Ultimate Vacation Spots

Take a visit to the historic, sun-blessed and beautiful sandy-beached Hilton Head Island!

If you fancy a vacation with difference - then consider this pretty little island in the very south of South Carolina on the Atlantic coast.  Whether you want to explore the extensive sand dunes and wetlands, play on some of the internationally famous golf courses (the PGA stop of Verizon Heritage) - or to just relax in a great rental and watch the sun set over the waters - try out this location for size!

And with a nickname of ‘Sun City’ you couldn’t want for a better location to spend your well earned vacation!

The Destination:
On the Eastern Seaboard - this historic location has over 19 kms of beach and tribes on indigenous peoples and their culture.  It is also a popular tourist location and so has all the modern trappings that a vacationer needs - but still in relative peace and quiet!

This location has very ‘eco friendly’ design plans where buildings have to be built around existing trees rather than bulldozing them down!  More than 70% of the housing here is in gated communities - including the many Hilton Head vacation rentals that you may be tempted into hiring for your vacation!

With pools, security, delightful tree cover and access to beaches in all directions - this place has it all!

And there is more would you believe it?  There is a full size choral society, a symphony orchestra and a Broadway-Quality plays throughout the year!  Add this to the famous golf courses and tennis championships and the huge wine-tasting events - and what more could you ask for?

Making Plans:
This island getaway is certainly a popular location - so make sure that you plan in advance if you want a certain rental.  Some are on the beach, some facing inland and others surrounded by trees - so depending on what you want from your vacation - it wouldn’t be a bad idea to do some research into what is out there.

Also, it’s worth knowing whether you are within walking distance of certain activities or locations that you know you want to visit - like shopping centers, theatres or fishing harbours - thus helping to save on travel costs once you arrive!

It’s also worth knowing a bit about the history of the island before setting off as well - as Hilton Head certainly has a long a varied history, from it’s first discovery, through to its uses over the past few hundred years and all it’s remaining historical buildings and trees that line the streets across the city.

I found a great site that details all the information you are going to need for planning your trip here - including details about vacation rentals.  It’s easy to use and is packed full of information about costs, dates, activites, golf courses and some perfect beach front properties - you just need to filter your searches and they could help you find the ideal location for you and your family at the right price!

So, just click on one of the links in this post to take you to the best place to start in your vacation search in Hilton Head.

Hope you enjoy yourself there!

If you want to visit the ultimate waterfall in the Americas - it has to be Niagara Falls!

For sheer scale - this falls is some place you need to visit - like the other 28 million visitors that travel to this amazing site!  It has size, it has width - and it has some of the greatest tourist facilities out there!

Unlike Angel Falls and Iguazu Falls - where you have to trek for hours to get there and then only stay for about 60 minutes - you can get a hotel room right on top of Niagara Falls! 

If you choose the right Niagara Falls hotel - and there are many out there - you can see the whole promenade area lit up with viewpoints, restaurants and bars and other tourist attractions - all from your balcony!

Although you might not want to tumble over the top in a barrel and fall around 50 meters to it’s base - you can certainly catch a boat ride into the mist that shrouds the base of the falls - and hear close up the thundering water travelling from Lake Erie to the Atlantic Ocean!

Facts About Niagara Falls:
Niagara is actually the name of the river that runs here - not the waterfall.  The actual waterfalls (there are 3 of them) have different names:  The largest is the Horseshoe Falls, and the smaller part the other side of Goat Island is called American Falls.  A much smaller waterfall the other side of Luna Island on the American side, is the Bridal Veil Falls!

Over 6 million cubic feet of water fall over the crest of the falls EVERY MINUTE during wet weather - on an average day it is still around 4 million!

Due to this power, the falls have actually retreated just under 7 miles in documented history, and have even changed shape along the way!  It was much straighter to begin, then curved and is now a strong ’horseshoe’ shape (hence the name of that larger part).  Engineering works have slowed the rate of retreat today and have managed to prevent it’s erosion from altering the falls - or the site itself!

The Niagara Falls Area:
When you take a trip here, there is plenty to see and do.  Whether you just soak up the atmosphere in a first class hotel overlooking the crashing falls, take a boat ride, wander the streets at night with the falls lit up in amazing colors, eat out in style, or even pop into the Fallsview Casino for a great night out - there is a whole town set up here to cater for your every need!

The Niagara falls area is now so popular with guests that a whole economy has sprung up to cater for it’s visitors demands.  There are top quality golf courses, helicopter rides, shows, entertainment, casinos, day trips and horseback riding all within a few minutes of the center.

There are also natural beauties to go see including the Cave of Winds, where you take an elevator down to beneath Bridal Falls and go on a walk around passages that create hurricane force winds beneath the falls.  There are view points all over both sides and on the islands between the falls too - as well as behind the falls through rock openings!

Viewing Niagara Falls is perfect in any weather - maybe you catch it shrouded in a rising mist in the early hours, or reflecting moonlight on a full moon - or even surrounded by blankets of snow in the winter!

So, get online and book yourself some great Niagara Falls deals for your weekend vacation this year - and next! 

You won’t regret it!

Whether it’s home or abroad - you need to consider the needs of your laptop!

We take them a bit for granted now, but they are still valuable things.  For example, I save all my pictures on my laptop and all my contacts for email, etc - as well as spreadsheets about all sorts of things - so what happens to it all if your laptop is stolen or gets broken?

It’s enough to worry about at home - but what about when traveling with it for days or months at a time?

Well, I have put together a few great tips - things to think about before you head off that could save you a lot of time and money in the future!  Simple planning tools for a plain-sailing vacation!

Ultimate Power:
All laptops have their battery within them and a power lead to charge them up - so have you got both for starters?

But lets start with the battery first. You can calibrate your battery to make sure that it is charging itself up fully every time.  If they are not fully charged as per the manufacturers instructions the first time - they may never charge properly ever again! 

But - thank goodness - you can follow a set of simple steps at home before you go to make sure that you ‘reset’ the battery to take a full charge (following the manufacturers instructions of course!) - and at least it if won’t calibrate properly - or it is running out of juice due to age anyway - then at least you know this in advance of travelling anyway and can buy a replacement on home ground!

You also need to be sure that your laptop will charge fully on alternative power supplies in the countries that you are visiting - as they are not all the same.

Check that you have the correct shape and size adapter as well - and that it can power up your laptop properly - otherwise you have carried it all the way there for nothing!

Also - will you need to reserve a seat on the train, boat or plane that has a power supply next to it?  Not all companies cater for powering laptops or other electrical goods on the move - so make sure that you check for yourself, or upgrade to a seat that does!

Your Important Files:
Make sure that you back up all your important files before you go - either onto an external hard drive or online storage.

And, make sure that you keep them separate at all times - otherwise they will both get damaged at the same time!

Needless to say you should hide all your sensitive data as well - as you might need to be checked by security - and you don’t want them trawling though your company spreadsheets or personal files!  You can easily partition all you files so that the private ones needs a separate access code.

Also by using different passwords to get into your system in the first place; you are preventing data theft and rendering the laptop useless to anyone that steal it.  They can still take it from your of course - but they probably won’t be able to get into any of your files or even the software itself. 

Never assume that you are the only one who will use your laptop - so log out of everything while travelling - as some laptops save your log-ins or open automatically on typing in the web address - a total disaster if someone else gets their hands on your computer!

Airport Security:
Make sure that you can get your laptop through customs as quickly and as safely as possible, by thinking and planning ahead.

Use the right laptop bag to transport it around the airport in the first place, to allow instant access but also to prevent it getting damaged as you move other luggage around or bustle through crowds.

You will also need to send your laptop through the security device separately to your other hand luggage, so make sure that it is out of the laptop bag before you get to the front so as to limit your need to rush and fuss about the thing - and to prevent slowing down the queue!

Maybe even have the laptop powered up - but on sleep mode.  This way, if the staff ask you to turn it on for checking, you can just ‘wake it up’ rather than boot it up!  Not only does this save you time - but you will be less stressed through it and there is likely to be less damage to the laptop through all these checks.

If you have allowed your laptop to run out of battery on the journey to the airport - then you could have a problem if they want to see it working - so make sure that the power cable is packed in the same bag - otherwise you are going to get very stressed at the customs desk!

Have you ever just thought about driving into the sunset rather than going home?

You must have been sitting in traffic on the way to work - or stuck in congestion going to visit a friend - and just wanted to be out of there and off to somewhere different, so why not just do it one day?

You don’t need to plan a vacation and take time of work as such - just pick a direction and drive off!  Of course, if you have longer, you can get further - but a few days will do!  I did it once, just thought about a few things I wanted to see, and headed off….. 

The Trip:
I love historic buildings and wildlife, so when I set off on my 3 month road trip - I made sure that I joined a few societies (to get free entry) and then headed off into an adventure!

You can end up anywhere and for as long as you want - depending on your car and your ideas.  Even better the adventure if you just take a map and your bags!

Your only worry need be finding a petrol station and deciding where you want to visit next! 

As long as you have a hotel guide to hand, you can stop anywhere you want - 1 night or 2! There is no need to book a room way in advance - although you sometimes might have to make a few calls to find an empty room at the weekends - you can call as late as 3pm and still get a place.  This gives you more freedom to change your route and plans as things happen.

Staying in the same accommodation in places you like the look of allows you to leave your things in the room while you go out and explore - whereas if you only stay the one night, you need to have you stuff in the car while you visit places.  Not so much a problem on the shorter trips - but not so good to leave too much in your car while you head into a zoo or museum for 4 hours or more!

And most hotels offer breakfast included as well as a great place to eat dinner - so you don’t even need to wander around looking for food.  Or maybe stop off at a store on route and stock up on goodies for the room - there’s nothing better than feet up and a box of chocolates after a day exploring!

The Car:
Well, needles to say you are going to need a car you can trust to take you all those miles - and a car that looks good too wouldn’t be too bad either!

If you are only going away for the weekend - then just head off in whatever you have - but if you are going to make a habit of driving off whenever the mood takes you then why not start making your car look great too!

Make sure that the inside looks as good as the outside - whether it’s shiny bumpers or cool seat covers - you can drive in style wherever you decide to go!  No need to be embarrassed about your wheels!

Whether it’s a nice picnic basket for the back seat, a sleek bike rack for the roof or some brand new vw accessories for the camper-van - splash out and make it a trip to remember!

Sometimes, you wait so long trying to plan the ‘perfect’ trip, that you never actually get around to doing anything!  The number of people who say ‘I was planning to do something like that…’ or ‘I’ve always wanted to do that!’  But why can’t you just do it? 

Take a chance and just go do it!

So, get a collection of your favourite CD’s and grab your camera for the ride of your life!

Want to improve your wildlife photography - without standing in the cold!

There are hundreds of wildlife photography centres around the world that offer the chance to get up close to ‘wild’ animals in their natural habitat.

Some specialise in local or native wildlife and others hold a vast number of more exotic species for you to get up close to - like Lynx, Jaguar and Tigers - and you are virtually guaranteed a sighting!

So what are these places and how come you can get so close to the animals - and have the perfect backdrop for your images as well?

The Setting:
Basically, wildlife enthusiasts have built up a collection or animals over the years and house them in captivity.

Whether they were originally rescued animals or have been bred in zoo-like circumstances - they look great - just like their free-roaming counterparts.  I mean a fox looks like a fox whether its in the local woods or in a wooded enclosure doesn’t it.

So why stand around for hours all day waiting for a sighting - when you can virtually guarantee a perfect view from a local photography centre?

Many animals are kept in outdoor enclosures that mimic their natural habitat, whereas others are kept in an easy to maintain enclosure and transferred into a more photogenic and natural looking location when you arrive on site.

The Benefits:
Well clearly you can see that a days shooting is going to be a lot more productive if you visit a centre like this for your photography - and you pictures will be better to boot!

By getting so close to quite human-accepting animals, you don’t need to use your longest zoom ever!  You can use a normal shot thus making your shot that much clearer and easier to enlarge at home.

And as the animals are so used to people being around, you can get some great shots of their natural behaviour with their surrounding and other animals in the enclosure.  For example, they will curl up to sleep close to you - and if it is snowing you could get some fantastic shots!

But it’s not just about the final shots - its about the techniques you can use in the field.  For example, you can get to see how these animals move, what settings work best for still or moving animals and of course what lighting and angles get you the best images.

All this is virtually impossible in the field as you may just see an animal for 1 minute as it passes behind trees - you will have no time to plan for these - so you need to already know the best techniques.

The Extras:
Not only could you come away with your best photo ever of an owl - but you could have your only ever picture of a shrew or an otter or an exotic species.

Animals that are nocturnal or live underground - or in a different country - are things that you may never get to photograph in the wild.  Or you may have a collection of shots where you have to tell people what it is as it’s too small or blurry to see!

And, many of these sites have both wildlife experts to hand and if requested a wildlife photographer on site to help you work through your shots and to understand your camera that little bit better.

And becoming a regular at any animal sanctuary or photography centre could mean that you are in line for ‘first pickings’ at any new animals, scenes or special events that they offer.

And if there is a fresh layer of snow on the ground - you could get those perfect moments on film!