Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Jun 10

Summer is here again - and the sun is shining!

And just about the time of year when you are planning your summer vacations and short weekend trips - and also the time when the kids want to be out in the sunshine but you still have regular chores to do and need to keep them occupied!

So first off we have a short one for the journey to start the trip on the right foot, so Host Bee helps us with her Tip Tuesday - Easy Travel with Kids on Board!. Phew, step 1 complete!

And to add to this - for journeys, airports, bus stations or just while you just need some rest yourself try Wendy’s inspirational ideas for Summer Worksheets. Add to this with this short article - with ideas that could keep the kids quiet for hours - Rachel gives us her idea for a Fun Activity Box.

Mike Vogt steps in next with his twist on 10 Great Mission Trip Ideas, for an adventure that is totally different to anything else you might have planned.

Next up we have 2 stories about holiday adventures already in the making: First up is this little one from Michele Hays: Sundays with Sparky - Sparky’s excellent Strawberry Adventure, followed by Roger Elmore’s ideas for the 10 Best Amusement Park Resorts from his experiences.

And finally, a very helpful article from Sandrine Berges about her journeys with a special little person and how to overcome any difficulties with some forward planning with her experiences of How to get an autistic child onto a plane and out again..

So, I hope you can all use these stories and tips to make you vacation even better - and to make sure that you enjoy your trip as much as the kids!

Send me the photos!

posted by Travel Cat on Jun 5

Easter Island is a must see for anyone with a taste for something unique!

Stranded out in the Pacific Ocean just south of the Tropic of Capricorn - and around 3700km’s west of it’s mainland ‘owners’ Chile - Easter Island: Rapa Nui - sits proudly atop 3 joined volcano cones (all extinct).

This delightful island was home to an amazing but mysterious Polynesian culture who carved and mounted huge statues between 1300 to 1890 years ago according to current research, but have since died out.  Polynesian people have since repopulated the island and still live there today.

Easter Island Facts:
Technically the most remote inhabited island in the world, this tiny land mass is no longer than 25km long and around 12km wide at it’s extremities - perfect for exploring on foot, bike or horse.  The whole island is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The island has moderate weather all year although July and August are the coldest months and January to March the warmest - and hence their busiest season.  Throughout the rest of the year, you could virtually have the place to yourself!

There is only really 1 town on the whole island - and this is where everything is - so if you are planning treks, hikes and overnight camping - you had better take all your supplies with you!  And as there is only 1 town - you can be sure that that is where everyone will be for the islands’ main Tapita Rapa Nui festival through February - so book ahead to be involved in this amazing festival - or make sure you visit at another time if you want a room!

As there is virtually no large scale development here, you will experience a real feeling of community, with everyone knowing everyone else and family run businesses on every corner.  Great for getting things done out there - just ask your landlady and she will know someone who can help!

The Easter Island Statues:
These huge rock structures are the main draw of Easter Island - and when you come face to face with them you will see why.  Hand-carved and dragged across the island these massive monuments are made of solid lumps of volcanic ash and can weigh as much as 82 tonnes!

Often referred to as the ‘Easter Island Heads’, these hand-carved monuments are mostly whole bodies and torsos - very few are ‘just heads’ and some of the ‘just heads you might see are actually buried whole statues - just swallowed up by the soil moving down hill over the centuries!

The statues are called Moai, and they can be found all over the island in groups or alone, facing the sea or facing inland, with or without brightly painted eyes and clothes.  But never-the-less majestic!

Some are not even complete - they are still laying on the ground half-carved beside the very rock face they were chipped from all those years ago.  It does however give us a valuable insight into their construction.

There are 887 Moai on the island or in museums - all completely unique faces and body size - so a few days on the island will allow you to find and admire several hundred of them - and many of them are found in groups on top of platforms called Ahu and are very symbolic to the local people (so please don’t walk on them!).

What Else Is On The Island?
Well, as with any ancient culture, there are traces of the past and here that involves much stone work including caves and a variety of petrographs - images etched into the surface of important stones.

There are many other stone structures and with possible astronomical significance (although not widely accepted as such) as well as wall, graves and other archaeology.

There is hardly any wildlife mind you - with no large or even small native mammals.  Infact nearly all the animals on the island have been brought in by local people either for farming or a stowaways on boats! 

And due to the nature of the islands history (very turbulent and very tree chopping) there are no remaining endemic trees or other large vegetation - most of the trees currently on the island were only recently planted.  It is a very barren place - with no permanent streams or rivers either!

There is plenty of open space though - and some amazing and isolated sandy beaches to enjoy - with some great surf too!  But is island life for you? 

Well - you should go there for a week or 2 and find out!

posted by Travel Cat on Feb 4

Regardless of whether you have breakdown recovery - you need to check your own car!

Yes, they will come and help you out of a sticky spot if you break down or get a flat tire, but they can’t help you see that car behind you, or make your seat-belt save your life in an accident!

This means that there are certain things that you should check yourself before heading off on your vacation in your car, van, or RV.

Obviously, making sure that you have enough ’spares’ can go a long way to keeping you on the road as well - so a set of spare bulbs, a roadworthy spare tire and the jack to help change it, a warning triangle, spare gas, spare oil and water all in suitable containers and blankets and waterproof clothes just in case!

But the list below is for those little things that only take a second to check for yourself, giving you time to put them right before heading off:

Tires:
Make sure that they all have a decent depth of tread on all used and spare tires and that they are fully inflated to the recommended pressure.

Lights:
Check that they are all working as they should when it’s not sunny - whether this means getting a friend to stand outside and watch them all be checked, or reversing up to a window in the evening and checking them yourself: front and back!

Windscreen:
Any cracks or chips in the front windscreen should be treated by an expert to make srue that they stay the same size!  Untreated cracks and chips can easily spread at any time into something that makes seeing out of the front window impossible and/or dangerous.

Getting a chip fixed is usually free with your insurance - but a new windscreen isn’t!

Your window-washing liquid and wipers should be checked too as they can make driving impossible under some conditions.  My windscreen got totally covered in road grit during a cold spell, and it didn’t seen a problem until I turned a corner into bright sunshine - I couldn’t see a thing - not a thing: then I found out that my windscreen water was empty and I literally had to put on my hazard lights and stop there and then, right in the middle of the road!

Seat Belts:
Make sure that all your seat-belts work properly even if you are not intending to use them, as you never know when you will need them - and you could be very far from a garage!  And of course, seat-belts are a way of saving lives - so your friends and family will be a lot safer with them working correctly.

Doors & Windows:
For your own safety and comfort, you should make sure that all doors and windows work correctly as you never know when you need to get out of the car quickly and when you might need to open your windows.

Both have happened to me, as my drivers door was being fixed over a period of a few days as the electric windows had stopped working.  Then I pulled up at a busy motorway toll booth!  I had to get out of the car using the passenger door (!) and walk all the way around front of the car to pay the cashier, then walk all the way back around with more than 5 cars I could see watching me!

I will certainly make sure that never happens again!

posted by Travel Cat on Dec 21

It’s the gateway to Europe from the UK - and it has got everything you need for your vacation!

Whether the UK is the start of your journey, a hop along the way or your final destination - you need not worry about anything.  Ashford International in Kent is a hub of efficiency and international arrivals and departures - linking major European cities together by train or plane.

Getting to see the country you live in by rail is totally different to any other means of travel - giving you a glimpse of behind the scenes in cities, to large mansions or tiny villages along the way.  Especially if this is your last view of the UK for a long while!

Want To Leave The UK?
Leaving the UK to start your vacation couldn’t be easier.  First option would be to catch a train from your home town into St Pancras in London, which will then set you on the high speed train to Ebbsfleet, then on to Ashford Railway Station which takes you under the Channel Tunnel and into France.

Secondly, you could take a ride on any national coaches from wherever you are (including if you have just arrived at a major UK airport like Heathrow or Gatwick) and down to Kent.

Thirdly is the option of driving your own vehicle.  Ashford has over 2000 car parking spaces for your use - and it also has one of the largest shopping centers in Europe right on it’s doorstep - giving you a good reason to get there early!

And finally, you can fly to Ashford International Station from a regional airport!  There are also international flights available from here too - if you change your mind about the train! 

Planning That Journey:
Get yourself onto their informative website to see their departure times, prices, seating, connections, packages and hospitality!  They are not short on options!

It’s not just for departures either, Ashford can link you up on your way back from Europe adding that final country onto your ‘check’ list before heading home!

The more flexible you are with your travel dates will get you a better price, and if you can guarantee travel that day - you get huge savings.  Flexible tickets can be more than double the cost of choosing an exact train!

But, whatever suits your needs - this place has the solutions!

posted by Travel Cat on Dec 18

It seems as though we are the cause of the Earths demise if we fly off for 2 weeks in the sun these days!

I can read about all the evidence for global warming and the CO2 that causes it, and I know that flying is supposed to be one of the main ways that CO2 is leaking into the atmosphere, but should we stop flying because of it?

It seemed ‘ok’ a few years ago to buy carbon credits in exchange for your flight to ‘equal out’ the effect of pollution on the atmosphere and everyone was talking about it - but now it seems that that isn’t good enough anymore - it’s just a way to pay to pollute.

So, what can we do?

Stay At Home:
First choice is to stay at home for your vacation - a stay-cation, apparently.  You can find plenty of ways to enjoy time off work near to where you live - for example, camping.

Plenty of people are taking up this option with the rise in living costs and world’s current financial situation, and they are really enjoying it.  Local places are also seeing the benefits of these types of vacation.

Your local woods, parks, centres and communities are getting money and support from your visits which is helping to improve your own back yard, rather than just line the pockets of the big tour operators.

Take Less Vacations:
Why do you need to fly long-haul several times a year?  Why not have one sun-drenched vacation across the globe, but take your other breaks closer to home - visiting family for example.

Or, make that vacation longer, so it’s still only the one flight, but it’s for 3 or 4 weeks - or even 6 months in the case of a gap year!

It would be much better to spend the equivalent of your next 10 vacations in the same place than to fly back and forth every 6 months or so - and you will get so much more from the experience!

Travel Differently:
We can still visit far flung destinations if we choose to travel by boat, train, bus or on foot!  If we plan a route to where we want to go by means other than flying, we are reducing the amount of carbon we chug out into the air.

We can still visit a variety of great destinations, just with less of an impact on the environment.  I know catching a train to South America or to the other side of Europe will still throw out CO2, but it will be less per person than flying.

However, no matter how much you want to, this won’t always be possible for shorter breaks as buses and trains take a lot longer to get to some places than flying.  It isn’t always suitable.

Or:
Worry about reducing your impact in some other way and carry on flying on your vacations!

There are plenty of other things that you do that are (apparently) responsible for climate change, like buying excessive consumer goods, using products that cause deforestation, dropping litter, using coal, driving your car to work alone rather than sharing, voting for non-green political parties, eat too much foreign meat, use wildlife products, and many many more.

Make your choices, and stick to them!