Vacation In Baja
Bahrain’s capital, Manama is one of the fine cities in Asia. It is home to a number of attractions including the famous and ancient Souq, Bahrain Fort and more. The Mangrove trees found along the coast by the Hidd village are some of the most beautiful and best mangrove trees in Asia. A trip to this place is definitely worth it.
Last month I spent a week in Bahrain on vacation. My husband, myself and my best friend took our kids and went to visit the island. It was an amazing experience that we would all like to repeat again. We stayed at the Ritz Carlton which is located in the financial district of Manama. The room was so elegant, reflecting luxury and upmost comfort, far from the hustle and bustle of Manama’s main city life. We also went out with a group of friends to different cities nearby; Aldar’s Faraya day trip where we visited one beach resort, some ancient architecture sites and some awesome shopping centers to look at unique jewelry designs made with coral stone. The wedding shops were really cool!
Vacation In Baja
When most people envision Bahrain, they think desert. But I came to realize that there’s more to the tiny Gulf Kingdom than sand dunes and camels. The island may be small, but it’s rich with culture, history, and colonial architecture. Many of the older buildings in Muharraq and Manama are perfectly preserved and can give a glimpse into the nation’s past. Just make sure you leave enough time to visit all of the country’s historical sites as you fly between different islands.
Bahrain is a tiny island country located in the Persian Gulf. Bahrain is more than 20 times smaller than the US state of Rhode Island, with the total area of only 597 square kilometers (230 square miles).
Buying a timeshare no longer means that you need to stay at the same resort or use it just every now and then. There are over 14,000 resorts world-wide that utilize RCI® Timeshare exchange privileges and can be exchanged for a vacation rental vacation home, condo or villa at any available location, year round. So, whether you want luxury condos in sunny Florida, condos overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii, a luxury villa near the ski slopes of Colorado or a villa with an ocean view in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, there is something for everyone with an interest in renting their timeshare for vacation rentals.
The Baja California Peninsula extends from Mexicali in the north to Cabo San Lucas in the south, boasting 1,900 miles of coastline. While it’s known for its beautiful beaches and desert environment, there are soaring mountains, waterfalls and abundant wildlife to discover on land and in the sea. If you’re looking for some of the most captivating places with lots of Instagrammable moments, these are some of the most beautiful destinations in Baja to put on your list.
Lovers Beach, Cabo San Lucas
Lovers Beach is one of Mexico’s most famous beaches, officially known as Playa del Amor, one side bordering the wilder Pacific while the other borders the calm Sea of Cortez. As it can only be reached by water, you’ll need to hop on a water taxi from the Cabo marina or Medano Beach across the clear azure waters, but that adventure is all part of the fun, with opportunities to view incredible rock formations, caves and marine life along the way. Once you arrive, enjoy relaxing on the golden sands or snorkeling among all sorts of tropical fish. Trips run every few minutes from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. – you’ll set the return time with your captain.
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Playa Balandra, La Paz
A popular day trip from La Paz, Playa Balandra often ranks among the most beautiful beaches in Mexico – in fact, USA Today named it No. 1 in the country. It offers powdery, soft, white sands that frame a stunning shallow turquoise lagoon that’s ideal for swimming or wading at low tide. Bring a picnic to enjoy under one of the palapas and swim or walk out to the unique mushroom-shaped rock that’s become the beach’s symbol. Stand-up paddleboarding and kayaking are possible here too. Paddle through the mangrove forest, looking down to see countless tiny, bright-colored fish darting through the roots of the trees.
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Punta Arena, La Ventana
If you want something stunning and remote, one of your best bets is Punta Arena, accessed by a bumpy dirt road about 35 minutes from La Ventana on the Sea of Cortez side of the peninsula. The strip of white sandy beach rarely sees much traffic but it offers outstanding snorkeling and diving in incredibly clear blue waters among all sorts of tropical fish, dolphins and even flying mobula rays that leap as high as six feet out of the water around sunset. There are no facilities so you’ll need to bring food and drinks – during the summer months, you’ll want an umbrella for shade.
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Cascada Sol De Mayo Watefall
Cascada Sol De Mayo offers an oasis in the desert, nestled at the base of the Sierra Laguna mountains. While it feels like it’s worlds away from the party crowds in Cabo, it’s just an hour’s drive north of the airport, providing a fabulous tranquil alternative for swimming. Visitors can leap 25 feet into the calm pool where a waterfall flows in by taking a short hike on a well-marked trail. While guided tours are available, it’s easily reached independently via Highway 1 – take the turn off to Santiago and watch for the Sol de Mayo and Waterfalls signs.
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San Ignacio
Located in the central part of the peninsula, San Ignacio is a small, pretty town with lots to offer. The gorgeous lagoon on the road is part of the Rio San Ignacio, one of the only two real rivers in all of Baja California Sur. It’s home to the San Ignacio Mission, founded by the Jesuits in 1728, worth visiting with its Baroque altar, wood and gold plate with seven religious oil paintings, while the river through offers activities like kayaking and swimming. A popular road trip stop in the Baja Peninsula, visitors can also explore the nearby aboriginal cave paintings, and during the winter months, join a whale-watching trip to the famous lagoons where the gray whales give birth to their calves every year.
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Rock Paintings of Sierra de San Francisco
Located near Mulege in the San Francisco Mountains are Baja’s most impressive rock art pictographs. A UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, the paintings date back more than a thousand years – some are even more than 7,000 years old as found through carbon dating. There are about 250 caves, all located in El Vizcaino bioreserve, with drawings that depict humans and their rituals, animals and tools, believed to have been made by the Cochimí, indigenous inhabitants of Baja California.
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Magdalena Bay
Magdalena Bay is filled with striking beauty and abundant wildlife from pelicans to whales. In fact, it’s best known for offering close encounters with gray whales that congregate here between mid-January and mid-April before heading north to Alaska on their annual migration. Lots of other creatures enjoy the shelter found here as well, including an abundance of sea birds seeking sanctuary in the large swathes of mangroves neighboring the bay.
