You CAN Afford to Get Away

With the hard economic times, many people have opted to stay home as opposed to travelling to their favorite destinations. Here is a guide on how traveling can be more affordable than staying home:

1. Define Your Priorities

Before starting to leaf in through brochures or browse online, you must define your travel priorities first. You need to know the places where you would travel to at the same time experiences that you will need during your traveling experience. When you have your priorities right, you will decide on the places where you would visit for fun.

Start out by you defining the vacation priorities. The common ones include:

· Experiencing different cultures

· Relaxing

· Trying out new foods

· Visiting a new or specific location, like a historic site or a beach

· Learning something new

2. Look for Hotel Alternatives

Booking a hotel can be quite expensive when you have no idea on the amount of money that you will spend. With more research, you are likely to find cheap options thus helping you decide on the quality that will enable you choose affordable accommodations. You will save more money thus enabling you to enjoy more during your holiday.

3. Set your Travel Budget

Booking travel when you have no set budget in your mind is dangerous. It is hard for one to avoid temptations of online hotel reviews, cheap fares, and various attractions – but you might end up overspending without you knowing. You must look into your personal budget before making changes to fix it before traveling.

4. Book Last-Minute Deals

Ensure you research on the best last-minute deals through proper research before traveling. When you look for deals from flights, hotels, and attractions, you will find ways of saving money when planning for unforgettable experiences.

5. Go in Groups

Going in groups is one of the easiest ways of traveling to make it more affordable than staying home. You will get the best group rates for flights, hotels, and attractions that might be cheaper by 15 percent after discount.

6. Travel during Off-Season

You are likely to get a good deal when traveling during offseason. During these times, you are likely to save money since you will have deals that will make you decide on the quality that works well for you as you make your ultimate decision. For instance, you can visit crowded attractions to enable you pay less during your holidays.

7. Plan for Shorter Trips

Whether you are traveling for exploration or relaxation, you must ensure you go for shorter trips since you will save money when planning for fun. In addition, many shorter trips will help you explore different areas, recharge, and experience new things every time you traveling.

8. Watch for new Deals

If you lack sufficient money for traveling, you must watch out for the best deals according to what will work best for you. During the time when traveling to your destination, you will have excellent deals to assist you save money while enjoying more.

In conclusion, the above is a guide on how travelling can be more affordable than just staying home.

For the best roofing company around, please check out our sponsors at https://stgeorgeroofingcompany.com/. They get the job done fast and their prices are the best around.

Kids Welcome

Traveling is the great way of having fresh and new experiences. Imagine going for a walk on the beach or climbing a mountain, or going to a national park or going to a museum. Imagine the endless possibilities traveling opens up for you. In our daily life, we always busy with our tight schedule, we don’t have much time to think about the traveling. But if you have a family and kids, then sometimes you have to think about it. Traveling provides you a time to think, to wonder, and to reflect on the big questions of the universe and big questions of your life.

Now, traveling with a kid is a challenging job for their parents, but if you plan it properly can reduce your parental stress easily. If your child is old enough then making him engage in the trip planning, so that they can get excited about it. Make sure to include enough child-oriented and family events, activities to entertain them while on holidays. And if your child is too small, then always pack certain toys during traveling, so, that your little kid can enjoy your trip fully.

Young children and toddlers and are often choosy eaters. Traveling to unknown places with latest or new foods and diverse mealtime routines can add disrupt your child’s eating practices. If you are planning for traveling with your kids, then always choose a place where you can get all the necessary things that you need for your kids. It’s better to avoid hilly areas or area where you cannot get anything easily. Choose a place where your kid enjoys the place and its environment. A good traveling place can help your child to remember many things. After the vacation, they will bring the memories of the vacation along with them and keep it in their mind for the rest of their life. At the same time, it will make your kid knowledgeable and experienced.

During traveling try to keep a little bit of recognizable mealtime schedule, such as having breakfast, lunch and dinner in the usual way. Another thing is, while choosing a restaurant; make sure they have certain child dishes. Traveling with kids sometimes makes you happy and joyous also. It’s a great fun and excitement also. You can make a plan with your kids and family for 1-2 days or for some hours also. If you travel with your kids to any place, it will make your kid happy and he or she can enjoy the time fully.

It will make them more excited and happy. It will affect their little mind and it will encourage them to do their work more. In several cases, keeping your short or long trip simple will decrease the number of troubles. Always remember that young children have short notice spans and get exhausted very quickly. Difficult trips involving lots of traveling, jam-packed routines or too many breaks to adult-oriented appeals, such as play ground, parks, museums, can be hard for children and irritating for parents. So, plan a travel destination as per your kid’s requirement and let’s go for the trip.

This post proudly brought to you by appliance repair birmingham al!

Immerse Yourself!

Travelling is one of the best ways to broaden your horizons and experience new places, people and things. Not only does travelling break the monotony of day-to-day life but it is also a great way of unwinding, relaxing and rejuvenating your body, mind and soul! Everybody loves to travel, but not everybody can travel like a pro! Thankfully, travelling well is an art which can be perfected. People usually like to explore, sightsee and feast as much as they can without spending a bomb whilst on a vacation. If you’re looking for immersive experiences without burning a hole in your pocket then you will definitely need to look beyond the tourist traps.

A tourist trap is exactly what its name suggests, it is a trap for tourists in the sense that the goods and services here are priced higher than normal. Of course, these places attract maximum tourists, which is why people fall for the ‘trap’, they are very tempting after all! If you want to make the most of your money and increase your purchasing power then you will need to steer clear of these tourist traps. In most cases, if you’re willing to go the extra mile then you’re most likely to be able to get past the tourist traps.

When travelling, the first thing that people do is to ask for directions or recommendations from doormen (in hotels) and cab drivers since they are most convenient to reach out to. Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing but most of the times they would recommend homogenized options or tourist traps. So, in order to get past the tourist traps and to have real immersive experiences you’ll need to keep pressing for places where only locals hang out or go to. You’ll be surprised as to how much money you can save in the process just by being a little tenacious!

You can get excellent recommendations from concierges as they generally stay away from tourist places when they are heading out. So go ahead and ask them for places where you can experience the real local culture or buy souvenirs for cheap without being conned. Also, the internet can be your best friend in this regard, especially resources like Yelp. If you’re heading to popular cities then they are most likely to have their own city-specific apps which you can easily download and bank upon. A little research goes a long way here, therefore you should set aside some time for research before you head out.

Also, you need to be comfortable about speaking to the locals because they are your best help since they know the town/city best! If you’re heading to a place with non-English speaking locals then you’ll need to do some homework and advance preparation by learning a few common phrases. So go ahead, pick the brains of the local neighborhood folk, bakers, shopkeepers, pedestrians, etc for the best insider recommendations and must-see attractions in the city. Of course, it helps to have a map handy so that the locals can explain the directions and help you get to the places suggested.

If you are looking for an amazing place to host your wedding you should definitely check out the Ainsworth House.  This amazing wedding venue near me has GORGEOUS outdoor options for small and large weddings and they make it so easy to plan.  Call to schedule a time to check it out for yourself.

Packing Light

With the steep increases in airline baggage fees and a plethora of travel regulations, packing light is beneficial and will make your life much easier. It results in reduced stress on our minds and bodies and saves money and time. You will not have to spend time waiting for your baggage to be unloaded and you will avoid paying for checked luggage. Nevertheless, packing and traveling light needs practicality. You need to carefully plan the items to carry and also organize them methodically into a compact single carry-on. Here are some important tips on packing light:

Avoid last-minute packing

Packing light takes some thought and a bit of effort. For instance, if you are packing late into the night on the eve of your departure, you will find it difficult to figure out how you can make your baggage lighter. Begin packing or planning what to carry a couple of days before your departure

Make a packing list and crosscheck

Making a packing list enables you to cut down on the items you will carry. You will also not forget some essential items such as underwear.

Carry essential clothing items in threes

Carry essential clothing items in threes, from underwear to shirts and socks. This ensures you can wear one, dry one and wash one. Leg wear can give you more mileage, and therefore a pair of shorts or a skirt and two pairs of pants should be enough. Carry quick-drying and light cotton and polyester blends that are color-matching and are wrinkle-resistant.

Layering is advisable

If you are headed for cold climes, it is advisable to layer your clothing. Rather than stack a heavy winter jacket in your bag, carry thin sweaters and thermal gear. Another simple method of keeping your suitcase slim is to wear your bulkiest clothing such as a heavy coat or long-sleeve shirt on the plane. If you feel too hot you can put the added layers on the overhead bin.

Limit the pairs of shoes

Before you pack any pair of shoes in your carry-on, you need to ask yourself whether you really need it. Many regular travelers opine that two or three pairs are enough. Whether you are going on a business trip or pleasure, you can get by with one pair of formal footwear and another pair of casual footwear.

Opt for wheel-less bags

Wheel bags trick us into carrying more than we are able to carry. There is an incentive to pack light when you know you have to pick up your bag. Carrying wheel-less bags is a good idea particularly if you will be visiting areas with cobbled streets, where there are no paths or have a lot of stairs.

Avoid rolling your clothes

Whereas rolling your clothes will help you to stuff more in, this translates to more weight. This is counter-intuitive and goes against the very concept of packing light especially if you are not using wheeled bags. Try to pack items loosely so that there will be a lot of weightless air separating them.

Pack multi-functional items

Prioritize items that can serve multiple functions, for example sandals that can be used as walking shoes or a towel that you can use like blanket. Your smartphone can also be used to read guidebooks, maps or even novels.

Lighten your wallet

Remove unnecessary things from your wallet such as library or membership cards for the gym. An even better way is to just carry a smallish coin purse that can hold your credit card, some cash and your driver’s license.

This post proudly sponsored by the awesome www.barrietreecare.com . Thanks for your support of this blog!

Safe Travels!

Often we travel and find ourselves stuck in very odd unfortunate situations. However we need to plan accordingly to ensure that we enjoy our travel. Here are some tips on how to travel safe.

Keep your travel details a secret and pack accordingly

Inform the right personnel and do not tell the rest about where you are going. Also pack rightly starting with the most appropriate items to avoid over packing or carrying loads of luggage. If you smoke or vape, consider switching to an e-cigarette at least while traveling, instead of packing a carton of cigarettes, which takes up valuable space and can get crushed.

Avoid distractions from a gang of kids or people.

This mostly happens. A group of kids or people come up to you begging for help, holding out a piece of paper or something else. Be quick to realize that especially if you are traveling there for the first time. Push them away together with the paper they might be holding. Most of them are just distractions so they can get to steal your valuables.

Secure your luggage

When you are at the airport be sure to guard you suitcase as it appears on the carousel. Sticking around waiting for the crowd will make you lose your luggage. You might have everything valuable with you, so deter and prevent thieves from stealing or tampering with your luggage. Also ensure that your luggage has a lock to prevent it from being left unlock after inspection.

In hotel rooms, ensure that the door has a lock and a travel door alarm. This ensures that your possessions are safe.

Secure your cash or credit cards

First avoid changing money at the airport. This might attract thieves who could be watching at a distance. Carry a travel wallet or pouches that you tie around your waist for safety in case you are carrying loads of cash. For credit cards, always keep note of your credit card numbers and the telephone numbers needed to cancel them. Sometimes your credit card can be misplaced or stolen by someone who could possibly use it to order online. Keep soft copy of your credit cards in your laptop, password protected for those hotels that need photocopies of them. Ensure you inform you credit card Company that you will be traveling and where exactly you will be.

Get the right transportation

You can ask a travel agency to get u a taxi or be sure you know how the taxis look like. Some countries experience frequent carjacking, so ensure you keep the doors and windows closed while in the car.

Beware of your new neighborhood

If you are new, look around, familiarize yourself with the area. Be sure to notice when you unwittingly wander off into a completely unfamiliar neighborhood and be safe. You can usually tell since most people around seem to look different. If you notice that the people around seem unfriendly, retrace your steps to your initial safe place and stick to it. It should be filled with tourists and a large population so safety can be guaranteed.

Blend in

Avoid standing out even if you are new to the place. Do not do the most obvious like wearing funny white sandals, sneakers and carrying around a camera with a map. Do yourself a favor and blend in. do a discreet map check and act as if you know where you are going even if you feel lost.

As much as traveling is fun, remember, it can also turn into a really bad experience so be prepared. However, remember that most places aren’t as dangerous as we’ve been taught to believe. Many countries are safer than most major cities in the US, rather than the other way around.

Thanks to NW Window Tinting magazine for being one of our sponsors!

How Not to Travel…

Watch the video below to avoid making the most common travel mistakes!

www.youtube.com/embed/qmgFCDjAt9Y