In the News: Brazil's Preparations for the World Cup

Anticipation continues to mount for the 2014 FIFA World Cup as the June event draws ever closer. But some are concerned that host country of Brazil will not be ready to welcome the throngs of fans. In a press conference on October 22, Brazilian Tourism Board President Flavio Dino addressed concerns and says the country would spend $11.6 billion for the modernization and construction of soccer stadiums, airports and other tourism infrastructure.

As the host for both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, Brazil needs to address issues like difficulty of travel, adequate accommodations, and cost management for these events. The tourism board is working to attain lower prices on hotels and airfare, which have risen steeply in the past months. And in December, after World Cup teams are decided, the board will decide whether to allow foreign airlines into the country, helping to decrease costs and increase accessibility.

Helping to assuage further fears, Dino says state and local governments, as well as entrepreneurs are investing in improvements to ensure the country is ready for both events. Security concerns are also being addressed with increased funding and attention.

With over 6.2 million World Cup ticket requests submitted during the recently concluded initial application phase, the event is shaping up to be incredibly popular, especially with Americans who submitted almost 400,000 requests, second only to the host country.

To make American travel to the World Cup easier, the Brazilian tourism board has opened three tourist offices in New York, Chicago, and LA and is working closely with the US government.

Call Rawhide Travel and Tours and start planning that special vacation or event today. 602-843-5100 or visit our website rawhidetravel.com.

Presented By:
Rawhide Travel and Tours Inc
6008 West Bell Rd # F105
Glendale, Arizona  85308-3793
(602) 843-5100
rawhidetravel.com

Unusual Halloween Destinations: New Orleans Louisiana "America's Most Haunted City"

New Orleans and Savannah both claim to be "America's Most Haunted City" so the title seems to be in dispute. However, there is no doubt that New Orleans has a history and culture that make it a great Halloween vacation destination. The city is old with many spooky looking historic houses and creepy cemeteries. The history is filled with stories of hauntings and voodoo. There are few, if any, cities in the US that know how to party better than New Orleans.

 The Day of the Dead is celebrated in New Orleans and the city also hosts a music festival called the Voodoo Experience. The Voodoo Experience is held for several days around Halloween in the City Park, behind the New Orleans Museum of Art. This is a huge music festival with seven stages, more than 150 bands. Some other activities include a Halloween parade, chili cook off, a Halloween costume contest. There are numerous haunted houses with a history to visit including: Lalaurie House, St. Louis cemetery Number 1, Le Pavilion Hotel, Arnaud's Restaurant, Canal Street at City Park Avenue, Cafe Lafite in Exile, The Sultans Palace, Gardette-LePrete House, The Beauregard-Keyes House and Hotel Monteleone.

 If you enjoy history, spooky old haunted houses, creepy cemeteries and strange stories of hauntings and other supernatural phenomenon along with a great place to party, you may want to take a Halloween vacation to New Orleans.

 Another place to go is to Frenchman Street which has become the place to see and be seen on Halloween night. Live music in the clubs and on the streets and crowds celebrating in costumes everywhere.

With 200 years of ghostly legends involving Voodoo curses, Spanish moss-draped oaks encircling duels, cold-blooded murders, stories of Revolutionary War-era Pirates, Civil War soldiers, and Jazz, New Orleans has earned a serious reputation as one of America’s most haunted cities.

Looking for that uniquely different vacation destination. Call Rawhide Travel and Tours today 602-843-5100 or visit our website rawhidetravel.com. We can help!

Presented By:
Rawhide Travel and Tours Inc
6008 West Bell Rd # F105
Glendale, Arizona  85308-3793
(602) 843-5100
rawhidetravel.com

Travel Tips: Best Road Trip Apps For Your Smart Phone

If you are setting out on the road this fall or winter, plug in your car-charger and smartphone because you can bring along a ton of collective wisdom in the form of great road-trip apps.

Here are some of the best apps for your next road trip:

WAZE
(Free, available on iOS and Android)

Waze is a navigation app that leverages its database and a very active community of drivers to guide and even reroute your trip. It provides real-time intelligence and alerts on speed traps, traffic tie-ups, road hazards, cars stuck in the road or on the shoulder, and the snowstorm ahead.

You may be driving alone, but you won't necessarily feel that way with Waze users' constant updates. Heading toward a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner? You can send a link to your hosts, who can view your estimated time of arrival and monitor your location live on a map. While Waze's directions can occasionally be off-target, its users provide feedback and corrections.

GAS BUDDY
(Free, available on Android, iOS, Windows Phone and BlackBerry)

With the Gas Buddy app, you can view prices for regular, midrange, premium or diesel fuel at stations close to your location. You can also search by city, state or ZIP code.

If you search for cheap gas prices to refuel, Gas Buddy will let you know how far the station is off the highway exit so you are not driving endlessly. Fellow Gas Buddy users submit prices as they visit or drive by stations, and users can see how recent the update is.

Trapster
(free on Apple products and Android)

It's not that we condone speeding, we just condone you knowing where speed traps and speed cameras are.

So far, Trapster boasts a community of nearly 15 million users who have reported a total of more than 5.2 million speed traps across the world.

Open Table
(free; iOS, Android)

A day spent eating McDonald’s and Subway deserves a dinner where a fork and knife are required. OpenTable lets you check out menus, diner reviews, and photos from nearby restaurants wherever you're spending the night, and helps you reserve the table, too.

ROADTRIPPERS
(Free, available on iOS)

The RoadTrippers app can help you find both tourist attractions and offbeat destinations, replete with driving directions and maps, as you are motoring through the area. Using its database of more than 75,000 places, as well as recommendations from local experts, the app offers suggested guides as well, from the Haunted Northeast to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

You can also use the app to find restaurants, hotels, scenic vistas and shopping, although there are glitches. A search for places in Pittsburgh turned up Pittsburgh Willy's, a spot for "Pennsylvania pierogies" in Chandler, Ariz.

FIELD TRIP
(Free, iOS and Android)

This app from Google runs in the background on your smartphone, and a card pops up with information when you are driving near a local attraction that's cool or interesting. You can pre-select your interests, and the app may notify you about a nearby historic golf course, a Civil War battlefield or a restaurant.

Field Trip will also help you when you aren't in the car. You can get directions to the attraction by car, walking or using mass transit. Expect a lot of reviews by Google-owned Zagat. Unlike Roadtrippers, the attractions in Field Trip tend to be on the beaten track.

CANDY CRUSH SAGA
(Free, Android and iOS)

If you are not going to be "there yet" for many hours, then the Candy Crush Saga app can help the hours zoom by. Gamers, whether kids or adults, mix and match sweets in various combinations and at ever-increasing levels of expertise as the game progresses.

The game syncs up whether you are playing on a desktop, on Facebook or in the car so you can continue in the car what you started at home and vice versa. Like Waze and Gas Buddy, there are social aspects to Candy Crush Saga as you can sign into the app through Facebook to view your friends' scores and levels.

Let Rawhide Travel and Tours help you with all your reservation needs. Call us at (602) 843-5100 or visit our website: rawhidetravel.com.

Presented By:
Rawhide Travel and Tours Inc
6008 West Bell Rd # F105
Glendale, Arizona 85308-3793
(602) 843-5100rawhidetravel.com

Roger Williams National Memorial Rhode Island

Roger Williams National Memorial commemorates the life of the founder of Rhode Island and a champion of the ideal of religious freedom. Williams, banished from Massachusetts for his beliefs, founded Providence in 1636. This colony served as a refuge where all could come to worship as their conscience dictated without interference from the state.

Roger Williams National Memorial was established by Congress in 1965 to commemorate Williams’s “outstanding contributions to the development of the principles of freedom in this country.” The memorial, a 4.5 acre urban greenspace located at the foot of College Hill in downtown Providence, includes a freshwater spring which was the center of the settlement of Providence Plantations founded by Williams in 1636. It is on this site that Williams, through word and action, fought for the ideal that religion must not be subject to regulation by the state but, instead, that it should be a matter of individual conscience. It was a remarkable journey that brought Williams to what is now the capital of Rhode Island and to where he put his beliefs into practice, giving “shelter for persons distressed of conscience.

Through exhibits and a 5 minute film shown at the visitor center, discover the many contributions Roger Williams made to the cause of religious freedom. Walk through the landscaped park that includes the site of the fresh-water spring and common area of the first European settlement in Providence.

Let Rawhide Travel and Tours help you with all your reservation needs. Call us at (602) 843-5100 or visit our website: rawhidetravel.com.

Presented By:
Rawhide Travel and Tours Inc
6008 West Bell Rd # F105
Glendale, Arizona 85308-3793
(602) 843-5100
rawhidetravel.com

Rawhide Travel and Tours' "Locks of Fun" Panama Canal Super Cruise

Rawhide Travel and Tours 

presents 

"Locks of Fun" 

 Panama Canal Super Cruise

November 04-19, 2014

$3949 per person based on double occupancy

Gone down lately? If you haven't, you can come with us if you join our 16 day "Locks of Fun" Panama Canal Super Cruise down South America way, and rumba 'til the cows come home on Celebrity Cruise Lines awesome 91,000 ton luxury Superliner, the M/S Infinity stopping at six of the most sought after ports in the world not too mention "passing through" the legendary Panama Canal itself!

 Departing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA you'll first visit dazzling Cartagena, Colombia (South America) where the world's supply of stunning emeralds can be found! Don't miss the Gold Museum where Samuel Bolivar lived while enjoying Latin history, culture and world renowned shopping!

Next stop, Colon, Panama (Central America)! Colon’s greatest claim to fame, and the main reason visitors come here, is the Colón Free Zone, a massive shopping showroom where retailers, wholesalers and the general public shop. And don't forget to take a ride on the restored Panama Canal Railway.

Next, the Panama Canal (Central America), what this adventure-filled super cruise is centered around. Here, you'll see the Three Colossal Locks ("Locks of Fun") while transiting through one of the greatest engineering wonders of the modern world for twelve hours of non-stop heart-pounding excitement with "once in a lifetime" spectacular photo opportunities as you cross from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean!

Next stop, enchanting Puntarenas, Costa Rica (Central America) where you can climb a real volcano, see Two Oceans at the same time, savor blooming orchids, see wild jaguars and ocelots in rain forests that dot this small fascinating country.

Next port is the quaint town of Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala (Central America) where visiting the best preserved ruins in the world in the ancient city of Tikal is a must. But visiting La Antigua, Guatemala's colonial capital is also must! Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Continuing to the Mexican Riviera, our first stop will be at world famous Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! From Yelapa Bay, where Night of The Iguana was filmed, to the majestic Sierre Padre Mountains that surround this sizzling resort town, you'll discover everything from jungle tours to shopping, and from fabulous sights to exotic dining. This is one lush port you'll long remember.

Last stop, Cabo San Lucas!  Located on the tip of Baja California on the Sea of Cortez, it's a favorite for many celebrities. Here, turquoise and azure blue waters, rugged cliffs, quiet coves teeming with abundant marine life, desert vistas and mountains all come together with a wash of vibrant colors. Awesome. And, as if all of these sights and thrills weren't enough, you'll also be enjoying a Deluxe Balconied Stateroom on  this magnificent luxury cruise including All Meals, nightly "Las Vegas style" entertainment, round trip air from Phoenix (air is also available from 171 other U.S. cities but price may vary depending on your actual departure city other than Phoenix), all foreign and US. taxes, all security, government and airport fees, all fuel surcharges, all transfers, several gala parties and events during the cruise..even cancellation insurance and ship tips! Oops! forgot the kitchen sink! So what are you waiting for? Some people wait a lifetime for their ship to come in. You only have to wait until November 04, 2014. Eyes in the back of your head recommended for this adventure. Experience life without a ripcord and call Rawhide Travel and Tours today! Limited space. Happy "sailing" trails to you!

Looking for that perfect beach vacation destination. Call Rawhide Travel and Tours today 602-843-5100 or visit our website rawhidetravel.com. We can help!

Presented By:
Rawhide Travel and Tours Inc
6008 West Bell Rd # F105
Glendale, Arizona  85308-3793
(602) 843-5100
rawhidetravel.com

In the News: Betty White Brings Laughs to In-Flight Safety Video

Comedian and golden girl Betty White is bringing her signature charm to the friendly skies in a new in-flight safety video for Air New Zealand that has travelers of all ages tuning in and buckling up.

The playful video, entitled "Safety Old School Style" runs just over four minutes, as it follows White and other senior citizens reenacting various in-flight safety procedures from their retirement community.

Watch as the 91-year-old actress injects new life and humor into how to store valuables under a seat, shut off electronic devices, put on an air mask, or tuck into an emergency landing position.

Other familiar faces in the video include Gavin MacLeod, who appeared with White on the “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and, later, as the captain on “Love Boat.” Actor Jimmy Weldon, who lends his voice to Yakky Doodle duck in “The Yogi Bear Show,” also has a cameo appearance.

Air New Zealand published its new informational film to YouTube on Wednesday and the video has already received more than 170,000 views.

Other airlines, including U.S.-based Virgin America and Delta Air Lines, have non-traditional safety videos as well.

To keep content fresh and passengers engaged, Air New Zealand is already planning the video that will replace the just-released “Safety Old School Style” version starring Betty White. And Delta has a new set of videos it will roll out this winter.

Call Rawhide Travel and Tours and start planning that special vacation or event today. 602-843-5100 or visit our website rawhidetravel.com.

Presented By:
Rawhide Travel and Tours Inc
6008 West Bell Rd # F105
Glendale, Arizona  85308-3793
(602) 843-5100
rawhidetravel.com

Unusual Halloween Destinations: Rose Hall Great House, Jamaica

Annie Palmer was once the pretty young wife of a plantation owner in Montego Bay, Jamaica. She was also said to be a cruel witch who practiced voodoo and tortured and killed her slaves. Tours of Rose Hall focus on reports of hauntings and disembodied voices heard calling from the dungeon.

The legend that surrounds Rose Hall and its infamous owner, Annee Palmer, is one that has fascinated generations of locals and visitors alike since its construction in 1770. Annee was called the “White Witch” because she bedazzled then did away with the three husbands and countless slave lovers. Quick with the whip, she was notorious for torturing slaves for her own entertainment.

Annie's Overseer was a slave known to be quite a powerful Voodoo practitioner, a fact he managed to conceal from Annie, at risk to his own life. The Overseer had a daughter who was engaged to marry another handsome young slave on the plantation. Unfortunately, Annie's lustful eye fell upon the young man, and he was soon called upon to pleasure the mistress of the house. The Overseer knew what to expect, and began to make preparations to protect the young man from Annie's "disposable lover" policy.

However, Annie did not follow her usual pattern, and she killed the young man that same night, instead of playing with him for a week or so. Perhaps he objected to her attentions and declared his love for another. Whatever the reason, the young man was dead, the Overseer's daughter grief-stricken, and the Overseer was filled with helpless rage. Annie must die, at all costs.

A special grave was prepared in the woods, within sight of the Great House, using Voodoo ritual and markings. The Overseer then entered the house, confronting the White Witch, and engaged her in magical and physical battle. He succeeded in killing her, sacrificing his own life in the process.

Slaves who were privy to the Overseer's plan entombed the body of the White Witch in the specially prepared grave... a grave designed to keep her from rising and walking the plantation again. But they failed to complete the ritual properly, and the White Witch is said to roam the Great House to this day.

 Follow in the footsteps of the SyFy Channel’s “Ghost Hunters International” and “scariest Places on Earth” and see if you can capture an image of the White Witch.

Rose Hall is a Georgian mansion built in the 1770s and restored in the 1960s. It is decorated with silk wallpaper printed with palms and birds, ornamented with chandeliers, furnished with mostly European antiques, and features a downstairs bar and restaurant. It is currently owned by former Miss World USA Michele Rollins and her entrepreneur husband John Rollins.

Rose Hall also offers night tours that focus on the "Annie Palmer" legend: supposed locations of underground tunnels, bloodstains, hauntings and murders. Seances are also held on the property in an attempt to conjure Annie's spirit.

Looking for that uniquely different vacation destination. Call Rawhide Travel and Tours today 602-843-5100 or visit our website rawhidetravel.com. We can help!

 Presented By:
Rawhide Travel and Tours Inc
6008 West Bell Rd # F105
Glendale, Arizona  85308-3793
(602) 843-5100
rawhidetravel.com