Category: Travel

Get Your Year Started Right with a Trip to Florida

We’re thick in the middle of 2012. Have you kept your New Year’s Resolution of running 165 miles every morning at 5am or laying off sugar entirely? Probably not. If you want to start over and make a New Year’s Resolution that you’ll probably stick with, then book a fun-filled family trip to Orlando, Florida. If you get a hold of Sea World Florida package deals, then you’ll be able to save a boatload of cash on your trip too.

Often times, the earlier you book your trip to Florida, the more affordable it will be. If you want to escape the cold and the ice of winter, then you should definitely head south and check out the 1,200 miles of pristine beaches found only in Florida. Florida also offers tons of excitement-packed theme parks, such as Disney World and Sea World. Whether you’re an adult or a kid, you’re guaranteed to have the time of your life in Florida!

Every hear that expression “the early bird gets the worm?” Well, the earlier you book your family getaway to Florida, the most cash you’ll save. Another tip is to book during the winter months. Not a lot of people choose to travel during the colder seasons, so airfare as well as booking one of the fabulous Kissimee Fl vacation homes that are available can be a piece of cake. You and your children can spend more time enjoying yourselves then you worrying about all of your bills once you return home.

After you spend the day on the beach, meeting Orca whales at Sea World or riding the heart-pounding rides at Disney World, you’ll want to sleep like a baby. The welcoming and high quality rooms found at Florida’s amazing hotels will provide you with all of the creature comforts of home.

Make a resolution that you’ll actually want to keep. Plan an exciting and action-packed trip to Florida and enjoy everything that this gorgeous and sunny state has to offer. Remember to book your trip early so that you save a ton of cash and don’t miss any of the action. This will make your trip all the more special and you will love being able to spend quality time with your kids and spouse. You’ll probably end up wanting to stay in Florida and never want to come home!

Mother Earth Hosts Our Travels

As conscious traveling Paupers we must always be concerned about our dear Mother Earth. If you think about it, you travel across her face, and She is the host to your journey; without Her we could not find the unfolding adventures that attract and feed our souls.

I have found some valuable resources for us to use and publisize, all of which are dedicated to responsible travel and care of our environment.

International Ecotourism Society
202-347-9203 www.ecotourism.org

A well-established nonprofit group which conducts research, publishes articles, provides consumer information, and has a directory of members around the world. With Rainforest Alliance, it recently started an ecotourism certification standards program.

Sustainable Travel International
720-273-2975 www.sustainabletravelinternational.org

Formed three years ago to bridge the gapbetween research and ocnsumer information and to promote sustainable development and eco-friendly travel. Offers a carbon offset program and last month started an eco-certification program that will follow standards laid out by the International Ecotourism Society.

Responsible Travel Handbook
www.travelearning.com

Created this year for the Educational Travel Conference meeting, this lengthy guide has a wealth of contributors and information. (Click on responsible tourism to download).

Lonely Planet Code Green: Trips of a Lifetime That Won’t Cost The Earth
by Kelly Lorimer- Lonely pLanet Publications

The first “green travel” book to be published by Lonely Planet includes dozens of “responsible travel experiences” and provides traveler information on responsible and eco-travel. Lonely Planet also runs a discussion board on responsible travel at http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com

Better World Club
866-238-1137 www.betterworldclub.com

The environmentally conscious alternative to the American Automobile Association, offering auto and bicycle road assistance, has resources on hybrid car rentals, green lodging, and carbon offsets.

Let us join and use these groups when planning our trips. By raising our level of consciousness and employing ‘green’ tactics and travel itineraries we will, each in our own small way, be contributing to a healthier world where we act as stewards to the environment while discovering the rich and breathtaking rewards of travel.

Travel Guides- An Overview

You can get reliable, useful information from guidebooks. Yet, some are better than others and often, it’s important to know what you’re looking for when you travel, what your goals are and what your pocketbook can handle.

As I often tell my fellow Traveling Paupers, a guidebook is just that— a guide. Not a set of rules that are fixed in stone. Never let any guidebook chain you down to a fixed itinerary. Be adventurous, add your own mix of wonder and discovery to the trip you plan, and use your guidebook as an introduction to the locale, not the final arbiter of what is valuable.

That being said, I’d like to explore some of the guidebooks I’ve found useful in making trips around the world. It is, by no means, a comprehensive listing of all the books available to you. But this sampling should give you a very good starting point to discover what travel books can offer.

The Michelin Red Guides

Provide detailed information about European hotels and restaurants, while the Green Guides focus on European art, history, and places of interest. They tend to be best suited to travel that isn’t too budget conscious. Upscale.

The Fielding Guides

Provides a candid, well written guide especially good at finding off-beat, unusual destinations. I recommend them to Paupers that wish to travel off the beaten track. Unique.

Fodor’s Travel Guides

Recently celebrating their 60th birthday with almost 100 titles in the Gold Line series. They emphasize the West, but the Fodor’s Guides cover countries through-out the world. They provide good historical and cultural information as well as practical recommendations. I like it for those who wish to stay on the middle of the road. Perennial Bestseller.

The Frommer Series

The old $5. A Day series has become the $40 a Day series. They offer touring guides, city guides, and special editions. While emphasizing Europe and the United States they take pains to describe restaurants, hotels and nightlife as well. Budget.

The Lonely Planet Series

Called, simply enough, the LP, they have earned a great reputation for worldwide budget and independent travel. There are five series offered, but my favorite is the On A Shoestring guide, coving everything from a specific country, to a region or continent for the low budget traveler. Eclectic.

The Travel Handbook Series

This series contains more than 50 books from Moon Publications and are updated annually. That’s their greatest value in my judgment. Contemporary.

Europe Through The Back Door

Authored by Rick Steves. You get an itinerary and “must see” list of sights for limited European trips. A no brainer.

The Rough Guides

Focuses on college-age travelers in Europe. Much the same flavor as you will find in the LP series; irreverent and directed to the budget conscious. Street smart.

A good guidebook makes travel vastly easier. Use them even when you’re only traveling in your arm chair. The best spark your imagination and lead you to unknown discoveries and adventure.