Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Aug 10

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!

posted by Travel Cat on Aug 5

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!

posted by Travel Cat on Aug 1

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!