Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Jun 22

This fantastic destination is one of the most popular wedding spots in the States!

With the draw of all those bright lights – it is hard to think that you’re not missing out on some great adventure if you don’t go there!

It is in movies, songs and holiday brochures everywhere – so who can blame you for wanting to be one of the 40 million people who visit Las Vegas every year!

And seemingly – the very fact that it is crammed top to toe with people and runs on 24 hours a day is one of the reasons for that draw.

Why Are They All Here?
People from all over the World travel to Las Vegas day after day – and stay for sometimes just the 1 night!

The culture of the place can be felt in the air as you stroll around the place of an evening – themed restaurants, bars, hotels, wedding chapels and much more. Something from every continent is calling out to you to be tried or tasted.

The Hotels are so big and the choices for food and drink are so extensive that you can see a little bit of the whole World on every street. And it feels great!

photo credit: Stratosphere Hotel & Casino

I only stayed there for 3 nights for a friends wedding and we just ran out of time to see everything. Well, it was hard to rush around trying to check off all the things in the guide book AND trying to enjoy yourself too!

Taking the whole day to go visit the Grand Canyon was great – but it meant 1 day less in this frantic yet almost soothing city. I felt asthough I could just wander around for ever amongst the ornate buildings, shopping centres and streets.

It seemed never-ending – and I didn’t mind ending up back at the same place twice. It was all so enthralling.

Why Aren’t You There?
I can’t believe anyone wouldn’t want to visit Las Vegas at some point anyway – just to see what all the fuss is about.

They must be the same people who say that they ‘would get bored in the Maldives’.

Instead of thinking of a destination in terms of what you presume it must be like from the pictures – you just need to try it out: get online and search for Las Vegas Letsgo2.com and take a look at the inside of some of the properties and hotels. The ambiance may well change the way you think about the place.

I mean if 40 million people think that it is THE destination to visit – then why can’t you believe them? That’s like the whole population of Canada, Jamaica and Costa Rica combined recommending the place!

Imagine the thrill and excitement of getting married in the first place – and then triple that with the thrill and excitment of the Entertainment Capital of the World – and you have got one of the best combinations for your wedding you could have possibly have!

And what guests are going to turn down an invite to THAT wedding?

posted by Travel Cat on Dec 16

You don’t need to wander into town in the cold; dodging prams and charity collection cans!

Find your exciting New York City breaks online in the comfort of your own home – with a nice warm drink to hand!  They may have forecast snow for the next few weeks here - but you could avoid all that – and do some great festive shopping of your own!

Whether you go before the ‘big day’ or in the new year – you can’t beat New York for the city of shopping!  Imagine how jealous your friends will be when you tell them that you won’t be queueing up for your toys, music and games in the regular stores; you will be in shops they have never heard off!  So your gifts will be truely unique as they aren’t from Boots or M&S!

And imagine that dress you buy – or those amazing boots: no-one else you know will have anything like it – and when they ask where you got them; you can reply ‘New York’ and that will add to the ‘wow’ factor even more!

The Site:
So, what’s so easy about this site then?  Well for starters, it allows you to view the different hotels and review them as well as look at up-to-date information on NY itself – so you don’t miss some of the best attractions that you didn’t even know were there!

They also have a really clear mapping tool for NYC which allows you to zoom in on where your hotel is compared to the places you want to go visit – before you book.  It highlights all the hotels and streets so clearly – that you might want to extend your stay to get round them all!

This will be a great tool for you if you are planning plenty of shopping as you can make sure that you are within walking distance of all the great department stores – or on a great underground route to make things even easier for you.

Perhaps you want to be closer to the theatres instead for that late night cab home and don’t mind travelling that bit further to the shops during the daytime.  Whatever your preference – the options are there for you to investigate before you spend a penny. 

So planning your NYC breaks couldn’t be more enjoyable and simple to book!  Choose your hotel, choose your location, choose your airline – and choose for how long you go!  All with just a few clicks…..

Send us a postcard if you get time!

posted by Travel Cat on Nov 20

Do you want to enjoy your vacations that little bit more than usual?  Then invest in your destination….

When you choose a pension group or a savings account for your money – why not check where it is going before you put your money into it – I mean why invest in mining in the Arctic if you want to make sure the rainforest is still there so you can take a vacation in it?

Why invest in banks in distant countries rather than new resorts in Dubai or Fiji?  Think about what you are funding and you could get yourself a much better vacation for your money – twice!

You are normally only thinking about your financial return when you invest – but what if the return was a bit less in the $$ department but rewarded you with great new resorts to vacation in!

The money you would spend on a ski trip or jungle adventure would seem all the more personal and better value for money if you had helped to develop it yourself.

Investments:
It’s not just about the money now with investments – people are expecting to know what they are funding with their hard-earned savings; I mean that money doesn’t just sit in a vault at your bank getting bigger - it is sent off around the world to generate a profit which in turn becomes your interest.

So what if your savings are growing into great new hotels and ski slopes rather than buying tomatoes or making coats?  It’s all still money in the bank isn’t it? 

Many people are finding out if their money is funding ethical projects – so why not trace yours and see if you can make your holidays all the better for it!

Your money is invested in all sorts of ways that you might not be aware of – as it’s not kept in 1 lump.  Your funds are spent or invested in whatever projects or companies that your bank or financial company decides on.  You often don’t have any say in the matter.  So why not start telling your bank what you want out of your savings by shopping around.

A bank certainly won’t be a very good one if all it’s customers head off to other banks for better value for money – and the only way they can win you back is to offer what you want: either the investments you are after, or a higher interest rate and returns for you.  So either way – it’s a win-win situation for you!

However, if you like wildlife instead of culture on your vacation: then look out for timber investments or water-purification projects to keep the wildlife alive and a rich biodiversity – rather than strip mining companies and biofuel farms which both strip your habitats bare and kill off the local mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and insects!

Think what you would like to see or do in the next 5-10 years (or the length of your investment) and pay towards it.  Not only will your money be building that new mountain spa – but you get that money back, plus more on top to spend at that resort…….

Protect what you love!

posted by Travel Cat on Sep 21

Why does travelling in or out of the UK seem like such a chore that needs loads of planning?

I always watch hit movies and think; ‘they only have to travel south in their own country and they end up in Florida or California’ – but catching the train under the Channel sort of seems different.  It seems further away – when infact it is quicker for us to hop to Paris or Rome as it is for them to cross the whole of the US from coast to coast!

I don’t know why a holiday to Scotland from London seems like ‘local’ travel, when mainland Europe is only just over an hour away – Scotland can take 6-10 hours to get to depending on location – yet historic Bruges or feisty Paris could be just a short hop!

Your Next Local Vacation:
So why not drag yourself to the St Pancras Europe Platform – and choose a city break with a difference this time.

I think airport travel has put a lot of people off leaving the country – even for a short while – as we have to queue for check-in and security this and that; shoes off, shoes on, laptop in, laptop out……

However, book yourself onto the train passing through Ashford International - and it is a breeze.  You barely even notice that you are passing through a border check point!  It is all set up for busy business travellers and express holiday-makers – with laptops points and all sorts of other top class services.

There are no tiny seats, raffle ticket sales and clunky duty free trolleys on these trains, no sick bags, popped ears or £2 plastic earphones to wear either.  Just quality, spacious seating, endless carriage space and great big picture windows!

It’s Like Any Other Day:
Because the trains that travel between the UK and France as on the same network as all the other trains – you can seamlessly transfer from the train you hop on near your home to the one that takes you intercontinental!

You don’t have to arrive over 2 hours before and wander aimlessly around a departure lounge staring at endless shelves of huge perfumes and giant chocolate bars with your family and a packed lunch for ages before heading off – you simply get off your own train and walk straight onto another one.  Simple.

The main transport hubs for these trains, St Pancras, Ashford and Ebbsfleet International cater for all types of travel as well – so whether you get there by coach, bus, train, car or even plane – you can check in without a hitch and you are on your way.  It could even be your ‘green alternative’ for the year; no need to fly short-haul anymore!

You also don’t have to worry about your family either, as you can walk your kids around if they get restless, and there are larger seats anyway and tables to cater for even the most fidgety of kids (or grown-ups!).  There will be no sore ears for the babies – and no life-vests under the seats either – altogether a better mode of transport for the family!

And if you need any specific requirements – just go to one of their websites (like: stpancras-international.co.uk) for more information and some contact numbers to get things started.

posted by Travel Cat on Sep 14

Don’t step any further than your own lap to find your next ultimate vacation!

There are so many holidays out there to search through – you need something these days to make things easier – and a travel search engine is the way to go if you are searching for cheap or last minute holidays.

No need to traipse around town into all the different travel agents – or to spend hours on hold listening to some terrible music from the ’80s. Just click a few dates and the computer does the rest!

1) The first way to start planning your next cheap vacation is location based thinking!
You decide on 1 or 2 places that you would love to visit and then search for them first in a search engine or travel website.  Usually you type the destination name and then a whole range of hotels come up and you then find ones you like and see if they have rooms for the dates you prefer – usually ranked on closeness to city centre, cost per night, or the websites favorite choices (sometimes influenced by sponsorship – sometimes influenced by other website users).

So for example if you wanted to find Barcelona hotels close to the city centre this would be the ideal way for you to search for your next trip.  You get to look only at the hotels that are in your price range within minutes walking distance to the sights you want to see. No one pressurising you to pick a hotel you hadn’t read all the details for.

What could be easier?

2) The second way is for group based thinking where your group size, available vacation dates or vacation budgets are the main interest points.

This type of searching require more specific details to be used before the searching begins – but can infact bring you up more holiday choices than you may have considered.

By inadvertently filtered out all those expensive 5* hotels and all the dates you can’t do – you actually end up with a wide spread of countries and a huge choice of locations and hotel facilities to choose from.

For example, there might be a lovely cabin in the mountains with a pool for a family of 6 that you would never have thought to look for in the first place, or a great harbour apartment for a September weekend in Croatia or Morocco that would never have even crossed your mind before.

And because you aren’t under any pressure from a sales person to make a decision there and then – you can open up a new window online and check out the location, hotels and even an entire country before you choose to book. Now you can’t do that in a travel agents can you?

So before you head into town or pick up the phone to book your next trip – consider doing the research yourself online – with websites specifically designed to make searching easier!