November 7, 2024 • 25 mins
Escape the winter blues with us as we uncover hidden gems that promise warmth and adventure without the need for a passport. Ever dreamt of swapping snow for sunshine? From charming towns, outdoor activities like fishing, snorkeling and hiking, to casino escapades. Then, picture yourself basking in the sun on a beautiful beach with no stress. Enjoy National Parks or indulge in the bustling markets or immerse yourself in the local culture.
As we wrap up, we'll beckon you with a tantalizing hint of a lesser-known American wonder, teeming with Wild West lore and cinematic history, promising to be the highlight of our next adventure. Safe travels and warm wishes as you chart your course to these sunny retreats!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi and welcome to the Traveling Fool.
I'm your host, bob Bales, andthis week we are talking about
seven sunny destinations thatyou can go to to escape that
nasty winter cold this winter,and none of them are in
California, florida or Hawaii.
So stay tuned and we'll beright back.
(00:21):
All right, welcome back.
And before we get started, letme just tell you something.
(00:43):
I hate cold weather.
Yes, I live in the South, but Ispent 20 years in the military,
most of it overseas and a lotof it in really cold weather,
and then, 10 years after Iretired, I went to work overseas
as a military contractor forabout, oh, eight and a half
years, and it was cold.
(01:05):
I don't like cold weather andI've lived in the States in cold
weather and I don't like it.
It's not fun, I hate it.
So that's why I like to spendas much time as I can in the
winter someplace nice and warm,and I know I can't be alone out
(01:25):
there.
I mean some of you people thatlive in the north where it gets
bitterly cold and shoveling snowall the time.
I know you're sick and tired ofit.
You say, oh, it's beautiful,the snow's so pretty and it's
just so nice and peaceful.
Come on about January, you'relike you know what this sucks, I
need to get out of here.
So let me tell you about sevenplaces that you can go this
winter and get out of the cold.
(01:47):
Now everybody thinks aboutgoing to Hawaii, california and
Florida, because they're alwayscrowded in the wintertime, with
everybody escaping the coldweather, and the weather's great
there and the beaches arebeautiful and everybody knows
about it.
So let's just skip those threeand we're going to talk about
places that you can go where theweather's nice and, although
(02:08):
there might be some tourists, itprobably will not be overrun
with them.
Now, not everybody has apassport, although I think you
should get one, just because itopens up the door to just a lot
more travel opportunities, justa lot more travel opportunities.
But, having said that, we'regoing to talk about places where
(02:28):
US citizens can travel thiswinter without having a passport
.
Now the first word we're goingto talk about is Mississippi.
Yeah, I know a lot of peopledon't think about Mississippi
when it comes to beach travel,but coastal Mississippi has 62
miles of shoreline and a bunchof stuff to see and do and,
(02:49):
believe it or not, there's like10 or 12 towns along that
stretch of coast that range froma little town called Waveland
on the western part, where youcan enjoy not only the beach but
fishing, charter cruises, greatfood and tons of outdoor
activities, to Pascagoula, onthe eastern stretch of the
coastline.
And Pascagoula has a lot ofhistory, great outdoor
(03:10):
activities and, of course, thebeaches.
And it's hard to pick just onecity or town, since you can
drive the entire stretch inabout an hour and a half or two
hours.
But whether you visit Biloxi,gulfport or one of the others,
you can rest assured thatthere's great dining, fishing,
(03:31):
boating, shopping, history andoutdoor activities and just a
few miles in any direction youtravel.
And oh yeah, I forgot tomention the casinos.
There's a bunch of casinos.
There's like 13 casinos locatedin coastal Mississippi where
you can try your luck, see ashow and a whole lot more.
And it's nice and warm there.
You can fly into Gulfport, renta car and explore the area and
the average temperature inJanuary, the coldest month of
(03:54):
the year, is 50 degrees.
Now, to me, 50 degrees is alittle chilly.
I don't like it.
It's starting to get a littlenippy Time to get out to
Winter's Goats.
But if you're from somewhere upnorth where you've got four
feet of snow, 50 degrees isn'tbad, and it's often a lot more
warmer than that.
(04:20):
Now, the second place is in myhome state of Texas, and when
you think of Texas beaches, whatcomes to mind?
Well, galveston might come tomind, but South Padre Island Now
.
I grew up in Corpus Christi,which is down on the Gulf Coast,
and spent many a day on PadreIsland.
Now, where I used to go onPadre Island is now called Padre
Island, national Seashore, andvehicle traffic is limited to
(04:41):
just certain areas and certainthings you can do and cannot do.
However, padre Island is abarrier island and it's part of
the barrier islands that stretchall the way from Houston and
Galveston area to just a fewmiles from Mexico.
And while Corpus Christi is agreat destination with a lot to
(05:01):
do and Padre Island is a fundestination, jersey's a great
destination with a lot to do andPadre Island is a fun
destination.
South Padre Island is home tohotels, resorts, beaches,
nightlife and just a whole lotmore.
Now, south Padre Island isseparated from Padre Island by
the Mansfield Channel anddriving between the two is not
(05:22):
possible, and driving betweenthe two is not possible.
So to access South Padre Island.
You have to go down to theQueen Isabella Causeway, which
is from Port Isabel a littlefurther south, and you drive
over to the island.
It's about 287 miles from SanAntonio to Port Isabel and about
(05:46):
400 miles from Houston,depending on which route you
take.
And you can always fly intoBrownsville and rent a car and
drive the 40 miles to the islandif you want to.
Now, once there, you can expecta lot of fishing charters for
hire.
There's live music venues.
They have festivals all thetime.
They've got dolphin watchingcruises, themed cruises,
wildlife and nature excursions.
There's some nature areasaround there where you can do
(06:09):
all kinds of stuff.
There's tons of nightlife andgreat beaches and if you're
there at the right time, you canwatch a SpaceX launch from Boca
Chica, which is just across thebay from Port Isabel.
Just don't go during springbreak if you want to avoid the
crowds, because spring break itis a nightmare.
You got thousands of peoplecoming for spring break, but for
(06:31):
winter.
That's the time to go Now.
Another place you can take offto this winter, guaranteed to
have nice, beautiful weatherPuerto Rico.
That's right, puerto Rico is agreat destination and it's
easily reachable from the US,depending on what your interests
are.
There are three places that youcan spenda warm winter vacation
(06:55):
in Puerto Rico.
The capital of San Juan holds alot of history, culture,
nightlife, lots of stuff to seeand do.
You can explore old San Juanand visit the Castillo, one of
the big forts.
In El Morro, another one of thebig forts, spanish built.
(07:15):
They were built to guard thecity.
There's two of them there,beautiful.
You can also explore themuseums and historic sites,
enjoy the nightlife.
Maybe do a tour of one of therum factories.
Now, if a beach is more yourthing, head out to one of the
islands, the island of I knowI'm going to screw this up
Viquez and Culebra.
(07:37):
Both are accessible from ashort flight from San Juan, or
you can just drive the hour anda half to Ceiba, near the town
of Fajardo, and take the ferryto either island.
Now Vicas you can go horsebackriding, sailing, diving, visit
the last fort built by theSpaniards in the Americas, or
(08:02):
that 1890s lighthouse that's abig tourist attraction.
It's now a maritime museum.
Actually, 60% of the island iscovered by a National Wildlife
Refuge and the island's home toMosquito Bay.
Why would you want to go seeMosquito Bay?
Well, it's one of threebioluminescent bays in Puerto
(08:25):
Rico.
There's only five of these inthe world and Mosquito Bay is
probably the best and brightestof the one to view.
Puerto Rico's got three of thefive in the world.
It's a sight to see atnighttime.
Now Calibra Island has one ofthe best beaches anywhere.
Calibra Island has one of thebest beaches anywhere.
Flamenco Beach is a mile longwith a wooden boardwalk, got a
(08:47):
little food kiosk and vendorsalong the way.
It's located in a sheltered baywhich makes for calm, nice
turquoise blue waters.
The island has a coral reefwhich makes it great for
snorkeling.
You can rent a jeep or a golfcart and take a drive around the
island.
You can go kayaking, hiking orbook a fishing charter.
(09:09):
There is just a lot of thingsto do there, and there's a wide
variety of hotels, guest housesand rentals available to make
for a nice, relaxing tropicalvacation.
Now here's one you don't hearvery often.
I actually had the opportunityto go there two years ago.
Why I waited so long, I'llnever know.
(09:32):
The United States VirginIslands, the USA's Caribbean
paradise that very few peopleever visit, and I was guilty
myself.
Like I said just a couple ofyears ago when I went there and
I was just blown away.
It's a little over 100 mileseast of Puerto Rico and chances
are, if you ever have visitedthere or know someone that has,
(09:54):
it was because your cruise shipprobably stopped there for the
day.
Now I had the opportunity tovisit all three of the main
islands that make up the USVirgin Islands, and all three
are different.
They each have their own littlevibe.
They're all totally typedifferent islands.
The Virgin Islands is aterritory of the United States
and, as such, you don't need apassport in order to travel
(10:15):
there, as long as you don't stopin another country somewhere
along the way.
Now you do have to go throughCustoms and Immigration because
it's out of the US Customs zone,but you don't have to have a
passport.
Now, when you get there, chancesare you'll go to St Thomas, the
largest of the islands, andit's the territorial capital and
it's where a lot of the cruiselines dock.
(10:37):
Territorial capital and it'swhere a lot of the cruise lines
dock, and that island is primedfor tourism, with tour buses
taking people all over theisland to see the sights.
There's lots of things to see,and do they have some really
nice beaches as well?
I mean there's all kinds ofmuseums there, there's lookout
points, and when I say all threeislands are different, they are
(10:57):
because St Thomas is kind ofhilly.
You go up and down the hills,the little roads and you can get
up on top of these hills andsee out to a lot of the other
islands out there and the oceanand see a lot of the beautiful
beaches from a lot of tops ofthese hills.
It is absolutely gorgeous.
You'll have a blast on StThomas, but you need to check
(11:20):
out the other two islands aswell.
Now, st John Island is a smallerisland and this is accessible
from St Thomas by ferry.
I think it took us like 30 or40 minutes to get there by ferry
.
It wasn't very long and itwasn't very costly.
It was, I don't know, $5, tendollars and you take the ferry
over and when you get to St Johnyou will see it is just totally
(11:44):
different.
It's a lot more laid back, alot calmer, a lot less people
actually, and two-thirds of thatisland is a US National Park.
But it's different thannational parks on the mainland
where you pull up, you pay anentry fee, you go into the
National Park, they havecampgrounds and all that stuff
Over there.
You're just driving down a roadand you see a sign that says
(12:06):
welcome to the US National Park,and the reason it's different
is because there's actuallyprivate property within the
National Park that people ownand there's houses there and
some others.
There's hotels in the NationalPark and there's a lot of the
beaches are on the National Parkgrounds, but all of the beaches
are public beaches and as longas you can get to them, you can
(12:29):
visit them, even if it's even ifsomebody owns that land next to
the beach and it's privateproperty with a house there.
If you can take a boat and goup to that beach, you can go
visit the beach.
And the National Park is prettycool.
There's a lot of old ruinsthere from the sugar plantations
that they had years ago andit's just beautiful, beautiful
area.
But the main attraction on StThomas is the beaches.
(12:53):
That little bitty island hasover 20 beaches.
Some of them have beencontinually voted the most
beautiful beaches in the worldand once you see them you will
understand why they areabsolutely gorgeous.
I went to one beach and it waskind of it had little pebbles
(13:13):
Instead of sand.
There were little pebbles allalong the beach Shiny little
pebbles, beautiful waters, andit was gorgeous.
Then I went to another beachand it was white sand beach.
So they're all a little bitdifferent and they're just
stunningly beautiful.
And there's some shopping there.
There's a big shopping centerthere.
That's kind of an open-airshopping center, but it's not
(13:35):
totally closed.
You have to kind of experienceit.
I mean, you go up steps andthere'll be three or four shops.
You go up some other steps,there's a few more shops and
then there's a courtyard that'sopen outside and across the way
there's a half a dozen moreshops and restaurants and it's a
great shopping area.
There's a lot of stuff to dothere.
(13:56):
There's eating places, there'sbars, there's restaurants.
There's just all kinds ofthings to do there.
Then there's another littlesection where the ferry comes in
, where there's some shoppingand a couple of bars and
restaurants there, and then theresorts are all around there and
it is absolutely stunninglybeautiful.
You'll also see some reallynice, magnificent beach estates
(14:19):
that very rich people own andyou're sitting there wondering
where did I go wrong?
How come I don't own one ofthose things?
Some people go to St John andspend three or four days.
I just went over there for theday, had a blast and then took
the ferry back over to St Thomas.
Now the other main island is StCroix and they get a lot of
cruise lines coming in there aswell.
(14:40):
But to get to St Croix Ibelieve there's a ferry you can
take, but it's like two or threehours long and, depending on
the weather, you may not want tobe out on the water if the
weather's bad, so most peoplejust take a flight.
You can either take there's twokinds of flights.
You can take a regular flightout of the airport.
It's pretty small, I mean itholds like eight or nine
(15:01):
passengers and it takes, I don'tknow, 45 minutes maybe and
you're there.
Or you can take a seaplane,which a lot of people do, and
the seaplane you get on it andit lands right on the water when
you get over to St Croix.
And St Croix is totallydifferent from the other islands
because it's mainly flat andthere are two main towns in St
Croix, a lot of history there,because these islands used to
(15:28):
belong to Denmark, so there's alot of Danish forts in St Croix,
a lot of old Danish houses andcustoms houses and things of
this nature, so you can learn alot about the history of the
Virgin Islands.
The people are fantastic andthere's a lot of great shopping
to do there and there's somebeautiful beaches on St Croix as
well, but there's just a lot ofthings to see and do there.
(15:50):
They've got some fabuloushotels there.
One is a big historic hotelthat I stayed at Absolutely
gorgeous Private beach, whichI'm sure if you could take a
boat and get there you could goto it, but nobody does I mean
it's the hotel that uses it.
Had a big golf course and justall kinds of stuff.
It was gorgeous property andyou really should at least once
(16:13):
go visit the US Virgin Islands.
Oh, I'll tell you another littlething.
When you get to St John, thelittle island with all the
beautiful beaches, your cellphone will switch over to Roman
because it picks up the BritishVirgin Islands towers.
And the British Virgin Islandsare just a very short distance
away.
In fact you can see one of theislands from the hilltops on St
(16:35):
John if it's a nice clear day.
And you can take a ferry and goto the British Virgin Islands,
but you need a passport to dothat.
But if you ever get a chance,go visit the US Virgin Islands.
You will have a blast and youwill definitely want to return.
Oh, and when I say it's warm,well, mid-january it's
temperatures are anywhere fromlike the mid-70s to the mid-80s.
(16:58):
Now I went there in, I want tosay late October and it was mid
to high 80s when I was there andit was nice and cool at night.
It wasn't a lot of humidity, itwas gorgeous.
Now I'm going to mention someother places that no one ever
thinks of, but you don't need apassport to get there.
(17:19):
How about the South Pacific?
You can go to Guam, and Guamhas a tropical climate in the
South Pacific, and I looked upflights from Houston and Houston
in January to Guam.
They're around $1,900 roundtrip.
Well, you pay that a lot oftimes just going to Europe or
(17:40):
going to Hawaii, depending onwhere you're flying out.
Of.
Now, once you're in Guam, youcan take a four-hour boat tour
into the jungle where you canlearn all about the island and
the Chamorro Islanders.
You can visit their ChamorroVillage, experience all kinds of
culture, the lively streetmarket where the food and
produce and native handicraftsare sold, and, of course, they
(18:02):
have absolutely gorgeous beaches.
You can just relax, soak up thesun in the South Pacific, not
that expensive to get there andthe prices for hotels are not
that bad either.
Oh, and did I mention theaverage temperature on Guam in
January 80 degrees.
You're in a tropical climate.
Back when your buddy at home wasshoveling snow.
(18:23):
You can send him a littlepostcard or take a picture on
your phone and text it to him.
Say, hey, man, I may have tostay here a couple more days.
Flights are bad, but do me afavor and shovel off that snow.
Now I'm a big history buff.
Flights are bad, but do me afavor and shovel off that stool.
Now I'm a big history buff.
So these other two well, guamalso, but these other two
(18:44):
especially are just full ofhistory.
But another place you can gowhich is also in the South
Pacific, the Northern Marianas,which is a US territory about
180 miles north of Guam.
The Northern Marianas consistsof 14 islands, of which Saipan
is the largest, and the islandsare great for snorkeling and
scuba diving and just a treasuretrove of history.
(19:06):
And of course, the beaches.
Now the Marianas.
They were the site of some ofthe fiercest fighting during
World War II and it has a lot ofhistoric sites you can visit
fighting during World War II,and it has a lot of historic
sites you can visit.
As well as a verywell-preserved World War II
buildings and posts, there's anold Japanese lighthouse, the
jails and the Banzai and suicidecliffs.
(19:28):
If you know anything aboutWorld War II history, that's
where the Japanese soldiers andcivilians leapt to their death
instead of being captured byAllied forces.
So if you like history andmilitary history and things like
this, the Northern Marianas isfull of it.
But it's also full ofabsolutely stunning beaches,
friendly people.
(19:48):
Hotel prices are nice and cheap.
Well, not cheap, but not overlyexpensive.
You can have a gorgeous SouthPacific tropical vacation in the
dead of winter.
You can take a bike tour, do anoff-road 4x4 tour to some of
the secluded areas and justspend time exploring the islands
(20:09):
and taking in the beauty of theSouth Pacific.
Oh, and the temperature inJanuary Well, it's in the
mid-80s, which I would muchrather enjoy instead of bitter
cold winds and four or five feetof snow.
I tell you, man, I just hatecold weather.
Now this last one.
You've heard of it, but I doubtvery seriously if you've ever
(20:33):
been there or even know ofanybody that's been there, if
you've ever been there or evenknow of anybody that's been
there.
American Samoa it's anotherterritory but it is the
southernmost territory of theUnited States.
It's actually 2,200 milessouthwest of the state of Hawaii
and it's one of two territoriessouthwest of the or south of
(20:53):
the equator.
The other is a little islandcalled Jarvis Island, which is
not even populated.
No one's ever heard of.
It's just a little bitty rockisland.
I think the National FishService or something like that
has, or I don't know.
It's a bird sanctuary orsomething, but nobody lives
there.
Nobody can even visit it.
So if you want to go to thesouthern most populated
(21:15):
territory of the United States,american Samoa is the place.
You want to go to thesouthernmost populated territory
of the United States, americanSamoa is the place you want to
go.
And it is kind of far to get to.
I mean, flights from LA takeyou about 14 hours.
But once you get there gorgeousbeaches, national parks,
there's a national marinesanctuary, there's a big
cultural museum that's housed inthe old World War II era Navy
(21:36):
Commissary building, there areseveral World War II historic
locations and fortifications,along with just really friendly
people and very few tourists.
Now, I was in the military for20 years and I was stationed
with and knew a couple ofSamoans who were in the military
and they were friendly as allget out.
A couple of Samoans who were inthe military and they were
(21:58):
friendly as all get out.
But I mean, if I knew then whatI know now, how beautiful that
island was, I would have wentback with them on vacation.
But it's just another tropicaldestination that people have
heard of but very few ever visit.
And anytime you can enjoy ayear round temperature,
yearround temperatures in themid-80s, and combine it with
(22:18):
beaches, nightlife, culture andvery few tourists, well, that's
a win.
I mean, imagine hanging out inthe South Pacific on a beautiful
island and there's hardly anytourists there.
I mean that's worth it all initself.
For me it's like you have theisland all to yourself.
I'm telling you it's gorgeous,it's a great place to visit.
(22:40):
So there you have it Sevenplaces that you can visit in the
dead of winter.
Instead of shoveling the snowand freezing your butt off, you
can go and enjoy the sand andthe sun and get away from it all
, all without a passport.
Now, I know a lot of peoplelove the snow and the winter,
but a whole lot more just wantto escape it for a while,
(23:01):
especially if you live in aplace where it just gets
bitterly cold and you have toshovel that snow every day just
to go outside.
Those are seven places that youcan definitely get away, enjoy
the sand, enjoy the sun, thebeautiful temperatures and not
have to worry about it.
So I hope you enjoyed it.
I hope you got some tips out ofit and book one of these
(23:23):
flights and go to one of thoseplaces and if you haven't done
it already, check out lastweek's podcast on how to save
some serious money on travelingand snag some cheap flights and
hotel rooms.
That'll help you determining onwhere you want to go.
So next time we're going todelve into a place I went to a
couple of years ago.
This place at one time was hometo a Wild West legend, the
(23:47):
birthplace of an Oscar-winningactress and the home to the
founding of an iconic foodrestaurant in the United States.
I went there a couple of yearsago.
It had more than I could everimagine.
It surprised the heck out of me.
So next time we'll go there andI'll tell you all about it.
So until then, safe travels,thank you.
Hi and welcome to the Traveling Fool.
I'm your host, bob Bales, andthis week we are talking about
seven sunny destinations thatyou can go to to escape that
nasty winter cold this winter,and none of them are in
California, florida or Hawaii.
So stay tuned and we'll beright back.
(00:21):
All right, welcome back.
And before we get started, letme just tell you something.
(00:43):
I hate cold weather.
Yes, I live in the South, but Ispent 20 years in the military,
most of it overseas and a lotof it in really cold weather,
and then, 10 years after Iretired, I went to work overseas
as a military contractor forabout, oh, eight and a half
years, and it was cold.
(01:05):
I don't like cold weather andI've lived in the States in cold
weather and I don't like it.
It's not fun, I hate it.
So that's why I like to spendas much time as I can in the
winter someplace nice and warm,and I know I can't be alone out
(01:25):
there.
I mean some of you people thatlive in the north where it gets
bitterly cold and shoveling snowall the time.
I know you're sick and tired ofit.
You say, oh, it's beautiful,the snow's so pretty and it's
just so nice and peaceful.
Come on about January, you'relike you know what this sucks, I
need to get out of here.
So let me tell you about sevenplaces that you can go this
winter and get out of the cold.
(01:47):
Now everybody thinks aboutgoing to Hawaii, california and
Florida, because they're alwayscrowded in the wintertime, with
everybody escaping the coldweather, and the weather's great
there and the beaches arebeautiful and everybody knows
about it.
So let's just skip those threeand we're going to talk about
places that you can go where theweather's nice and, although
(02:08):
there might be some tourists, itprobably will not be overrun
with them.
Now, not everybody has apassport, although I think you
should get one, just because itopens up the door to just a lot
more travel opportunities, justa lot more travel opportunities.
But, having said that, we'regoing to talk about places where
(02:28):
US citizens can travel thiswinter without having a passport
.
Now the first word we're goingto talk about is Mississippi.
Yeah, I know a lot of peopledon't think about Mississippi
when it comes to beach travel,but coastal Mississippi has 62
miles of shoreline and a bunchof stuff to see and do and,
(02:49):
believe it or not, there's like10 or 12 towns along that
stretch of coast that range froma little town called Waveland
on the western part, where youcan enjoy not only the beach but
fishing, charter cruises, greatfood and tons of outdoor
activities, to Pascagoula, onthe eastern stretch of the
coastline.
And Pascagoula has a lot ofhistory, great outdoor
(03:10):
activities and, of course, thebeaches.
And it's hard to pick just onecity or town, since you can
drive the entire stretch inabout an hour and a half or two
hours.
But whether you visit Biloxi,gulfport or one of the others,
you can rest assured thatthere's great dining, fishing,
(03:31):
boating, shopping, history andoutdoor activities and just a
few miles in any direction youtravel.
And oh yeah, I forgot tomention the casinos.
There's a bunch of casinos.
There's like 13 casinos locatedin coastal Mississippi where
you can try your luck, see ashow and a whole lot more.
And it's nice and warm there.
You can fly into Gulfport, renta car and explore the area and
the average temperature inJanuary, the coldest month of
(03:54):
the year, is 50 degrees.
Now, to me, 50 degrees is alittle chilly.
I don't like it.
It's starting to get a littlenippy Time to get out to
Winter's Goats.
But if you're from somewhere upnorth where you've got four
feet of snow, 50 degrees isn'tbad, and it's often a lot more
warmer than that.
(04:20):
Now, the second place is in myhome state of Texas, and when
you think of Texas beaches, whatcomes to mind?
Well, galveston might come tomind, but South Padre Island Now
.
I grew up in Corpus Christi,which is down on the Gulf Coast,
and spent many a day on PadreIsland.
Now, where I used to go onPadre Island is now called Padre
Island, national Seashore, andvehicle traffic is limited to
(04:41):
just certain areas and certainthings you can do and cannot do.
However, padre Island is abarrier island and it's part of
the barrier islands that stretchall the way from Houston and
Galveston area to just a fewmiles from Mexico.
And while Corpus Christi is agreat destination with a lot to
(05:01):
do and Padre Island is a fundestination, jersey's a great
destination with a lot to do andPadre Island is a fun
destination.
South Padre Island is home tohotels, resorts, beaches,
nightlife and just a whole lotmore.
Now, south Padre Island isseparated from Padre Island by
the Mansfield Channel anddriving between the two is not
(05:22):
possible, and driving betweenthe two is not possible.
So to access South Padre Island.
You have to go down to theQueen Isabella Causeway, which
is from Port Isabel a littlefurther south, and you drive
over to the island.
It's about 287 miles from SanAntonio to Port Isabel and about
(05:46):
400 miles from Houston,depending on which route you
take.
And you can always fly intoBrownsville and rent a car and
drive the 40 miles to the islandif you want to.
Now, once there, you can expecta lot of fishing charters for
hire.
There's live music venues.
They have festivals all thetime.
They've got dolphin watchingcruises, themed cruises,
wildlife and nature excursions.
There's some nature areasaround there where you can do
(06:09):
all kinds of stuff.
There's tons of nightlife andgreat beaches and if you're
there at the right time, you canwatch a SpaceX launch from Boca
Chica, which is just across thebay from Port Isabel.
Just don't go during springbreak if you want to avoid the
crowds, because spring break itis a nightmare.
You got thousands of peoplecoming for spring break, but for
(06:31):
winter.
That's the time to go Now.
Another place you can take offto this winter, guaranteed to
have nice, beautiful weatherPuerto Rico.
That's right, puerto Rico is agreat destination and it's
easily reachable from the US,depending on what your interests
are.
There are three places that youcan spenda warm winter vacation
(06:55):
in Puerto Rico.
The capital of San Juan holds alot of history, culture,
nightlife, lots of stuff to seeand do.
You can explore old San Juanand visit the Castillo, one of
the big forts.
In El Morro, another one of thebig forts, spanish built.
(07:15):
They were built to guard thecity.
There's two of them there,beautiful.
You can also explore themuseums and historic sites,
enjoy the nightlife.
Maybe do a tour of one of therum factories.
Now, if a beach is more yourthing, head out to one of the
islands, the island of I knowI'm going to screw this up
Viquez and Culebra.
(07:37):
Both are accessible from ashort flight from San Juan, or
you can just drive the hour anda half to Ceiba, near the town
of Fajardo, and take the ferryto either island.
Now Vicas you can go horsebackriding, sailing, diving, visit
the last fort built by theSpaniards in the Americas, or
(08:02):
that 1890s lighthouse that's abig tourist attraction.
It's now a maritime museum.
Actually, 60% of the island iscovered by a National Wildlife
Refuge and the island's home toMosquito Bay.
Why would you want to go seeMosquito Bay?
Well, it's one of threebioluminescent bays in Puerto
(08:25):
Rico.
There's only five of these inthe world and Mosquito Bay is
probably the best and brightestof the one to view.
Puerto Rico's got three of thefive in the world.
It's a sight to see atnighttime.
Now Calibra Island has one ofthe best beaches anywhere.
Calibra Island has one of thebest beaches anywhere.
Flamenco Beach is a mile longwith a wooden boardwalk, got a
(08:47):
little food kiosk and vendorsalong the way.
It's located in a sheltered baywhich makes for calm, nice
turquoise blue waters.
The island has a coral reefwhich makes it great for
snorkeling.
You can rent a jeep or a golfcart and take a drive around the
island.
You can go kayaking, hiking orbook a fishing charter.
(09:09):
There is just a lot of thingsto do there, and there's a wide
variety of hotels, guest housesand rentals available to make
for a nice, relaxing tropicalvacation.
Now here's one you don't hearvery often.
I actually had the opportunityto go there two years ago.
Why I waited so long, I'llnever know.
(09:32):
The United States VirginIslands, the USA's Caribbean
paradise that very few peopleever visit, and I was guilty
myself.
Like I said just a couple ofyears ago when I went there and
I was just blown away.
It's a little over 100 mileseast of Puerto Rico and chances
are, if you ever have visitedthere or know someone that has,
(09:54):
it was because your cruise shipprobably stopped there for the
day.
Now I had the opportunity tovisit all three of the main
islands that make up the USVirgin Islands, and all three
are different.
They each have their own littlevibe.
They're all totally typedifferent islands.
The Virgin Islands is aterritory of the United States
and, as such, you don't need apassport in order to travel
(10:15):
there, as long as you don't stopin another country somewhere
along the way.
Now you do have to go throughCustoms and Immigration because
it's out of the US Customs zone,but you don't have to have a
passport.
Now, when you get there, chancesare you'll go to St Thomas, the
largest of the islands, andit's the territorial capital and
it's where a lot of the cruiselines dock.
(10:37):
Territorial capital and it'swhere a lot of the cruise lines
dock, and that island is primedfor tourism, with tour buses
taking people all over theisland to see the sights.
There's lots of things to see,and do they have some really
nice beaches as well?
I mean there's all kinds ofmuseums there, there's lookout
points, and when I say all threeislands are different, they are
(10:57):
because St Thomas is kind ofhilly.
You go up and down the hills,the little roads and you can get
up on top of these hills andsee out to a lot of the other
islands out there and the oceanand see a lot of the beautiful
beaches from a lot of tops ofthese hills.
It is absolutely gorgeous.
You'll have a blast on StThomas, but you need to check
(11:20):
out the other two islands aswell.
Now, st John Island is a smallerisland and this is accessible
from St Thomas by ferry.
I think it took us like 30 or40 minutes to get there by ferry
.
It wasn't very long and itwasn't very costly.
It was, I don't know, $5, tendollars and you take the ferry
over and when you get to St Johnyou will see it is just totally
(11:44):
different.
It's a lot more laid back, alot calmer, a lot less people
actually, and two-thirds of thatisland is a US National Park.
But it's different thannational parks on the mainland
where you pull up, you pay anentry fee, you go into the
National Park, they havecampgrounds and all that stuff
Over there.
You're just driving down a roadand you see a sign that says
(12:06):
welcome to the US National Park,and the reason it's different
is because there's actuallyprivate property within the
National Park that people ownand there's houses there and
some others.
There's hotels in the NationalPark and there's a lot of the
beaches are on the National Parkgrounds, but all of the beaches
are public beaches and as longas you can get to them, you can
(12:29):
visit them, even if it's even ifsomebody owns that land next to
the beach and it's privateproperty with a house there.
If you can take a boat and goup to that beach, you can go
visit the beach.
And the National Park is prettycool.
There's a lot of old ruinsthere from the sugar plantations
that they had years ago andit's just beautiful, beautiful
area.
But the main attraction on StThomas is the beaches.
(12:53):
That little bitty island hasover 20 beaches.
Some of them have beencontinually voted the most
beautiful beaches in the worldand once you see them you will
understand why they areabsolutely gorgeous.
I went to one beach and it waskind of it had little pebbles
(13:13):
Instead of sand.
There were little pebbles allalong the beach Shiny little
pebbles, beautiful waters, andit was gorgeous.
Then I went to another beachand it was white sand beach.
So they're all a little bitdifferent and they're just
stunningly beautiful.
And there's some shopping there.
There's a big shopping centerthere.
That's kind of an open-airshopping center, but it's not
(13:35):
totally closed.
You have to kind of experienceit.
I mean, you go up steps andthere'll be three or four shops.
You go up some other steps,there's a few more shops and
then there's a courtyard that'sopen outside and across the way
there's a half a dozen moreshops and restaurants and it's a
great shopping area.
There's a lot of stuff to dothere.
(13:56):
There's eating places, there'sbars, there's restaurants.
There's just all kinds ofthings to do there.
Then there's another littlesection where the ferry comes in
, where there's some shoppingand a couple of bars and
restaurants there, and then theresorts are all around there and
it is absolutely stunninglybeautiful.
You'll also see some reallynice, magnificent beach estates
(14:19):
that very rich people own andyou're sitting there wondering
where did I go wrong?
How come I don't own one ofthose things?
Some people go to St John andspend three or four days.
I just went over there for theday, had a blast and then took
the ferry back over to St Thomas.
Now the other main island is StCroix and they get a lot of
cruise lines coming in there aswell.
(14:40):
But to get to St Croix Ibelieve there's a ferry you can
take, but it's like two or threehours long and, depending on
the weather, you may not want tobe out on the water if the
weather's bad, so most peoplejust take a flight.
You can either take there's twokinds of flights.
You can take a regular flightout of the airport.
It's pretty small, I mean itholds like eight or nine
(15:01):
passengers and it takes, I don'tknow, 45 minutes maybe and
you're there.
Or you can take a seaplane,which a lot of people do, and
the seaplane you get on it andit lands right on the water when
you get over to St Croix.
And St Croix is totallydifferent from the other islands
because it's mainly flat andthere are two main towns in St
Croix, a lot of history there,because these islands used to
(15:28):
belong to Denmark, so there's alot of Danish forts in St Croix,
a lot of old Danish houses andcustoms houses and things of
this nature, so you can learn alot about the history of the
Virgin Islands.
The people are fantastic andthere's a lot of great shopping
to do there and there's somebeautiful beaches on St Croix as
well, but there's just a lot ofthings to see and do there.
(15:50):
They've got some fabuloushotels there.
One is a big historic hotelthat I stayed at Absolutely
gorgeous Private beach, whichI'm sure if you could take a
boat and get there you could goto it, but nobody does I mean
it's the hotel that uses it.
Had a big golf course and justall kinds of stuff.
It was gorgeous property andyou really should at least once
(16:13):
go visit the US Virgin Islands.
Oh, I'll tell you another littlething.
When you get to St John, thelittle island with all the
beautiful beaches, your cellphone will switch over to Roman
because it picks up the BritishVirgin Islands towers.
And the British Virgin Islandsare just a very short distance
away.
In fact you can see one of theislands from the hilltops on St
(16:35):
John if it's a nice clear day.
And you can take a ferry and goto the British Virgin Islands,
but you need a passport to dothat.
But if you ever get a chance,go visit the US Virgin Islands.
You will have a blast and youwill definitely want to return.
Oh, and when I say it's warm,well, mid-january it's
temperatures are anywhere fromlike the mid-70s to the mid-80s.
(16:58):
Now I went there in, I want tosay late October and it was mid
to high 80s when I was there andit was nice and cool at night.
It wasn't a lot of humidity, itwas gorgeous.
Now I'm going to mention someother places that no one ever
thinks of, but you don't need apassport to get there.
(17:19):
How about the South Pacific?
You can go to Guam, and Guamhas a tropical climate in the
South Pacific, and I looked upflights from Houston and Houston
in January to Guam.
They're around $1,900 roundtrip.
Well, you pay that a lot oftimes just going to Europe or
(17:40):
going to Hawaii, depending onwhere you're flying out.
Of.
Now, once you're in Guam, youcan take a four-hour boat tour
into the jungle where you canlearn all about the island and
the Chamorro Islanders.
You can visit their ChamorroVillage, experience all kinds of
culture, the lively streetmarket where the food and
produce and native handicraftsare sold, and, of course, they
(18:02):
have absolutely gorgeous beaches.
You can just relax, soak up thesun in the South Pacific, not
that expensive to get there andthe prices for hotels are not
that bad either.
Oh, and did I mention theaverage temperature on Guam in
January 80 degrees.
You're in a tropical climate.
Back when your buddy at home wasshoveling snow.
(18:23):
You can send him a littlepostcard or take a picture on
your phone and text it to him.
Say, hey, man, I may have tostay here a couple more days.
Flights are bad, but do me afavor and shovel off that snow.
Now I'm a big history buff.
Flights are bad, but do me afavor and shovel off that stool.
Now I'm a big history buff.
So these other two well, guamalso, but these other two
(18:44):
especially are just full ofhistory.
But another place you can gowhich is also in the South
Pacific, the Northern Marianas,which is a US territory about
180 miles north of Guam.
The Northern Marianas consistsof 14 islands, of which Saipan
is the largest, and the islandsare great for snorkeling and
scuba diving and just a treasuretrove of history.
(19:06):
And of course, the beaches.
Now the Marianas.
They were the site of some ofthe fiercest fighting during
World War II and it has a lot ofhistoric sites you can visit
fighting during World War II,and it has a lot of historic
sites you can visit.
As well as a verywell-preserved World War II
buildings and posts, there's anold Japanese lighthouse, the
jails and the Banzai and suicidecliffs.
(19:28):
If you know anything aboutWorld War II history, that's
where the Japanese soldiers andcivilians leapt to their death
instead of being captured byAllied forces.
So if you like history andmilitary history and things like
this, the Northern Marianas isfull of it.
But it's also full ofabsolutely stunning beaches,
friendly people.
(19:48):
Hotel prices are nice and cheap.
Well, not cheap, but not overlyexpensive.
You can have a gorgeous SouthPacific tropical vacation in the
dead of winter.
You can take a bike tour, do anoff-road 4x4 tour to some of
the secluded areas and justspend time exploring the islands
(20:09):
and taking in the beauty of theSouth Pacific.
Oh, and the temperature inJanuary Well, it's in the
mid-80s, which I would muchrather enjoy instead of bitter
cold winds and four or five feetof snow.
I tell you, man, I just hatecold weather.
Now this last one.
You've heard of it, but I doubtvery seriously if you've ever
(20:33):
been there or even know ofanybody that's been there, if
you've ever been there or evenknow of anybody that's been
there.
American Samoa it's anotherterritory but it is the
southernmost territory of theUnited States.
It's actually 2,200 milessouthwest of the state of Hawaii
and it's one of two territoriessouthwest of the or south of
(20:53):
the equator.
The other is a little islandcalled Jarvis Island, which is
not even populated.
No one's ever heard of.
It's just a little bitty rockisland.
I think the National FishService or something like that
has, or I don't know.
It's a bird sanctuary orsomething, but nobody lives
there.
Nobody can even visit it.
So if you want to go to thesouthern most populated
(21:15):
territory of the United States,american Samoa is the place.
You want to go to thesouthernmost populated territory
of the United States, americanSamoa is the place you want to
go.
And it is kind of far to get to.
I mean, flights from LA takeyou about 14 hours.
But once you get there gorgeousbeaches, national parks,
there's a national marinesanctuary, there's a big
cultural museum that's housed inthe old World War II era Navy
(21:36):
Commissary building, there areseveral World War II historic
locations and fortifications,along with just really friendly
people and very few tourists.
Now, I was in the military for20 years and I was stationed
with and knew a couple ofSamoans who were in the military
and they were friendly as allget out.
A couple of Samoans who were inthe military and they were
(21:58):
friendly as all get out.
But I mean, if I knew then whatI know now, how beautiful that
island was, I would have wentback with them on vacation.
But it's just another tropicaldestination that people have
heard of but very few ever visit.
And anytime you can enjoy ayear round temperature,
yearround temperatures in themid-80s, and combine it with
(22:18):
beaches, nightlife, culture andvery few tourists, well, that's
a win.
I mean, imagine hanging out inthe South Pacific on a beautiful
island and there's hardly anytourists there.
I mean that's worth it all initself.
For me it's like you have theisland all to yourself.
I'm telling you it's gorgeous,it's a great place to visit.
(22:40):
So there you have it Sevenplaces that you can visit in the
dead of winter.
Instead of shoveling the snowand freezing your butt off, you
can go and enjoy the sand andthe sun and get away from it all
, all without a passport.
Now, I know a lot of peoplelove the snow and the winter,
but a whole lot more just wantto escape it for a while,
(23:01):
especially if you live in aplace where it just gets
bitterly cold and you have toshovel that snow every day just
to go outside.
Those are seven places that youcan definitely get away, enjoy
the sand, enjoy the sun, thebeautiful temperatures and not
have to worry about it.
So I hope you enjoyed it.
I hope you got some tips out ofit and book one of these
(23:23):
flights and go to one of thoseplaces and if you haven't done
it already, check out lastweek's podcast on how to save
some serious money on travelingand snag some cheap flights and
hotel rooms.
That'll help you determining onwhere you want to go.
So next time we're going todelve into a place I went to a
couple of years ago.
This place at one time was hometo a Wild West legend, the
(23:47):
birthplace of an Oscar-winningactress and the home to the
founding of an iconic foodrestaurant in the United States.
I went there a couple of yearsago.
It had more than I could everimagine.
It surprised the heck out of me.
So next time we'll go there andI'll tell you all about it.
So until then, safe travels,thank you.
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