Free Republic

Which is a fancy way of saying what's really going on - Cuba is a tourist hellhole. The service stinks, the amenities are gross, the place is thick with thieves and woman-gropers, the cost is high and the alternatives are out there, In fact, the Caribbean is loaded with pleasant, accommodating destinations well worth a tourist's dollar for a vacation. Taking a vacation at a communist military-run resort really falls more into the Gulag category. How is this for tourist hell? Observers noticed Cuban customs officials rummaging through tourist luggage and taking what they wanted. When they complained, they were...

Iran is seeking to create a paradise for female tourists by turning an island on a northwestern lake into male-free zone, the press reported on Wednesday. All public transport, restaurants and facilities on the island -- on the gigantic Oroumiyeh lake close to the Turkish border -- will be staffed only by women, officials said. "The island of Arezou (Wish), one of the 102 islands in the Oroumiyeh Lake, will be equipped especially for women," a municipal official in the West Azerbaijan province, identified only as Aghai, was quoted as saying by the Tehran Emrouz newspaper. "There will be no...