We've been busy preparing these QuietGuides and will tell you more about each of them soon, but for now here's a quick list...visit each link for the details!

Tampa Gone Wild! by Kathleen Walls

Ancient Roots In A Modern City - Osaka, Japan by Angela Cockburn

Four Fun Hikes In The Smokies by Deborah Huso

Malibu, Where California's Stars Hide by Diana Funaro

Family Fun in Las Vegas  by Brad Olsen

Available now in video format: Winter in Colorado's Steamboat Springs by writer, and local expert, Andrea Kennedy. A perfect gift!

Tucked into Routt National Forest in the northwest corner of Colorado, Steamboat Springs is so far off the beaten path you have to intend to get there! Its charming western character and hidden secrets are treasures for lucky adventurers. Explore the terrain with an expert, finding trails that only the locals use and naming the neighboring mountain ranges. Taste the bounty of small town flavor…  dabble in its Old West history, and see famous Olympic skiers who’ve put this small town on the map. 

Starting today VTT is offering a $25 gift certificate for the best travel tip about San Francisco, California. Tweet about your favorite travel tip about San Francisco, and be sure to include #vistraveltours to be entered! Winners will be announced each Tuesday. A different city will be featured each week, so stay tuned. The gift certificate can be used on Amazon.com. Curious about what's been added by the travel writers? See our tours of San Francisco, great gifts for travelers, from your armchair or on location. 

For a romantic getaway, a girlfriend weekend or a fun family vacation, think St. Augustine! Brimming with international character, history, art, attractions, great dining and more than a few ghosts, a visit to America’s oldest city is like going to Spain--without the jet lag! Located on the Atlantic coast just south of Jacksonville, and easily accessible by car or air, this city offers everything from a luxury retreat to budget-friendly options. If you are tired of theme park vacations, you will find the reality of narrow brick streets, ancient buildings and international dining to be a refreshing change.  St. Augustine, Florida: America's Oldest City, by travel writer Pamela Watson, is now available in video format for your mobile device.

Looking to get into hot water? Head for Colorado’s Hot Springs Trail! Three hours from Denver awaits a relaxing world of geothermal springs that nourishes a booming Colorado spa industry - set amid a kaleidoscope of towering mountains, raging whitewaters, and spiritual valleys. It’s all here, including the world’s largest outdoor hot mineral springs swimming pool, family-style hot springs resort, spiritual valley hot springs center, South-Pacific-Island-style mud bath hot springs, and underground soaking caves. En route: an open-air swing-fling over a huge canyon, river rafting, wine tasting, tundra, alligators, UFOs, and some legendary folk. Relax! Enjoy! Near Denver; Colorado's Hot Spring Trail, a guided tour for your mobile device by travel writer Kathryn Brockman, is now available in video format. 

Today we're featuring two tours which are best viewed before your trip. They depart from our usual format of turn-by-turn walking directions, and instead give you a valuable overview of the destinations so that you can plan ahead and make the most of every minute of your travel time.

For those seeking comfort be sure to check out Best of Baja and Luxury Resort Spas by Paul F. Foster. "Looking for sparkling beaches, the best spas, and the greatest seaside vacation ever? Los Cabos, Mexico's premiere resort at the tip of Baja, offers all of this, complete with water sports, trophy sport fishing, and golf. Explore the charming towns of San Jose and San Lucas, with affordable--to very luxurious--hotels and eateries. Experience the treatments, services, and cuisine at world-class spas. A scenic one-hour flight from Los Angeles will bring you to the best of Baja!"

And for the extreme oposite, if you're looking for adventure, check out Julie Hatfield's new tour of "The Sea of Cortez". Julie has been a staff writer for The Boston Globe for 22 years, and is now a freelance travel writer. "Just 100 miles from the southwestern border of the United States, Las Animas Wilderness Retreat is on the shores of the Sea of Cortez. 'Mexico's Galapagos' is so remote you must take a small plane and then a boat just to reach it.  World-class fishing (some say the best in the world), snorkeling, whales, dolphins, birds, yurt-living, margaritas and sunset over a beach without electricity or hotels is worth the trouble. Only 20 guests at a time enjoy the magic of a place John Steinbeck called 'miraculous.' Ever swim with a 16-foot whale shark?  Here, it's a piece of cake."

Little Italy and the Gaslamp District in San Diego, CA (available in both QuietGuide and video formats) was written and photographed by Jordon Clary, a freelance writer with a passion for new vistas, good wine, and great company. She's shown us some of the best. "In the heart of downtown you’ll find two of the city’s most vibrant neighborhoods, where past and present fuse together to make a dynamic mixture of some of the best the city has to offer. Take a leisurely stroll and enjoy the culinary expertise of some of the city’s top chefs: browse, shop, and relax. But don’t miss out on the terrific, eclectic nightlife: this place can rock! With its warm, sunny climate, San Diego is the perfect getaway city, any time of year!"

From London to Oxford on the Thames is now available as a QuietGuide. Tour Provider Malcolm Hawkins is a musician and writer who has lived in London, and in Oxfordshire, and has made many trips on the river Thames. He tells us that, "There is no river on earth with more history. Of the millions of tourists coming to Britain every year, very few will go up the Thames by boat. Instead, they will be driving on the crowded roads we are going to miss. We shall see a wholly different side of the country and enjoy the adventure of boating, through a series of locks, from the capital city to the oldest university city in England."

Newfound Gap Road And The Great Smoky Mountains is now available as a QuietGuide. The 30-mile Newfound Gap Road is the most popular route through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, providing access to scenic vistas, including the 360-degree views from the Smokies' highest peak, Clingman's Dome. Along the way are opportunities for easy hikes, wildlife viewing, and access to the region's human history. 

Tour Provider Deborah Huso is a nationally published freelance travel journalist and has been writing on the southern Appalachians for more than 10 years. 

"Sedona: Center of Arizona's Red Rock Country" is now available as a QuietGuide. A year-round vacation destination tucked into a national forest, Sedona is about 100 miles south of the Grand Canyon. More than four million visitors tour this picturesque little town each year, some as day trippers, but most as overnight guests at one of the world-class resorts or delightful inns. In addition to the amazing red rock scenery, which is much like that of the Grand Canyon, the area features nationally-protected ancient Native American sites, miles of marked multi-use trails, dozens of upscale art galleries and shops, and a variety of  restaurants serving regional and international dishes in all price ranges.

This tour was written and photographed by Lynne Sullivan, an author of travel guides and articles about dozens of Caribbean islands and the American Southwest. Her writing encourages independent travelers to explore the history, culture and lifestyle of every destination, while allowing ample time for aimless wandering, spontaneous detours and afternoon naps.

"According to our Production Manager, "This tour will make you hungry!"  Maria Liberati is a former model turned celebrity chef and bestselling author of "The Basic Art of Italian Cooking." She has been featured in many international magazines due to her expertise in food and unusual travel destinations. Maria divides her time between the United States and Europe, where she hosts both culinary tours at a Tuscan farm resort, and cruises throughout the Mediterranean. She tells us in her new tour that, “For over one hundred years food lovers have been flocking to the 9^th Street Italian Market in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and you're about to find out why!  There are comfort foods and local staples like fresh, hand-made pasta and just-picked produce, right alongside exotic Italian imports: you'll find just what you're craving!”

It's Sunday afternoon and I wonder how many other people are planning their vacation? We always heard this popular destination was just for students, but travel writer John Clites has authored "Fort Lauderdale: More Than Spring Break!" and we're ready to explore. John tells us that "Situated in the heart of Florida’s Gold Coast, Fort Lauderdale presents a wealth of diverse activities - and you don’t have to be wealthy to enjoy them! Relax on the beach and work on an envy-producing tan… savor the perfect empanada or dine al fresco at a historic landmark. Buy a beach wrap or a unique piece of artwork… join locals dancing to jazz in the park under the glorious South Florida sky. Be a kid again at a hands-on museum, and learn how in little more than a century this area was completely transformed. The question becomes: What to do this time, and what to leave for next?"

If you haven't recently visited our Press page, you'll find a couple of new video interviews. The first one is from Around The World Travel Radio. And there's an interview about how VTT originated.

In case you'd like to tune in for ongoing travel news, here's a bit about the radio program: Around the World was launched in 1998 and in 2008 was awarded the prestigious IRHA (International Restaurant & Hotel Award) for the Best in Travel and Dining in Radio. Veteran travel writer and broadcaster, Arthur von Wiesenberger, hosts this weekly show connecting to live professional travel reports from all four corners of the globe. The show airs three times weekly in Southern California on AM 1290 KZSB. Thousands of listeners also download MP3s of the show and all program segments are searchable by destination or correspondent. Around the World simultaneously streams on the Internet at www.newspress.com and www.ustream.tv