Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Mar 11

Last year, I set myself a goal of visiting somewhere new (or somewhere I loved) every month. So far, I have done this without exception and it really has made a difference in more ways than one.

Firstly, it involves me with friends or family throughout the year – always meeting up with someone I can spend quality time with rather than just meeting them after work, or whenever they can squeeze me in. I find that actually making a ‘date’ of it makes sure that it happens, rather than it getting put off for a week or two. I find so many things do in this fast paced world we live in.

Secondly, I find that by planning a trip or visit every month means that I have less time left to fit in all the other things that need doing, but that I used to put off. When you start to see your diary filling up with things, you realise that you should ‘really get that car booked in for a service’ this week, otherwise you won’t get a chance until next month and that’s to close to your holiday to risk leaving it. Or you should ‘really ring up your friend for a visit’ otherwise you won’t be able to squeeze in seeing her again until after she’s had her baby or moved home, etc.

It doesn’t matter what your previous excuses were, they don’t cut it anymore when your time is restricted – and you could actually start to enjoy planning things. I found that I stated to plan WAY ahead, looking at 6 months down the line to make sure everything was still going to fit in. It’s fun being busy!!

Thirdly, I have now found time for a long awaited interest – photography. As I’m always off to different places and seeing different landscapes and wildlife – as well as children growing up – I have found myself recording these moments in digital. For the first time since I installed it on my laptop, I am actually using the ‘free’ software it came with – creating cropped landscapes of my snaps to put together slide-shows on blank discs for people. I find myself spotting what would make a great picture and have found out what all the buttons on my camera do that I just used to ignore!

Fourthly – and finally for this Soap Box, although I could go on – it has made me realise that there is more to life than just making money.

All my friends have heard the story: take time out of the get up/work/get home/sleep routine for just one day a month for something new, something different, or just some time on your own where you don’t have to worry about anything! What’s the point of working so hard that you actually miss your life – it just passes right by you at your desk, or till, or wherever you work.

On my rushed lunch breaks, I used to see people sitting there, just chatting away at a table and wondered how that happened – where did they find the time. But of course the time was always there for me to do that, but I was so wrapped up in working that I couldn’t see those times. Now I can.

I used to hear myself say ‘where did that last year go? I never got round to doing so-and-so’, now I hear myself saying ‘has it only been 7 weeks since Christmas! I can’t believe I’ve fitted so much in!’

See my other post for Skiing in the Cairngorms for details of my January 2008 experience, and watch out for my later posts coming up for a vacation in the Caribbean and another to Costa Rica in April, also my flying lesson in May and………..

posted by Travel Cat on Mar 8

North America is such a vast place, with something different in every corner for you to see from huge mountain ranges, vast wildernesses and sprawling cities. And to be honest most of us have been to a few states already, either for fun or for work.

But, have you ever felt the urge to visit every state for no other reason than to tell all your friends that you have?

Well look no further – here are some easy travel tips to help you achieve your rather peculiar ‘dream’.

All in one go? – If you decide to do it as one great trip, you can easily meet your target by using national transport. You may laugh, but you can actually buy a self-renewing ticket on the Greyhound buses that allows you continued travel from the date of it’s first use until the end of the package you brought.

I recently did this for 14 days myself, travelling from Florida, across to Texas, up to Chicago (to visit my Nan), then wound my way back to the Keys! About 20 states in total, although I didn’t get off the bus for most of them to be honest!

Depending on your preferences, you can arrange accommodation for every night, but we just slept on the night buses. We usually freshened up on board, as they have restrooms on the long-haul vehicles (check ahead though), or at the next services. We met some nice people at the bus depots too, but many stations were down-town, so it could be a bit of a walk to the main city centers, especially as you have to carry your own bag around all day.

A similar deal can be had with Amtrak; with the trains being faster than buses and the stations being nearer the action; but not so many run overnight, so you will need more places to stay this way.

Done this Year? – How about setting yourself the target of visiting a few every month, that way you could have them all crammed into the next 12 months!

Check out a map for adjoining state boundaries where you can get to at least 4 without really trying – perfect if a 5th state is only a few hundred miles away too then set off. There’s a whole bunch of states up around New York to hit together, with the west being a bit more spread out.

Or, depending on where you are based, it’s possible to get a plane to the most distant state, then catch a train back to where you started. Check out the best deals either way, and make sure your connecting trains actually connect without having to get accommodation overnight if you don’t have the time (or want to spend the money). For example if you’re starting in Texas; you could catch a plane to Florida on the Friday night, and have zig-zagged your way back thru about 6 or 7 states over the weekend. Same next month, but fly to California – there’s another 5 states done.

Try to travel off peak if possible, this will not only reduce your costs, but will prevent you getting squeezed off a train due to families with giant prams or business travellers with laptops everywhere, making your whole journey much more enjoyable.

Keep on at it through the year and you will be able to tell your friends all about it by Christmas 2008! Maybe even collect a postcard from every state you visit, with the date on the back for each one to prove you did it.

Nice and Slow – Alternatively, you may want to ‘soak up the atmosphere’ of every state and actually travel within each area rather than just flit through them, checking boxes. Obviously, this will take time (aim for 3 to 5 years realistically), but you could have it down to an art if you plan it well.

Best to take short weekend breaks by car or train to neighbouring states, then add in a few mid-week breaks to those further afield. It will be easier to start with those closer states, but make sure you stick to your schedule and make a further trip at least twice a year otherwise you will find these dragging on, possibly never being visited. It goes without saying that if all the states you have left to visit are in far flung corners you will never want to get to any of them in a hurry! You’ll drag your heels and have nothing to boast about to your friends and family!

Make a plan and stick to it. Ideally involve other people in this to keep you motivated – or actually ask other people to come along, cutting the costs and doubling the fun (depending on your friend – my friend snored!). It is also easier to stick to plans when you have made them with someone else, as it’s a bit difficult to talk yourself out of it if someone else is really excited about the whole thing!

Whichever you choose, good luck with it and stay safe if travelling alone.

Feel free to write to me here, on the blog, with your story and you might just get yourself published on one of my Readers Postcards post!

I’ll let you know when I’ve got round them all myself, with a special self-congratulating blog post of course!

posted by Travel Cat on Mar 7

I can’t believe that so much has happened in just the last 4 weeks!  In fact it came so quick that I almost missed this milestone after returning from Cuba yesterday.

We have 11 posts on the site already and plenty more lined up, it’s certainly going to cover hundreds of topics, offering plenty of suggestions and travel tips to both the new and well seasoned travellers at this rate!!

With a trip to Costa Rica in April and more planned over the next 12 months, there will be dozens of destinations for me to cover, and as many ideas and vacation advice for everyone.  I also hope to attach photo’s from my trips to this site to tease you with……

Well, I won’t bore you with non travel-related posts like this one, I’ll just get straight down to business.

Enjoy!

Catherine.

posted by Travel Cat on Mar 3

I knew the minute I started this blog, that one of the first companies that would have it’s praises sung by me would be Discover Adventure – a UK-based active holiday organisation.

They specialise in activity holidays to suit all types from walking through England, to trekking through Patagonia, from a 10 day Mongolian Horse Ride to climbing up to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.

However, these trips are all for charity, and that’s what make them even more worthwhile.

Basically, Charities approach them to organise a trip, and then the Charity advertise the dates and you sign up on them. You get tips on how to get fit, all the essential kit to bring, and ideas to help raise the necessary money; do your sponsored swim, sell cookies at a fete or bathe in baked beans. You hand over the money by a certain date, then all you have to do is meet them at the airport (or the destination hotel by special arrangement).

I’d never heard of Discover Adventure until I got to the hotel, after booking a charity trek through Action Medical Research. They had everything organised from flights, transfers, accommodation, food and drink, guides, local porters and there were even 2 doctors on the trek too, just in case.

From the moment they introduced themselves at the welcome talk, they made me relaxed. There was no need to ask questions or check times or other little details as they covered it all with what they said, offering written information as necessary. But, it was to get even better.

Of course you are all wrapped up in the new culture, the new faces and trying to remember everyone else name to notice the behind the scenes activities, but it was beyond my expectations, by far. Even the practice walk the day before we hit the mountains, they were checking out our fitness and who we made friends with to help organise sleeping and eating arrangements. The walk ended with us being led into a very well prepared picnic area – benches, sun covers, washing facilities and toilets, and a local band! It was only then that we saw the huge food buffet awaiting us over to one side!

It was like this the whole time. We would get up to a fantastic hot and cold breakfast in long tents and pack our bags, then we would just start walking. The porters would pack up the tents and carry these, our bags and all the supplies up ahead. Lunch was waiting when we got there, ready to serve – and 4 courses at that! Something for everyone from veggie burgers, to soup, to desert, with all necessary facilities.

We would then carry on walking through cloud-forests or steep passes with guides pointing out everything of interest, and identifying plants and birds when questioned, only to get to the campsite at the end with all our bags in the right tents and a hot evening meal awaiting us.

You couldn’t have asked for a better service – especially as it was a camping holiday. You don’t tend to expect much on these and it can put a lot of people off such a trip (only 3 nights were in tents). Apart from the braying donkey waking us up on the first morning, and camping on a bit of a slope one night, I didn’t find it too bad, and no-one else had much complaining to do either.

We had a day off after getting back to civilization to visit the local town and see some sights before the final night and the flights back home. Some people had booked to stay on rather than return home, so they had added a few extra nights on to their package from the start. We had a last night celebration meal laid on, with prizes given for different things both serious and silly, and we all drank the night away in a local bar!

The whole trip was recorded by a separate company, so you would see this man moving along the group asking questions or filming people walking over bridges and down steps, etc. As a result you could put in your order for a copy of the DVD and they would post your your own memory of the whole trip, all the people you went with and the places you visited.

I’ve still got mine, and the more times I watch it the more I see and remember. I’m still in contact with the lady I shared my tent with on that trip many years ago, and I know of a few others who went on to do other treks with Discover Adventure. I still have my eye on a few, just waiting for the right opportunity……

Maybe see you on the next one??