Online Travel Guide

Tips for protecting you and your family from the destructive UV rays of the sun and the damage they can cause.

The harmful effects of the sun are cumulative and burning the skin at an early age increases the risk in later years of developing skin cancer so be sure to protect your children’s skin. It’s important to remember that years of sun exposure increases the chance of getting skin cancer. Of course the most obvious protection is to seek shade and avoid the sun, (especially during the peak UV hours of 10am-4pm), but not all of us can do this, (especially if we’re on a tropical vacation!).

Basically you’ve got 2 options: sun protective clothing and sunscreen.

Sun Protective Clothing

If you’re going to be in and around the water you can’t beat a rash guard for practical and stylish UV protection.  A rash guard is also known as a surf shirt, rashie, board shirt, rashguard, UV shirt and probably other names.  A typical rash guard is made of a lycra/nylon blend, is stretchy like a pair of nylons or spandex and is designed to fit skin tight. They’re supposed to fit this tight so they stay close to your skin in the water, (as opposed to a t-shirt which will float up around your chest). In addition to staying put on your skin to protect you from the sun this is also how they protect you from a rash if you’re surfing, boogie boarding or doing some other sport where your skin comes into contact with an object in the water.

Rash guards offer SPF 50+ protection that conveniently won’t wash off and doesn’t need to be reapplied to last all day, (evening the water!). A typical cotton t-shirt only offers you about SPF 5 protection!

An alternative to a traditional rash guard is a Repel StayDry Shirt. These UV protective shirts offer the same SPF 50+ protection as a rash guard but have a looser, more t-shirt style of fit. They’re also water repellant and you can watch water bead up and drop off the material without soaking into the fibers.

Repel StayDry Shirts can be worn in and out of the water and are perfect for activities such as sailing, kayaking, fishing, kite surfing, wind surfing, etc.

Last but not least in the arena of protective clothing, don’t forget to wear a hat! Be sure you use one with a brim that is at least 3 inches long. A hat with a full brim going all the way around it is much more preferable than a cap with just a bill in the front as it will protect your ears and neck. In addition to rash guards, Repel StayDry Shirts and hats, remember to use sunscreen. The medical community recommends using sunscreen with at least SPF 15 protection.

Sunscreen

We all know that lying on the beach or canoeing down a river exposes us to harmful UV rays, but so can walking down the street, (even on an overcast day) and just driving in your car!

Wearing sunscreen everyday is one of the most important ways you can protect your skin from the harmful effects of the sun. When selecting a sunscreen be sure to purchase one that protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Please see UV Facts for more information about UVA and UVB rays. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions and remember to re-apply often, especially if you’re in the water, sweating or in the sun longer than 2 hours.

Even if you’re wearing a rash guard or Repel StayDry Shirt you still need sunscreen to protect your face, ears, head, (don’t forget the part in your hair), hands and feet, (burnt tops of feet can be VERY painful!).

Be sure to take extra care in protecting the skin of children and babies as the harmful effects of the sun are cumulative and a sunburn as a child can mean skin cancer as an adult.

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If you know a little Italian, you may want to visit the beautiful country of Italy on your own.  If, however, you’re looking to sit back and pack in as much of the country as possible, try one of the guided tours of Italy offered by many travel services.  You’ll generally get a cheaper deal and you’ll enjoy the country on an air-conditioned coach, complete with an Italian-speaking interpreter.

There are many ways to take guided tours of Italy but many of them start near the top of the country and go southward.  The tour can begin in the watery canals of Venice or in the fashion capital of Milan.  In Venice, visitors can take a  gondola ride and eat in one of the many fine restaurants in the city. The lovely city stretches across numerous small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon that opens into the Adriatic Sea in the northeast part of the country.  The city conveniently lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers.

In Milan, a tourist on one of the guided tours of Italy can take a few hours to shop the expensive shops in downtown Milan.  Your guides might have purchased tickets for the group at the famous La Scala Theater.  The Duomo in Milan is the second largest cathedral in the country. Many guided tours of Italy then head south, through the Tuscan hills and into the ancient and beautiful city of Florence, called “Firenze” in Italy.  The Arno River runs through the city, also a location of many museums and churches. 

Many go to Florence to see the Ponte Vecchio, a unique old bridge crossing the river that contains many quaint shops and eateries.  The Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore is the magnificent domed cathedral within the city. On some guided tours of Florence, you’ll be given time to see its many lovely churches or to see the Uffizi Galleries or the Pitti Palace.  Outdoors, one can see a copy of the famed statue of David by Michelangelo or the original one, in the Uffizi Museum.

When you think you’ve seen enough churches, many guided tours of Italy take you to Rome and the Vatican—both places where the churches and cathedrals are extremely wealthy and amazing to see.  You’ll also see the Coliseum, the Roman Forum and the Pantheon—all parts of ancient Roman times that have been somewhat preserved.  You may also be able to see some catacombs, which were places where early Christians worshipped and buried their dead. 

No good visit to Rome is complete without a visit to the Vatican, including the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel.  These are wondrous sites that make you wish it were possible to take pictures.  You can take as many pictures as you wish of St. Peter’s Square and St. Paul’s Basilica. Hopefully, you’ll be on one of the guided tours of Italy that includes Southern Italy and a visit to the very ancient village of Pompeii.  Destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, it is currently a life-sized museum of what life was like in the average city a millennium ago.  It may prove, in fact, to be the highlight of your guided tour.