The 9 best water park hotels for your next holiday

SEE PHOTOS: The team from Trivago have put together some of the best hotels with fabulous water park facilities from around the world for your next fun-focused holiday Hotel water parks have grown in popularity in recent years, allowing guests to enjoy all the thrills and amusement of a water park without leaving the comfort and security of their hotel and accomodation comparison website www.trivago.sg has selected nine hotels from around the world boasting the best water slides onsite. Ideal for children and adults alike, these water slides boast picturesque views over beaches and oceans and even through aquariums full of sharks, rays and other marine life. From Bali to Hawaii, speed down a reconstructed Mayan temple or...

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Negombo completes the Sri Lankan experience

Negombo completes the Sri Lankan experience (Photos: Anwesha Mittra) The cobalt blue of the sea in the travel magazine I held matched exactly with that of the one below us as our flight edged over the vast Indian Ocean past a meandering coastline stretching like a long white ribbon, towards the tropical paradise of Sri Lanka. After bobbing in and out of large puffs of clouds we finally touched down at Bandaranaike International Airport, eager to begin our 'honeymoon', eager to get an eyeful of the sea. Sri Lanka, it was decided a month prior to our wedding for its idyllic beaches and bias for good food, and my bias for the sun and sand. As we made our way to the exit gate post a swift customs clearance, I made another...

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What's the Deal? The week's best travel bargains around the globe

LAND Ski Salt Lake is offering hotel discounts of up to 30 percent off and free-night deals at Alta, Brighton, Snowbird and Solitude resorts in Utah. For example, Snowbird has a Ski Free and Stay 5th Night Free offer through April 2: Pay for four nights and stay the fifth night free, plus get two free lift tickets for each night's stay (normally $74 for each ticket). With the deal, a Feb. 18-23 stay at the Cliff Lodge, with lift tickets for two people, would cost $1,813 (normally $2,809), including all taxes - a 35 percent savings (Snowbird reservations: 800-354-6092). Book by March 15. Info: 801-534-4900. The Caribbean island of Barbados has discounts on hotel stays, attractions, shopping and dining. With the Take Me to Barbados package, get a fifth hotel night free (two nights free on...

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2013's best Oscar-inspired destinations

Can't get enough of Les Mis or Lincoln? Then these are Oscar-inspired travel stops that you must visit Philadelphia, Washington DC and Paris are expected to reap the benefits of playing supporting roles to some of this year’s Oscar-nominated films, as they welcome tourists whose visits are inspired by their favorite movie. In advance of the biggest televised red carpet event of the year on Sunday, Hotels.com picked the trio of cities as the season’s best “destination-centric” movie sites. The online reservations site predicts interest in Philadelphia, the setting for Silver Linings Playbook, Lincoln's Washington DC, and Paris for Les Misérables, will experience a spike in interest. The 2012 film adaptation of Les Misérables...

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What's the biggest pet peeve among air travellers?

Uncomfortable seats and limited legroom are the top complaints when it comes to air travel Uncomfortable seats and sky-high airline fees are among the top complaints among air travel passengers, according to the results of a consumer survey. In TripAdvisor’s annual air travel poll, in addition to limited legroom and exorbitant ticket prices, 2,000 respondents in the US also named unpredictable flight delays, long security lines and “other passengers” -- notably loud, crying children -- the top five pet peeves about air travel. The survey also found that more US passengers will be flying the global skies this year, with 67 percent of respondents indicating they plan to take an international flight this year, compared to...

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Bali holiday cheaper than camping in some national parks

IT'S cheaper for families to holiday at a resort in Bali over summer than to camp at the beach. Soaring fees are pricing the traditional beach camping holiday out of the reach of ordinary families and one NSW National Park is charging a group of family campers nearly $6000 for a two-week stay in January. The Booderee National Park at Jervis Bay on the NSW South Coast is charging $81 per night for a family of two parents and two children at group camp sites. A change in the way site fees are charged has seen the price almost double in the past 12 months. Privately-owned campsites at popular holiday spot Bateman's Bay are charging $86 per night for powered tent sites. Scott Minniece and his Melbourne family...

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Mexico's popularity with travellers on the rise

The sun may have set on the Mayan calendar but Mexico's popularity is on the rise. According to 2012 third-quarter results, travel to Mexico on Expedia group sites worldwide grew more than 20% compared to 2011, with Cancun being the country's top destination. Popular with both Expedia and Hotels.com consumers, the majority of international visitors come from the United States, Canada and Brazil. While travellers are initially lured by the area's pristine beaches and water activities, the Cancun Convention and Visitors Bureau says more are exploring the region's culture and gastronomy, and venturing to nearby islands -- Holbox, Isla Mujeres, Contoy, Cozumel. The CVB says other factors such as easy...

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Isolated Bhutan a land of myth and mystery

Whoever coined the term "Getting there is half the fun" must have been a passenger on Drukair Flight 401 from Kathmandu to Paro. The flight takes barely an hour but the scenery will stay with me the rest of my life. The word "scenery" is a gross understatement, really -- looking to the north from my left-side window seat, a vast panorama unfolds a few hundred metres below. By the time we land in Bhutan, we've seen five of the six highest peaks on Earth, including the tallest of them all, Mount Everest. With such formidable obstacles blocking the route to its only international airport, it's no wonder the Kingdom of Bhutan has remained one of the most isolated and mysterious nations on the...

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