Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Aug 15

Joining a Charity Vacation was the best idea….

It was my partner who found the trip for me. I’d seen them advertised a million times before, but just never felt that final ‘tipping point’ - enough to make me raise thousands of pounds for a charity in a relatively short period of time.

But, somehow this one was different - I really wanted this vacation. And, I was in a position at work which I felt would help me raise the required funds more easily.

Most importantly, it was with a charity that I believed in, and felt that others would also share in. Some charities for animals can be off-putting for some, whereas other people would rather give to wildlife charities than desperate children overseas. I felt this charity represented me, and so I knew I could raise money for them.

First things First:
The application was a big step for me. Getting all the vacation details, as well as the payment plans in the starter pack was an interesting few days reading. Before I signed up, I wanted to know all the details - including the ‘get out clause’ if I couldn’t raise all the money. I certainly didn’t want to find myself owing the charity money if I didn’t get to go!

I had to raise around $5500/£2700 for the 10 day trip, plus I would have to supply my own equipment (walking boots, sleeping bag, rucksack, day pack, etc) as well as my own medication and toiletries, be up to date with my vaccinations and hold travel insurance that covered mountain climbing and camping etc.

The cost of the trip itself included all flights and transfers, accommodation and food as well as several guides and 2 doctors for the duration. It also included continuing support from the charity for fundraising ideas and travel advice leading up to the trip.

Before I signed anything, I wanted to know I had a head start, so I checked with my boss whether he would get the ball rolling with a $1000/£500 donation. He said ‘yes’, so I completed the forms and the challenge began.

My Plans:
I had 2 important things to consider in the build up to the trip in a few months time, and they were raising the funds and getting fit. I didn’t want to be struggling to walk the 7 or so kilometres a day up and down the mountainside. I wanted to really enjoy myself, so I had to be as fit as I could. I joined the gym and started hill walking after work - well I had to wear in my new boots - I didn’t want blisters out there!

My work allowed me to arrange a few raffles and ‘open days’ in the stores, where the suppliers gave me some free gifts, and I was able to sell tickets for the prizes as well as promoting the store itself. Other customers were happy to just donate to the charity itself anyway. I sold other free goods at car boot sales, and was getting donations all the time.

Friends and family were also generous, and I put in $1000/£500 myself because that’s how much I would normally spend on a vacation anyway. The funds were starting to get very close to the final amount - and the deadline was fast approaching!

We did have a meeting for all the fundraisers to attend, and it was a way to meet people as well as get some more ideas for raising money - and we got to watch the video diary from a previous trek. One man there had raised well over the required amount (he ran his own bar and had been doing quiz nights) and others had been doing all sorts of things to reach their targets. It was a great day out.

The Final Week:
I was very fit by now and the boots didn’t give me any trouble at all - I was even walking sideways on hills in them to make sure that they really weren’t going to get sore whilst out there. But they really were absolutely fine - a great buy!!

And, after banking all the money - yes, I reached the target amount with a last minute push - I started to pack!!!! It was only a few days now to departure. I had read all the guide books and had packed everything on the checklist the charity had supplied - I just had to get myself to the airport.

When I arrived, I met a few of the other travelers that I had spoken with at the previous meeting, who all seemed very friendly - and then we were away……

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I had the absolute best time on the trip, and still keep in touch with several of the people who were in my little ‘group’ while we were out there. I certainly won’t forget this trip for the rest of my life - that’s for sure. And together (we were part of a large group) we raised over £72,000 for the charity!

Great work - and a great vacation!

from Sarah Nettleton

posted by Travel Cat on Jul 27

We all love to travel - but have you travelled enough?

I know these days we are supposed to be cutting down our travel, but if you work abroad or have been around the world - you may find you already qualify!

I myself (a wanderlust victim) love the buzz of traveling - however, I am very, very, very short of the membership requirements - only about 75 countries short!

So Whats the Century Club all About?
Well - as it’s Romanesque name says: You need to have travelled to at least 100 countries - more if you want to show off!  There is Silver Membership on offer for travellers to 150+ countries.  Needless to say, there is also a Gold Membership - only available to those lucky few who have visited more than 250 countries in this lifetime!

Frighteningly - there is even a special award for some one visiting over 300 different countries - and this year it went to a lady from New York…

What Makes a Country a Country?
If you want to start counting your achievements, you need to check their listings to make sure you are not cutting yourself short as Alaska for example counts as separate territory to the US mainland states.

So to give you a rough guide:  In North America there are 6 ‘countries’.  These are Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Prince Edward Islands, St Pierre + Miquelon and the US itself.  There are 7 countries in Central America, 13 can be found in South America and a wonderfully warm 29 are awaiting you in the Caribbean.  However, don’t stop there - as even if you trekked or bussed your way from north to south - you would still find yourself 45 short!!!

The European mainland has a whopping 67 in total - so a train ride around most of the countries here (after all those mentioned above, of course) and you could apply to join!!!

How Many Are There?
There are currently 317 territories listed on the site - and as a result of travel these days - there are thousands of members.

The Travellers Century Club holds meetings throughout the year, debating about travel-related issues and problems, and the site itself is filled with related information and maps, etc, for all the locations they list as being ‘valid’.

Only been to 75 countries on the list - well don’t feel left out!  The Club lets you come and sit in on any meeting - as long as it has any seats left after the ’real’ members have had a look-in.

Think You Qualify?
Go Visit their site (pay $100 to join and $50 yearly dues thereafter ($60 if non-US)). or just scan through all the useful data and facts they have on the Travelers Century Club site.

Right - I just need to get round South-East Asia and the whole of Africa - and I might see you at the next meeting!!!!!!

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posted by Travel Cat on Mar 28

Panama’s Pacific coast line is perfect for surfing, but the northern Caribbean coast also has some favoured spots - and is probably warmer water! Early travellers found these perfect locations and kept returning time after time, passing on the word to others for generations who you can find surfing off Chirique, Panama.

There are now a whole lot of people wanting to come to Panama to learn to surf, and due to the rise in demand for these Panamanian waves, a small industry has appeared to take care of hoards of feisty arrivals. As a result there are now many areas along the pacific coast and one well known Caribbean resort where you can lodge safely and cheaply and learn to surf or improve your existing skills!

They are called ’surf camps’ and are available all over the world, but there are a lot of people asking me about surfing camps in Panama. So, what I’ve done is selected 3 of these well known surf camps in Panama that offer a good deal, and have detailed them below for you.

Bocas Surf School - Bocas del Toro - Caribbean Coast
Price: $89/£45 for 1 day up to $369/£185 for 5 days tuition.

This surf camp offers daytime lessons only for both new surfers and experienced and can either be for 1,3 or 5 days. It includes some equipment and several boat rides around the area. It doesn’t include accommodation or food, but the area is well developed with many local hotels to choose from (around $6/£3 to $60/£30 pppn) and nearly all residents speak English here, you’ll find them trying to sell you equipment from surf board racks and accessories as well.  You can even take your non-surfing friend along with you!

Panama Surf Camp - Morro Negrito - Pacific Coast
Price: $650/£325 per person per week inclusive.

This surf camp is based on 2 islands off the coast of the Chiquiri province.  It offers full week long surfing packages for all abilities, and includes pick up from the airport, all accommodation and 3 meals a day as part of the package. They also offer a whole host of other activities from horseback riding to spear fishing payable as extras. 

Punta Brava Lodge - Santa Catalina - Pacific Coast
Price: from $625/£312 based on 3 or more sharing to $1150/£575 for singles

This lodge offers excellent surfing tuition on one of Panama’s best beaches. The price includes airport transfers, 3 meals a day and accommodation for 7 nights, as well as offering fishing and diving around the area off of their boats.  Their website shows some great photos of the accommodation - it looks amazing!

I haven’t tried any of these myself, but if you do - or you have already - let me know about your favourite and let other readers know of any different surf camps in Panama, or elsewhere that you would recommend.

Finally, with the budget for staying in Panama is only around $20-$30/£10-£15 per day, so why not stay after surf camp and enjoy everything else Panama has to offer - you don’t need a visa if travelling from the US, Canada or the UK, you just need your passport and your sense of adventure…..

posted by Travel Cat on Mar 24

Ever fancied something just a tiny bit different from the normal holiday, an ultimate vacation of sorts?

How about heading off with just a month long train ticket and no set plans?

Sound like your kind of thing? Then maybe a trip round Europe with just a guidebook and your backpack is what you need to be doing for your next holiday!

You don’t even need to plan anything if you don’t want to. If you have long enough (at least a month), and would rather glide around this continent more like a local than a hurried tourist, you can just head off with a rough plan of countries to visit and soak it all up at your own pace, floating around each country between cities and villages - or nightlife to nightlife! As long as you have enough time to get back to your airport, enjoy yourself.

But, if you want to make the most of it and are more pushed for time, then planning is essential.

How long have you got? - Decide how long you can go away for as this will have a direct impact on what you can see while travelling. Yes, you can get from London to Madrid on the train in less than 12 hours, but you won’t get to see much on the way and it’s a nearly whole day’s sunshine wasted!

If you only have a week, then you will need to either be very restrictive with the area of the continent you travel to (i.e all the countries close together), or you will need to travel at the speed of light to see your favourites.

Basically in a week you will only get to enjoy about 3 cities with a couple of nights in each one. I did get to see 4 countries in less than a week one time, but only really got a ‘feel’ for 2 of them.

In two weeks, you can travel further afield, and may well stay in around 7 cities depending on where you start and finish from. And in a month you could have hit about 17 or more countries!

Where do you want to go? - Don’t worry about routes yet, leave the train timetables well alone - just get your vacation guides and start reading!

List places you would like to see or the festivals you want to attend in the order you come across them; the cities, landmarks, museums and castles, etc. Write them next to the country they are in and mark each with either a ‘definately’ or just a ‘maybe’, then the fun begins….

Now get yourself a basic map of Europe with just the countries showing and 2 colors of pins, stickers or whatever you want to use as markers - one color for ‘definately’ and the other for ‘maybe’. Then get going with them - putting one sticker for each thing on your list onto your map, nice and spread out. Soon you will start to see which countries are coming out on top!

When completed you will be able to write off any countries with only a few maybe’s in them, and start focusing on the countries with the most definitely’s.

Choosing a route - Now you have places to see organised, you can start looking at your route. How many days will it take to see all the places without including the journey times? Are the places too far apart? Have you picked too many things to do?

The only way to find out is to start looking at a rough pathway through your dots, aiming for the definitely’s at first, then look at the one’s out the way and see if they are worth missing. Keep arguing with yourself over what you really want and what can be avoided for a better or smoother journey. The last thing you want to worry about when travelling is keeping a tight schedule where missing a train causes all sorts of timetable changes. You are supposed to be enjoying yourself!

Only when you have less things you ‘definately’ need to see than the number of days you are travelling for, can you stop. You have now got your trip round Europe. By all means keep a few as ’spares’ in-case of bad weather or train delays, or you could just sit with the locals enjoying something impromptu like a game of chess or taking photos of the buildings instead!