This is a guest post.
If you want a vacation that’s filled with fun, excitement and adventure, try out things you’ve never tried before. There’s no point trotting down beaten tracks and going through the motions like other tourists do. If you’re a foodie, taste the local cuisine, even if the food that arrives on the plate scares you. If you’ve never stayed in hotels other than 5-star or similar, check into a backpacker hotel and see how it goes. There are so many things you can do to add spice to your vacation. Only, you’ve got to have the guts to make your holiday exciting and worth the dough you spend. Actually, your holidays can get to be more fun, even if you simply ape the locals and do all the stuff they do.
Talking about excitement, if you haven’t tried riding a scooter on a holiday, then you’ve not made the fun tourist grade, yet. Scooters are zippy and loads of fun. Don’t let their diminutive sizes (some look like big mice) fool you. Some of these dainty machines pack quite a punch. Though not of the Harley type, riding a scooter can be quite a thrill and pleasure if you know where and when to ride one. So we thought we’ll just give you a ride on our pillion and listed 5 places where we think you can have the best scooter rides on your vacation.
1. Bermuda
Bermuda offers you no rental cars, so you’re left with three choices apart from walking, crawling, or swimming. Ferries, buses, taxies and scooters. Forget the first three because we don’t want the regular stuff, remember? The first thing you’d notice if you’re an American tourist is that the Bermudans drive funny on the road. If you don’t want to be splattered on the sidewalk, you’d better drive on the left side, too…just as the locals do. Bermuda isn’t a big place, and there are only 3 main roads here. If you drive your scooter around the North Shore, South Shore, and Middle roads, you’ll pretty much see everything this place has to offer. But riding a scooter on the small winding roads of Bermuda is in itself an experience. The warm breeze from the Caribbean Sea on your face will please you no end as you make your way down the main roads or the winding alleys. Scooter rentals are in plenty and much cheaper than taxis. The best thing is…most rentals will deliver your scooter to your hotel, give lessons on driving if needed, and pick up the scooter from the same place. The South Shore Road is the one you should take if you want to enjoy the most panoramic scenes of Bermuda on a single stretch. So the next time you’re in Bermuda, have a scooter ride ready and waiting for you at the airport.
2. Key West, Florida
If you don’t want to drive on the left side in Bermuda, try driving a scooter in some place closer to home. And if you thought that scooters aren’t ideal choices for zooming around in American cities, check out Key West, Florida. This is one place in America where going around in a scooter is considered hip and happening. If you’re already in Key West and if the balmy weather, tropical landscape, active nightlife, and thriving beaches don’t excite you enough, take a scooter for hire and zip around the city. A scooter ride in Key West is just what the doc ordered to get the adrenaline pumping again. And we’re not talking about excitement of the dangerous variety—most scooter drivers are as sensible as motorists in other cities (which is not saying much about road safety)—but the fact remains streets in Key West are as safe or unsafe as any other American city streets, and driving a scooter doesn’t add to the dangers one bit. In fact, you’ll see a lot of people going around in scooters, and you’ll find many scooter rentals in the city stuffed with a range of these little, motorized gizmos. One huge plus for people that hire scooters is the parking spaces they’ll find, and this is akin to getting VIP passes to the Super Bowl because Key West can get pretty jammed with tourists during the busy seasons, and finding parking spaces for your cars is next to impossible. So if Key West is your destination for your next vacation, scooters won’t be just fun rides—they’re absolute necessities!
3. Hawaii
Another place you might want to try if you’re looking to be the scooter explorer this vacation…is Hawaii. Take a flight or a cruise to the Aloha state and hop on to the first scooter you find on arrival. Scooters in Hawaii aren’t about parking hassles, it’s more than that. It’s culture, its fun, it’s Hawaii! C’mon, three piece suits and luxury cars are so not happening in Hawaii. It is bare bodies (well, almost, don’t get your hopes up), flippers, and scooters all the way. Don’t be a fashion outcaste in Hawaii and hire a scooter the moment you land in the land of succulent pineapples. The back roads and streets of Hawaii are perfect for scooter rides, and seeing the sights and doing the dos are so much better on the back of a scooter than in a claustrophobic car. Quaint hamlets and roadside coffee shops are more accessible if you’re on a scooter. Diamond Head or Pearl Harbor, Waikiki or Honolulu, doing a slow 30 miles an hour gives you a better chance to imbibe the spirit of Hawaii and strike up a friendship with local folks. So, the next time you’re in Hawaii, remember the 3 golden rules. Hire a scooter, put a smile on your face, and say Aloha to everyone as you whiz past them on your scooter!
Piazza dei Spagna © Vladimir Fofanov
4. Rome, Italy
Some guy once said, “When you are in Rome, do as the Romans do.” The problem is…nobody actually listens to this guy, anymore. When tourists arrive in Rome, they forget the golden saying and just go through the grind until it’s time for the flight back home. BUT; the smart tourist always does what the Romans do. The cool ones always hire a scooter and this is exactly what the Romans do. Italians are simply scooter crazy, and you can’t blame these good people because Italy is the land of the Vespas (scooters from Piaggio), and off course—the pizza and the leaning tower of Pisa—among many other things. When you go around Rome, you can see the first one in all colors, shapes and sizes. Even the prized Pizza is transported and delivered across the city in scooters. Though Rome is an ultra modern city now, the city still retains the cobbled streets, narrow alleys, and buildings of historic times. Most streets in the old quarters are one way, and getting around the city in a car might get you stuck in a jam. You can only have a complete ‘Roman Holiday’ if you can access all the alleys and the nooks and corners of Rome. Churches, museums, and monuments are what the regular tourists do; for tourists that are looking for the unusual and extraordinary, explore the unseen and unheard of Rome, on a scooter.
5. Barcelona, Spain
Many people feel that if you see one city in Europe, you’ve seen all the cities of the continent. Can’t blame them since most cities across Europe have similar architecture and culture, and even the countryside looks the same. There’s a visible difference between the colder north and the warm Mediterranean south in terms of the landscape, but the architecture and general culture remain the same. London, Paris, Rome, Brussels, Geneva, Oslo or Madrid, most places have the same feel in the air and more or less share the same essence. But Barcelona—Barcelona is different; Barcelona is magical; Barcelona is unique. That’s not to say other European cities are boring, but Barcelona is Barcelona. The capital of the Catalan province or Catalunya as the Spanish call this region, Barcelona strikes you as distinct the moment you arrive in the city. And what makes Barcelona more special apart from the squares which the Spanish refer to as Piazzas, the long cobbled roads with souvenir shops on the sides, and street shows on 24/7 are the nifty scooters you’ll find in plenty. Barcelonans simply adore their scooters, and the tourists that come down here have borrowed the passion of the local folks for these gizmos. That’s why you’d see more tourists on scooters than even the local people, nowadays. Scooters also offer practical solutions for traffic congestions and budget worries in Barcelona. The whole city is full of squares and thoroughfares, and the Spanish people prefer to take it easy; so never be in a hurry when you tour Barcelona and go easy on the engine of your scooter. The Spaniards believe there’s always a time for everything and there’s no point hurrying to get there. Perhaps, it’s time for you to park your scooter on the sidewalk and take a siesta just like the locals. Don’t worry about the sights of Barcelona running away from you; there’s always plenty of time, and Barcelona always takes good care of its guests who go around on scooters!
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