Monday, October 19, 2009
How to Find Cheaper Airfares and Fly For Less in 2008
1. Flexibility - Be flexible with your travel dates and try to book your airline ticket in advance to get the less expensive fares. Many online booking engines such as Orbitz and Travelocity have flexible date search tools which are very helpful in tracking down the lowest available airfare over a set period of time. Always select "lowest fare" when doing an airfare search online - choosing the "fully flexible" fare will bring up the highest full fare price.
2. Fly Mid-week - You should avoid peak business travel days like Monday and Friday and try to fly during mid-week. Add a Saturday night stay to reduce the fare further. Some agents also advise booking mid-week as that is when new airfares are added into the databases - giving you greater choice.
3. Departure Airports - Always experiment with nearby departure airport for your trip - this may sometimes throw out a much lower fare. Many online booking engines such as Orbitz will allow you to include prices from nearby airports in your airfare search.
4. To Hub or Not To Hub - Flying through a hub connection airport is often cheaper than flying non-stop - but weigh up whether any saving justifies the extra inconvenience.
5. Fly Red-Eye - Good deals can often be found booking overnight 'red-eye' flights.
6. Cover the GDS's - Check the price of your flight online with a number of major booking engines to ensure you cover all the GDS's (Global Distribution Systems) - these are the 4 primary mainframe databases which power the airfare market worldwide - Sabre, Worldspan, Galileo and Amadeus. Some online agents are biased towards a single GDS so you will want to cover all your bases by checking other agents. Then double check any prices found directly at the airline websites.
7. Aggregate - Use an online aggregator like Kayak to help you check airfares from multiple sources.
8. Consolidators - Phone your travel agent to see if they can beat your online quote. Also try using a specialist consolidator who will have access to many unpublished airfares not available elsewhere. Generally, using a consolidator is optimal when booking around 4 to 8 weeks in advance.
9. Special Offers - Take advantage of occasional special offer deals that come onto the market. Get on the mailing lists of your favored airlines. If you find an excellent airfare then book it immediately - it may not be there long! For example, airlines introducing the new Airbus A380 Super Jumbo like Singapore Airlines and Qantas have offered some very good initial deals.
10. Invest in Your Travel Knowledge - There are a few services and guides available which will get you up to speed with the airfare market. Knowing some insider tricks can really help, especially with business class and first class tickets which can sometimes be picked up for little more than economy prices.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Hawaii Diving - Maui Style
The Hawaii archipelago consists of 132 islands, although only seven are referred to when generally speaking of Hawaii. Diving in Hawaii is a year round event, as the waters are always warm.
Each island has its own personality and unique offerings. Add to this the tremendous backdrop of volcanoes, shipwrecks, traditional culture and different lava formations and you find that Hawaii is an excellent destination even when you aren't in the water.
Famous Hawaiian diving sites include Oahu, Maui, Hawaii, Kauai, Ni'ihau and Lanai. The dive sites offer something unique in that they contain volcanic residue and are fairly isolated, so that divers get to experience Mother Nature in all her splendor.
Of all the dive sites in Hawaii, Maui is probably the one most favored by divers. It's best to visit in the summer months as the dive site locations dotted around Hawaii are more accessible than during winter. Winter does, however, provide some benefits, for instance one can view whale sharks, and there are fewer tourists to deal with.
The vast majority of Maui's dive sites are located off the west coast and offer excellent diving for all levels of divers, from complete beginners to the super advanced.
Maui has lots to offer the diving enthusiast. One can find an abundance of marine life in the waters surrounding Maui, such as sea turtles, eagle rays and even some varieties of shark pop by from time to time.
Molokini Crater is Maui's premium diving location. It is home to an underwater volcano and is also near many other of the more popular diving locations. The underwater volcano provides divers with exquisite walls, textures and depth to explore.
Nearby diving locations include Lanai - a tourist hot spot that has two excellent dive site- Cathedrals and Fishrock. The lava formations to be found in Lanai are truly breathtaking and include archways, ridges, tunnels, and pinnacles that come together to provide amazing light formations and effects.
The Hawaiian Islands are a safe and exciting destination for avid divers. Hawaii continues to be one of the most attractive scuba diving locations in the world, as Hawaiian dive sites consistently make the top international dive site locations in various surveys and polls that are run. Everybody can't be wrong.
Medical center apartments close to Hermann hospital Making good use of a classified site How to Choose the Best Beach Resorts Garden Tool And Garage Storage Solutions For Spring Cleaning Cure Acne with natural steps Try out Coffee house drinks How To Play Online Blackjack Network Security Management Services Local attractions to visit while on vacations at the Grupo Mayan resorts Yes i have seen GOD, Have you? Short Sale Help – Learn More about How to Stop Foreclosures It is time to recognize the significance of credit repair software I found some great deals on new wedding favors! Custom Floor Mats: The Floor Mats with Exciting Features Best Tips for Carpet Cleaning Intimate Beach Wedding at Nigi Nigi Too Boracay Beach Resort Role of Translators and Interpreters in Global Business How to lower down your Mobile bill How can we deal with opinion issues? Wildlife Resorts in India
Friday, March 27, 2009
Indian Travel Agents - How Would I Find a Reliable One?
I asked my friends "If you were to search Indian Travel agents on internet, how would you you do?"
Most of them gave similar answers like:
search for "Indian Travel agent" or "Desi Travel Agent" using search engine.
give call to couple of agents local to your area.
There are two not so cool things about such an approach.
All the contacts found on internet have no guaranty of their service level [these includes trust factor, customer support].
We have got in to habit of talking to Desi agents who are local. Its quite possible that an India Travel Agent from NJ might give good price for SFO - Mumbai ticket and similarly some California based Travel agent for India might give best price for JFK - Mumbai Air ticket.
In old days we had paper tickets, so it was a lot more convenient to deal with local travel agents. May be visit him personally and pick up your ticket. However ever since E-Tickets have come in to practice it doesn't really matter if you buy Air tickets to India from travel agent that is hundreds of miles away ( if he is giving good price). These days there are websites that help you simplify the process, like DesiCow dot com for example.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Airline Luggage - When it Can Become a Problem - Helpful Tips
Usually, airline luggage rules are not after the size of the package but on the weight. For instance, it is more acceptable to bring a large box filled with light weight materials than a small box that seems to carry the weight of the world. Some airports also require a maximum of three bags and in the worse case, you might even be told to take some of your things home and advised to sent them through mail otherwise.
Airline luggage rules also forbid some things. Deadly weapons, substances that are highly flammable and pets are clearly not allowed in airline luggage rules. For carry-on bags, however, pointed materials like knives are prohibited although less pointed ones such as nails, tweezers and scissors are allowed by some airline luggage rules. In some places also, packaging of liquids is illegal. And most often than not, we are not aware of the liquids that we are actually be bringing. These liquids may include lotion, alcohol, medicine, drinks and make ups. Even liquor and other alcoholic products are not allowed by some airlines.
So it is best to know how to pack your things and identifying which are the things you should and should not bring. It might also be an ease to contact first your airline and avail of their rules before packaging. All these arrangements could help you save avoid inconvenience and problems in travel. It could also save you your time and effort. Some of the things that are not urgent to bring or are not really important are might as well be left or be sent through mail otherwise. And if there are things that you wouldn't really need and use, then better if you leave them at home rather than breaking the airline luggage rules. Remember that time is gold and you don't want your journey to be interrupted just by your luggage. So pack smart and enjoy!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Travel, Why You Should Bite the Bullet and Go For It
1. Money matters This is the best time for years to be a traveller. The air industry has suffered more than most during the recent economic crisis. As more and more people stay at home, if you buck the trend you'll find an industry very grateful to see you! Travel hasn't been this affordable in years. Plus, with more people staying at home there will be a shorter queue for the luggage! For many people, flying around the skies now feels like stepping back in time, to before air travel became so hugely popular.
2. The places It may seem strange but the world really is getting smaller...and bigger! There has never been a better time to be a traveller because there have never been more places to visit. Countries like Vietnam and China in Asia, Nicaragua and Panama in Central America and Uganda and Ethiopia in Africa are opening up to the world for the first time. In the case of some it's time to emerge from a long and unstable political history while others are just realising the importance of the tourist industry to their economies. Whatever the reason, the there has never been more out there worth discovering.
3. Doing something different The growing shift away from meaningless tourism and towards a little more responsible travel opens up a huge array of possibilities. The rise of voluntourism has meant that there's a much wider choice when it comes to choosing a volunteer project abroad. Wildlife, conservation, community and teaching projects take you all over the world to meet the mountain gorillas of Uganda, teach children in rural Thailand or save the Amazon rain forest. We are living in a time where travelling responsibly is being taken very seriously and you no longer have to compromise your travel experience in order to make a positive difference. In fact, you can improve it.
4. The CV Landing a career is no mean feat and today there is more competition than ever before for that top job. Anything you can do to separate yourself from the other candidates will make a big difference. Travelling can be a great way to stand out from the crowd. Travelling breeds confidence and helps you trust your own instincts and it is precisely these challenges that make you stronger as a person and a prospective employee. Employers are well aware that determination in the face of difference, loneliness and new challenges is a talent worth employing.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Getting to Tenerife From The UK - 12 Tips For Adventure Travel
Take the Eurostar high-speed train from the UK, and be in Paris 2.5 hours later.
Stay there a couple of days or more, taking in haute couture and the magic of Disneyland.
On the TGV train from Gard de Lion (Paris), you will be in Avignon within two hours and forty minutes.
At the train station hire a car (best booked in advance).
Enjoy winter skiing in the stunning Pyrenees near Avignon.
Watch the Tour de France, the most exhilarating cycling race in the world in the same French region in July.
Discover the ancient Avignon town, with its historic sites and culinary treats.
Pass through the Basque Country on your way to the east coast of Spain, or take the inland road from Madrid.
Stay overnight at charming, little inns such as in the Catalan port Collioure, savoring French cuisine at dinner time.
Visit the Spanish towns you have dreamed about (doubtless including Barcelona, Madrid, Cordoba, Sevilla, Valencia, Granada, Malaga).
Remember the capital. Madrid has a great deal for all interests.
Book a flight to Tenerife from a major town in Spain.
Conclusion: A trip of this sort would take at least two weeks, and would suit especially those who have time for adventure. There are other ways of getting to Tenerife, of course, such as by ferry. You could then take your own car, with luggage and perhaps small pets.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Real Cheap Airline Tickets - Find Low Cost Airfare Ticket
Also many people find that they can get a cheap ticket if you look during off peak times such as late at night or early in the morning. Many of the airlines are not busy during these times so they reduce the prices. It is best for you to look throughout the day to find a low cost airfare because the prices are always changing. Besides using the large travel companies such as Expedia you want to also look at the airlines website because in many cases they will have better deals they are offering only through there website.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
How to Get Free Airline Travel
Getting Free Air Tickets
Though the flight tickets are normally costly, in this competitive world, many of the airlines offer their tickets at the most competitive and reasonable rates. This is not all. Some of the airways also offer discounts on flight tickets. In present times, free air ticket offers are also provided to the people.
Budget-conscious people must keep track of all the airlines' special offers. So, that by making the most use of it, they can save on their travel expenses. Other than this, throughout the year, several airlines organize different types of games for people and those who win the game are given free air tickets.
Apart from this, for promotional and marketing purpose newly-launched airlines offer free tickets to the people. Often these tickets are for particular place at designated times. These types of offers are not given all the time, so you must not miss out this chance to enjoy your free ride.
Often, students with economic need are given tickets, free of cost. Most of the airlines provide these offers to the students on humanitarian ground. This type of social-welfare activity really worth appreciation.
By purchasing different vacation packages, one can expect to get free air tickets. Sometimes free flight tickets remain bundled with travel packages. Other than this, airlines can also provide offers, like- "Buy one and Get one free". This is really an interesting offer. If you are planning a trip with your spouse, you can go for this offer. There is no doubt in the fact that this will make you and your partner happy.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Is Flying For Everyone?
Maybe firstly we must ask ourselves what does it take from an individual in order to fly an airplane or helicopter for that matter? A certain amount of co-ordination comes to mind. In my opinion most people has what it takes although some has to practice and exercise this particular skill. Discipline I think plays an important roll as flying involves quite a bit of responsibility in some way or the other. My personal favorite is of course a person's attitude. The willingness to study, the way an individual handles criticism and the ability to handle stress but to name a few. These are just some qualities amongst hundreds.
I think every student should and can answer the question: "will I be able to fly?" for themselves. For some it might take longer than the minimum requirement but determination and will pull them through. Many a time students has told me that flying is not for them and I take my hat off to a person that can realize their own lack of ability or whatever reason they base their decision on. Your personal motive for wanting to fly plays a very important roll. So I personally think that it's not a simple black and white answer to be made by an instructor but rather a combined decision.
I think that in the beginning students base their abilities solely on the "stick and throttle" aspects of flying, rightly so because that's all they know but I often tell students that a good stick and throttle pilot is not necessarily the best pilot and that they must consider their other strengths as well when they make a decision whether to continue flying or not. In a lot of cases all it takes is a bit of a mindset change.
I personally think that almost any person can be taught to fly but I think the real question should be whether any person can be a safe pilot not necessarily the world's greatest pilot, and that's maybe where the instructor or flight school for that matter plays a very important role.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Pampalona, San Fermin - Bull Running Festival
The event starts at 8:00am, every morning for a week, where if you are taking part you find yourself a spot within the crowd. The run starts in a stretch of old style Spanish street between two tall buildings, loaded with locals making the sign of cross on their foreheads down to the fearless participants below. As you can imagine, it's slightly unnerving and would be more so if the skin-full of red wine and cola, dancing & no sleep, hadn't numbed the nerves a tad. It's quite a sight to behold, if you can imagine a small version of the London Marathon, only with thousands of drunken Spaniards and tourists all dressed in white with red scarves. If you think it sounds like a death wish, it isn't, because you do get to protect yourself with a rolled up newspaper! Yes that will protect your butt cheeks from the impending doom of a bulls horn. Not!
Your position in the crowd determines your initial safety during the first part of the run. If you're right at the front you will most likely get into the arena before seeing a bull (as long as you stay on you feet). If you're at the back the bulls will definitely pass you. So for your first time its best to go near the front until you get the gist of what's going. We positioned are selves in the front 3rd.
The first gun is for everyone to start running. Running is a slight exaggeration as, if you do run, you will trip over the person in front of you. So you barely make a slow trot along with the rest of crowd. Then moments later the second gun sounds. The bulls are free and running, at full pelt I expect.
The course is 3/4 mile in total and goes from being totally surrounded by buildings with nowhere to escape, to open sections, which have been marked out by wooden barriers sunken into the ground. These are also pretty hard to escape over, as there are teams of spectators peering over and waiting to push the frantic and afraid back into the affray.
Chaos is about the best term to describe the run and that was without even seeing a bull on the course. You then run through the entrance to the arena, which is a concrete corridor about 50 feet long. This is the most dangerous spot and one you definitely don't want to get involved in a pile up here. Once through the entrance you run into the arena, a great way to see it for the first time and for the Life of Brian fans amongst you, a once-in-a-life-time opportunity to live out the gladiator scene for real. The bulls eventually appear, bringing you back to reality and run straight through the crowd into an enclosure at the back of the arena. Next "they" (the crazy perpetrators of the event who are obviously hell bent on killing or at least maiming the odd participant) let smaller, more energetic bulls out, one at-a-time, to cause some mayhem. These bulls have leather protectors on their horns to protect the crowd at least, meaning that if you do get charged you won't die, a slow and pain full death, but you might get thrown into the air a few feet and land on your head! The hard bit about this is that there are a thousand other people in the bull ring, which makes spotting the bulls very difficult. Suddenly the crowd in front of you parts to reveal a crazed bull running directly at you at full pelt, head down and closing fast. My natural instinct was to run and throw myself head first over the 6 foot high barrier. In a normal situation this would be seen as a reckless and dangerous stunt but considering the circumstances I felt it was a carefully considered life saving maneuver and one that meant I survived with everything but my pride intact!
Once everyone has got used to the smaller bulls, they let the, now rested, larger bulls out into the crowd, to shake things up-a-bit. This is obviously much more dangerous, as you can imagine, what could happen if one of these steps on your head. Luckily during our run there were no serious injuries (I think), but they do have severe injuries all the time, so don't take this past-time too lightly. The year that I ran an American chap aged 22 died and became one of the 15 death since 1924. In fact everyday they post pictures of that day's run for the participants to buy. Also all around the town there are pictures from the past, with some pretty sobering images of accidents that have happened. I suppose this is done to remind the runners that the worst thing that can happen is death! A pretty extreme sport all-in-all!
Tips for survival at the Pampalona - San Fermin
Try and familiarise yourself with the course before hand. Don't run before you have watched a run. Be aware that falling and being trampled by people is one of the main dangers. If you fall, stay down, cover your head & wait until an onlooker taps you on the shoulder. Its more dangerous to try and get up at this stage. Be aware that Callejon-Plaza de Toros and the end section of Cuesta de Santo Domingo are the most dangerous area. These spots have claimed a total of 12 lives over the years Stay tight to the corners as the bulls run wide. Don't be drunk and get some sleep. Even with this advice running the bulls at Pampalona can be extremely dangerous.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
3 Ways to Create an Online Travel Income
Imagine this: you wake up in the glamorous, exotic locations, or rustic location of your choice. A smile sneaks its way onto your face. You’re living your dream of traveling the world … and staying in luxury hotels, here’s the best part – you’re getting paid for it.
It is extremely difficult to write about this subject without sounding ‘hypey’ and ‘salesy,’ so let me just lay out the facts, and I’ll let you come up with your own conclusions:
Hundreds of billions of dollars change hands online every year.
• Thousands of one-man-business entrepreneurs are making a portion of this money.
• Internet technology has made business possible from anywhere in the world. All you need is a laptop or Internet cafĂ©…
• With a little bit of training and know-how, creating a profitable business online that takes in a few thousand dollars per month takes about 30-90 days.
• There’s a growing underground community whose strategies have them making more money than their friends with ‘Jobs’ and they get to travel to wherever they like.
There are the facts. If you put it all together, there is no reason you can’t take an extremely small piece of the pie. In fact, if you made .00001% of the money being made online you’d be ridiculously rich!
So what are the methods to make this happen? There’s no selling your friends or timeshares or anything shady like that. These are completely legitimate, entrepreneurial ventures that don’t take any startup costs or a ton of training. There are MANY ways to make money online, but here are 3:
1) Sell digital information. If you’re an expert on a subject of any kind, you can quickly and easily create an digitally delivered product and then focus on selling the product online. This can be an ebook, mp3, video file, or even a simple password-protected website. The markup on these products is HUGE because they cost nothing to create or deliver, and they can be sold for $10 to $10,000+ dollars. Say you have a modest $20 download. If you sold a measly 3 products per day, you’re making $1,800 bucks a month. Sell a $50 dollar product (which takes no more work) at the same rate and you’re making $4,500 a month… for doing the work ONCE!
2) Sell stuff on Ebay. “Wait!” I can hear you objecting… “I don’t want to carry around old junk to sell while I travel!” By all means… DON’T! You can easily set up an inexpensive account with a fulfillment house and have them ship your auction sales for you. You can hire a high school kid or your little sister to ship stuff. Better yet, just sell digital products on Ebay and don’t ship anything!
3) Blogging. This is a great option for writers, photographers, and videographers who want to document their travel. You’re probably going to be at least journaling, taking pictures, or video… most likely a combination of all three. Well, did you ever consider making it into a blog that makes money? Setting up a blog to collect income from your advertisers (and visitors, if you choose) is easier than ever. Some bloggers are making $250,000+ per MONTH just for writing about their lives. Yes, you read that correctly. Per month. Not too shabby!
The real key to making money online is to take action and get started. Pick one of these methods, learn as much as you can from experts who have done it already, and then go travel the world!
**Attn Ezine editors/Site owners**
Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site as long as you leave all links in place. You may not modify the content and must include our resource box as listed above. However, you may sign up as an affiliate at MoneyForTraveling.com and insert your affiliate links to earn income for your efforts.