The Southern Travel Blog

The Southern Girl Travel Guide to Sandals Montego Bay!

Along the white sand beach at Sandals Montego Bay resort

Warning: there’s a ton of information in this extra-long post so don’t be afraid to scroll around or bookmark it and come back later!

If you’ve read our Southern Girl Travel Guide to Sandals intro post, you’ll know how impressed we’ve been with Sandals all-inclusive resorts.

We’re convinced Sandals resorts are some of the best places anywhere for busy couples and families to relax and unwind. We’re convinced you’re going to love them, too.

Because we know you’re going to love them, we’re making sure you have access to great info on each one of the resorts. While Sandals all-inclusive resorts cover a lot of the Caribbean (7 different countries), their home-base is in Jamaica.

This post features Sandals’ cornerstone Jamaican resort – Montego Bay. [Read more…]

3 Reasons to Use Club Mobay the Next Time You’re Flying to Jamaica!

By Mark

This will be waiting for you after Club Mobay…Sandals, Montego Bay!

Airports are rough all over the world these days.

Waits here in the U.S. can be terrible, but airport experiences in smaller countries can also be a nightmare.

The Sangster International Airport (MBJ) in Montego Bay, Jamaica is one of the busiest airports in the Caribbean. If you’ve ever arrived there at the same time as a dozen other planes full of tourists dying to hit the beaches, you’ll surely be happy to know there’s a quick way through the headaches of immigrations and customs.

It’s Club Mobay. We use it, and we recommend it to all our clients traveling to Montego Bay (actually we almost insist on it).

Why? [Read more…]

Relax and Create a Family Tradition with Lookout Cruises

By Mark

Sailing into a Beaufort sunset

Do you need some time to relax with your family?

We’ve got the perfect suggestion:

Create a new family travel tradition.

We think Beaufort, North Carolina is one of the coolest places to relax, anywhere. [Read more…]

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

By Mark

Do you have a Frozen fan or two in your family?

If so, now is a great time to relax at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios.

A screenshot from the official Disney Parks Blog…click through for the post

Through Sept 1st, Disney is offering a special package of reserved seating for Hollywood Studios’ newest Frozen attractions:

Anna & Elsa’s Royal Welcome procession (reserved viewing area)
First Time In Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration (reserved seating)
Frozen fireworks spectacular (including an exclusive dessert party in a reserved area for viewing)

Keep those Frozen fans happy and give us a call for all the details or check out the Disney Parks Blog. [Read more…]

North Carolina’s Last Best Place

By Mark

Just outside Bozeman, Montana…about 100 years ago

When we were in our 20s, Jennifer and I lived in Bozeman, Montana for a while.

What?

Long story…we moved there sight unseen…we loved it, but moved back to start a family. We wanted the kids to know their family (and we missed the ocean!)…but all that’s another story.

Back in the late 1980s, an anthology of stories about Montana was published entitled The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology.

It was edited by William Kittredge and Annick Smith. Kittredge came up with the title, and as he said of the expression, “It immediately took on a life of its own.”

The phrase always makes me think of Big Sky Country, but it also has this feel of wonderful, but fleeting places that might just disappear forever if we’re not careful. Last week’s hurricane, Arthur, made me think about how a single storm can change our coastline.

It also made me hope that one of North Carolina’s last best places is still with us post-Arthur.

Looking north toward Beaufort from Sand Dollar Island

That last best place is a little island near Beaufort, North Carolina. It’s called Sand Dollar Island, and island is really an overstatement. [Read more…]

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