Posts Tagged ‘Tips’

Best Travel Tips for a Fabulous Vacations

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Traveling is such a great experience that we thought we could do this all the time.
Unfortunately, we get very less time to travel in this fast & furious world. Mostly of us only get a couple weeks a year (if we’re lucky) to take our vacations.

Make ensure that those trips are the extremely best which are having some kind of humor in that(unlike the many travel movies where there are nightmares around every corner), we are providing our top 10 travel tips to make your vacations unforgettable – in a superior way of course.

Top 10 Travel Tips

1. Plan early & book when a best deal fits your budget. Companies pop up everyday for more and more travel. Why? Because as the baby boomer age group gets grown-up & once they boot their kids out of the house, they are traveling more and more. Best deals are easy to get and many sound companies that offer great & economical rates and fares.

2. Be familiar about your destination and the best times to travel. Remember when Angelina Jolie takes the whole family to cross-country only to find out favorite Fun Park, which is closed? Do not let that happen to you. Know what is going on and when the best times to travel are. For example, most people know that March and April tend to be spring break times. Well, if you take your little ones to Panama City Florida during these months, chances for you to go to run into wild.

3. Take care of your belongings. Making sure the family pet is also taken care off.

4. Budget wisely. Make sure that if the worst happened you still have resources to fall back on. If you are on a budget, be smart & enjoy doing things on a trip.

5. Don’t forget your key documents. There is nothing more frustrating than forgetting something when you are hundreds or thousands of miles away from home.

6. Again, pick up your area of choice to determine how close you are to different activities and restaurants. Its nothing like landing a great deal on a hotel which near by beach, market & restaurant for a fabulous vacation. For example, a hotel that is so far away from the beach you need to catch a train or rented car just to get there. In addition, you want to make sure that everyone traveling with you will have fun! Again, in Las Vegas Vacation when the kids are too young to gamble, they have to come up with creative ways to have a good time.

7. Sign up for online magazine & newspapers keep your ear to the ground about your destination of choice.

8. Plan it properly it can really bite you in the behind on certain things like rentals and such.

9. Make a checklist and to be sure, that everything is in order before and during the trip. From booking to packing to check in relaxation, do not fail to remember anything.

10. Having a great fun and enjoy No matter what type of vacation you are going on.

These are our top 10 best travel tips and we live by them each time we take a vacation. Hope you will too as we know your trip will be much more enjoyable.

China Travel Tips

Friday, January 8th, 2010

The China Travel Tips, survival techniques, to help avoid and make his trip to China easier, so you will be able to experience the real China, with a little less stress.

China is a strange beast that must be respected; major cities, Beijing, Shanghai and Xian, all have their own personality.

Some complex situations which in his view would be a disaster organization to become big and then you wonder what all the fuss and worry. So the simplest of tasks can become a great calamity.

This is when you have what we call here a “China Day”.

These days come and go and are part of the experience of all-day trip to China. One has to have an open mind when traveling in China. It is a place with thousands of years of history and culture overnight that it is trying to adapt to Western lifestyles.

You need to have a very open mind when you travel in China. I have listed below a few China Travel Tips that will make life more bearable little pee in their travel experience of China.

Travel Tips – China toilet wise

• Never expect a clean toilet 100% of the time.

• Be prepared; Bring some tissues.

• You may need to use a toilet squatting, again, if you know this is not a shock. If you do not know how to use a toilet building, try the following experiment at home.

While something to keep in support with both hands, lower your body down in a low squatting position, so that the cheeks of his bottom was almost touching the heels or the back of his calf. Now, go with your hands. See if you stay in this position for at least 1 minute. If it is upside down or could not get up after a squat toilet could be a problem for you! , Has the right to be happy you did.

• If you get a clean toilet, Go… may not come again for a while.

• Many public toilets around the cities, usually those who are to pay OK (RMB, 5), the other best to stay away from if you can. You will soon notice as you walk around the cities.

• Be warned that public spaces such as bus and train stations, which tend to be the class as “hard toilets”, but if you are going gotta gotta go.

• Outside the big cities, toilet systems are old or have very close plumbing / piping and get easily blocked. In these cases, a small basket is usually the bathroom next, it is used for toilet paper.

One of the best China Travel Tips toilet I can give is the use of the hotel lobby toilets, which are everywhere and are always clean. Yet it may not always have toilet paper. It depends on the category of hotel being used.

I do not want to frighten you. However, of all of China Travel Tips to all other sites on the Web that I have read, this is an issue that is not mentioned often, but it is very important for all of us.

So outside of the big cities conditions can be tough. But most of the time everything will be fine, especially if you book a tour, all will be checked before hand. However, even the best laid plans can go wrong, so be prepared, the toilets in smaller cities, towns and villages can be scary.

China Travel Tips – food

• The food is great and the variety is overwhelming. Most of the time you get to choose what you eat, or you can recognize what you are eating, but sometimes you do not get a choice. Wearing a chocolate bar or something, which will keep you going until some foods that can recognize laps. Drink bottled or boiled water since tap water is not drinkable, that is for the whole of China. Even boiled water, while sterilized can contain a large amount of minerals and iron deposits that you probably do not want in the system. The bet is safe to drink bottled water. Tap water in most large cities is OK to brush your teeth.

• Eating habits-Most Chinese have a great habit of being very noisy and when they eat lunch and dinner times can be a wonderful celebration noisy, the food tends to go in all directions, its just part of being in China .

• People smoke cigarettes on the table while everyone is eating, so some restaurants get very loud and smoky.

• If you get stuck which so since most of the menus are in Chinese just look at the table next to you and point to the plate and ask you how much it is, this system works really well and it seems learn to mind.

• I have a basic menu that will help to food safety, (no cats or dogs), this visit will allow greater choice of restaurants, not just tourists with high prices. You can bring with you and use it on the premises where most of the restaurants could serve as what is on it. This way you will know what they are eating.

These premises are very cheap and the food is great. Contact me if you would like me to send it to you.

China Travel Tips – Taxi

• Travel Tips – China – Taxi cabs are an experience that you can have headquarters complaints and panting, but it is too early to get used to it, after the first few rides, you are a veteran.

• The taxis in Shanghai are generally quite good. Try to get the Blue, Blue’ish Turquoise, Oro Blanco and taxis, these are the best… these are the four major taxi companies and are generally recognized by its unique color painting. The others are OK, only older and a rougher ride (others may also have defective meters). No drivers speak English.

• Carry your hotel accommodation or business card with you, written in Chinese, which helps if you get lost walking around town.

• In all taxis around the country will be able to see the name of the taxi drivers and registration number in plain sight. If you have any problems, or if you think has been most pronounced, etc., just take this number down, make a big fuss about it, then the driver should wake up and solve any problem you have. Even better is to take the receipt. This has all the details on the trip and who can call the taxi company if they want to have more things or if you have something left in the taxi.

• The government takes rip-off drivers in all cities, especially Beijing and Xian, very seriously, and if they complain they will lose their license. This is their livelihood. So far I have not had a driver in 3 years that has not been withdrawn, and then we have agreed a price for the trip or solve our problem.

• In Shanghai, which is common practice taxi increases after 11pm. However, one can haggle for a 20% discount, which will return to the previous rate-11pm fee. Be strong with the taxi drivers, never the less, keep calm, smile and negotiate.

China Travel Tips – Shopping

• China Travel Tips – Shopping – China is a paradise for customers, markets, Bargains; Top labels… nothing, and if you have all the time. With clothing, the largest (Western) sizes can be hard to find, however in the big cities, where you can find a lot of tourist traffic, can find them.

• Electrical arts, DVDs, cameras, things like this are not worth buying in China, Hong Kong is still the best place for this.

• Store hours in major cities from 10am to 10pm, 7 days a week.

• Visa card remains the best card to carry, with ATMs in good supply everyone with access PLUS etc. There is usually a charge for using VISA, MasterCard and other forms of credit card.

• Wait on the purchase if they can look around to have a vision of prices. The Chinese are very experienced in the sale and we know that we are to halve the opening price when the negotiations. In markets go for 25% of what they ask first; go so low that they let you walk. This gives you an idea of the bottom price. The end result of the price will probably be around 40% to 50% of the starting point.

Whatever the market people say, which are used to push for better prices and haggling. Do not worry about being too hard, they are used to it and you do not sell an item unless profits. Do not be concerned with the body language apparently injured when going low it is all part of the game. At the time they had wrapped their first purchase, they will try to sell something else. Remember to keep smiling and having fun while negotiating.

China Travel Tips – medical treatment and records

• Most hotels have a doctor who can see. At major hotels speaks English.

• Always take a small first aid kit, repair cold, headache tablets at least. WATSONS is a large chain pharmacies. Most of the remedies, pills, etc., which you may need to be in these workshops. These shops are all over China.

• There is a large network of pharmacies in the stores type, which is indicated by a Green Cross. There will always be a 24 hr Green Cross pharmacy in the city you are in. It is useful to keep a book stage, as it is not going to speak English, but you end up with something that will help.

• INPORTANT POINT-in most mass production package type of medication, the packaging will be written in Chinese on one side, English on the other. But in the stores that only sees the Chinese side. Take a good look, in turn most of packaging, which gives you a lot more confidence knowing that you can read the package.

• If you have a medical problem, make records, most of the doctors have written OK / English reading, even if their oral English are poor.

Travel Tips – China Phone

• Using the phone is as easy as at home. However choose the person to not speak English or have very broken English… chief 4 or 5-star hotels all will be OK.

• What is being done is worthwhile to buy a SIM card from China Telecom, which are about RMB100 and thereby obtains RMB50 in the calls, the other 50 is the price of the SIM card; this SIM card will all major brands of phones and work OK.

In this way, people can get to you inside and outside China if there is an emergency. If you have a couple of phones, it can short message (txt) yes (SMS). Also you can call your tour guide, hotel, and so if you have big problems. It is a cheap way to keep in touch.

NB.Before you buy a Chinese SIM card, make sure it will work on your Cell / Mobile. There is a lot of China Telecom shops that can help.

Travel Tips in China if China does not move.

• Spring Festival, this will be the Chinese New Year time, around late January / Early February

• In early May, Labor Day Holidays

• In early October, the National Day holiday

Of all the Travel Tips China National Day is the largest. Millions of Chinese travel at this time of year holidays. Most of the trips back home towns or to visit his family. Hotels, trains, planes, cars, buses, and all the roads are the most overcrowded. Major congestion, everywhere.

Similarly, the rates for travel are at their full price. Not offering discounts! Staying in one place and will enjoy. It is better and causes less discomfort.

China Travel Tips – TV

• If you want to watch television, most of the major hotels will have cable and if you are in the smaller places, the national channel, CCTV9 is in English. Over the past two years has been greatly improved, with some major China Travel Tips programs, news and opinions about people and places around China.

China Travel Tips – Airport Tax

• There is a “rate of construction” in almost all airports.

Domestic flights RMB 50 International flights RMB 90, to be paid in local currency.

Recently, the tickets are tissued with the construction include VAT but make sure you have money in taxes just to be sure.

Ten Top Travel Tips

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

For the modern traveller, the world is your oyster. Okay, maybe you’re not prioritising a summer visit to currently war-torn countries such as Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq or Sudan. Likewise, tales of drug-trafficking, kidnapping and armed muggings might put you off a two-week sojourn in Venezuela or Colombia. But perhaps you are considering something a little more off the beaten track – a holiday that will test your nerves a little, or that will embed you in a completely different culture or environment?

Many a modern traveller now explores further afield, with Australasia, South America, Asia and Africa proving very popular for those with an adventurous spirit (who don’t mind long plane journeys). But for any such trips, there are known – and unknown – dangers that you may want to research before you leave. Visit Australia and you’ll probably be bombarded by people listing its dangerous creatures – box jellyfish, crocodiles, redback spiders, taipan snakes, sharks, and so on – together with a litany of tales surrounding those backpackers who never came back… But go to ’safe as houses, no dangerous animals/plants here’ New Zealand and you may not realise that its capital city, Wellington, sits on a major earthquake fault line that is well overdue a ‘big one’!

Indeed, in a Norwich Union survey of last year, several places were highlighted as potential danger areas, including Thailand, Mexico and South Africa, where illness, accidents and crime are common. Again, not terribly surprising, perhaps, but did you know that travellers to Mexico made the most number of claims to the insurance company for overexposure to the sun? Probably not.

The findings also mentioned the Caribbean as the worst area for travellers to suffer insect bites and stings, and even Spain and the Canaries hit the list, for possible robberies and pick pocketing.

Even if you deal with all the insects, robbers, earthquakes, illnesses, hungry sharks and venomous snakes, you may still get in your car and crash. In fact, the most likely way for holidaymakers to meet misfortune is on the road, with 15 million people a year injured worldwide in traffic-related accidents. Remember that terrifying taxi journey on the way to your hotel last year? Yes, most of us can recall at least one terrifying car journey in our search for that holiday magic.

But don’t worry, BeatThatQuote.com is here to help address all your holiday concerns (both those that you knew about as well as the ones we’ve just got you worried about). With these travel tips, you can be sure you’re making the right preparations for a safe and happy trip, no matter how adventurous you are feeling:

1. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office website is a great source of information on safe/dangerous destinations, as well as general travel advice. Well worth a look if you’re planning to backpack round the world.
2. Do not forget or skimp on your travel insurance. Get travel insurance and check that the cover is appropriate for your destination and planned activities abroad. Also ensure it covers any health issues you might have. According to recent research, 15% of British people risk going abroad without any kind of travel insurance – considering an air ambulance from the east coast of the US might set you back £30,000, it is really a risk you don’t want to take.
3. If you are planning to hire a car or you are taking your car with you, check you are covered for accidents and/or breakdowns. Don’t assume your UK car insurance will cover you for driving overseas – it might not protect you for anything more than road traffic accidents.
4. Check what vaccinations you need at least six weeks before you go and consider whether you need to take extra health precautions. Ensure you have sufficient medical insurance cover for your chosen destination, especially if you have any pre-existing health conditions.
5. You will probably be leaving your home empty while you are away – ensure you have got/renewed your home insurance in the event of anything happening while you holiday. Also consider asking a neighbour to pop in/water the plants every now and again to ensure your house looks occupied.
6. Get a good guidebook and get to know your destination. Find out about local laws and customs.
7. Make sure you take all documentation with you, including your passport, necessary visas, and insurance documents. Make copies and store separately just in case you lose anything.
8. Check your bank cards. Do you know how much you will be charged for using your cards abroad? It might also be worth telling your bank or credit card provider about your trip. With fraud on the rise, some card providers/banks will stop your card if they see unusual/unexpected spending. A phonecall will remedy this situation but it’s just another holiday ‘downer’ you can avoid.
9. Take enough money for your trip and some back-up funds, for example, travellers cheques, sterling or US dollars.
10. And if you’re going for a long trip of several months or more, just don’t forget your responsibilities at home, including your mortgage. Budget carefully and ensure you can cover all your payments both at home and abroad.

Once you have done all of this, all you need do is pack your bags and go. It might be a scary world out there, but with a bit of forethought, there’s a whole lot of opportunity for adventure too. Have fun!