Secrets of the Gower Peninsula.

Advantages: Stunning views, pristine and clean beaches, never too busy.
Disadvantages: The Gower is a fair way from most other places

...I lived in Swansea for three years between 1999-2002 while I was an undergraduate student. Clearly it wasn't all work and alot of my 'play' time was spent exploring the Gower Peninsula. A stunning and relatively unknown little gem tucked away in South Wales, The Gower was the first place in Britain to be designated as an 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' in 1949 and it truly lives up to this honour. Getting there and Away. ************************** You can get to the Gower in between 20 minutes and a hour from Swansea, if you're driving, depending on which bit you want to go to. Buses also run but these are sporadic and unreliable. You'd really be much better off in a car. The roads are good, although they are generally single track and wind back and forth which can make for slow progress should you get stuck behind...

nickyturnill 08.02.2005 (11.01.2006) · Read review
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Review of Gower Peninsula (Wales)

Home from Home

Advantages: Good location, great employees, lovely rooms and deliscous food.
Disadvantages: Service can be 'too' good

...I travelled to Bangkok (April 2008) for the first part of my honeymoon, we decided that if we were going to Thailand we had to see the capital just to say we had done it. We arrived in our taxi on the opposite side of the river to the peninsula, and looking at it from a distance of around 150m, it looks amazing. It sits on the opposite side of the river to the city itself away from the hundreds of other hotels in Bangkok. We got escorted through a small lobby which itself is beautifully decorated, and doesnt at all blend in with its surroundings. We followed the helpful peninsular representative down a small jeti and were confronted with an old rive boat converted into a peninsula shuttle boat. It took us gently across the river and docked in the peninsula's own private docking area. We were escorted to the lobby where all...

B_O_M_B_A 14.07.2008 · Read review
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Review of The Peninsula -, Bangkok

  The capital of the Istrian peninsula

Advantages: lots to do, culturally interesting place to visit
Disadvantages: didn't spend enough time there!

...On my sailing trip this year, Pula was our last port of call. A beautiful city with much to do, the visit was much appreciated by everyone who went with me. Pula, the largest city in the Istrian peninsula, has been in existence for almost three thousand years. As well as making it one of the oldest cities in Croatia, its long life is the main reason why the city boasts such a rich and diverse range of historical and cultural attractions. The Roman authority in Pula which was established around 177 BC gave Pula special importance and boosted the growth of the city. The influence of the Romans was probably the most important influence in the city's history, and this can be seen in its wide range of attractions. The major attraction of the city is its amphitheatre. Situated right outside Pula's harbour, it is one of the six largest...

emmorticia 17.12.2003 (18.12.2003) · Read review
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Review of Pula (Croatia)

Carpenters needed, good rates

Advantages: Lovely grounds, friendly staff
Disadvantages: Food became a bit repetitive.

...For our holiday in Cuba we stayed in two separate locations and the Tryp Peninsula was the second location after a few days in the hustle and bustle of Havana. The plan was to do the heavy tourist stuff in Havana and then have a relaxing week on an all inclusive resort. Certainly if you want to experience Cuba and also relax then I would recommend this kind of approach, once you get onto a resort you are pretty shut off from the local population other than hotel workers, in fact staying at the Tryp Peninsula you could effectively be staying on any all inclusive resort in the Caribbean with one exception, no Americans. Not that I'm anti American but their presence does bring with it a certain particular type of tourist (the minority thankfully) whose rudeness, arrogance and loudness I can do without. If I want that I can stay in Europe...

atticusuk 23.04.2008 · Read review
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Review of Tryp Peninsula Varadero

The Point

Advantages: "You don't know what you've got?"
Disadvantages: "?till it's gone." (Joni Mitchell)

...The beach you see in the photo at the top of this page can be found just a few miles short of the point of the Karpaz Peninsula. It is about a mile long and of soft sand. Behind the beach are dunes that become progressively more grassed over as you retreat from the shoreline, until you come under the shade of maritime pines. When my wife and I found our way down to this beach at midday on a sunny spring morning, we were the only people there. Having parked our hired car out of sight back down the bumpy track, we went to walk barefoot along the lapping wavelets at the water?s edge and feel the soft grains trickling in the tide between our toes. Then we selected a shady spot atop a dune for our picnic. Time passed as we ate, watching the shimmer of sunlight on the sea, undisturbed except by a hoopoe that came to perch...

torr 23.04.2007 · Read review
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Review of Karpaz Peninsula, Cyprus

The best hotel in the whole world!

Advantages: Affordable luxury, gorgeous rooms
Disadvantages: When the wind is blowing the wrong way, you can smell the pongy river from the pool

...Okay, the above opinion is based entirely on my own experience and I am sure a lot of people will disagree with me. Especially my parents who say that I am prone to exaggeration, plus Conde Nast Traveller magazine who only ranks the Peninsula Bangkok 5th best in the Asia (leisure travel) category for 2003. However, having done a reasonable amount of business and leisure travel over the years, particularly in Asia, the Peninsula Bangkok (let?s call it ?PB? to avoid typing fatigue) is the best hotel in which I?ve ever stayed. And believe me, after being spoilt by business travel, I am very difficult to please. I have stayed at the PB three times in total and always for leisure. The first time was in July 2002, when we (me and hubby-to-be) decided to have a last-night splurge after a fortnight in Thailand. We loved it so much that...

pinseyt 07.05.2004 · Read review
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Review of The Peninsula -, Bangkok

  I don't understand

Advantages: The Mayan remains
Disadvantages: The "Mayan Riviera"

...for Cancun because the road from there to Chiapas would take us through the Mayan relics in Yucatán. www.hoteles-mexico.com and a few phone-calls fixed us up with hotels on the outward journey. It all seemed very straightforward. Not until we were driving through the black jungle encroaching on the road from either side did we feel daunted at all. ∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆ ∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆&# 8710;∆∆∆∆∆∆∆ Fifty years ago the eastern side of the Yucatán peninsula was sparsely inhabited - just a few fishing villages dotted around its shores, reachable only by sea. My wife's aunt remembers staying in Cancun when it was one such village, and she and her husband were the only...

torr 25.01.2004 (06.04.2008) · Read review
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Review of Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico)

The Sands of Time.

Advantages: Breathe-taking scenery, peaceful, lots to see and do.
Disadvantages: No Larger-louts. no crime.

...Can you keep a secret? I'm asking this because I have wanted for a long time to introduce you to one of South Wales best kept secrets, The Gower Peninsula. In my heart I want it to remain, as I've always known it, an untouched part of Wales without all the trappings of commercialisation. Yet every year more people are drawn to this place with its many beautiful beaches and its air of a place unspoilt by time. I'm going to take you on a journey of exploration referring sometimes to its history but always keeping in mind that to set foot here the traveller must conform to the restrictions placed on the area by the National Trust. It's not a large place but due to its wild and windswept moors it can take the traveller up to an hour to reach it's furthermost point where the estuary of the River Burry flows into Broughton Bay...

Elffriend 09.08.2005 (10.08.2005) · Read review
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Review of Gower Peninsula (Wales)

Croeso i Gymru.

Advantages: See review.
Disadvantages: None known.

...The Gower Peninsula is one of those places that, although it is close to a city would not seem so - it is a rural setting, with urban life on its doorstep. Let me explain! Gower, although not an actual 'Area of Outstanding Beauty'; 'National Park' and that (or whatsoever you want to call it!), is still in my mind an area where paradise is all but felt. As already noted, it is on the doorstep of a city - Swansea. The very second you leave here, you meet the awesomeness of the area. In order to fully respect it, just go there! Like most things, you can never appreciate things without being there for yourself. On arriving, you will find a whole host and mixture of things to do. From coastal paths; through country village pubs; to spectacular views, even to surfing beaches - there is something to do for all of the family. There...

dynamicnurse 22.09.2007 · Read review
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Review of Gower Peninsula (Wales)

Something for everyone - an amazing place

Advantages: Scenery, beaches, sightseeing, walks, village pubs
Disadvantages: Small roads, campsites that fill up too quickly

...There is no better place where you can enjoy a day trip, a weekend, a week or even a longer holiday surrounded by such fantastic scenery and friendly people. Just a 3 and a half hour drive from London (to the further point on the peninsula) it is very easy to get to - either a direct train service (to Swansea) or just 1 motorway (M4) to contend with. The Gower is mostly comprised of small rural villages but there are several larger urban areas there too which adds to the variety. Due it's rural nature a car is essential when visiting. You then have the option for going further afield to visit other attractions nearby such as Pembrokeshire to the west for more scenery and beaches or Cardiff to the east for shopping and culture. There are 2 main routes into the Gower, along the south through Swansea or along the north through...

LJJames 04.07.2008 · Read review
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Review of Gower Peninsula (Wales)