Captivating Beach Vacations Inspire Second Home Dreams

When my oldest daughter was 6 months old, my husband and I flew cross country with her to go on a road trip up the California coast.

Good morning, and happy new year, folks. Hope 2024 is off to a good start. Today we’re considering the opportunities and challenges of themed rentals, and an important court decision in Hawaii. We’ll also take a peak into 2024 with a forecast.

The horror story goes something like this: A family returns from a trip abroad, and the glow from the vacation has barely begun to fade when a cellphone bill with hundreds — or even thousands — of dollars in international charges arrives. The phenomenon even has a name: bill shock.

In early 2023, Miami Beach was officially named “North America’s Leading Beach Destination” and “North America’s Leading City Destination” by one of the travel industry’s most respected organizations. Now, the world-famous destination has been recognized as the “World’s Leading Lifestyle Destination 2023” by the World Travel Awards, adding to Miami Beach’s collection of awards and accolades designated in the 2023 calendar year. As a diverse city with an abundance of experiences for all travelers, Miami Beach is home to a renowned public art collection, variety of museums and galleries, a selection of globally-recognized luxury hotels and spas and travel-worthy restaurants with both established and rising chefs at the helm.

When the temperatures drop below freezing, you likely long for sun-drenched beaches, warm tropical air and frozen drinks poolside. And you probably want to escape the crowds, too.

These dull, wet winter days are the perfect time to reminisce about sunny breaks spent on favourite beaches in southern Europe – and to plan future trips. Whether you love shingle and rock, busy town sands, or secluded coves at the end of a glorious hike, we’d love to hear about your golden discoveries. Is there a particular beach that you long to go back to? Don’t forget to mention any great beach bars and places to eat at or stay in on your shoreline travels.

With a rate of $1190 for the cheapest room, New Orleans emerged top of the rankings.

There are two things that nearly everyone gets wrong about the Algarve. One is that it begins and ends with the beach. The second is that it’s only worth visiting in the summer.

Gaddings Dam was built as a mill pond in about 1833, when the Industrial Revolution positioned West Yorkshire and the north of England as the centre of the developed world’s cotton-spinning and weaving mills. It sits above the market town of Todmorden, out of sight on the moor of Langfield Common, with a sandy beach that claims to be the highest in England.

New Year’s Eve can be an expensive affair if you plan on traveling—even, as it turns out, if you plan on doing a staycation stateside. In a recent study conducted by TravelMag.com, New Orleans was found to be the priciest city in the world to book a hotel room on New Year’s Eve.

Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy recently relaunched its Curated Collections – hand-picked selections of incredible homes and destinations from around the world – to inspire travelers as they begin planning their 2024 journeys. For the nearly four out of 10 prospective travelers for leisure in the next 12 months who are still deciding where they want to travel 1 in 2024, according to a recent YouGov study (conducted on behalf of Marriott), Curated Collections will spark and satisfy wanderlust for travelers with their new collections.

New Orleans is the most expensive destination in the world for hotel stays over this year’s New Year’s Eve period, a new survey has revealed. he survey by TravelMag.com compared accommodation rates across 60 major global cities. For each destination, the price for the most affordable available double room for a 3-night stay from December 30 to January 2 was recorded. Only hotels with a central location and rated three stars or more were considered.