Showing posts with label Holiday. Show all posts

A Cheap Holiday Skiing Vacation In Austria

A Cheap Holiday Skiing Vacation In Austria

by Michael Peterson

If you have ever wanted to take the family on a cheap holiday skiing vacation, you can plan a wonderful skiing trip during the holiday to St Anton. The area has one of the most beautiful resorts for holiday skiers. The nightlife is just as spectacular as the skiing. This is your chance to ski the day away and join in the fun at the nightclubs around the resort. You are going to find that slopes are heavily packed with snow and the mountains are challenging. You will find that your day on the slopes is one you have never experienced anywhere else.

Although the slopes are the greatest, the town is mostly sports shops, hotels and bars. The area shops are found about twenty minutes away in Lech. You will find your cheap holiday ski vacation is filled with more fun than shopping anyways. The village of St Anton is a true Austria skiing resort. You will find more excitement in one village than you could find anywhere else. You are going to find intermediate slopes, but for those who need a challenge, there are some steep slopes for the experts. If you think the St. Anton slopes are too easy, you can try the Valluga slopes nearby.

If you are looking for nighttime entertainment, you will find that one place stands out. The Moosrwit is the popular hotspot in St. Anton. You will find hundreds of post skiers enjoying a drink or two at this hot nightclub. If you like British music, Griblies is the place to start your night. They have a British band that plays all the hits you want to hear. The Krazy Kangaroo Bar is a mountainside bar. You will find hip-hop and rock music to shake the night away. You can watch the sun go down while enjoying a nice glass of wine.

Your cheap holiday skiing vacation is going to see more nightlife than you could see in one place. You will want to stop and see The Funky Chicken. If you have a need for some great live entertainment, this is the place to stop after nine. Watch the sunrise at the Kartouche Club. If you are looking for more sophistication, The Platzl's Apres is a place to stop in at night. You will just love the restaurants in St. Anton.

If you want a quick hamburger and fries, the Hamburger Caravan is a place to go. There is no need to dress up, go as you are and enjoy the food. If you are looking for some fine dining, the St. Antoner Hof is a five star restaurant. The very popular Restaurant Museum is located in a mansion from the pre WWI era and the cable cars station is right there. You will feast on the wild game and some fine wine. After one night of dining and parting, you will need to hit the slopes the next day to work off some added calories. You cheap holiday vacation to St. Anton could not have any more excitement.

Tips for Reducing Your Holiday Expenses in Phuket and Thailand

Tips for Reducing Your Holiday Expenses in Phuket and Thailand

by James Spellman

While we mainly aim this article at visitors to our part of the world in Phuket, Thailand, you can apply a lot of the advice to holidays anywhere in the world.

One of the great attractions of Thailand is that it is cheap. The Tourism Authority of Thailand can carry on pushing their vision of Thailand as a millionaire's playground for as long as they want but still the majority of visitors will be people who have a limited budget.

In this article, we will give a few simple tips to help you make your money go further. We are not talking about the sort of penny-pinching measures that backpackers use to make their tiny budget stretch a year. We are not going to suggest you eat noodles every day. After all, you are on holiday and holidays are meant to be enjoyed. However, most people have worked hard for their two-week holiday in the land of smiles and there is no reason why they should not get the best from their money. Here are a few simple tips to make the money go a bit further.

Accommodation

If you want budget accommodation then usually you can find good deals just by walking in off the street. Walk around the side streets of any of Phuket's beach resorts and you will find guesthouses. During peak high-season (Xmas & January) it is better to book in advance as there may not be any rooms available. Whatever you do, do not ask a tuk-tuk driver for a recommendation. They will just take you somewhere that pays them commission.

If you want mid to high range accommodation then you should book in advance. If you walk in off the street, you will pay more for your room. It may seem strange but it is cheaper to book in advance through a travel agent or internet-booking site. The internet booking sites have the best rates. An excellent tool for finding the best rates is Hotels Combined. This Australian based website does a price comparison across 30 internet-booking sites and finds the cheapest available rates.

If you are on a longer-term holiday of a month or more then it may be worth looking for an apartment. If you go further back from the beach (e.g. Nanai Road in Patong), you can find nice one bedroom apartments from 12,000 baht a month.

Flights

Finding cheap airfares is a little more complicated.

There is a lot to be said for buying a package holiday from a travel agent. They will use their buying power to ensure you get good rates for your hotels and flights. However, many people enjoy the flexibility and independence of booking their own flights.

We would like to give a link to a single site that provides cheap international flights across the globe. Unfortunately, it does not work like that.

The airlines do not give their cheapest tickets to the major international travel sites. They know that companies such as Travelocity & Priceline have the marketing power to sell tickets that are more expensive. Therefore, while these companies sell in more countries and cover more destinations, they do not have cheap airline tickets.

The airlines give their cheapest tickets to small independent travel agents. These smaller agents usually only sell flights that depart from their local country. So for example, if you are in the UK you could check cheapflights.co.uk and they will check for the cheapest flights from a range of small agents. You will probably find return flights to Phuket from £500 or less. If you try the major international travel agents then return flights start from $2,000. Therefore, whatever country you are in, check the internet or classifieds for your local travel agents and look around.

The best international internet-booking site is ebookers.com. This site covers most major destinations and sells tickets in most countries. While their prices are not the absolute cheapest, they are very competitive.

Travel Insurance

Many visitors seem willing to travel to Thailand without travel insurance. The low medical costs in Thailand mean this is not such a big gamble as at a destination such as the United States where high medical fees and a litigious society make travel insurance an essential.

However, we really would recommend that new visitors to Thailand get some form of travel insurance. Things can and do go wrong and it is best to be protected.

Do not get travel insurance from your travel agent. They may offer good deals on package holidays but they try to make the money back on the extras and their insurance rates are overpriced.

Get your insurance from a local and reputable insurance broker. There are no international insurance brokers providing competitive travel insurance to all nationalities. Instead, you need to go to an insurance broker in your home country.

Rather than just getting an insurance package for your two-week holiday, it may be a good idea to consider an annual multi-trip insurance package. If you have more than one holiday a year or even a few weekends away then these can be very good deals.

Money Exchange

Do not change money in your home country before coming to Thailand. You will get a much better rate of exchange in Thailand. Bring an ATM card or travelers cheques. In fact, it is nice to have two sources of money in case of problems so why not bring both.

Do not exchange your money at hotels. They give bad rates. Exchange booths at airports also give poor rates. The best way to get money when you first arrive is to use an ATM at the airport.

Tours

The tour prices in Phuket are generally very competitive. These organised tours are a convenient and reasonably priced way to see Phuket's tourist attractions. There are many tour shops and lots of tours so the competition keeps the prices down. Just go to any tour shop and you are likely to find some good deals.

The only problem with booking tours is you do not know the quality of the tour service. The price may be competitive but if the experience is poor then you will still be disappointed. Most of the tour organisers provide a good service but there are also a few stinkers.

If you do not want to take a shot on an unknown tour company, you could book your tours in advance with Viators. Their prices are only a little above what you will find at the local tour shops and you have the benefit of knowing you are dealing with reputable tour operators.

Tipping

Tipping was never really a part of Thai culture. It is a custom that we visiting westerners have introduced and which Thai customers have now taken up. Most western visitors over-tip.

The normal tip in Thailand at restaurants or bars is 20 baht. That may seem like a derisory sum to leave by western standards but in Thailand they do not expect any more. You are not being tightfisted by leaving so little. In fact, some claim that westerners who come here and tip big are actually causing problems for everybody else. They are creating an expectancy of big tips from westerners that never used to exist.

Getting Around

The tuk-tuks have earned themselves a bad reputation for both prices and service. They are now charging a ridiculous 200-baht for short trips around Patong. Unfortunately, if you have bags or want to make a long journey then there is often no choice but to use them. All we would say is make sure you agree a price before starting the journey. Considering the prices they charge, there is no reason to give a tip.

There are motorcycle taxis everywhere. You can recognise them from their coloured vests. A short trip around town should cost 20-40 baht.

You can hire a motorcycle for 200 baht a day. They are a great way to get around town and see a bit of the island. Drive carefully and always wear a helmet. Bring an International Driving License and carry it whenever you are driving. If you do not carry an IDL, you may end up paying the police a few 300-baht fines.

You can hire jeeps from independent renters for 800 baht a day (but with very little insurance) or cars from reputable hire companies from 1,400 baht a day.

Restaurants

Eating out is remarkably cheap in Phuket. There are so many restaurants that there is a lot of competition and even the tourist restaurants will seem cheap to most visitors. Still there are big price differences between restaurants. Generally, the further you go from the beach, the lower the prices. If you eat at one of the major restaurants along the beachfront then you are going to pay for the location.

Thai food is cheaper than western food. It is also very good and there is a tremendous range of dishes. You are sure to find something you like and appreciating the local cuisine is part of getting to know the local culture.

You should also consider getting out of the tourist resorts and trying some real Thai style restaurants. The difference in price and style of food can be startling.

Check Your Bill

Do check your restaurant or bar bill before paying. We would not want to say this is common but it does occasionally happen that they add extra items or total it up incorrectly to get more money. Don't feel bad about it. Thai customers invariably check their bill and are not embarrassed to point out 'mistakes'.

Shopping

You should avoid shopping at the tourist stalls along the beachfront and around the tourist resorts. The quality of goods is unreliable and the prices are vastly hiked. Unless of course you just want the fun of haggling and do not mind that you may be buying overpriced rubbish.

You have to be careful when asking tuk-tuk drivers for recommendations. If you are looking for specialty shops (jewelry, tailors, etc) then there are a lot of these that pay commission to tuk-tuks for bringing customers. The tuk-tuks will take you to these shops rather than the places that will give you good deals.

You should do your shopping at the department stores, shopping malls, markets or at specialty shops which are mostly in Phuket Town. The new Jung Ceylon shopping mall is the best option in Patong. Beyond the tourist resorts are Robinsons, Central Festival, Tesco Lotus and Big C.

For cheap clothes, trinkets, accessories, etc, two good locations are the Weekend Market (Sat & Sun 3pm-10pm) on Wai-Rat-Hong-Yak Road in Phuket Town and Expo Indoor Market on Tilok Uthit 2 Road, Phuket Town.

If you are looking for gold, silver, pearls, jewelry, art, antiques, etc then the best specialty shops are in Phuket Town. The problem is finding them. You have an extra problem here because even if you know where you want to go, your tuk-tuk driver may still try to claim a commission from the shop. Unfortunately, the best option is to drive yourself or dump your tuk-tuk after the drop off and do your shopping on foot.

There are good gold & jewelry shops on Montree Road in Phuket Town. The best art & antique shops are in the old town area of Phuket Town around Thalang Road & Dibuk Road. You should be aware that you need an export permit to take genuine antiques out of the country.

Bartering

Bartering is part of Thai shopping culture but only at market stalls and independent shops. Try to haggle the price down a little (a lot if you are shopping at tourist stalls). It really helps if you have an idea of what is a good price. Try to haggle in good spirit with a smile.

If you can speak a little Thai, it will help. Not only does it create goodwill but it also gives the seller the impression you know a little about Thailand and might actually know what would be a good price. Even just an opening 'Sawatdee' may be enough to help your cause.

Girls

Yes, this little section is for the guys who intend to play around with the bar girls. If you are not careful, this will rapidly become the biggest expense of your holiday.

Just because you have picked up a girl at a bar, that does not mean you have to buy drinks for every other girl at the bar. They will try their luck and if you are a soft touch, they will keep coming back for more. Just say no from the start.

You do not need to ring the bell and buy everybody in the bar a drink.

If you take a girl back to your hotel then agree the price up front (usually 1,000 to 2,000 baht). You do not have any responsibility to buy her food, drinks or pay her taxi home. It is up to you.

Most of all, you do not have to pay for her family's healthcare, sick buffalo or whatever other sob-story she may tell. And you definitely do not need to send her money once you have gone home.

Last Minute Flights Las Vegas

Last Minute Flights Las Vegas - Spend Less - Get More

by Rupert Sherwood

Most people would feel that it is foolish to even imagine that you can get a budget vacation to the Sin City, Las Vegas; forget getting a flight for the destination at the last minute. Hence, I think you will be surprised if I were to tell you that it is indeed possible to get tickets for last minute flights Las Vegas, and that too at very cheap rates. Here are the spoilers.

If you watch some holiday magazines, you might find coupons for Las Vegas destinations. These coupons might give you discounted or even free entry into some of the casinos there. Certainly, this could mean great savings for you. But, since these coupons will not be valid for quite long, it is necessary to use them fast. And that could merit a last minute flight to Las Vegas.

This is where many Las Vegas revelers end up making a mistake. In order to cash in the coupons at the right time, they end up buying the costly last minute tickets that airlines offer. This way, they do get their last minute flights Las Vegas, but what is the point? They have probably blown up all the discount they got from the coupon on the costly last minute ticket. Do not commit the mistake of getting those expensive last minute tickets then. Ask the airlines if they have any unsold or canceled tickets with them. These are the tickets that you can buy and at quite economical rates too!

Airlines do not want to waste their tickets. If they have residual tickets with them, they will willingly give them to anyone who comes by. You must check out the less popular flights here. They will have more unsold tickets than the popular ones, and you chances of getting last minute flights Las Vegas would be higher with them.

The websites of these airlines would be a very good bet for you to get last minute flights Las Vegas. They will show all their residual tickets on their websites. Small tiny bloopers placed strategically around the website will proclaim the presence of these tickets. If you find them, do not tarry. Prices of these tickets go up faster than you can say 1,2,3.

Las Vegas is a very expensive place to have a vacation - along with the flights, the accommodation is also highly expensive. If you are booking with a travel agent, make sure you tell them to find budget accommodation for you. Beware of travel agents who will saddle you with expensive last minute flights Las Vegas and needlessly high-priced hotel reservations to boot.

But then there are unscrupulous travel agents that you must be wary of. These guys will saddle you with expensive tickets and bring up the entire cost of the package without you even noticing it. Do some comparison shopping here. Otherwise, get the last minute flights Las Vegas tickets from the airport offices, and scour for budget hotels when you reach your destination. Do not involve the travel agent if they act shady in their dealings.

However, it is important that you do not go all out and buy ridiculously high-priced tickets from the airlines, just because you have got some coupons to the Golden Nugget. Take some time out and do research on getting low-priced last minute flights Las Vegas. Penny-pinch your way to your vacation, or in three days you will be blowing up your entire annual income!

Dhaalu Atoll For Your Holiday Island Resort In The Maldives

Dhaalu Atoll For Your Holiday Island Resort In The Maldives

by Peter R Stewart

When you choose a holiday island resort in the Maldives, an island hideaway, where you can forget the worries and stresses of 21st Century life, do you take a low risk Maldives Vacation Package using a well known tour operator to one of the better known resorts within a speedboat ride of the airport?

Or

Do you allow yourself the chance to totally escape and fly by sea plane to one of the more distant Atolls such as Dhaalu Atoll.

There is so much to recommend an Atoll like Dhaalu which is 150 Km away from Male. It is 5kms south of Faafu Atoll, and is a small atoll measuring 38 kms in length and 23 kms in width. In fact the only Atoll more distant is Seenu Atoll to the south east of Dhaalu.

The Dhaalu Atoll consists of 46 islands, only 8 are inhabited and 2 islands have resorts, but of interest should be the island of Ribudhoo where the most skilled gold and silversmiths make jewellery. Very few people live in this Atoll, and a visit now may well be the best time.

The two Holiday Island resorts in this part of the Maldives are:

Angsana at Velaavaru which has been renovated is a 5 star hotel has 84 rooms and is 150 Kms from the airport, taking 45 minutes by sea plane. As the Dhaalu Atoll is virtually unexplored and undiscovered the hotel arranges a lot of excursions to discover the huge number of experiences the Atoll has to offer.

Vilu Reef Beach & Spa is a 4 star hotel with 101 rooms which is 156 Kms from the airport, taking 35 minutes by sea plane.

At the end of the day the decision is yours. There is no risk, so you can take a Maldives vacation Package and play safe, stick close to Male, enjoying a resort that may be brilliant, but everyone has been to before, or you travel to Dhaalu Atoll, and escape, truly escape to what is a real Maldives Island Hideaway, that your friends have never heard of, and stay at the perfect Holiday island resort on the Maldives.

A Maldives Holiday On Lhaviyani Atoll

A Maldives Holiday On Lhaviyani Atoll

by Peter R Stewart

Lhaviyani Atoll could be the ideal destination for your Island Hideaway Maldives Holiday. If you are also looking at the luxury type Maldives Holiday then this atoll contains the One & Only Kanuhura resort, and is far enough away to be a hideaway.

The Lhaviyani atoll is 140 Kms North from Male airport east of the Raa Atoll and North east of the Baa Atoll and it is best known for its many exotic dive sites. It is as far north as you can go in the Maldives for your Maldives Holiday.

This atoll is different from others in that all the islands of the Lhaviyani Atoll are located on the outer rim of the shell, and the islands are large compared to other islands with dense vegetation. There are only five inhabited islands in the atoll

The One & Only Kanuhura is a 5 star deluxe hotel with 100 rooms which is 150 Kms from the airport on Male, and will take 40 minutes to transfer by sea plane. It is on the eastern rim of the Lhaviyani Atoll and is a member of the Leading Small Hotels of the world Komandoo Island Resort is a 4 star hotel with 45 rooms, and is situated 128 Kms from the airport, and there is a 45 minute transfer by sea plane. It was opened in 1998 and is on an island 100 metres wide and 500 metres long The Kuredu Island Resort is a 4 star hotel with 300 rooms situated 128 Kms from the airport at Male, and the transfer time by seaplane is 40 minutes. The island has more than 3Kms of white sand beaches.

There are two resorts on the island , the Kuredu is on the east side.

The Sangu Resort is a 4 star hotel on the western side of the island and it also has water villas.

You can certainly find a Maldives Holiday to suit your purse on the Lhaviyani Atoll, whether it is a luxury holiday in the Maldives staying at Kanuhura or at one of the 4 star resorts. Remember the distances involved, which does give you a Maldives island hideaway, but you do have quite a long seaplane transfer.

Ocean Trips Without the Kids

Ocean Trips Without the Kids

by Jack Blacksmith

It's not a politically correct topic to talk about, but not everyone wants to go on a cruise with a bunch of little ones running around underfoot. Even worse are some of the bigger kids who are up to no good. But how do you go on a cruise and make sure it will be a vacation you love, instead of a prison sentence you loathe because of the under aged attendees?

You know what you want in a cruise. You picture a wonderful relaxing time at sea, with those you are close to. You want to be able to dress up at night, enjoy quiet and romantic moments on the deck, and maybe just have some time to sit back, relax and read a book.

Now enter someone else's kids, that they don't want to deal with so they've let roam free about the vessel. They are running around screaming and chasing each other on the deck. They are jumping into the pool, splashing you with their cannonballs, not to mention all the pranks they may see as a lot of fun to play on unsuspecting cruise passengers. Your sparking holiday image has just become a nightmare.

There is a way to make sure this doesn't happen to you. It all has to do with doing a little research and careful cruise selection.

First, when considering a cruise to take, remember that not all cruise lines are as kid-friendly. Some of them fail to offer any sort of kid and teen-related activities, and chances are, there won't be as many kids on board. While parents don't always keep an eye on their little ones, they do tend to be drawn to cruises with programs geared towards kids. Think about the cruise lines you have looked at. All the advertising for cruise lines such as Disney, Carnival, and Princess show a number of programs geared towards the youth population. Essentially these programs let parents think it's ok to bring their children along on a cruise, because they will be able to send them away to these programs while they still enjoy their cruise. The problem with that is that the kids don't always stay in the program offerings, and choose to spend their time being noisy and causing trouble as you're trying to enjoy some peace and quiet. Instead you may want to consider cruise lines such as Radisson, Celebrity or Crystal Lines, which do not offer child or teen programs, and therefore are less likely to have passengers in those age groups onboard.

A final consideration is the time of year you are planning on traveling. If school is out, there is a much larger chance your cruise will be overrun by children and teenagers. If they're out of school and mom and dad want to go on a trip, they're going along. Instead try to gear your holiday towards times when the children are still in school. Most parents will not pull a child from their studies just to go on a cruise