Australia's Top 10 Wine Tours

AUSTRALIA'S Top 10 wine tours, based on booking data from the past four seasons has been unveiled by TripAdvisor. The data, which dates back to 2015, has underlined some key trends in Australia’s contemporary wine-scene, including: Victoria is the country’s most popular state for a wine tour, with three entries in the Top 10.

But South Australia is home to Australia’s #1 most booked wine tour overall Queensland has emerged onto the wine-tour map for the first time, with the Mount Tamborine Wine and Winery Tour now amongst the top 10 booked tours in the country New South Wales.  Western Australia and Tasmania are also represented With over 140,000 bookable tours and activities around the world on TripAdvisor Experiences, it’s a one-stop destination for planning all of your travel activities. From traditional sightseeing to food and wine tours, day trips, and local experiences, travellers can find it all on TripAdvisor Experiences. 

Top 10 Australian bookable winery tours for 2018: 

1.   Small-Group Barossa Valley Food and Wine Tour, South Australia 

2.   Mount Tamborine Wine and Winery Tour from Brisbane or the Gold Coast,          Queensland

3.   Swan Valley River Cruise and Wine Tasting Day Trip from Perth, Western 

      Australia 

4.   Moorilla Estate Winery Tour Including Wine Tasting, Lunch and Mona 

      Admission, Tasmania 

5.   Gourmet Vineyard Lunch and Yarra Valley Winery Tour from Melbourne, 

      Victoria 

6.   Small-Group Hunter Valley Wine and Cheese Tasting Tour from Sydney, 

      New South Wales 

7.   Barossa Valley Wineries Tour with Tastings from Adelaide, South Australia 

8.   Yarra Valley Wineries and Puffing Billy Steam Train Tour from Melbourne, 

      Victoria 

9.   Hunter Valley Gatherer’s Full-Day Food and Wine Tour, New South Wales 

10. Experience Yarra Valley: Beer, Cider, Wine and Food from Melbourne, 

      Victoria 

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Most Excellent!

TRIPADVISOR has announced the “Most Excellent” hotel chains that have the highest percentage of TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence recipients globally. Now in its eighth year, the Certificate of Excellence is given to accommodations, as well as other travel businesses, that deliver great service and consistently achieve high traveller reviews on TripAdvisor. 

A number of hotel chains based in Asia Pacific were also recognised as the “Most Excellent” hotel chains globally. The Indian Hotels Company (Taj and Vivanta) and Shangri-La Group came in #3 and #5 respectively under the medium chains category, whereas The Oberoi Group, Aman Group, Pan Pacific Hotels Group and Rosewood Hotels & Resorts made up the top 10 in the small chains category.

Global “Most Excellent” Large Hotel Chains

1.   Preferred Hotels & Resorts  

2.   Hyatt Hotels Corporation 

3.   Hilton Worldwide Holdings 

4.   Premier Inn 

5.   Marriott International 

6.   Best Western International 

7.   Radisson Hotel Group 

8.   La Quinta Holdings 

9.   InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 

10. Travelodge Hotels Limited (UK)

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Joburg makes TripAdvisors list of Top 10 Destinations in Africa

JOHANNESBURG has made TripAdvisor’s top ten list in the Travelers’ Choice Awards for Best Destinations in Africa.

Joburg’s 2018 TripAdvisor citation reads as follows: “#Johannesburg is the place to go to mix big-city culture, shopping, dining and nightlife with outdoor adventures, up-close wildlife encounters and visits to historical sites. Explore caves and nature reserves, or visit a traditional village by day, then enjoy dinner at a hip café or five-star restaurant. And if you’re a shopper, bring an extra, empty suitcase. With malls, open air markets and places that blend the two, you’ll find plenty of unique souvenirs.”


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Award for Channel Islands Harbour

CHANNEL Islands Harbor has been awarded a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, the Ventura County Harbor Department announced.

As the first recreational harbor in Ventura County, Channel Islands Harbor has become one of the largest in #California. It now includes over 300 acres of land and water, but the initial development included only a small portion of the current harbor area. 

Additional construction took place over the years, with eight marinas comprising over 2200 boat slips, two hotels, two yacht club buildings, two boat yards, three shopping areas, restaurants, a Maritime Museum, over 100 condominiums and 485 apartments. 

www.channelislandsharbor.org

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Certificate of Excellence for Millennium Airport Hotel Dubai

MILLENNIUM Airport Hotel Dubai and three of its restaurants – Da Vinci’s, Cactus Jacks and Biggles Pub – have been awarded with TripAdvisor 2018 Certificate of Excellence. 

 Biggles has been Dubai’s favourite British pub for over 20 years, known for its excellent food and live entertainment. This award winning British bar decorated in WWII aviation-themed memorabilia is not only an ideal venue for night entertainment but also a sports pub with 17 screens for ultimate viewing of your favourite sport.

Equally successful is Da Vinci’s that opened in 1989 and was the 3rd Italian restaurant in Dubai. Since then, the outlet flourished quickly picking up numerous culinary awards, including ‘Dubai’s Favourite Italian Restaurant’.

Cactus Jacks is one of the most popular Latino restaurants in Dubai serving Latino food and late night “fiestas” daily. The outlet is known for its famous frozen margaritas and mojitos. The outlet has been awarded as well as Best Mexican Restaurant last year.

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Top 10 global experiences

TRIPADVISOR, the travel planning and booking site, today announced the winners of its first-ever Travelers' Choice awards for Experiences. The awards recognize 345 experiences, tours, and activities globally, highlighting the world's best experiences overall. They're also broken down by country, and by category including day cruises, cultural experiences, day trips, multi-day tours, hop-on hop-off tours, and food, beer, and wine experiences.

Top 10 Experiences in the World:

• Cooking Class and Lunch at a Tuscan Farmhouse with Local Market Tour from Florence – Florence, Italy
• Berlin Bike Tour – Berlin, Germany
• New York in One Day Guided Sightseeing Tour – New York City, New York
• Sydney BridgeClimb – Sydney, Australia
• Vatican VIP Experience: Exclusive Breakfast at the Vatican with Early Access to Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel – Rome, Italy
• New Orleans Cooking Class – New Orleans, Louisiana
• Rotorua Maori Hangi Dinner and Performance – Rotorua, New Zealand
• Best of Niagara Falls Tour from Niagara Falls, Ontario – Niagara Falls, Canada
• Vancouver to Victoria and Butchart Gardens Tour by Bus – Vancouver, Canada
• Wild Wicklow Tour including Glendalough from Dublin – Dublin, Ireland

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A tour of the Vatican before sunrise

FOR the first time, travellers can experience the Vatican – the most-booked attraction on TripAdvisor – in quiet solitude, before sunrise, and before it opens to the public. The #Vatican is famously popular, with travellers waiting up to 4 hours during peak season. 

TripAdvisor, the world’s largest provider of bookable experiences, is giving travellers a look at its new ‘Waking up the Vatican’ tour. The tour is available now and allows a small number of travellers to join the ‘Clavigero’, the Vatican key holder, as he unlocks the doors to the Sistine Chapel, Raphael’s rooms, the Galleries, and more, hours before these iconic sites open to the public.

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Top 10 digital detox destinations

WELLNESS tourism is a growing trend where travelers are seeking health and spirituality on their trips. According to the Global Wellness Institute, international and domestic wellness tourism accounted for $563 billion in 2015, up 14 percent from 2013, and is expected to grow to $808 billion by 2020. The trend continues, with 25 percent of travelers saying they plan to take a wellness trip in the next 12 months, according to a recent poll of TripAdvisor's global Facebook community.

Top 10 Global Destinations for a Digital Detox:

1   Bali, Indonesia
2   Rishikesh, India
3   Sedona, Arizona, U.S.
4   Hepburn Springs, Australia
5   Ko Samui, Thailand
6   Costa Rica
7   Goa, India
8   Zermatt, Switzerland
9   Maldives
10 Ibiza, Spain

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Top Tower

THE Tower of London has been named as the best-rated landmark in the UK in the Travellers’ Choice TM awards for Landmarks, announced by the travel planning and booking site, TripAdvisor. 

The UNESCO World Heritage Site and home of the Crown Jewels, beat out last year’s winner, Big Ben, to claim the top spot. The historic London landmark has also been named the ninth best-rated landmark in Europe and jumped to 15th in the world – despite not making the world’s top 25 list, last year.

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Road Trippin on Route 66

AS families are revving up for the summer travel season, Lipton, the iconic tea brand, is collaborating with TripAdvisor, to share "2018's Route 66 Road Trip Gems" – a list of must-experience attractions for families to check out this summer along one of America's most historical highways.

Lipton worked with TripAdvisor and its database of more than 600 million traveler reviews and opinions, to curate a list of the route's most notable spots for vacationers of all ages. Tapping into the beauty of the road trip by focusing not on the end destination but the actual journey itself, the list of stops includes fan-favorite diners, the best places for grab 'n go snacks, and the perfect locations to snap a roadside selfie.

Visit LiptonRoadTrip.com to check out the list of must-see summer road trip destinations, tips for planning your ultimate road trip 

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Up in the air . . .

ETHIOPIAN Airlines, the largest airline group in Africa and SKYTRAX certified Four Star Global Airline, is proud to announce that it has been recognized by TripAdvisor, one of the largest and most reputed global travel sites, as “The Best Business Class in Africa and Indian Ocean”.

TripAdvisor has evaluated the world’s top carriers based on reviews and ratings gathered from travelers worldwide over a 12-month period and recognized Ethiopian for its outstanding service, as well as the quality and value in its service delivery. 

Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the fastest growing Airline in Africa. In its seventy plus years of operation, Ethiopian has become one of the continent’s leading carriers, unrivalled in efficiency and operational success.

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Qantas, Australia’s best airline

TripAdvisor, the travel planning and booking site, has announced the winners of its Travellers’ Choice awards for airlines, identifying travellers’ favourite carriers around the globe. 

Qantas was recognised as the best airline in Australia whilst Air New Zealand emerged as the best airline in the South Pacific. Singapore Airlines was named the number one airline in the world.


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Take a Tryp to Brisbane

TRYP Fortitude Valley Hotel, #Brisbane has recently been rated among the city’s best in the recently announced 2017 Booking.com Guest Review Awards. Featuring striking original murals and artworks by acclaimed artists Beastman, Rone, Numskull and Fintan Magee, the 65-room boutique hotel notched an average review score of 9.3 out of 10 based on customer feedback.

Nestled amid the city’s vibrant cultural precinct, close to iconic bars, restaurants, galleries and other attractions, the hotel’s stylish and well-appointed rooms are adorned with street art and boast coffee pod machines, interactive Lifestyle panel televisions and complimentary Wi-Fi.

TRYP Fortitude Valley has received numerous accolades, including nods to its architecture and interior design from the Australian Institute of Architects, as well as TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence and Travellers’ Choice Award in 2017. 

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Down by the watering hole

THE Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge in Tsavo National Park has been recognized as one of Kenya’s top 10 Hotels by the US Travel Website TripAdvisor. 

Kilaguni emerged 7th out of 10 overall and this is a testament to Serena Hotel’s commitment in providing exceptional guest experiences, quality products and services across all our properties in the region.

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3rd Best Hotel for families in the UAE

THE Coral Beach Resort Sharjah won the 3rd place among the top 10 hotels for families in UAE by TripAdvisor. The award falls under the “Traveler’s Choice Awards” carried by the leading travel and tourism platform for the year 2018.

The Coral Beach Resort Sharjah recently underwent a complete refurbishment of rooms and facilities that has given it a brand new appeal. The deluxe resort is located on one of the emirate’s principal sand beaches and features a range of leisure activities for all ages, including the Rimal Club, state-of-the-art fitness center, children’s pool, indoor playroom and complimentary Kid’s Club as well as tennis (By Clark Francis Tennis Academy), badminton, volleyball and two outdoor swimming pools.

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Bournemouth rated best beach in UK

BOURNEMOUTH Beach in Dorset is named the best-rated beach in the UK in the Travellers’ Choice awards for Beaches, announced today by TripAdvisor, the site that helps you find the latest reviews and lowest prices.

Not just a favourite in the UK, #Bournemouth #beach also celebrates the title of fifth best-rated in Europe and 14th in the world, ranking above beaches in locations world famous for their miles of golden sands and crystal clear waters, including the Seychelles, Australia, Turkey and Sicily. 

Bournemouth’s seven mile stretch of sandy beach has something to offer everyone with its traditional seaside attractions, famous beach huts for hire, water sports and stunning views of the Isle of Wight and the Purbecks. The bay also boasts its own micro-climate, giving it some of the warmest sea temperatures in the UK.

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Maldives Magic

BAROS Maldives has been named the Top Luxury Hotel in the World 2018 by the world’s largest travel site, TripAdvisor, in their annual Travelers’ Choice Awards. The resort was also acclaimed as being among the Top 25 hotels in the world for service and for romance. In addition, Baros Maldives won several regional awards including Top for Romance in Maldives as well as the Top Luxury Hotel in Asia.

#Baros was one of the first island resorts in #Maldives which was opened in 1973, and continues to progress in setting the benchmark for a romantic, luxury holiday with genuine, heartfelt Maldivian hospitality.

This Maldivian-owned small, lushly landscaped, private tropical island of 75 overwater and beachside garden villas, some with pools, with white sand beaches and circled by a vibrant, colourful reef set in a turquoise lagoon, is just 25 minutes by speedboat from the Maldives International Airport.

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Three Centara resorts are the best hotels for families

TRIPADVISOR has just released its prestigious Traveler’s Choice Awards for their users’ favourite #hotels. In the #family category, Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort in Pattaya was ranked number 1 in #Thailand. Centara Grand Beach Resort in Phuket was number 4 and Centara Karon Beach Resort, also in Phuket, was number 7.

This year marks the third time Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort has won TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice award for family-friendly accommodations. Other Centara resorts in Thailand have received the recognition from TripAdvisor users each year since 2014. Centara was also recently listed among Smart Travel Asia’s Hot 25 Family Hotels.

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Winning Formula for Hotel Cheval

HOTEL Cheval, California has announced it has been recognized as the overall winner in the Top 25 Small Hotels in the United States category of the 2018 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice awards for Hotels, ranking first out of 25.

This year, the awards celebrate hotel winners in 10 categories. The hallmarks of Travelers’ Choice hotels winners are remarkable service, value and quality. 

2018 Awards won by Hotel Cheval include: #1 Small Hotel in the United States #8 Small Hotel in the World #8 Romance Hotel in the United States


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Ishigaki: Destination on the Rise

JAPAN'S Ishigaki is today revealed as the top trending #destination in the world for 2018 in the sixth annual Travellers’ Choice awards for Destinations on the Rise announced by TripAdvisor, the site that helps you find the latest reviews and lowest prices. #Ishigaki, an island in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture is home to a varied landscape including sandy beaches, rare coral, mountains and mangrove forests.

Ishigaki in Japanese, means “stone wall”. Contrary to its name, Ishigaki is an island in Okinawa and is therefore surrounded by water. Home to sandy beaches and coral reefs, the destination is a popular diving spot. Also great for food lovers, Ishigaki is known for its soba noodles - called Yaeyama soba - made of flour instead of the more traditional buckwheat.

Average annual Ishigaki hotel price, £114 per night and the most highly-rated value hotel ART Hotel Ishigaki – Low TripAdvisor pricing from £87 per night in June.

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