Perfect weather draws many to the Bahamas every year. Warm, sunny days and cooler nights make this a tropical paradise. When in the Bahamas, most tourists will spend time in Freeport or Nassau taking in the scenery. There is plenty to see and do, but you must make time in your schedule to hit on five must-see island attractions. Tourists are well aware of some of these activities but others are lesser known and worth the time. Visit The Abaco Wild Horse Preserve
Near Treasure Cay, the Abaco Wild Horse Preserve is an intriguing destination. This island refuge houses descendants of horses brought to the area by Christopher Columbus’ crew. The horses are believed to be the purest strain of Spanish Barbs in existence. The Bahamian government protects the endangered species, but tourists can call ahead for a private tour of the island.

Arawak Cay - Seafood Attraction
Seafood lovers need to visit Arawak Cay in Nassau. The area is home to the island’s best seafood restaurants. Conch, shrimp, and lobster are cooked to perfection in the traditional Bahamian style with fresh lime juice and spicy chili peppers.

Fort Charlotte History Tour
Across the street, another key attraction awaits visitors. Fort Charlotte dates back to the 1780s and has hidden passageways, cannons, a large moat, and dungeons can be explored. Anyone wanting to see the Bahamian military history should hit this attraction. Fort Charlotte requires a small entry fee of $5 for adults, $3 for seniors, and $2 for children under 12.

Lucayan National Park
Tourists often overlook Lucayan National Park. The forty-acre park houses the world’s biggest underwater limestone cave system that is accessible to experienced divers, though some sections are found on shore. Hiking trails wind through the pine forests leading to a boardwalk crossing the tidal creek where Gold Rock Beach is located. Gold Rock Beach is quieter and perfect for those looking for seashells and a quiet place to enjoy the sun and saltwater.

Port Lucaya Marketplace
Port Lucaya Marketplace is a 12-acre shopping complex in Freeport. More than sixty shops, one dozen restaurants, 90 vendors, two dozen artists, and even hair braiders set up shop at this elaborate shopping center. Tourists can find incredible bargains on handcrafted jewelry, artworks, and memorabilia from the Bahamas.

This is only a handful of the attractions found in all the Bahamas. With eleven islands waiting to be explored, tourists need not worry that they will run out of things to do. Many beaches, restaurants, shops, casinos, and historical monuments are awaiting visitors of all ages.

The rise of celebrity chef culture has produced some remarkable results in the food and restaurant world over the past decade. Some good, many bad. With the limelight squarely on star chefs to produce stellar results with each new venture, standards have gone up. And so has the bar to impress.

That pressure and the inherent scrutiny from the food press and public is felt more intensely at luxury hotels than the usual chef estalishments. More and more, hotel executives are coughing up major dough to lure the biggest names in the restaurant world to their lavish confines. In many instances, the restaurants, as well as the chef names associated with them, have become as big a draw as the hotels themselves.

The benefits of chef star power are many and for some hotels, the rewards far outweigh the risk and high investment costs. Whether they want to revamp a drab reputation, augment food and beverage sales in the long-term or draw in a sophisticated foodie crowd and use the restaurant as a loss leader, luxury hotels have jumped on the star chef bandwagon with gusto. With that in mind, here are the best hotel restaurants in the world.

Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s, London, England

The brash blond bulldog known as Gordon Ramsay has become a mega-industry in the past ten years, with restaurants, television shows in the UK and the United States, cookbooks and an assortment of products that bear his stamp of approval. His ascent to the top of the celebrity chef summit is a testament to his work ethic and charm but in all the hype of his persona, people tend to forget that the man can really cook. His tutelage under Marco Pierre White and in France laid the foundation for one of the most successful careers in the history of chefdom. Ramsay simply knows the game better than anyone and has the formula for successful restaurant concepts, from the kitchen to service, down pat. His restaurant at the posh Claridge’s Hotel London is no exception. To quote Ramsay himself, “it’s the best address in London.”

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When you feel you need to get away from the stress of city life and a common vacation on the beach won’t do the trick, it’s time to get back to the basics. For many of us, this means a trip to a remote village, with delicious foods, spectacular scenery and some fun rides you can’t find anywhere else. For your next holidays, we have rounded up a list with the 10 most intriguing and fascination rural destinations this year.

7. Austria has been a year-round destination for winter sports, but there are some objectives that remain undiscovered for many. Described as a place where baroque is expressed through architecture, music and art, Austria is the place that always has something new. There are plenty of wineries with tasting room for their visitors, even wine museums for your viewing pleasure. In Krems you can find centuries-old monasteries, ancient roof tops and medieval architecture. The castle ruins in Dürnstein are worth seeing if you want to see where Richard the Lionhearted was locked up. These are just few of the attractions that wait for you.

6. Florina, West Macedonia, the place “where Greece begins”, is not usually mentioned in the booklets you receive from your travel agency. Florina remained a small town for centuries until it bloomed in the 20th century, becoming an active merchant community and gate for Central Europe. Florina is explored nowadays by tourists for the beautiful Prespes lakes or the unspoiled mountainous landscape. There is also a museum where you can see some interesting pieces from the Neolithic, Iron and Bronze ages, Roman statues and Byzantine art.

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Spending a vacation in the resort town of Myrtle Beach in the Horry County in South Carolina is a sure way to have fun while getting over with a much needed break or getaway. There are numerous beaches that dot the area. Because it is flocked by tourists, there is no wonder that there are of course many Myrtle Beach house rentals and other accommodations that are in active operations

According to the town’s tourist data analysts, most of the regular visitors who take vacations in the beaches come from North Carolina, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Georgia. Take note that these origins are almost close and are adjacent to the borders of South Carolina. Offshore vacationers come as far as Canada and England.

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