USA, Canada, Mexico

Editor’s Note: We are pleased to announce the winners of our NYC Rock ‘n’ Roll contest: Beth Dekoker (her entry: “Over 40, a mom and still rockin!”) and Peter Randell (his entry: “My old punk tee is used to wash the car”). Just to recap, we are giving away 2 free T-shirts for answering one simple question in 10 words or less: Why should we give YOU a free rock ‘n’ roll T-shirt? Congratulations Beth & Peter.

Once upon a time rock ‘n’ roll was king. Rock conquered everything in its musical path, from schmaltzy folk ballads to lightweight pop. Rock’s lethal instrument was the electric guitar. Its warriors wore long hair (if you were into Led Zeppelin) or short hair (if you were a punk). It was sweaty, smelled like cheap beer and urine, and it was loud.

One constant in the ever-changing world of rock is New York City. It’s the home of a dozen seminal bands. Which is where Ron Colinear (a.k.a. Bobby Pinn) comes in. He’s the chief guide and founder of Rock Junket, a company on a mission to celebrate, preserve and expose New York’s great (and too often neglected) music and pop culture history.

NYC Rock n Roll Founder, Ron Colinear (Bobby Pinn)

Bobby Pinn covers New York City’s music-related landmarks and lore on his acclaimed Rock Junket: New York City Rock ‘n’ Roll Walking Tour. Pinn eagerly and enthusiastically walks his rock flock past where Blondie, the Velvet Underground, Television, the Ramones, New York Dolls and Patti Smith lived and played, where Andy Warhol plied his rough trade in his “Factories,” where the Beatles roosted while in the city, and where they riled up millions with their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Charlie Parker’s Alphabet City pad, Johnny Thunders den of iniquity, Madonna’s first New York City apartment, CBGB’s (the birth place of punk rock), Max’s Kansas City, Andy Warhol’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable parties, Led Zeppelin’s album cover, the Rolling Stones video shoot.

Yes, you cover a lot of rock when you take a NYC rock ‘n’ roll walking tour with Bobby Pin.

Interview with Bobby Pinn: Are you ready to rock in NYC?

At Viator we’re proud to offer Bobby’s NYC rock walk. (Yes, even at Viator, we love to rock.) So we tracked down Rock Junket’s founder and asked him a few questions about New York City, its music, and the bands that have made the city (in)famous.

Viator: What’s the most underrated band you cover on your tour?

Bobby Pin: The Dictators. They were a punk band that formed in New York City in the early 1970s and had their first album released in 1975. They didn’t enjoy a lot of commercial success but they certainly were admired by other bands of that era. Little Steven, of Springsteen’s E Street Band and the Sopranos, referred to them “as the connective tissue between the era’s of The MC5, The Stooges, New York Dolls and the punk explosion of the mid to late 1970’s”.

Viator: OK, so what’s the cheesiest band you cover on your tour?

Bobby Pin: No cheese on my rock tours, baby. I save it for my burgers.

Viator: What’s the best place to see live rock music in NYC these days?

Former NYC Rock Landmark: CBGBs

Bobby Pin: The NYC music has changed over the years. CBGB’s closed in 2006 and The Continental stopped hosting live bands that same year. However Mercury Lounge, Arlenes Grocery, Pianos, Fillmore at Irving Plaza, Bowery Ballroom, and Warsaw in Brooklyn are all great venues.

Viator: Who’s the most famous person / musician you’ve ever taken on a tour?

Bobby Pin: Johnny Rotten! No, not really. But I did meet him once at the Chelsea Hotel and he was cool, took a picture with me and signed an autograph. However I had Roberta Bayley, who is a very famous photographer. Roberta shot the debut cover for the Ramones and she did the back cover shot of the Dolls debut. Also Rebecca Rankin from VH1. But the cool thing about my walks are that we bump into people on the streets. Richard Hell, Lou Reed, Ric Ocasek, Debbie Harry, Handsome Dick Manitoba, my groups have been lucky some days.

Viator: Are there any good up-and-coming NYC bands people should listen for?

Bobby Pin: The days of bands moving to New York City are slim because of the high cost of living. In the 1970s, ’80s and even part of the ’90s you could have a band, share a pad and practice and get gigs and still survive. But the cost of living is so high nowadays that many musicians and artists live on the outskirts of NYC. I also believe we will never see an era like 1964-1979. That was 15 years of unbelievable music, fashion and art. However there are a few bands from NYC that are making some strides. I like The Black Hollies and EL-P from Brooklyn.

Viator: Who’s more rock n’ roll: The Ramones or New York Dolls?

Bobby Pin: Wow, that is a tough one. I believe The Dolls, The Velvet Underground and The Stooges were the punk rock foundation. The Dolls did have Johnny Thunders, who was pretty damn rock n roll. But I would say the Ramones as they jump started the whole punk rock scene and they had Dee Dee who also was pretty damn rock n roll. But then again I have a Dolls tattoo.

Viator: If you could, what other city would you want to do a Rock n’ Roll tour in — London? Los Angeles? Seattle?

Bobby Pin: I have plans to branch out to other cities. London, Chicago, LA, SF are on my radar so look out rock n roll fans. Rock Junket is coming to your town, so get ready to rock.

Contest: Free NYC Rock ‘n’ Roll T-Shirt Alert!

What better way to say “I Luv Rock ‘n’ Roll” than with a free Rock Junket T-shirt, featuring the cool logo above. These ain’t shabby Tees, neither. We’re talking about high-quality, black American Apparel T-shirts. We have 2 T-shirts to give away, one for a woman and one for a man.

So what’s the deal?

In 10 words or less (yes, we will count them) answer the following question: Why should we give YOU a free rock ‘n’ roll T-shirt? That’s right, simply answer the question “why should we give YOU a free rock ‘n’ roll T-shirt?” in 10 words or less, and we will chose the best 2 entries (1 female, 1 male) to win a free Rock Junket NYC Rock ‘n’ Roll T-shirt. The contest closes February 29. (Please note, the contest is now closed, see below for the winners.)

Good luck. And for those about to rock in NYC, we salute you.

–Scott McNeely

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s tours & things to do in New York City, from the Rock ‘n’ Roll Walking Tour to a Hip Hop NYC Tour and dozens more off-beat and unique NYC travel ideas.

Editor’s Note: Jenny is the person at Viator who finds all of the cool, fun and unique things to do in Orlando (and Florida). She’s just back from Orlando and wanted to share a few experiences from her trip.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I love my job (for the most part), and this past week reminded me of another reason why.

I have been down in Orlando discovering all the things to do aside from the ‘Big 3’ (Disney, Universal Studios and Seaworld). Whilst I love these parks (and yes, I know they are some of the best theme parks on the planet) that doesn’t mean I think you should spend 100% of your Orlando vacation visiting them. Orlando has a whole lot more to offer.

Top Things to Do in Orlando: Alligator Wrestling at Gatorland

Florida is know for their alligators, so where better to start than at Gatorland? I had the unique pleasure of going ‘behind the scenes’ where regular guests can’t go, but even the guest areas are full of interesting (porcupines), cute (a black bear), scaly (snakes, gators, lizards etc) and somewhat scary animals (no, I am not a fan of spiders and scorpions!).

There is one behind the scenes tour you can do which is really cool – be a Gator Trainer for a Day. Every day the tasks you do are different – one day it could be collecting gator eggs, the next it could be helping with the shows. And don’t worry you’ll still have plenty of time to visit the Big 3; a half day at Gatorland is all you need to explore this gem in the heart of Orlando. (Update: There was a fire here at the front entrance in 2006, and I’m happy to advise this is almost completely rebuilt. The current construction has no effect on the rest of the park.)

Next I was off to the coast (about 45 minutes by car) for the Daytona 500 Experience, part of our broader collection of NASCAR racing tours and ride-alongs in Orlando. If you’re a fan of racing you will love the Daytona 500 Experience: two IMAX movies (one in 3-D), a simulator ride that is too real for words, and the actual winning car from the Daytona 500 every year, scratches, dents and all! To be honest, I’m not a big NASCAR fan, but it was extremely impressive to see the racetrack on the “Speedway Tour”. It’s hard to comprehend how huge this track is and you can only imagine what it must be like to have every seat filled and engines roaring around the track. This is definitely worth a day trip to the coast to check it all out.

Top Things to Do in Orlando: Swimming with Manatees

So then it was back to nature – swimming with manatees. I was picked up from my hotel and taken out to Crystal River, where I went diving with these gentle creatures. It wasn’t actually ‘manatee’ season, but there were still plenty to see. I’ve swum with dolphins before and had a blast – this was equally impressive.

All the food served on the tour was excellent and it is obvious that the manatees and the preservation of the native Florida wildlife is paramount in the mind of the operators of this tour. After the swim, we headed to our airboat ride – such fun!

Finally, it was over to the Homossassa State Wildlife Park. This is where they bring the manatees to rehabilitate them, but honestly just seeing the manatees here would have been enough for me - swimming with them was an added bonus.

Kennedy Space Center is another great day trip from Orlando and can be purchased either with or without transport and a variety of upgrades to choose from. Kennedy Space Center is one place that has a lot to see and do. You don’t have to be a space junkie to enjoy it all and be amazed by the sheer magnitude of the shuttles. There are hands-on exhibits, IMAX movies, you can have lunch with an astronaut, and much more. This really is a must-do in Orlando.

Then there was Cypress Gardens, a 1-hour drive from Orlando. This park was in its heyday a number of years ago and they have recently done a lot of work to attract visitors again. Thrill rides and a water park have been added, there’s good food, and the gardens are simply amazing. They also have free outdoor concerts featuring acts like the Beach Boys. The park is renowned for its waterski show (which runs year round) and the southern belles that wander the park adding a touch of southern hospitality and charm. The park is constantly undergoing improvements, but nothing that will detract from the experience

Finally, there are all the shows in Orlando. Orlando is a haven for families and these shows make for a perfect end to the day. From pirates and knights to Arabian horses, Blue Man Group and Disney characters, you can combine good food and first class entertainment in one place!

Keep an eye on our Orlando offerings however – we have some new and unique experiences coming up. It’s all part of my job, to find amazing adventures for travelers like you to experience.

–Jenny Crossling

Planning a trip? Check out Viator’s complete list of Orlando tours and things to do. Or consider extending your stay in the Sunshine State and check out the colorful Art Deco District and Little Havana neighborhoods in Miami, or partake in a smorgasbord of water activities in the gorgeous environs of Key West.

The Others are right over those hills…

Here’s the thing, as much as I love, love, love, Viator and most of its 5,000+ products, there are some that I’d probably never consider doing. That’s not because they don’t have merit, they just don’t suit my taste. For example, I watch very little television. So the Sex in the City tour or Sopranos tour in New York City is not appealing to me (despite 80+ positive traveler reviews), I’ve never watched an episode of either show. And though I watch many movies, I’ve never really had much desire to see where things were filmed.

Recently I’ve gotten really into watching Lost. My brother gave me season one on dvd and I am now almost caught up through season three. Maybe its the endless hours of watching the survivors on the island, but I am starting to have a nearly uncontrollable urge to visit where they shoot Lost, which happens to be Oahu, Hawaii. Will I find a hatch? Can I hike through the same jungle as Sawyer and Kate? Will I run into The Others? Okay, of course not, but it seems like fun to go there. And if I just turn up in Oahu, sans a tour, how will I know where to go? Clearly it is not easy to find the village of The Others, and I don’t want to get trapped by Rousseau or zapped by the sonic security system. Admit it, you look at their beach, and really, does it seem so bad to be stranded there? Inquiring minds want to know.

*****

The famous Castro Theater

In San Francisco I live just a couple of blocks from the Castro neighborhood. Over the past few weeks the neighborhood has been turned into a set circa 1970’s for the filming of the Gus Van Sant movie currently titled Milk, a biopic on San Francisco’s first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, played by local celebrity Sean Penn. Its been freaky to see the Castro Theater marquee constantly playing the Poseidon Adventure, and all the store fronts are changed back to their 1970s form, though inside, they are exactly as they have been as of late, dispensing dvds or cell phones. As I was strolling to get a cookie from Hot Cookie (currently masked as a Double Rainbow ice cream parlor) I thought about how it is actually really cool to see people filming something in my neighborhood. Soon, Josh Brolin will assassinate Sean Penn, two blocks from my house! Yes, the street blocking it sometimes entails is a pain, but Milk will eventually arrive in theaters, maybe even the Castro Theater, and I will watch it and see my neighborhood on the big screen, reliving moments from its past. Some of my neighbors are extras!

Thus I made the gigantic leap in thought to realize that hey, when movies are shot in other places, the same kinds of things happen as in the Castro. And if I want to hear about those things, I should probably take a movie tour. I might run into locals who were extras, I could see how the cityscape has changed from the time of filming (or how it was changed for filming), and learn lots of movie trivia. Maybe it is to my taste after all, and happily there’s a 3.5-star rated movie tour of San Francisco just waiting for me.

*****

As much as I could wax on about my new found interest in movie and tv tours, there is another dvd of Lost waiting for me, so gotta run to see what happens next, and to get my fix of the breeze rustling through the palm trees. The dvd will have to do until I get there.

– Kelly G

 

Dying to get Lost on Oahu? Or see famous movies sites in San Francisco? Headed to another city immortalized on the silver screen? Check out more movie and tv tours on Viator.

 

When I first visited New York City’s Lower East Side a decade ago, there was a gigantic graffitoed painting of recently murdered Mexican diva, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, on the side wall of a building on the corner of East Houston Street. It separated the neighbourhood from its more genteel neighbour, the East Village.

Lower East Side street art

Now it’s a billboard for a lending institution.

NYC’s Lower East Side: Remembrances of things past

When visiting New York, I always stay on the Lower East Side with my Australian friend, whom I shall refer to by the name of Dee to protect the innocent. Dee lives a short walk from Chinatown on the Lower East Sire. And as I arrive in the late afternoon I usually arrange to meet Dee after her work in an uptown office megaplex at Lotus, where I can snuggle my chai (yes, dear reader, forgive me, for I am a chai-snuggler) and read for as long as it takes Dee to brave the perils of peak-hour subway.

I walk down Clinton to Lotus and enter: shock horror, an empty Lotus awaits, all darkened and reddened, the arrival of party-going hordes. The chais are gone, the tuna-salad bagels are gone, the piles of the Village Voice are gone. Lotus is now just another hipster bar, one of dozens that continue to pop up in the neighbourhood: the Lower East Side is now a beacon of Manhattan nightlife.

Later, as we eat nearby in the din at the bustlingly gorgeous Schiller’s Liquor Bar, Dee is unmoved and unsurprised. “You know, Alex, if you could see the changes that have happened to the Lower East Side since we moved in eight years ago. When we moved here, it was all Dominican.” The story is a familiar one: this neighbourhood hosted each successive wave of immigrants until the real estate boom flushed out the last corners of cheapish rent on Manhattan island. Thankfully, diversity’s fabric hasn’t been totally unthreaded. The nearby projects still remain, meaning the neighbourhood hasn’t last all of its diversity.

Sunday morning, D Train

The following day, at Soy, a Japanesey hole-in-the-wall on Suffolk between Rivington and Delancey, I meet Nicky, an artist at the Clemente Solo Velez Cultural Centre. Named after a distinguished Puerto Rican poet, it’s a former public school and an architectural landmark distinguished by early 20th-century exuberance. It houses two small theatres and a couple of dozen artist’s studios and is a stalwart of the old Lower East Side. For as long as I’ve visited the neighbourhood, its ground level has been clad in graffitoed scaffolding.

“I’ve had a studio there 16 years,” Nicky says. “At the beginning it didn’t even have locks on the doors. It was a squat, you know - this was a pretty rough neighbourbood. We had to fight the city to keep it, then we had to fight those who wanted it to be just for the Puerto Ricans. I can’t begin to tell you the troubles we’ve had keeping that building. But my rent is ridiculously cheap.” There comes a certain age in one’s life when you can’t have a conversation without talking about the price of real estate.

A scruffy, insouciant, rock ‘n’ roll guide to the Lower East Side

This is a fast-changing world, but that doesn’t mean every travel article about the Lower East Side should be a eulogy of things past. Sure there are Manhattan neighbourhoods with more and better museums, fancier restaurants, better-heeled locals and more camera-genic locales. Yet you’d be hard-pressed to find a Manhattan neighbourhood more rock’n’roll than this one.

So here follows my scruffy, insouciant, rock ‘n’ roll guide to the Lower East Side.

• Best Guitar Store. Hipsters love vintage guitars, which means that the neighbourhood boasts some wonderful purveyors of the ax. My favourite: Rivington Guitars. Thanks, Howie for giving me a demo of that 12-string Rickenbacker on that vintage Vox amp, even though you’d just driven 20 hours that weekend to pick up some axes in Ohio, and even though I had to tell you some pathetic lies about how I was “thinking about how to push my music in new directions” to get you to do it. I wish I was you.
• Best Street Art. Hipsters love graffiti, which they call ‘street art’. Check this out.
• Best Bookstore. McNally Robinson, on Prince Street. Technically in Little Italy, this place makes literature hip, and that, friends, is no easy feat.
• Best Restaurant. I am a sucker for two things: hipster women and restaurants with strange symbols in their names. I don’t know if MS Word is even going to let me type this, so let me try: ‘inoteca. Damn, how do I get that apostrophe to face the other way? Long story short: snacky Italian bar-type meals, New York bustle, Italian wine list as long as (but far more interesting than) Dante’s Paradiso. Cheese list factor: stinky (that’s good).
• Best Cinema. Two Boots, corner Avenue A and E 3rd St. Grab a slice of pepperoni pizza in the adjoining pizzeria if puckish. Also technically East Village, but within easy walking distance.
• Best Museum. You have two hours to see a museum in the Lower East Side. Which will it be – New Museum or Tenement Museum? The brand-new New Museum on the Bowery was closed on the day I went to visit, but it seemed real nice, even if New York magazine said it was “over-hyped”. Visiting the Tenement Museum (108 Orchard Street, between Delancey and Broome) is like stumbling onto the set of Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York – as well as being an invaluable reading aid to anyone with a passing interest in a certain kind of New York novel, i.e. anything written by Henry Roth or Michael Chabon.
• Best Knish. I’ve only ever had one knish in my life, and it was at Yonah Schimmel’s Knishery (“Hand Made Baked Knishes”) at 137 E Houston St. That’s a travel writer’s job: to pretend to be an expert about things he knows nothing about. But it was delicious. And it seemed very authentic.
• Best Magazine to Read About New York When In New York. On the one hand, there’s the New Yorker, magazine of choice for picking up hipster librarians on the Subway. (Here’s how you do it: read said magazine on the Subway, wearing something hip and distinctive. Go home. Look up ‘Missed Connections’ on Craigslist. Wait… Keep waiting…) On the other hand, there’s New York magazine, whose cover in the issue I picked up while there was emblazoned with the headline “Post-Crime,” about the city’s historically low crime figures.
• Safest Neighbourhood in Manhattan. According to the the aforementioned New York magazine article, definitely not the Lower East Side, which boasted in 2007 two murders, seven rapes, 215 robberies, 121 assaults and 114 burglaries. Please bear in mind: I quote these figures not to alarm but to inform. These are historically low figures. You are more likely to have your tongue scalded by a Starbuck’s coffee than to be the victim of crime in the Lower East Side (I just made that up, but it’s probably true). Incidentally, a quick perusal of the figures suggests the safest neighbourhood in Manhattan is probably Chelsea (where hipsters go to die, and where the score is 0, 8, 144, 151, 108).

Finally, here is my “Favourite Cheesy Thing to do in New York.” This has nothing to do with the Lower East Side, but the winner is the Empire State Building, hands down, for the view that really makes you understand why hipster hero Kurt Vonnegut called Manhattan ‘Skyscraper National Park’.

–Alex Landragin

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s New York City tours & things to do in New York. And if you haven’t already entered Viator’s NYC Rock ‘n’ Walking Tour contest, then a hipster you are not.

In anticipation of Valentine’s Day (or in dread of, depending on your romantic perspective), I’ve been pondering the notion of love and travel. Not as in ‘the love of travel’ or ‘love to travel’. But rather love and travel as in expressing your love through travel.

Do you follow me? Let me try explaining that again. The pairing of travel and love (often travel and sex) are commonplace in film, music, art, literature, popular culture. You’ve seen it a million times: a fling in Paris, a romance in Thailand, a chance encounter on 42nd Street. But that’s not what I mean.

What I’m after is how the people who love travel (and who love to travel) might express a token / totem / trinket / knickknack / ticket stub of their love, on Valentine’s Day, to like-minded lovers of travel.

I love travel, you love travel, I love you, ka-boom, let’s go travel together. That’s what I am after, the ‘ka-boom, let’s go travel together’ moment. So I made a list.

My list is for people who are tired of the same old Valentine’s Day gift options. Dinner for two. A bouquet of roses. A box of chocolates. There’s nothing wrong with showing your love with these things. But for those of you who travel blindly for love, or travel for love blindly, there’s got to be a better way to say “I love you”. Share your obvious and overwhelming passion for travel this Valentine’s Day with one of the following:

Write a love song about your travels

Playing the guitar is not easy. Writing a song is not easy. Skip ahead to the next bullet point if either of these sounds too intimidating. How to start? Make a list of places that rhyme with “I love you” (…Timbuktu, Kalamazoo, San Diego Zoo…). Or get inspired by musicians who know a thing or two about travel and love (Eddie Money, Berlin, Duran Duran, Edith Piaf, The Cure, Danzig). Shortcut: Buy the album 69 Love Songs and pretend your the original songwriter.

Write a book / blog / Myspace page about your romance

If you’re old school try the NaNoWriMo approach and give yourself 30 days to write An Important Novel About Love and Travel for your sweetheart. Or start a blog about love and travel, because honestly, I spent an hour searching the web for blogs about love and travel and there are none I can recommend in good conscience. If you’re under age 25 then you’ll need to create a Myspace profile about love and travel. Trust me, you’ll hit pay dirt.

Make a short video about your love

There are literally thousands of excellent role models to chose from, if you’re prepared to spend research time on Youtube. I did a search on travel love and got an excellent set of results. My personal favorite is here. It helps if you have video of yourself on the road, but it’s not required. Just remember one thing: don’t be like Tommy Lee.

Pop the question on the road

It’s possibly the most romantic way to express your travel-loving self to another person with a travel-loving mindset. Of course it’s not without pitfalls and risks. Choose the wrong venue and you’re toast. Don’t plan a helicopter wedding if your loved one is afraid of heights. It all sounds obvious, but hey, never underestimate the obvious. Your role models here? We have a few favorites from Viator.com, all from actual travelers who were engaged on one of our tours.

• “If I book a package to Medieval Times… will I be permitted to, at a reasonable fee, ask to have my fiancee Marry Me sometime during the performance/intermission??” --Barry W.
• “Our tour started with the Trevi Fountain, at which I asked my girlfriend if she would marry me. She said yes. We then saw the outside of St Peter’s Basilica and the Colosseum. We were then taken to dinner. Due to this night being the finals of the World Cup Soccer Championship the restaurant was empty. This was great. The owner and his wife both sang to us during our dinner. Very romantic. After dinner we were taken as close to our hotel as traffic would allow. The streets were full of thousands of people on their way to the Circus Maximus to see the Italy win on the big screen. We joined in the celebration. We absolutely loved the tour and would like to take it again next time we are in Rome.” –Kent B.
• “This was the best day of my life as I got engaged on the Canadian side of the falls!!! For any of you that aren’t taking this plunge I still definitely recommend this tour, as it really is one of the wonders of the world and is spectacular to see in real life. No photos ever do it justice!!” –Published anonymously

Say ‘I do’ on the road

For those of you ready to tie the knot and commit to a life of love, travel and romance, we have a few suggestions. Top of the list? That’s easy. The Loving You or Can’t Help Falling in Love Elvis wedding packages. That’s right, get married by the King himself in fabulous Las Vegas, where else? Or kick it up a notch with a Grand Canyon helicopter wedding for a cool three grand and change (it’s Vegas, baby!).

Hopefully by now you’re catching on to the fact that, come Valentine’s Day, there are dozens and dozens of ways to do something special, and different, with an emphasis on travel.

We wish you love, romance and travel this coming Valentine’s Day.

–Scott McNeely

You can say “I love you, let’s travel” with a new Valentine’s Day-themed Viator.com gift certificate, available in US and Aussie dollars, British pounds and euros. And if you love to travel, read Viator’s complete list of Valentine’s Day gifts for travelers or go the whole nine yards and book a destination wedding package.

Someone said the great thing about travel is the journey, not the destination. At Viator we take issue with that for about 5,000 different reasons — as in the 5,000 tours and things to do you can book in hundreds of destinations worldwide at viator.com. For us travel is all about the destination, and certainly not about the journey.

But that’s not to say we don’t think getting there can be a lot of fun. With that in mind I accepted an invitation to fly with our new partner, Silverjet, who operate one of the new all-business-class services between London and New York. OK, it wasn’t a difficult decision, given I had to fly from London back to San Francisco anyway. Why not see what all the fuss is about, and pick up a commuter flight from NYC to SF the next day?

Silverjet: Big comfy seats, less stress all round…

The Silverjet difference starts at the check-in terminal. Based at one of London’s smaller airports, Luton, Silverjet have their own separate building and a process that looks nothing like a regular check-in. Walk in and you’re met by one of their staff who relieves you of your burden; you take a seat, grab a drink, a snack, have a shower or generally just chill out in luxury. A staff member will appear at some stage to check your passport and hand you a boarding pass, but you never have to wait in line or anything déclassé like that.

The Silverjet departure lounge at Luton

Boarding is similarly low-key: the security is tight but friendly, everything flows smoothly, and things happen on time. The planes are nice big Boeing 767s, lots of room, all one class and all comfortable sleeper seats. Personal video and all that stuff goes without saying. Service on board is attentive without being overpowering and the food is exactly as it should be for an up-market carrier.

But the thing I liked best about Silverjet is not something you can see or even describe very easily: it’s the lack of pressure, the total absence of having to worry about the mundane elements of travel like checking in, lining up, getting a good seat, whether the meal will be edible, who you’ll be sitting next to, and so on. Put simply, flying with Silverjet is a relaxing experience, and sort of fun. This is probably what air travel was like on those early trans-Atlantic flights, when everyone dressed up and it was a social event.

Anyway, I’m happy to add my voice to the many reviews I’ve read in praise of this new class of airline. If you’re planning to fly across the pond anytime soon, do yourself a favour* and try Silverjet.

–Rod Cuthbert

* Apologies to my countryman Ian “Molly” Meldrum for use of his trademark line. And click here to read a previous Viator Blog post about Silverjet.

Thailand (Bangkok) - voted #40 in 2007

Friends, blogsters and fellow travelers, the time has come for Viator to pay our final respects to 2007 and to the travel year that was. My desk calendar proclaims ‘2008′ now, and points stubbornly ahead anticipating travels yet to come.

Yet before we say farewell to 2007, let us take a moment to honor the Top 50 destinations of the year as determined by viator.com travelers. This is our second annual “Viator Top 50″ list, and like last year, 2007 had been a great ride, full of surprises (good on ya, Rome) and some surprising absences (Mexico, we missed you).

If you’re not yet caught up on our end-of-year lists of top things to do around the world, these links will help: Europe, Asia, USA & Canada, Australia, Caribbean, Central & South America, Middle East & Africa.

Thanks again to the millions of travelers who visited us in 2007, we hope to see you again in 2008.

The Viator 50: Top Travel Destinations in 2007

50. Montreal

Mt Fuji, on a day trip from Tokyo (#10 in 2007)

49. Prague

48. Alice Springs

47. Seville

46. Port Douglas

45. Krakow

44. Perth

43. Christchurch

42. Auckland

41. Chicago

40. Bangkok

39. Boston

Sunset in Venice (#8 in 2007)

38. Miami

37. Athens

36. Salzburg

35. Granada

34. Edinburgh

33. Naples

32. Dubai

31. Vancouver

30. Costa del Sol

29. Oahu

28. Hong Kong

The Sydney Skywalk, Sydney (#7 in 2007)

27. Los Angeles

26. Zurich

25. Vienna

24. Singapore

23. Washington DC

22. The Grand Canyon

21. Munich

20. Orlando

19. Barcelona

18. Cairns & the Tropical North

17. Dublin

16. Versailles

15. Ayers Rock

14. Milan

13. Madrid

12. Amsterdam

11. Melbourne

Ahh, the wonders of Rome (#1 in 2007!)

10. Tokyo

9. San Francisco

8. Venice

7. Sydney

6. Florence

5. London

4. New York City

3. Las Vegas

2. Paris

1. Rome

So how’s your wanderlust doing after reading this entire list? For us, the Viator 50 list of top travel destinations is all about getting inspired to take that next trip. We hope this year’s list of top travel destinations on viator.com has got you thinking about your next holiday, whether it’s across town or across the globe.

We’d also like to extend our congratulations to a few destinations, notably to Rome, which jumped from #3 last year to #1 this year. And to Las Vegas, which made it into the top 3 this year.

If you’re feeling nostalgic about last year’s winners, keep on reading below. We’ve kept last year’s Viator 50 for your entertainment and traveling pleasure.

Happy travels in 2008.

–The Viator Team

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Editor’s Note: The following is part of our ongoing “2007 Travel Year in Review.” So far we have announced our Top 25 Things to Do in each of the regions we cover, and we’re getting ready to announce (look for it next week) the Top 50 Travel Destinations of 2007.

Dolphin Swim: #4 Thing to Do with Kids in 2007

Got kids? Plenty of travelers do, and in 2007 they hit the road in record numbers. Family trips, vacations with kids, kid-friendly adventure holidays, all of these experienced major growth in 2007. We saw similar trends on the viator.com site, with kid-friendly and family-friendly travel growing by more than 35%. We’re also impressed by the range of kid- and family-friendly tours purchased in 2007. Sure there were plenty of holidays to Disneyland and Universal Studios, we would expect no less from two of the world’s most popular theme parks and entertainment brands.

Yet our list includes a number of non-traditional and off-beat things to do with kids, from dolphin swims to ‘duck tours’ and more.

What does it all mean? Maybe that having a kid (or three) is not the end of your travel career, but rather an opportunity to act like a kid and have a heap of fun doing it.

#1. Universal Studios, Orlando

Universal Studios Orlando: #1 Thing to Do with Kids in 2007

Universal Studios in Orlando, as well as Universal Islands of Adventure, are filled with innovative rides and attractions from high-speed roller coasters to children’s rides and groundbreaking 3-D attractions.

The studios are the #1 movie and TV based theme park in the world. And because it is a real film studio you can go behind the scenes of your favorite movies. If you’re a kid yourself, or the parent of a brood of kids, this is a no-brainer way to have an awesome family vacation.

Viator links:

• Universal Orlando 2-Park Unlimited Admission Ticket (7 Days)
• All family-friendly things to do in Orlando
• Suggested itineraries in Orlando

#2. Disneyland, Paris

Ahh, Disneyland. Every kid loves it. How could you not?? From the rides to the parades to the theme park characters, Disneyland is all about making sure the kids have a great time. Honestly, we were a little surprised that so many families are taking the kids to Paris these days, but it makes sense if you think about it. So many people want to share Europe with their children, and while they’re there why not spend a day or two having a great time at a theme park that the kids are guaranteed to love.

Viator links:

• Disneyland Paris, including transport from Paris
• All family-friendly things to do in Paris
• Suggested itineraries in Paris

#3. Singapore Zoo Jungle Breakfast (with Orangutans!), Singapore

The award-winning Singapore Zoo is one southeast Asia’s top attractions; in fact our Singapore Zoo Night Safari consistently ranks among our top 25 things to do across Asia. The jungle breakfast is becoming equally popular, as it provides a rare opportunity to interact with endangered orangutans (Singapore’s zoo is a world leader in caring for orangutans). The visit includes commentary from zoo experts and a tram ride through the hugely popular Singapore Zoo. And let’s be honest, what kid doesn’t love a good zoo?

Viator links:

• Singapore Zoo Jungle Breakfast with Orangutans
• All family-friendly things to do in Singapore
• Suggested itineraries in Singapore

#4. A Tie! Dolphin Swims in Orlando, Florida & the Dominican Republic

These two dolphin swims were so close in popularity that we decided to call it a tie. The dolphin swim and Everglades airboat adventure in Orlando is rated 4 stars (the highest possible) by Viator.com travelers, which is no small feat. The swim is in a natural ocean-water lagoon at Dolphin Plus, a marine mammal research and education facility. Dolphins Plus is committed to the conservation and protection of marine mammals through education, research, experiential learning and environmental awareness. Don’t worry it’s also plenty of fun. The dolphin swim at Ocean World in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, is another four-star-rated experience and is hugely popular with families and kids.

Viator links:

• Swim with Dolphins & Everglades Airboat Adventure, Orlando
• All family-friendly things to do in Orlando
• Dolphin swim at Ocean World, Dominican Republic
• All family-friendly things to do in the Dominican Republic
• More dolphin swims around the world

#5. Duck Tour, Boston

What? You’ve never heard of a ‘duck tour’? It doesn’t matter, there’s a good chance your children have. Duck Tours are city tours with a wacky twist: authentic, renovated World War II amphibious landing vehicles. That’s right, hop aboard a WWII landing craft for a land / water tour that will put a smile on even the most cynical parent’s face. The Boston Duck Tour covers the golden-domed State House to Bunker Hill and the Fleet Center, Boston Common and Copley Square to the Big Dig, Government Center to fashionable Newbury Street, Quincy Market to the Prudential Tower, and more. And then it’s a left turn — splashdown! — into the Charles River for a view of the Boston and Cambridge skylines.

Viator links:

• Boston Duck Tour
• All family-friendly things to do in Boston
• All Duck Tours on Viator.com

–Scott McNeely, parent of a 2-year-old

As part of Viator’s “2007 Travel Year in Review”, we have already announced our Top 25 Things to Do in each of the regions we cover, and we’re getting ready to announce (look for it next week) the Top 50 Travel Destinations of 2007.

In the meantime here’s another window into the best travel experiences of 2007. We’ve made a list of the top 3 unforgettable travel experiences in 2007. These are the three most popular tours and experiences on offer at viator.com, as determined by Viator travelers. And just to keep things interesting, we’re including some of the best traveler feedback and candid traveler photos.

#1. Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour, from Las Vegas

The All American Grand Canyon Helicopter tour is, consistently, one of our top-rated travel experiences. This year it edged out all other to become the #1 most unforgettable travel experience on Planet Earth.

Overview: Take off from the Las Vegas airport on a 3-1/2 hour tour of the USA’s most unique natural formation - the Grand Canyon. The helicopter passes over the West Rim, Lake Las Vegas, Lake Mead and Hoover Dam en route.

Recent Traveler Reviews:

• It was amazing and the pilot was excellent. The pilot was full of great information and made the trip very enjoyable as well as relaxing. I was somewhat fearful of taking a helicopter but between the great pilot and the beautiful atmosphere there is no doubt in my mind that I will do it again but a sunset flight next time.
  –Catherine C, Canada, December 2007
• This helicopter flight was exactly as advertised. A stretch limo picked us up and returned us to the hotel. The flight was great. Two other couples flew with us. The whole organization was professional and well organized. The picnic lunch in the Grand Canyon was very nice. All in all it was a very good time and a good value. I would definitely recommend this tour to my friends and family members.
  –Simon C, United Kingdom, December 2007
• Very professional and certainly first class from the limo, the limo driver, the reception area, the flight, and the pilot. Was a beautiful day and a wonderful trip.
  –Richard M, United States, October 2007

Candid Grand Canyon traveler photos on Viator.com
More Grand Canyon Helicopter Photos on the Viator Flickr site

#2. Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel Tour, Rome