Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Jun 20

Ultimate Accessories - Girls Travel Club

Recently, a new company caught my attention as they offer something special for all those female travellers who want to travel - but with style.

Why should ladies have to settle for everything ‘practical’ in either a dull green or a navy blue? Why not have feminine, stylish products and useful but attractive accessories, that are both practical and environmentally friendly?

I Want That!!
The founder of Girls Travel Club, Becci Coombes-Burr thought just this - having extensively traveled the globe and used all sorts of outdoor and travel related products - for better or worse. She decided that we shouldn’t have to settle for boring, environmentally damaging products that didn’t always work as planned.

So she managed to find all her essential travel-related products that were all eco-friendly and chemical-free, and were perfect for travelling light and designed for style, then created her on-line store offering these products to everyone. She didn’t stop there either - in those instances where there was no suitable product available - she had her own one made!

I contacted Becci, and asked her a few questions about her site and her motivation:

Q: What inspired you to create your own products?
A: Well, I’ve been backpacking all over the place, and being a girl weight can be a real issue when packing your rucksack, so I tried to cut down on unnecessary kit as much as possible.

When I set up my own business one of the first things I looked for were products that were multi-tasking, (like an all-in-one shower gel/shampoo/shave gel), and when I couldn’t find them I decided to have them made specially. They’re also biodegradable, packed full of lovely oils and no nasty chemicals.

Q: If you could recommend 5 essential travel remedies for any holiday from your range, what would they be?
A: Ooh. Tricky one. The luxury eye-mask, definitely, then you can sleep practically anywhere at any time of day, and beat the jet-lag or that dreadful airplane lighting! Ours are shaped so they are incredibly comfortable and won’t smudge your eye makeup!

Lavender oil is amazing and I don’t go anywhere without it. Use it on bites and stings and sunburn; a few drops in the bath and on the pillow will help you sleep and get over jet-lag. Get a friend to mix a few drops in some vegetable oil and massage your aching rucksacky shoulders, while it is also an antiseptic and great on cuts and grazes.

A good quality kikoy or sarong is a real boon as well. If you get a good quality one (ours are fair-trade Kenyan cotton ones) it will last you for years, and has SO many uses; picnic cloth, table cloth, baby carrier, sunshade, towel, pashmina…..

I also find good quality earplugs really helpful if you are on a plane or sleeping in a noisy hostel. Ours are specially attenuated and designed to cut out all kinds of background noise, and they come in a very cute little zip up pouch (basically I am drawn to anything that comes in a cute little pouch or drawstring bag…)

Lastly I never go anywhere without a good travel journal and a Pritt stick, because invariably although you try and keep all those tickets and leaflets and postcards and bits and pieces safe for your scrapbook, you’ll have lost most of them before you get home! 

Q: What 1 piece of travel advice do you think is most important for female travellers?
A: Act with confidence and a smile. (And pretend you know what you’re doing and where you’re going even if you don’t!). I never got into any trouble in all the time I was travelling, mostly by sailing through everywhere with a mindless grin and a purposeful stride,  whereas other girls who seemed more nervous attracted all sorts of hooha. 

Q:  How did you become involved with funding schools in Guatemala?
A: After returning from travelling round south-east Asia I decided to sponsor a child in the Philippines, and it is through the same charity that I heard about the schools project.

Over To You:
If you want to make travelling easier and more stylish for yourself - take a look at www.girlstravelclub.co.uk right now, and see which products you like the look of for your own travel kit - take some advice from the many pages offered and have a look at the courses on offer while you are there too.

You’ll find that ‘going green’ and helping preserve the environment and the people you are going to visit really is quite simple when you know where to look……

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posted by Travel Cat on May 26

Welcome to my Simple Rucksack Guide. 

This start-up guide to rucksacks will cover the different types (or sizes) or rucksacks that you will find in outdoor or camping stores and it should allow you to get an idea of what size of bag you should buy depending on your needs.

Before we start though, just a note to explain that ‘litres’ is the term used to describe the volume of storage space within the bag when fully expanded. You will see all rucksacks have their size quoted in litres which is useful as a general guide, although nothing beats actually looking inside the bag for yourself.

Some brands may not have just one large internal space, but will have several compartments accessed in different ways, therefore reducing the overall size of you main compartment. So if you need to carry a laptop or larger item with you, make sure you check this before purchase.

Daysack - up to 35 litres:
These size bags are for day use only as a rule, as they only have a small amount of space within them. You should easily be able to fit food and drink into one of these, along with some essentials like notepads and waterproofs; with mobile phones, sunglasses and wallets in the side pockets. It is unlikely you will get a solid item of A4 size into one of these, but you may get lucky.

Cost: up to $90/£45

Hiking Pack - 35-50 litres:
These are usually for more serious walkers, either in towns or countryside and may well have extra straps for inserting overnight equipment or bladder packs. They are comfortably more than A4 size inside and can hold items such as laptops and cool bags for towns, or a day or twos’ clothes, sleeping bag and tent for the more serious!

As they are for the more adventurous, you may get the choice of your preferred ‘back system’ to reduce sweating (see below for further details). It may also have a chest strap for support when carrying and some can be found with the waist or hip belt if you prefer.

Cost: up to $200/£100

Rucksack - 50-70 litres:
This size bag is good enough for all adventures where you must carry enough belongings for several days in the field! It usually weighs about 20-30kgs when loaded for such trips, and has many compartments and attachments for camping essentials, like sleeping bags in the top flap, and ground mats secured to the bottom. Nearly all will come with a waist or hip belt for ease of carrying which you will no doubt use when walking, along with the essential and adjustable chest strap.

Make sure that a large bag like this fits you correctly when full before purchasing, otherwise you will not have fun on your walks and you may well end up not using the straps correctly, damaging no only the bag, but yourself if using it for long periods of time.

Cost: up to $240/£120

Travel Pack - 70-90 litres:
These are the largest backpacks available, so are designed with comfort in mind. You will not doubt only buy one of these if you are planning some longer journeys! They are very large and bulky when fitted and will hang way below your waist strap or up above your shoulders, so make sure you try these for size before investing to see if you can manage them.

They have all the normal attachments, pockets and extra compartments, but all are adapted for a travellers needs rather than just for show. The shape of the pack will also have considered the distribution of weight when full to ease the pressure on any one area of your shoulders or waist, and will have a suitable ‘back system’.

These larger packs usually have adjustable back systems where you can extend or contract them for your needs, therefore making the one size fits all mentality.

Many travel packs come with a zip-on day sack included so you don’t need to pack your own smaller day sack inside. Many travel packs also have fold-away straps as standard, this way they won’t get all caught up when storing the travel pack or putting it through as hold luggage. This also makes for easier transportation short term as you can carry it like a hold-all instead but without dragging miles of straps behind you!

Cost: up to $380/£190

Types of Back System:
Rucksack manufacturers are starting to develop better ways to shape and fit rucksacks on actual people, rather than just design styles with the right number of pockets or straps etc - and one of these improvements is with the ‘back system’.

Basically, many people who carry a bag on their back for any length of time whilst walking will generate sweat on their backs where the rucksack itself prevents the hot air from the body escaping, so there are now different styles of ‘back’ to prevent this if you need to.

The part of the rucksack that contacts your back should be padded for your needs - and there are now backpacks specially designed for women to take this into account. Smaller or larger people may find that the padding of some packs is not suited to their shape, so will need to try many types until they are satisfied.

There are 2 main types of back systems depending on your needs, one is the ‘channelled back’ which has grooves in the padding itself but retains it’s original shape, the other is the ‘airflow’ system where the rucksack is curved away from the back entirely and there is no padding at all. These mean that there is no contact at all between the back and the pack - however this does create a rather odd shaped internal compartment.

In Part 2 of your Ultimate Guide to Rucksacks, I will explain how to fit your rucksack and some packing tips.

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posted by Travel Cat on Apr 6

If you have never brought binoculars, but are interested in getting started, then this is the guide for you.

It covers the 4 basic factors that you need to take into account above all else, while selecting your first pair of binoculars. Checking for these will make sure that you have the right binoculars for your interests and for the results you wish to achieve. I mean do you want a general pair for basic identification while on country walks, or do you need a pair that can identify different breaching whales 2 miles away while you are hanging off the side of a boat?

However, until you actually start using binoculars, you won’t know what the most important features are to you, so you really shouldn’t spend a fortune on your first pair, I mean you don’t need the worlds best binoculars to check out grey squirrels in your local park. So, as a starting point for you, this guide only covers the details of a basic pair of binoculars, costing around $100-$200/£50-£100. Once you know what you like and what you need, then get more specific with your next pair.

Right, here they are:

Specification - This is the factor that determines how well you can see something and from what distance it will be clear too. It is expressed with all binoculars using 2 numbers, for example: 10 x 32

Magnification is the first number (10 in this example) and the higher this is the closer the animal will appear when viewed through them. Numbers normally range from 6 to 12 for this. Higher numbers do not necessarily result in a clearer picture though, so don’t be put off by lower magnification.

The second number (32 here) represents the size of the larger lens (the objective lens) and the larger this is the more light enters the binoculars, and the brighter your picture.

The ‘exit pupil’ is a commonly quoted phrase to represent the brightness of the image, where the higher the number the brighter the image. You can calculate the exit pupil by dividing the first figure (10) into the second (32) = 3.2mm in this case.

Close focus is just as important as distance to some people, so make sure you look at this factor if you intend to watch smaller creatures such as insects!

Optical Quality - This is how true to life the magnified image is through the lenses. There can be a great deal of difference between manufacturers and models, so depending on your needs (or desires) this should be investigated prior to purchase. Cheaper models are more likely to offer poorer quality and sharpness of image because of course, you are paying less for them - say that however, the images will all appear better than the naked eye if the object is some distance away, so beginners are not normally so affected by the optical quality.

Focusing - This is governed by a twisting mechanism near the eye cups, which basically moves the lenses closer together or further apart to help focus on things at different distances from you. It needs to be easy to use and in a position you can easily access and adjust with your finger tips without looking up at it (otherwise you will lose the exact location of the animal or plant in doing so). Make sure that it doesn’t move too easily when you change your position, but also that it doesn’t get stiff at each extremity.

Handling and Weight - Most importantly, how well can you use them? Are they bulky or very lightweight? Depending on where you want to use them or whether another aspect is more important this is usually where you can get fussy. If you want to carry them around a lot, then they are best under 700g, but if you want brighter images then you may need to go for heavier, more bulky models, to house the larger objective lenses. Can you hold and adjust the focus with one hand if you need to? Or do you only use them in a specific location and quality of image is more important? Test a few in the store and try out different actions.

Make sure you actually try out binoculars in a store before buying your first pair, otherwise you won’t know what the choices are and how different they can be - a photo on the Internet or in a catalogue can’t do them justice. There are just so many to choose from.

Final tip - The duller the casing the less likely you are to scare off the very things you are watching - so you won’t find shocking pink professional binoculars!

Reader Comment: One of my readers just recommended the following supplier of binoculars incase it’s of any interest - click here.

posted by Travel Cat on Apr 4

We all know that everyone buys smart looking carry on luggage and print patterns aren’t usually the most popular, but aren’t you forgetting something important here?

Everyone else has plain dark luggage too!

If you have ever gotten off a charter flight, packed full of tourists, and had to wait for your bag with 200 other people, you will certainly start to regret having that plain color suitcase.

I myself have a mango yellow suitcase, with a few discreet stickers on as well - just in-case anyone else out there was as bold as I was (and there have been a couple).

So unlike you - I never have to investigate little signs on every dark piece of luggage that trundles round the conveyor belt in-case it’s mine. I can see my beautiful suitcase a mile away, and have very little worries about finding my bag among a plane-load of other luggage.

Now you’re all thinking that the Hawaiian Luggage Floral Print suitcase set isn’t such a bad idea after all!

Don’t worry though if you have already got your plain cases - there are still some things you can do with them to make yours stand out. Examples include tying a brightly colored strip or material (like a shoelace) around the handle of your luggage, or investing in purple combination luggage straps to make your stand out (but make sure your luggage straps run through the handle and any other loops so that they don’t fall or get pulled off in transit).

Use bright stickers, or large more plain stickers on your solid cases so that whichever side up they get thrown out onto the conveyor, you can still tell which is yours from some distance. There’s nothing more annoying than seeing someone else nearer your case having a closer look at it in-case it’s theirs. Now with yours looking so different, hopefully they won’t prod it about or take yours home by accident!

Tapestry travelware luggage, crocodile pattern luggage and polkadot luggage sets are rarely seen and neither is a retro luggage set that is bright pink!!! Look at all these as potential niches for you to exploit - as long as you don’t mind everyone seeing you carry it around the airport of course…….

I know this article is only a bit of fun, but it really is something to consider before purchasing some expensive luggage for you or your family.

Other more serious things to consider about luggage include:

Weight of Hold Luggage: Maximum weight for individual hold luggage is 32kg per item. Most airlines will allow a certain weight for each person - usually 20kg - but that can be combined within your group, so for example 2 people can travel with a case each; one weighing 25kg, the other weighing 15kg or less. Many airlines will charge you per kg for overweight luggage and let you take it on-board, but ALL will refuse to take any one piece over 32kg. Therefore, do not buy a huge piece of luggage for airline use unless you can guarantee it will not be over this limit when you fly - if in doubt weigh it as you pack it.

Carry On Luggage: There are restrictions on the weight of this too and it is usually around 5kg in weight. Most airlines are ok with any style of bag, as long as it is not ridiculous in shape or size. Some countries are stricter than others and will actually weigh hand luggage before you leave the check-in desk, charging you for any excess.

There are also many restrictions about what you can HAVE in your carry on luggage and printing out the requirements for your AIRPORT (not airline) is advised so you can pack according to the ‘rules’, and put anything your are not allowed to carry on board in your hold luggage.

If you lie about what’s in your hand luggage at the check-in desk - they won’t know; but once you get to security - they will! And now you don’t have your hold luggage with you, so anything they find that is not allowed on the plane will be taken from you - without exception. You will lose it!

Internal Flights: Something I only recently came across myself was that internal flights in some countries may have a different weigh allowance per person than international flights, so say for example that you fly to Guyana in South America on an airline with a 20kg allowance per person - No problem? But what are you going to do if you want to travel on an internal flight there as you are only allowed 10kg per person! Where will you put your spare clothes and accessories?

Check all regulations on luggage for your whole journey before travelling to make sure you don’t have to throw your belongings away, or pay excessive charges for transporting it home.

Remember Hawaiian luggage - floral print……….