Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on May 7

What a great way to celebrate travel, than make your own ‘been to’ or ‘want to’ map!

I have a plastic coated roll-away map of the world and I put stickers on to all the places I have visited! Not only does it feel good to see all the dots across the map everytime I open it up – it also makes me want to visit new places for my next vacations so I can see the new dot rather than cover an older dot!

I also have differnt colours to, as I like to see where my close friends have been too – and it opens up new ideas for places for me to visit.

Get Your Map!Obviously, you need to decide on the scale of the map first as this can make a lot of difference in relation to your traveling style.

One major problem with my world map is that all the places I have visited in the UK fit under 4 dots – and Europe just looks like a great big blob as well!

With the tickers on top of each other and countries like Switzerland, Wales and Belgium being so small – once you pop a sticker in place, you can’t see the country anymore!

So if you were driving across the states, inter-railing acorss Europe or catching the Dragoman through Africa – you might want to get a smaller scale map to highlight all the details!

My World Map is great for an overall perspective of everything – as I can see my friend stopped off in Japan, Australia and Chile with some single dots – but having all been to Cancun and the Maldives – it leaves little space for new dots!

photo credit: Caitlinator

Give A Map Away!
And why not give a map of where you are going to a younger relative or whoever is interested when you go away for a longer vacation – like going around the World.

That way, everytime you send them a postcard, letter or email – they can put your dot on the map and follow you around on your trip!

They will know where you are and hopefully get to know a bit about the places you are visiting – and maybe even get them inspired to travel themselves!

Go get those stickers!

posted by Travel Cat on Apr 27

There is nothing more worrying than finding an injured person – and you can’t help!

Would you know what to do if you came across an unconscious person? Or if one of your party suffered a serious injury? What if a colleague started having an asthma attack – what would you do?

If you see someone close by on the ground unconscious, is it best to go and call the emergency services straight away? Don’t know the answer or said ‘yes’ – then you could have just made the situation worse!

Being the outdoor type – and the adventurous person who likes meeting others and taking part in organised activities – why haven’t you taken a first aid course yet? Wouldn’t you like to know what to do?

photo credit: North West Air Ambulance

First Aid At Work:
Most people wait to be told to take one for work or as part of a new job or volunteering opportunity – but why wait until then?

Do you not want to be able to help your friends and family in an emergency? Do you only want to know how to save the lives of other members of staff or complete strangers who pop into your shop for 5 seconds?

Why don’t we take a first aid course because we know it will save lives rather than because someone else has offered to arrange it all or it is free!

Your Choice:
You can take a first aid course when you are still at school these days – so why are you now in your 20′s, 30′s, 40′s or 50′s and have no idea what to do?

And even if you did learn something at school – it might not apply anymore. Medical advances and the success of current techniques can change how we should react to emergency situations – so it is a great idea to take a refresher at least every 6 months to make sure your knowledge is best applied.

Anyone can join a first aid course – but make sure that it is run by an accreddited body like the Red Cross or St Johns Ambulance. They may cost more – but you know that you will be learning the correct techniques rather than someone just running their own course from personal experience.

I mean, tipping the head back for nosebleeds, laying on your back with feet raised for fainting and putting creams on burns are all out of date techniques and are not recommended anymore.

Things are always changing for the better – so make sure that you are up-to-date with your skills – as 1 thing will never change:

Emergency First Aid Saves Lives!

posted by Travel Cat on Mar 17

If you lost your dog while travelling – what would you do?

Being in a new place is so different for your dog too that the thought of them getting lost or being startled enough to run away doesn’t bear thinking about.

But it happens – and it happens a lot.

So, you need to think ahead, and plan for the fact that it could happen – and then things will run a lot more smoothly if it does.

For example, if you don’t have your dog microchipped then it could take a lot longer to get your dog back than if it just had a collar on. But if your contact details for that microchip only had a home contact number on them – and you are only vacation – then you might never hear that your dog has been found!

This also can be transferred over to different animal collection processes in different countries – as some countries don’t work with microchips – they use tattoes. So your perfectly wonderful chip in your dogs neck won’t even be scanned!

And other countries just round up stray dogs and give you 7 days to find them – otherwise they are rehomed – or worse!

photo credit: pheezy

This Is My Dog!
So, the best thing you can do is clearly mark your dog in the first place. Whether this is with a microchip, or with a securely fitted collar and tag – the more the merrier!

Ideally, you wouldn’t let your dog run off in the first place – but of course we get used to relaxing on vacation and this includes letting the dog run free!

So, make sure that you are super attentive to your dog at all times. Not only could there be new smells and noises where you are, your dog may be a little bit unsettled in new surroundings and after travelling some distance too.

So take it slow and it is better to be safe and have your dog on a leash more than you do back home – as once they run off – they don’t know where they are or where they can go, and to be honest, you might not even know where you are either!

It’s Not Just The Dog Who Is Lost!
If you are in a new neighbourhood or out in the middle of the wilderness – then how can you report your dog missing? You don’t know where they went missing from!

And of course – you don’t know where the people are who can help find him – for example where local vets are, whether there are rescue centres close by – or huge roads!

And how can you give your address as the RV in the free car park outside of town!

Reporting your lost dog become a million times harder now as you are in unknown territory yourself – and you might not cover all the options on your own!

However, there are organisations now who specialise in finding lost pets. Not just pets who have been gone ages – but pets that have just this past hour gone missing.

Rather than you calling everyone you can think of to report your dogs details and all your contact numbers etc – these companies can take your information just once and then instantly distribute it to vets and rescue centres by fax or text.

Within minutes of your first call, all the people you would have had to have found yourself in the telephone listings and then called one at a time would already have your dogs information.

The Solution:
Combined with their knowledge and ongoing relationships with these contacts – they will treat their faxes and texts as urgent rather than routine (resuce centres and vets get several calls every day reporting lost pets).

And you could be reunited with your dog within hours of them running off – rather than the days it could take the old-fashioned way.

Of course – the best way to have your dog with you after a lovely vacation is to not give it the chance to run away in the first place!

posted by Travel Cat on Mar 4

Imagine that ‘dream’ yachting adventure you’ve always wanted – then just book it!

You don’t need to wait and see what each yacht can offer and then have to choose between them – you should be able to decide on the things you want your boat to offer and then find your perfect boat!

Whether it’s got to be large enough for 30 guests or small enough for just the family – no worries; whether you need to stay in touch with your business with a large wi-fi office space or you want to get away from it all with plenty of outside space – no worries; whether you want a large crew to supply your needs or if you want a small launch boat available so that you can entertain yourself on land – no worries!

On your hand-picked luxury yacht charter - you’re the boss!

How Do You Find The Perfect Yacht?
You could use a travel agent, ask a friend or trawl the internet looking for that perfect yacht – but I will guarantee that you will hit many dead ends before you do.

They might have the first few things on your list – like availability and enough berths – but then they might not be able to travel to the places you want to see, or they might not have an onboard gym or jacuzzi – so you have to start looking all over again. Or end up settling for something less than you wanted.

So, why not go straight to a website that can do everything for you; only offers the best, and which has the experience to know what you need – and to find it for you.

We are already busy enough these days – without having to waste time checking that everything we expect is included – so why not leave these things to the experts and you know you won’t be able to find fault.

And Fraser Yachts can offer you just this – an expert to find you the boat that suits your exact needs at a time that you want it!

photo credit: emuphoto

The Ultimate Yacht:
Just one look at their website will tell you how much they care about their customers and you can also see examples of their excellent standards with images of the crew and some of the smaller rooms they offer.

They haven’t just shown you a handful of the ‘best bits’ – they have shown you an image of almost every part of their yachts allowing you to get a true picture of all the boats they have to offer.

And they cater for all sizes too – whether you want a compact 26 meter yacht to cruise the South Pacific with a handful of friends or you want a 70 meter mega yacht charter for 30 friends in the Caribbean – it’s all on their website.

With access to a large number of the best boats on the water – your dream vacation could become a reality for you. So all you need to decide is when you want to go – and they will do the rest!

Looking at some of the boats available – this would be so much better than hiring 5 or 6 rooms in a hotel for your family – or conference facilities for that work meeting!

Imagine a week of totally undisturbed bliss in crystal clear waters on your super yacht charter! No interuptions during business, no other ‘tourists’ getting in your way and only having to unpack once – but getting to see as many different destinations as you want.

It puts ordinary vacations to shame!

posted by Travel Cat on Feb 28

If you love going to Festivals – then get to London for 2 weeks this summer!

There are 3 of these beauties still with tickets for sale and a chance for a great summer vacation – in the company of a multitude of music geniuses!

So, have a look at these festivals below and see if you can spare the fortnight needed to soak it all up – or whether you want to add a week either side and make a month of it to see a few more of the great sights in London and the UK!

Arcade Fire: Hyde Park – June 30th.
This 1 day event is something to get you started. There is no need for days of the unwashed in this place just to get close to the music – you can go straight home after and wash off your sweat (and any acquired food and drink stains) with the music still ringing in your ears!

Rather than being multi-tented and filled with event sites galore – it’s just the main band and a few friends singing their hearts out for you (and the other few thousand listeners).

Great for those of you who want to get into the spirit of things without taking a week off work and dragging round a holdall full of your underwear!

photo credit: Johnny Worthington

Bluesfest: London Venues – June 27th – July 3rd.
Rather than find yourself in a muddy field with 60,000 other people – why not try something more intimate.

Bluesfest is just the ticket, with smaller more personal venues on the menu. Great names in Blues and Jazz settle down for a great evening ‘in’ at some well-known and less hectic venues and play almost just for you.

The 100 Club and the Jazz Cafe are just 2 of the venues that will be welcoming some of the best inside during this week of live music – so make sure you find yourself on a comfy chair in at least 1 for a night to remember!

Wireless: Hyde Park – July 1st – 3rd.
After all the people from Arcade Fire have worn out the grass – now it’s time for the hardened festival crew. This 3-day event will mean some real mud, real music and real numbers!

With PULP, the Black-Eyed Peas and the Chemical Brothers taking to the stage – you can’t imagine this event not being great – and you could be there to experience it all first hand.

Fresh from the other events – and having made a few friends along the way – you will want to hang around and see some more of this country – even if it’s just to have a nice bath!

There’s More:
It doesn’t stop there for festivals – but you might need to travel a bit – or stick around a long while……..

T In The Park: Kinross – July 8th -10th – head to Scotland for this tasty looking event as most of the other T events are sold out! This might be your last chance to get in on the action with Foo Fighters, Coldplay and Arctic Monkeys on stages elsewhere……

Rewind: Henley-on-Thames – July 29th – 31st - for your retro ’80′s night-out with Bananarama, Rick Astley and Buck’s Fizz heading up the oldies listings!

End Of The Road: Dorset – September 2nd – 4th – with a ‘clean’ almost family-friendly festival with a limited 5,000 capacity – and showers! All very cosy – and that sounds great…….

Welcome to England!