Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Sep 10

It has started raining here in the UK – so it must be the end of Summer!

We still have some great articles though – as it’s still warm and sunny almost everywhere else in the world I suppose!

Lets open up with a nice one that is great at any time of year – but especially when you don’t really want to go outside: so take a peak at Erin Lenderts 50+ Beautiful & Inspiring Books that Teachers Should Read This Summer to kick off!

If you still have the summer parties or birthdays/Halloween to consider, then maybe take some advice from Debra Jacobson who has strung together some great tips on How To Be Frugal: Saving on Child Entertainment.  And if saving money is your thing, then you may also find MoneyedUp’s article on Things to do on Vacation for Cheap if you have a trip already booked.

Then there are these 4 great articles about real trips that you have been on with your kids – as always with some great shots along the way! 

First up is Pamela with her interesting take on a trip to a Disney theme park with California Adventure, followed by Charla Pearen’s article with a ‘more pictures than words’ theme in High Park Home Daycare: Taking a Toddler to Paris.

And then One Family offers a short story on a day out hiking at a tourist spot in One Family’s Blog: Hiking in Oahu – A Trip Report and ending with a regular poster here with a though provoking article on overseas ‘petting’ zoo’s: A Tiger Petting Zoo « Travels with a Nine Year Old from Theodora.

See you in October!

posted by Travel Cat on Sep 4

Do you know all the local attractions right on your own doorstep?

The more time I spend in my local area, the more things I realise that I have never visited.  Yeah, I know all the ‘big’ things close by – but what about all those little places that will be just as good for a day out – but places that I always overlook.

The types of things I mean are the secluded parks in the city, the small ‘specialist’ museums that are really just a modified house or old church hall, old buildings that have been converted into coffee shops or tea rooms or an open garden just around the corner from yours!

To find out about these things you need to either take time to explore places on foot – walking down the smaller streets, alleyways and footpaths; or reading local newspapers and leaflets down the Tourist Information – which can hold a wealth of information that you can’t really get to know by just watching TV or listening to the radio.

Not all these places can advertise large scale as they are usually run by a single person or even volunteers – not the right profile for TV advertising!

Get Local:
So, make sure you seek these things out if you can, by scanning the local papers and any leaflets that fall through the door.

We all know you don’t have to travel for miles to have a great day out – so why not make an effort to search out the local beauty spots and attractions. 

Everyone dreams of jetting off to some great destination for a week or 2 to relax – but why wait until you can take the time off work?

Why not just take a series of ‘day’ vacations – 1 day to the countryside village for a picnic, 1 day for shopping in the city, another for a trip to the zoo – there are a whole host of things you can do to make your life a breeze.

Rather than wishing away your life waiting for the next long vacation – why not have a great day out every week?  If these places are only a short drive away, you can enjoy every spare day you have without endless planning, packing and time off work!

You don’t need to find a dog sitter, or cancel the milk to have a great day out on the beach!  You don’t even need to set the timer on the lights or inform your credit card if you take a long weekend in the mountains.

It’s all close to home – and it can be every week!

Think about it for your next day off!

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 Jul 22

Welcome back, and I hope the first 5 beautiful spots tempted you enough to come back for this second part!

So, let’s get straight back into it, and get going on the final 5 – hope you like them…..

6) The Great Rift Valley – East Africa
Needless to say, this huge region is filled with wildlife and absolutely beautiful landscapes!

Surrounded by huge lakes, miles of mountains and plateaus and crammed full of greenery – you will certainly need you camera working on overtime! It contains some of the highest mountains in Africa as well as active and dormant volcanoes and some of the largest lakes in the world!

Witness where man first stepped out into the world and where this massive continent is actually splitting in 2 creating a new ocean!

7) Serengeti/Masai Mara National Park – Tanzania/Kenya
This is one of the largest and most visited National Parks in Africa due to it’s endless landscapes filled with huge game and indigenous tribes.

Famous for its unbelievable migration of around 1.5 million wildebeest and 200,000 zebra every year! As a result it has the largest population of lions of any national park and has the other 4 from the notorious ‘Big Five’.

Be prepared for some endless views of the savanna and the bumpiest car rise you have ever been on!  Alternatively, why not hire a hot air balloon for a champagne ride across the sky and get a panoramic view of this unforgiving landscape.

8.) The Great Dunes – Namibia
Down the southern edge of the continent and bordering the cold southern Atlantic Ocean – this region is one of the driest areas in the region. After years and years of little rain – the dunes have grown and grown into some of the largest dunes in the world!

Although you might think that makes for a bland landscape – you would be wrong. The canyons formed here and the huge wetlands along the coast add to the sheer beauty of the harshness fund here. Spotting a single antelope on an almost endless dune several kilometers in length is something to be admired.

9) Underneath The Red Sea – Egypt

Take yourself to another world underneath the crystal clear waters of the Red Sea Riviera! 

Filled to the brim with tropical and colourful fish, huge shallow-water reefs and marine mammals.  Whether you stay close to the shore or snorkel from the beaches of Sharm el-Sheikh or Hurghada – or you charter a boat out into deeper water and spend the day in this underwater world!

10) Marrakech – Morocco
If you love bright colours, the hustle and bustle of lively markets and a whole host of adobe buildings and materials painted in the brightest of hues – them this is the place for you.

This vibrant city – close to the entrance to the Mediterranean – is a hagglers heaven! With different cultures plying different trades on every corner, and different kitchens offering an endless array of foods and cooked meals – plus the influence of different religions on the architecture: this offers a whole different kind a beauty from the natural landscape surrounding it.

Send in your pictures!