Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Jun 30

Nothing quite beats a vacation with a historical twist!

History is what makes places what they are today – so why not explore one that still oozes with that same historical feel as it may have had centuries before.

Looking at a historic castle, exploring an important but empty building or looking around a museum is sometimes the closest we get to the past – we have to imagine the rest for ourselves.

But you don’t need to imagine anything if you find yourself wandering through a frantic bazaar to the smell of frankinscence or watching exquisite rug makers entwining bright silk fabrics into traditional designs.

Welcome to the Silk Road!

photo credit: schmuela

The Silk Road was often thought to be just one well-used path through the mountains and deserts of central Asia – however, it is more interesting than that.

Both northern and southern routes from China to Europe exist along this huge area – with a myriad of other smaller or seasonally used routes, tracks and paths through many countries in the region. All of them were linking up historic cities along the way like Kashgar, Turpan, Damascus and Samarkland – places much in demand even today.

And it wasn’t only Silk which was transported either – satin , spices, medicine, gems, furs, slaves and porcelain were all carried along these routes for over 2000 years!

It was a hugely important and very well organised trade route and could carry virtually anything – unfortunately one of those things was the bubonic plague!

How come I know so much about it? I asked the experts.

Use Local Knowledge:
Rather than try to research everything myself from scratch, I just opened up a great website full of resources, facts and stories all about these routes.

They have experts who are from the region of Uzbekistan, and know the place inside out. They know the buildings, the culture, the history and the language – and so can offer some of the best tours and vacations in the area.

All this information is presented simply on their very informative website, filled with facts, great images and great vacations too.

Whether you want a quick whistle-stop tour of historic sites, or want a slower-paced adventure around the historic, religious and cultural sites – it’s all here!

Central Asia travel just got a whole lot easier!

photo credit: xoque

posted by Travel Cat on Mar 4

Imagine that ‘dream’ yachting adventure you’ve always wanted – then just book it!

You don’t need to wait and see what each yacht can offer and then have to choose between them – you should be able to decide on the things you want your boat to offer and then find your perfect boat!

Whether it’s got to be large enough for 30 guests or small enough for just the family – no worries; whether you need to stay in touch with your business with a large wi-fi office space or you want to get away from it all with plenty of outside space – no worries; whether you want a large crew to supply your needs or if you want a small launch boat available so that you can entertain yourself on land – no worries!

On your hand-picked luxury yacht charter - you’re the boss!

How Do You Find The Perfect Yacht?
You could use a travel agent, ask a friend or trawl the internet looking for that perfect yacht – but I will guarantee that you will hit many dead ends before you do.

They might have the first few things on your list – like availability and enough berths – but then they might not be able to travel to the places you want to see, or they might not have an onboard gym or jacuzzi – so you have to start looking all over again. Or end up settling for something less than you wanted.

So, why not go straight to a website that can do everything for you; only offers the best, and which has the experience to know what you need – and to find it for you.

We are already busy enough these days – without having to waste time checking that everything we expect is included – so why not leave these things to the experts and you know you won’t be able to find fault.

And Fraser Yachts can offer you just this – an expert to find you the boat that suits your exact needs at a time that you want it!

photo credit: emuphoto

The Ultimate Yacht:
Just one look at their website will tell you how much they care about their customers and you can also see examples of their excellent standards with images of the crew and some of the smaller rooms they offer.

They haven’t just shown you a handful of the ‘best bits’ – they have shown you an image of almost every part of their yachts allowing you to get a true picture of all the boats they have to offer.

And they cater for all sizes too – whether you want a compact 26 meter yacht to cruise the South Pacific with a handful of friends or you want a 70 meter mega yacht charter for 30 friends in the Caribbean – it’s all on their website.

With access to a large number of the best boats on the water – your dream vacation could become a reality for you. So all you need to decide is when you want to go – and they will do the rest!

Looking at some of the boats available – this would be so much better than hiring 5 or 6 rooms in a hotel for your family – or conference facilities for that work meeting!

Imagine a week of totally undisturbed bliss in crystal clear waters on your super yacht charter! No interuptions during business, no other ‘tourists’ getting in your way and only having to unpack once – but getting to see as many different destinations as you want.

It puts ordinary vacations to shame!

posted by Travel Cat on Feb 8

Do you want a free all inclusive vacation in Spain – for just talking?

Would you believe it – I know a place that does exactly that: in exchange for you talking all day to a bunch of strangers about absolutely anything – you get a great weeks vacation in the countryside with board and lodgings included!

The reason becomes clear when you investigate their reasons – they are an English Language institute, and they want their students to hear real English spoken by real English speakers.

They aren’t all noisy youngsters though – these students are sent on these courses by their workplace or to improve their specialist language skills and learn specific ‘jargon’ related to their industry.

Language Skills:
As long as you are a native English speaker and experienced or qualified in a professional or educational industry – you can apply to ‘work’ on the project.

Basically, your skills in the industry are far more important than your second language teaching skills!

Infact you don’t really need to teach at all – as the program is designed to get you to communicate with the students in all areas of life; eating lunch, group discussions, running events, tours and performances, etc.

You just have to chat to them as you would your usual friends.

However, you have the edge they need in their jobs – so you will be asked to run a workshop or do a short presentation on your main area of expertise to challenge the students into listening to a different set of language parameters.

Whether it is Retail, Industry, Metal Working or Medicine – all is welcome and all is important!

What You Gain:
Firstly a private room in a delightful location in the Spanish coutryside, all meals and some free time and included tours of the area.

Yes, you might have to eat with the students – but you will no doubt learn from them as well as what they gain from you.

You get to improve your people skills, make some friends and also improve your CV.

And you can even take your kids to the group courses – so a holiday for everyone – for free!

And before and after the course, you are welcome to take a vacation of your own. Seeing as you are already in Spain – why not head for the mountains, the coast, or the history – there is plenty of all 3 in Spain!

The House Rules:
The only rule is that you don’t speak a word of Spanish while you are there!

These students (or their companies) have paid for these courses, so that they are completely immersed in the English language – so even speaking simple words of their native tongue can break down their learning.

Even greeting them with an ‘Hola’ can reduce their acceptance of the many ways that English-speakers greet each other. Hello, hi, watcha, alright, oy and hey will all be lost as you try to remember to say Hola to them all.

And once you have said one word in Spanish, you may feel confident to add to it – or more importantly, they may reply in Spanish too – which will be very much frowned upon!

So, if you fancy a challenge – or an interesting week in your longer vacation – then maybe you should look at their website, and see if you fancy giving it a go!

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 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.