By Shannon Farley

I want to be part of a Blue Zone.

What is a “Blue Zone,” you ask?

It is a place where people live happily and healthily for a very long time.

The term was popularized by author-educator-explorer Dan Buettner in his 2008 book, “The…

By Shannon Farley

A friend of mine is a consummate travel fanatic. She’s traveled all over the world and knows the ins and outs of internet travel websites like nobody’s business. Nevertheless, she still uses a local travel agent whenever she plans her family’s holidays. Going to Ecuador? She contacts a travel expert in Ecuador. Going to the Baltics? She used an agency specializing in the region. Going to Chile? Same…

By Shannon Farley

Take a deep breath. Now imagine your lung capacity reduced by one-fifth. Find it a bit harder to breathe? What if that lessens?

Now take your focus out to a global view, and you hav e a clear picture of what is happening in the…

By Shannon Farley

One of the most amazing things I’ve learned how to do is scuba dive. It’s the closest thing to flying I’ve ever felt, and given my fear of heights (or, rather, falling from them), it feels a whole lot safer.…

By Shannon Farley

Do you like to work out in your hotel’s gym when you’re away? If you happen to be staying in Denmark’s Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers, keeping fit while traveling will help generate the hotel’s electricity and earn you meal vouchers in their restaurant. The flagship eco-hotel is the first hotel in Denmark to generate all of its power from renewable…

By Shannon Farley

Traveling with kids. For the seasoned traveler, it’s no big deal, they say. A bit more luggage and stuff to carry. For first-timers they tend to fall into two camps – optimistic or terrified.

My sister is probably the most efficient family traveler I know. She has her work cut out for her with 2-year-old and 4-year-old girls.…

By Shannon Farley

Dreamy, breezy, sun soaked days. Should I lie in the sun on my terracotta tiled terrace, or splash about in my private pool? Or maybe I’ll go for a swim in the sea in an azure blue cove edging a blindingly white sand beach. Later, I’ll take a siesta on my cushy white sofa, terrace doors thrown open to the ocean breezes, until the temptation of chilled fresh fruit cocktails and a private chef-prepared gourmet dinner calls me to see the blazing…