What does vacation mean to YOU? Does something without extreme physical challenges with some good food, drink, and scenery sound like your idea of paradise? Me, too!
Those are the very definitions of “soft adventure”—an experience that going beyond the run-of-the-mill travel packages, providing rejuvenation for body and spirit, but no requirement for being a daredevil. That can be the theme of the next vacation!
I don’t know about you, but when Christmastime rolls around I’m ready for a vacation. Christmas travel packages are available on the Internet, and Galapagos sounds particularly enticing.
Get away from the traffic, the mall, and the endless TV commercials. Someone else can host the family holiday dinner. Book a ticket and get away, and come back ready for the New Year.
First you must ask yourself what type of safari experience you would like to have? Being driven in an open landrover through the African bush and grass plains looking for the ever elusive Leopard, walking with an experienced game ranger on foot and getting to know more about the smaller fauna and flora of the region. Another option is driving yourself in a fully equipped 4×4 or renting a normal sedan vehicle and sticking to more well used roads in national parks such as Kruger (South Africa) or Etosha (Namibia). For those that like camping but don’t have all the kit, consider a participation camping safari. All of the above safari types are available in different price categories.
Here are a few interesting safari options:
Horse riding safaris
Elephant back safaris
Canoe safaris
Walking safaris
Ocean safaris
OK, everybody has heard all about the rioting in Kenya after the elections. People canceled their trips to safari there. Same thing in South Africa when people heard that they were killing the illegal immigrants and refugees.
While it is true that there was rioting in Kenya, according to Jetta Bates-Vasilatos writing in Recommend Magazine, not one tourist was hurt in Kenya. Most tourists on safari never even knew anything was happening in localized areas of the major cities.
The same is true for South Africa. While once again it is true that there was some bloodshed in isolated pockets, that violence was never directed at tourists. I had clients on romantic vacations in both locations at the time and they never had a problem. They came back glowing and gushing about what a great time they had!
The question was “is travel to Africa safe?” The answer is yes in the majority of areas of Africa. One must take the usual tourist precautions of course, but the tourist, safari, nature and cultural areas of Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda currently is safe and open for business. Because of the perception of danger, those planning their trips to Kenya and South Africa have shied away. Those that are savvy travelers are taking advantage of bargain pricing in South Africa and Kenya to attract the travelers back. Those that have been there before know what a bargain the safari offerings in both countries are right now. They are scooping them up. Should you be?
Check the news. Are you seeing anything lately about strife in either country? What are you hearing? What are your plans for travel to Africa? Have you changed any of your plans? Have you postponed any of your plans for Africa travel? Have you switched travel to another country? Let’s have a dialog about this! Pitch in and comment.
There are plenty of reasons why you should take luxury cruises. If you are like most people, you will enjoy getting away from it all. A cruise will allow you to do just that. In fact, you do not have to worry about getting to all the sites you want to visit in time. There is no rushing around. There are few if any problems with missing your arrival times. There are plenty of reasons to use cruise travel as your main way to spend your vacation. Here are some other reasons why you may want to consider this type of travel.It is affordable. There are plenty of deals happening each and every day, virtually all times of the year. You can find a wide range of discounts available in the off seasons, but there are plenty to go around any time of the year otherwise.
There is plenty to see. When you take a cruise, you can travel to a wide range of places around the world. In many cases, you can visit some of the most remote ports out there far less than it would cost to fly to these locations. You can experience a wide range of different cultures and various lands. There is plenty for you to experience on the actual ship too.
You can meet lots of new people. A cruise is a great place to meet a wide range of people. You do not even need to get off the boat to do so either. There are many people that are ready and waiting for you to meet them. You can meet people your own age or meet someone else. In fact, if you are single, there are plenty of cruises for you out there.
You can do new things. On the ship and off, there are many things that you can do to enjoy the time that you have. You can learn to rock climb or go scuba diving. You can learn to water ski or go fishing in the ocean. There is no limit to the options that you have.
Travel tour packages can save you a lot of money, but that is not the only benefit of using one. They save a lot of time in preparing the holiday, and save you the stress of having to deal with lots of different countries when trying to put together an itinerary that works for you, and that fits in with your schedule. This is especially true when you’re traveling to another country, Asia travel, for example would work best as packaged tour. A travel tour package takes the planning out of your hands and gives you the time to do other things. Also, should any issues arise – such as hotels being overbooked, or flights being canceled, your travel agent will deal with that for you. Here is an overview of the many benefits of travel tour packages.
The Most Obvious Benefits
Travel tour packages save you money in a lot of ways – the agencies that offer packages are able to get discount rates on every aspect of the trip because they buy places in bulk, so you save a huge amount of money by going with a travel tour package company.
You and your family may be going on your own but the travel agency has sold a lot of vacations just like yours so that they can offer them at discount prices. Usually important things like food and beverages and potentially even rental cars are included in travel tour packages all at one low price. There are also usually package deals waiting for you when you get to your destination as well so take advantage of the savings.
Everything Is Planned
If you wanted to travel to a totally new country, and booked the holiday yourself, you may find that you make mistakes – end up staying in a bad area, or somewhere far from the things you want to see. You may find that the airport you choose is difficult to get to, or that you booked a tour that takes you around attractions you do not care about. If you booked with a travel tour agency, you would not have to worry about this, as they would plan your itinerary for you.
If you see things off the beaten path that you want to check out, or other things that you became familiar with while on your travel tour package, then you can come back with full confidence that you know exactly what to look for and exactly what to do.
Hello everyone. What do you think about travel insurance? Good? Bad? In between? I always thought I would never need trip insurance. I was in good health and I wasn’t traveling during or to hurricane prone areas. I was safe right? Wrong! What happens when an air carrier suddenly ceases operation? What happens when they are a South African carrier and you have no recourse?
This is what trip insurance is for. It is for when an air carrier out of the blue ceases operation with no refunds and you can’t cancel your credit card as it is part of a package and you didn’t use a credit card. It is for when your planes don’t connect and you arrive at the intermediate airport a day late and a dollar short. It is for when you are in Fiji and your luggage is in Bali. It is for that emergency evacuation to the States or your home country because you can’t be treated at the local hospital for whatever happened to you.
That said, you need to check your policy carefully. Many times the full policy can not be seen until you actually sign up for it. You generally, in the States anyway, have a few days to look it over and if it does not meet your needs, return it at no cost and go on to the next one. Make sure the policy is going to cover everything you need or are concerned with before you leave. If you think your credit card will cover you for trip insurance, call them and ask it they will cover whatever your priority is. If not, then purchase trip insurance. I now get it automatically. I purchase a trip, I buy trip insurance. Sometimes with the supplier, sometimes with the agent, sometimes on my own. An agent can steer you in the right direction, but you need to read that policy to make sure it works for you.
Some facts:
obtaining medical treatment and hospital care abroad can be expensive, and medical evacuation to the U.S. can cost more than $50,000. Note that U.S. medical insurance is generally not accepted outside the United States, nor do the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid programs provide coverage for hospital or medical costs outside the United States. If an insurance policy does not cover them abroad, it is a good idea to consider purchasing a short-term policy that does.
As a further precaution, a travel agent or traveler may want to go to a special Web site set up by the Department of State - http://travel.state.gov. The State Department’s Office of American Citizens Services and Crisis Management (ACS) administers the Consular Information Program, which informs the public of conditions abroad that may affect their safety and security. Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings are vital parts of this program.
Travelling in Asian countries is a very enriching and unforgettable. With the culture so diverse from one another, the only thing that really binds them together is their color so every Asian country is worth the visit. My Asia travel experience helped me to understand and appreciate their distinct culture, flavor and practices as well as the traditions that they continuously observe.
I believe that every passionate traveler should not miss stopping by in Asia not just to see but to feel the difference in the ambiance and most of all, the warmth smiles of its people.
Some soon-to- be-married couples are more excited with the day of the wedding, in my case I look forward more on the honeymoon trip because it officially signifies the ideal start of a new life for new couples. In addition, it is also a great way to unload all the stress that was acquired during wedding preparations.
With so many available choices in honeymoon destinations, from adventure travel in Africa or cruising the Pacific on a luxury ship to an island getaway in one of the Riviera Maya resorts, every newly-wed couple truly deserves to begin a wonderful life as one.
Asia isn’t all Godzilla and a Chinese food; most people tend to forget about the natural beauty that lies within the Southeast region of Asia – Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Southeast Asia tours are not only affordable, as the U.S. dollar is still relatively strong there, but you can also get away from the hectic life of the being in the States and really see the almost untouched splendor of the region.
If you find the right travel package, you can afford to take a 20 day trip of the Southeast Asia without having to scramble to find money for bills upon your return – that is unless you decide to buy a house down there.