San Francisco, U.S.A. — You, friends and family, a convertible and the wide open California road. What could be a better combination? Pairing it with California wine country, of course. Because there are so many choices, California’s Wine Institute has developed five big road trip ideas to inspire wine lovers, giving them options to pick their favorites and set their pace. And speaking of pace, don’t forget to pace yourself when wine tasting (spitting is more than polite in wine country!) and have a designated driver.

From California’s iconic coast to dramatic deserts and the magnificent High Sierras, the great California road trip is on just about everyone’s bucket list. With a little planning, you can include amazing wine regions in your adventures, from hidden gem off-the-beaten path regions like the Sierra Foothills and Temecula to the most well-traveled, such as Sonoma, Napa and Paso Robles.

Here are five of California’s great wine country road trips that can be done in five days, starting from either San Francisco or Los Angeles. Don’t forget to check out other amenities offered at many wineries, from picnics, bocce ball and concerts to hiking, biking, horseback riding and garden tours. For more information on visiting California wine country go to www.discovercaliforniawines.com. And to help get you inspired, you can also check out this new California Wine Road Trip video:

1) North Coast

There’s nothing like a drive on California’s scenic North Coast to show you not only the Pacific Ocean’s dramatic beauty but also how profoundly it affects the region’s climate. That coastal influence gives us San Francisco’s famous fog, towering redwood trees, and a perfect home for cool-climate grapes like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and others —so let’s explore! This scenic five-day round trip from San Francisco takes you wine tasting, shopping, dining, kayaking and more: visit Sausalito; Muir Woods national park; quaint, coastal Mendocino; and Sonoma County’s diverse wine regions.

2) San Francisco Bay Area

This five-day round-trip itinerary is a foodie’s paradise, with stops from San Francisco’s Chinatown and Little Italy to Berkeley, the legendary birthplace of California cuisine. It also takes you from mountains to the sea: you’ll take in the thrilling scenery and wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Livermore Valley and Half Moon Bay.

 3) Napa Valley to the High Sierras

This adventurous round-trip itinerary starts in Napa Valley, any wine lover’s dream destination, where exquisite Cabernet Sauvignons await alongside pampering hot springs and bike tours. Then it heads for the hills, exploring Gold Country and the Sierra Foothills for gondola rides, panoramic views and off-the-beaten-path wineries before winding back down to earth in Lodi, home to some of California’s oldest Zinfandel vines. Your wine adventure starts here.

4) Central Coast – Highway 1

What says California more than driving a convertible with the top down, traveling up Highway 1? With the ocean in view, wind in your hair and wine on your mind, this trip takes you from Santa Barbara’s Sideways movie territory to the cool-climate wines of San Luis Obispo and red-wine mecca Paso Robles, then swings back to the ocean and beautiful Monterey before ending in San Francisco. Besides wining and dining, there’s a zip line, hiking, Hearst Castle, Big Sur, Cannery Row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium to interest you.

 5) Southern California Adventure: Hollywood and Grapevine

Oh yeah, you’re going to Hollywood! And for a wine lover, there’s more to Southern California than blue skies, surf and sunshine—it’s full of surprising wine regions, where winemaking has been taking place since the late 1700s. On this five-day round trip, you’ll hit hot spots like Malibu and Palm Springs while also exploring wineries in Temecula, Cucamonga and even San Diego and

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New York, U.S.A. – Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airline, and United Airlines have been named best in class by readers of Frequent Business Traveler, an online publication written for and by affluent frequent business travelers.

The Hilton chain was recognized as favorite in the Americas, Asia/Pacific (APAC) and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Singapore Airlines took top honors as best airline in Asia/Pacific; Emirates Airline won its award for Europe/Middle East/Africa; while United Airlines scored tops for the Americas. The publication’s readers bestowed two awards to Lufthansa – best first class lounge as well as best frequent flyer program. Honors for Best Airport in the Americas went to San Francisco International Airport. Top recognition also went to BMW as the Best Automobile Manufacturer and Hertz as Best Car Rental Chain in the World.

The Frequent Business Traveler GlobeRunner Awards recognize the world’s best travel companies, including airline, hotel, car rental agencies and travel websites.

“Every day, we publish breaking news and feature coverage to meet the travel and information needs of our road warrior readership,” said Jonathan Spira, editorial director of Frequent Business Traveler. “Their very selective preferences and extensive patronage of hotels, airlines and everything travel-related make their votes particularly meaningful.”

Award nominees were made by the publication’s editorial team of experienced travel journalists in more than 20 categories.  Voting was conducted online from March 1 through May 15, and almost 50,000 votes were cast. Winners will receive a personalized award. In addition, a donation will be made in their name to the PKD Foundation, an organization dedicated to discovering treatments and a cure for Polycystic Kidney Disease which claimed the life of Frequent Business Traveler co-founder Greg Spira.

The complete list of Globe Runner award winners is:

• Best Airline in Asia/Pacific: Singapore Airlines
• Best Airline in Europe/Middle East/Africa: Emirates Airline
• Best Airline in the Americas: United Airlines
• Best First Class Lounges: Lufthansa
• Best Business Class Lounges: Korean Air
• Best Airport in Asia/Pacific: Hong Kong International Airport
• Best Airport in Europe/Middle East/Africa: Dubai International Airport
• Best Airport in the Americas: San Francisco International Airport
• Best Airline Alliance: Star Alliance
• Best Frequent Flyer Program: Lufthansa Miles & More
• Best Airline Food and Wine: Cathay Pacific
• Best Hotel Chain in Asia/Pacific: Hilton Hotels
• Best Hotel Chain in Europe/Middle East/Africa: Hilton Hotels & Resorts
• Best Hotel Chain in The Americas: Hilton Hotels & Resorts
• Best Hotel Chain/Group Loyalty Program: Hilton HHonors
• Best Hotel Chain Dining/Restaurant: Hilton Hotels & Resorts
• Best Credit/Charge Card Points Program: American Express Membership Rewards
• Best Mobile Phone Coverage in North America: AT&T
• Best Web Site for Booking Travel: Expedia
• Best General Travel Site: FlyerTalk
• Best Car Rental Chain in the World: Hertz
• Best Car Manufacturer in the World: BMW
• Best Luggage Maker: Samsonite

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Washington, U.S.A.  – U.S. News Travel released the 2012-2013 editions of several popular Best Vacations ranking lists. These rankings include — for the first time — destinations from Asia, Australia and the Pacific, Central and South America, and Africa and the Middle East. The new rankings are available online at http://travel.usnews.com/.

The top-ranked destinations in three popular categories are listed below:

The complete Best Vacations rankings, overall and sorted by region, are available here:http://travel.usnews.com/Rankings/

The new rankings identify the top vacation spots based on a methodology that combines expert and consumer opinions. They reflect how strongly a destination is recommended by travel experts and U.S. News Travel website users.

“We are pleased to expand our coverage of top travel destinations to a worldwide scale,” said Chad Smolinski, Vice President of Rankings and Reviews at U.S. News & World Report. “This expansion allows us to make comparisons between places as geographically disperse as Bali, Corfu, and Rio de Janeiro. For someone planning a major vacation or a honeymoon, this can be important.”

The launch is a part of the 2012-2013 U.S. News Best Vacations rankings. In total, more than 200 destinations were considered in the current rankings.

About U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report is a multi-platform publisher of news and analysis, which includes the digital-only U.S. News Weekly magazine, www.usnews.com, and www.rankingsandreviews.com. Focusing on Health, Personal Finance, Education, Travel, Cars, and Public Service/Opinion, U.S. News has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers.

U.S. News & World Report‘s signature franchise includes its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its annual “Best” series of consumer web guides and publications that include rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, mutual funds, health plans, and more.

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Hong Kong, China — Marriott International has signed an agreement with Weligama Hotel Properties, a fully owned subsidiary of East West Properties, to open a hotel in Sri Lanka, the Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa 2014 – this will be Marriott’s first property on the Indian Ocean Island.

The 200-room, 11-storey Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa, will be operated under Marriott’s flagship Marriott Hotels & Resorts brand.

“Marriott is delighted to be extending its portfolio and opening a world-class hotel in Sri Lanka,” commented Simon Cooper, president and managing director Marriott, Asia Pacific. “Sri Lanka is a destination that has great potential and opportunity and we hope to capitalise on that and establish a strong presence in the country.

We are confident that the reputation of Marriott Hotels and Resorts and the power of Marriott Rewards, our loyalty programme, will create great interest from both local and international travellers and be successful in promoting the beautiful area of Weligama Bay, as well as the country itself as this is our first hotel here.”

Commenting on the project Mr. Nahil Wijesuriya, Chairman, East West Properties PLC said: “We are among the first companies in Sri Lanka to sign up with an international branded hotel company and to open as early as 2014. The resort is being built according to Marriott International’s five star brand standards, with a beach frontage of 115 meters on the Galle-Matara road in the South-East of the country. The construction is being carried out in-house by East West Engineering Services (Pvt) Ltd. so we have direct control of every aspect of the construction of the resort and are confident that it will be of the highest standards and quality.”

Marriott International is a world renowned operator and franchiser of a broad portfolio of hotels and resorts which include Bulgari Hotels and Resorts and The Ritz Carlton. Marriott International currently operates over 3,700 hotels in over 73 countries and territories around the globe. Marriott Hotels and Resorts are Marriott International’s signature and most widely distributed brand and is also known for the world’s largest loyalty program, Marriott Rewards.

Weligama, located 144km from Colombo is a popular tourist destination renowned for its sandy beaches. Famous for its stilt-fishermen perched on a cross bar of a single pole planted into the sea bed, this attraction has been captured in every corner of the world depicting Sri Lanka as a preferred destination of choice for travellers from all over the world.

The Hotel will be located in Weligama, a part of Matara which is one of the largest cities on the south coast of Sri Lanka, where tourism and fishing are the two main businesses. Tourism is the mainstay of the south-western coast of Sri Lanka. The services sector is expected to be the primary engine of growth in coming years which is expected to be led by tourism.

2011 was declared as the “Visit Sri Lanka” year by the government. The country witnessed record levels of tourist arrivals in the early months of the year; a trend that is expected to continue for the remainder of the year.

“We see great opportunity in Sri Lanka with ever-increasing visitor numbers to the country,” continued Cooper. “While India, UK and Germany are the largest source markets for hotels in Sri Lanka; the Middle East and Russia are the emerging source markets and with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (“SLTDA”) aiming to achieve a target of 2.5 million tourist arrivals by 2016 we are confident of attracting great leisure and business guests to the property.”

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