Whether you want to stay state-side or head south of the border, we have a few suggestions for that last minute summer escape.

In Colorado, you can check out the upcoming Perseids meteor shower in Estes Park. The Estes Park Memorial Observatory is the perfect place to star-gaze away from the city lights and see the meteors up-close. Over Labor Day weekend, Estes will be hosting their annual Arts & Crafts Show. More than 100 booths will feature a variety of art, including paintings and drawings, jewelry, metal work, clothing, gourmet pantry items, wood carvings, pottery, glass and more.

In the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, the 37th Annual Film Festival will take place September 3-6. Staying true to the spirit of film-making, this Festival is intended for pure indulgence and enjoyment of films. The program is kept secret and isn’t released until just before the Festival kicks off, a great way to watch the movies without bias.

Haven’t had a chance to stick your toes in the sand? Then, head to Mexico’s Riviera Maya for a last minute trip. Over Labor Day Weekend, on September 4th the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival is presenting a Latin salsa and jazz concert in the Riviera Maya’s gorgeous seaside village of Tulum. The concert will feature a selection of renowned Latin salsa and jazz artists including Araya-Orta Latin Jazz Quartet, Eddie Palmieri and India.

For the adrenaline junkies and outdoor enthusiasts out there, be sure to check out the awesome Weekend Getaways offered by REI Adventures. No matter where you are located in the U.S., a Weekend Getaway is nearby. Whether you want to learn to rock climb in New Hampshire, Virginia or North Carolina, kayak in Washington’s San Juan Islands or Wyoming’s Yellowstone Lakes, backpack in Shenandoah, hike in Vermont or summit a peak in California, REI has the ideal trip for you. Many Weekend Getaways still have space available but make sure to book soon before they fill up!

It’s not too late to take a break and have a real summer vacation with family and friends…now get out there and have some fun!

1)    Enjoy the local cuisine. Preferably aboard a 130-ft megayacht like the one David V. Johnson, owner/developer of Oil Nut Bay, North Sound Yacht Club and Biras Creek Resort, invited us aboard for breakfast one morning. If you can’t make that happen, we suggest indulging in several of the local favorite: Painkillers, delicious drinks made with rum, cream of coconut, pineapple juice, orange juice and nutmeg. They’ll make you forget all about that megayacht.

2)    Have a motorboating (this still makes us giggle) race through the renowned boating waters of the North Sound surrounding Virgin Gorda; we took out the complimentary Boston Whalers provided for guests of Biras Creek Resort. Afterwards, the loser buys Painkillers for all at one of the many cool island bars in the vicinity. Our favorite? The Fat Virgin, for both drinks and world famous conch fritters.

3)    Go spelunking at The Baths, one of the great natural wonders of the world. While known for its exceptional snorkeling, it also features magnificent caves and grottos. Just take our word and pay close attention to where you came from (there are plenty of signs leading you in, but strangely, none out!). We got lost and were forced to blame the whole situation on Eddy, our male tour guide, a.k.a.  guest from Islands, because aren’t men supposed to have a better internal compass for these sorts of things?

4)    Enjoy (read: harass) the local wildlife. We trailed an eagle ray and sea turtle while snorkeling at The Baths, tracked iguanas, hermit crabs and conch at Biras Creek Resort, and spotlighted sea urchins, lobster, sea cucumbers and loads of fish from Biras’ glass bottom boat.

5)    Exercise your inner-adventurer. We went sea kayaking, boating, snorkeling and hiking all in one day. We also enjoyed biking around Biras’ expansive grounds (fun, but we’re curious where the expression, “It’s just like riding a bike” came from. Riding a bike for the first time in five years is hard!). Don’t be afraid to try something new – we went paddle boarding, and then tried our hand at surfing. We didn’t get far, but we had a blast. We think the “belongers” (those who hail from the islands) would be proud.

You can head to Paris to see the second major tennis tournament of the year, the French Open. This year, many fans started off the day cheering for top doubles players, the American Bryan Brothers, and French sensation Gael Monfils before hitting up the Eiffel Tower and devouring freshly baked croissants. If you’re headed to France during the month of July, you can check out the Tour de France running from the 3rd to the 25th. The Tour starts and ends in Paris but stages are held throughout the entire country. Pick your favorite location and coordinate the dates to watch the race, remember not to blink too much though, or else you might miss the cyclists whizzing by at over 33 mph.

Other European hotspots for sports include London for the Wimbledon tennis tournament taking place June 21st  to July 4th or the PGA’s British Open in coastal Fife, Scotland, running from July 15th -18th.

If you’re staying stateside, check out the NBA finals in Los Angeles and Boston (this year) throughout the month of June. Or take a trip to a famed ballpark (the hotdogs at Wrigley Field in Chicago are said to be unmatched by any other). If golf’s your thing, you can plan a sun-filled trip to Pebble Beach, California for this year’s U.S. Open Jun. 17th-20th. Better yet, visit your Aunt Betty in Wisconsin and head up to Whistling Straits for the PGA Championship Aug.12th-15th. Want to visit NYC? Book a trip Aug. 30th – Sept. 12th and watch the world’s best tennis players duke it out at the U.S. Open.

Last but not least, who can forget the greatest sporting event in the world, the FIFA World Cup? Every four years, I camp out in front of my television for an entire month and watch the 32 best soccer teams from around the globe fight for bragging rights and title of the world’s number one team. The tourney takes place in nine host cities throughout South Africa starting June 11th and lasting through July 11th, but America’s first game is the 12th against England. Prepare for bloodthirsty fans running down the street of your local pub with their nation’s flag tied around them like a cape. And if you so choose to partake in this activity, I promise not to judge.

As I sit here planning my upcoming trip to Portugal and Northern Spain, I peruse the guidebooks for the umpteenth time and try to recall the countless recommendations I’ve received from people I know who have been there.  But then I start thinking about what I really want to get out of this adventure.  And that’s when I decided to put the guidebook down and slowly back away.  Because what I want, is a truly authentic experience…

“Experiential Travel” has become an increasingly popular trend over the past few years, emerging as the new way (and the best way, in my opinion) to travel.  It’s no longer about simply going to a place and just seeing it.  It’s all about actually experiencing it.  This means stepping out of the ordinary (and perhaps your comfort zone) to go off the beaten track.  Think of every trip you go on as an adventure or exploration…not just a vacation, and discover the authenticity of the place you’re visiting.  A huge part of this is done by connecting with the destination and immersing yourself in the culture that surrounds you.  Oddly enough, the best way to travel is to not be a “tourist”.  (Note-to-self.)  And fortunately, nowadays, there are countless ways in which to do this.  (You just have to be willing.)

So, here are a few tips on how to create the experience you want:

1.     Talk to the locals.  The best way to create an authentic experience is to meet the people who live there.  Get their recommendations for where to eat, what to do and what to see.  Let your curiosity get the best of you and ask locals questions about their traditions and the heritage of the area.

2.     Be a “locavore”.  Eat at a restaurant that only locals eat at.  Sample the cuisine indigenous to the area or better yet, learn how to cook it.  Taste the wine from the region you’re in and discover how to pair it with the area’s traditional dish.  Essentially, turn off of Main Street and take the road less traveled.  You never know what you’ll find just around the corner.

3.     Choose your lodging wisely.  Why on earth would you travel to an exotic locale, only to stay in a hotel that looks like it could have been located anywhere in the world?  Instead, stay at a hotel that offers a true sense of place.   Where you stay throughout your travels, should capture the local flavor and reflect the destination that you’re in.  Seek out lodging that has intriguing architecture and inventive décor and, in turn, provides a unique experience.  Boutique hotels are a good way to go as they usually boast a great deal of character and often are a departure from the norm.  Although, to their credit, even several big name brand hotels have started to change their tune so that Brand X’s Hotel Barcelona, for example, is now quite different from Brand X’s Hotel Chicago.

4.     Learn by doing.  Engage in the local culture and customs and get to know the history of the area you’re visiting.  If you want to take a tour, hire a local guide.  Sure, go check out the typical “tourist-y” sites, but then ask them to show you everything else.  After all, won’t a local know the area best?  Learn the local language by taking a class.  Find out if there are any opportunities to volunteer in the area while you’re there.

Basically, what I’m saying is…step off the tour bus, put the guidebook down, and travel the right way.

Foodspotting – Billing itself as a “a visual local guide that lets you find dishes instead of just restaurants,” the website is addictive (even though I use the iPhone app more). From Rhubarb Cheesecake to Lobster Bisque, you can find about any dish, with pics.

Chevia – A competitor to Foodspotting, the interface is rougher but it includes a wider range of products – which may or may not ultimately be a good thing.

Urbanspoon – The iPhone app is fabulous fun, letting you search for specific cuisine (by neighborhood and pricepoint), or you can shake the phone – literally – to let the app randomly select a recommendation. Bonus: it looks and feels like a slot machine, complete with sound effects.

Yelp – I’m fully aware of the controversy around Yelp, but I generally find the reviews helpful, and especially love the discussion boards for discovering new eateries.

From a young age I have traveled to the Riviera Maya to spend a week away from reality. However, in the past decade the Riviera Maya has enticed travelers interested in adventure travel and ecotourism, not just R&R. Each time I return to the Riviera Maya I am astonished with the advancements in this travel sector.

What I have come to love so much about Xel-Há is how it makes nature accessible to any traveler. At the park I’ve swam with dolphins. I’ve been snorkeling by myself when a sting ray uncovered itself from the sand and slowly floated up beneath my body. I’ve even mastered the swaying, floating bridge.

As I’ve learned more about the Riviera Maya through Turner, I now have three new adventure sites I’m dying to visit:

Coba Sunset: An afternoon tour where travelers can visit the archaeological site of Cobá by foot or bicycle. It includes a workshop on Mayan ceramics, a dinner of regional dishes and a performance to live Mayan music by the Tihosuco Mayan community.

Hidden Worlds: Boasting the one-of-a-kind SkyCycle, a cable with a bicycle suspended at tree top level. This one kilometer bicycle ride in the sky allows riders pedal over the natural park without disturbing the eco-system.

Rio Secreto: A system of caves and subterranean rivers where travelers can swim or walk through the Mayan jungle that is filled with stalactites and stalagmites.

But for now, it’s spring in Colorado. Although I’m not in the Riviera Maya, luckily, at Turner my day allows me to work with clients that take me from the turquoise Caribbean, to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, to the heart of Downtown Denver all in a day!

I’m writing this from the comfort of my hotel room (suite, really, but who’s counting) on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. This happens to be one of my favorite places in the world, a small collection of lush volcanic islands nestled between the Atlantic and the Sir Francis Drake Channel. I’ve been here a few times, and learned some important lessons that apply to almost all Caribbean travel:

1. You will have to ride in a tiny plane at some point, since the airports don’t accommodate large jets. Tiny is anywhere from 8 seats to 80; check online to see which one you are on.

2. If you are on the 80 seater, reserve a seat in the BACK. That’s where you load, and more importantly, unload. You want to be the first off the plane to beat the rush to customs.

3. It is also helpful to be the very last person to get on the plane. Your cute little carry-on bag won’t fit in the tiny plane, so they’ll stow it underneath. If your bag goes in last, it comes out first.

4. If you are in the 8 seater, they’re going to ask your weight. In front of everyone.

5. If you are in the 8 seater, you can ask to sit in the co-pilots chair if it’s empty. Which is awesome.

6. Most countries require TWO forms to enter: one for Customs, and one for Immigration. For indeterminable reasons, the airlines only ever seem to have the customs forms. Ask for immigration, and if they don’t have it, snag one while waiting in line immediately after departing. They take a while to fill out.

7. Don’t use your cell phone in immigration, ever.

8. If you travel with an iPhone, change the settings to disable data roaming. International rates are CRAZY, and if someone sends you an email with a photo attached, you’ll get a bill bigger than your car payment.

9. When you are departing, be prepared to have your luggage manually searched. Sometimes every single item is removed from your bag and re-packed, dirty underwear included. Pack accordingly.

That’s it! Next week = Mexico!

Situated along the eastern coast of Mexico in the state of Quintana Roo, the Riviera Maya offers tranquil Caribbean waters and the mystique of the ancient Mayan culture. Providing travelers with a variety of options from sparsely populated beaches, a vast network of underground rivers, over 100 cenotes—water-filled sinkholes—and the action of eco-adventure sports including kayaking, mountain biking, scuba diving, snorkeling, trekking, bird watching and deep sea fishing, the Riviera Maya is celebrated for the warm hospitality of the people and the excellent accommodations, including charming boutique hotels, all-inclusive properties or upscale resorts

Estes Park is an outdoor-lover’s paradise, offering world class hiking, horseback riding, fly fishing, wildlife and bird watching, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and much more. Adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park and faraway from the city hustle and bustle, the authentic, unassuming charm of Estes Park coupled with the wealth of activities establishes this as a very popular destination not only for nature enthusiasts, but for active couples and families of all sizes. Noted for its unrivaled appeal, Estes Park was recognized for the past three years as “Colorado’s most popular mountain vacation destination,” according to Longwoods International.

Turner PR feels pretty darn lucky to educate the media and public on these two captivating destinations!

Aside from stellar weather, random celeb sightings and brilliant films, we fancied the locals and chose to take a pic with Mustafa the moose:

Believe me, we aren’t complaining. In fact, we’re all so passionate about travel, to us, it’s the best part of the job. But it also means long hours aboard germy airplanes and lots of eating out. And now, while flu season is in full-swing, it’s especially hard to stay healthy when that’s on your agenda.

So, I’ve compiled a quick list of tried-and-true tips for staying healthy while you’re on the road, in the air or sailing the deep blue seas. You know the basics: get plenty of sleep, get a flu shot and wash your hands frequently.  But here’s a few tips you might not have heard, all of which we’ve found useful while jet-setting around the globe.

1. Hand sanitizer. It is your best friend people. Use it! Especially when traveling in third world countries where you may not have access to a clean bathroom everywhere you go. Germ-X makes one that comes in TSA-approved sizes and yummy scents like my personal favorite, Blastin’ Blueberry.
2. Your other best friend when you are traveling abroad? Bottled water. That may seem like a given, but don’t forget about the water you don’t actually drink. Be sure to ask for no ice in your cocktail, and use bottled water to brush your teeth.
3. Afraid airport food will get the better of you while you are on the road? Never fear – pack those little 100 calorie snack packs in your carry-on. They’ll save you when you get that second-layover-of-the-day Häagen-Dazs craving.
4. If you are going to be staying in a hotel for longer than three days, aim for one with a mini fridge, and as an added bonus, a microwave. You can stop by a local grocery store for some quick and easy dining options. Not only will this be easier on your wallet (unless you are a fan of paying $12 for a snack from the mini-bar), it might save you from an unhealthy morning bacon binge at the hotel’s restaurant.
5. Wear socks on days you’ll be flying. Why? You’ll be asked to take your shoes off at the airport, and so will millions of other passengers, many less hygienic than you. I certainly don’t want to come back from a weeklong vacation in paradise with a nasty case of foot fungus, and I doubt you do either!
6. Emergen-C and Airborne rock my socks off. Stick some in your carry-on. If you feel something coming on, self medicate immediately. And even if you aren’t feeling like you have a cold coming on, it’s smart to pre-empt the germs that are so easily transferred from person to person via the re-circulated air on planes. Even in times when we aren’t traveling much, in efforts to counteract the germs our staffers with kids or those that caught something on their last business trip bring into the office, we pop this stuff like candy and it makes a BIG difference.
7. Last but not least, be sure to take your laptop out of its case and place it ALONE in one of those TSA bins before you go thru security. Why you ask? Are there some crazy laptop-loving germs that will somehow infect me if I don’t do this?! No, but there are many angry passengers that think you should know this and are none too happy when the TSI has to back up the conveyor belt, lecture you on proper security protocol and then re-screen your belongings and those of everyone behind you. Forget the flu or a cold, this one might just save you from a black eye. You’re welcome!