Visit Tenerife, the Island

Want travel deals and information to  Enjoy your Vacation in Tenerife Island. The oldest mountain ranges in Tenerife rose from the Atlantic Ocean by volcanic eruption which gave birth to the island around twelve million years ago. Tenerife is known internationally as the "Island of Eternal Spring" (Isla de la Eterna Primavera). The island, being on a latitude of the Sahara Desert, enjoys a warm climate year-round with an average of 20° - 22°C in the winter and 26° - 28°C in the summer and high sunshine. Tourism is the most prominent industry in the Canaries, and Tenerife is one of the major tourist destinations in the World. The lushness of the gardens and the comfortable atmosphere are very special features of Tenerife, which has lively places to stroll around. The city houses a number of buildings of great historical and artistic value such as the church of Nuestra Señora de la Peña, la Ermita de San Telmo, el castillo de San Felipe, la casa de la Aduana and the old quay where small fishing boats are still moored. In the evening the streets near the Plaza del Charco and the promenade are pleasant places of enjoyment where one can eat at any of the many open air restaurants in Tenerife. Tenerife island is always in demand among tourists because of its year round sunshine. However, to find a cheap holiday to Tenerife, you might try a long winter holiday or keep an eye out for last minute travel deals. Monarch now offer a wide selection of great value holidays to Tenerife, giving you great access to the buzzing resorts, non-stop entertainment and blissful, vast beaches of "the Canary with everything".

What to see in Tenerife Island:
Tourism is more prevalent in the south of the island, which is hotter and drier and has many well developed searesorts such as Playa de las Americas and Los Cristianos. More recently coastal development has spread northwards from Playa de las Americas and now encompasses the former small enclave of La Caleta. After the Moratoria act passed by the Canarian Parliament in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, no more hotels should be built on the island unless they are classified as 5 star-quality and comprise different services such as Golf Courses or Congress facilities. This act was passed with the goal of improving the standard of tourism service and promoting environmentally conscious development.

Digha, the sea resort of West Bengal

Digha is the nearest and most popular sea resort of West Bengal.  Being the nearest sea beach from Kolkata, it is very famous holiday destination as a weekend trip for Kolkatans.

Digha is a 4 to 5 hour journey by bus from Kolkata. There is frequent bus services from Splanade, Korunamoyee and various other parts of Bengal. AC and super deluxe buses are also available at present.

Previously there were daily only one train from Shalimar railway station. But from 14th June 2009 two new trains are introduce from Howrah Railway Station, these are TAMRALIPTA SUPERFAST EXPRESS (the timing of TAMRALIPTA SUPERFAST EXPRESS is 6:40 AM) daily and KANDARI EXPRESS (the timing of KANDARI EXPRESS is 2:40 PM) daily. Sometimes special trains are announced on special occasions and holidays. The train from Shalimar has been withdrawn. In recent times a new train, named Paharia Express has been introduced from NJP to Digha.

Accommodation at Digha:
Accommodation at Digha is never a problem. There are countless hotels of almost all budgets.

Gay and Lesbian Travelers in Madeira Island

Portugal, in general, has a long history of repression and public intolerance of homosexuality. Gay and lesbian sex and marriage is legal in this part of the World and therefore in the Madeira Island. The age of consent in Portugal is 16.

But in Madeira the (local) gay and lesbian activity is still very discrete. In Funchal there are no specific clubs and bars for gays and lesbians, which is uncommon for a European city with over 100,000 inhabitants. Although the gay and lesbian community seems to be dormant in Madeira, a  notable part of the population enjoys this lifestyle. It seems that being gay in Madeira is actually quite acceptable, as long as you don’t brazenly flaunt yourself in front of the church elders at mass, perhaps. Many individuals enjoy a healthy relationship with like minded persons.

Continue Reading from my blog about

• Travel Attractions in Madeira Island 
• Festivals of Madeira Island.

It may surprise some visitors that there is even two gay beaches in Madeira, although not so popular since the beaches are not really made of golden sand but steep cliffs and rocks. The first is the steep cliff beach just off the Ponta Gorda, below the esplanade that separates it from the “Magic Gardens” near the Pestana Grand Hotel. The other is in Caniço de Baixo.

On Madeira Island, gay and lesbian travelers and indeed locals are becoming more mainstream and definitely more acceptable. The “pink” community is actually much larger than it at first may seem. There are no specific gay and lesbian bars or clubs although you will find that most of the larger nightclubs and mainstream bars are very mixed and gay friendly.

Unfortunately, there are still some anti-gay feeling among more conservative elements in Portugal. The consistently reactionary and influential Catholic church, for example, is still light years from accepting the homosexuality as normal. Also issues like single-sex marriage and adoption by homosexual couples still have to be resolved, as in other countries.

Before coming to Madeira, you might want to write to the 'Opus Gay Association' (Rua da Ilha Terceira 34- 2º 1000-173 Lisboa) or contact them by phone (+ 351 21 315 13 96). Their e-mail is opusgaynorte@hotmail.com.

On the Internet you will find a few Portuguese gay and lesbian sites. The most comprehensive is www.portugalgay.pt that is available in Portuguese, English, Spanish, French and German.