Smart Travel

When the whole family travel together it can be a memory for life. Are you planning a family vacation? Planning is a very important ingredient for a successful vacation. Therefore be prepared for some extra effort on your part to get it properly planned. You are probably busy, working day and night. To get your family vacation planned properly you would have put off the vacation for quite a few months because you need to allot plenty of time to plan it. Do not go into the trap of underestimating the time it takes. Planning a family holiday can be a really fun and enjoyable activity; especially if you involve all the your loved ones. Kids and teens alike will surely appreciate being included in the planning of the family vacation and you should include each and every member of the family in planning the vacation. Start up with a simple brainstorming session. This will throw in many ideas and places to go. One of the basic questions whether to purchase a family vacation package or go by...

Changes to the way the data was collected mean that it cannot be compared with previous years, but does enable month on month comparisons beginning with May 2006 data. The data will therefore become far more relevant in driving future marketing and commercial activity by the national tourist boards and partners in the industry. The key findings of the report follow: More than 138 million overnight domestic stays were made by UK residents last year. The 2005 United Kingdom Tourism Survey indicates that domestic visitors spent £22.7 billion – an average of £51 per night – on trips in their own country. Data from the UK's four national tourist boards shows that the number of UK residents' domestic trips remains well ahead of the 66.5 million trips taken abroad. A total of 63% (87 million) were holidays, representing £14.5 billion – 64% – of spending. The study found that people are also taking more short breaks. Nearly twice as many holidays of one to three nights (56 million) wer...

By: Moriah Shemer Every spring, North Americans gear up their grill, stock up on the meat and prepare for many mouth-watering barbecues. But how much do we really know about the art of barbecuing? From the familiar pastime’s origins to surprising tips and tactics, this list will provide you with all the information you need to wow your friends at the next neighbourhood barbecue! 1) Barbecues originated in pig-pickin’s, feasts that were common in the Southern United States prior to the Civil War. Whole pigs were cooked and eaten by the crowd. 2) “Smoking” was used as far as 6000 years ago in order to make meats safe to eat and store. The meat was exposed to smoke and low heat in order to prevent bacteria and enzymes from growing. 3) In Australia, a barbecue is commonly referred to as a barbie. The famous statement “I’ll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you,” which appeared in Australian tourism advertisements, is often used to refer to the country. 4) What most North Americans par...

It is a well-known fact that tourism can be a deadly foe as much as a firm friend in the matter of development. Considering the economic might of the tourist industry—now regarded as the biggest in the world ahead of automobiles and chemicals—careful attention should be paid to this many-sided phenomenon with its global repercussions. The impact of tourism is such that progressive strategies are vitally needed in order to prepare the ground for genuinely progressive international, regional and local strategies. It is UNESCO’s intention to assist the 191 Member States in preparing their policies while reconsidering the relationship between tourism and cultural diversity, tourism and intercultural dialogue, and tourism and development. In this way, the Organization proposes to contribute to the fight against poverty, protection of the environment and mutual appreciation of cultures. ST.SOPHIA is the one of The World Treasure This section on the Great Church of Hagia Sophia c...

This article will provide a brief overview about the historical background, importance, concepts, principles and general debates about sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism is one of the pre-requisites of achieving sustainable development. the concept of tourism with sustainability and development gets its historical inclusion from mass tourism that got flourished in 1960s due to advent of jet aircraft and the passions for tourism got tremendous following and it also reached Third World countries (Dann, 2002). It was also argued that this boost pushed organizations like World Bank and UN to examine the cost benefit analysis of tourism and it was acknowledged that potential costs of tourism are far lower than financial benefits in shape of balance pf payment surpluses, infrastructure development, and employment and foreign exchange gains. So that gave rise to the concept of sustainable tourism as one of the source of bringing sustainable development. According to the World’s Summit ...

Have you ever noticed that most people travel in with other people? Perhaps you yourself wouldn't consider traveling alone, choosing to travel only if accompanied by another person. This is due in part to people being afraid that they will be bored if they travel alone, when in fact the reverse may be true. There are a lot of benefits to traveling alone. One good reason is that your schedule is your own. When you travel with other people, their interests may differ from yours. This causes you to have to try to fit everyone else's activities and sight seeing preferences in with your own. This could cause you to miss out on things that you really wanted to see and do. Who knows when you will have the chance to go on vacation again, so you should be able to see and do whatever you want. Since you don't have anyone traveling with you, you can do just that. One of the fun things about traveling is not only getting to see new places, but also making new friends. When you travel ...

EPCOT is short for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” and as Walt Disney had envisioned was supposed to be an actual city where people lived and worked. It didn’t turn out that way. Walt died in 1966 and the vision changed a bit. No longer was a city planned, but a theme park was put on the drawing board. While the entrance to EPCOT called “Future Word” has many wonderful rides such as Test Track, Mission Space, and Spaceship Earth, the truly educational part of EPCOT is what is known as “World Showcase”. Here you can find a lake rimmed with various pavilions each themed as a different country. Your kids will want to stay in Future World and enjoy the rides. Most kids think World Showcase is boring. It has very few rides but is full of culture. You’re going to have to be inventive to keep the little ones interested. Bribe them with candy, promise you’ll go on Mission Space, or make a game out of learning words from each language. However you do it, make sure they partake o...

When it comes to choosing a hotel for your vacation, it often becomes an issue of low cost and convenient location. More often than not, particularly when traveling to major tourist areas with popular attractions, the closer the lodging is to the destination or attraction, the more expensive it will be. That is why the best way to save money on lodging is to stay in an outlying area. Unfortunately, this might mean that you will spend more time driving to your destinations, which inevitably means more money spent on gasoline. It is important to asses all of the factors in order to make sure that staying in more distant hotel will really cost you less money. There are several ways to save money on lodging without compromising the quality of your accommodations. For example, paying for a membership in AAA or a similar auto club also provides you with discounts on hotel rooms, as does being a member of the military or being a senior citizen. When booking a hotel room, make sure you ask abo...

Traveling is a great way to escape the rat race and experience new cultures and places. Alas, your experiences can fade with time. The best way to prevent this is to keep a travel journal for your trips. Travel Journals Take a minute to give some consideration to your most recent trip. What sticks out in your mind? Now think about the first trip you ever took. Undoubtedly, you remember few things about the trip. The experiences you’ve forgotten are lost to time. If you had kept a journal, this wouldn’t be the case. There are famous instances of people keeping journals throughout time. Of course, Anne Frank’s Diary is the best example. In her diary, Anne kept a running commentary of the two years her family spent hiding from the Nazis. While your travels will hopefully be more lighthearted, keeping a journal will let you remember them as the years pass. A good travel journal combines a number of characteristics. First, it should be compact so you don’t have to take up unnecessary space ...

1. Hawaii resort You can choose to put your frequent flier miles to good use and take a beach vacation on the island of Hawaii. Here, you can relax on the beach, swim in the ocean, play golf, and even indulge in one of the many innovative spa treatments. Hawaii enjoys some of the best weather in the world - making it a great choice for your beach vacation. 2. Golf and Beach in Georgia Popular among the East Coast, the Cloister at Sea Island in Georgia offers you 54 holes of championship golf, sandy beaches, and a wide array of things for you to do. 3. Oahu beach vacation At the Kahala Mandarin Oriental you can expect to be pampered like never before. You can visit the spa, take scuba diving classes, or choose to swim it up with the dolphins. The resort is conveniently located 15 minutes away from Honolulu and Waikiki Beach. 4. Virgin Islands vacation At this vacation destination you can enjoy blue waters and sandy beaches. The Ritz Carlton, and St. Thomas resorts offer you the best of...

Making your next trip a healthier one may only require a few easy steps. Every day approximately 2.6 million hotel rooms are sold to travelers and overnight guests in the U.S., according to the Travel Industry Association of America. While traveling, guests are at risk for illness due to sudden changes in altitude, humidity, microbiology and temperature. The stress of travel can worsen these factors. A poll by Health magazine and AOL CityGuide revealed that 85 percent of those surveyed worry about staying healthy on the road. Choosing the right hotel and planning ahead can help travelers avoid common health issues while traveling. Some tips for ensuring a healthy hotel stay include: • Check the Menu-Inquire about healthy menu choices at your selected hotel. Some hotels have relationships with nearby health care facilities to help them develop healthy menus. The Kahler Grand Hotel in Rochester, Minn., for example, features a Right Choice menu created with help from Mayo Clinic dietician...

An all inclusive vacation not only saves you time; but also gives you every sort of comfort you could think of. This type of vacation package includes everything from itinerary planning to hotel bookings; site seeing packages and adventure sports trips. All inclusive vacations are enjoyed by everyone as they are so easy to book, saving you time by arranging all the different aspects of the trip in one easy step. These packages are designed for those people seeking comfort and ease from their holidays right from the word go. The popularity of all inclusive vacations has seen large increases, due in part because of the busy lives that we lead. We often find that booking a much needed vacation gets pushed to the bottom of the list as it's too time consuming to arrange. However, all inclusive packages are suitable for even the busiest person, as they are so straight forward to book. The most important decision you need to make when booking an all inclusive vacation involves thinking ca...

Summer travel can be a nightmare waiting to happen. Find out how to ease the pain! Millions of Americans will take to the air and road this summer in the hope of having a terrific vacation. Most of these people believe they have made all the arrangements necessary to ensure the best possible experience, but let me chime in on your plans. Right now there are a number of people out there who have the potential of completing destroying your vacation. Have you accounted for them? They are the airline employees, hotel employees, people who plan road construction and airport expansions and criminals. They could care less about your plans. Let's begin with those who travel by air. People often assume that travel may be slowed by winter weather conditions, but the reality is that things clog up far more in summer. Millions of Vacationers push the limits of a system that is already over-burdened by security considerations and staff shortages. Your only protection is to travel during off-p...

When planning a trip, it is advisable to spend some time doing research even if you are booking through a Travel Agent. This research could save you a significant amount of money and perhaps prevent a miserable stay in a sub-standard hotel. Many people have moved away from using Travel Agents. This is understandable due to the availability of cheap fares and hotel rooms through the internet. However, it is wise to consider the benefits of utilizing a professional particularly when proposing to visit somewhere that you haven't previously been. Some of the advantages of using a Travel Agent are gaining the benefit of their expertise, experience, personal service, ability and indeed the obligation to clarify and inform you of details in the fine print which you may miss if booking on your own account, their up to date knowledge of the latest deals and their ability to distill and interpret information to hopefully offer you the best value deal for your trip. With that said, it is stil...

Security checkpoints have become a genuine pain for air travelers. Where once you could breeze right through the x-ray scanner and head for the boarding gate, now you must endure careful checks of your carry-on luggage and perhaps even of your person. It's the legacy of September 11th and a necessary step toward keeping air travelers safe. But the delays are increasing and passengers are grumbling. Frequent flyers,especially, are complaining about the slowdown and the hassle caused by long security lines. Enter the Trusted Traveler program, the brainchild of an airline industry committee working on ways to improve airport security. With Trusted Traveler, anyone who wanted to forgo long airport security lines would authorize the government to conduct a background check and take their thumbprint or an iris scan of their eyes. Once cleared, they would receive an identification card encrypted with their "biometric ID." Airports would have reserved checkpoints where passengers...

Looking for an extreme makeover or just a little Nip/Tuck? Are you aware of the growing trend of medical tourism? If not, consider this, have the vacation adventure of a lifetime in an exotic country, with sun, sea and pristine white beaches. Your personal assistant awaits you at the airport, accompanied by car and driver. You are whisked away to a luxury beach hotel where you are warmly greeted and everything has been made "just right" for your arrival. Sound great so far? Now add world class plastic surgery. Got your interest? The kicker, the price tag! This "lifestyles of the rich and famous" treatment will run you half the cost of staying home and having just the surgery. Yes, you heard right half the cost of staying home and having just the surgery! Imagine all this and medical treatment or plastic surgery performed by some of most qualified surgeons in the world. No wonder hundreds of thousands of people annually are exploring the advantages of medical touri...

The majestic island of Kauai is only a short flight from the USA, Japan and Australia. From the spectacular views at Waimea Canyon to the verdant vistas along the Napali Coast, more and more people are coming to Kauai because they are attracted to its natural beauty and laidback atmosphere. Visitors are also drawn to Kauai for its gorgeous tropical rainforests, some of which can only be accessed by helicopter. These aerial tours take you into the heart of the island and offer spectacular scenic views that will remain with you long after your vacation ends. Kauai is lush, tropical and wild. With cascading waterfalls and towering green mountains, this island is what most people imagine Hawaii to be like. Kauai can truly take your breath away. Driving down and around Kauai between Eleele and Kaumakani on the banks of the Koula River, visitors can visit Hanapepe. This town once flourished as one of Kauai's largest communities. Today it's an art colony tucked away in buildings that...

A ? Address peel and stick labels for all your family and friends before you go. Then stick to postcards along the way and you'll come home looking good. B ? Bottled water is a must ? don't drink anything else. C ? Cookbooks from your travels are always a great souvenir. Cook a dish from one when you have friends over to see your video and pictures D ? Digital cameras save the day; their small and you never run out of film E ? Expect excitement; go with anticipation, not trepidation F ? Food is fun, try something you've never eaten before like zebra pate or Australian wine G ? Give generous tips, especially in poor countries, you'll be so glad you did H ? Hang out with the locals. Get to know a new person on your trip and get a photo with them I ? Inform someone at home of your itinerary J ? Journal every day. Can you remember now what you did last week? K ? Kids love it when you have packed little surprises to open along the way L ? Learn something: Take a pasta making...

If you have set your mind on traveling around the world, you might run into the difficult task of having to make a hard choice: where do you want to go? The multitude of destinations and travel options is great, but it is also something that you might deal with for days or even weeks before you make a decision. The best thing to do is to create a top ten list of the places that you always wanted to visit. The list may include different countries or even cities in the same country. No matter what you will place as number one in your list you shouldn't worry about getting there, as the travel industry is huge today and able to send you to your destination. Try to find out as much as possible about the most attractive destinations. Travel literature offers a wide variety of sources for good information. You can either go at a local bookstore or search online for facts about your destination(s). Try to have a good idea about what you want to do there. Are you going to go white water ra...

Travel Agent Urges Airlines To Improve Economy Seating New Zealand’s largest travel retailer is calling for airlines to improve the comfort of their economy class seating, particularly for long distance travel. Flight Centre is urging airlines to follow the lead of Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand in developing alternatives and more comfortable products for travel to Asia, the US, Europe and the UK, for New Zealand travellers. Hong Kong based airline Cathay Pacific is planning to introduce ‘fixed back’ seats in economy class, similar to a mini business class seat, creating greater legroom and preventing seats reclining back into people’s space as the seats slide within the fixed shell. It will be the first carrier flying out of New Zealand to offer fixed back seats in economy. In a similar move, Singapore Airlines has also researched customer attitudes towards economy seating, and has announced it will be rolling out ergonomically designed seats with ‘smart featur...

The deal will see a bigger version of SpaceShipOne being developed Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson has signed a £14m agreement which will see his company take passengers into space. The British entrepreneur is having five "spaceliners" built in the US by the team behind the SpaceShipOne vehicle. The California-based rocket plane became the first privately developed carrier to go above 100km in June. Sir Richard says it will cost around £100,000 to go on a "Virgin Galactic" spaceliner, and the first flights should begin in about three years' time. If it is a success, we want to move into orbital flights and then, possibly, even get a hotel up there Sir Richard Branson ...

Author: Colleen Langenfeld ( Click here to view biography...) Another summer is fast approaching and families are once again looking at travel opportunities. Whether it is visiting grandparents, playing the tourist, or even taking your family along on business, traveling with the family is not the same experience as traveling alone. Here are some simple tips to keep everyone smiling during your summer excursions. - Pack light, pack complete. This means don't take it along unless you actually need it. But if you DO need it, don't pretend you can do without it. You will just be miserable or end up purchasing the item on the road. - Buy it there. The first tip (above) brings up a useful thought. Are there some items that are easily purchased once you reach your destination? It may be simpler to buy some things rather than pack and unpack them. Only you can decide if the convenience outweighs the cost. - Attention spans. Everyone has one and they can be vastly different within...

Author: Susan Dunn ( Click here to view biography...) '…[T]raveling to an Allergy Capital™ [where allergens are high] should be a reminder to allergy sufferers to control allergy symptoms by planning ahead,' says Derek Johnson, MD, an allergist at Temple University Medical Center and a medical advisor to AAFA. 'Having a personal Allergy Action Plan can help allergy sufferers prevent symptoms from flaring up and understand how to treat symptoms when necessary.' 1. If you’re traveling in the US, check out the Top 50 50 Allergy Capitals™ in the US here: http://www.allergypreventioncenter.com/news2003/top50allergycapitals.html . Included among them you’ll find some of the most populardestinations for business or pleasure, including Orlando, New York city, New Orleans, Chicago, Washington, DC, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. 2. Visit www.pollen.com to see what the pollen count is in the location you plan to visit, and http://www.aaaai.org/nab/index.cfm?p=pollen ...

Author: Susan Dunn ( Click here to view biography...) '…[T]raveling to an Allergy Capital™ [where allergens are high] should be a reminder to allergy sufferers to control allergy symptoms by planning ahead,' says Derek Johnson, MD, an allergist at Temple University Medical Center and a medical advisor to AAFA. 'Having a personal Allergy Action Plan can help allergy sufferers prevent symptoms from flaring up and understand how to treat symptoms when necessary.' 1. If you’re traveling in the US, check out the Top 50 50 Allergy Capitals™ in the US here: http://www.allergypreventioncenter.com/news2003/top50allergycapitals.html . Included among them you’ll find some of the most populardestinations for business or pleasure, including Orlando, New York city, New Orleans, Chicago, Washington, DC, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. 2. Visit www.pollen.com to see what the pollen count is in the location you plan to visit, and http://www.aaaai.org/nab/index.cfm?p=pollen ...

With beautiful beaches, lush forests, and friendly people, Bali is an island paradise abundant in beauty and rich in culture. Adventurous travelers will enjoy kayaking or white water rafting in the Ayung river, scuba diving and snorkeling in the beautiful Indian Ocean or hiking in the jungle. Planning a Trip - Fast Facts American Express-- There is a branch in the Grand Bali Beach Hotel in Sanur (tel. 361/283970 ). Business Hours-- Most places keep "daylight hours," which on the equator pretty much means 6am to 6pm (or a little later). Doctors & Dentists-- Ask your hotel for a referral -- many have a doctor on call. In Kuta, try the Bali International Medical Centre (Jalan Bypass Ngurah Rai no. 100X; tel. 361/761263 ). It's open da...