FX Excursions

FX Excursions offers the chance for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in destinations around the world.

Susan B. Barnes

Susan B. Barnes is a Florida-based independent journalist with more than two decades of experience. She’s as comfortable bicycling through Italian olive groves and scuba diving the wall of sharks in French Polynesia as she is sipping bubbles in a Champagne house and indulging in luxurious spa treatments. In addition to Global Traveler, Barnes shares her travel expertise in myriad outlets, including AARP and Forbes Vetted. She's a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and the American Society of Journalists and Authors.


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Leisure Lifestyle 2024
May 10, 2024

Enjoy a Private Island Retreat, Accessible Only by Cruise Ship

Setting sail on a cruise is, for the most part, an all-inclusive experience, providing myriad opportunities for traveling someplace new and exotic. More than a dozen cruise lines sweeten tropical itineraries by calling upon their own private islands, giving guests exclusive access to uninterrupted stretches of sandy beaches and calm waters. Here we take a look at some of the private islands to which it’s worth charting a course.

Remarkable Medellín

Visiting Medellín in Colombia: The Country of Beauty is like stepping into a fantastic story — literally, as the city in the Western Colombian Andes region inspired Disney’s Encanto. Here, valleys, the world’s tallest palms, vibrant communities, colorful houses, garden-like balconies and more prove reality is more picturesque than anything on film. And it’s especially more tempting following Medellín’s remarkable transformation, shedding its troubled past and reawakening as a city of innovation, art, cultural richness, modern infrastructure, thriving tourism and resiliency.

March 2024
Mar 20, 2024

Soak Away Your Worries in a Geothermal Mineral Spring

After a cold, rainy day cruising glacial fjords in British Columbia with Bella Coola Grizzly Tours and Tweedsmuir Park Lodge, I carefully hop from the boat and scramble up the rocks to a remote natural hot spring tucked into a rock crevice, accessible only by boat. As I sink into the warm cocoon, I wonder who first came across the hot spring and quietly thank them for their discovery.