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Frommers.com Podcast: Our Top Destinations for 2008Travel experts reveal the 13 places that should be on your itinerary in 2008. By The Frommer's Staff December 6, 2007
This week, we've gathered editors and writers from around the world for a special extended edition of the podcast. Our travel experts discuss the 13 cities and regions that made this year's Top Destinations list. Find out what it took to make the cut, how you can get there, and the what to see and do once you've arrived. Read our feature story "Frommer's Top Destinations for 2008." To listen this episode, click the "play" button on the MP3 player below. To download this episode to your hard drive, click here. To listen to previous episodes or to subscribe, visit www.frommers.com/podcast/.
Kelly Regan: Hi, and welcome to the Frommers.com podcast. I'm Kelly Regan, editorial director of the Frommers Travel Guide, and today, I'm moderating a round table discussion of some of my fellow editors and travel experts at Frommers as we talk about the top destinations of 2008. Every year, the editors at Frommers reach out and we gather to talk to our authors who are based all around the world. Jason Clampett: Hi. Kelly: Thanks so much for joining me today. Mark Hempstel: Hi. Kelly: Hi. Gene Channon: Glad to be here. Kelly: We have thirteen destinations on our list this year, and we're going to talk about a few of them in more depth today, but to tell people, to get the suspense out of the way and tell people what those destinations are, this year, the places that we've chosen as the top destinations of 2008 are Denver, Colorado; New Orleans, Louisiana; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; The American Whiskey Trail, which encompasses Tennessee, Kentucky, and parts of Virginia; Exit 0 on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, which I'm very excited to talk about later; Cardiff, Wales; Essaouira, Morocco; St. Lucia; Quito, Ecuador; Romania; Seoul, South Korea; Bras d'Or Lakes in Nova Scotia; and finally, Kosrae, Micronesia. Gene: It's running the risk now that if it remains vibrant, that it's going to be an ersatz version of what New Orleans once used to be. Kelly: Sort of an Epcot version of New Orleans, in a way, and I think that that's something that residents are very concerned about, and as people who are concerned about the state of travel, that's something that we're concerned about as well. Mark: Well, then, Cardiff's on our list for 2008 because it has really captured an identity, again, I think. It's got a real sense of energy and verve about it at the moment, and around areas like Cardiff Bay, which have been completely rejuvenated, and with iconic structures like the Millennium Stadium and the Millennium Center, there's a real excitement about Cardiff at the moment and there has been for about five years now. Kelly: Wow. Mark: There's rock concerts held there, you can do archery, there's reenactments, and... The big thing is being at docks, really, the docks, where once handled more cull than any port in the world. During the First World War, Dumont began to fall, and then, in the Depression, the economy went down and- Kelly: Right. Mark: in the Second World War, Cardiff was bombed, and so, really, it did take Cardiff from being a small town at the beginning of the 19th century to a larger standing, but now many of the docks have been decommissioned in same ways as the coal pits have. The waterfronts got a new kind of exciting lease of life- you've got new buildings, you've got historic sites next to each other, you've got a lot of attractions. You've got lots of restaurants and coffee shops. Kelly: It's really a place now to go and hang out. Mark: I mean, it's so much like being a native, in a way, because when the barrage was built, from one side of the remaining docks, that you know, you've got a big sort of vast freshwater lake. You've got the Millennium Center there, which has got the giant lines of poetry cut into the copper-colored roof and they've got opera and musicals and plays there- Kelly: Right. Mark: at quite a bit of prices, and then on top of that, you've got a sort of example of New Wales, really around the corner there's lots of things to do for, in a day with family and at night. I think there's a real sense of Welsh identity in Cardiff at the moment, and the feel that there's a real sense of excitement about the place, and then you've got the city center itself with pedestrian-ized shopping streets, Victorian arcades, and quiet atmospheric indoor markets- Kelly: OK...huh. Mark: and places like the Millennium Stadium, where you know, if you go there, if you can get tickets, for say, a Welsh rugby match even if you're not interested in rugby would be a fantastic experience. So, there are lots to do and for people into different things, there's a Cardiff Bay, there's a Wetlands Reserve, there's educational science centers for kids. Kelly: Well, yes, so, not just for rugby and Doctor Who fans. A much broader appeal than that. Jason, I wanted to pop over to you and ask you about Seoul, South Korea, which is another one of the destinations on our list. This is another place that's seeing unprecedented numbers of visitors coming, and why is it that you think people are visiting Seoul now? Jason: I think, following the Korean War, they spent so many years, just kind of gearing up, similar to after WWII in the U.S. where everybody was focused on factories and productivity, it was a great place to live and it thrived economically but there wasn't anything interesting going on for visitors. You would be like going to a great efficient office park. Kelly: But what is interesting also though, you have this real modernity there, but it co-exists alongside some really ancient sites as well. Jason: They have a lot of parks in the city, but they also have a lot of "low-fi" things--really crazy places. Kelly: [laughter] Jason: They've got training stations. They've got these drinking tents that pop up. They aren't these fancy restaurants or whatnot; they're very simple. You've got all-night markets that happen throughout the city, side by side with the very modern. You have some very basic things, which are also thrilling. Kelly: It sounds like it is definitely a very accessible destination even for people who might not be thinking of traveling to Asia. Jason: I was going to say that Korean Air is a great airline. Even though it is a long trip, even if you are in economy, it's going to be much more comfortable than really flying to LA from New York. Kelly: To kind of jump back to some places that are closer to the US for people who might not be wanting to take such a long trip, we usually try and feature a couple of beach destinations on our list every year. And this year we picked Saint Lucia and I know that you've been there recently. So I wanted you to talk a little bit more about why we're picking Saint Lucia now and what is it that should make people want to go. David: Just a couple of weeks ago, American Airlines opened up a non-stop route to Hewanorra International Airport, which is in the south end of Saint Lucia. It's one of the Windward Islands closer to South America than it actually is to the United States. Kelly: Lots of duty free shopping and things like that. David: Exactly--Tanzanite shops. But also in the North End, they're starting to build all of these--there's a new Country Club up there, golf course, that all of these newer hotels that are being built now have access too. Saint Lucia used to be known as the Sandals crowd, and it's sort of slipping into an older, more established set for those people who can afford higher end vacations. David: It's a hotel within a hotel. It's a new property. It's sort of a club within a hotel. It's its own separate building on the Anse Chastanet which is a protected cove with beach and there's a hotel there that has a protected marina so that people can snorkel there. It helps replenish the fish population so that their fishing industry is always viable. Kelly: OK. David: You can do something that's much more affordable. You can stay at a place like Ti Kaye which is in the same bay as Morne Chastanet, just around the corner. And those rooms run $150 a night and you still get a view of the Pitons, so you can get the same grand vista and not have to break your budget. Kelly: Right. David: And one of the special things that actually I'd like to say about St. Lucia before we move on is they have these great things called "jump-ups" on Fridays. Basically, it's a community fish fry. A couple of towns do it. One of them is Anse-la-Raye - it's a little fishing village. Kelly: Right. David: A great way to meet and intermingle with locals. And after you're done eating the band strikes up and then you get to dance in the town square until two, three in the morning then try to find your way back home. Kelly: That sounds fantastic. David: St. Lucians are also, I would say they're very gracious as a people and they're more than willing to help. People love to talk your ear off at the jump-up if you want to take the time to talk to them, which is something that people should be doing more when they travel as opposed to staying aloft down in your all inclusive. Kelly: Of course. Of course. That's one of the driving reasons behind why we picked St. Lucia. To really go full out and get about as remote as it's possible to get, Jason, I wanted you to talk a little bit about Kosrae in Micronesia because I think if you're looking to get away from it all I think it's a little hard to get away from it all further and stay on planet Earth. Jason: I'd never heard of it until last April when the former South Pacific writer Bill Goodwin sent in this story. And the story was called "Like the Island Used to Be: A Quick Trip to Kosrae", or Kosh-ree, is I believe how it's pronounced. And the fact that he had "A Quick Trip" in the title was very funny because it's not a quick trip. It's almost 3,000 miles from Hawaii. Kelly: Almost like a puddle jumper kind of thing. Jason: Exactly. And since it was landing on atolls and a small island it really was... they were puddles that were jumped, for real. Kelly: All right! Jason: It's an island that Bill talked about. It's basically going back 40 years in time to what islands used to be like, and it is part of the Federated States of Micronesia. It's a small island. It's about 42, 40 square miles or so, but it has great beaches and it has one thing that some of the other places don't have is that it has old ruins. David: They're not quite sure who built it or when. You'll find paradise, basically. Head there, go ahead and spend two weeks getting there on small planes. You may never come back. Kelly: You are getting away from it all. There are still some things to do, but for the most part... Jason: It's a popular dive spot. You're so far away from it that there are high rise hotels, they're only 7, 500 people or so that live there. Everything is laid back, I doubt if your Blackberry will work. Kelly: There is no way that that could not be a good thing. David: Correct. Kelly: They were telling people to get away from it all; I don't think you necessarily need to go quite that far to get away from it all. Gene, I wanted to bring you into the conversation because one of the places that you are going to talk about was the Bras d'Or Lakes in Nova Scotia, which it's a very well key kind of get away and pretty outdoorsy. So I wanted for you talk to that for a little bit and tell people what it is that makes such a great place to visit. Gene: I think it's really one of those cases of "off the map, hidden gem" kind of places in that a place like Cape Breton Island is really well known for its natural beauty that has everything, but it's a place that was built on a tourist economy. So you're always balancing that little bit of kitschy stuff that you get with it at the same time. Bras d'Or Lakes are where a lot of people who work in the industry go to get away from all that. Kelly: There's definitely some cultural stuff there but there's also the outdoors attractions are really the reason that people would go. Gene: There's a lot of great stuff like that. There's a great nesting spot for bald eagles actually, and they have a couple hundred nesting places there. It's a very large lake, it's about 750 miles around and most of that shoreline is undeveloped, so you can paddle off from the town end and suddenly be in the Lakes in the midst of nowhere and it is just great. Kelly: Wow! Gene: So, it's very easy to step out of yourself that way. At the same time like you say, there are a few things around people who grew up in Nova Scotia that have kind of often had summer places there, so Alexander Graham Bell is one example. Most people know him for the telephone but he invented quite a few different things, the first hydrofoil for example. He has a summer home on Bras d'Or Lakes and he did the testing for the world's first hydrofoil going up and down this lake. Kelly: There's big historical interest there as well. Gene: Yes. It has a lot of the old Scottish feel to it; it has very deep Celtic roots in the area. There were I think it is 15, 000 Gaelic people speaking there a couple of years ago and a lot of that has been undisturbed. I think part of the reason is it has a lot of the same geography that you'll find in Scotland. It has that same feel of the locks within the lakes because there's a lot of hills and little mountains around Bras d'Or Lakes. So the topography is actually really similar, but it's still a lot of its natural beauty. Kelly: It is on Cape Breton Island where there is a pretty significant tourism infrastructure. It sounds like it's something that's relatively easy to get to even though it feels very remote over there. Gene: It is, but it's mainly because the tourism infrastructure on Cape Breton is all the around the coast and doing the Cabot Trail drive and all that, but you only have to go in maybe about half an hour inside of there and you're right off the tourist spot and to in this area. David: I have a question. Gene: Sure. David: What's their accommodation there are people who are going up to a vacation or is it somebody else's lake house or are there B & Bs or is there any hotel around the Lakes? Gene: There's not much of the hotel thing but there are a lot of the B & Bs and that sort of thing. A lot of great camping facilities, too. Is that something that you like? One of the nice things is there's a real people feel, people letting people into their interior homes. I was talking to someone who was there very recently and there's a lot of cabin that were built by hand and they went and had breakfast with the woman before she went off to work. But it's a real warm home invitation sort of feels the place; he woke up to cattle outside of his window grazing in the field. So there's no excuse not to relax there. Kelly: OK, well, I wanted to jump into another destination on the list and I wanted to bring Mark back into the conversation because Mark, he's been to Morocco several times and we've a forthcoming "Frommer's Complete Guide, First Edition, to Morocco" and that'll be coming out in early 2008. One of the places that we wanted to feature in Morocco is Essaouira which has long drawn people even such as Jimi Hendrix and Orson Wells. It is a town on the Atlantic Coast and he thought it was a nice alternative to a getaway from more popular tourist spots like Marrakech. So Mark, why don't you talk about that for a little while? Mark: Yes. I think you're right, it is a getaway. I think a lot of people who don't see Morocco or go to Marrakech or maybe just to Marrakech as their entry point. I think it's a rare welcome respond antidote or most of that about the craziness of Marrakech. It's a funny fishing town. Its airport is improving getting bigger but it's smaller and it's calmer than Marrakech. It's a bit more chilled out, there are few Westerners. It's still a three hour from the UK but it's very different. So it's another world really. Kelly: A lot of the budget airlines fly to Morocco so it's actually a quite affordable spot to visit from the UK. Mark: Very recently, the European Union signed an open sky aviation agreement with Morocco which removed a lot of the capacity of restrictions between Morocco and the rest of Europe. So it's meant that in practical terms, there's been an increase in the amount of flights back to and from Morocco and that's driven prices down. So you can get a good deal out there. It's already close to Marrakech. Kelly: In the larger cities of Morocco, people feel the hustle and bustle, so this is kind of a nice alternative to that. Mark: People try to mix up their holiday. They've got the Atlas Mountains as well to go hiking. So in between of the more bright light of Marrakech and they can go here at Essaouira before trying the Atlas Mountains. Kelly: I want to talk a little bit about driving tourist and some of the spots that we've been talking about is you definitely see by car, but what are destinations on the list is a destination that you're meant to see by car because it's actually not a destination per se but a driving route that we're recommending and, David, that's the American Whisky Trail, this is a suggestion that you had made. It's fascinating because of the cultural issues that are swirling around, driving to see these distilleries that are often times in dry counties. David: Right. Kelly: Why don't you talk a little bit about what it is that makes this an interesting trip for people to take? David: Isn't it ironic that you go to visit a distillery where they make rye whiskey, or Tennessee mash, or bourbon, only to discover that you can't taste it once you get there. What you can do is you get what's called the "Angel's" share, which is they open the lid on the fermenting cask. You can waft your hand over and... Kelly: [laughs] David: ... you get drunk off the smell. I mean, it's pretty potent. Kelly: You just breathe in as much as you can. David: What the American Whiskey Trail actually is, it's to one degree it is a marketing scheme that has been created by the Distilled Councils of America. But there's real value to it because it highlights America's love of bourbon and whiskey, and it fueled a large part of the economy around the founding of the country. In fact... Kelly: Sure. David: ... it sort of kicked off this whole thing because they had renovated and reopened one of the country's largest distillers, which was George Washington. They have rebuilt his distillery and found his recipes; they are now starting to make it Mount Vernon whiskey again. Kelly: Yeah. David: So you can go learn about America's first president. I think you can actually drink on Mount Vernon's, you can enjoy some of it there. But this also really highlights various spots across Kentucky, Tennessee, also Pennsylvania, Fraunces Tavern in New York City. Not all of it is along any specific route, but it does highlight the making of spirits in America. Kelly: Right. David: The great thing is actually you can go stay someplace like in Nashville or Memphis. These were all sort of day trips outside of there for Tennessee whiskey, or you can go in and stay in Bardstown, or Boonesville in Kentucky, and view distilleries--especially my favorite Makers Mark, it's just a short ride out. You can stay in B&Bs all along the way; you just sort of deal with the locals. Kelly: This is also some of the most beautiful countryside in the country driving through Kentucky and through Tennessee, and the foothills and mountains. It's really fantastic! David: Actually I think one of the best times to go would be to go in the spring season when it's Easter. It's a great time to go late March to mid-April after winter has sort of melted away, and they've had some spring rains. The hills in Tennessee and Kentucky first open with Dogwoods and Redbuds, and it's just this sort of intoxicating mix of pinks and whites and that really fresh spring green. Kelly: Right. David: Just that alone, taking that in as you're driving around is gorgeous. Kelly: I think the scenery is probably beautiful at any time of year, but I think that would definitely be the highlight of a visit. Jason: Thank you. Mark: Thanks Kelly. Gene: Thank you. Kelly: Join us next week for another conversation about all things travel. I'm Kelly Regan, and we will talk again soon. Announcer: For more information on planning your trip, or to hear about the latest travel news and deals, visit us on the web at www.Frommers.com. Be sure to email us at Editor@Frommers.com with any comments or suggestions. This has been a production of Wiley Publishing, and may not be reused or rebroadcast without express written consent.
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Frommers.com Podcast: Our Top Destinations for 2008