Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Feb 18

There are many vaccines available to the traveller from your doctors surgery and there are some additional ones you can pay for if your travel is beyond the normal ‘package deal’ vacations, where you never really leave the resort.

The standard vaccines recommended for travel are listed below, many of which are actually just boosters of childhood vaccines which you should continue to have as standard:

Polio - childhood with booster every 10 years

Tetanus - childhood with booster every 10 years (after 5 jabs - lifetime cover)

Diphtheria - childhood with booster every 10 years

Hepatitis A - childhood (U.S. only) with initial booster after 1 year, then every 10 years

Meningitis - some are childhood (usually only C) , with 3-5 year boosters

Tuberculosis - childhood (BCG in the UK only), lifetime cover.

You will find that most destinations will be covered by these few, including most of the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Europe, as well as just the resort areas of many other popular countries including Beijing, Kuala Lumpur and Rio de Janeiro, which may have prevalent diseases in other areas.

Additional vaccines which are available for those who travel for longer periods, travel to more remote areas or those working closely with local people and local wildlife include:

Typhoid Fever

A serious infection which can be caught from contaminated water or food, generally in areas of poor sanitation, so unless you intend to not eat outside of your hotel, it is wise to keep this up-to-date. Although not generally fatal, the symptoms of this infection can be very unpleasant as it is a type of salmonella, so extreme symptoms of sickness and diarrhea occur and of course the fever! Serious consequences can occur, including intestinal bleeding and (quite rarely thank goodness) coma.

Vaccine program: This is a requested vaccine that you would not have had in childhood, with an initial injection, with booster every 3 years.

Hepatitis B (In the U.S. this vaccine is given in childhood)

This disease is passed on through contamination with blood or other bodily fluids, so can be passed on through sexual intercourse. As a result it is highly recommended for avid travellers who stay longer, work in or travel to more remote areas.

Vaccine program: This has 3 initial injections, which vary in time, depending on the type of vaccine being used and a booster every 5 years after.

Rabies

This disease is potentially fatal to humans if treatment is not administered within a short space of time, therefore vaccination is highly recommended for travellers to remote areas where rabies is endemic. It is also an essential vaccine for people who will be coming into contact or working closely with local wildlife, including feral dogs and cats as it is passed on by scratches and bites, but even a lick onto broken or grazed skin could pass this virus on, so avoid contact with any animals if possible.

The UK is rabies free, as is Hawaii; but there is always the potential for a bat to arrive in either place carrying the virus (bats don’t show symptoms of being infected) so never touch a bat, always call a professional! The U.S itself has endemic rabies, with most recent human cases being contracted from bats.

Vaccine Program: This has 3 initial injections and then 2-5 yearly boosters depending on the likelihood of exposure.

Are travel vaccinations a legal requirement?

Not for the standard vaccines, no, they are just ‘highly recommended’ for your own safety and to reduce the chances of you bringing something home and infecting your local town!

There are a few like Yellow Fever that are 100% required if you are coming from certain countries where Yellow Fever is endemic into countries that are Yellow Fever ‘free’, mainly in Africa, but also around the Amazon basin in South America. These countries will not let you in if you can not show them a valid Yellow Fever Certificate approved by WHO. Due to this, the vaccine can only be given by an approved Yellow Fever Vaccination center.

Yellow Fever:

A mosquito spread disease which can be fatal. It’s early stages are similar to many conditions, but if you enter the second stage of infection, over half the cases are fatal. There is no treatment for this virus, only supportive care. Protecting yourself against insect bites and vaccination are the only ways to prevent this.

Vaccine Program: 1 initial injection by an approved center will last for 10 years. You will be issued with a yellow certificate following this vaccine which you must carry with you when travelling between countries that require this vaccination.

There are many disease out there that cannot yet be vaccinated for - including malaria - so make sure you always find out about the risks in the country you are going to visit and take all the recommended precautions possible.

posted by Travel Cat on Feb 13

We all know the basics of polite society, yet sometimes we fail to apply them when on vacation in a foreign country. What we need to remember is that we are only visiting these places because we think they are better than a vacation at home, so why would we think it a good idea to overwhelm these destinations with our western ways and assume that 1) they can cope, and 2) they will stay the same for the next time we visit!

I know it might not seem so bad to drop that little tissue down to toilets (even though the locals use a bin) or to leave your empty plastic cosmetic bottles at the hotel, but multiply that by the 1000’s of visitors to that one resort, who all just do ‘one little thing’ wrong. The sewers will block up or spew metres of waste material into local rivers, and a small town may have 3000 plastic bottles to landfill. I can’t even begin to frighten you with the math if every holiday resort in developing countries have this mess to clean up. It can’t leave the locals to pleased either!

So, follow these simple steps to keep your destination friendly, clean and somewhere for other people to visit in years to come.

1) Research your destination before you go.
Make sure you know local customs and appropriate language and dress for your visit. Be aware of your presence in public places and during festivals, etc.

2) Learn the language.
Even if it’s just a basic grasp, you will find that not only will you enjoy your stay more, but communication with people there will be easier. Even if they speak English and you are taking for ever to order a drink, they may still appreciate your efforts enough to break the ice.

3) Don’t litter. Ever.

4) Buy local produce from locals.
If you are bothering to travel to a certain town, you obviously like what it has to offer, so buy something from there. Mingle with the locals and barter for a gift you know is keeping that town on the map.

5) Use local services.
Why book with a hotel chain when you could stay with some locals? Why book a room with a company that takes your money back to the U.S or UK rather than re-investing it back into the community you are in? Think of your local grocer being out-competed by a supermarket.

6) Check credentials for tours and trips.
Make sure that if you are relying on someone to take you through the local environment or a distant mountain or jungle, that they are responsible. Not only in terms of limiting damage to flora and fauna, but also that they are well known in the area and can offer you safe, reliable and community friendly travel.

7) Tip where you can.
Make sure that if a guide, waiter or porter is offering a better than average service and have made whatever you were trying to do effort free and worth that bit extra, make sure you tip them well. Not only will it make their efforts worth while, but it will encourage this high service to all the travellers who follow you there!

Respect people.
Don’t expect everyone you meet on your travels to have to like you and offer you a service or their time. They are also not part of the landscape, so make sure you check if they want you to take their photo while they sit on a bench, or tend to their land.

9) Don’t encourage the killing of endangered animals or delicate environments.
If you buy a piece of coral or a highly carved piece of turtle shell or ivory - where do you think they are going to get more from? If no-one buys a product, regardless of what it is, shops will stop selling it. This is what makes it all the more sad to see these products readily available in tourist destinations - someone is still buying them…….

10) Wash with piece of mind.
Use showers where ever possible to save water and the heating of it. In addition, try to travel with bio-degradable toiletries like shampoo, suncream and soap powder. They all wash off of us and our clothes into streams and rivers, so make sure they don’t stay there too long. Supplies of these are readily available in our stores and at a similar cost to regular products. Why not protect your own environment and use these at home too!

In fact all of these tips can help our own environment and cultures; use local services rather than chain stores, respect other people, use less water and don’t pollute what you do use. Also, why pay to be disappointed? Make sure you only pay for services that are safe, respect the environment where possible and offer a better than average service.

Congratulations, you have now become a responsible tourist!

posted by Travel Cat on Feb 9

Cuba is often avoided for political reasons, but it really is a country with much to offer the visitor.  Not only is it in the Caribbean, blessed with beautiful beaches and chains of islands to explore, but it has a wonderful culture to be experienced!  It is also one of the least developed of the islands here, so don’t take too long deciding when to go.

Yes, there are the usual hotel regions you can spend your whole holiday in if you want, but just outside of these is the real Cuba - where the music is loud, the houses are painted and the dancing goes on all night!

There are 3 main resort areas in order of size, if you are looking for package deals, which are Varadero, Guardalavaca and Cayo Coco, and all have something slightly different to offer.

Varadero, as mentioned, is the main resort of Cuba, but is actually on the Atlantic coast, not the Caribbean. There’s only one road up this giant sandbank starting at the small town, with all the hotels on the left and a lagoon on the right.  The hotels here don’t look as bad as in Cancun, as when I was here last, they were all spaced out nicely - but who’s to say they haven’t built in some of the gaps since then! 

Refreshingly, there was an outdoor dolphin arena just past my hotel in the lagoon and at the end of this concrete-filled peninsular, a national park still intact for anyone who fancies seeing a bit of the natural world in-between sipping the famous ‘Cuba Libra’s’ (local rum and coke).

This resort is clean, friendly and only a short transfer from the airport.  And most importantly it is within a few hours drive of Havana - now a World Heritage Site!  I have always recommended a visit here for anyone I know, but make sure it’s at least a 2/3 day tour so that you get to really feel it. 

A day trip can be quite disappointing (as my mum found out), as it can take several hours to drive through the resort, picking everyone up from their individual hotels.  It’s all about making money don’t forget, so they will drive quite some way to collect one final couple before finally heading off.  Of course, you won’t get long to spend there either as you have to get going in time to drop everyone else back home before their evening meal at the hotel!

One of the main reasons for planning a longer trip is that you can visit the Tropicana Club one evening - an experience I can still remember with awe several years later.  I was wary at first as it was billed as a sort of dance-fest cabaret, but as our guide had strongly recommended it to us and the transfer to and from our hotel was free, we headed off. 

WOW!  They had dancers coming out of everywhere in the open air theatre.  Food and drink were supplied to our long tables through the evening and we couldn’t take our eyes of the acts; there were dancers and acrobats, singers and music and it just went on and on - surprising us all the time.  Several of our group even ended the night up on the main stage dancing the salsa, while the rest of us had some more on-the-house rum!

There is one downside to Havana (and it’s not the collapse rate of the houses there - which I was told was quite high!), it’s the people selling cigars.  They were everywhere and they really want you to buy their wares.  They are hounding you in the street, as you sit eating in a restaurant, while you are haggling for a wooden sculpture in any of the markets and even while you are waiting to get back on your coach!  Taking cigars out of the country requires a valid receipt, so make sure you only buy from an actual cigar shop and keep your receipts!  Customs can be strict in Cuba and back in Mexico!

Travel around Havana is easy on foot, but is even better in fantastic old cars, which it is world famous for.  However getting round Varadero isn’t quite so glamorous!  You get to whizz around Varadero in little 3-wheeled ‘Co-Co taxi’s’ that happily shuttle you from a to b.  They are yellow, open fronted and carry 2 adults comfortably (I use the word loosely to take into account the minimal suspension I found with these). They certainly offer character and are cheap to use, and the shopping centre and main outside restaurants are within easy reach with these. 

I have and still will recommend Cuba to anyone who asks my opinion (or who’s conversations I overhear) as it really is a place worth seeing.  I am off there again in a few weeks with a friend - to Cayo Guillermo this time - more of a quiet resort to relax in plus all inclusive again, to ease even more of my worries! 

“Dos Cuba Libra, por favor………..”

Vacation Facts:

Location: Varadero Resort - Cuba - The Caribbean - Central America

Points of Entry from U.S.include: Cancun, Toronto and Nassau

Best Weather - December to April (August to November is Hurricane season!)

Accommodation: Playa de Oro (Coralia) hotel (all inclusive package)

posted by Travel Cat on Feb 6

I have always wanted to try skiing, but was afraid of all the extra costs, like lift passes, ski hire and all the clothes - not to mention getting all the way to somewhere cold enough to try it.  However this time was different.

I had a friend from the UK who had always wanted to have a go at it too, so we decided that next time we went away together, it would be somewhere cold enough for snow!  Scotland in January fitted the bill, so we got it all booked - and I was quite surprised at how little it cost us….

I’d called the ski centre after finding their contact details on the mountains own website (?) to find a very helpful man on the other end of the line.  He told me that the tuition price included all the essentials including free travel on the mountain railway, ski passes and of course a full days tuition and you could hire any extras if you needed them.

He also advised that due to the temperamental weather, if you turn up on your booked day and there is no chance of skiing, they will just move your lesson on to the next day for free.  I don’t know why I was so worried about all the extra costs - as so far, there don’t seem to be any!

The accommodation we chose was as close to the mountains as you could get, and it turned out - the best place to be if you are an outdoor type.  It was a centre for all the associations you would expect up here, including avalanche research, mountain rescue and training.  It was also a learning centre for anyone interested in rock climbing, ice hiking, river and sea canoeing to name a few - and just by staying at the lodge you had free access to their climbing walls, gym and pool throughout your stay.

Anyway, on the first day, we read the weather and avalanche reports (!) for the mountain over a hot breakfast and it all looked like it was going to be a good day for skiing.  There was no snow on the lower parts of the mountains, but as we pulled into the car park we could see thick snow just off to the side!  Getting more and more excited we headed up to the equipment block and made ourselves known.  It was only at this point that they took any money from me, I had booked us in so far on purely on a promise.

The staff couldn’t have been more patient and helpful as we were shipped over to collect our boots, and were having some serious trouble getting them on, and then walking in them.  Well, they take all the movement away from you lower leg, ankle and foot, so we were hobbling along on our heels.  There was me, trying to carry my 4ft ski’s (which were very heavy for me) under one arm, and the 4ft poles under the other!  We must have looked like right newbies to all the regulars there - I can imagine they have some
word for us as we head off in one big group towards the mountain train.

The morning session was nice and slow, on a flat patch of snow not to far up the mountain, with only 5 other beginners in our group.  It was very strange to not have control of your own feet, and not able to step off them at any time, but it didn’t take long to realise that you can’t really fall off.  The boots totally supported your body - I mean you could sit right down or lean right forward and touch the fronts of your ski’s without falling over.  This increased my confidence no end, and I was actually skiing down a little slope after about 20 minutes!

It was then that I found out I couldn’t quite stop!  I understood what the tutor was telling me to do, but my feet couldn’t quite control the ski’s.  It was a very strange to be telling my feet one thing and have them do another.  For the rest of the morning I enviously watched the girl who couldn’t stop falling over earlier to be confidently turning left and right and stopping whenever she wanted to, while I was overshooting into the fence or way off down the hill!  Needless to say at this speed, I found out that you could fall over quite easily in fact!!

We broke for lunch, with me still unable to master turning and stopping, and headed up the mountain where we ate in the highest restaurant in Scotland (apparently).  The afternoon session was right at the top of the mountain, and when we got there, you couldn’t see past the end of your ski’s - there was a blizzard going on!  We all wrapped up safe and dry in all our clothes, with only our noses exposed to the weather.  The fresh snow made skiing so much easier and as the snow lessened we were slaloming between our skiing poles and were all 10 times better than this morning, and I finally mastered the whole stopping thing (I found it easier without the poles in my hands). 

No joke, after an hour up here, we were all off on the ski lift to the very top slope and were all confident enough to ski down, following the tutor back to the bottom of the ski lift, then went up again.

All in all it was a great day.  I can now ski with confidence, I wasn’t cold at all at any time, I didn’t get wet from all the falling over, I wasn’t hurt from all the falling over and I had gotten to see a whole lot of snow!

Vacation Facts:

Location: The CairnGorms - Inverness - Scotland - Europe

Accommodation: Glenmore Lodge ($44/£22pppn b&b) - 1 mile from the Cairngorm Ski Centre.

Activity Cost:

$144/£72 all day ski tuition, inc boots, ski’s and poles, ski lifts and mountain train.
$36/£18 hire for waterproof jacket, trousers and goggles.  
 

posted by Travel Cat on Feb 5

Welcome to my blog, everyone.

I’ve been inspired to write this blog after having travelled to many destinations around the world and have found that sometimes it’s nice to have a place recommended to you by a genuine person, rather than sifting through hundreds of bed and breakfasts, hotels, and long haul resorts relying on just ’star ratings’ or the companies own descriptions.

Having been to many places in the past, I can read a brochure description and see the flaws and wasted ‘facts’.  Just having a look at some holidays to The Maldives for example describes ‘white sandy beaches’, ‘coral reef nearby’ and ’surrounded by crystal clear waters’ for nearly every hotel.  Well of course they’re surrounded by water - The Maldives are hundreds of tiny islands made of eroded coral from the reefs!  And, of course they have sandy beaches, the island are all actually made of sand! 

You don’t need to read obvious things like this, you need to read about more personal things that can make or break your holiday, and I hope to be able to cover these in my posts, and help you to weed out the nonsense and book the best trip for you.  Well, you deserve it!

I have already got many UK trips and tropical holidays booked in the next 6 months, so I will be informing you of the build up to these, including currency details, vaccinations, visa’s, health tips, flights and much more, as well as details of the countries, the resorts and the hotels, things you can do, and things best to avoid!

I’m also hoping to keep you up to date with reports on how to save money ON your next trip, and how to save money FOR your next trip, how to plan journeys, advice on when to book and where to book, and much more.

Having just got back from a Skiing Lesson in the Cairngorms in Scotland, this will be my first post coming next for anyone out there this early on, followed shortly by an overview of Cuba (my next holiday) as a long haul destination.

Have fun.