkey Bay to play with the smiling dolphins and drove to more remote areas hoping to catch a glimpse of dugongs and manta rays but was unsuccessful. Since I did not manage to see manta rays, I decided to go diving with the whale sharks. The experience swimming with these humongous sea mammals were incredible. I continued my journey towards Pinnacles to see the spectacular rock formation. After this, it was all the way back to Perth.

The next day, I flew back home.

Tags: Accomodations · Australasia · Diving · Driving

I checked out from the hotel in Naples in the morning and drove to Pompeii. I planned to visit the famous ruins of Pompeii and drove on the famous scenic Amalfi Drive.

The volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted 2000 years ago and it completely destroyed and buried Pompeii. A few meters of ashes completely covered Pompeii until it was discovered in 1748. Since then, Pompeii has become a famous tourist attraction.

I spend the whole morning exploring Pompeii. It was amazing to see how a volcano eruption could cover a town completely. The excavation work is still on going. More historical things are being dug out from the ground. In the next few year, I am sure there will be more things to see.

After having lunch at Pompeii, I started my drive towards Positano and Sorrento. This is the direction for Amalfi Drive. The drive was one of the most interesting and scenic places that I have driven. Not only was this place nice, it was challenging. The road was build on the slope of the mountains. Navigating along the narrow road was a challenge itself.

Along the route, I could see Mount Vesuvius on my left and Isle of Capri in the Gulf of Naples on my right.  The road was so narrow. Driving southbound meant driving near to the edge of the cliff. The fear of dropping of the cliff was always there. Whenever there was a bus or a lorry at any bend, traffic from the opposite side of the road had to stop and reversed to make way for these vehicles to pass through.

The houses along the route were built on the steep mountain slopes.  This made the route nice and interesting. One of these towns is Positano. Seeing that Positano was such a nice and quaint town, I stopped over for tea. Positano is such a nice place that is was featured in the movie ‘Under The Tuscan Sun’ in 2004.

One of the most famous products along the Amalfi Drive is ceramic. The local families took pride of their family designs and creations produced beautiful ceramics. These beautiful pieces of ceramic are used as decorative items as well as for dishes. I took the opportunity to walk around Positano to visit some of the ceramic shops and bought a few pieces as souvenirs.

From Positano, I continued driving to Sorrento when I put up a night. The next day, I took a ferry across the Gulf of Naples to Isle of Capri.

Tags: Driving · Europe · Travelogue

I always imagine of going for a great car drive on a famous route. Not necessary the 4-wheel-drive type of challenge. It can be a drive of great distance covering exciting places. 

I have driven on the Amalfi Drive from Naples to Sorrento in Italy. It was one of the most interesting and scenic place that I have driven. The next scenic route I want to drive is the Perth-Adelaide-Melbourne route in Australia. This route is over 2000km and it will probably take me at least a week to thoroughly visit the places along the route.

My plan is to start the journey from Melbourne. The main reason of doing this is that I wanted to drive along the Great Ocean Road on the left side of the road, which is closest to the coastline. Upon arrival, I will check myself into one of Melbourne hotels. Melbourne accommodation is easily available if booked in advance. I plan to spend two days in Melbourne to check the car I hire and look around Melbourne. Perhaps, try my luck at the Crown Casino.

From Melbourne, I plan to start my journey early and drive towards Lorne and then, to Apollo Bay. From Apollo Bay, I will drive along the Great Ocean Road and make as many stops as I wish to enjoy the spectacular view of the Great Ocean Road along the way.  I will end the journey for the day at Warnambool.

From Warnambool, I will drive to Adelaide – the capital of South Australia – on the Princess Highway though Mt Gambier.  I will put up a night in one of the hotels in Adelaide. I can do my booking easily via the internet. In Adelaide, I will visit the Murray River to recharge myself before taking on the big challenge of driving across Nullarbor Desert the next day.

The next day, the challenge begins. The car must be able to take the challenge. I must be able to take the challenge. I will drive on the Eyre Highway, which crosses the Nullarbor Desert, heading west to Perth. I must plan each day carefully especially the fuel and know exactly where the next fuel station is going to be on the map. The drive is going to be long and lonely drive. Road is straight and virtually flat. I may be driving alone on the road without see another car for the next hour or so. I cannot expect to have any breakdown, as the nearest town may be hundreds of miles away.

Taking a break to rest along this long and lonely route is necessary as safety precaution. Along the way to Perth, I plan to stay over at Esperance, Albany and Pemberton before arriving at Perth.

Upon arrival at Perth, I will check into one of the hotels in Perth for a good rest after a long and eventful drive across Australia.

Next drive? Perhaps I will drive on Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Tags: Accomodations · Australasia · Driving