Posts Tagged ‘travel’

Vacation in Pattaya Thailand – Travel Tips From an Insider

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Pattaya Thailand may not have the same glitz and glamour as Cannes France. Yet this seaside city on the southern coast of Thailand manages to pull over 1 million tourist a year. Pattaya invented its own category, its on special vibe and reputation for having one of the wildest nightlife scene in this tiny sliver of Southeast Asia. Sure it may be short on class when you compare it to the stuffy clubs and bars in Cannes with its $2,000 champagnes. But where else are you going to find bars with names like “Beavers” serving ice cold Tiger beer for $2?

Navigating amongst Pattaya’s many sois or “Side Street” (in foreigner speak) of bars, clubs, pubs and massage parlors is not so difficult. Where ever you find gaudy neon lights you are bound to find some assortment of male recreation befitting all appetites. And of course outside of said establishments you can find a myriad of Thai women hounding you to patron their place of work, promising you a time you will never forget.

Pattaya city can be broken up into two sections; North Pattaya and South Pattaya. Most visitors to Pattaya converge on Walking Street located in southern Pattaya which is most well known for its no holds barred nightlife venues. The bright neon lights and skull jarring hip hop beats. Thai woman (and transvestites), tugging and pulling at your shirt sleeves make you feel like you are taking a stroll inside a life sized arcade pin ball machine. Walking Street is considered the epicenter, the crust of all that is unholy and seedy in this part of Pattaya. But upon closer inspection you will find Irish pubs, various other watering holes and well established restaurants run mostly by  foreign expats. These are places filled visitors from all over the world just sitting and chatting, without a lady sitting on their laps. Then you realize Pattaya is not just all about sex and sin.

Pattaya is about rest and recreation, the famous R&R phrase used by US soldiers from the Vietnam war era who changed the face of this once quiet seaside fishing village forever. Where once army boots pounded the streets long ago, today are being patrolled by slipper wearing backpackers and even by elderly tourist who curiously peek at the go-go dancer, who lure men in like a seasoned fisherman.

Through the years Pattaya has set her own standards and charm as one of the world’s foremost party and relaxation destinations. She may not have famous celebrities and movie stars sunning themselves on their million dollar yachts there, but Pattaya Thailand can still cast a charm on any soul beckoning them to return again and again.

Travel Agent

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

Travel Agent Review

Travel Agent Overview

Presents, interprets, and analyzes news trends and issues in a way agents can use.

Travel Agent Specifications

Every year brings accelerating change to the travel industry, and the weekly news magazine Travel Agent strives to match its pace with news and features targeting mainstream professionals. Broadly covering hotels, cruises, and destinations, the magazine presents feature stories offering insights into the personalities and businesses that keep the travel world spinning. While engaging, these features also provide solid, useful information to their adventurous readers. Each issue has a good mix of general industry-wide news and in-depth accounts of noteworthy individual locations and products. The “Agent Advocate” column looks deeply into issues of interest to pros–nonrefundable tickets, delayed commissions, and plenty more. Though gently focusing on small- and medium-size businesses, Travel Agent is indispensable for all players. –Rob Lightner

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Thailand Travel

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Many people say that Thailand is one of the cheapest places you can vacation to, but how cheap can it actually be. You have to pay for food, hotels, and entertainment, but you will be surprised on how much you actually have to spend to have a fantastic vacation.

It’s important to know how far your money will get you. One United States dollar is approximately 33 Thai Baht, or THB. One British Pound is equal to 53 THB, and one Australian dollar is about 30 THB. Before heading out of your country and to your dream vacation find out exactly how much your money is worth in THB.

When it comes to food expect to spend around 200 baht in a restaurant for a simple breakfast and 500 baht for dinner. This may sound like you average price where you are from, but you also have the option of eating some of the yummy cuisine from street vendors. Food from these vendors is so cheap it almost free, around 30 baht!

If you want a nice hotel with a swimming pool and an air conditioner expect to pay around 1000 baht, or $30 USD. If you are traveling alone and just need a single guest room expect to pay 200 baht. Your best option is to skip the frills, pool, and AC if you are on a really tight budget. If you decide to shell out the 1000 baht look for a hotel that offers a free taxi service, free massage, or offers some sort of premium that is included in the cost.

This country is very large and some people are surprised that traveling from providence to providence can be so expensive, or take up so much time. If you must travel overnight try to find a bus or train. If you are traveling a long distance you can estimate your travel costs at Estimating each long journey as 1000 baht. While it may only cost 800 baht, it is better to overestimate than to come up short on money.

As you can see, if you choose to travel cheaply to Thailand it is possible. All you have to do is skip the frills, and estimate your costs ahead of time. Many people don’t mind giving up a hotel with a swimming pool, or eating delicious food from a food vendor, and it makes there trip something to remember.

Consider All Possible Travel Expenses When Planning Your Luxury Travel Vacation

Sunday, July 4th, 2010

You have been searching for weeks on end for a vacation package that is budget friendly and family friendly. You want something that would not take you ten years to save for, but would not require pawning off random possessions. You want a good quality vacation that offers luxury travel destinations, right?

Discount luxury travel deals are the perfect solution to your summer blues. You are able to go almost anywhere in the world for a portion of the price, and bring your family too! But what do discount luxury travel deals have to offer you? When looking at the price of a non discounted travel vacation package, you have to equate the cost of kennels, babysitters if you have children, the cost of food, flight tickets, hotel costs, and any souvenirs you might want to purchase while on the trip.

So, all these costs broken down equal:

1.) Kennel: $25 per day that you are away. A week long vacation would cost $175 just for boarding your furry friend.

2.) Food: $100-$600 depending on what country or region you are currently visiting.

3.) Flight Tickets: $500-$2000 per person, potentially.

4.) Hotel: Depends on where you are staying.

5.) Not including spending money and other potential costs, a vacation could quite easily cost upwards of $5000.

Even for a well-off person, this price can be quite steep. You need something better, something that is perfect…which is just what discount vacations offer to everyone by utilizing the bounty of discount travel deals, you can actually save two to four times on your vacation package.

Imagine that: for the one regular priced vacation, you can go on four or possibly even five discounted vacations, and still put your buddy in the kennel, pay the babysitter, etc. Some agencies offer discounted vacations that are not quite worth the discount. This does not always have to be so. You can go on a quality vacation, taking the whole family, boarding in some of the best known hotels, and traveling on airplanes whose companies you know and trust to the vacation of your dreams.

However, travel membership generally offer better ideas and discounts than you would get using the companys’ regular services. By paying a fee of less than your discounted vacation, you can continue to get discounts on your vacations, and then continue to find deals.

Travel Trade Yearbook

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Travel Trade Yearbook Review

Travel Trade Yearbook Overview

Designed for industry professionals, this travel directory contains listings of over 10,000 contacts for wholesalers, travel agents, airlines, and cruise, car rental, and accommodation companies.

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Jax Fax Travel Marketing Magazine

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Jax Fax Travel Marketing Magazine Review

Jax Fax Travel Marketing Magazine Overview

Tour and airlines listings for travel agents and tour operators.

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What to Look For When Booking Travel Online

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

When using a website to book a holiday or vacation, you should considering pricing the individual components, e.g. flights, car rental, hotel etc separately to make sure you are getting a good deal. Prices can vary significantly, so comparison shopping on several sites could be a distinct advantage.

If you favor a particular hotel or airline, you may be better off going directly to the hotel and/or airline of your choice to get the best deal. Also, some travel websites are unclear about their cancellations and refunds policy; therefore if you book directly with a hotel or car rental company online, you could cancel a reservation without penalty up to 24 hours in advance.

So, when it comes to searching online consider using a travel site as opposed to a search engine like Google. Google may find the best fares but a travel website offers better searching flexibility for holidays and vacation packages and in some cases they also negotiate their own deals with real travel opportunities and packaged offers.

Generally, many service providers including travel companies are guaranteeing ‘lowest prices online’ so it is a good idea to check and compare travel websites pricing with the hotel or airline website. In addition you may found incentives to book directly with a hotel or airline, e.g. air miles or popular retail vouchers.

Also, consider reading the clauses about cancellation when booking. These will vary from site to site. Rates will vary and may come with penalties and deadlines and some cases non refundable deposits. In addition to cancellation fees be aware of potential booking fees. Travel website may charge you a booking fee, where booking directly with an hotel or airline usually does not incur a fee. But be careful here, as some sites may charge you if you use a credit card.

Finally, it is worth checking individual country sites of particular internationally based online companies to compare local prices to the company’s global website. This may prove beneficial depend on your International travel plans.

The impact of online transactions has transformed the travel industry, which is now estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide, as more and more people are taking advantages of some really exciting travel opportunities.

Caribbean Travel & Life (1-year)

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

Caribbean Travel & Life (1-year) Review


Those who enjoy travel are fortunate when it comes to periodicals. There are many, many magazines devoted to the topic of travel and leisure, with some that are more general in content and others that are more narrow in scope. Caribbean Travel & Life is one magazine that fits into the latter category, with travel articles and general information exclusive to the Caribbean islands.

I have been subscribing to this magazine for several years and it is one of my favorite travel publications for several reasons. First of all, I like that it covers more than just travel. It is also a cultural magazine that takes you inside the individual islands, letting you see what life in the Caribbean is really like. Most of us think of the Caribbean as a vacation stomping ground, but these articles show that there really are permanent inhabitants on these islands and they have a unique culture to share.

The other thing I enjoy about this magazine- and the reason most people read it- is the enticing photography. Every issue can be counted on for pages and pages of amazing photography and it will make you want to drop what you’re doing, head to your pc, and lookup a travel web site so that you can plan a visit to one of the many islands in this region. Notice too that the cover picture is usually very enticing as well. It is usually a picture that includes water, with a brilliant blue hue intended to get readers to open the magazine and learn more.

Caribbean travel & Life is a fun, entertaining, and informative magazine. It would be nice if the publishers printed 12 issues per year instead of only 9 (I don’t like waiting two months between issues) and it would be nice if the cover price was a little more reasonable. But this is a very good magazine any way you look at it, with enticing photographs and informative articles about the people and places that comprise the West Indies and surrounding areas.

Caribbean Travel & Life (1-year) Overview

The focus of this magazine is on the culture, history, resorts, shopping, cuisine and water sports of the Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda. It features articles about the things which are new and trendy in life and travel in the Caribbean.

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Food and Travel

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Food and Travel Review

Food and Travel Overview

Food and Travel is a British magazine offering stunning photography, delicious recipes, news, and travel features every month. Regular features include articles on weekend getaways and travel hot-spots, cooking tips, hotel and inn profiles, and traveling on a budget.

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: May 20, 2010 08:35:33

The Best Time to Travel to Thailand

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

Probably the most common question any foreigner living in Thailand will hear from people planning to visit the Kingdom is “When is the best time to come to Thailand“…not an easy question to answer without knowing “why” a person wants to come to Thailand.

There are basically three seasons in Thailand (though of late the cold season seems to have gone missing), the seasons are, The Hot, The Wet and The Cold. Cold being a rather subjective description though, the shots of emergency blankets being handed out in the northern provinces when it drops to a chilly 10 degrees…that’s 10 degrees Celsius. So what does each season offer.

The Hot

March to June : The hottest month is April when even the geckos stay inside and most expats look outside at lunch time and decide to not eat rather than melt on the walk to a food stall. The Hot season is beach season, if that’s your thing then this is the time to come to Thailand, guaranteed sun sun sun all day long day after day. For Trekkers you might find this to be a tad hot to go trudging up hills unless mounted on an elephant, sun stroke and dehydration are high up on the list of things to beware of. Bangkok turns into a molten vat of pollution as the winds die and the smog just hangs around choking up the oxygen. Hotels are at their most expensive during the hot season and weekends will see many of the mid range ones fully booked.

The Wet

July to November : The change over from hot to wet is the worst time to be in Thailand regardless of what you’re into. It’s Hot, it’s wet and the humidity is ruthless. You’ll be desperate to take three showers a day at a minimum…living in a shower for a month might not be a bad plan. If you can imagine living in a sauna for a month then you get the right picture of Thailand at the start of the wet season…unless you’re in Bangkok, then get in a sauna and pipe your car exhaust into the sauna to get the right idea…hmmm yummy. Then thankfully the skies really open up, the wind blows and things freshen up . Rain is pretty much a guaranteed feature on a daily basis and usually kicks off in the afternoon, sometimes lasting all night, Floods are common along with power cuts. So why come to Thailand now…the cost…. hotels are empty, tourists are away, it’s a great time to see Thailand with fewer tourists than usual and get the best prices as even the Thai people stay home at the weekends.

The Cold

December to February : Thailand freezes over, snow falls from the sky and ice-skating is the nations most popular sport…well if you watched the TV or the Thai people running around dressed in winter jackets, boots, gloves and scarves you may start to think it’s true.. in Bangkok it can drop to a bone chilling 15 degrees Celsius at night, and up north it has on occasions dropped down to 2 degrees, the south gets off much lighter and you can escape with a body warmer and a bobble hat. Thailand again is swarming with tourists who have come to take advantage of the cool weather to do see Thailand without burning up. This is the best time of the year to actually “see” Thailand, you’ll enjoy seeing the sights and touring the cities and trekking will be at its best. Again prices will be up and hotels fairly full.

So in a nutshell the best time to come to Thailand is the time that suits what you want to do, Trekkers and Tanners will have different needs, those looking for bargains will have different needs. Just add that there are occasional down pours even in the hottest parts of the year and even the wet season can be dry for a week or more…..but leave your skis at home…there will be no snow…..guaranteed.