All of us at Unique Travel Concepts wish you and yours a very prosperous new year!
4679 Date Avenue La Mesa, CA 91941
619-464-6426 or 800-879-8635
Thursday, December 30, 2010
The New Year
Affordable Japan Vacations
Day 1-Welcome to Tokyo!
Check in to the city-center hotel of your choice.
Day 2- A morning tour...
Sightseeing begins atop Tokyo Tower for great views and continues to the Imperial Palace Plaza and Akinhabara Electric Tower. Stroll through the colorful Nakamise Arcade to visit Asakusa Kannon Temple, the oldest in the city. Your tour ends downtown at Tokyo Station where dining and shopping options abound. (B)
Day 3-Tokyo as you please
A free day to enjoy at your own pace. From April to November a tour is available to visit the magnificent Toshogu Shrine, set against the splendor of Nikko National Park. (B)
Day 4-Ride the Bullet Train to Kyoto
Travel abroad the famous Shinkansen to Kyoto and transfer to your choice hotel. (B)
Day 5-Out and about in Kyoto
Your morning tour includes the most important sites: Kinkaku-ji Temple (the Golden Pavilion), Nijo Castle with it ingenious "Nightingale Floor" and the Kyoto Imperial Palace. (B)
Day 6- Day at leisure
A free day to spend as you wish, You might join an available tour to ancient Nara. (B)
Day 7-Depart Kyoto
Our tour ends this morning. (B)
Engagin Discoveries
Encounter the ancient face of Tokyo in the thriving 21st century city at Askusa Kannon Temple, the city's oldest.
Step aboard the world-famous Bullet Train for a swift and safe journey to Kyoto.
Walk in stealth across the famous Nightingale Floor, cleverly built to chirp a warning if would-be assassins gained entry to Nijo Castle!
Simple Hotel Stays
Tokyo-Grand Palace
Superior first class hotel with an enviable location close to the Imperial Palace.
Kyoto-New Miyako
Travelers love this first class hotel close to Kyoto Station and many historic sites.
Luxury Hotel Stays
Tokyo-Keio Plaza
Stylish deluxe hotel with well-appointed guestrooms in the vibrant Shinjuku district.
Kyoto-ANA Kyoto
Contemporary styling and traditional warmth in the heart of the city near Nijo Castle
7 days from $2,199 (based on two travelers)
*all prices are subject to change without notice. Rooms are subject to availability.
For more information or to book please contact Unique Travel Concepts.
619-464-6426 or 800-879-8635
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Catalina Island
"Twenty-six miles across the sea
Santa Catalina is a-waitin' for me
Santa Catalina, the island of romance, romance, romance, romance...."
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Santa Catalina Island |
Catalina Island, also known as the island of romance, is the perfect destination for families as well as couples.
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| Map of Catalina Island |
For more information please contact us at:
619-464-6426 or 800-879-8635
or fill out our request form. (click the link below)
Italy and Vatican City
13 Days to "Simply" discover Italy
Only $123.00/day
Your Itinerary
Days 1-2:Depart USA/Arrive Rome
Check-in to your hotel & this evening met your Tour Manager & get to know your fellow Contiki traveler.
Day 3:Rome to Sorrento
Travel south past Naples, the home of pizza, to the beautiful resort town of Sorrento. Tonight, enjoy a drink overlooking the stunning Bay of Naples.(B)
Day 4:Capri Excursion
Chill out on the Isle of Capri. Be amazed at the natural beauty, stroll through the hillside town of Anacapri or sip on a cafe al fresco with the locals, (B,D)
Day 5:Sorrento to Florence
From postcard perfect Sorrento, pass through rural Umbria & Tuscany's rolling hills & terraced vineyards to Renaissance Florence. (B,D)
Day 6:Florence
A local guide gives you the inside track on striking buildings & sacred art in one of Italy's most atmospheric cities. Later on, enjoy exploring at your own pace. (B)
Day 7:Florence to La Spezia
Stop & check out Pisa's famous architectural wonder & then watch locals fishing along the shores. Indulge in tasty local food & wine & pick up some rare souvenirs in the seaside setting of the Cinque Terre. (B)
Day 8:La Spezia to Milan
Leave the beauty of the Cinque Terre region behind & head to the capitol of fashion, Milan! (B,D)
Day 9:Milan to Venice
Follow the route of the Romans to the lakeside resort of Simione. Later, profess your love in Romeo & Juliet's home of Verona before arriving in fairytale Venice. (B)
Day 10:Venice
Meander through the 'floating city's' tight alleyways & canals to find grand squares, art-filled palazzos, interesting little shops, bars & markets. An option gondola ride is a must! (B)
Day 11:Venice to Rome
Leave enchanting Venice & criss-cross the Apennine Mountains on the road to Rome. (B,D)
Day 12:Rome
Tap into 'La Dolce Vita' of the "Eternal City" & explore this living museum of history. Get a feeling for Imperial Rome's glory on an optional tour of the Roman Forum & Colosseum.(B)
Day 13:Depart Rome
The tour ends after breakfast & it's time to say "arrivederci" to your new friends. (B)
Call for current prices and availability.
619-464-6426 or 800-879-8635
Check out our website: http://www.uniquetravelconcepts.com/
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
African Safari Trips
Interested in Africa? Why not request a quote or some information on possible trips you can take to Africa.
Click the link below:
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Christmas Traditions (Germany)
"A very old Christmas Eve tradition in Germany was to hide a pickle ornament deep in the branches of the family Christmas Tree. The parents hung the pickle last after all the other ornaments were in place. In the morning they knew the most observant child would receive an extra gift from St. Nicholas. The first adult who finds the pickle traditionally gets good luck for the whole year."
How to:
1. Decorate you Christmas Tree with various ornaments and tinsel.
2.Wait till Christmas Eve to place the pickle in the tree. Try to pick a spot that is difficult to see at first glance.
3.Tell you family and friends that the first person to spot the pickle in the Christmas Tree will receive and extra surprise.
4.Continue this tradition year after year.
Experience it
If you would like to take your family to experience this tradition in its birthplace then call us today or visit our website.
619-464-6426 or 800-879-8635
http://www.uniquetravelconcepts.com/
Monday, December 20, 2010
Christmas in the Village
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| Santa at La Mesa's Christmas in the Village |
Thank you to all who came and participated in this joyous event.
May you an your family and friends have a blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Places of Spiritual Importance
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| Notre Dame Cathedral |
During the 19th century, Notre Dame de Paris was in such a state of disrepair that city planners considered tearing it down. Novelist Victor Hugo, an admirer of the French Gothic structure, wrote “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” to help draw attention to the cathedral’s plight. Success of the book sparked renewed interest in the building and led to a fundraising campaign that financed the cathedral’s 1845 restoration.
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| St.Patrick's Cathedral |
Designed by noted architect James Renwick Jr. in the Gothic Revival style, this New York City cathedral is built of white marble and has an altar designed by Tiffany & Co. The cathedral’s hallmark spires rise 330 feet from the ground. Construction on St. Patrick’s began in 1858; work was halted during the Civil War, resumed in 1865 and was completed in 1878. When the building was dedicated in 1879, its huge proportions dominated the midtown Manhattan of that era.
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| Hagia Sophia |
Famous for its massive dome, the Hagia Sophia is widely considered the best example of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral in the world for almost 1,000 years until the completion of Spain’s Seville Cathedral in 1520. Originally built as a church between 532 and 537 A.D., Hagia Sophia later became a patriarchal basilica, then a mosque, and is now a museum with rich interior details, including intricate mosaics and marble floor decorations and pillars.
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| Westminster Abbey |
Traditionally the place of coronation and burial for the English monarchy, the Collegiate Church of St. Peter, Westminster, more commonly known as Westminster Abbey, is a mostly Gothic-style church located to the west of the Houses of Parliament. In 1998, Queen Elizabeth II unveiled statues of ten 20th-century Christian martyrs from around the world who are depicted above the abbey’s Great West Door. Among those honored is Nobel Prize-winner the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Great Mexico Vacations
"Here Lizard, Lizard."
"The view from our room was amazing."
"Thank you for giving us the dream vacation of a lifetime!"
"I loved our sombrero hats."
Extravagant Castles Around The World
No place symbolizes the extremes of the romantic, fantastical castle ideal like Neuschwanstein Castle, rising from the hills near Germany’s border with Austria. The brainchild of Ludwig II of Bavaria — who also built several other extravagant castles, and left behind plans for still more — the 19th-century castle is a turret-bedecked, theatrically ornate confection that seems made for a fairy tale. No wonder Neuschwanstein reportedly served as the inspiration for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Bounded by water on all sides, Eilean Donan Castle commands a dramatic landscape from a small island in the Scottish Highlands. In the castle’s early days, waterways were the main transit arteries in this inlet-filled region, and the castle — perched at the convergence of three sea lochs — was perfectly situated for defense. First built in the early 13th century as protection against marauding Vikings, Eilean Donan Castle has been associated with the Clan MacRae for centuries.
A castle on an island is one thing, but a castle in a cave? Slovenia has just that in the form of Predjama Castle, built in the mouth of Postojna Cave, about 100 miles east of Venice, Italy. The in-cave location provided excellent defensive capabilities for the castle, whose history goes back at least to the 13th century; these days, cave tours are popular with visitors to the castle.
Just west of London, Windsor Castle is huge, and it’s hugely old, too. According to the British government, Windsor Castle — one of Queen Elizabeth II’s official residences — is the largest and oldest occupied castle in the world. Its history dates back to William the Conquerer; in the nearly 1,000 years since then, Windsor has expanded to a floor area encompassing about 480,000 square feet.
With its multicolored exterior walls and its eclectic aesthetic styles, Portugal’s Palácio da Pena almost resembles a cake covered with colorful frosting. The romantic, fanciful castle was built on a craggy hill near Lisbon in the first half of the 19th century and incorporates elements of German, Moorish and other architectural traditions. These days it’s a Portuguese national monument and is used for state occasions.
Prague Castle is widely considered the world’s largest castle complex. Dominating the Prague skyline from a hill overlooking the Vltava River, Prague Castle has an area of about 750,000 square feet. The castle was probably founded around 880, and it houses the crown jewels and relics of the Bohemian kings who ruled from there over the centuries.
Castles are usually associated with Europe and the Middle East, but you’ll also find them in places such as Japan. One of the loveliest Japanese castles is Himeji Castle, about 70 miles west of Kyoto, dating from the 14th century. Sometimes called the White Heron Castle for its white exterior, Himeji Castle is Japan’s largest and most visited castle. It’s also one of the best-preserved, being one of the few Japanese castles to survive virtually intact to the present day.
There’s one castle in continental North America that has housed sovereigns: Mexico’s Chapultepec Castle, which Emperor Maximilian I called home during the short-lived Second Mexican Empire in the 1860s. The castle’s hilltop location in present-day Mexico City was once sacred to the Aztecs (chapultepec is Náhuatl for "at the grasshopper’s hill"); the modern castle’s history dates to the 18th century.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Royal Caribbean Introduces the DreamWorks Experience
Why not take you family on the Allure of the Seas. Call today for prices and availability.
619-464-6426 or 800-879-8635
Celebrity Owned Resorts
Lowell, restored an 18th-century house and barn into a small luxury hotel called the Bedford Post Inn, which opened in July 2009. Located in the tony enclave of Westchester, N.Y., just 45 minutes from Manhattan, the inn has eight guest rooms, an on-site gourmet restaurant and yoga and meditation studios frequented by Gere. 
Donatella Versace’s glittering Palazzo Versace in Queensland, Australia, is as stylish and chic as you’d expect from a fashion designer. White, stately Italian columns and palm trees under the Gold Coast sun lure sun-seekers from around the world.
Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson has developed a luxurious private game reserve, Ulusaba, near the border of Kruger National Park in South Africa. When you’re not traveling by Jeep looking for lions, buffaloes, leopards, elephants and rhinoceroses, you can kick back in style in the reserve’s two lodges, built high on hills with amazing views. For extra fun, walk on swinging bridges between the treehouse-style rooms of the Safari Lodge. Tennis, swimming and a spa are also available, as is a daily bush walk for those who really want to get up close to wildlife.
This wilderness area near the New Mexico-Colorado border has been a recreational retreat since 1902 and over the years has been host to President Herbert Hoover, director Cecil B. DeMille and actor Douglas Fairbanks, to name just a few. CNN founder Ted Turner purchased the 920 square miles around Vermejo Park Ranch in 1996 and began multiple conservation programs designed to reintroduce endangered species and restore forest and prairie ecosystems. Today, visitors can see herds of elk, bison, antelope and deer — as well as their predators, bears and mountain lions — in their natural habitat. The ranch caters to nature-lovers, fishermen and hunters out to bag an elk, deer or bison.
When a vacant lot opened next to his office in New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood, actor Robert De Niro seized the opportunity and created The Greenwich Hotel, which opened in 2008. De Niro, who co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival and the film studio Tribeca Productions, among other ventures in the lower Manhattan neighborhood, wanted to build a property that represented the historic architecture of the area. The result is an eight-story building housing 88 rooms and suites. Reclaimed wood was used for the floors and doors, and the spa features a 250-year-old pine-and-bamboo house transported from Kyoto, Japan, which was reconstructed in the building.
The Mission Ranch, on California’s Monterey Peninsula, was bought and restored by Academy Award-winning actor and director Clint Eastwood in 1986. The barn dates back to the 1850s, and the 22-acre ranch was the site of one of California’s first creameries. It is adorned with gardens, cypress and eucalyptus trees and has sweeping views of the surrounding meadows and coastline.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Places you should see: before they're gone.
Barrow, Alaska
"Why travel to the northernmost point in the U.S.? To see the polar bears that occasionally wander off their sea-ice homes and amble through the tiny town (pop. 4,500). The Department of the Interior added polar bears to the list of threatened species in 2008 as melting sea ice diminished the bears’ ability to hunt for prey. Debate continues to rage — especially in Alaska — about whether the warming trend means polar bears should be added to the more restrictive endangered species list. But when it comes to bears, why not play it safe and see them before it’s too late?"
Mount Kilimanjaro
"The Snows of Kilimanjaro," described in Ernest Hemingway’s 1938 short story of the same name, may soon become history. A 2009 report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences warned that Africa’s highest peak has lost 26 percent of its icecap just since 2000, and 85 percent of the snows that blanketed the mountain in 1912. Climate change and deforestation may both be contributing factors. The study’s author, Ohio State University glaciologist Lonnie G. Thompson, warned that Kilimanjaro may be bare as soon as 2020. That will make summiting the mountain even easier than it is now, since it already requires relatively little climbing expertise. There just may not be as much to see from the top."
(http://www.bing.com/travel/content/search?q=Endangered+Destinations%3a+Mount+Kilimanjaro&FORM=TRSSPG)
Appalachia
"Across the southeastern U.S., mining companies are clear-cutting forests, blowing the tops off mountains to get at the coal within, and dumping the waste into nearby streams. "Mountaintop removal,” as the process is known, has already flattened nearly 500 Appalachian peaks, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. A good way to witness the beauty of the remaining mountains is on a whitewater rafting trip through the Gauley River National Recreation Area in West Virginia. This 28-mile river features more than 100 rapids and is home to a salamander called the eastern hellbender, found only in this river gorge."
(http://www.bing.com/travel/content/search?q=Endangered+Destinations%3a+Appalachia&FORM=TRSSPG)
The Great Barrier Reef
"If ocean temperatures continue to rise, the world’s largest coral reef could lose much of what makes it so appealing to more than 1,500 species of tropical fish — and to thousands of snorkelers and scuba divers. In 1998, 2002 and 2006, higher water temperatures caused epidemics of coral bleaching, which robs the coral of the algae that gives it its brilliant color. Scientists say the reef has recovered well from the latest episode, but runoff from coastal development and increasing commercial fishing levels remain threats to this magnificent underwater ecosystem. Most at risk are the reef’s populations of dugongs — marine mammals closely related to manatees — and loggerhead turtles."
(http://www.bing.com/travel/content/search?q=Endangered+Destinations%3a+Great+Barrier+Reef&FORM=TRSSPG)
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tropical Destinations, no passport required.
Kauai, Hawaii
"Kauai is the scenic star of many films, including “Jurassic Park,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At Land’s End,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “South Pacific.” Take an adrenalin-pumping helicopter ride to see rugged terrain not easily accessible on foot. Blue Hawaiian Helicopters will fly you over Mana Waiapuna (the waterfall in “Jurassic Park”), Waimea Canyon, the knife-sharp Na Pali Coast and Mount Waialeale, one of the wettest places on Earth (450-500 inches of rainfall annually). When your heart stops pounding like a T. rex thumping through the forest, relax on the beach. Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman (also known as “Dr. Beach”) named Hanalei Bay Beach the No. 1 beach of 2009."
(http://www.bing.com/travel/content/search?q=Tropical+Vacations%3a+Kauai%2c+Hawaii&cid=msntab1102721&form=TRVCON)
Florida Keys
"John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park at mile marker 102.5 on U.S. 1 is a must for swimmers, snorkelers and scuba divers. Snorkeling tours typically go to reefs three to eight miles offshore, where the depth ranges from five to 15 feet. Look for blue-and-yellow parrotfish, but don’t worry about sharks; they are mostly nocturnal. If you’d prefer to swim with “Flipper,” head on over to Theater of the Sea at mile marker 84.5 in Islamorada. Then drive on down to Key West and explore Ernest Hemingway’s home, where you can marvel at the descendants of his beloved cats; many of them have six toes."
(http://www.bing.com/travel/content/search?q=Tropical+Vacations%3a+Florida+Keys&FORM=TRSSPG)
St. Thomas U.S. Virgin Islands
"Thousands of cruise-ship passengers a day pour into Charlotte Amalie, which is a huge draw for people who love duty-free shopping. Outside the bustling capital, the highlights include the St. Thomas Sky Ride, a gondola ride that leads to sweeping views over the island; Estate St. Peter Greathouse & Botanical Gardens; the Gallery Camille Pissarro, birthplace of the Impressionist painter; and miles of white-sand beaches."
(http://www.bing.com/travel/content/search?q=Tropical+Vacations%3a+St.+Thomas%2c+U.S.+Virgin+Islands&FORM=TRSSPG)
St. Croix U.S. Virgin Islands
"St. Croix is 40 miles south of St. Thomas and St. John, and a more relaxed attitude prevails. This island is home to Christiansted National Historic Site, which has five preserved historic structures and interprets the Danish economy and way of life that existed there from 1733 to 1917. Other island highlights include Buck Island Reef National Monument, a coral reef ecosystem that’s home to the hawksbill turtle. History buffs may wish to visit Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve. Salt River Bay was the landing site of Christopher Columbus during his second voyage to the New World in 1493."
(http://www.bing.com/travel/content/search?q=Tropical+Vacations%3a+St.+Croix%2c+U.S.+Virgin+Islands&FORM=TRSSPG)
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