All posts tagged UK

Travel In Style In An American Motorhome

By blogger on

As more and more people turn away from the traditional packages holidays provided by travel agents to being more creative and braver with their travel adventure plans, many are discovering the beauty of travelling across country in a motor home.

Taking to the open road allows you to get off the so called beaten track and discover new areas, some often untouched by the forever boom that tourism spreads so easily.

What better way to travel than by renting an American Motorhome. You dont have to go all the way to America to do this as more companies have sales areas in the UK where you can view these well spaced and luxurious options available on the market nowadays.

American motorhomes or RVs as they are commonly known as are big in size ranging from 24 feet to 45 feet depending on your needs. Because the cab area takes up a certain proportion of the living space, a new development in 1994 was brought in to expand these motorhomes.

The new feature allows you to use a carefully designed space which expands approx 4 more feet when the vehicle is parked. This gives extra living or bedroom space depending on the design you have, clearly another genius addition to make these vehicles even more impressive for travelling in large parties.

Many people hire American motorhomes for other purposes also. These can include on location needs for photo shoots or film production to give areas for changing and resting between shoots. They can also be used as high quality comfortable areas to take guests who are invited to outdoor events for corporate entertaining needs.

To complete the accommodation of each of these RVs they all always come complete with full kitchens and bathrooms along with the lounge and sleeping areas. They also come with outdoor entertainment areas that are complete with awnings speaker systems and some also have televisions for outdoor use. What more could you ask for ?

Driving one of these large vehicles does however require a certain allowance on your driving licence to be able to drive a vehicle over 7.5 ton so do check the drivers details before going to hire or buy one.

So forget 5 start hotels where you are stuck in the same resort for the duration of your break away and think of the multi locations you can visit whilst taking your own piece of top class accommodation with you every new location.

Forgotten Items Could Be Sent To You When Travelling

By blogger on

A lot more people, particularly younger people, are now travelling and seeing more of the world than many of our parents or grandparents have ever seen with destinations as varied as South America and the Far East being particular favourites when it comes to backpacking and spending a gap year doing something exhilarating and life-changing.

With many parents having anxieties when it comes to their offspring flying the nest it can be made much more worrying when they are on the far side of the world and not easily contactable. When packing for such as journey and trying to keep your rucksack full of all of the essentials it is easily done to forget one or two important items and being faced with difficulties whilst travelling. This could be medication or particular items of clothing that will be needed but you havent planned on needing.

Fortunately there are possible ways to get important items to your child, friend or any other relative that are out travelling the world and that is by using a leading international parcel delivery firm or courier company. These companies are able to ship parcels quickly and carefully making them ideal when you want to send parcels to someone travelling, in particular where they may not be able to stay in the same place for extended periods of time.

The nature of backpacking is that the person will often be travelling and not staying in one place so sending a parcel quickly is a very important aspect to any delivery these companies carry out and means that people back home can send parcels knowing they wont be inconveniencing you with waiting around for a parcel and potentially marring your own travel plans and itinerary.

Many international couriers have offices and depots throughout the world and make it very clear that they can deliver parcels much quicker than in the past with other services such as the general postal service here in the UK. As well as this there is the benefit that your parcel will be handled by one system so there is no chance of handover issues where one company loses the parcel as it is handed off by another.

In fact with online tracking offered by these delivery services you can even track the parcels progress and make sure that it arrives on time or if the person who is meant to receive the parcel wants to know when to expect the parcel then they can also go online and armed with the unique tracking code they can see where the parcel is and when it has been delivered.

Health Tips To Keep In Mind While Travelling

By blogger on

Every year millions of people travel all over the world. Some visit the cosmopolitan cities, some head to majestic mountain ranges and some tour for their business meetings. Purpose and destination may be different, but one thing that always remains same is the concern for health.

It”s significant for every visitor to pay attention to some healthy travel tips that makes travelling a rewarding experience for them. Read on and get to know some of the essential tips that can prove to be much more beneficial then even the cheapest flight tickets.

Be Stress-free

Try to stay away from the stress as it might kill the fun of travelling. It is best to avoid stress of travelling from the time of booking cheap tickets from UK to coming back home. Avoid fretting over petty things and maintain peace in troubles. Try to indulge in fun deeds and shun constant worrying. Don”t overexert yourself as it may risk your health.

Have Sound Sleep

Some may believe that one is not paying air ticket fares for wasting the time in sleeping! But remember health is the most important factor that determines the quotient of your fun on vacations. And for perfect health, it is important to have proper rest. It is almost essential that you get at least 7 hours of sleep every day to replenish the energy. Appropriate amount of sleep will additionally minimize the ill-effects of jet-lag.

Always Keep Low-Fat Food in Bag

It”s highly likely to get hungry during flights or at some time while roving through from one tourist attraction to another. To avoid taking in harmful foods at such times, it is best to pack in some low-fat snacks like nuts, almonds, raw food energy bars, cookies, or crackers. Having these snacks offers an alternative to eating the unhealthy food. Such low-fat foods are high in fibre and nutrients and thus offer you energy. Avoid carrying foods that may leak.

Stay Hydrated and Drink Safe Water

Risk of dehydration is probably high during travelling. Drink plenty of water and stay hydrated. Proper intake of water lessens the chances of dehydration and other ailments. It”s better to avoid other beverages like soda and alcoholic drinks. While going out, keep a water bottle and don”t rely on tap water. Prefer buying water bottles that are sealed and are of reliable brands.

Be Careful With Food

Eating is a key factor and plays a major role in one”s holiday. One mistake of eating something unsafe can spoil the health of travellers and thus ruin the entire vacations. Invest some more time for those discounted air tickets to save money but try not to eat from cheap roadside stalls. Avoid unpasteurized milk, raw vegetables, unpeeled fruit, meat, seafood, ice, and other dairy products from outside.

Travelling to the UK, You Must Visit Edinburgh

By blogger on

Some people call Edinburgh the Athens of the North. Edinburgh is ripe with history and tourist attractions such as the famous Edinburgh Castle, Arthur’s Seat, St. Giles’ Cathedral, Scott Monument, the Royal Mile, Edinburgh Zoo and the Butterfly and Insect World. Make sure to set aside at least two days in your itinerary to view the sites of this Jewel of Scotland.

You can stay at any of the fine Bed and Breakfast locations; one of the more popular is the 23 Mayfield a beautifully restored home that is comfortable and cosy with elegantly furnished rooms of solid mahogany and other fine appointments. There is also the well regarded, 14 Hart Street and Six Brunton Place Guest House. If you would rather stay in a hotel some of the top rated hotels in Edinburgh are the Chester Residence, the Atholl Brae Royal Mile and the Holyrood Aparthotel.

There are any number of great places to eat some of the favourites are the Elephant House, the Tower Restaurant located on top of the Museum of Scotland. It is owned and operated by award winning Scottish restaurateur James Thomson. There is also the Witchery By The Castle, situated at the top of the Royal Mile, the sister restaurant of the Tower with a colourful history that can be traced back to the 1600s. Local legend has it that witches were housed there prior to their execution, hence the name. The restaurant has no electricity and you dine by candlelight adding to the overall ambiance of the place.

Edinburgh has a pretty lively nightlife and pub scene as well; currently one of the trendiest spots in the city is George Street. There is also the former red light district of Rose Street; one of the most famous streets in all of Edinburgh. Rose Street is packed with pubs from end to end, check out the Bad Ass or Dirty Dick’s or take the “Rose Street Challenge” by starting at one end of Rose Street and walking to the other having a drink at every pub along the way. Cowgate and Grassmarket are other popular spots in Edinburgh.

If you are on a budget there are a number of cheap hotels in Edinburgh, you can find lodgings for any budget. There are also a number of nice, affordable little restaurants throughout the city. Regardless of where you stay Edinburgh is a must see.

Making Travelling Europe Easy Schengen Visas

By blogger on

Once upon a time travelling Europe was considerably more difficult for non-Europeans, unless various countries had agreements between specific countries, such as they commonly did with the United States (US). These days, the process of travelling Europe has been easier by the introduction of what is known as the Schengen area. This is, to some degree, comparable to the European Union (EU) area, but technically they are separate entities, since Iceland and Norway are members of the Schengen area, yet aren’t members of the European Union.

Another exception to the Schengen area is the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland (IR). Since immigration is a contentious issue in Britain, with thousands of immigrants attempting to arrive on British shores each year, the UK has decided to maintain their own immigration process, and only allow foreign nationals to visit the UK with a UK visa. In short, a Schengen visa alone wouldn’t permit access to the UK under any circumstances.

Fortunately, with the introduction of the Schengen area, which includes some 25 countries, including the Baltic States, it is possible to travel to all of these 25 countries with a solitary visa. The visa is valid for a certain amount of days, like with any visa. Typically with your first application, the visa will be valid for the exact amount of days that you are on holiday for, this naturally has to be proved with hotel reservations and flights, and usually they will give you an extra day on your visa, for if something were to go wrong. However, with subsequent applications, the authorities tend to be much lenient, and extend the validity of your visa anywhere from 6 months. Whilst you probably won’t be in Europe for 6 months, it is nevertheless an indication that if you abide by the rules of the Schengen visa the first time, they trust you on subsequent applications.

The process for obtaining a Schengen visa is quite the same as any other visa. You will need to prove that you have the necessary funds, and that you have reservations for both hotels and flights. Different consulates require different paperwork, and so this should be something that you clarify with the consulate. Which consulate to apply for, especially if you’re travelling to more than one country, can be confusing, however, this isn’t so. Any flight that is departing from a non-Schengen country will arrive at the airport, and you’ll have to pass through immigration, whereby your passport and Schengen visa will be checked thoroughly. Once you depart from one Schengen country to another Schengen country, no immigration process will be there, and therefore Schengen visas are not checked again. Only on the first country of arrival, and thus, wherever you intend to travel to first, this is the consulate in which you should apply to.

There are 4 prospective countries that may join the Schengen area quite soon. These are: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Liechtenstein and Romania. However, as of yet, unless you’re a member of a European Union country, you will require a separate visa for these countries.