Swimming Pigs Adventure - Enjoy a fun filled, action packed excursion aboard a 35 foot custom designed Power Cat while you  swim with the pigs, snorkel, beach comb and experience all the beauty of the Exumas in one tour. Your captain and first mate will entertain you with excellent knowledge and first class service as you cruise in and out of over 75 magnificent, little known cays with several stops along the way. Take incredible photos atop an island with 360-degree views of the Exuma cays. Visit the endangered Bahamian rock Iguana at an island, which the original natives of the Bahamas once called home. Circle past the million dollar privately owned islands of celebrities, and speed across waters only inches deep as Stingrays race across the bottom. No journey into the cays is complete without feeding the always hilarious Swimming Pigs. Afterwards snorkel and swim along a lively reef with magnificent colors while a nearby virgin sandbar awaits your exploration

​Dolphin Encounter - Enter the world of these gentle bottlenose beauties with a special kiss and caress while you get a chance to make friends, touch and have an up-close experience with the dolphins.  Also, learn some interesting facts about these wonderful creatures from a knee deep water platform. You can also view the exciting Shark Show, performed by our very own pirates of “Little Port Royal.” Interact with the colorful birds, exotic snakes and iguanas on the nature trail. Enjoy unlimited mini-boat rides, a 40ft. water slide and interactions with the gentle stingrays (with barbs clipped).

MINI-Routes To Negril - Buckle up and take the wheel of your own MINI Cooper during this first-of-its-kind journey along Jamaica’s beautiful north-west coast to the ‘capital of casual’, Negril! This exciting new experience puts you in the driver’s seat as you follow behind an expert island guide to local spots and famous landmarks. Your journey begins with a short stop at a local coconut vendor. Then hop back in your MINI and drive through the historic town of Lucea. Once you arrive in Negril it’s time for some delicious food and a relaxing break on the Seven Mile Beach. In the afternoon drive to the iconic Negril Lighthouse at the westernmost point of the island where you can see the lighthouse and take in the gorgeous view. Next, visit the legendary Ricks Café where you’ll have the opportunity to witness the daring cliff-divers, snap a few pictures and enjoy the stunning views.  On your way back to Montego Bay you’ll make a final stop at an authentic jerk shack for a quick cooking demonstration. It’s time to take your island experience into your own hands on this fully-loaded adventure, but get ready because there’s nothing ‘mini’ about it! A portion of the proceeds will be donated to benefit the local communities that we call home.

Luminous Lagoon Experience - Join in at sunset for a trip to Jamaica's famed Luminous Lagoon on a night cruise like no other! With a complimentary rum or fruit punch in hand, hop aboard to head out to the magical glistening waters. Surrounded by mangroves, at night the waters of the lagoon are home to microscopic organisms that emit a phosphorescent blue light when disturbed. Once you’ve cruised to the middle of the lagoon, you can jump in and really experience the true beauty of this unusual natural wonder. Luminous Lagoon is one of the few places in the world to have such a high concentration of these harmless organisms, this is truly something not to be missed!

Moriah Sea Park Adventure - ​Head over to the Exuma’s famous Moriah Harbor Cay National Park and become one with Mother Nature! Spanning across 10-miles of diverse land and sea, this park is home to reef fish, stingrays, turtles, dolphins and more! Basque in the Bahamian sun while keeping your eyes on the water, for you never know which ocean animal will swim by to say hello! Then, come face-to-face with these exotic sea-creatures as you cool off in the aquamarine sea and snorkel to your hearts content!

Reggae Catamaran Cruise - ​Sway to the sounds of reggae on one of the Caribbean’s most wet ’n’ wild adventures! Indulge in delectable appetizers and unlimited exotic cocktails while enjoying the best panoramic views you’ll ever set your eyes on. There’s nothing quite like this ‘club on water’ to feel the pulse of the island and see the wonders of the Caribbean. Snorkeling is included.

Contact ChrisRakes@totalexperiencetravel.com today to plan your customized all inclusive trip to the Caribbean! Chris is an all inclusive expert, as well as Antigua, Jamaica, St Lucia and Honeymoon specialist!! You can count on her for professional reliable recommendations. 

The numbers are growing at a dizzying rate. From 2013 through 2017, the nation saw a 62 percent increase in visitor traffic, the fastest growth rate of any large global destination. “We are very proud of having reached, for the first time in our history, the sixth-most-visited country in the world,” said Mexico Tourism Secretary Enrique de la Madrid speaking to an audience of travel agents during a Mark Travel Corporation webinar.

Accordingly, infrastructure is also expanding, including welcoming 15,000 to 20,000 new hotel rooms every year. “Just last semester, 7,000 new rooms were inaugurated [in Mexico],” said de la Madrid.
He also noted that the CEOs of Marriott and Hilton hotels have committed to adding 43 new properties in Mexico in the next two to three years.

Connectivity to the nation is also increasing. In 2017, some 18.6 million international visitors arrived by air. For 2018 alone, the country has already welcomed 4,600 new flights, including new service from Chicago to Mazatlan, Denver to Cozumel, Los Angeles to Acapulco and Seattle to Mexico City.

Mexico’s transformation into global tourism star has not come without its challenges, including an ongoing concern over visitor safety.  Mexico’s tourism industry has vowed to take a harder line on people and organizations spreading mis-information about the country.The Mark Travel Corporation webinar, which also featured tourism updates from area convention and visitors bureaus, was designed to help answer travel agents concerns and questions about these issues.

“[Mexico] is a fantastic destination and [one] that has been important to our company for over 30 years,” said host Ray Snisky, Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer of The Mark Travel Corporation, before introducing Secretary de la Madrid. “It is the passion, warmth and graciousness of the people of Mexico that really makes that destination unique.”
“There’s a lot of misinformation [about Mexico] right now.” Snisky said, and that having the right information would transition into clarity and energy for travel agents selling Mexico.
During the webinar, Secretary de la Madrid addressed travel agent concerns about safety.
In the last update of the U.S. State Department,” he said, “there is basically no major touristic destination [in Mexico] that has any travel advisory.”

He noted that as of last August there were two visitor destinations with warnings, which went away with the update of the State Department Advisory system in January. He also clarified that the new system has four qualification levels. “Number 1, I suppose, being paradise,” he said, “[while Number 2] is all the normal countries around the world, where they put Mexico but they also put the UK, France and Spain. Just remember France is the number one tourist destination worldwide and Spain is number two, so we have the same qualification as those two destinations.”

He also told agents to remember that while Mexico frequently appears in the media over sensationalistic stories about violence, those stories are mostly drug-related. “Tourists coming to Mexico are not the target of this violence and they are not impacted, mainly, by this violence.” He pointed out that zero homicides in Cancun last year involved tourists.

He also added a little context, pointing out that Mexico is not too different than what happens in other parts of the world, or what happens in the U.S. The general crime rates generally do not have an impact on visitors to those destinations.

Despite the relatively low impact on visitors, Mexico’s tourism industry is taking these concerns seriously. A number of safety improvements have been implemented in Baja California Sur, where Los Cabos is locatd, for example. In April, said de la Madrid, Los Cabos saw its homicide rate drop by 80 percent.
Mexico is following a similar safety model in Quintana Roo, which is home to some of the nation’s top visitor destinations, including Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Cancun and Riviera Maya.

The measures, which are being spearheaded by state and local authorities as well as the tourism industry include an increased police presence at area beaches and on the roads. Also, additional metal detectors are being installed in Cozumel and Playa del Carmen and there’s also a new mobile site for visitor safety.

De la Madrid also addressed last year’s allegations of tainted alcohol being served in some of the top resort areas. “Not a single claim of tainted alcohol consumption has ever been proven true,” he said. “There was [however] evidence of a combination of excessive drinking and there was evidence of drugs.” He has also said Mexico will no longer “tolerate” any case where information being spread is false. Out of a desire to not to harm anyone’s reputation, Mexico was slow to point a finger at the accusers’ use of excessive drugs and alcohol. “But the reputation [we want to harm least] is ours,” he said.

He also recognized some media and other parties were frustrated with Mexico’s slow response, as the tourism industry tried to piece together what happened and said this was a mistake Mexico will not repeat.
Mexico will implement a management system in order to investigate situations more quickly. “We are trying to provide information soon, even if it is not yet complete,” he said. “That’s something we are working on.”

He said Mexico was keeping a careful eye on a report from the CDC that has called “binge drinking” an epidemic in the United States. This is something that obviously could affect Mexico, which welcomes more than 20 million American visitors every year. More training will also be provided to hotel personnel, teaching front line staff to stop serving alcohol to guests who are clearly inebriated. “They are not obliged to give these guests more alcohol,” he said.

De la Madrid also asked travel agents and other partners who do business in Mexico, to help set the record straight and be more proactive about sharing accurate information. He also recommended that travel agents stay educated about Mexico so they can become experts on selling the country. 

Other speakers during the Mark Travel webinar include Jorge Tellez, Promotion Director, The Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau; Julio Birrueta, Director of the Mazatlán Tourism Board; Elvira Moncayo, Public Relations, Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board; Marc Murphy, Director General, Riviera Nayarit; and Rodrigo Esponda, Managing Director, Los Cabos Tourism Board.

Personally, Mexico is one of my favorite destinations. As an all inclusive expert and honeymoon, destination wedding specialist, I travel there often. Contact me any time to learn more and book your Mexico vacation.  You get personal professional accessible service for the same price as doing it all yourself! ChrisRakes@totalexperiencetravel.com

In a continuing effort to keep sargassum from hitting land, an additional 27-kilometers of the seaweed barriers have been placed along the beaches in Riviera Maya.

Comercializadora Chaktumen of Quintana Roo, the company installing the barriers, completed the task on Thursday. The extra containment barriers won’t be placed in just one location, but added in sections of 500 or 1,000 meters in front of the most affected beaches during sargassum season.

According to the Riviera Maya News, the municipalities of Cancun, Mahahual, Puerto Morelos and Tulum, along with the old town of Playa del Carmen to the south of Punta Venado, are all considered high-priority locations for the barriers to be placed.

“We do not know the volumes nor the exact sites to which the marine vegetation will arrive, but the objective is to guarantee that the beaches are clean and available for tourism and that the balance of the environment is also ensured,” said Alfredo Arellano, Secretary of Ecology and Environment of Quintana Roo.

Arellano also added that even with the additional barriers in place, regular maintenance and cleaning will still need to be done to ensure the beaches are sargassum free. Vehicles equipped with vacuum suction will be brought in to remove piled seaweed already on land.

With these extra barriers added, those already hard at work clearing the seaweed and the two sargassum boats the US sent over to help with cleaning efforts, there’s no reason tourists should let sargassum deter them from these popular Mexican Caribbean destinations.

The entire Cancun region is a great spot with friendly people, impeccable service and beautiful resorts.  Contact All Inclusive Vacation Expert & Mexico Specialist, Chris Rakes to learn more and plan your Riviera Mayan vacation!

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

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