Aol Travel

Just in time for Valentine's Day, one of Hawaii's most authentic hotels offers a unique and beautiful Island Romance package. It's a perfect Valentine's gift for your special someone and is valid anytime until January 3, 2012. And because this is one of the best places to learn about Hawaiian culture and traditional values, you can take part in one of 30 activities held each week, celebrating the enormous cultural wealth and traditional wisdom of this island people. From your Ohana welcome breakfast to the Farewell Lei Ceremony you will bond with your loved one, and the people you meet here, guaranteed.

The package includes a massage or facial for two, daily car rental, dinner for two at the Tiki Terrace Restaurant or Champagne Brunch and more. The package is priced at $2,039 and is a savings of over $547.

It includes:

• 5 nights accommodation in an Ocean View room
• Daily compact rental car with valet parking including
• Daily buffet breakfast for 2
• Special in-room welcome amenity
• Two bottles of water per day
• Choice of two beach towels
• Picnic lunch in keepsake logo picnic backpack
• 25 minute massage or facial for 2
• One dinner for 2 at the Tiki Terrace Restaurant or Sunday Champagne Brunch
• Choice of one optional activity for two: Hawaiian Luau, Evening Dinner Cruise, Kupanaha Magic Dinner Theater, or surfing lessons.

Additional Nights* $276, (Based on double occupancy). For more information http://www.kbhmaui.com/cms/View.aspx/Show/84

By Dave Jaffer
Special to AOL Travel

For tourists traveling to Canadian destinations, it isn't even close: People come to Toronto. They flock to Toronto. And why not? Toronto is a world class city where tourists and locals alike find a picturesque, multifaceted playground at their fingertips. According to Tourism Toronto, the city affectionately known as Hogtown, the Big Smoke and the T-Dot (and of course "Tronna" by its locals) welcomed over twenty five million visitors (25.3m) in 2010, with a smidge under 10 million (9.88m) staying overnight. Sliced any way, that's an immense figure.

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Sure, Barbados has fantastic beaches, and some great local food, too. But there's more to an island visit than lying in the sand and stuffing yourself with Bajan cuisine. For visitors who are keen to stay moving, Barbados offers a whole array of options, on the water and on land.

The island has a growing surfing community, with waves suitable for everyone from beginners to serious surfers. The die-hards hang out on the east coast, at the Soup Bowl in the village of Bathsheba, while the surf schools tend to bring their charges to the gentler surf on the south east coast, between Oistins and Sam Lord's. Surf in Barbados is a longstanding, reliable and friendly option for lessons or rentals.

Windsurfing is popular here, too, especially around the Silver Sands area.

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By Tim Johnson
Special to AOL Travel

Located in a dramatic location-on the southernmost tip of the Bandra peninsula, with sweeping views over the gigantic Sea Link Bridge, the smog choked spires of South Mumbai just beyond -- Taj Lands End definitely earns its name. But the location isn't just dramatic, it's also quite pleasant. Bandra is one of Mumbai's leafiest neighbourhoods, a place of historic bungalows, funky independent coffee shops and great restaurants. While it never lacks for bustle and noise (no place in Mumbai ever does), this area is a bit different-a very walkable neighbourhood, Bandra is the Beverly Hills of India, home to many of the biggest Bollywood stars, some of whom reside just a few doors down from Lands End. And beyond pleasant, this luxury property is also convenient, located roughly halfway between the airport and the most popular tourist attractions, with the swift passage of the Sea Link always at a driver's disposal.

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Porter Airlines, the delightfully quirky regional airline that flies out of downtown Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport, is slowly but surely adding new destinations and promising more to come. Porter's latest destination is Burlington, Vermont -- that snow-capped, green-as-all-get-out, progressive state that feels like a piece of Canada slipped south of the border and got stuck in between NH and NY. Seriously though, my new favourite US state feels like a slice of home - but with cool candybars, unobtainable small-batch soft drinks and awesome clothing stores that we lack back home.

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By Diana Ballon
Special to AOL Travel

Part of the beauty of FDR - a family vacation spot in Jamaica where my family and I spent March break last year - is that tailoring the fun for both children and their parents is part of the all-inclusive package. Two blackboards post the day's hourly activities, one for kids and one for adults. You can engage in parallel play, or enjoy time together.

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Click the image to see images of Canyon Ranch Miami

By Sarah Treleaven
Special to AOL Travel

When most people think of Miami, they think of mojitos on the beach, flamboyant discos, bikinis as appropriate dinner attire, or (possibly) their grandparents. But the Canyon Ranch Hotel and Spa, an oasis of calm in a notorious party town, offers an alternative version of Miami. Set on a quiet strip of North Beach, and away from the party scene further south, Canyon Ranch is the ideal place to detox in serene luxury.

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A dramatic avalanche rescue took place on Sunday, January 22 in Washington's Cascade range.

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By Toby Saltzman
Special to AOL Travel

"Bali Hai may have been the stuff of dreams, but we felt it real in our hearts and minds," reminisced Mitzi Gaynor, her eyes flashing as she recalled a passionate scene from South Pacific, the 1958 wartime epic that introduced the imaginary mountain isle off the coast of Kauai to a world craving happy endings.

We were standing on the terrace of the newly revamped St. Regis Princeville Resort, built on the very spot overlooking Hanalei Bay where she and Rossano Brazzi had embraced while singing "Some Enchanted Evening." The lovely lyrics and glowing celluloid sunset cast an aura of romance on Kauai that lingers today. As we dined together later, Mitzi – as she insisted I address her – recounted hilarious incidents during the filming process. After the St. Regis celebration – for which she provided the evening's entertainment – she would be touring the island for the 50^th anniversary of the blockbuster's release, and asked for my ideas.

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With reports of crimes against tourists in Mexico appearing with alarming frequency, Canadians might wonder whether it's still safe to travel to this culturally rich and beautiful country. I've always defended Mexico (and its vibrant capital city) as one of the world's greatest destinations for travelers, but I'm admittedly biased. I lived in Mexico City for two years in the early 1990's, and loved every minute of my time there. But fallout from the violent drug war as well as recent reports of violence against visitors has taken a toll on the country's reputation as a safe holiday spot.

When I roamed the streets of Mexico City almost 20 years ago, you had to be wary of wandering into certain secluded neighbourhoods. The same was true in many off-the-beaten-path towns I explored, like the laidback surfers town of Puerto Escondido (in the state of Oaxaca). There I was told by many locals to avoid walking the beaches at night, since muggings were a common occurrence. But I chalked that up to the fact that Puerto was a bit player on Mexico's tourism stage. Hotspots like Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco were well-policed precisely because of the high number of foreign visitors and residents there. How times have changed. Mazatlan and Acapulco now rank among Mexico's top 10 most violent cities (see gallery below).

Yet our perception of whether Mexico is dangerous is tainted by media coverage that is unrelentingly negative when compared to that of other sun destinations. The Globe and Mail reports that "according to the United Nations 2010 global study on homicide, Mexico's murder rate per 100,000 people was lower than that of Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominican Republic, Belize, Bahamas, Saint Lucia, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Panama, Brazil, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Guatemala, Colombia, Jamaica and El Salvador." Yet Canadians flock to those Caribbean islands as well and don't associate violence with those countries as they do currently with Mexico.

And consider that of these two capital cities - Washington DC and Mexico City - DC has 10 times as many murders as Mexico's capital. So is our impression fair, or skewed, when it comes to safety in Mexico?

What do you think? Will recent events in Mexico change your plans to travel there, or are the troubles there overstated? Please leave your comments below.

Click on the photo to launch gallery