Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Mar 17

If you lost your dog while travelling – what would you do?

Being in a new place is so different for your dog too that the thought of them getting lost or being startled enough to run away doesn’t bear thinking about.

But it happens – and it happens a lot.

So, you need to think ahead, and plan for the fact that it could happen – and then things will run a lot more smoothly if it does.

For example, if you don’t have your dog microchipped then it could take a lot longer to get your dog back than if it just had a collar on. But if your contact details for that microchip only had a home contact number on them – and you are only vacation – then you might never hear that your dog has been found!

This also can be transferred over to different animal collection processes in different countries – as some countries don’t work with microchips – they use tattoes. So your perfectly wonderful chip in your dogs neck won’t even be scanned!

And other countries just round up stray dogs and give you 7 days to find them – otherwise they are rehomed – or worse!

photo credit: pheezy

This Is My Dog!
So, the best thing you can do is clearly mark your dog in the first place. Whether this is with a microchip, or with a securely fitted collar and tag – the more the merrier!

Ideally, you wouldn’t let your dog run off in the first place – but of course we get used to relaxing on vacation and this includes letting the dog run free!

So, make sure that you are super attentive to your dog at all times. Not only could there be new smells and noises where you are, your dog may be a little bit unsettled in new surroundings and after travelling some distance too.

So take it slow and it is better to be safe and have your dog on a leash more than you do back home – as once they run off – they don’t know where they are or where they can go, and to be honest, you might not even know where you are either!

It’s Not Just The Dog Who Is Lost!
If you are in a new neighbourhood or out in the middle of the wilderness – then how can you report your dog missing? You don’t know where they went missing from!

And of course – you don’t know where the people are who can help find him – for example where local vets are, whether there are rescue centres close by – or huge roads!

And how can you give your address as the RV in the free car park outside of town!

Reporting your lost dog become a million times harder now as you are in unknown territory yourself – and you might not cover all the options on your own!

However, there are organisations now who specialise in finding lost pets. Not just pets who have been gone ages – but pets that have just this past hour gone missing.

Rather than you calling everyone you can think of to report your dogs details and all your contact numbers etc – these companies can take your information just once and then instantly distribute it to vets and rescue centres by fax or text.

Within minutes of your first call, all the people you would have had to have found yourself in the telephone listings and then called one at a time would already have your dogs information.

The Solution:
Combined with their knowledge and ongoing relationships with these contacts – they will treat their faxes and texts as urgent rather than routine (resuce centres and vets get several calls every day reporting lost pets).

And you could be reunited with your dog within hours of them running off – rather than the days it could take the old-fashioned way.

Of course – the best way to have your dog with you after a lovely vacation is to not give it the chance to run away in the first place!

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 Nov 30

When you take a vacation – where can your pets go and stay?

There are many options for your vacation when you have pets – no matter how large or small they are – but you need to decide what gives you peace of mind while you are away.

The pet that you have doesn’t really matter – as there are services for all sorts these days – but there are 2 main considerations: They stay at home – or they go away.

Whether it’s a pony or a polecat, a pig or a poodle – someone needs to feed it and clean it out while you are away.  And you need to decide who can do that for you and whether you can afford it!

Kennelling a dog can cost well over the cost or your cheap vacation if you aren’t careful – and transporting your horse to another stable can take and extra day of 2 off your holiday in the first place!

At Home:
Leaving your pets at your own home is a great idea as it allows the least amount of distress to the animal and means that everything is where you left it.  Your pets still has it’s own bed and sofa to sit on, it won’t have to change anything about it’s life.

And on top of this – your home will not be left empty while you are away, there will always or nearly always be someone visiting your home for the duration of your trip, turning the lights on and off, checking everything is ok and dealing with your mail and calls.

The downside of course, is that someone can have a look through all your personal stuff if they wanted – but then we have all been babysitters at some point but we never did any harm!  Obviously by using a close friend or recommended professional should limit any chance of such a problem.

Away:
There are sort of 3 types of away, a personal one, a professional one and the basic one – all have their merits (and their costs to consider) but it depends on the service you are looking for for your pet – and to some extent the type of pet.

A personal service would be where your pet goes to live in someone else’s home instead of yours.  They may have other pets and/or children – but your pet will be guaranteed all the benifits that your home offers – except in a different location.  And caged pets probably won’t even notice the difference!

A professional service may well suit large and small pets alike in the sense that you leave your pet with trained and or experienced staff, maybe a working stable, farm or veterinary practice – particularly suitable if your pet has a injury or illness that needs that extra attention.

And thirdly, the basic service – a kennels or equivalent.  Your dog, cat, bird or furry pet is sent to a specific unit for the duration of your trip.  Yes, it will get food and water as well as veterinary attention when necessary – but it will be left in this environment for the duration of your vacation (howeer, dogs might get nice walks).  And sometimes this isn’t even cheaper than some of the other options but you know your pet will be safe!

Have a great vacation – but don’t forget about your pets!

posted by Travel Cat on Jul 29

Have you ever just thought about driving into the sunset rather than going home?

You must have been sitting in traffic on the way to work – or stuck in congestion going to visit a friend – and just wanted to be out of there and off to somewhere different, so why not just do it one day?

You don’t need to plan a vacation and take time of work as such – just pick a direction and drive off!  Of course, if you have longer, you can get further – but a few days will do!  I did it once, just thought about a few things I wanted to see, and headed off….. 

The Trip:
I love historic buildings and wildlife, so when I set off on my 3 month road trip – I made sure that I joined a few societies (to get free entry) and then headed off into an adventure!

You can end up anywhere and for as long as you want – depending on your car and your ideas.  Even better the adventure if you just take a map and your bags!

Your only worry need be finding a petrol station and deciding where you want to visit next! 

As long as you have a hotel guide to hand, you can stop anywhere you want – 1 night or 2! There is no need to book a room way in advance – although you sometimes might have to make a few calls to find an empty room at the weekends – you can call as late as 3pm and still get a place.  This gives you more freedom to change your route and plans as things happen.

Staying in the same accommodation in places you like the look of allows you to leave your things in the room while you go out and explore – whereas if you only stay the one night, you need to have you stuff in the car while you visit places.  Not so much a problem on the shorter trips – but not so good to leave too much in your car while you head into a zoo or museum for 4 hours or more!

And most hotels offer breakfast included as well as a great place to eat dinner – so you don’t even need to wander around looking for food.  Or maybe stop off at a store on route and stock up on goodies for the room – there’s nothing better than feet up and a box of chocolates after a day exploring!

The Car:
Well, needles to say you are going to need a car you can trust to take you all those miles – and a car that looks good too wouldn’t be too bad either!

If you are only going away for the weekend – then just head off in whatever you have – but if you are going to make a habit of driving off whenever the mood takes you then why not start making your car look great too!

Make sure that the inside looks as good as the outside – whether it’s shiny bumpers or cool seat covers – you can drive in style wherever you decide to go!  No need to be embarrassed about your wheels!

Whether it’s a nice picnic basket for the back seat, a sleek bike rack for the roof or some brand new vw accessories for the camper-van – splash out and make it a trip to remember!

Sometimes, you wait so long trying to plan the ‘perfect’ trip, that you never actually get around to doing anything!  The number of people who say ‘I was planning to do something like that…’ or ‘I’ve always wanted to do that!’  But why can’t you just do it? 

Take a chance and just go do it!

So, get a collection of your favourite CD’s and grab your camera for the ride of your life!

posted by Travel Cat on Oct 10

There was a fantastic post submitted for this months Traveling With Kids Blog Carnival, that I thought it should get a post of it’s own.

TheLifeLessTraveled presents Family Downsizes Life to a Camper, the Open Road and Adventures Rich in Simple Pleasures posted at The Life Less Traveled.

The family and their dog - naming themselves the Smudge Family (a winner for me) decided that enough was enough – and they were going to enjoy their lives together away from the ‘daily grind’.

No more 9-5 ruining their precious time together as a family.  Find out more on their journey as they continue to add more posts…..

Enjoy.