Filed under: Travel News

The world’s largest privately-owned sailing yacht has docked near Dartmouth in Devon.

The 300ft vessel is worth £100 million, and is owned by movie mogul Barry Diller, the husband of fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg.

The boat is five years old and boasts state-of-the-art navigation systems, electronic sails, 200ft high masts, and a handful of speed boats to transfer crew and guests to land.

Billionaire Diller made his fortune when he was chief executive of Paramount Pictures in the 70s and 80s (when it produced hits like Grease and Beverly Hills Cop).

He went on to form the Fox Broadcasting Company, where he green-lighted The Simpsons, and became chairman of travel website Expedia and CEO of InterActiveCorp (parent company of Ticketmaster), after selling a £25 million stake in QVC.

His awesome yacht is called Eos, after the Greek Goddess of dawn, and tourists in Devon were suitably impressed.

Assistant harbourmaster Nick Clarance told the Daily Mail: ‘We had Eos in a few years ago and there was a lot of interest in her then.

‘It is exactly the same now, we’ve seen large groups of people lining the harbour to catch a glimpse of her and take photographs.’

He added that she was the most imposing boat you are ‘likely to see anywhere in the world’.

Meanwhile, the world’s most expensive superyacht was recently revealed to have cost £3 billion.

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Vacation Reviews Ralph Lauren Coupons

Sailing on the Icefjord in Svalbard in beautiful weather, towards the glacier giving fine Svalbard photos. Photo Copyright

To travel to Svalbard has been a big wish for me and my wife for several years. To refresh your memory of Svalbard it is the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago lying up in the Arctic far north of Norway (74° to 81° North,).

Svalbard is a rough country with much of the land surface covered by glaciers, see Svalbard map below. Other parts of Svalbard is lying as barren slopes and hillsides with very little vegetation at all. The artic climate here is far too cold or at least the summers are too short to give trees a chance to live.

We had our travel to Svalbard just recently with a cheap travel possibility as we could use some SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) bonus points that otherwise would be lost. The beauty of this travel arrangement was that you only use a minimum of SAS bonus point when you as we travel from Denmark to other Scandinavian countries.

Svalbard map showing the full Svalbard Archipelago with glaciers and fjords and straits in the Artic Ocean.

In fact the drain in our stock of bonus points was very little as a SAS bonus travel from Copenhagen to Svalbard is only the same as a bonus travel from Copenhagen to Oslo. Oslo (the capital of Norway) is situated in the southern part of Norway, and Svalbard is as said far north to Norway in the Arctic Ocean. As SAS is a member of The Star Alliance cooperation you might be able to combine such a cheap artic adventure to one of your more traditional flights to one of the Scandinavian countries, for example from Germany, France, Italy or The Netherlands.

Just to finish these travel tips I should also mention that it was possible for us to go for a fine travel to Svalbard just with an extended weekend. We left Copenhagen (Kastrup airport) on Tuesday evening the 18. June and returned from Svalbard Sunday evening the 21. June.

Part of the island Spitzbergen of the Svalbard Archipelargo in the Arctic Ocean with the Icefjord.

We thought that we would be regarded as crazy travellers to go to Svalbard just for a weekend, but we learned in Svalbard that a lot of other visitors were going there in a similar way.

What we had expected though was that many people go to Svalbard for several weeks of discovery, by boat, hiking or otherwise. As you can see from the map the countryside of Svalbard isn’t that easy to around, and ships and boat cruises are the most convenient way of travel in this arctic archipelago.

As we stayed in Svalbard over the Midsummer days we had bright sunshine all night long and extremely wonderful sunshine during the days. The weather forecast for Svalbard isn’t really trustworthy, the locals underlined, but in our case the fine weather forecast I had found from home online kept its promise.

As you can see from my photos a sunny day in a ship on a calm day sailing at the Icefjord delivers unmatched beautiful views of the artic natural scenery.

When you arrive to Svalbard you will arrive to Longyearbyen with the international airport just nearby. Longyearbyen is the main settlement from old time and where most tourists will stay for a shorter or longer period. Longyearbyen has a number of hotels in all price categories; even the general price level isn’t cheap, dispite the fact that Svalbard is a tax-free zone of Norway. Due to the high transportation costs far out to Svalbard and probably low demand; the prices are as they are.

Snow scooters lined up for the summer in Longyearbyen in Svalbard

Svalbard is a magnet for bird watchers and other nature lovers, not to mention that Svalbard is one of the best places in the world to experience polar bears in true natural surroundings.

I should also mention tha Svalbard has an interesting history about miners, whalers and internatinal politics.

Find travel guides and travel book among many other books about Svalbard /Spitzbergen here.

In future posts I will go through many of our fantastic experiences during our short stay in Svalbard.

Vacation Reviews

That’s why I want you to see this remarkable presentation of Frans Lanting’s photography project Journey of Life through Time. I have seen the big exhibition of his amazing photos in poster size in Berlin, and they are really great and the work of Frans Lanting is a great achievement of photography.

I really hope you can take your time to see and listen to this video record of the presentation of Frans Lanting. Don’t feel annoyed by his voice, listen carefully and enjoy the remarkable pictures of our living earth and try to bring this insight with you when you next time go on vacation somewhere in the world. Or when you just browse for travel ideas at the website of Island Vacation Tips.

For example remark that Hawaii is playing a special role in the pictures of Frans Lanting – and in fact many other islands.

Vacation Reviews

As I have earlier been informing about the situation in Dubai with the focus on Dubai Islands (The Palm Islands etc.) I cannot avoid show a little about the amazing things going on in Dubai even it isn’t directly related to island vacation but at least related to island vacation activities if you go to spend the holyday in Dubai Islands. The Burj Dubai will for certain be visible from the Gulf and from the Palm Islands as Burj Dubai is over 800 meters tall.

Experience the view on Dubai when Dubai is viewed from the top of this 826 meter high Burj Dubai by a rather nervous cameraman:

And here more about the building process – now all history, as well as my pictures of Dubai that I created a year ago when I had vacation in Dubai with my wife. So get an impression of the building of Burj Dubai in this short video:

More Burj Dubai – Burj Khalifa facts and figures, numbers and records.

Vacation Reviews

Lanzarote Guidebook is the comprehensive guide to the popular holiday island of Lanzarote.  The small Canary Island that is a hot favourite with British and Irish tourists.  Who last year collectively accounted for over 50% of the islands 1.37 million foreign tourist arrivals

The Spring 2010 edition is packed with all of the information tourists need to make the most of their holiday on the Island of Fire. Encompassing in depth guides to all of Lanzarote´s resorts, beaches, museums and attractions, island maps, an introduction to the work of the famous local artist César Manrique and a handy Essentials section covering all of the holiday basics, such as shop and bank opening hours and emergency telephone numbers.

Copies of the Spring edition of Lanzarote Guidebook can be downloaded free of charge by visiting www.lanzaroteguidebook.com.  Whilst a further 10,000 copies are distributed direct to holidaymakers on the island entirely free of charge via car hire companies, private villas, hotels and official tourist information offices.

This indispensable, 96 guide is published quarterly so all of the information is up to date and is researched and written by locals, so providing tourists with the inside track to the real Lanzarote.  Featuring some fantastic pictures of the islands dramatic scenery courtesy of photographer James Mitchell.

The Spring edition also offers readers the chance to win a fantastic holiday at Villa Mirador in Matagorda.  A prize provided by the island villa specialists Lanzarote1, who offer a range of top quality rental properties in key locations across the island, such as the most popular resort of Puerto del Carmen.

The competition can also be entered online by visiting the Lanzarote Guidebook website.  Where visitors will find a wealth of information about the island, interactive maps, the latest weather reports and a wide array of flight, car hire and accommodation options.

Vacation Reviews

To visit Iceland is a beautiful island vacation experience. I love the landscape of Iceland with its huge areas of natural beauty without much influence of human activities.

On a visit to Iceland you have to accept that the Icelandic weather is very changeable as a precondition for your travel conditions. The weather conditions of Iceland in the different regions might be very diverse on the same day, too.

You find the weather forecast for Reykjavik here at http://www.weather-forecast.com/locations/Reykjavik/forecasts/latest – including a five day prognosis for the weather in Reykjavik.

You find the weather forecast for Iceland here with an interactive map that shows you the expected weather in each of the Icelandic regions for the next 5 days and even longer weather forecasts http://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/areas/.

These weather maps are extremely useful when you plan your travel in Iceland, e.g. if you hire a car and chose different regions to explore for each day with a permanent stay in Reykjavik or elsewhere in Iceland.

See 10-Day Forecast for Iceland weather here in Reykjavik.

Vacation Reviews

Men across the world may want to look away now (and keep their wallets hidden from their girlfriends) – a company in India has unveiled the world’s first diamond-dispensing ATM.

Gold vending machines have been popping up all over the world since 2010 (pictured), so the Gitanjali Group has spectacularly rained on their parade by producing the first-ever diamond version, which they launched in a luxury shopping mall this weekend.

The company hopes to have 75 more of its ATMs – which also sell gold and silver coins – placed at malls, airports and Hindu temples.

Gitanjali Group chief Sanjeev Agarwal told news.com.au: ‘The machine is a first of its kind anywhere in the world and will further revolutionise the processes by which precious metals and jewellery is bought.

“It has a particular significance in India, where usually such items are purchased as tokens to observe traditions on auspicious days.

‘But it also offers choices for occasions like Valentine’s Day, or to a husband who forgot an anniversary or his wife’s birthday!’

Prices range from 1000 rupees to 30,000 rupees (£400) for products ranging from gold coins etched with an image of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, to diamond-studded pendants in the shape of a swastika, which in India is an ancient religious symbol of unity.

Did you know that you can also buy pizza from a vending machine? Not quite as glamorous but, on certain occasions, pizza can also be a girl’s best friend…

Vacation Reviews

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will make a trip to Denmark in November to visit Unicef’s emergency supply centre, according to St James’ Palace.

The royal couple will visit the centre in Copenhagen – accompanied by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark – in a bid to maintain global awareness of food shortages in East Africa.

More than 13 million people are being affected by starvation, and more areas in Africa are set to be declared as ‘in famine’ over the next few months.

Over 320,000 children are currently suffering from severe acute malnutrition and are at risk of death.

The Unicef supply centre in Copenhagen co-ordinates the delivery of emergency supplies to children in need across the world, with nutritional treatments for malnourishment, vaccines, supplementary foods, water, and medical kits.

Elhadj As Sy, Unicef’s regional chief of Eastern and Southern Africa, told the Mirror: ‘Right now, Unicef, along with many other partners, is working tirelessly to ensure that children’s lives can be saved across East Africa.’

He applauded the public’s generosity, but added that there ‘is so much more to be done’.

If they have any leisure time set aside, the Duke and Duchess could enjoy some of Copenhagen’s top attractions, like the famous Little Mermaid statue, the beautiful Tivoli Gardens, Stroget (the world’s longest pedestrian shopping street), the majestic Rosenburg Castle, and the Round Tower – Europe’s oldest observatory.

Vacation Reviews

A total of six passenger planes have reported seeing a UFO near the town of Gagarin in western Russia.

One, a pilot on a commercial flight from London to Moscow, claimed to see a ‘burning object’ followed by a trail of smoke going at high speed over the town, which was named after Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.

Hundreds of miles away in SIberia, six red dots were reportedly seen an hour after the Gagarin ‘sightings’.

The Russian Defence Ministry denied any stray missiles or other military objects were in the vicinity of Gagarin at around 7.30pm local time last Thursday.

One eyewitness told The Sun: ‘Leaving a supermarket with my daughter, I saw six moving red dots in the sky.

‘First, it crossed the sky from west to east, then one flew separately, and the rest at some point stayed almost on the same spot.’

Vacation Reviews

A pair of brothers who were jailed over a Lapland-style theme park ‘con’ today had their convictions overturned – because one of the jurors had been texting her boyfriend during the trial.

Three judges at the Court of Appeal announced that they had ‘reached the conclusion that the convictions are unsafe’.

Victor Mears and Henry Mears, both from Brighton, were jailed for 13 months in March after being found guilty of conning thousands of holidaymakers at the Lapland New Forest attraction in 2008.

According to the Mirror, they were accused of misleading advertising after promising tourists ‘a winter wonderland with snow-covered log cabins, a nativity scene, husky dogs, polar bears and other animals, as well as a bustling Christmas market’.

But what disgruntled families actually found was a muddy field, a few fairy lights carelessly draped over trees and a broken ice rink.

The female juror on the trial was subsequently found to have been texting her boyfriend – who’d watched from the public gallery – frequently throughout the two-month trial, receiving one that said ‘guilty’.

Rossano Scamardella, counsel for Henry Mears, submitted that there was a ’13th juror’ and that ‘the jury retiring room can no longer be seen as sacrosanct, a pre-requisite for a fair trial’.

Their conviction appeals were allowed today by Mr Justice Butterfield, Mr Justice Irwin and Lord Justice Moore-Bick, who said that the full reasons for the court’s decision would be given at a later date.

Vacation Reviews