Paris Around

Archive for August, 2010

Traveling with children by car can be a real challenge for any parent. However, you have something special during a car trip that is hard to beat anywhere else. 

What you have is time. Lots of quality family time with each other. Time to spend together without the distractions of everyday life.  Time to talk, sing, read to each other and play games. Time to  make memories. It’s precious time, so don’t waste it.

 If you get a chance to map out your trip before you go,do it..,There are some great web resources to help you find something fun along the journey to make your trip more interesting.

When traveling in the car or on an airplane, a great entertainer is reusable stickers. Your children can stick and re stick them on the windows of the car or airplane. Also, lollipops are good for ear aches during flying or long drives..

 Also,to keep the children alert you can play a road trip game. This game will challenge the children to look for certain items on the trip.  For example, you can challenge them to look for license plates for all 50 states. If you create a list ahead of time, they can simply check off the states as they find them.  You can use this states.doc with your kids while on your trip.

Finally, attitude is everything: expect problems, go with the flow and everything will work out great. Travel is hard and traveling with kids is even harder. But if you treat your trip like an adventure, annoyances, missteps and mishaps simply become small obstacles for your hearty band of explorers to overcome.

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How to Choose Where to Stay

How to Choose Where to Stay In an effort to offset the cost of a pricey city, rather than just turning up, realizing that all the cheap places in town are full, and having to stay somewhere that’s out of your price range, do your research and contact the hotels you’re interested in staying at in advance. And do your research on CheapOair, where you’ll find lots of search results of hotels within your price range.

1. The additional bonus of research from a budgeting point of view is that the more hotels, B&B’s and hostels you research and book before you leave; the easier it is to budget while you’re actually on vacation. Take your booking confirmation out and add up EXACTLY how much you’ll owe when you get there, and how much you’ll have left to spend.

2. From a financial point of view, it’s important that you also check out which hotels and hostels provide sheets and towels because some don’t. Perks, such as free internet access, and complementary breakfast are common and can come in handy, too. It may not sound like much, but a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice, or a couple of slices of toast and jam and a coffee can really set you up for the day, and save you quite a few bucks.

Sightseeing

Another way, in which you can find your money quickly disappearing on your travels, is through sightseeing. Monuments, art galleries, museums and tours can be quite pricey. We’re obviously not suggesting that you shouldn’t sightsee and enjoy as much culture as you can on your travels because you should. Planning what you see in advance can help you budget your trip.

For example, ask yourself if you really want to pay “X” amount of dollars to see a collection of obscure Byzantine artworks. If not, don’t bother, and save your money for the things you really do want to see and do. You’re not obliged to visit every attraction in the city you visit. Another good tip is to track down small museums, galleries and historical sites, the ones tucked away on a side street where you have to ring a bell, or call out for a curator to come scuttling out. They’re often equally interesting, and quite often, free.

Some Things to Consider When Traveling

When we travel around the world to different places, we may encounter all kinds of trouble. The six elements of tourism are food, housing, transportation, travel, shopping and entertainment. How can you make a good of this issue?? Here are number of suggestions for you:

Food: Travel can not miss tasting the local specialty. Authentic taste of natural origin is cheap, but do not buy in the tourist areas, to the streets of shops to buy a residence will not be “slaughtered.”

Attention to hygiene and health. Tasting the local dishes, is undoubtedly a “food culture” to enjoy, but must pay attention to eating water sanitation, should not eat too much.

Housing: If conditions in trips with good reputation before the travel agent to carry out consultation and commissioned by booking the room. Pre-trip without prior reservation, to a city tourist traffic the first to buy a map, view live, easy and cheap, choose a good hotel check-in before you can try to talk to the waiter: I come again to here, and you regulars here that the receive a discount (though you are a first time stay). Perhaps, you will see greater benefits. One of no more than 4-5 people sharing a double room has a Simmons beds can be put thick mattress on the floor, two feet close together and two feet close together and branding for two bed pad. During the tourism, you should ensure adequate sleep time. Bye the way, don’t forget to take a universal solar charger .With a universal portable solar charger, you will be fully prepared for emergencies in which AC power supply is not available.

Transport: Traffic cost is often more than half of total expenditure. If the time off, train hard sleeper the most suitable not only much cheaper than the plane, but also to save cost of accommodation, adding to travel the content. Purchase tickets must first understand the time and aircraft to take off. On arrival, take a taxi before a rough idea of distance and price, it will not be deceived.

If you travel on foot, you must wear sneakers. Shoes should be light and the right size. Soles can not be too thin, do not wear new shoes. Way to rest, it will be loose shoelace, promote blood circulation.  Read more...

Europe is the place that is having the best natural, cultural and also the phenomenal men-made beauty. There are so many people in the world that are making the most traveling of their lives just for the sake of jobs, business and any of the other required things of life that they “have to do”, where as traveling is the thing that makes the sense of “want to do!!” So, this entire motto of traveling is to do whatever the heart says and Europe is the place that can fill your heart with mesmerizing and polishing ways of lives.

One thing that is fixed in the minds of people that, Europe traveling is quite an expensive travel!! It might be true in some cases but majority; it isn’t as there are also some of the cheaper ways of doing the European Tour traveling!! Train traveling is one of the way to minimize the expenses and also the way to have the least expenses out of your pocket.

Almost all the countries and cities of Europe are having the rail routes with huge quality services. These rail services are so quick and easier that even if someone plans to have the Europe tour in train, it’s quite possible. Almost all the countries of Europe are connected with each other with the rail routes. These rail routes are making their way in all the parts with nice services.

Also the rail traveling seekers are offered to have the railway pass with them as they are the cheapest ways of traveling in railways. Also in Europe there are some of the train discount coupons that are quite beneficial to the visitors. The passes of Rail Europe and many more of the discount offers are better all the way for making the journey in Europe. Plus point with the tour of Europe is that the train services are highly polished and quick. A simple example can make the glory of train travels in Europe revealed that the distance between Paris and London can be reached in just 2.5 hours. So, it is never an extra time consuming event to travel in Europe in the train.  Read more...

If you love travel but you don’t want your vacation to break the bank, here are some helpful tips to keep the costs way down. 1. Join airline frequent flier programs and, if you like, sign up for credit cards that offer free miles. It’s awfully nice to kick off your vacation with a free flight to your vacation destination. But make sure to sign up for your free flight months in advance if possible. You want to make sure there are open seats on the flight. Also, if a flight is overbooked and you’re on vacation, why not give up your seat for a later flight and get a free ticket for your next trip? 2. If possible, find out the off-season for your destination and travel then. There’s a world of difference between season and off-season rates. Also, why travel to the most expensive international destinations? Some of the least expensive locations include Iceland, Hungary, Panama, Mexico, Argentina, Belize, Nicaragua, Brazil, and South Africa. You might be surprised what these nations have to offer tourists. Also check out the most reasonable currency exchange areas. For example, the internet says that in Taiwan or France, the most inexpensive places to exchange currency is at ATMs in the airport. 3. There are more and more all-inclusive vacation packages available at cut-rate prices. It can save a great deal of money to have tours/attractions, lodging, meals, and other amenities included in your package price. Paying for each of these things individually can easily double or triple your vacation costs. Sometimes you can get multi-day passes to various amusements or special rates if you go later in the day. Luxury cruises in particular offer some amazingly economical all-inclusive packages. 4. Ask your travel agent if there are apartments, condos, or even home rentals available at your destination. There are lots of desperate owners out there now who will rent a condo or fine home for significantly less than you’d pay in a nice hotel. Or check out Bed & Breakfasts: off season, you may pay less for extravagant lodging and gourmet breakfasts than you’d pay for a ho-hum hotel. If you have no choice, at least sign up for hotel loyalty programs that give you a free night after so many stays at their chain. 5. There are tons of ways to save on food. Many lodgings now offer free breakfast. If not, it’s usually less expensive to find a restaurant down the street for breakfast instead of eating in the hotel restaurant. Avoid room service or your hotel room mini-bar. Instead, bring soup or oatmeal packets and use the heated water in your coffee maker. If you want to splurge on a meal, lunches are usually less expensive in restaurants than dinners. Also you can save up for fabulous meals by eating nutrition bars during the day (Balance or Power bars), nuts, sandwiches, fruit, protein drinks, etc. In some places, restaurants which locals frequent can be much less expensive than the tourist traps. (Just make yourself aware of the countries where this can be hard on your digestive tract). 6. Speaking of food—what about coffee, local candies, gourmet delights. Instead of buying items like these in souvenir or touristy shops, check out local grocery stores or farmer’s markets for much lower prices. (just a head’s up: if you buy produce from a farmer’s market, make sure you wash it carefully with soap before consuming). You can buy a gourmet feast or great beverages for next to nothing in some countries. For example, in Costa Rica, superb coffee costs $8-12.00 in tourist shops but in grocery stores it is $.75-1.00 per pound. You can almost always find bottled water at cheaper prices than in your hotel or the airport. Do a little searching. And carry around a giant thermos with your favorite beverage. You’ll be surprised how much you can save on drinks. 7. Transportation can be a huge expense, so check out your options carefully. When you factor travel time to airports, arriving at an airport early, baggage claim, flight delays, etc, it may be both cheaper and faster to use the bus or train. Also, figure out whether it would be cheaper and more convenient to rent a car than to pay for shuttles, taxis, or trains (Streetwise and Michelin’s spiral bound maps are great). Of course, in places like Europe, euro-rail passes can’t be beat when bought for several weeks or months at a time. And trains in many places are getting faster and faster. 8. For those with kids, just a few friendly hints. Bring your collapsible stroller for the tots. This can save you frustration as well as stroller rent. Also for tots, if you’re going to stay at a hotel for a week or two, why not buy things like diapers, wipes, sippy cups, snacks, and other baby items at Amazon.com and have them delivered in advance to the hotel? If you spend at least $25, delivery is free, and most hotels will accept deliveries as long as you already have a confirmed reservation. Give your kids a pre-set spending limit for arcades, souvenirs, etc. Knowing their limit may save a lot of whining and begging. If your lodging has a nice pool, Jacuzzi, workout room, etc., why not spend a day with the kids at the pool? They’ll have fun and it will save you that extra day in amusement park costs. Yes, you can enjoy the vacation of a lifetime without putting your home in hock. Just follow these tips and plan ahead. Get ready for a lot of fun!