Think back to 1989. The Berlin Wall has just fallen. The television shows LA Law, Cheers and Murphy Brown clean up at the Emmy Awards. George Michael’s Faith is the album of the year. And Hampton Hotels launches its “100% Satisfaction Guarantee.”

Yes, 1989 was a banner year.

Fast-forward 20 years. There are many anniversaries to celebrate in 2009, but the one we’re focused on is Hampton Hotel’s 100% Satisfaction Guarantee (not 100% satisfied? then you do not pay). Why? Because in honor of the 20th anniversary of Hampton’s guarantee, Viator and Hampton have joined together to give away 20 free nights at any Hampton Hotel plus a $200 gift certificate at Viator.com!!

Hampton's 100% Satisfaction Guarantee: Not satisfied? Then you don't pay

Yes! The winner of our contest stays for 20 nights - free! - at any Hampton hotel. You’ll have 1,700+ locations to chose from… Manhattan to New Orleans, San Francisco to San Antonio, Puerto Rico to Mexico to Canada and beyond!. And you’ll receive a $200 Viator.com gift certificate.

How to enter

What’s the catch? There isn’t one!! All you need to do is answer one simple question:

What do YOU wish in life came with a 100% guarantee?

Leave your answer as a comment below. We will select the best answer to the question “What do YOU wish in life came with a 100% guarantee?” by November 5, and post the winning response below. That’s it. That’s all it takes to win 20 free hotel nights and a Viator.com gift certificate!!

Contest rules: The fine print

• The deadline for submissions is November 3, 2009. Winners will be announced by November 5, 2009.
• To enter the contest, simply leave a comment below answering the question:”What do YOU wish in life came with a 100% guarantee?”
• Viator will select a winner based on who they feel best answers the question above.
• You may enter the contest as often as you like, as long as you supply a different answer with each entry.
• The winner will receive a Hampton Hotels certificate entitling them to stay for 20 nights, free, at any Hampton Hotels location, subject to normal availability. The certificate is valid for 12 months from the date of issue. All hotel nights must be used within 12 months. The certificate has no cash value and cannot be exchanged or refunded.
• The winner will receive a USD$200 Viator.com gift certificate, valid for two years from the date of issue or as required by local law. Viator gift certificates are not redeemable for cash.
• Viator, Hampton Hotel, and Hilton Inc. employees, contractors and their families are not eligible to win this contest - don’t even think about it!

Good luck, and congratulations Hampton Hotels for 20 years of awesome customer service!

-Viator Travel Team

Yes, you read right - we’re giving away two free tickets on a San Francisco helicopter tour and two free tickets on a behind-the-scenes platinum tour of the California Academy of Sciences. No tricks, no funny stuff - we’re giving all of this away with no questions asked.

Well, that’s not quite true. We are asking everybody who enters the contest one simple question:

We want to know - in 10 words or less - why we should give YOU these free tickets. To enter our San Francisco giveaway you must tell us (in 10 words or less) why we should we send you on a SF helicopter tour and behind-the-scenes at the California Academy of Sciences. Leave your 10-word reply as a comment and we’ll select a winner by October 30.

SF Helicopter Tour? Yes!

Win 2 free tickets on a SF Buena Vista Helicopter Tour...

Some people don’t get too excited about helicopter tours. Fair enough, but this isn’t your typical helicopter tour. This is a tour of San Francisco, after all, which means you go under the Golden Gate Bridge at about 120mph, swooping down and around Alcatraz Island on a stunning aerial view of the city. It’s pretty amazing stuff (click here to read Scott’s review of his SF helicopter tour).

Oh, and did we mention it’s FREE!!! The winner of our contest wins 2 free tickets on an San Francisco Vista Grande helicopter tour.

California Academy of Sciences? Yes!

...and 2 free tickets on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Academy of Sciences

But wait! There’s more. We’re also giving away 2 free tickets on a behind-the-scenes platinum tour of the California Academy of Sciences. It’s the only place on the planet with an aquarium, planetarium, natural history museum and four-story rain forest all under one roof! The Platinum Tour is the ultimate behind-the-scenes experience at the Academy, and you’ll get special access to staff-only areas, interaction with Academy researchers and a private viewing of some of the Academy’s secured collections including the aquarium.

A perfect weekend in San Francisco, in 10 words or less!

OK, just to repeat, all you need to do is tell us, in 10 words or less, why we should give you 2 free tickets on a SF Buena Vista Helicopter Tour and 2 free tickets on a Platinum Tour of the California Academy of Sciences. The tickets are valid for 6 months from the time we issue them. There are no blackout dates, though availability is subject to normal restrictions by our local suppliers

Not to get all legal on you, but here’s some additional fine print: It’s your responsibility to get yourself to San Francisco. We’re simply providing 2 free tickets on a SF helicopter tour and 2 free tickets on a Platinum Tour of the California Academy of Sciences. Any hotel, train, plane, or other expenses are solely your responsibility.

Good luck in the contest. Happy travels and enjoy San Francisco!

-Viator Travel Team

15 tips for staying sane, and having a blast, with kids

And of course I remember hundreds of long trips by car, plane, and train growing up with my family. I’ve managed to learn a few things along the way:

#1. Slow… down…

Young children operate on a time scale of their own. They like to explore, to linger, to tinker. Holidays are an excellent time to slow down your own pace—which, let’s face it, is probably a little dysfunctional anyway.

Even fast-moving older tweens and teens might want to take their time at certain stops. Give them some room to, say, flatiron their hair in a rest stop that happens to contain an electrical outlet, or pore over the Wii aisle when you stop to buy batteries. Instead of waiting in the car or standing there, tapping your foot, stretch out, walk around, and people-watch. Write in your journal, even if you’ve never kept a journal before. Slowing down is a gift to yourself, too.

#2. Make mixed itineraries

Approaching the decrepit age of 40, I realize that my travel style has changed over the years. A typical itinerary used to look something like this: “Ferry to Le Havre. Bring student pass; see where the trains go. Remember Rough Guide. Return in 2-3 weeks?” Or perhaps, “Dave coming to Dublin—hitchhike to County Donegal? Yeats?”

My haggard, middle-aged self gets a kick out of making itineraries and doing research, partly for my own amusement, and partly because even a loose itinerary can be fun and safe for family travel. I’m not sure I’d want a 7-year-old to sleep on the living room floor of a dodgy hostel-owner in Paris, like I did in my 20s. For specifics and destination suggestions, check out “Kids: Mixing Itineraries.”

#3. Plan ahead

Mom, the Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts were right after all: “Be Prepared” is a fabulous motto for travel in general. With kids, it’s even more essential. They sniff out stress like dogs sniffing out fire hydrants. If you forgot Band-Aids or underwear, it’ll affect them along with annoying you.

Especially if you’re new to traveling with younger humans, make a list of everything you want to bring. Check off each item as you pack it. Show the child how you’re planning, or let them help (”Barry the stuffed-talking banana should be on the list!” “OK! Let’s write that down.”). It’s harder to go minimal when packing for kids; it can be done, though, if you plan ahead and make it clear to everyone that you’re not bringing the entire house with you.

Here’s one I learned from my own parents, the hard way: Don’t freak out at the last minute while packing the car or rushing through the airport. Your child will absorb the idea that going on trips means last-minute craziness and people snapping at each other. Take… your… time. Plan ahead. Breathe.

#4. Be flexible

Say your little one notices billboards for Dinosaur Adventure along the road and really, really wants to go. Listen to her request. “If you’re good and don’t whine or complain for the rest of the day, we’ll go to Dinosaur Adventure,” might be an apt reply. You’re giving her a choice in the matter. You may have to weather a meltdown if she doesn’t follow the rules; you can get through it, limits and rules intact.

In general, allow kids to make at least one decision every day. When they say, “I want to see the giraffes!” or “Can we climb that tree?” or “Let’s go to Burgerville!”, go with it sometimes. Or offer them the choice: “We can have a campfire and marshmallows, if we get to the campground early enough, or we can stop at Burgerville right now.” Let them put on their own CD or playlist on the car stereo for a while, however much Rihanna might irritate you.

#5. Be in the moment

This classic piece of Buddhist and New Age advice happens to work. It goes hand-in-hand with slowing down, giving your child choices, and actually listening to her. It’s hard to do this fully in everyday life, which is part of why people take off on romantic getaways. Remind yourself why you’re on this trip: to be with your family or otherwise spend time with a special child. Turn off your cell phone. Be here now.

#6. Get into nature

Even if you’re an uncomfortable newbie at camping or hiking, bone up on how to do it, and give it a shot. You may want to start with group trips or guided tours into splendid nature parks. Kids, even video game addicts, have an innate ability to connect with sensory experience; joining them on that experience may open your own wonderment and sense of vision.

In everyday life, many of us don’t touch or smell anything non-manmade, except perhaps food. What does a handful of dirt and leaves smell like? What does the bark of a tree feel like? Go camping and find out. Learn from how your kid interacts with nature. If they’re shy or frightened, take the lead and be an example. Note: it’s OK to be ignorant. Little David doesn’t need to think you’re a professional botanist. If he asks the name of a flower and you don’t know it? Try “Huh, I don’t know,” as an answer.

#7. Use familiar home routines

Does Anya usually get a bedtime story? Does Ruby eat toast every morning? Bring some comforting everyday routines on the road with you, since so much of what you’re all experiencing is new and different. If you’re not the child’s parent or guardian, try to spend some time babysitting or visiting the family overnight to prepare yourself.

#8. Make expectations clear

Before you head out, establish guidelines with all your travel partners. Will stepdad want some time alone, wandering the city? Will mom want to go fishing by herself? Will any adults be not-present, to take work calls or bring their laptop to a café? Does David have to bring his homework? Try not to disappoint your children or yourselves.

If extended family or visiting friends join in your travels, mom and her girlfriend might sneak off for a day trip of short overnight hotel stay nearby—even just a nice dinner out while grandma hangs with the kids. Talk or email about this with the friends you’re staying with in Sydney, or the grandma who’s joining you in Rome, long before you head out the door.

#9. Develop traditions

These will probably evolve organically, but travel traditions can be pointed out to kids. Some examples: Normally, you can’t drink soda pop—except on an airplane. In everyday life, lights out at 9:00, but you can stay up reading with a flashlight while we’re camping. Normally, no fast food—but we’ll stop at Subway on our way to the train station.

#10. Document differently

Sometimes we’re so determined to document every adorable instant of our vacations and every kid’s cutely cavorting caper that we forget to actually experience those moments. Ask any media theorist or art critic: viewing life through a lens distances us from the living moment. So leave the cameras at the hotel for one day. Enjoy your time to the fullest; if you find yourself thinking, “Ohhh, I wish we had a camera,” keep the thought to yourself. Capture part of the trip (or the hike, or the Experience Music Project visit) on video, but not all of it. Kids are already accustomed to photographing and digitizing everything. Their lives are like one long performance. Let your vacation be a surprising break from endless, constant documentation. Be selective about when to bust out with the camera.

#11. Give a travel allowance

Even younger children who don’t normally get an allowance can benefit from a travel allowance. Start with a small daily allowance for postcards, gift shop goodies, vending machine gumballs, and any other amusing, useless stuff your kid is likely to clamor for on the trip. Older kids should get a larger sum to dole out over the course of a week.

This not only reduces the amount of time you’ll spend debating the merits of a Space Needle alarm clock or a Maui T-shirt, but teaches kids about the value of money, the necessity of prioritizing one purchase over another, and maybe even how to save money over periods of time. (Note: this method will cease to be educational if you loan money against future birthday gifts, or if the kids spend their dough immediately and you give into their whining for more knickknacks.)

#12. Play musical chairs

Do you always sit in the front seat, child in back, your partner driving? Mix it up a little. Squish in the back seat with your kids for an hour; have your partner do the same while you drive. Trade seats on the plane or train. Especially if you’re traveling solo with the child, plan time for extra stops during long car trips; have milkshakes and play a round of Uno at a diner, or play tag on a rest-stop lawn.

#13. Take care of yourself

You need a vacation, too. You need to sleep. You need to eat well. You may need to chill out and stare at a wall. Do these things. Arrange in advance for your partner or other adult travelers to help you do this. If it’s just you and the kids, plan in advance for at least one activity that the kids will do without you: horseback riding classes, a ski class, or a trustworthy day care at the hotel. As we know from Chevy Chase movies and “Little Miss Sunshine,” shoving a family into a small space 24 hours a day isn’t always entertaining or even tolerable.

#14. Work in individual quality time

QT with each parent or adult, separately from the others, makes for special memories. Take a look at any imbalances in parenting, if you are a parent: who spends the most time with Zoe? Who’s usually stuck in the role of disciplinarian? Use this opportunity to break up the routine.

Consider establishing some of this at the beginning of the trip. “So, David, you’re going to spend some time with your dad while I get some alone time,” lets him know what to expect. Whether you’re taking your nephew on an overnight hike or your stepson on a two-week family vacation, be especially sensitive around step-parenting, divorce, and blended families.

Even completely separate trips can be magical. I’ll never forget the week my dad and I spent rafting the Rogue River, just the two of us. Deepening family ties doesn’t mean you have to travel ensemble 100% of the time.

#15. Foster an adventurous spirit

Tired? Timid? Try to stretch your imagination—without making too much of a fuss over it. Your kids will learn by watching you eat strange foods, work with unforeseen circumstances, or stop the car for an unplanned hike to a waterfall.

Find one thing that no one in your family has done before, and do it. Nearly everything is new to kids; shouldn’t we get on their level and learn something, too? Hopefully your ideas will come from your kids’ latest obsession or impulse (”Hey! Can we build a Snow Mummy?”). Or you could:

• Flyfish or deep-sea fish with a guide
• Ride on the Zipper at a roadside carnival
• Fry an egg on the hood of your car in the desert
• Take a short factory tour of some weird local business (just follow the billboards)
• Forage for wild mushrooms with a class or guide
• Ski, snowboard, surf, skate, snowshoe, wind surf
• Pet the goats at a creamery and sample the chèvre
• Find a new swimming hole with a rope swing
• Make mud angels, instead of snow angels
• Take tombstone rubbings in a pioneer cemetery
• Go rafting, inner tubing, sledding, horseback riding

-Tiffany Lee Brown

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s things to do with kids, from New York City to Orlando to Los Angeles to San Franciso to London to Paris… and dozens of destinations in between.

For those of you anxiously awaiting this next installment of wonder-inspiring, off-the-beaten-path places that don’t make it into traditional guidebooks. This week’s Atlas Obscura theme is self-built temples (in Italy), castles (in the U.S.) and cathedrals (in Spain)!

Temple of Damanhur, Italy

Detail of a stained-glass windown at Temple of Damanhur

The Temple of Damanhur has come to be known as the Eighth Wonder of the World. Beneath a suburban house in northern Italy lies a massive underground temple built entirely in secret by a group of non-architects, working around the clock for 15 years.

Dug out of the rock without building or excavation plans, the Temple of Damanhur is a massive underground temple winding for “over 8,500 cubic metres on five different levels, connected to one another by hundreds of metres of corridor.”

And somewhat unbelievably, its creation was all overseen by a middle-aged, former insurance broker…

Bishop’s Castle, Colorado USA

They say a man’s house is his castle, and for Jim Bishop, this couldn’t be more true. A frontier spirit, when Jim decided it was time for him and his wife to get a house, he figured he would build it himself. What started as a one-room stone cottage in Colorado would soon grow to astounding proportions: Bishop’s Castle may be the largest one-man architecture project in the world.

Bishop's Castle, Colorado

Today, Bishop’s Castle reaches over 16 stories high, has three large cathedral windows, wrought-iron walkways and a steel fire-breathing dragon. Jim Bishop is 63 and is still building. It is unlikely he will stop anytime soon.

Don Justo’s Self Built Cathedral

Don Justo in his self-built cathedral

Finally, the last of our self-built projects — though by no means the last of the self built projects, many more can be seen on the Atlas Outsider Architecture page — is a cathedral that can rival the great cathedrals of Rome, with one notable difference.

This one was built by a single, determined man.

It is, at its simplest, an ex-monk’s act of faith. After eight years in a Trappist order — and just prior to taking his vows — Don Justo Gallego Martinez was obliged to leave, considerably weakened by tuberculosis.

Out of the order but wanting to do right by God, Don Justo began laying the foundations of a great cathedral, without formal permission or permits and with his own hands on a plot of land bequeathed to him by his parents.

Today the frame of a large building, with a 40-meter-tall dome modeled on St. Peter’s in Rome, towers over the town of Mejorada del Campo, about 20km outside Madrid. Like the cathedrals of old, it will not reach completion during the lifetime of its 81-year-old architect.

What will happen to the building after Martinez’s death remains an open question. No one has yet stepped up to take over the project.

-The Atlas Obscura Team

Baltimore’s claim to fame is that Poe died here. He was found unconscious in the streets of Baltimore and admitted to the Washington College Hospital. He died on October 7, 1849, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Baltimore’s Old Westminster Graveyard.

Unmarked grave?! Now that’s something to celebrate, Baltimore! Very classy, burying one of America’s most famous authors of the macabre in an unmarked grave after he dies (of alcoholism? murder? disease?).

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary...

Edgar Allan Poe: Vigil, funeral service & more fun!

So how does modern Baltimore celebrate the author of The Fall of the House of Usher, The Murders in the Rue Morgue and the poem “The Raven”? With a midnight vigil and an open-casket funeral service, of course. But wait, there’s more! Addams Family actor and Baltimorean John Astin will help celebrate the demise of Poe, along with hundreds of expected mourners.

The body of Edgar Allan Poe will rest in an open casket during a public viewing on Wednesday, October 7th. The viewing will take place at his last residence on Amity Street in Baltimore, now the Poe House and Museum. In light of the event’s grandeur nature, the Poe House will remain open for 11 hours, from noon to 11pm, giving Poe fans due time to pay their respects. Admission is $5 at the door.

Following the open-casket homage, there’s a midnight candlelight vigil on Thursday, October 8, at the Poe Monument in the Westminster Graveyard. From midnight to 7am, you can present a personal tribute to the late Poe in verse, song or spoken word.

Finally, the funeral service! The City of Baltimore is giving Poe the send-off he never had on Sunday, October 11. An antique horse-drawn hearse, lead by a drum and fife marching band, will carry Poe’s body from his Amity Street home to his final resting place at the Westminster Hall for burial services. The service will include a number of notable speakers reflecting on the life of Poe, as well as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Baudelair, Rupert Holmes and more. Admission to the service is $35 in advance and $40 at the door (children under 10 not permitted).

Exploring Poe’s Baltimore

The Edgar Allan Poe Tell-Tale Tour of Baltimore (thru October 17) gives Poe lovers the chance to explore Poe’s Baltimore (brought to you by the Greater Baltimore History Alliance). Collect a Raven Trail Guide stamp from at least five of the attractions along the tour.

Also check out the free exhibit “Edgar Allan Poe: A Baltimore Icon” at the Baltimore Museum of Art, “Edgar Allan Poe: More Than a Poet” at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, and ghost tours in historic neighborhoods.

-Viator Travel Team

-Allan Ginsberg

With his first public reading of Howl on Fillmore Street in 1955, Allen Ginsberg brought the Beat Generation to life. He, Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassidy, Gary Snyder, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti left a mighty mark on The City By The Bay. And while the neighborhoods and temperament of San Francisco have changed in many ways, that rebellious, creative, do-it-yourself spirit is still very much alive.

Murals on the Womens Building, SF Mission District

Jack Kerouac Alley and Ferlinghetti’s venerable City Lights Bookstore are in North Beach, but to find the “angelheaded hipsters” of today’s San Francisco, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

Meet me in ‘The Mish’

A modern hipster’s weekend is mainly spent in one of the City’s sunniest and most colorful neighborhoods - The Mission District, named after the Spanish Mission San Francisco de Asis or Mission Dolores, the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco. But it’s Dolores Park, a few blocks away, that’s the heart of the hipster scene. It’s a perfect place to relax after a day of shopping, eating, and drinking your way through the rest of this diverse and lively area.

The bike - hipster vehicle of choice

But first things first—where to stay? If, in true hipster fashion, you’re on a tight budget and planning to spend most of your cash and time on the town, try Elements Hotel (you’ll have easy access to the only roof-deck bar in the City) or Hotel Tropicana. Both straddle the line between hotel and hostel but are actually IN the Mission, while most lodging is downtown.

As music is a key element to the culture, the Phoenix, known as the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel, is a perfect choice. An oasis in the gritty Tenderloin, The Phoenix is centrally located, boasts a rare pool, the swanky Bambuddha Lounge, and an appropriately cool celebrity guest list including hipster bands Bloc Party, The Killers, and The Shins.

Go by foot, or bike if you’re brave

Brenda’s French Soul Food around the corner is a cute little place to fuel up. Arrive early for a beignet and sweet tea or chicory coffee, then walk through Civic Center Plaza. Turn right on Grove to see the Opera House and Symphony Hall before continuing down Van Ness where you’ll turn right onto Market.

Head towards Flax Art and Design—a craft supply Mecca for the DIY culture that’s central to the hipster scene. Notice the stunning graffiti wall on the way, and once in the Mission watch for Clarion Alley, canvas to many of the city’s most infamous street artists. When you’ve had your fill of Flax, continue down market taking a left on Valencia.

Murals in Clarion Alley, SF

A block or so down you’ll find Zeitgeist, which means it’s time for a beer break. On sunny days the huge back yard gets crowded, but don’t be shy. If you’re lucky, The Tamale Lady will show up with her cooler full of cornmeal snacks—surely that beignet has burned off by now.

Walk three more blocks to the crossroads of the hipster’s Mission—16th and Valencia. If you don’t feel like walking all the way here, it’s an easy one-stop BART ride from Civic Center to 16th and Mission, and then just a block to Valencia. There are also many bike rental shops in the City, and in this neighborhood you might feel conspicuous without one.

The Mission’s liberal libations

Around the intersection you’ll see Pancho Villa, one of many taquerias competing for “best burrito,” as well as the sidewalk tables and blue façade of Ti Couz, a favorite creperie. Monk’s Kettle stands out as a little place with a big passion for craft beers and upscale pub grub. It’s a great place to start a mini crawl to several bars in the block between Valencia and Guerrero—Dalva, Delirium, Double Dutch, and Kilowatt.

Signs on Valencia Street

Keep walking down Valencia and you’ll pass Casanova Lounge on the left, with the quintessential sultry ladies painted on black velvet. It’s a good spot for a drink before and/or after tapas at Ramblas, a couple of doors down. You can also catch live music down the street at Elbo Room any night of the week.

Locals shop local

The shopping on Valencia is unique. You won’t find any chain stores here, as independent shops are supported with a vengeance. Each with two storefronts, Therapy is a go-to for cool clothing, accessories, and home décor, while Monument has an amazing collection of mid-century modern furniture. Density is a hip spot for shoes and clothing with an urban flair, and at 18th street, Self Edge, is THE place for denim.

There are many more shops and restaurants down Valencia past 18th, including Modern Times Bookstore collective, the “Pirate Supply Store” at 826 Valencia—a tutoring center founded by local literary luminary Dave Eggers, the unforgettable South Indian cuisine at Dosa, and of course, Valencia Cyclery.

Delightful Dolores Park

Bi Rite Market, honk if you love hipsters & good food

Walk up 18th street past the mural-covered Women’s Building, and chic Italian eateries, Farina, Tartine, and Delfina. Stop in Bi-Rite Market for some gourmet cheese, a loaf of artisan bread, an heirloom tomato, and a couple of cold microbrew beers. Or if you’re in the mood for something sweet, hit up the Bi-Rite Creamery across the street. Take your provisions the rest of the block up to Dolores Park.

By now the lawn will be full of picnickers in their finest vintage threads with their dogs and bikes. Walk diagonally across the park and up the hill for an amazing view of the city over the palm trees. You’ll be safe from the fog here all afternoon, so kick off your shoes and enjoy the people watching or take a nap.

Now that you’ve surveyed your options and gotten a feel for The Mission by day, you’re ready to discover San Francisco hipsterdom “in the machinery of night.”

-Sara Wood

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s tours & things to do in San Francisco.

All in all, a great evening.

Naive? Check. Narrow minded? Check.

Back at the hotel I Googled the restaurant to see what else I could learn about it, and was flabbergasted to read some of the nonsense that “reviewers” had posted after their own experiences there. Which got me to thinking: how often does a reviewer’s opinion have nothing to do with the establishment, and everything to do with the reviewer’s naivety, narrow-mindedness and lack of real-world experience?

Think before you complain (especially if you're American)

I started looking at reviews for some of the hotels and restaurants I’d enjoyed recently. And I got some pretty rude shocks. Hotels where I’d found everything to my liking were roundly derided as having poor service and lax standards, while my favoured restaurants were often seen as being second-rate.

Digging a little deeper, I found the problem was most evident in those cases where US-based reviewers had opined on international establishments. I found myself generally agreeing with the collective wisdom of Brits, Aussies and other domestic-market travellers, but was often sharply at odds with US reviews of my favourites in Europe and Asia.

Americans - stupid, ignorant and mean?

As I read more and more of these negative reviews I saw a pattern emerge. Now, you’d better brace yourself for some pretty outlandish statements coming up here; and none of them supported by any detailed research or opinion polling or any of that scientific stuff. But you decide. Here’s a summary of my thesis:

• Of all the major western, developed nations, America stands out as having a population that, in comparison to others, doesn’t really travel overseas that much
• Having said that, Americans love to share their travel experiences, filling sites like Viator, TripAdvisor, IgoUgo and others with literally millions of opinions about everything
• These two ingredients often combine into a potent mix that oozes stupidity, ignorance and, sad to say, mean-spiritedness

Here’s what I mean. A reviewer who says of a Moscow restaurant that “the servers were surly and unfriendly” clearly doesn’t realise that in Moscow the brusque manner of people in customer-facing roles is not seen as a negative by the locals; far from it, in fact. They would describe it as a “no nonsense, matter of fact” approach, and by comparison would have great disdain for the staff at your local TGIF, probably thinking them “transparently false.”

People, you hate too much

Sunday roast looks good to me, but not to everyone...

Examples like this abound. Suggesting that “activities are limited” on a Fijian island completely misses the point about Fiji — and many island destinations, where doing nothing is the whole idea!

Complaints about the size of bedrooms in London hotels fail completely to take into account the price of real estate in one of the world’s most crowded cities.

While negative statements about driving distances in Australia just demonstrate that a rudimentary knowledge of geography might be a good thing.

Read enough of these diatribes and you’ll suspect that many reviewers simply want domestic U.S. standards applied all over the world, so that no matter where they go they are greeted by a Gap-clad 20-something with a plastic smile and a menu… or a breakfast buffet that’s reminiscent of their favourite Sheraton. Sort of like the English tourists who stay in those little ‘British’ villages in Spain with ‘el Fish & Chips’ and ‘el Pub.’

Well, no. That’s not how it should be. Diversity is what makes the world an interesting place, and it’s the underlying reason why we travel. I want those Russian waiters to be off-hand; I want the French waiter to sneer at my wine order when he thinks it makes no sense; I want the Fijian check-in staff to hide out back when they see me coming; and I want the bell-hop in Las Vegas to treat me like the most important guest to check-in that day, even when I know I’m not.

The LAST thing I want is for the rest of the world to adopt false standards! Especially false American standards.

I think, therefore I complain

So please. Stop and think a little before posting that negative review. Was the service really bad, or just “different”? Was the food really too spicy, or is that just how it is in Northern India? If that beer was served warm, was there a reason why?

Travel’s an education. And from what I’ve been reading, there’s quite a few reviewers out there who could do with one of those.

-Rod Cuthbert

Editor’s note: Rod Cuthbert is the founder of Viator, Inc. You can read more of Rod’s musings here.

Haven’t heard of Viva la Summer? Here’s the deal - as part of Viator’s celebration of summer 2009, we’re pointing a spotlight at top summer destinations around the world. This week’s featured destination is San Francisco (see below for some of our favorite things to do in San Francisco).

As always our first order of business: we’re pleased to honor our Viva la Summer traveler of the week. This week it’s Eduardo S. from the USA. He submitted a photo of himself and his daughter taken on a Muir Woods & Sausalito day trip from San Francisco. We love the smiles and the tall trees - the redwoods of Northern California are truly amazing if you’ve never seen them up close.

For being selected as Viator’s Viva la Summer traveler of the week, we’re sending Eduardo a $50 Viator Gift Certificate.

Eduardo S. and daughter, Viator's Travelers of the Week

Viva la summer, viva San Francisco

Your first time to San Francisco? Or maybe you have guests visiting from out of town. Either way the San Francisco City and Alcatraz Tour is a comprehensive guided experience that includes numerous stops in the city as well as a ferry trip to Sausalito and a visit to Alcatraz. Or shake it up a bit with a San Francisco Segway Tour, an eco-friendly way to cover a lot of ground quickly.

With the Bay itself a major attraction, the Golden Gate Bay Cruise gets travelers onto the water for a full Bay loop, sailing next to Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge. The GPS-guided Talking Tour Cars San Francisco puts the traveler in control with the assistance of the talking GPS guidance system taking travelers through the curves of Lombard Street to the Presidio and Golden Gate Park.

Or maybe you love wine? You’re in luck. San Francisco is known for its proximity to some of the world’s finest wine country - the Napa and Sonoma valleys. The Napa and Sonoma Wine Country Tour visits a mix of boutique and large-scale wineries including V. Sattui (Napa), Madonna Estate, Mt. St. John (Napa), Sutter Home (Napa) and Sonoma Square (Winery locations subject to change).

Love wine and trees? The Muir Woods and Wine Country Small Group Tour explores the spectacular redwood sequoia forest at Muir Woods then visits boutique Sonoma wineries for the travelers’ tasting pleasure.

Last and not at all least, Viator’s Skip the Line: California Academy of Sciences General Admission Ticket gives travelers access to the only place on earth with an aquarium, a planetarium, a natural history museum and a four-story rainforest all under one roof. The Skip the Line: California Academy of Sciences Behind the Scenes Platinum Tour includes special access to staff-only areas, interaction with Academy researchers and a private viewing of some of the Academy’s secured collections.

-Viator Travel Team

Until a month ago, we didn’t have a beach towel to our names.

No ocean? No problem.

On the Oaxacan Coast a few years ago, we avoided the beach. The bay we stayed near was the terminus of a trash-clogged stream that had been flushed by a recent storm. We found accommodation in a humble hillside cabana in a dramatic jungle setting crawling with lizards and snakes. We did our bathing in an oversized swimming pool.

Our city kids become natural-born swimmers on Maui

On our first trip to Hawaii, long ago, we went to Honolulu to visit my wife’s sister, whose baby boy was being treated in a military hospital there. We took a day trip to Waimea Bay to watch the surfers, and we did a little snorkeling on Hanauma Bay, where the beach scenes of Elvis’ Blue Hawaii were shot. There were days when we visited the Bishop Museum or strolled through Chinatown, and didn’t dip a toe into the ocean (though it always seemed to be within view).

We have kids now, and our kids are city kids. They are hardy walkers and can hike up and down hills on weekend excursions, but to them wildlife primarily consists of squirrels, raccoons, and the mourning doves that roost in the eves of the apartment building next door. At about the age of five each developed the habit of informing me that killer whales are really orcas, but none could differentiate between a parrot fish and a saddleback wrasse. I have long suspected they are more comfortable in winter coats than in swim suits.

Yes, I have misgivings

When we began entertaining thoughts of a trip to Hawaii the idea was a little daunting to me. In old family vacation photos, my Irish aunts and uncles sit on beaches in coats and scarves, their smiles faintly visible in the deep shadows of floppy hats. They obviously knew, or at least feared, what harm the sun was capable of inflicting.

It is possible that the only point of the photos was to warn future generations of the family. If so, I failed to get the message. At about the age of 17 I fell asleep one afternoon next to a swimming pool. After an hour I awoke badly burned, and within a day’s time I was driven about as near to insanity as I have ever been. My skin was overcome with a sizzling, universal itch and my brain began to ring with a searing panic. I felt like a dog being attacked by thousands of fleas. A good friend warned me not to scratch. It would only make it worse. I asked him to kill me.

My misgivings about the sun unleashed deeper fears founded purely on themselves. What we were considering here wasn’t just a break from work, or the daily grind. It was a departure from reality. All that time, so little to do, apart from sip Mai Tais and shift my towel periodically to keep up with the moving shadow of a palm tree. It may sound like heaven to you, but it sounded like limbo to me. In my darker moments, which admittedly come a little too often, I worried that a week of mindless relaxation on a beach might be like inserting a vacuum cleaner into my skull – or, worse, into the mysterious, hard-to-find cavity in which my soul resides.

Singing the virtues of island paradise

Maui seemed suspiciously easy. It could be reached in five hours via a non-stop flight from San Francisco, on the airline that awards me bonus miles for my travel. There would be no issues with language, immigration, food, water, weather, currency, or driving on the wrong side of the road. Prices for everything would be a tad high, but just about everything would be available. What wasn’t there to like, other than the possibility that the inviting stream we had waded into would soon gather speed and carry us over a lovely waterfall and into oblivion.

Sunset over Molokai, Maui

Gradually my paranoia waned. Flights to Europe weren’t getting any cheaper, and an attractive flight + car rental package to Maui presented itself. I did the math, and the car essentially came out to be free. We flipped through a few guidebooks and began to extend discrete queries to friends who know Maui well. The friends, who rarely mentioned their Hawaii trips before, now opened up with the measured enthusiasm of cultists well trained in the art of fly-fishing for future converts. They handled me expertly.

Maui was perhaps the most touristy of the Hawaiian Islands, but it sounded like a safe bet for keeping parents and kids equally happy. Trusted advisors sang the virtues of Hana and its verdant surrounds. My ear was similarly soothed with the siren song of sunsets on Napili Bay, on the island’s dry side.

Napili won out when my cousin told me about her visits to the down-to-earth Mauian Hotel, which stood “no higher than the top of a palm tree,” in accordance with a local ordinance. The rooms overlooked a grassy courtyard – reportedly hopping with frogs at night – that opened directly to the azure bay with its gentle summer surf and accessible snorkeling, all of which sounded very much acceptable to me, Fawn, and our kids.

Fawn and I looked at each other and I said, “What the hell.” I booked the flight and she called the hotel.

Aloha from Maui

Napili Bay was developed in the late 1950s and early ’60s, before the building booms that yielded mega resorts such as Ka’anapali and Kapalua. The Napili Kai, the only resort, presides over the bay’s northern lip, and while it is impeccably groomed and pricey, it is modest in stature. Two-level hotels occupy the rest of the beachfront.

At a casual glance, the Mauian looks like a simple roadside motel, of mid-century vintage, with utilitarian architectural features and kitchenettes. Across the street from the Mauian, goats and chickens nibble and peck at the lawn in front of a single-family home. The Mauian is being spruced up, and recently began describing its rooms as “boutique beach studios,” but it will never be a resort. Comfort and a prevailing lack of pretense are a significant part of the hotel’s appeal. And its rooms go for one-third the price of the Napili Kai’s.

Settling into island life

Our first two days progressed very slowly as we adjusted to the pace of life on a beach. We walked the length of the bay and at one end peered into tide pools formed in lava flows. We swam in the ocean, we swam in the pool. We beat our own path between the two, breaking only for lunch. My five year old son, Liam, had been struggling at the YMCA aquatic program’s eel level for several months, but now he was scooting through the water like a natural born frog.

Enjoying the shaved ice stand in Honokohau

We ate in. A friend recommended stopping first at the Costco in Kahului, just outside the airport. I resigned myself to the idea begrudgingly, and now we were enjoying home-cooked fish every day. (Costcos are almost the same everywhere, but the Maui one had a fish selection that included mahi mahi, ono, and wild opah fillets.) We sat in the hotel’s beach chairs and watched the sun go down, which it did very slowly, the sky’s colors intensifying until the wispy swirl of clouds over Molokai looked like a molten lava ice cream topping. The redness eventually spread over the entire sky, magnificently, and reflected off the ocean. We watched it dim gradually like a dying campfire.

We spent almost all of our time together, the five of us. We had no TV, no computer, no internet. No one complained or dragged their heels. My teenage daughter, Mai, read a book a day, including a few I had recommended. (Very flattering to me.) We played blackjack and rummy 500, and Liam invented a card game in which some of the cards were good guys and some were bad guys. While Fawn and I lost ourselves in sunsets the kids poked their fingers into holes in the sand, looking for the small crabs that came ashore every night. One gave Mai a hard pinch on her hand, but didn’t draw blood.

Exploring Maui: Things to do & see

After a few days of beach limbo, we began to explore the island. One afternoon we drove up the rugged west coast to the little seaside hamlet of Honokohau. There were no hotels or restaurants or golf courses here. The tourist industry abruptly dies at Kapalua and the highway becomes two lanes, then one, and along a steep cliff edge I had to stop and back up when our car met another car going in the opposite direction. In the village we had shaved ice at a pink shack called Ululani’s. The we walked up the road to a lime green shack, called Julie’s, for banana bread still warm from the oven. I was never a big fan of banana bread, and now I knew why. I had never had Julie’s banana bread.

We drove up to the cone of Haleakala, the massive volcano that birthed East Maui. We reached the top in the early afternoon, just as the morning haze was lifting. The light wasn’t magical, as it is said to be during a cloudless sunrise, but the sight was spectacular nonetheless. Haleakala’s barren crater is invariably described as a moonscape, and that pretty much captures it. We took a short hike along a trail that follows the rim, and I snapped a few pictures of my kids standing around on the moon.

Haleakala Crater, Maui

We attempted a trip to Hana one day on the Hana Highway, but my daughter Lana’s carsickness compelled me to stop halfway, not far from the Ke’ananae Peninsula. A few cars were parked near a bridge, which often means there’s a swimming hole below. A man was getting out of his car with a baby and a dog, so I asked him if this was a good spot for a swim and he showed us the way down a slippery trail, where a waterfall dropped into a cool pool shaded by trees and surrounded by smooth rock. With our goggles on, we swam deep down into the dark pool and Liam pretended to be the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

We alternated days of driving with lazy days on the beach-pool circuit. We met our neighbors at the Mauian, including an elderly couple celebrating their 50th anniversary and a Filippino family that has spent a week a year at the hotel for the past decade. I got sunburned, but not to the point of madness. I wore a wetsuit top as a precaution.

I find peace among the fish

We rented snorkle gear at Snorkle Bob’s and over the last several days became well acquainted with the bay’s population of green sea turtles, puffer fish, trumpet fish, and countless varieties of butterfly fish. I was obviously a foreign intruder in this environment, awkward as Steve Zissou in my flippers. Once I had learned to snorkel underwater without gagging I found myself entering a world that was entirely new to me, with cultural pockets, patterns of activity, and coral architecture that I didn’t wholly understand but found endlessly interesting and beautiful.

The fish did not seem to mind me as they went about their business. The turtles, each about large enough to fill a large washtub, are like underwater dirigibles, silently stirring up clouds of algae as they feed off the coral. You don’t always see them coming. They have a way of turning up at your side. I drifted far out into the bay, losing myself in densely populated corridors, until I bobbed up above the surface and found that the sandy beach was a mere sliver of bronze beyond the waves. It looked miles away.

In the end, the days had flown by and we were sad to leave. Will we do it again? Probably, though we have a dozen other spots we’d like to check out first. And next time we head for the islands, maybe we’ll check out one of the other ones. Some friends have been telling us about the Big Island and Kauai.

-Tom Downs

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s Maui tours and things to do on Maui, from Maui luaus to Maui snorkeling and inter-island trips from Maui.

Happy Kids - Happy Holidays!

Sydney, Australia

Sydney has an outdoor culture that children, by and large, adore. The beaches are an obvious starting point – those on the harbour itself are safer swimming spots for the younger ones, while the surf beaches along the coast are brilliant for the more adventurous tykes. It’s even possible to do learn-to-surf courses at Bondi Beach. But the outdoor ethos stretches beyond the beaches. Centennial Park is another fantastic place to hang out, whether it’s for playing park football or cricket, having a picnic or barbecue or going to the open air cinema in the summer. There’s also the chance to hire rollerblades or go horse-riding around the park.
And once you throw in boat rides on the harbour and the street entertainers at Circular Quay and Darling Harbour, Sydney is obviously something of a family tourism heaven.

Feeding the Kangaroos at Taronga Zoo, Sydney

But then comes the trump card – Australian wildlife. Sydney is crammed with excellent animal experiences where kids (and big kids) can get close to koalas, kangaroos and other Australian fauna. The best two are arguably Taronga Zoo and the Featherdale Wildlife Park. The former is arguably the best located zoo in the world, with superb harbour views. It also has some excellent keeper-guided behind-the-scenes tours. Featherdale is a little more rough and ready, but is brilliant for getting photos with koalas and being able to hand-feed kangaroos.

Singapore

Another city with awesome animal attractions is Singapore. Singapore Zoo pioneered the “open” concept, where animals are in full view rather than cages, and kept away from visitors by well concealed moats that are below eye level. Next to it is the Night Safari, a rather novel zoo concept. Essentially it offers the opportunity to stroll (or be driven) around a jungle at night, while the nocturnal creatures are at their most active. They’re all subtly lit up and animals from various different areas of the world are represented.

Singapore is also surprisingly green – there are some massive parks and nature reserves for children to explore. Apparently, Rio De Janeiro is the only other city in the world to have rainforest within the city boundaries. For indoor activities, the Science Centre is an excellent bet. It’s full of entrancing technology, has plenty of buttons for inquisitive little ones to press and goes for a very hands-on approach.

Copenhagen, Denmark

The Danish capital has long been billed as a fairytale city – mainly due to its links with Hans Christian Andersen – and it’s unsurprising that kids seem to love it so much. For lovers of Andersen’s stories, there’s the famous Little Mermaid statue, Hans-themed walking trails and a dedicated museum. But there’s more to Copenhagen than ugly ducklings and the Emperor’s New Clothes. For a start it’s home to the two oldest theme parks in the world.

Amusement park in Bakken, Copenhagen

They’re not Disneyfied affairs, and still have buckets of charm. The oldest is just to the north of the city and is part of an enormous park – Dyrebakken. Dyrebakken was formerly a royal hunting ground, but it has now been turned into one of the world’s greatest parks – families swarm to it when the sun comes out.

Part of the great swathe of green is Bakken, which has plenty of quaintly old-fashioned rides amongst lots of restaurants and cafés. The second oldest amusement park is right in Copenhagen city centre. Tivoli is pretty much opposite the main train station and is an action-packed funland mixed in with beautiful gardens. The rides are generally a bit more up-to-date (and scarier) than those at Bakken, and it’s quite easy to while away the day in Tivoli’s grounds.

Los Angeles

Unsurprisingly, the movie capital of the world has plenty to keep the little ones entertained. An obligatory first stop has to be Hollywood, where the youngsters can hunt down the stars of their heroes on the Walk of Fame and watch the fancy dress circus outside Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. The Hollywood Museum and celebrity homes tours are generally winners as well.

Then there are the movie studios. Films are still made at the likes of Warner Brothers and Universal Studios, but most of the visitors aren’t part of movie crews any more. The big studio complexes have morphed over the years to become theme parks in all but name – and even for theme park cynics, they are genuinely superb. Universal Studios, for example, has plenty of film-themed rides and shows, but the highlight is the backlot tour. This takes guests around where the movie magic is made and is educational as well as entertaining. It’s interspersed with some big action movie set pieces, such as a village flooding or a helicopter crashing.

LA also has beaches and plenty of odd attractions such as the La Brea tar pits, where fossils of mammoths and more have been trapped for thousands of years.

London

There’s so much to do in London that it’s virtually impossible to be bored. Many of the standard kiddy favourites are present and correct – London Zoo is one of the best in the world, boat trips down the River Thames are regular and affordable, and there are some fabulous open spaces such as Hyde Park and Regent Park.

London Natural History Museum

If you have to pick one area, then South Kensington is a sure fire winner. It’s home to two of the world’s most child-friendly museums. The Science Museum has lots of interactive exhibits about how our world works, and many displays with a wow factor. Even better is the Natural History Museum, which is like a zoo but with stuffed animals. The massive whale and dinosaur skeletons are always popular, while the hands-on creepy crawly exhibits should delight the sort of young boy that revels in pulling the legs off spiders.

These kids will also enjoy the gruesome tales on offer at the Tower of London and London Dungeon. There are some rather interesting tours too – such as one of Harry Potter filming locations by black taxi, or a land-and-water trip in an amphibious ‘duck’ vehicle.

-David Whitley

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s Sydney tours & things to do in Sydney for tips and itineraries in Australia, and check Singapore tours & sightseeing in Singapore for local trips. Going to Europe? Our Copenhagen activities and our London tours & attractions will help you out choosing the best tours. Or be the star of the day with one of Viator’s Los Angeles trips & activities.