Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on May 16

Now the Santa Elena region has all the touristy places to visit - apart from the Santa Elena reserve itself. It’s mainly all town and houses although you get to drive past cattle fields on the way to some of the out-of-town adventure areas.

In town there are plenty of hostels and pensions (which means a ‘general boarding house’) with more Internet cafes and tour operator stores than actual shops and restaurants. You can walk to nearly every place in town within 20 minutes or less, with private buses collecting you from your hotel for anything further away than that.

So first, here’s my opinion on what’s worth seeing around town, and what’s not:

The Orchid Garden ($7) - Looks small from the outside but has a whole lot of plants in there! Our guide was fantastic and the gardens are right in town so it’s a nice afternoon filler - make sure your memory card isn’t full here….

Timing was everything here as there are only so many buses going back to the hotels, so we were immediately whisked off for the zip lines as it takes about 2 hours to complete, leaving us plenty of daylight for the 2 hours or more it takes to get round the 3km of trails! Well worth the money, and the more you do there (they have butterfly, hummingbird, insect and reptile sections) the cheaper it gets!

We didn’t try the other zip lines and sky bridges as they are nearly all in the same piece of woodland - and this was the one recommended by our hotel - and they had chosen well for everything else we had done!

El Rodeo Horse Riding ($30 for 2 hours - other rides available) - We did the sunset ride first time - which was fantastic. With the western saddles even the inexperienced can hop on and run through the forest on horseback. The steeds are so well trained and the saddles coming with a safety handle (of sorts) so whatever your level - hop on and away you go! The guide was so good that we say plenty of wildlife too, and we went back a few times more for the fun of it!

Sabines Smiling Horses ($35 for 2 hours - other rides available) - This stables don’t pick up from the hotel and we gave up walking there half way, so sorry - no comment.

Santa Elena Reserve($15 entry) - Bit disappointed really. After all the great places we had been within the smaller private reserves we couldn’t believe it when we arrived here and it was worse than a dodgy camp site. 3 out of the 4 toilets were blocked with human waste, with only an outside sink for hygiene - the ‘restaurant’ was a small kitchen without a menu and flies absolutely everywhere - the hummingbird garden was attracting just wasps - there was no information centre - and to top it off we only saw 1 mammal (a part domesticated collared peccary at reception) and a handful of birds. Very disappointing indeed. We couldn’t even be bothered to wait 2 hours for our bus to return, so we walked the 90 minutes home as it was better than staying there!

Coming next: Shopping in The Mountains

posted by Travel Cat on May 14

Now, you don’t need to worry any more - you have found it. This web-page contains everything you need to know to help you create that perfect reservation letter - and for free.

You don’t need to trawl through hundreds of potential websites looking for those ideal reservation letter samples - getting frustrated by the number of confusing sites out there - as I have found direct links to the best available through the very same searches you were using.

Check out the links below for samples of reservation letters containing everything you want or need to cover in you reservation letter - some even have further advice about all aspects of creating that perfect hotel reservation letter, or any other reservation letter in fact.

To be honest there aren’t many that are easy to use - or are free for that matter, but never-the-less this should help you get there faster. I have also created my own basic sample reservation letter template at the bottom of this post if you want to save time searching which you can just cut and paste out of this post and edit on your PC or laptop.

The Websites:
Many of these websites contain free information and sample letter templates for you to browse through, others lead to sample letter templates if you join the site for a fee. I have brought these all together for you with a little bit of information on each one to narrow things down for you in your search:

The only 2 Free Reservation Letter Samples I could find:

Ask Oxford - fds.oup.com/www.askoxford.com/pdf/letters/reserve.pdf
This service is for the customer, and offers all sorts of sample reservation letter templates as well as plenty of English language advice. It also offers letters in French, German and Spanish if you need them! However, this site offers the templates in pdf format, so unless you have the software to convert these, you would have to copy the words yourself rather than just edit them.

My Expression - www.myexpression.com/ArticlesWriting/ReservationLetters.cfm
If you are the company offering the service then this web-page is very helpful in terms of information for your reservation confirmation letter, and has a reservation sample template at the bottom of the page that you can cut and paste onto your own preferred document for use. It also has samples and information about all sorts of other correspondence and reservations.

Alternatively - There were also several ‘Pay To Use Sites’ containing sample of reservation letters, or which I chose 3 options: single letters, yearly membership and full software package. As you cannot see these letter templates before joining you can not know their quality before payment, so please research this yourself before purchase.

US Legal - www.uslegalforms.com/us/US-0369LR.htm
This company offer a huge array of letter samples and formats for $7.95 each on line or $9.95 each posted out to you. The link above is directly to the hotel reservation sample letter, but click here to be taken to the A to Z list of all their sample letters - www.uslegalforms.com/letters/nonlegal-letters.htm. Obviously this is cheap if you only need that one letter, but not if you are going to require more letter writing templates in the future.

Letter Rep - www.letterrep.com/index.php
This company offer you over 1200+ general letter templates once you join their community (for your 1 year membership they charge $24.99). You can use any template as many times as you want - and if they don’t offer the letter you need - or you want one specifically created - their staff will write one for you. This is a great option if you are starting a new business as you will be able to use their services all through your vital first year, or more for a continued subscription.

Instant Business Letter Kit - www.instantbusinessletterkit.com
This website offers to send you an entire business letter writing kit in just 5 minutes following payment of $32.97. The whole package contains a comprehensive manual as well as letter templates and further advice on letter writing and business tips - great for a small company just starting out. This package is yours permanently to use for ever and ever with all types of letters and correspondence. Perfect for an office or personal companion.

Instant Home Writing Kit - www.instanthomewritingkit.com
This website is similar to the last one, but offers less actual templates, but offers more in the way of support and advice - and it is slightly cheaper at only $27.97. You can also sign up to the news letter to get free tips and letter writing ideas sent to your email throughout the year. This package is complete and yours for ever.

My Simple, but Free Offering:
Feel free to use the following as a sort of template - it’s always worked for me and it’s simple and straight to the point (just edit those details in italics):

To The Hotel You Reserved

RE: Room Reservation for Your Contact Name - First Night’s Date to Last Night’s Date

I am writing to confirm the details of the accommodation I have booked with you over the phone/in person/via email on the Date You Made The Booking.

The dates I had booked with you are as follows: (list them all individually up to 3 nights)

Day of reservation: Date of Reservation
Monday: 23/09/2008

Monday: 23rd of September
Tuesday: 24th of September

OR:

I have booked the following dates with you: 23th - 29th inclusive ( 7 nights)

I understand that the total cost of $100.00 is to be paid in advance/on arrival/on departure by credit card/check/cash (if applicable - as some hotels can be quite fussy about payment type).

I/We look forward to arriving at your hotel (estimate at time if applicable as some smaller hotels prefer to know this) on Your Arrival Day.

Thank you for your time, and if there are any issues regarding this booking, please contact me using the above details.

Kind regards,

(your signature)

Your informal name (for smaller, more personal accommodations)
Your formal name or Company Title (for company bookings and larger establishments)

I hope this has been of use in your search for a template or sample of a reservation letter, and I hope you enjoy your trip - wherever that may be.

.

posted by Travel Cat on May 12

We stayed in the Monteverde/Santa Elena region for 2 weeks which gave us plenty of time to see everything the location had to offer. We met a lot of others who were only giving this place a few days at tops - which was nowhere near enough time to appreciate the point of the rainforests in the first place.

Can you believe it??? 
Although most people can’t spare 2 weeks here, I can’t believe those travellers who tell their friends that they have ‘been to Monteverde’ after arriving in the afternoon and going straight on a night tour, spend the following day on a zip line or hanging bridges outside of the 2 main cloudforest reserves, then visit the wi-fi cafe over the road before catching the bus off somewhere else.

And believe me, this is what the majority of visitors to this region do.

It’s like going to Paris for a ‘vacation’ and visiting EuroDisney the first day, going to a mall on the second then leaving for Rome the following morning - could you really call that ‘I’ve visited Paris’?

Anyway, here is my quick list of the places in the Monteverde part of town that we loved and why:

Sancturio Ecologica ($10) - The best place for all wildlife, with Capuchins everywhere. Slightly dodgy paths in points, but the scenery was amazing. You cannot fail to see mammals here, along with tarantulas, toucans and huge trees!!!

posted by Travel Cat on May 10

Right, you are walking onto the plane now with a steward grinning inanely at you as you step on board. All you will be able to see will be about 100 people fussing around with overhead lockers and blankets - the aisles will be blocked as no-one really wants to sit down - and all you can hear are ‘bing’s where people are already calling over the stewards to help them with something…..

Good Luck……

The plane itself
All planes have the cockpit at the front, the first class section behind that, then the premium section, then economy, so unless you paid extra it’s economy for you!

You are not allowed to walk through the other sections or use their facilities, but there are usually enough in the rear section of the plane for everyone. Some have restrooms downstairs, but most are at the front and the rear of your section. Some airlines supply blankets and pillows at all times, but others you have to ask for these. Only 747’s and the new A380’s have 2 floors, otherwise everyone is sitting in the same tube, with 3 rows of seats and 2 aisles. The airline staff will explain the safety instructions to you before take off, and they are also in print in your seat pockets along with your in-flight magazine and your sick bag!

Nearly all long haul flights have a screen for each seat with a choice of around 5 recent movies, plus some comedy or cartoons. Sometimes these are all shown at once and you just have to choose your channel, some have each channel showing the same film back to back, and other airlines allow you to pick your film and start it whenever you want.

You will also find music channels and games on some flights, as well as the chance to upgrade the package and get newer films or better games. You usually get the headphones for these free or for a small charge, but you can take your own 2 prong headphones if you prefer.

During the flight
In flight meals are not usually the best, but can certainly fill a hole on the longer flights, and they come with free wine or soft drinks, and are followed by free tea or coffee. You can opt to have vegetarian meals or other selections if offered by the airline by asking in advance - usually when booking the holiday itself, or you can opt to not have the meals and save yourself around $34/£17 if you’d rather take your own food. Airlines offer chocolate and crisps etc on board but at bumped up prices, like around $2/£1 for a mini tub of Pringles.

Depending on the airline, they will also offer Tax Free shopping mid-flight, pushing their little carts up the aisles again to get in every-ones way while they are trying to get to the bathroom. The aisles are only about 30cms wide, so it’s a challenge to get from your seat to the restrooms at the best of times. And when you get there, don’t expect too much!!

On night flights, they will switch the main lights off and get everyone to pull down their blinds. You do have personal spot lights you can use and the entertainment will continue, it just means that they will stop trying to sell you things!

If you hit turbulence mid-flight, you normally have to go back to your seat and do up your seat belt. The captain will tell you what if going on and how long it’s expected to last. All the while the seat-belt sign is on you cannot use the toilets either!!

Ready for landing
The staff normally wake you all up around 2 hours before landing to serve you your final meal, and sell a few more drinks if possible! You can normally see places out of the windows now and your captain will usually let you know what they are, but most airlines offer a channel on TV that updates you on your location with a satellite map, time to destination, time left till landing and outside temperature and speed etc.

Now is a good time to ‘freshen up’ as you have probably had a snooze or eaten hot food about 5 hours ago. You will notice women around the cabin who’s styled hair now looks like they have been dragged through a hedge backwards, their mousse has restyled their hair while they were asleep!

Yours could look like that too - so get to the restrooms before everyone else does as they could be in there for some time - as once you start descending, your time is up…..they put the seat-belt sign on. You want to get through customs with a stale mouth too? No - take mints or something to help out.

Once you start descending, you have to stay seated and the entertainment stops. Your ears ‘pop’ at this point and any babies on board start crying! Usually within half an hour you are on the ground, taxi-ing towards the gate, all still seated. Before you ‘dock’ though, everyone else will jump up and start getting their bags ready and block up the aisles.

There is usually a good 10 minutes delay before they open the cabin door and start letting you out, but it takes forever to get out as everyone gets stuck behind some dithering old man who can’t remember which overhead locker he put his stuff in, or some lady who wants to put on her jacket and brush her hair before leaving the plane…….

Arriving
When you finally get off the plane, you need your passport to clear customs, then you need to find your bag. Once you have done these 2 things, you are free to leave the airport and make your way to your hotel.

Think, in 2 weeks time, you get to do it all again………………………

posted by Travel Cat on May 9

Right, you are nearly there. You are through all the security and paperwork checks - now relax, do some shopping and get ready to board the plane…….

Departure lounge
It is in here that you can shop tax free. There are of course limits to the amount of certain items that you can purchase depending on where you are going, but you must also remember the limits of coming home. You may well be able to purchase 5 litres of whisky where you are going, but if you are planning to bring it home and ‘home’ only allows 2 litres tax free, you will have to declare this and pay the difference - i.e. - it won’t be tax free.

You cannot carry open alcohol on planes and there are also total amount limits and carrying rules for nearly everything available in the airport, and these must be considered before going on a spending spree here.

Find out the rules before you go, as some airports allow you to buy things tax free here which they will retain for you until your return. This way you get to buy loads of things tax free here that you don’t then have to carry on holiday with you affecting your baggage weight on return. Some airports also off a small amount of tax free goods after you have cleared customs on the way home.

One essential thing to buy however is at least 1 litre of bottled water for on board, as you need to stay hydrated. Although you can buy all sorts of drinks on board - but you will certainly pay a premium (a litre bottle on a flight I went on was $10/£5). Depending on your personal tastes you should also consider having a book or two, a puzzle book or some magazines to read on-board. Also some headache tablets, sleeping tablets etc, as you cannot buy these on board.

Departure gate
There will be monitors all over the departure lounge detailing all the flights leaving that day in time order (based on original departure time), and yours will be on there as your original flight time approaches and will move towards the number 1 spot.

This equipment will also detail anything about your flight that could affect you or your departure time, so watch these as often as you can as your flight gets closer. It will show if your flight is delayed, usually offering an alternate departure time, and it will also detail what gate you flight will be leaving from as soon as one is allocated.

Once the gate number is shown, most people will start making their way over there - as they can sometimes be a 20 minute walk away - and most larger airports show you the average walking time. There are always toilets on the way to the gates, but there are not always further shops so make sure you have got all your essentials before heading off.

There is always plenty of seating at your gate too, and you will have to wait there until the plane is ready for boarding. They usually call the premier customers on first and sometimes those with children or wheelchairs after. They then load the plane in row order usually in blocks from the back, and you all show your passports and boarding pass here, walk down the tunnel or across the runway to the steps and as you enter the plane, you show your boarding pass again so the stewards can show you where your seat is.

Are you lost?
Don’t worry if you get lost or delayed on your way to the gate as they will usually individually call for ‘missing’ passengers over the tannoy system advising you of all the details you need to find you plane.

If in doubt about anything, you can always ask any member of staff who can call the relevant support team to get you there. Airports also offer little buggies around the airport if you have problems with mobility, just make yourself known after security.

Now for the plane itself….. so see Part 3 for in-flight advice…..