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Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

Just because the experts say the economy is picking up doesn’t mean that everyone is ready to start spending money on expensive vacations. In fact, those families that can actually think about going on vacation for the first time in years are looking for the best travel deals they can find. they aren’t about to pay full price to stay at the tropicana hotel las vegas if they can find a discount rate through an online booking site or by cashing in credit card reward points.

Seeing Vegas on a budget isn’t that hard. The hotels and casinos are constantly offering special deals to entice people to visit the city. By taking advantage of airfare sales or using frequent flier miles , families can get to the city fairly cheaply and then get a discount hotel room or suite.

After that it’s just a matter of taking advantage of the many las vegas deals available. Restaurants and shows offer package deals for dinner and entertainment. Visitors can find lots of coupons for buffet dinners and two-for-one meals. As for entertainment, there is lots to see and do in Vegas that doesn’t cost anything. From strolling along the strip to visiting the Freemont Experience, the streets of Vegas offer lots of free entertainment. Most of the hotels and resorts are based on some kind of theme and tourists can access much of that atmosphere without paying anything. Different resorts have sharks, lions, and a full aquarium. There is a pyramid, a pirate ship, fountains, and reproductions of Paris, New York, and Venice. Artwork, artifacts and memorabilia can be seen throughout the city without paying admission — visitors just need to know where to look.

There are still people who travel to foreign countries as part of an organized tour group. By purchasing a package, they trust the tour organizers to take care of all the logistics of planning and all they have to do is show up and enjoy themselves. Since most people travel overseas on their own, they have to take care of all that stuff themselves. And there is a lot to take care of.

Assuming they have chosen their destination country or countries and the time for their travel, and identified the activities and attractions they want to enjoy while there, they can get down to the nitty gritty of planning.

Lodging and transportation are big considerations. They need to research availability of hotels, hostels, and inns as well as public transportation, trains, and car rentals. They should be able to make reservations using the internet.

Documents are the next big problem. Everyone needs a passport, but they may also need work visas or student paperwork. Some countries require health certificates. The best plan is to research this early on and then take steps to procure all the necessary documents.

Other considerations in traveling overseas include reserving tickets to special events like festivals, purchasing visitors insurance , obtaining the proper currency, and learning the financial and social etiquette of the place. The latter means understanding local customs on things like tipping and eating meals as well as any prohibitions on dress.

Some experienced world travelers will argue that there really isn’t a need for visitor medical insurance when traveling abroad. However, anyone who has ever broken an arm, lost a prescription, or gone into labor while overseas could make an even stronger case for having insurance.

The fact is that traveling to foreign countries is fraught with health risks. These range from innocent cuts, scrapes, and bruises to mild food or water poisoning to serious illness and injury. A common problem is the loss of luggage that contained prescription medication or eyeglasses. In many foreign countries it can be extremely difficult to replace these without some form of medical insurance to cover the costs — and to cut through the red tape to get the prescription from the original doctor. Other common problems include exposure to foreign bacteria and parasites in food and water, and catching different strains of flu or other viruses that are foreign to the patient.

The fact that most people who travel are doing so for pleasure actually increases the risk of injury. People go to exotic destinations not just to rest, but to engage in recreational activities and even extreme sports that can’t be found back home. Scuba diving, rock climbing, paragliding, and countless other pleasurable activities carry a risk of accident and injury that might require medical attention. Having visitor insurance is the best way to prepare for those unexpected accidents.

Planning a trip to the bustling yet exciting metropolis known as New York? You’ll have plenty of options to choose from when deciding how to spend your vacation. From choosing the perfect New York hotel for your comfort level, budget, and geographic needs, to deciding which attractions and events to attend while there, you have a lot of work to do before your vacation actually begins.

One approach is to divide the city by its boroughs and choose one or maybe two to visit. This will limit your options geographically and give you a chance to get to know an area. You could even choose a neighborhood rather than a borough and really sink your teeth into the area. Pick from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Harlem, Greenwich Village , or any other locale.

Another option is to center your trip around a theme. Maybe it’s history and you’ll focus on landmarks and museums that explore the city’s past. You could also focus on art, music, theater, fashion, diplomacy, education, shopping, food — or subsets of those. There are at least a dozen attractions and events that you could visit for each of those — hundreds for some of the larger areas. New York is really THAT big.

Another option is to borrow from literature or film. Pick your favorite book, movie, or television show set in New York and visit sites mentioned in the narrative. In the case of television shows currently in production , you may even be able to watch them do a location shoot, assuming they actually film in New York.

If none of those appeals, there’s always the hat, the dartboard, or the random page flip. Write down all the things you want to see and do on slips of paper and pull them out of a hat or put them on a target and blindly throw darts. For random page flip you get a NYC guidebook , close your eyes and flip through the pages, randomly pointing at an item, then repeat.

However you choose, as long as you start with an area, theme, or list of attractions that you already like, you’re sure to have a great time.

If you’re staying at hotels in Boston , one of the more remarkable experiences you can give yourself or your family is to take a trip to an unusual work known as The Mapparium. What is it? It’s a three story tall glass globe of the Earth, which you view from the inside. Standing on a thirty foot long bridge in the interior of the sphere allows a perspective of our planet that’s impossible to achieve by looking at a globe from the outside.

Located at the Christian Science Plaza in The Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity (which is a public museum and library, non-religious in nature), the globe is illuminated from the outside, so the details of the construction can be seen. It was built in 1935 and based on the Rand McNally political maps of 1934.

The bronze frame of this globe holds more than 600 concave glass panels, which glow from 300 lights placed outside. Electric clocks surround the equator and provide comparative times around the world. Visitors enter the globe through the Indian Ocean and exit through the South Pacific. By standing in this spot, visitors may see the planet from pole to pole without the distortions of area and distance that are created on a flat map.

Aside from leaving the planet itself or taking a world-wide trip, the Mapparium is one of the few places you can go to appreciate the scope and size of Earth. It may be found at 200 Massachusetts Avenue, and while it’s closed on Mondays, it’s open from Tuesday through Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm. To be certain the hours haven’t changed, you may call at this number: 617-250-7000.

Autumn seems to be the prime time for festivals. Everywhere you look some city is taking advantage of the lovely fall weather by having a film festival, an art fair, or a food festival. Sometimes these festivals end up competing with each other when certain regions have only a few weekends of good fall weather before winter arrives.

On October 2nd, Bostonians will have the opportunity to taste authentic, delicious Burmese food when the Overseas Burmese Christian Fellowship hosts their annual Burmese Food Fair . This opportunity to sample exotic food will surely draw not only locals but perhaps coax adventurous foodies from their luxury hotels. Boston only offers this event once a year, after all.

All food will be lovingly prepared by members of the local Burmese community. Visitors can expect to sample such Burmese dishes as Mohinga (a fish soup), Burmese Noodle Salad and assorted fried appetizers. There will also be a selection of Burmese desserts and tea. The Fair will run from 4-7pm at the at the International Community Church .

With a population of over 7.30 million, Hong Kong is loaded with high-priced skyscrapers and one of the busiest harbors in the world. Located at the south coast of China and surrounded by the South China Sea, Hong Kong can only build up; there’s no suburban sprawl.

The Hong Kong Museum of Art is available to anyone interested in learning about this fascinating place. There are over 14,000 items from calligraphy to antiques, paintings to the most treasured items of HK. Since Hong Kong is a hard place to define, the HKMA is the best place to get a feel for the city and its people.

The best time to visit and stay at a Hong Kong hotel is from mid-September to the end of February. Springtime, which is March through mid-May, is when the humidity and temperature rise. Summertime is very uncomfortable, but that still hasn’t stop people from around the world to visit this amazing city.

While visiting Hong Kong in the fall, check out the traditional Boat Festival. This city is also host to Hong Kong Disneyland. This was the very first Disneyland in Asia and it has 4 separate attractions: Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Adventureland and Main Street, USA. However, Disneyland can’t hold a candle to the premier tourist attraction: Victoria Peak, which gives tourist a bird’s eye view of Hong Kong, Kowloon and Victoria Harbor.

Seattle is a beautiful and incredibly dynamic city in the Pacific Northwest. In addition, it has a great atmosphere and an extremely inviting feeling. Many people who visit the city express an instant connection to it and of those a large number of them return regularly throughout their lives. And while it is true that it rains quite a bit in Seattle, the city thrives in spite of or perhaps because of this and residents makes the most of this geographic contribution to the culture. Of course one of the most famous aspects of this is the coffee culture. The Grunge movement is also associated with the city and its weather.

Meanwhile, one has to wonder, especially if you plan to visit, how much it actually rains in Seattle . And while the answer is likely to be more than it does in your particular city, it will surprise many people to know that it actually doesn’t rain everyday there. And whole groups of days can go by in the summer without rain and it’s even fairly common to see a clear or slightly cloud but still sunny sky. But if you’re planning a stay in one of the great Seattle hotels you might want to pack an umbrella , you know, just in case. The climate of the city is generally described as a moderate Oceanic or Marine west coast. This means the winters are mild, though pretty damp and the summers are generally arid and relatively dry. And interestingly, it actually receives less rain than some of its east coast relative cities.

The Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering will take place September 30, 2010 and last through October 3, 2010, in Durango Colorado. The Cowboy Poetry Gathering is a celebration of the rich culture and heritage of the American Cowboy. The Gathering is a fun-filled, exciting event loaded with entertainment during the evening performances and daytime sessions as well. Not only poets will be in attendance, but musicians from throughout the country will grace the intimate stage at the Diamond Circle Theatre . Classical and contemporary poems and songs will be performed, and some most likely will bring a tear to an eye or two, while others will keep you laughing long after the Gathering is over.

Make sure to book online any of the luxury hotels Colorado is best known for and then check out the schedule, performers and ticket information at the website, because this year’s 22nd annual Cowboy gatherings line-up is the best yet. While checking out the website for more information, this is a good chance to become a Cowboy sponsor. The Durango Cowboy Gathering, Inc. is a non-profit organization goal is to not only preserves the traditions of working ranch people in the American West, but to perpetuate this culture as well. The organization celebrates the lifestyles of the rural people by allowing anyone who’s interested can share in the appreciation of the culture and deep traditions unique to the West.

Florida has been one of America’s top travel destination for many decades. This state is popular for many cities Orlando, Tampa, Daytona, and Fort Lauderdale are only the tip of the iceberg. Florida isn’t just known for it’s cities and their attractions either it’s also known for its natural wonders like the Florida Keys and the Everglades, the largest nature preserve in the South East.

When it comes to tropical natural wonders Florida really did win the lottery. There are animals found in the Everglades that have no other habitat like the North American crocodile and manatee but this nature reserve isn’t just known for the animals it is home to. This park is also known for various sporting events like air boat racing, fishing, and even snorkeling in some of the crystal clear lagoons and springs. The Florida Keys though are known more for the relaxing atmosphere, good food, and gorgeous sunsets. Tourists flock by the thousands to these barrier islands in search of a stress free vacation of fruit drinks and fun in the sun.

Though those sites are awe inspiring and will never lose their natural charm it’s the metropolitan attractions Florida offers that draws the big numbers. Daytona Beach draws college students by the thousands each year to its beaches for Spring Break while most families seeking fun in the sun that week are likely to be in Tampa where there will be fewer revelers. Each city draws its own unique crowd like Orlando, which attracts vacationers looking for thrill rides and theme parks, or Miami who’s flavor changes even though its seasons don’t. In fact, Miami hosts some of the worlds largest music expos in the winter and early spring that draw people from all over the world to its luxury hotels. Florida is firmly the most interesting state to visit and you’ll be planning your next trip before you even get home.