While there’s little doubt that the dining inside your hotel or resort will be top-notch, you should experience the full range of culinary experiences Mexico offers. This country is home to arguably the greatest culture of street food in the world, and tasting it is as simple as a quick stop between shops or museums. While there isn’t enough room in your stomach to try every single cart or stand, here are a few quintessential antojitos you need to savor.

Tacos - Perhaps nothing is more iconic of Mexican cuisine than tacos. Of course, these aren’t the mass-produced replicas of chain restaurants; here they’re the real deal. While variations exist based on which state of Mexico you’re in, every taco will likely consist of a warm corn tortilla (often hand-made), tender meat, and a smattering of fresh vegetables, fruits and salsas.

Tamales - Originating in Oaxaca, tamales today can be found and enjoyed all throughout Mexico. Composed of a thick steamed corn dough wrapped in either banana leaves or corn husks, the true treat of tamales is the stuffing: you can find anything from chicken mole to cheese to sweet pineapple inside.

Sopes and Gorditas - Sopes and gorditas are essentially two sides of the same coin: the same delicious corn dough with slight variations in preparation. Gorditas are when the corn dough is fried, then stuffed with meats, beans and cheeses and topped off with delectable salsas and creams. Sopes are the exact same thing, except all of the stuffings go on top of the corn patty, thus making them “toppings.” It may seem like a trivial difference, but you’ll be surprised at how difficult it is to choose between the two!

Tostadas - At first glance, Tostadas look like a mix between a taco and a pizza, but there’s more flavor there than meets the eye. The base is a crisp, salty tortilla that is gratuitously topped with anything from pork to cows’ foot to ceviche or fresh fish. Those traveling to Oaxaca should be sure to try a tlayuda, a huge tostada smothered in chocolate mole sauce, then topped with a salad and meat of your choice before finally being sprinkled with world-famous stringy Oaxaca cheese.

Elotes and Esquites - Elotes and Esquites are essentially the same food, prepared differently. Elotes is sweetcorn, served on a stick and smothered in mayonnaise, cream and chili. Esquites is sweetcorn cut from the cob, mixed with cream, lime juice, mayonnaise and chili inside a plastic cup. Either version is by far and away one of the tastiest options for enjoying Mexican street food.

Comotes - If you’re in Mexico City, you’ll want to try camotes fresh from a stand or cart. Camotes are plantains and sweet potatoes steamed, and then served with strawberry jam and condensed milk. If you can’t tell where they are by the crowds they draw, then listen for the distinct whistle of steam escaping the pot.

ChrisRakes@totalexperiencetravel.com visits Mexico 2+ times per year and it remains one of  her favorite destinations.  Contact Chris to learn more and start planning your trip to this wonderful destination!
#tet4u

Mexico continues to rise the ranks among the world's most-visited destinations, ranking sixth globally after hosting more than 39 million international tourists in 2017.
Nonetheless, the Mexico Tourism Board is out to set the record straight regarding recent reports linked to the U.S. State Department's updated travel advisory system, which ranked Mexico as a "level 2" country where travelers should "exercise increased caution" when it debuted earlier this year.
However, level 2 was also assigned to destinations like Germany, France and the U.K. and the board points out that the advisory exempts major international tourist destinations across the country, including those in states with higher levels in the advisory.
"While Mexico faces challenges with crime and violence like many countries around the world today, the overwhelming majority of those incidents are related to Mexican individuals," the Mexico Tourism Board said in a statement. "In the very rare recent cases where foreigners have been impacted, the majority of the cases found that those individuals were involved in suspicious or criminal activity not associated with tourism."
So far in 2018, the U.S. State Department hasn't issued a single alert recommending against travel to Mexico. "Our main concern comes from the fact that the crime, violence and other statistics used are those for a country overall, not related to the number of incidents that impact foreign visitors," the board stated in January.
In its ongoing effort to eliminate any remaining doubt about visitor safety, Mexican officials are taking a proactive approach to reducing risks and ensuring travelers return home satisfied.
Enhanced security measures already taken in Quintana Roo include 24-hour surveillance at the maritime terminals of Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, additional metal detectors and an added police presence with specially-trained canine units.
Other upgrades include investments in technology to assist in the communication of security personnel with hotels and tour operators and close coordination between the entire tourism industry with the municipal police and other authorities in order to report any suspicious activity and take appropriate actions.
"Mexico is a safe, friendly and welcoming destination and one that is growing faster than the global industry average for more than five years in a row," the board states.
As Mexico continues to draw and win over more and more visitors, safety and security will remain a top priority. The destination is also working to boost travel infrastructure through new hotel and resort openings as well as added airline routes.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MEXICO AND THE BEST PLACES TO STAY, CONTACT CHRISRAKES@TOTALEXPERIENCETRAVEL.COM

Like many other destinations in the Caribbean, the Turks and Caicos suffered its share of bumps and bruises as a result of last year’s hurricanes.  An archipelago of 40 low-lying coral islands southeast of the Bahamas, the British Overseas Territory sustained the most damage from Hurricane Irma, though it was also impacted by Hurricane Maria. Many Turks and Caicos hotels, as well as the airport, experienced water damage and the port of Turks and Caicos witnessed even heavier destruction. However, before year’s end in 2017, most of the island’s restaurants, bars, hotels and tourist attractions had reopened.

Longtime Turks and Caicos Developer Mark Durliat, owner of Grace Bay Resorts, recently spoke with us about the destination, where it’s been and where it’s headed. Over the past two decades of working in the Turks and Caicos, Durliat has led the creation of 10 new resorts, condominiums and single-family residential projects. He has spearheaded more than 300,0000 square feet of new construction and directly sold $145 million of real estate.  His initial project, Grace Bay Club, was the first luxury, all-oceanfront-suite resort in the country. More recently, Durliat’s energies have been focused on his new Rock House Resort, a 14-acre residential enclave that has a target sell out of $55 million. It will offer 41 cottages and four hillside homes.

I went down to Turks & Caicos this past Spring to check out the recovery and see what's new. 

Not only did Turks and Caicos recover remarkably quickly from the 2017 hurricane season that devastated much of the Caribbean, it is experiencing a variety of important developments and is thriving as a destination on many levels.  The transition has been helped along in large part by more direct flights to the Turks and Caicos in recent years.   A list of cities that now offer direct flights to the Turks and Caicos at dizzying speed – New York, Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami, Boston, Washington D.C., Chicago and more.  

There are a variety of new luxe properties that have opened in recent years or that are slated to open in the near future. The Ritz-Carlton, a legend in luxury has announced plans for Turks and Caicos. The project will be located in the Grace Bay.  My favorite spot!  In addition, Durliat’s own company, Grace Bay Resorts, recently acquired a new property, Point Grace. The luxury boutique resort, which came under Grace Bay Resorts ownership in April, offers a world-class location on Grace Bay Beach and 35 luxe suites.  And, last December 2016 the much buzzed about Shore Club opened. It's a $100 million property located on a three-mile stretch of beach featuring opulent villas and lavish suites. There are three pools, poolside cabanas, a yoga pavilion and a 12,000-square-foot spa, as well as three dining venues too.

Sun, sand, sea, good food and relaxation - not hustle and bustle - is what you will find in Turks & Caicos!

To start planning your trip and get help picking the perfect spot contact ChrisRakes@totalexperiencetravel.com. She is an experienced expert who will make it easy for you to research, customize and go!

Canada: the land of ice hockey and curling, polar bears and ice road trucking, North America’s vast northern country is made up of 10 provinces and three nearly uninhabitable arctic territories. The vast Canadian landscape offers up some intense weather, sure, but don't dismiss the country as just North America's Icebox. Along with it, some of the world’s greatest skiing, snowboarding, Nordic skiing, ice climbing and mountainous panoramas await. Frozen rivers in some Canadian cities even serve as mid-winter commuter highways - and how many North American cities can claim something that distinctive?  Sure those are all cold weather activities, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. 

FOR RECOMMENDATIONS ON BEST WAYS TO VISIT CANADA, CONTACT CHRISRAKES@TOTALEXPERIENCETRAVEL.COM

Bali - In Bali, Indonesia, the sanctity of life is celebrated in almost hourly rituals,and that devotion infuses Balinese culture with dance, sculpture, theater and painting like no other spot on the earth. Though its splendid beaches are what attract most of the visitors from nearby destinations, Americans enjoy Bali’s ample sun and fun, but are much more enchanted by a culture and landscape that are rich aesthetically and spiritually. Americans tend to stay either in the southern tip of the island that culminates in the Bukit Peninsula with its Nusa Dua resort area or in other hotel nuclei such as those found at Legian, Sanur and the Kuta beach area.

For help planning your special trip to Indonesia, contact ChrisRakes@totalexperiencetravel.com

Iceland’s Popularity Is Becoming A Bit of A Problem.

The island—roughly the size of Alabama and home to about 347,000 people—will welcome about 2.3 million people this year, or about 6,000 to 7,000 people per day. That’s a significant increase from 2016’s 1.8 million visitors and more than triple the number of arrivals in 2010.

To put those numbers in startling context, foreign visitors outnumbered locals by about seven to one this year, according to Bloomberg.

Now the Nordic island nation defined by its dramatic landscape of volcanos, geysers, hot springs and lava fields is trying to figure out whether the country can, or should, accommodate even more people.
“This sector is maturing and becoming a real industry in Iceland, and with that, of course, come challenges that we need to be ready to tackle,” Thordis Kolbrun R. Gylfadottir, Iceland’s tourism minister, told Bloomberg.

Iceland’s Blue Lagoon presents a microcosm of what is taking place in the country.

A pool of geothermally heated water that’s rich in minerals and said to be good for your skin, the lagoon’s creation was something of an accident, according to BBC: Locals happened upon the water and started bathing in it. Now Blue Lagoon has become a “must-do” on tourist agendas far and wide, and the number of visitors has increased from about 50,000 in 1994 to 1.3 million this year.

Though this influx is presenting logistical challenges, it has also brought significant financial benefit. Tourism has grown to be Iceland’s biggest export, pushing ahead of wholesale and retail trade, (which is now the nation’s second-biggest industry), according to Bloomberg. Just one year ago, tourism accounted for about 8.4 percent of Iceland’s gross domestic product.

Amid such growth, the country’s residents and leaders are expressing concern about repeating the mistakes of the infamous herring bonanza during the 1960s and 1970s. That episode involved the collapse of herring stocks when overfishing brought the fish to the border of extinction.

Tourism is now so important to Iceland that any impact on the industry would be a major shock to the country’s economy as a whole, according to its central bank.  At the same time, tourism also appears to be putting pressure on the local housing market, causing a surge in short-term private rentals.  

So what’s to be done?

There are a variety of measures now being considered that would, if not limit arrivals, at least improve the quality of the experience, Bloomberg reported.  “We need to map this out to see what we can do to make the tolerance higher. Sometimes it is about strengthening infrastructure, sometimes it can be about steering access to particular areas,” Gylfadottir said. “The decisions we make will affect how this sector will evolve.”

Related Cruise
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Scenic Iceland and the Northern Lights (Winter 2018-19)

For assistance in planning your trip to Iceland, contact personal travel planner ChrisRakes@totalexperiencetravel.com 919.589.2437 / 434.333.0837

​On Friday, Mexico’s president Enrique Pena Nieto designated the Revillagigedo Archipelago, a set of four volcanic islands and its surrounding waters, as the nation’s newest national park.

The park, located approximately 250 miles south of Cabo San Lucas and 400 miles from Colima, serves as a feeding and migration areas for whales, sharks, rays and other migratory species. Encompassing more than 57,000 square miles, it is the largest marine park in North America.

According to the Pew Charitable Trust, the four islands are “the peaks of volcanoes created more than 3.5 million years ago. They are part of a larger formation of seamounts, or underwater mountains, that help create the upwelling of nutrients from the deep sea that supports a vast array of marine life.”

A Pew fact sheet calls the area a “waypoint” for many large migratory species, including at least 366 species of fish—some 26 of which can be found nowhere else in the world. It also attracts 37 species of sharks and rays, including Mexico’s popular whale sharks and one of the world’s largest populations of oceanic manta rays. Four threatened species of sea turtles—leatherback, green, olive ridley, and hawksbill have also been found there.

“The remote marine park provides a place where whales, dolphins, sharks and tuna can feed, breed, and rest during their migrations,” read the fact sheet.

Because of the site’s rich resources, it was inscribed onto the UNESCO list of World Heritage properties in 2016.

While formerly a popular site for commercial fisherman, the national park designation means that no fishing or mining will be allowed in and around the islands.

“With the goal of guaranteeing maximum protection of this World Heritage Site, our national legislation’s strongest conservation category will be used, and all forms of fishing will be prohibited,” said Alejandro Del Mazo Maza, of Mexico’s National Commission of Protected Natural Areas, said in a statement, according to National Geographic.

While the new park is also being hailed as a potential new site for ecotourism, the designation also means no major development—including hotel construction—will be allowed on the islands.

Mexico has 34 sites on UNESCO’s Natural World Heritage List, including 26 natural sites, seven cultural sites and one mixed.

"The inscription of the Revillagigedo Archipelago to this list positioned us as the [country] with the highest number of registered properties in the Latin American and Caribbean region, and the sixth worldwide," said Vidal Franciso Soberón Sanz, Mexico’s Secretary of the Navy, which is being charged with oversight and security of the new park, according to El Universal.

The new marine reserve designation is being hailed around the world, including shout-outs by National Geographic and Richard Branson.

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Matt Rand, director of the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy Project, congratulated Mexico’s government on the new designation.

“It wasn’t an easy decision because they had significant opposition from the commercial fishing industry, which I think is unfortunate,” he said. “I would love to see a commercial industry embrace this notion that certain areas should be protected.”
​
He also called the reserve “biologically spectacular.”

​Puerto Vallarta - Nestled against the Pacific Ocean, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, is a world-renown, top-rated vacation destination. A true melting pot of the old world and the new, this resort town offers authentic Mexican culture and cuisine alongside all-inclusive luxury villas and hotels, spectacular water sports and a vibrant nightlife. The golden sand beaches and cerulean-blue waters of the Bahia de Banderas provide a scenic backdrop for exploring the lush jungles, strolling along the cobblestone streets or browsing the high-end boutiques and small handmade-craft shops.

I travel to the Caribbean and Mexico 2-4 times per year to check out the latest resort options and updates in order to best serve my clients.  For help with your next big trip, work with an all inclusive vacation expert - ChrisRakes@totalexperiencetravel.com

Read anything about the island, and you’re bound to learn that Antigua has exactly 365 beaches – one for each day of the year. You’ll also read about the island’s endless days of sun and stunningly gorgeous azure water. And while these things are true, they don’t capture the heart of this friendly little island, a former English colony where cricket games are an afternoon tradition and colorful roadside restaurants beckon with cornmeal and okra dumplings and cold bottles of Wadadli, the local lager.

Barely a hundred square miles, Antigua is particularly accessible, and exploring by car is a fun and rewarding experience – just stay alert for the bearded goats who sometimes wander into the road! Here are our personal recommendations for exploring the island:
 
1. Take the Dip in Half Moon Bay
No trip to Antigua is complete without a visit to Half Moon Bay. This family friendly beach is a national park that attracts visitors and locals alike for its stunning pink sand beach and quality snorkeling. Local vendors often sell food here, such as salt fish sandwiches topped with the local hot sauce, making it the perfect spot for a snack and swim.

 2. Explore English Harbour
One of the most popular spots in Antigua, beautifully restored English Harbour has enough attractions to last an entire day. From pristine beaches and panoramic trails to restaurants, art galleries and historical monuments (this is where you’ll find Nelson’s Dockyards, the world’s only surviving Georgian dockyard), English Harbour is a must see.

3. Watch a Cricket Game
Cricket is serious business in Antigua, a passion considered more of a religion than a sport. From schoolyards to beaches, games are never hard to find, but for a truly fantastic experience, head to the impressive Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium, built for the 2017 Cricket Cup, where you can join the cheering crowds for an afternoon of fun.

4. Hike Mount Obama
After Barack Obama won the presidential election in 2009, Antigua’s prime minister renamed the island’s highest peak after the U.S. president. Mount Obama, as it is now known, is an easy stroll along a lush jungle trail and offers spectacular views of the neighboring islands of Monserrat and Guadeloupe.

5. Dance the Night Away
Rum punch and live music fuel Antigua’s famous dance parties, where tourists and locals alike shake and shimmy to the rhythms of the West Indies. From rustic beach bars like Beach Limerz to the ever-popular Shirley Heights Lookout sited high above English Harbour, there is no better way to experience Antigua’s hospitality than on the dance floor.

6. Sail into the Sunset
Antigua has long been a favorite destination among the international sailing set. Join them by chartering your own classic wooden sailboat for the day or watching the sunset from the deck of a catamaran. Whichever way you chose, this is the quintessential Caribbean experience you’ll never forget.

Looking for the perfect resort recommendation? Contact ChrisRakes

On the Caribbean, Mexico's Riviera Maya region is book-ended by 2 popular destinations: Cancún, with its high-rise hotels and nightlife, and, down the coast, quieter Tulum, a rare seaside example of the Mayan ruins found throughout the Yucatan peninsula's interior. Some other popular destinations considered part of the region are: Akumal, Playa del Carmen and Puerto Morelos.  For many travelers, this region of Mexico is their first introduction to the Caribbean Sea.  It is a popular vacation, honeymoon and group trip spot due to  its convenient location and numerous offerings! 

Endless white sand beaches, golf courses overlooking some of the world’s most beautiful waters, a fantastic nightlife, world-class spa services, outstanding fishing, incredible snorkeling, outrageous diving, archaeological ruins, and luxurious all-inclusive resorts for couples, families or groups -- the list goes on.

A record number of travelers are vacationing in the region and the government’s commitment to the tourism industry is evident.  While interior regions of the country have some challenges, the tourist areas of Cancun and by extension the locations of Isla Mujeres, Riviera Maya, Playa Del Carmen, Isla Cozumel, Tulum are considered by many to be some of the safest travel destinations in the Caribbean. 

The short flights from the east coast to this nearby jewel, the strength of the dollar compared to the peso, and the all-inclusive scene make this region a very good vacation value.  The personal attention and quality service you receive by the warm, welcoming and courteous Mexican people adds to your enjoyment and list of reasons why travelers are coming back year after year, with their friends and families!

Personally, I visit Riviera Maya, Mexico at least once per year in order to do resort visits and stay up to date on what’s new in the region.  I'm never disappointed and always impressed by the level of service and offerings.  Contact ChrisRakes@totalexperiencetravel to help you choose the right location and resort for your honeymoon, vacation or group trip!