Lake Tahoe is shared by two states, California and Nevada, with two-thirds of the lake located in California and one-third in Nevada. It is situated between the Sierra Nevada and the Carson Range and is surrounded by very large mountainous peaks. It is the eighth largest lake in the world.

The water is crystal clear (99.1 percent pure) and visibility at times measures two-hundred feet deep. It has its own natural filtering system with water filtered through marshes and meadows before running into the lake.

Sixty-three streams and two hot springs feed the lake and make it popular for fishing. Trout and salmon are the natural inhabitants. Mackinaw and Rainbow Trout are found in the waters of Lake Tahoe. Shore fishing is popular, but the Mackinaw Trout are best found at two-hundred foot levels. The Kokanee Salmon is a sport fish, hard to catch and presents a real challenge for the sport fisherman. Lake Tahoe’s fishing season is open year-round and either a California or Nevada fishing license is required.

Lake Tahoe is considered one of the favorite vacation and recreation places, with over two million visitors a year. Summer is the peak season (July 4th through September 1st). It offers the best outdoor activities and entertainment. Hiking, biking, water sports, golfing, camping, fishing and rock climbing are just a few of the outdoor activities enjoyed by visitors to this area.

There are several sandy beaches where sun bathing and swimming can be enjoyed, with even a nude beach for those so inclined. Age requirement on this beach is eighteen years.

There are several areas where visitors can take short hikes, but be aware that proper clothing is required due to possible weather changes. A wilderness hike is available that takes you through the desolate wilderness. It is twelve and one-half miles long with nature in the raw. High water stream crossings and sudden stormy weather can happen any time. A permit is required to take this hike.

Winter sports include skiing (downhill and cross-country), snowmobile and ice skating. The ski slopes have fifteen downhill and twelve cross-country ski ranges. This is the largest ski resort in the United States. Over half of the winter visitors to Lake Tahoe go there to ski.

Rock climbing is done in Bear Valley located in Central High Sierra Nevada, at Phantom Spires and Sugarloaf on South Lake Tahoe. Sugarloaf has a pitch of approximately 350 feet and is a popular climbing site in the winter, while Bear Valley offers climbs no higher than 100 feet. Phantom Spires’ climbing is steep and best climbed in early summer through fall season.

In addition to the outdoor activities, Lake Tahoe boasts some of the best casino hotels around – Caesars, Harrah’s, Harvey’s and Horizon. The casinos present top-notch entertainers year-round and have outdoor concerts in the summer. You can expect world class accommodations at the hotel casinos at Lake Tahoe with luxurious guestrooms, fine dining in their restaurants, swimming pools, spas and, of course, the casinos. Casinos are open twenty-four hours a day with some of the best gaming tables. The accommodations for Harrah’s and Harvey’s have been awarded the AAA Four-Diamond award.

Yes, the casino hotels even have wedding chapels with an experienced staff to help in planning a wedding, reception and honeymoon package. The chapels are beautifully designed and make a lovely setting for a wedding. Bridal suites are also available in the hotels.

So, whether you want outdoor activities or just simply enjoy the luxurious casino hotels, Lake Tahoe is definitely a place to consider for your next vacation.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to

Liberia International Airport is growing in popularity as an entry point to Costa Rica, providing a more amenable alternative for the north western region than San Jose is able to offer. The airport is as yet (although redevelopment is on the cards by 2007), reminiscent of a somewhat provincial domestic airport where you must make your own way across the scorching tarmac to the small airport building. Yet don’t let this put you off! The benefits include a rapid exit and less time through customs, an instant view of the Costa Rican landscape with volcanoes in the distance and nature all around you. On exiting the airport, there is no trouble negotiating your way through unknown foreign city roads in your unfamiliar rental car, as your only options are a straightforward left or right when you meet the highway.

From Liberia airport you can be at the beach in as little as 20 minutes. Playa del Coco (the closest) is an old fishing village, that provides one of the best locations from which to enjoy a spot of diving or fishing on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. A little further away (about 45 minutes) is the Papagayo Peninsula, renowned for its beauty and the pleasure of having the largest area of all inclusive hotels in Costa Rica. This area is earmarked for a huge investment injection mostly from foreign investors who are seeing big development prospects here. Heading south you will find the famous beach of Tamarindo, just a hour and a half from Liberia. When you compare this to the 4 hour trip from San Jose, you can see the benefits especially for those whose time is short.

Liberia also provides an access point to some of the best Costa Rican National Parks and reserves. Santa Rosa National Park, the last remaining piece of dry forest in the region also contains a Costa Rican historical site, famous for the rebuff of the north american filibuster William Walker who attempted to invade Costa Rica in 1856. The park is also home to the famous Witch’s Rock, renowned among surfers all around the world.

Just 45 minutes from Liberia is the Rincon de la Vieja National Park, home to the active volcano Rincon de la Vieja. The park includes several trails that pass by fumaroles and boiling mud pots. You can also reach the crater of this volcano and look down upon the acidic lake while taking the utmost care not to lose your footing!

The city of Liberia itself is a welcome relief for many foreigners from the chaos of San Jose. It bears the mark of a relaxed, provincial town, but it one awaking from its long slumber. The Guanacaste region’s growth as a tourist destination has allowed for an increase in employment opportunities in Liberia, the business center for the region. This, along with the several university colleges in the town, has meant that a more vibrant, youthful culture is making itself apparent. This is especially evident in the proliferation of bars with a more modern, western style to add to the flavor of the local nightlife.

Liberia, is a town in the making and one hopes that it will continue in its beneficial growth to aid the local population and to delight visitors to Costa Rica.

The author, Julia Thurston, lives in Liberia and works through liberiacostaricainfo.com/ Liberia Costa Rica Info where you can find information on hotels, transportation and tours in Liberia, the North West Pacific beaches and the Guanacaste region.

There is no tourist destination that we could compare London with. In this city marked with royalty, we can find a cultural heritage aged back to the time when the world had not yet learnt to live in harmony. It contains the remnants of that civilization that had marked its place on the world map, coupled with works of countless architects of historical and contemporary era, who have shaped this land into a tourism paradise. Being one of the major cities of the world, there may not be a place where London may sound an unfamiliar identity. This ensures that getting to London is not that difficult. There is an airline route to London from almost anywhere in the world.

It won’t be wrong also, if it was said that London marks the least number of tourist trouble cases in the world. Help is available online and almost everywhere one seeks. It is because of this that nearly 13 percent of the entire population here is employed with tourism and hospitality industry. More to that almost 10 percent of the economy is derived from tourism in this city that has more than 2000 hotels, and countless historical sites that interest the tourist here. The backbone of tourism however lies in the hands of the hotels and their serving capacity.

It is not very uncommon that the tourists enjoy site seeing, but hotels fail to impress them. Although it is not entirely wrong that hotels here are better than most across the globe. But the reputation of the city precedes it. The solution of the choice lies in the hands of the tourist who has the responsibility if gathering the right information from the right source. This source can at times be misleading, but there are many guides that provide the correct and unbiased information online. People have also encountered situations where the information has more than confused them.

This usually happens as if one goes on searching; one may get more than what may seem to meet all the requirements. Here a person needs to think what option may go best for the purpose. This includes the business traveler the leisure travelers or those who have to organize their parties and ceremonies. If one goes by the expert opinion, one should always prefer those hotels that have experience in customer serving with variety. There are many hotels that have different branches that specialize in different sections at the same time. One such example may be given of the grangehotels.com/” target=”_blank grange hotels that have a long chain of 14 amazing holiday-locations associated with them. London gives its tourists what they want.

The beauty and exuberance of this city is such that it has attracted many movie directors from Hollywood as well. If the viewers might remember, it was the tower bridge that Stephen Somers chose for his movie “The Mummy Returns”; and the famous shot was one of the best that showed Brendan Fraser, Rachael Weisz and their son who was kidnapped by the bad guys who took off through the Tower Bridge. And it is just a coincidence that the location to that shot is just about 10 minutes from the famous grangehotels.com/grange_city_hotel/index.htm” target=”_blank grange city, a five star hotel from the grange chain that has been the destination of one of the most skeptical of travelers. This is only one such example where the beauty of the London and its assets were used by movie stars and directors to film one of the biggest hits of all times. London offers so much that it has become a fascination for many and an experience of a life time for those who have had the opportunity to see it.One can refer to londonhotels4u.com” target=”_blank London Hotels for further correspondence. That is why they call it a dream destination.

Vacations automatically translate into memories for future reference. Some of these memories do get permanently imprinted in the human mind but some need a cue to be recalled. Photographs provide this much needed cue. Well taken photographs are an indispensable part of a vacation.

Fort Lauderdale has its fair share of talented photographers. Excellent services are provided with the use of the latest technology in the field. They are equipped to provide a range of services both on location and in the studio. Photojournalistic or traditional- any kind of photography can be handled well by Fort Lauderdale photographers. Advertising photography, architectural photography, commercial photography like food, product and fashion photography; model portfolios and magazine photography are a few of the other special fields that Fort Lauderdale photographers operate in.

Their services are in high demand for weddings, bar mitzvahs and even corporate events. Digital manipulation is another highly specialized field in photography. Fort Lauderdale photographers can handle jobs involving digital manipulation too. A wide range of digital services like graphic design, illustration, digital imaging, transferring VHS to DVD, photo slideshows on DVD and design and creation of interactive digital business cards, is offered by Fort Lauderdale photographers.

Fort Lauderdale is a famous destination for beach weddings. For good photographs the photographer must be skilled enough to be able to take clear photographs in blazing sunlight. Children and family beach portraits are also very popular here.

High resolution negatives of photographs and full resolution, full rights CDs are provided with all packages. This ensures that the photographer will not use clients’ photographs without permission. For tourists, an express 20 second on site printing facility is available.

Locating Fort Lauderdale photographers is interesting through the Internet. Several listings lead you to highly talented photographers. Based on your needs, budget and other considerations a choice can be made. Samples of work done by the photographers are displayed both on websites and in studios. These help prospective customers to decide on which photographer’s services to employ.

e-FortLauderdale.com Fort Lauderdale provides detailed information on Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale Residential Real Estate, Fort Lauderdale Airport, Fort Lauderdale Bail Bonds and more. Fort Lauderdale is affiliated with e-dolphinswim.com Swim with Dolphins in Hawaii.