Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Apr 22

Gap Years For Grown Ups! Planning: Part 2

Thanks for joining me again for the second part of this article with advice on things to consider when planning your gap vacation.

This time around, we are looking at how to make sure you can afford the trip in the first place - allowing you time to raise funds and organise your accounts!

Your Bills - Obviously, while you are away there will be things you have to pay for - boo!!
Even if you are not leaving a property, there are still running costs to bear in mind - for example, your life insurance, pensions, your car tax, your monthly bank charges and/or credit card payments, magazine subscriptions and membership payments. 

If you have a property, there are many many more including mortgage installments, home insurance, fees for services, maintenance, storage fees, health policies, pet sitters & pet insurance and the list just goes on!

Get your previous 6 months or a years bank statements and start to make a list of everything you have paid.  Find out which ones are annual, which are monthly , which are variable, and most importantly - those you do not actually need anymore!  The number of people that have direct debits or subscriptions that they are not using - but sometimes still paying for!  Filter these out immediately to make your life a lot easier in the future!

Ideally, you would make sure that you can access you bank account, credit cards and memberships online so that you can sort anything out while you are away.  It also saves post being sent to your home when you arn’t there - a sure way of advertising the fact you are not home!

Also, check your last energy and water bills for estimates - and get the correct figures in - you may find you are in credit!  However, finding out that you owe them money isn’t great now - but it would be better than finding out you owe then money just before you are planning to leave!  Ouch - that could eat into your holiday fund!
 
With all the payments left that you will have to pay while you are away - how much are they going to cost you a month?  You need to know this to have enough funds in your account to pay them when they are due.  Find your monthly total and multiply that by the number of months you plan to be away, then add one more (just in case).  How much is it?  How will you find that money before you even pay for your holiday?

Could you put any of those on ‘hold’ while you travel?  Can you defer any payments - or break them into installments without incurring a fee?

Your Income - Will you be receiving any income while you travel?
Some volunteering positions pay a small living allowance, some positions offer a local salary, others pay acceptable wages, and others pay you absolutely nothing!  They usually all offer ‘free’ accommodation and meals in return for your efforts though, so once you have paid their ‘fee’ and your flights (although better positions may cover these for you) - there is nothing else owing.

So, if you have all your bills back home sorted, you can get on with enjoying yourself - any money is a bonus!  However, if you still need funds to get by, then there are plenty of options.

If you need to earn money to send home, then you need to make sure that it will cover everything - but more importantly - how you are going to get it home or into your bank account!  There are many ways to do this, but you need to find out the most cost effective way for the country you are in.  Exchange fees can absorb a lot of your earnings, and exchanging smaller amounts will no doubt cost you more.  And how will you keep you money safe abroad?  Will you need a bank account of some sort or will you get paid into your home account?

If you have all the money you need at home before you leave - are you making the most of it?  Rather than leave all the money in a standard bank account that you can access in your destination - why not put it into a high interest account or some bonds or shares that you can easily access - and transfer online (or have a relative do it for you). 

In the UK, Premium bonds are among one account that can pay out well on a monthly basis, so why leave the bulk in there - earning money - then transfer your required amount across to your active account every month or as needed and make some extra income for yourself!!

And Finally:
Don’t worry if the costs seem very high or very confusing at first.  There are thousands of people just like you who plan these types of vacations every week!  You can find stories all over the Internet and travel magazines about the success stories and the experiences people have.

Don’t fall at the first hurdle - keep at it. 

Plan well and it will all work out perfectly - but I can’t guarantee that the trip will go as planned - but then, that’s half the fun!

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posted by Travel Cat on Apr 16

Gap Years For Grown Ups! Planning: Part 1

It’s not just young people these days that are entitled to take a year off between college and University/Work - it’s all the rage for ‘Grown Ups’ too!!!

No longer is is a year, and no longer is it just a ‘gap’ - times are changing and people are starting to look at life in a whole new way.  Whether you are a 30-year-old receptionist, or a 56-year-old dentist - the world is your oyster!

I know that cliche sounds a bit cheesy, but it really is.  You can just take time off to relax, find a new skill, travel in your own country, travel across new continents, volunteer for any number of tasks in any number of countries for any number of weeks/months or years even. 

You can get a ‘job’ abroad with either your existing skills or you can find new ones.  You can jump up the career ladder by taking advantage of your skills in a growing market or just adding to your CV with your new found adventurous side! 

You can of course, jump off the career ladder and change your 9-5 for something far more flexible and enjoyable - for example travel writing in South America or private English tuition in Japan.

There is, unfortunately, a serious side to the travelling, and this needs to be researched as much as the trip itself, and this quick guide hopes to do just that, covering preparation and decision making basics.

First Things First:
You need to start by deciding why you want to do this as it will affect everything else you plan.

What I mean by this is that if you are deciding to just have some fun on a short trip (less than a month) then you don’t need to pay so much attention to your job or career, your home and family etc - it will be more like planning an exciting holiday!

However, if you are serious in looking to change careers or give up work, then you will be looking for a longer break and/or training.  This is where considerations for your property, car, pets, children, insurance and finances all come into play.

Deciding where you want to travel to is not so much of a worry at this point.  In reality, long-term placements usually try to put you where your skills are needed, not necessarily where you were thinking of heading to.  Of course, you do have a say in your destination - but it is secondary to making the most of your skills and what you can offer the project you select.

Boring Things:
When planning a longer than average trip (a month or more),you need to think about bills, wages, bank accounts, insurance and rent or mortgage payments.  This isn’t fun - but is essential if you are going to enjoy your experience.

These are all just technicalities that you will find you way around to get your trip on the move, so don’t be put off by the whole size of it all.  Each part is just a tiny step - and the rewards are excellent!

Your Job - Are you planning to come back to your original position on your return? 
Companies are starting to see that many people now want longer-than-average time off from their jobs to ‘do something new’ or ‘try something different’.  So they are offering!

It isn’t uncommon these days for you to take sabbatical leave or unpaid leave from your job without losing your place in the firm.  Check your employers take on these and it could make your job a whole lot easier!

If they are a smaller firm or do not offer such luxuries, then you may need to negotiate something.  If you are a key role in the business then they may have to negotiate rather than train up someone else from scratch to take the role - and anyway, what harm will it be to have someone else learn those key skills for their personal development while you are away. 

You can try to make them see that you are coming back and want to bring your news skills back with you for their advantage.  Make yourself worth employing.

If you have no intention of wanting your job back - as the experience of travel for you is more important - make sure you still leave on a good note.  You may be surprised that some firms will willingly accept you back after your travels in a similar or lesser role just because you already know the role and can settle back in. 

It will also give you the opportunity to negotiate new hours as well.  A friend of mine - who after returning from 18 months travel - made a deal with her previous boss to only work 4 days a week instead of the original 5.  She still works the same hours, but has more time to herself.  Her trip made her priorities change and gave her more confidence to ask!

However - sometimes it is out of their hands.  With the recent economic situation, another friend returning from a year of travel found his employers were currently laying off staff - so he is seeking to start up his own business now with his new found passion for all things new!

Planning: Part 2
Join me next time, for further tips on planning that ultimate gap vacation…… 

posted by Travel Cat on Jan 5

Which of these offers the better vacation? Well, in honestly, they are 2 totally different experiences and each has it’s good and bad points.

I have been on both types, and on numerous occasions. However, I would first determine what you want from your holiday before writing off one or the other.

Vacation Package: Pay - Fly - Blue Sky - Soft Sand - Relax.

This is the best form of ‘beach holiday’ you can get. You choose from one of the destinations on offer, pay the price, get to the airport - and that’s your hard work done.

Once you are on the plane - everything else is taken care of. No need to worry about cooking or cleaning - or even getting out of bed, there’s nothing for you to worry about except relaxing, getting a tan, sitting on the beach or swimming in the pool. Your most worrying choice will be what cocktail to try next!

Yes, they have a bad name in the ‘eco’ trade for polluting the world with the flight, funding companies that take all the money away from the local people and basically wasting resources, but they will always be popular with the people who work hard for a living and only get a few weeks holiday a year to themselves.

Some say that the vacation package is going into decline - but I don’t think it’s because they are ecologically unfriendly - I just think that people have changed their work-life balance so that they have different holiday options.

There are now millions of people who work from home and/or for themselves, so they can now choose longer trips. Technology has advanced to allow communication to be made between the boss of a small company and his workforce - freeing him up from being on call 24hrs - he can now organise things from some distance away. People can study or work abroad more freely now, and I don’t blame many for taking advantage of this.

Independent Travel: Research - Discuss Options - More Research - Pay For Flight - Research - Book Some Accommodation - Fly - Relax - Research Next Destination - Long Bus Journey With Screaming Baby - Book More Accommodation - Explore - Research…..

You can see where this is going! When travelling independently, be prepared for lots of research, changing plans, and one off experiences. All of which can make great stories when you get home, but if that was your only 2 weeks off all year, and your car broke down, you were stranded in heavy rain in the same town for nearly all the time you were there and then got bitten by a million insects as they didn’t have a mosquito net at your ‘temporary’ hotel - you won’t be best pleased.

However, independent travel can be great fun. You get to see life outside the resorts, see extraordinary things and can change you itinerary at a moments notice if you want. However, always set your expectations slightly lower than on a package tour. Not every room your book will be perfect - not every journey will be a pleasant one. As long as you remember that, you will still have a great time.

One thing to bear in mind is short notice can mean missing out on something, so to sample the best sights or hotels in your chosen vacation spots, you may need a ticket or hotel reservation. A letter or email in advance to a hotel or reserve/wildlife tour/etc may give you the best chance of a successful booking or visit. and won’t leave you disappointed.

Taking somewhere popular like Cuba for example, you may need to send letters to hotels for travel to the beaches of Varadero with the kids several weeks in advance as this is a popular time for Cuban families to take their vacations too. Also a trip to Havana in September is always popular for people from the UK as this is when all the kids have gone back to school, holidays are cheaper and resorts less crowded.

Travel to some locations may not be possible at all if booked too late, or not always pleasant! Due to this, it is always advisable to find out when tourists from other countries travel to worldwide destinations.

One example is when Cancun gets jam-packed with students on Spring Break. Noone from the UK is going to visit there at the same time unless they are also a student. Not only will the vacation cost more due to the popularity of the resort - but it will be overcrowded with noisy, drunken youths - and if that’s not your scene you could have a very unpleasant few weeks!

Of course, vacation packages can also ‘go wrong’ but you usually have someone to put things right if possible. Travelling by your own steam means that you can’t blame anyone but yourself when things don’t really go to plan. Well, you can try blaming that stray dog for eating your pack lunch on the beach, or that heavy rain for closing the main road - but you won’t get any compensation - just a great story to take away with you.

So, whatever option you choose - I’m sure you will bring back some great memories!

posted by Travel Cat on Oct 19

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Iceland

Everyone is talking about Iceland at the moment, so I thought I’d throw some interesting facts about the country into the mix.

Top 10 Amazing Facts:

1) This country sits on the very active Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the Atlantic Ocean, and is growing around 1cm wider each year as the ocean-bed spreads apart.

2) The people of Iceland can trace their ancestry all the way back to the invading Vikings who colonised the island in around 800bc

3) Every 4-5 years, this country has a significant volcanic explosion. However they are usually under the thick ice sheets, but you could get to see fresh flowing lava.

4) In the peak of summer you can get almost 24 hours of daylight in the very north of the island - (almost) the land of the midnight sun!

5) Due to the atmospheric conditions and the clearness of the skies, if the conditions are right you can see the Northern Lights here. These amazing patterns of red and green ‘lights’ can be seen across the skies throughout the winter months.

6) Icelandic people still use a system of naming their children that means that every member of the same family could have different surnames. Basically, the child get their first name as usual, but their surname is created by their fathers name plus whether they are a ’son’ or ‘dottir’. So if Halldors parents where Eider Gudjohnson and Vigdis Olafson, his full name would be Halldor Eiderson.

7) Because of this naming system, people are listed in the phone book by their first names to make it easier to find them!

8. You can see over 6 types of whale here on boat trips - including the humpback and the blue whale if you are very lucky. You can also spot orca, dolphins and porpoises around the capital in particular. There are also 5 types of seal commonly seen here and there is always the possibility of seeing a walrus!

9) There are no train lines in Iceland, and only one main road which circles the whole country.

10) If its rainy or cold on one side of the island, it will always be sunny and dry on the other!

There are of course many more amazing things about Iceland - but you can find them out for yourself when you get there……

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posted by Travel Cat on May 31

This guide is all about Laguna Miramar and what you can see there. It may seem to be in reverse because I want to tell you all about all the beautiful things that are there, amazing things you can see and do - then tell you the less interesting facts about getting there and accommodation.

So, lets get started with the laguna itself and the wildlife in the surrounding Lancandon Jungle.

Laguna Miramar:
The name of the lake means ‘to sight or to look at the sea’ - basically ’sea-view’ which is what the first people to stumble across it’s shores must have thought - it is huge, and as blue as a tropical ocean!

Laguna Miramar is a remote lake, protected inside the Montes Azules biosphere reserve and is surrounded by miles of hills and valleys and covered in rain-forest canopy - one of the largest areas of rain-forest in the whole of the America’s! Just to get to the lake, you have to walk from the small village of Emilio Zapata through 7 kilometers of this lush jungle, listening to howler monkeys and watching dozens of different butterflies lazily pass you by.

It really is one of the last truly remote corners of Mexico, which is why it has remained so pristine - and believe me, you’ll understand why after you have made the journey there. Oh, it will all be worth it 10 times over, but your will never forget getting there!

Four local tribes owning the lands bordering the lake are part of a co-operative, and have all signed an agreement to preserve the lakes boundaries with no development allowed within 1km of it’s shores - this includes roads so walking is a must. These communities have also agreed that there will be no motor boats on the lake at all - travel across the lake is by canoe only!

The lake itself is 16sq km, a good all year round temperature and as near as you will ever get to pollution-free. It takes 45 minutes to canoe to the main island on the lake, where you will find ruins of a local tribe where they made their last stand against the Spanish. Many other ruins are in the area, including the famous and vast city of Palenque to the north of this reserve and Tonina closer to the lake, but it’s not as big.

The Lancandon Jungle:
This extensive rain-forested region almost touching the Guatemala border, is home to a vast number of species including some very popular ‘big names’ such as jaguar, toucan, tapir, harpy eagle and red macaw. There are also crocodiles around the lake, but apparently they are harmless according to the local guides!

The ‘Selve Lancandona’ (the Lancandon Jungle) is home to:
4300 plant species - including orchids and huge epiphytes
800 butterfly species - including the great Morpho and Glasswings
345 bird species - including toucans and tanagers
114 land mammals - including ocelot and jaguar (reportedly)

It’s best to avoid this whole region between June and October as there is a lot of heavy rain here, turning all the paths and tracks into quagmires. You can still arrange your visit during this time, but there will probably be severe delays and I’m sure it won’t be that pleasant for you overall!

How To Get There: 
You can travel into the jungle and around the lake alone, in personal groups or with a guide, and there are many companies offering 2/4day tours of the area - increasing your chances of seeing everything you want to see as they will be able to show you the best routes and wildlife.

Guided tours range from $120-$330/£60-£165 depending on their length, and many need to be booked before you get there as many include the flight from Ocosingo (the nearest main city) to San Quentin the nearest large town. These and other tours also supply all equipment, food, porters and other park fees as part of the deal.

If you want to travel there independently, you need to be aware that you cannot book accommodation in advance, you have to turn up and ask there. Travel by road is the most popular (and cheapest) route, so be prepared to stand in the back of an open truck for at least 5 hours during the dry season. You do get to stop for breaks on the way!

From Ocosinga, you will drive to San Quentin, passing through at least 1 army checkpoint where you will need all your paperwork handy, there could be more than this.

When You Get There:
When you finally arrive there, you need to walk the short distance to the village of Emilio Zapata where you need to locate the comisario ejidal (the mayor) who will take your payments for entry to the lake ($3), your payment for an overnight stay ($3). To preserve the area and to make the most of your trip, he will expect you to take a guide ($10) and/or hire a canoe ($10).

After this little ceremony, you will then need to walk the remaining 7km to the lake - usually about another hour and a half walk - down a path that can only be described as an adventure in itself! When you arrive on the lake-shore you will be amazed. It is beautiful, making you temporarily forget the journey here (and the fact you have to do the same again to get back to Ocosinga!!!)

What Else Is There:
You can take a ride into a cave on the kayak to see some incredible volcanic rock formations that looked giant drips of melted wax.   You will be overwhelmed (if your lucky) by a noisy cloud of bats inside. A little further around the lake there’s a little rocky island where there are many Mayan wall paintings.  All the other Mayan remains in the area have been excavated, fenced off and sheltered from the elements to preserve them - but not here. These are just sitting there, in the jungle, in their original form.

There are more ruins on another island, but this is ‘owned’ by another community, so you need to get their permission and their guides to visit - but they have untouched ruins of some Mayan temples waiting for you to discover.

The swimming is also some of the best you will find in Central America and the few divers who have sampled Laguna Miramar’s depths can get downright poetic about it in all it’s glory.   And at a thousand feet deep in places, Laguna Miramar sustains enough aquatic life to entertain any hardened diver or brave snorkeller; including turtles, crocs, and a crypto-zoological creature the Indians say resembles a manatee!

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