Having received an invitation to attend Smart Travel 14 in Northeast Portugal is an honour, and I'm thrilled to be in the lovely city of Braganca with my generous hosts. Portugal is a country steeped in tradition with world class architecture, culture, gastronomy and wine, and the Northeast is home to the world famous port wine. There's so much on offer in this region the Portugese may just have a chance of civilising me! Everything travellers love about Western Europe is right here in the friendly Northeast, and my worldly hosts have left quite an impression. I suppose that's to be expected, as the Portugese ruled half the world during the height of the Portugese empire. So here I am,…

If you were to close your eyes and picture the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about the Caribbean, it's a pretty safe bet that we would see stunning white sand, gorgeous beaches, and rows of palm trees. But when it comes to Tobago, the smaller of the two Islands that comprise T&T, the stereotypical image could not be further from the truth. Tobago is all about nature, with rolling hills and sheer drops down to the ocean from the winding roads a feature. There is also an extraordinary level of greenery on display, and tropical rains really make the colours of the Island spring to life. So it proved to be a pleasant change of scene when…

Trinidad & Tobago are the home Islands of Brian Lara and Dwight Yorke respectively. Two world famous sportsmen are proud to call these Caribbean Islands home, so if it's good enough for them it's certainly good enough for me! T&T is actually a big hitter in the Caribbean thanks to their extensive oil and gas reserves, and a lot of the banking and finance throughout the West Indies now emanates out of the capital Port of Spain. Trinidad plays host to the Carnivale in February each year, where revellers flock from all around to enjoy the boisterous street dancing, calypso and steel drums. However, aside from this once a year event the Islands are not that well known as tourist…

The people of the West Indies seem endlessly intrigued by my wilder tendencies, which tend to surface every time I visit the Caribbean. "You're sporting bare feet man!" a woman in Barbados exclaimed in amazement the other day. The locals will stare at my feet likes it's an amazing sight to behold, but ever since I was a kid I've always loved to get around sans footwear. Sandals and other footwear can pinch and grate after a while, so it's great to feel wild and free here in the sun, that is between swims in the glorious blue waters of the Caribbean! So here I am in Barbados, a legendary resort island on the Caribbean circuit, and the island considered…

Antigua reminds me of a beautiful woman who is having a quiet night in, and you are fortunate enough to meet her for the first time. There is something about her, no doubt, but it is an understated beauty. Hey, need I remind you this is the Caribbean, so the island is bound to impress right? That being said, Antigua has 365 beaches which is the most in the Caribbean, and one for every day of the year as the locals are fond of saying. This Caribbean pearl is a regular stomping ground for the rich and famous for very good reason. When you first lay eyes on the beaches of Antigua it all comes into focus, as this stunning…

Saint Martin is an idyllic Caribbean island that has completely won me over during this visit. Things are a little complicated here, so let me explain from the outset this is the smallest land mass in the world to be split into two autonomous regions. The capital and the airport are within the Dutch Saint Maarten, and the northern half of the island is French and called Saint Martin. As far as the population is concerned, the Dutch part of the island comprises around 60% to 40% on the French side. However, this tiny Caribbean island has a little more French territory than Dutch. The Treaty of Concordia was signed in 1648 as both countries coveted this beautiful island, and…

I think someone had Jamaicans in mind when the word cool was first defined in the English language. For a tropical country in the Caribbean, there seems to be cool ice running through their veins. These cats are the real deal; and the reggae rhythms, the fist bumps, the languid strides, and the easy rapport of Jamaicans are really starting to win me over. I had a level of apprehension before flying into Kingston, but now that I have settled in and had the chance to explore some of this magical island I'm beginning to understand the great appeal the tropical island of Jamaica has for so many travellers from around the world. The commutes are effortless, cheap and well…

This is Jamaica man. The home of Bob Marley and a bunch of super cool rasta cats, and it's long been my dream to visit the legendary island in the Caribbean. Part of the appeal for a boy from Oz is the sheer enormity of getting over here from Australia, it's difficult to find a location as exotic or far flung. If an Australian wants to visit the beach, well basically just jump in your car and the majority of the population will be by the sea in a jiffy. Alright then, but if a location more tropical is on the cards South East Asia is also on our doorstep. A visit to Bali, Thailand, and other resort meccas are…

The United Arab Emirates are an intriguing travel destination, and up till now I had only ever stopped off in various airports while in transit to Europe. The UAE is ideally situated as a connecting base to the world, and the capital of the seven Emirates is Abu Dhabi. My flight home from Bahrain was already booked with Etihad, the world's leading airline based out of Abu Dhabi. However, when a fellow travel blogger messaged to say that he was currently in the city, I jumped at the opportunity to spend a day with him in impressive Abu Dhabi. I scrambled to have my flight changed out of Bahrain, and jetted out of the island country in the morning for…

There are times spent in any person's life just doing your thing, trying to live a good life and stay true to yourself when an unexpected opportunity presents itself. Well there I was, back in Sydney, basking in the afterglow of a magnificent time in the Arctic just a few months ago and settled back in the office routine. Then my application was accepted to participate as a delegate of the Discover Bahrain program 2014, and I'm happy to be posting this entry after more than a week spent in the capital Manama. The organising team have arranged a very busy program over a period of eight days for the nineteen delegates from around the world. To be honest I…