Best Beaches: Top 10 Beaches in the Caribbean

Caroline Allison Caroline Allison
March 13th, 2010

Filed Under: Aruba vacation rentals, Bavaro vacation rentals, Cabarete vacation rentals, Cayman vacation rentals, Celebrities, St Barths vacation rentals, St Croix vacation rentals, St John vacation rentals, St Martin / St Maarten vacation rentals, Top Beach Destinations, Top Family Destinations, Tortola vacation rentals, Turks and Caicos vacation rentals

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Think Caribbean.   And what comes to mind?  Turquoise waters.  White sandy beaches.  Salty air.  Soft sand that melts at your feet.  Cool ocean breeze.  And coral reefs full of rainbow fishes waiting to be explored.

Its hard to go to the Caribbean and not find a lot of great beaches.  So, as you can imagine, it was tough to pick the best ones.  Nearly every island has amazing beaches except for Saba, which has rocky shores and Dominica, where most beaches are black sand beaches, absorbing the hot sun.  But even if the white sands are absent in Dominica and Saba, these islands are tropical paradises not to be missed as well.

So, here goes the list.

#10 The Beaches of St. Maarten/St. Martin:

Grand Case Beach, St. Martin; photocredit: blueseahorse

Grand Case Beach, St. Martin; photocredit: blueseahorse

With its 39 white sandy beaches, this island is like mini-Europe, divided about equally between France and the Netherlands.  Orient Beach is perfect for wind surfing, kite surfing, and swimming in the ocean on horses.  On the other side of Orient Beach, nudists frolick in their clothing optional beach area.  Maho Bay Beach offers up beautiful white sand, casinos and the best nightlife on the island.  Our top pick:  Grand Case.  Not only do you get great views of gorgeous turquoise waters with a view of Anguilla on the horizon, but you can indulge in gastronomical excess of fine French cooking.  Want to know a little secret?  The French say the food in St. Martin is better than in France.  Mmmm.  I’m getting hungry now.  Wanna go?  Find St. Martin vacation rentals.

#9  The Beaches of the Dominican Republic:

Playa Bavaro, Dominican Republic; photocredit: spaceritual

Playa Bavaro, Dominican Republic; photocredit: spaceritual

This island is rich in diversity with the highest mountain in the Caribbean and some of the region’s most gorgeous white sand beaches. Whether you prefer all inclusive resorts of the Eastern side of the island in Punta Cana and Bavaro or the raw beauty of the North Shore, there is something for everyone.  Our favorite picks:  Bavaro Beach and Cabarete.  Bavaro Beach offers and eclectic, young vibe energy and the softist sand that melts around your feet.  Cabarete’s horseshoe white sand beach is perfect for year round kite surfing, wind surfing, and surfing,  The beach is divided into three areas to accommodate each sport and hosts world class events each year entertaining top athletes who compete in these sports.  Experience these beaches via a Dominican Republic vacation rental. Continue Reading…

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Entertainer Wayne Newton losing home to foreclosure; may need a back up plan: a Las Vegas vacation rental

Caroline Allison Caroline Allison
March 4th, 2010

Filed Under: Celebrities, Las Vegas vacation rentals

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Wayne Newton - Entertainer at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas

Wayne Newton - Entertainer at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas

The “king of Las Vegas” Wayne Newton may not not be the king of his own castle soon.

According to the Las Vegas Sun, motorsports mogul Bruton Smith is suing Newton and his wife, claiming that they have failed to make payments on on a $3.35 million loan.

The Newtons asked Smith for a personal guarantee to obtain $3.75 million from Bank of America, which was to be secured by Continue Reading…

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Vancouver Olympics 2010 roundup: Top 20 gold medal winners so far

Caroline Allison Caroline Allison
February 24th, 2010

Filed Under: Celebrities, Top Skiing Destinations, Vancouver Olympics, Whistler vacation rentals

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Were you wanting to go to the Winter Olympics but couldn’t find affordable accommodations in Vancouver?  If you weren’t able to go, Viscape’s got you covered.  By the time the Olympics are over, 3.5 billion people will have tuned into various parts of the Vancouver Olympics either by television or mobile device.

Vancouver Olympics snow sculpture 2010; Tim in Sydney

Vancouver Olympics snow sculpture 2010; Tim in Sydney

With ratings up 22% over the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, the Vancouver Olympics even surpassed American Idol for viewership.  The International Olympics Committee predicts that this Olympics will be the most watched Olympics ever.

What accounts for the huge ratings increase?  With the Olympics taking place in the North American time zone, its easier for the United States and Canada to track the events.  With stellar performances of Olympic athletes like Lindsey Vonn and Shaun White, these champions draw in the viewers.

American skier Lindsey Vonn celebrates her Vancouver gold medal for the giantslalom; photo credit: AP

So who’s winning? Continue Reading…

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House cat fights 300 pound bear! See who wins. Now, why bring you pet on vacation?

Caroline Allison Caroline Allison
January 30th, 2010

Filed Under: Pet friendly vacation rentals, Travel Tips

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Seeing is believing.  And that’s why when we saw this video about a cat warding off a bear from a pet friendly vacation rental, we couldn’t help but reflect on how your pets can be an asset on your vacation.  Check out this video about a cat fiercely go after a bear.  The bear is rummaging around for garbage.  Is it a happy ending?  Gotta see the video to find out.

You not only get to capture memories of your pet on your trip, but you can also see them in action, test their grit Continue Reading…

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Who is little Miss Sundance? And its not who you think…..

Caroline Allison Caroline Allison
January 29th, 2010

Filed Under: Celebrities, Favorite Movies, Park City Condo Rentals, Top Skiing Destinations, Travel Tips

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The Sundance Film Festival is abuzz with “The Runaways,” starring new breakout star Kristen Stewart, who plays a young Joan Jett, when she started her rock band at age 16, named you guessed it – The Runaways.  The high octane coming of age drama portrays real life punk Joan Jett who runs away from home to start an all-girl rock band and snort cocaine with her friend portrayed by Dakota Fanning.

Kristen Stewart, Joan Jett, and Dakota Fanning at the movie premiere of the "Runaways" at Sundance; LA Times/Genaro Molina

Kristen Stewart, Joan Jett, and Dakota Fanning at the movie premiere of the "Runaways" at Sundance; LA Times/Genaro Molina

In another family drama, “Welcome to the Rileys,” Stewart plays another runaway role, Mallory, a stripper-hooker with a porn star’s wardrobe.  Both character’s shock quotient Continue Reading…

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Poll: Would you pay to watch Sundance flicks on YouTube?

Caroline Allison Caroline Allison
January 24th, 2010

Filed Under: Celebrities, Favorite Movies, Finding a Vacation Rental, Park City Condo Rentals, Top Skiing Destinations

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Its Day 2 of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.  If for some reason, you weren’t able to land a deal on a Park City vacation rental and couldn’t make the event, we’ve got you covered.

The big news coming out of the event is that Google launched an online rental service for 2010 Sundance movies.  Google’s interest to to offer a paid service for $3.99 to watch the movies for up to 48 hours on YouTube, David Eun, Google’s vice president for content partnerships, said yesterday in an interview.

The uber popular video-sharing site YouTube is looking for additional ways to drive revenue.  With movie studios paring back distribution into movie theaters, its harder for filmmakers to get distribution deals with theaters that carry their independent films.  Of the 9000 movies that were submitted to Sundance last year, only 53 were distributed to movie theaters.

The Cove - a feature film at 2010 Sundance Film Festival available on YouTube

The Cove - a feature film at 2010 Sundance Film Festival available on YouTube

YouTube’s movie rental service will allow independent filmmakers to set the price, and to a certain degree, become the studio themselves, maintaining 100% of the rights and profits.  Its a win-win for YouTube and the filmmakers.  At the event, filmmakers indicated that this is a much better solution than ad-supported access to Sundance movies, which often don’t meet their monetization needs.

At a press conference, Google announced its partnership with the Sundance Film Festival, making these five films Continue Reading…

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What’s the big deal about the movie “Nights in Rodanthe,” starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane?

Caroline Allison Caroline Allison
January 22nd, 2010

Filed Under: Celebrities, Favorite Movies, Outer Banks vacation rentals, Top Beach Destinations, Travel Tips

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The Nights of Rodanthe is a huge deal simply because it brought the silver screen and worldwide exposure to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  And its the first big screen movie to be filmed in the Outer Banks since the sci fi thriller Brainstorm in 1983, starring Chris Walken and Natalie Wood.  The Outer Banks Tourism Bureau and the Outer Banks vacation rental community hope the film increases awareness about the Outer Banks as a world acclaimed tourist hotspot.  Not that it isn’t already, but Hollywood helps, right?

Richard Gere and Diane Lane starring in The Nights of Rodanthe, a movie set in Outer Banks, North Carolina

Richard Gere and Diane Lane starring in The Nights of Rodanthe, a movie set in Outer Banks, North Carolina

Debuting in 2008, the Nights of Rodanthe film features A-list actors Diane Lane and Richard Gere and A-list writer Nicholas Sparks, who also wrote the critically acclaimed Notebook.  The movie is sort of like Under the Tuscan Sun meets Outer Banks:  attractive middle aged adults with baggage in their homelife heading to a vacation hotspot discovering love.  Ahhh!

Richard Gere and Diane Lane hugging; backdrop is Hatteras sand dune in the movie in "Nights in Rodanthe"

Serendipity - House made famous by the movie "Nights in Rodanthe" (2008); Rodanthe, Outer Banks, North Carolina; photo courtesy of wikipedia

The movie takes place at the Serendipity, a now famous oceanfront vacation home in Rodanthe, which is a beautiful seaside village in the northern most part of the Hatteras Island, North Carolina.  With Hollywood’s A-list in tow, one would think that the movie would have been a hit among the movie going public.

But not so.  Continue Reading…

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Sneak Preview: Top 10 Short Films at the Sundance Film Festival

Caroline Allison Caroline Allison
January 15th, 2010

Filed Under: Celebrities, Favorite Movies, Park City Condo Rentals, Top Skiing Destinations

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With the Sundance Film Festival kicking off January 21, 2010, its not too late to find some last minute deals on Park City condo rentals.  This year features an exceptionally enthralling line up of short films.  We’ve highlighted the top 10 must see films.

Paul Giamatti after the world premiere of the Illusionist with Jessica Biehl and Neil Burger in background; photocredit: Eugene

Paul Giamatti after the world premiere of the Illusionist with Jessica Biehl and Neil Burger in background; photocredit: Eugene

Brainchild of Robert Redford, the Sundance Film Festival was launched to discover filmmaking’s newest talent through the Festival’s program of short films, dramatic, and documentary.  From January 21 – 31st, the Festival is non stop entertainment with live music performances, panel discussions with filmmakers and parties with celebrities.  Each year the Sundance Film Festival selects 200 films for exhibition from more than 9,000 submissions.   The Park City area swells to more than 50,000 people who attend screenings in Park City, Sundance, Ogden, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

The 2010 Sundance Film Festival’s slate of short films is broken up into several sections:  U.S. Dramatic, International Dramatic, Documentary, Animated, and New Frontier.  In prior years the festival opened with one narrative film, however, Sundance 2010 will be switching it up premiering one short films program, one documentary and one narrative film all on opening night, Thursday, January 21:  François Alaux and Hervé de Crécy (Logorama), Rory Kennedy (The Fence), Spike Jonze (I’m Here), Patrik Eklund (Seeds of the Fall), and Rory Kennedy (The Fence).

Egyptian theater - at the heart of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah; photocredit atp tyresus

Egyptian theater - at the heart of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah; photocredit atp tyresus

According to movie buff and Sundance insider Eric Davis, top picks for  this year’s batch of shorts is Continue Reading…

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Happy holidays from Viscape!

Caroline Allison Caroline Allison
December 29th, 2009

Filed Under: Holiday Ideas

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Celebrating Christmas and holiday cheer around the world; photocredit: hikingartist.com

Celebrating Christmas and holiday cheer around the world; photocredit: hikingartist.com

Joyous Christmas!  Cheerful Hanukkah!  Merry Kwanzaa!  Mirthful Ramadan!  Did I miss any?  To you and your family – may you experience the wonders of the holidays with fond memories, family and friends and look forward to the best new year ever in 2010!

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Who said you have to eat turkey on Thanksgiving?

Caroline Allison Caroline Allison
November 27th, 2009

Filed Under: Holiday Ideas

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My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is the cranberry sauce. It goes so deliciously well with turkey. I feel a bit bad about turkeys being mass-slaughtered for our feasting pleasure. I thought these pics were pretty funny about turkeys outsmarting their owners to avoid becoming dinner. Who knows maybe someone will invent a turkey substitute? My mom is a determined vegetarian. Lucky for the turkeys, she’s enjoying tofurkey on Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, live, laugh, love, and most importantly, carpe diem!

Thankgiving turkey in hiding

Thankgiving turkey in hiding?

Where are the turkeys?

Where are the turkeys?


Happy Thanksgiving from Viscape

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