I want you to close your eyes and imagine your happy place, the place you escape too when all else fails. If you ended up on some tropical island than you might want to stick around for this because I am about to get you the scoop on the best and hottest getaways around the globe. You can come back to reality now!

Whether you want to escape the kids for a week, get away from work or even if you are just treating yourself to some "you time" everyone deserves a good getaway once in a while. After all, Dalai Lama did say "Once a year, go some place you have never been before". The first stop on our list is a tropical serenity I like to call Riviera Maya, Mexico. With activities to last a life time you will never be bored. Riviera Maya is one of the most traveled too locations in the world. If you book a stay at an Iberostar hotel everything will be all inclusive. Do you know what that means? All you can eat food, all you can drink beverages and all the activities you can think of are all offered to you upon arrival, sounds pretty decent to me. The staff at the Riviera Maya hotel are amazing and are very knowledgeable, they rush to your every call to make sure your stay is the best it's ever been.

Next on our list of getaways is a little place I like to call the Bahamas. If you have ever traveled to the Bahamas before you know the beautiful crystal clear water and powder white sand is the most beautiful and relaxing in the world. When booking a hotel in the Bahamas it will work to your benefit if you consider the location. As we all have figured out by now, there are "Bad" and "Good" parts of every city, state and country. One of those excellent locations is Nassau. Close to the airport, it will make your travel a lot easier. The Raddison hotel in Nassau offers transportation to and from the airport, to your activities that are so far from the hotel you'll be glad they offer transportation, and if you're into the whole aqaurium scene the Atlantic Palace isn't too far away either. Most people know the Atlantic Palace by the "Mary Kate and Ashley go to the Bahamas" movie. The scenery in the movie doesn't do it justice in real life. The Atlantic Palace offers an abundance of activities as well including a massive water slide that goes through the shark tunnel and drops you into a crystal clear pool. Although it may seem scary at first, I recommend you try it if you ever get the chance and bring a gopro if you have access to one. They do come in handy when you're traveling and they capture every moment in a unique way.

If the islands aren't for you and if you don't like putting sunblock on every five minutes don't worry, we won't judge you. We all like to take a break even from the tropics once in a while. If you are looking for a more secluded getaway whether you are with family or friends or just enjoying your time by yourself, than Italy is the perfect place for you. I know I know, Italy is huge! It seems almost impossbile to pick just one location right? Well here comes the good stuff, a couple years ago I was browsing the web looking for some places to travel. I came across a fabulous website called "Groupon", Groupon is a website that sells virtual coupons for any restaurants you may be interested in, any getaways and they even offer an "Explore your city" category. I didn't expect to find much when I came across this website because I have never heard of it before and if you know me personally, you would know I am the world's biggest skeptic. I clicked on the "getaways" category and I was stunned. So much to offer and close to nothing comes out of your wallet. The only problem is, if you are flying to your desired destination groupon only offers limited airports which could end up costing you more due to traveling to that specific airport. One of the getaway locations I stumbled upon was an eight day tour of Italy which included airfare. If you can find a vacation that includes airfare and if you get even luckier, a rental car; then you are very fortunate because not many deals include a car and airfare. The trip listed three cities in Italy that you would be traveling too. Florence, Venice and Rome. Although these groupons do expire after a certain amount of days, this trip included a two night stay at Italy's finest hotel Carlton in Venice, two nights at the beautiful Grand Hotel Adriatico in Florence, two nights at the Grand Palatino in Rome, all of the transportation, eight meals and sight seeing of course. This deal was the most popular for a month as well as the most expensive, coming in at a price of $1,899. Now I compared this price to other prices listed on different websites and you'll never guess what I found out, Well I'm about to tell you. The price listed on groupon was $776 dollars less than the average travel website listing which saves you around 29% for your Italian getaway.

Do you have a big family like I do? I can't even tell you how many people are included in my family, I tried to count once before but I keep losing count because everyone keeps having babies. If you are on of those big families who likes to get together every year and do something special than I have the perfect place for you. It isn't tropical, it isn't Italy by any means; It's actually one of the states! Can you guess? If you guessed New York than you where correct. When I think of New York I think of the bright lights that light up the night sky to the city that never sleeps, I think of all of the honking people do, I think of all of the broadway shows and the endless amount of activites that are offered but today, I am not talking about New York City or Manhattan. I am talking about the adirondack mountains. With scenery that will blow you away and fun stuff to do every day you will be amazed at how fast your vacation went by. Lake Placid, NY is a great family vacation location. Lake Placid is one of the many lakes you can swim in, boat in, fish in and even go cliff jumping in. Right off of the lake is a shopping strip that offers a starbucks, and let's be honest, who doesn't love a good caramel frappacino while on vacation? They offer different restuarants and souvenir shops as well. The most fun activity was renting a pontoon boat and cruising the lake, the pontoon boat rentals are on the expensive side but it is well worth it, you get to rent the boat until the end of your day when all of your fun activities are over with and you are ready to hit the pillow and wake up bright and early for the next activity.

While I have many other locations to list I thought it would be beneficial to everyone reading this to list a couple of traveling tips so you are well prepared for a less hectic and crazy travel experience.

• Definatley bring a carry on, if I am going somewhere for a weekend I usally just pack all of my clothes on a larger carry on and all of my lady essentials in my somewhat large purse.

• You will almost never wear that second dressy outfit that you packed, so to save some space and time for your travel, don't pack it!
• Always pack any chargers that you have for your phone or camera. You don't want to run out of battery in the middle of taking the best picture you have ever taken because trust me, it's beyond frustrating.

• If you are the person to carry a wallet, make sure it is always visible to your eyes. If you have it in your back pocket chances are it will get stolen and you will not be a happy camper for the remainder of your trip.
• When getting a passport, always make a photo copy of it just in case something goes wrong. Which, more often than not, something will go wrong.

• Have a little bit of extra spending money, you want to be able to treat yourself and get some gifts for loved ones back home.
• Instead of booking a vacation directly from the airline check out different websites like Groupon, expedia, travelocity, trivago and orbitz. Be careful, Always read the fine print.
• When traveling it is always good to carry some form of cleanser. Hand sanitizer, baby wipes and facial wipes are the best for traveling by plane.
• Always leave early. If your flight is at 7:00 am, be there by 6:30 am or even earlier if you live closer to the airport.
• Consider the location you are traveling too, you will not believe how many people get scammed believing they will be arriving at a hotel near the beach but end up at a hotel near a construction site.