Travel Guide to Nice, France

Posted on by
Reply

Nice is a beautiful beach city in the southeastern corner of France. It is located not very far from the Italian border and right next to the famous city of Cannes where the film festival is held every year. Nice is well known for its gorgeous ocean water and for its wonderful rocky beach which may put off some who like sunbathing and lying down on the sand. The rock based texture might prove a bit uncomfortable but you will soon find that it is a lot less messy than sand.

La Mer
As if the amazing Mediterranean sea wasn’t enough, Nice also has an abundance of great sights to see. The one that you will probably witness first as you head towards the beach is the Promenade des Anglais. In English this translates to the English Promenade. It is an extremely wide sidewalk area right between the beach and the street. People either choose to stroll down the promenade or zoom down it with roller blades or a bicycle. At any point that you may feel fatigue settling in you can take a rest on the royal blue chairs that surround the area and face the ocean.

Vieux Nice
Another one of the great sights to see in Nice is Vieux Nice (Old Nice). Vieux nice is a great shopping area for tourist type items or authentic cultural artifacts and gifts. This is also the center for the raging nightlife as it is drenched with bars and clubs.

La Colline du Chateau
The last place that I highly suggest you take a look at is the Chateau (castle) that sits on top of a hill. It is a bit of a hike but once you reached the top you will have a magnificent view of the entire city and you can also look at one of the few natural and green spots left in this ever growing metropolis. The castle isn’t much to see because it has been reduced to mere ruins.

Nice is one of the lesser known gems of Europe. If you are looking for a relaxing peaceful beach city then this is the place for you.

Travel Guide to Seoul, South Korea

Posted on by
Reply

Seoul is not only the capital city of South Korea but also the heart of this great Asian nation. Seoul is a huge metropolis city with all the modern technological advances as a Tokyo or any other major city but also maintains its culture and history.

Sights
There is so much to do and see in the wonderful city of Seoul that in order to see everything it would literally take a lifetime but here are a few sights that you won’t want to miss. Gyeongbok Palace is the largest and most impressive of all the Korean palaces. I suggest you take one of the English tours because they are both free and very interesting. The tour guides are normally dressed in traditional Korean clothing known as hanbok. You can also witness the guard ceremony which takes place constantly through out the day. Another thing that you will definitely want to see is Seoul Grand Park. This park contains Seoul’s best zoo and natural surroundings. Lastly, if you have time then I recommend you go up to Namsan mountain by way of a special lift. From Namsan mountain you can view the entire city of Seoul. For active people you can also choose to hike up and down the mountain rather than using the lift.

Shopping
If you are looking to buy traditional Korean artifacts or any kind of souvenir then you should head over to Insadong. In Insadong you will find a pedestrian street full of merchants willing to bargain with tourist. If you want to buy things such as purses, bags, watches or clothing items then you can go to MyeongDong or Dongdaemun Market. Both will be extremely crowded at all times due to the fact the Koreans also shop here looking for the latest bargains.

Transportation
The subway system in Seoul is probably the cleanest in the whole world. It is better to purchase a subway card at any major station and then add 20,000 won or more to it. This way you do not have to buy individual tickets each time you ride the subway or worry about calculating the amount you need. Be warned that some of the electronic contain information that is not translated into English which is important to know so you may want to ask any college aged Korean for directions whenever you are transferring from one line to another. Avoid using the bus system because it is very complicated even for the locals.

Food
Korean food is among the best in the world as it is not only delicious but healthy as well. Be aware that it can be a big too spicy for the average foreigner. I suggest you head over to Sinchon or Yeongdongpo and look for a place that sells Sam Gyeop Sal. You do not want to eat anywhere around Insadong because you will pay a lot for the same quality of food. Try to find the areas where there are less tourist such as Sinchon then you will save a lot and get better tasting food.

Seoul is one of the greatest cities in all the world so enjoy your stay, see as much as you can and do everything you can in the amount of time you have for your visit. I guarantee you won’t regret it.

Travel Guide to Bangkok

Posted on by
Reply

The Top 5 Things To See In Bangkok

The first item on our list is the Wat Phra Kaew. The Wat Phra Kaew translates into English as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This temple is believed to be the most important. It was built in 1784 when Bangkok became the new capital city of Thailand. In the central bot or the main building you can see the Emerald Buddha. Thai people believe it to be their most important Buddha even though it is quite small in stature. Wat Phra Kaew is surrounded by a wall painted with images from the Ramakian legend.

The next sight on the list is Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn. The very unique feature of Wat Arun is its prang. The prang is decorated in Chinese porcelain and ceramic tiles. It covers the the upper portion of the Temple which can be seen from far away. If you look closely you can see the little demon statues that hold it up.

Wat Ratchanatdaram is the third installment on our top 5 list. This temple was constructed in 1846 by King Rama lll. The main attraction of this temple is the Loha Prasat or Metal Palace. It contains over 37 spires that point upward from its upper levels. You will also find the memorial statue of King Rama lll near by the royal pavilion area.

Next up we have the Dusit Maha Prasat throne hall. This was made in 1790. On the north side of the building you will find a busabok which is a special throne used by the king when he was presented in front of the public. This structure is one of the best conserved monuments in the whole country. It is located in the grand palace.

Last but not least is the Saman Laung. The Saman Laung is a royal park where many peaceful demonstrations and community events are located. If you take a stroll through this beautiful park then you may run into a spectacular cultural event or simply gets some peace of mind.

Bangkok is a peaceful and elegant city. With its wonderful weather and friendly locals you will find yourself captivated and enchanted by this magical place.

Travel Guide to Los Angeles

Posted on by
Reply

Los Angeles is the biggest city in the state of California with over 10 million inhabitants. It is most famous for its movie stars and great weather but there are also many other great sights to see in this raging metropolis.

The Getty Center
If you love art then the Getty Center is the place for you. At the Getty Center you will find some of world’s best paintings, photography, drawings, sculptures, manuscripts and furniture. You won’t want to miss the collections by Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Claude Monet. Getting inside will not cost you one red cent so there is nothing to lose. From the center you also have an amazing view of the ocean, the city and the mountains in Santa Monica.

La Brea Tar Pits
The Tar Pits are a must see for all of those who fancy archaeology. Inside these asphalt covered pits over one million bones have been discovered. Palaeontologists continue to examine the skeletal parts of extinct creatures such as sabre-toothed tigers and dire wolves for everyone’s viewing pleasure.

Marionette Theatre
If you are planning to visit LA with children then I highly suggest you take them to the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre where they can witness singing and dancing puppets which converse with the public.

The Beaches
Some of the most beautiful beaches in the country can be found in the Los Angeles area. The most popular ones are Venice Beach and Santa Monica. Santa Monica is absolutely gorgeous and a bit more peaceful than Venice. Venice Beach however is much more interesting with its loads of colorful characters and activities. You will often find drummers gathered together banging away at their instruments while locals dance to their hypnotic sounds.

Los Angeles is a very interesting and exciting city with lots to see and do that are not only related to Hollywood and movie stars. Be sure to take part in some of the great culture this town has to offer as it will definitely enhance the pleasantness of your stay quite a bit.

Vacation Home Rental (Triphomes)

Posted on by
Reply

One of the best ways to experience an amazing vacation while spending much less money is to find a vacation home rental. A vacation home rental is an incredible home that is rented out by often wealthy people to vacationers. If you are planning on going on a vacation with your family or in a small group then this might be the best way to go as it can save you a bundle, especially when staying at least a week.

In order to find a great vacation home rental I suggest you go to the TripHomes website. Here you can find a huge directory of amazing vacation home rentals all over the world. If you would like to book a vacation home rental in Maui for example all you have to do is go to their front page, look at the Search Vacation Destination map and click on Hawaii. Then you will see a list of many cities in Hawaii including several in various parts of Maui. Let’s say you want to go to Hana, Maui so then you would click those words accordingly. Next you can take a look at the basic structure of the property such as the number of bedrooms and baths it has to offer. For more details you just click property details.

If you are wondering what the vacation home rental looks like then just click on the photo link underneath the picture where you will find normally more than 10 photos of the property. Click the red colored text above the property number to proceed to the next step. You will then be presented with a property overview which gives you a summary of the features of the vacation home rental. Click send inquiry on the right hand side of the page to book the vacation home rental. I do NOT suggest that you call the number as this might take a long time due to the extensive waiting for an available operator. On this page you will receive a ton of information on the pricing, availability, policies, etc. When you ready to reserve then fill out the form on the bottom and you will be on your way to a relaxing trip in a glorious vacation home rental.

Airgorilla

Posted on by
Reply

airgorilla

Airgorilla has become one of the world wide web’s top travel sites. It has quickly grown in popularity and may in the future compete with the top dogs of the internet travel industry such as Travelocity. I have noticed though that Airgorilla is a good site for booking flights but not so useful in other areas such as hotel reservations and car rentals.

Airgorilla Airfare Consolidators

Airfare consolidators enable Airgorilla to have some of the best prices on international flights. If you search for overseas flights on Airgorilla you will notice that the prices on consistently low due to the airfare consolidators. Most of the internet travel sites do not show consolidated flights like Airgorilla does in their listings, which is rather surprising.Offline travel booking sources often use low fare consolidators. These places include malls, small stores and outlets.

Airgorilla Features

In order to get the maximum savings possible out of Airgorilla for your next vacation or trip then you must take note of a few of the features found on Airgorilla’s home page. When you arrive at the page, look on the right hand side and you will notice the latest travel deals listed under “Hot Deals”. If you are planning to take a vacation soon but are still not yet sure of where you want to go then you might want to consider some of the offers in this section because they are often quite good.

When searching the flights offered by Airgorilla you will first see extremely low prices listed. You should be aware of the fact that these are before the taxes have been added. In some cases, especially when it concerns international flights on Airgorilla, the prices on flights go up 50% after taxes so be careful before celebrating too early. Often times the final price after taxes is still far less than many other sites so it will probably still end up saving you considerably. Airgorilla also has an array of great tools to use in planning your next getaway such as currency converters, flight tracking and frequent flier options. To sum things up a bit, if you are looking to book an international flight at an affordable price then I recommend you take a look at Airgorilla.

Orbitz Review

Posted on by
Reply

Popularity
Orbitz is one of the internet’s most popular travel sites. It’s front page has a google pank rank of 9, which only a handful of websites have and an Alexia traffic ranking of 417. This means more or less that it is the 417th most visited website on the internet today. Considering the fact there are billions and billions of sites on the net, this is quite an accomplishment.

Features
Orbitz has all the main components of a major travel website such as flight scheduling, hotel reservations, car rentals, cruises and vacation packages but there are however a few extras not commonly seen. One of these extras is an activities booking section. This is an area of the site where you can book activities to do on your trip for certain cities such as arranging tickets to see a show or a ball game. I must point out that travelocity has a much bigger activities section with many more options available.

Prices
Some of the special vacation packages that they have are special deals to Las Vegas and Hawaii. In Las Vegas they have flight and hotel packages at around $208 – $444 depending on the amount of days you wish to stay. In Mexico they have resort and getaway deals ranging from $645 – $823 including airfare.

Overall Rating
For an overall rating I would have to give Orbitz a 7.5 because although it can certainly compete well with the other internet travel superstars when it comes to pricing, it does not however contain enough features and booking options in its repertoire. That is when compared to a travelocity or expedia type website. It is still of course well above the average travel booking site so that is why a 7.5 seems like the right score for Orbitz.

CheapTickets Review

Posted on by
Reply

Popularity
CheapTickets is another one of the internet travel big guns. It has a google pagerank of 7 which means that it is well above the average travel site when it comes to things such as incoming links and references on other sites made to it. Its Alexa traffic ranking is 1,370, which means that it is the 1,370th most visited site on the net. This is impressive when you keep in mind that there are a billion sites in the world wide web.

Features
Cheaptickets has all the standard features of any large travel site such as flight, hotel, and cruise reservations. There are also sections for car rentals, activities and last minute trips. They have an interesting membership option called Cheaptickets Gold which you might want to take a look at it. However, the most unique feature that I have found on their site is their cheap of the week tab. Click here and you will be presented with a promotional code (coupon) for a particular vacation option and you will find a list of other several other special deals that are specific to one area such as flights, hotels or car rentals.

Prices
In the last minute trip section you will find some nice prices in the Last minute spotlights area. At this moment there is a package deal to Cancun, Mexico that includes airfare and 3 nights in a hotel for only $489. Even more impressive is their last minute offer to Orlando, Florida for $298 which is comprised a flight plus a 3 night stay in a hotel.

Overall Rating
I give cheaptickets a rating of 7.75 due to the fact that they do have some of the best deals around on the internet and they also provide you with several booking options and features. I am almost certain the this website will quickly rise in popularity which will make it one of the top travel websites on the internet.

Hotwire Review

Posted on by
Reply

Popularity
Hotwire is one of the newer travel booking sites to hit the scene. In a short amount of time it has become one of the heavy hitters on the web. It now clocks in with a Google pagerank of 8 and according to Alexa it is the 2,671st most visited site on the net.

Features
Hotwire contains all the normal booking options commonly available such as flight, hotel, car rental and cruise reservations. They have an array of vacation packages as well but do not have a clear activities section link on their front page. This feature however is somewhat included in their CoolExtras area. Their CoolExtra section has special links dedicated to Enterntainment (activities), Dining and Shopping. This information is only available to its registered members but registration is free.

Prices
On their Deals & Destinations page you can find nice long list of last-minute flight deals for both this weekend and the next. Some of their prices include flights from Chicago to Los Angeles at $239 and a flight from Boston to Cancun for only $320. Towards the bottom of the Deals & Destinations page you will find a Travel Value Index link. Click it and you will be presented with trips that contain free tours and activities such as a Coors Brewery Tour in Denver and a Trolley Tour in Greenville, South Carolina. Some of their package vacation offers (accessed by way of their front page) include a Jamaican vacation package for $803 which includes 5 nights in a 4 star hotel and airfare.

Overall Rating
Hotwire receives an overall rating of 8 for its abundance of features and reasonable prices. Hotwire is another website that is slowly moving up the food chain and will soon top the list with its special booking options and exclusive free tours and activities packages.

Kayak Review

Posted on by
Reply

Popularity
Kayak is an up and coming travel site that contains a Google pagerank of 7. This means that the website is well above average in its link popularity. Link popularity is the amount of incoming links from good sources that it is currently receiving from the world wide web. It’s Alexa traffic rank is 1,584 which means that it gets a ton of visitors a day but still not quite on the same level as Travelocity. Expedia or Orbitz.

Features
Kayak has a much more simple layout than its competitors. The features available are quite limited and are comprised of flight scheduling, hotel room reservations, car rental reservations, deals, and a unique feature called Buzz. The Buzz section provides visitors with trip ideas. On the right of the Buzz page you will find a few of the popular trip ideas. Some examples of these are “Top Ten US Caves”, “Amazing Race Destinations” and “Top Ten Beaches in the U.S.” In the Browse Trip Idea By Category section on the left hand side of the page you will find many categories such as Diving/Snorkeling and Luxury/Resort/Spa.

Prices
If you take a look at their Deals section by way of the tab located on the front page you will find a list of many good offers with the price, destination and description available for each. One of the examples is a European Getaway starting at $399 which includes a car rental and airfare to Europe.

Overall Rating
Kayak gets an overall rating of 6.0 because although it does contain a great Buzz section with a ton of great trip ideas and activities, it does not however support many booking options or features and the overall look and layout of the site is quite dull.