Travel

Great Alternative Budget Vacation Ideas

Published

2 months ago

August 7, 2024

While many of us dream of traveling the world it’s not always feasible, even for those with the best of intentions. But while you might not have a lot of time or money, luckily there’s more than one way to see the world. Travel is simply the art of going somewhere new and different and exploring everything the place has to offer. It doesn’t matter if you have two days, two weeks, or two months. There are many ways to get on the road and see the world, so here are some budget ways to travel and explore even if you are cash-strapped or time-poor:

Be a local tourist – How often do you visit the tourist sites in your own city? Hardly ever, right? We always put it off until tomorrow, because when we live in a city, there is always a tomorrow. If you’re short on time and money, there’s no better way to spend some free time than to wander your own city. No matter what its size, it has a number of wonders just waiting to be explored. When you become a local tourist, check out of your house and into a hotel, hostel, or guesthouse. It’s important to get out of your familiar environment, because if you stay home, you’ll find something to do around the house and create excuses for why you can’t sightsee. Moving to a different location can help give you that feeling of adventure, excitement, and unfamiliarity. Moreover, be sure to go to your local tourism office and get a city tourism pass. These cards allow you to see a wide range of local attractions for free or reduced prices and can be your way to see your local sites on a budget. They aren’t just for outsiders!

Travel regionally – Travel brings to mind faraway and exotic destinations. Because of that, few people look in their own backyard for adventure, but it offers just as many places to travel. Exploring your own region is an underrated and often overlooked aspect of travel. So you don’t have to fly across an ocean to explore the world. Head to the bookstore, buy a regional guidebook, and see what there is to see in your area. Your backyard holds as many possible travel destinations as does a country half a world away.

Go to National Parks – There’s almost always a park nearby and spending a few days with nature is not only good for your wallet but also good for your soul. Camping, after all, costs very little money. Camping fees in national parks are as little as $15 USD per night in the United States, $15-40 CAD in Canada, $30-60 AUD in Australia, and $17-22 NZD in New Zealand. And in many places in Japan and Europe (especially Scandinavia), you can camp on public lands for free. Additionally, you go camping stocked with all your own supplies and accommodation so you don’t have to worry about spending lots of extra money. Your food bill can be whatever you spend on groceries and nothing more. You don’t need to love camping to spend time in the national parks, either. Luckily, many parks provide cabins.

Book a last minute cruise – Cruise lines always offer incredible last-minute deals. No ship’s captain wants to leave with half the cabins empty. If you wait until the last minute, you can find some really amazing deals as cruise lines scramble to find passengers. Plus, cruise operators always throw in some on-board amenities, free upgrades, and cash vouchers to sweeten the deal. After you book, keep an eye out on prices, because if they drop, you can often call your travel agent or the cruise company itself to get a partial refund or vouchers to use for dining and alcohol on the boat.

Think outside the box – Travel counter to the prevailing trend. If people are going in the summer, you go in the spring or winter. Skip the popular destinations and head off the beaten path a bit. It might not be the most ideal time to go or your favorite destination, but thinking of unusual places to go and visiting in the off-season are going to save you a lot of money.

Book a last-minute tour – Just like cruises, tours are best booked last-minute. Tour companies need to fill the seats because once that trip departs, they still have the same costs. Why are tours so cheap last-minute? Well, think about how people plan vacations. You get the time off work, you book your vacation, you buy your flight, and you go. Since people pre-book, prices are higher in advance because these companies understand booking patterns and then price accordingly. As departure time nears, companies know people aren’t likely to turn up and book on departure day, so they sweeten the price to increase bookings. So take the time off work, wait until the week before, see what’s cheap, and then go.

Become a house sitter – Accommodation can eat into the cost of a trip big-time. A way around that is to stay somewhere for free. A unique way to overcome this is to house-sit for someone while they are on vacation. You get free accommodation, a kitchen to cook in, and the chance to explore a destination in depth. It’s a pretty unique way to travel and one that a lot of world travelers take advantage of. You can even do this in your own region too, to cut down on transportation costs.

Grab a cheap flight – Nowadays, you don’t have to guess where the cheapest flight from your home would be. You can look up a whole list of flights using a site like Momondo or Google Flights. With those sites you can type in “(the closest airport to you)” for your departure city and “everywhere” for your destination. Then a list of the cheapest flights appears in front of your very eyes, so you can choose where to go within your budget.

Destinations

Best Shows in Las Vegas

Vegas has all the gambling, shopping and eating you could handle and that doesn’t even include the countless shows you could see, but which are the best?

Published

17 mins ago

October 7, 2024

Brady Pearson

Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world for a reason, there are more things to do here than anywhere else in the world. Vegas has all the gambling, shopping and eating you could handle and that doesn’t even include the countless shows you could see, but which are the best? While rebranding the city as a family destination, Las Vegas still boils down to what hotel has the best casino, restaurants and shows. I chose my favorite shows for you to see in Vegas and why, so check it out and see some shows next time you are there.

All Shook Up

The King is alive in All Shook Up at Planet Hollywood in this awesome tribute show. Travis Allen is the master impersonator who perfectly embodies Elvis Presley in his voice, demeanor and stage presence. If you can handle the annoying screams of women lusting after Allen, then this show is great.

Blue Man Group

If you haven’t seen this sensory overload of a show then you need to fix that. The Blue Man Group is the ultimate in Vegas shows because it stimulates all the senses. Now at its new home at the Luxor in a specifically designed theater, just for their unique show, the Blue Boys are back and better than ever. Check out their show and scratch it off your list.

The Beatles: Love

The music of the Beatles mixed with the absurdity of a Cirque du Soleil show and you have the formula for an awesome evening. Head on over to The Mirage and checkout “Love” even if you aren’t a Beatles fan. It’s a true Vegas style show with tons of glitz and glamour and all your favorite classics from The Beatles.

Absinthe

Cruise on over to Caesars Palace and check out Absinthe, the seductive variety show is half Cirque-du-Soleil acrobatics and half brash comedy show with a dash of burlesque mixed in for sexuality. The show is meant to induce a form of hallucinations indicative of an Absinthe trip. Seeing this show is like drinking the funky green drink, so be prepared for a crazy time at this adult only show.

Penn & Teller

What’s a trip to Vegas without some magic? A boring trip is what. You have to see Penn & teller because it’s an awesome show and you deserve to laugh after you lost all your money at blackjack. The kings of comedy magic will split your sides and make you wonder, “How the heck did they do that?”

Purple Reign

No trip to Vegas is complete without hitting the outskirt hotels for some real deals and possibly the best cover band in the world. Purple Reign is the Prince tribute show at the Westgate that will make you believe that Prince is still walking the Earth.

See Cirque du Soleil in a gigantic pool with acrobatics and synchronized swimming, yep, check that off your bucket list. The Bellagio is home to the famous fountains and O, the most impressive Cirque show to date. This show is so over-the-top that it could only happen in Vegas and at the Bellagio. If you want to see a Cirque show, this is the one to see first. Romantic and beautiful, it will pull at your heartstrings and stimulate your brain.

Le Reve

Le Reve is the Wynn’s answer to O, and it may even be better. This show strays away from a story and focuses more on the incredible skill of its performers. You won’t believe what you see in this aquatic master class in acrobatics and performance.

Destinations

Endangered Heritage Attractions In the Americas

Let’s explore what heritage sites are in danger and why so we can understand what’s going on in our world.

Published

12 hours ago

October 6, 2024

Loren Thorn

We have reached a tipping point at many of our planet’s most beautiful and special destinations, and you may want to visit them before it’s too late. Whether it is environmental or human related issues affecting these historic and natural locations, they are in danger of being destroyed. The World Heritage Convention and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have picked these four heritage attractions as at-risk and in danger. These sites include the Everglades National Park and Belize’s Barrier Reef. Let’s explore what heritage sites are in danger and why so we can understand what’s going on in our world.

Belize Barrier Reef

Running Belize’s entire coastline, this living wall is protecting the environment from rough seas and is the largest reef system in the Northern Hemisphere. The reef is home to countless fish and coral species and is in danger from overfishing, poor water quality and development without environmental concerns. This is one of the planet’s best snorkeling and scuba diving spots and it may be destroyed by human interference soon. If we don’t enforce some strict environmental laws in the area soon, we may lose this amazing reef like we are already losing the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Chan Chan

In Peru an ancient civilization thrived before the Spanish Conquistadors invaded the area and even predated the mighty Incan civilization. The Chimu people built the largest mud brick city in the entire world at the site called Chan Chan. This incredible archeological dig is ever changing because rain and weather are turning the mud bricks slowly back into mud and the crumbling infrastructure will only increase over time. See this magnificent site before it’s gone forever. The Incas eventually conquered the Chimu people but they left a real mark on Latin America.

Everglades National Park

Located in Southern Florida and encompassing 1.5 million acres of swampland, The Everglades National Park is in danger because rising sea levels are saturating the freshwater table with seawater and many of the animals and plant life are dying off. The Everglades are home to many species of animals and foliage that thrive nowhere else on the planet. Home to alligators, crocodiles, manatees, and countless other rare species, the Everglades are in serious danger and so are all these beautiful animals. The rising sea levels are seriously affecting the region and it is beginning to show signs of deterioration.

Portobelo-San Lorenzo

This Caribbean port city was originally built to protect Spanish gold and other treasures so it was a favorite spot for pirates. Pirates ruled the Caribbean waters in the 17^th and 18^th centuries and no ship was safe from their plundering ways. The fishing town has some incredible ruins of the Old Spanish naval base to the large amount of sunken ships in the harbor. With plenty to explore and tourism increasing, this heritage site is in danger of being built over as there is no regulations in this region of Panama. Take in the Old Spanish architecture and the beautiful ruins before it’s too late.

Destinations

New Travel Alert for Europe During The Summer

The US State Department issued another and more widespread travel alert for much of Europe this summer.

Published

2 days ago

October 5, 2024

Loren Thorn

The US State Department issued another and more widespread travel alert for much of Europe this summer. This comes on the heels of recent travel warnings for Europe, which are a response to increased chatter from terrorist organizations. There have been some major terrorist attacks and activity in Europe and specifically France in the past few years. Summer is the busiest travel season and many European nations count on this yearly boom for their gross national income.

Details

The travel alert is issued on May 1, 2017 and runs until September 1, 2017. The US State Department believes that with all the recent terrorism at busy tourist attractions in Europe and increases chatter show signs of impending danger. The extremists are hell-bent on spreading their fear and terror by attacking the western civilization at the heart of their freedom.

France

Recent attacks in France have made huge headlines and many people have been affected by these incidents. Paris is an international city with millions of tourists each summer, so a travel warning like this could hurt their bottom line. Will this travel alert make people reconsider their summer travel plans, only time will tell?

The Alert mentions Paris as a possible site where terrorism could occur and that should worry people with plans through that city.

Russia

Russia seems to be in continuous turmoil and this summer season is no different. The country has been the target of terrorists in the past and many of those are homegrown threats. If you have plans to visit Russia, I would check with the US embassy just in case.

Great Britain

Great Britain has many strong ties to the United States and that makes them and their territories targets of terrorist organizations. London is one of the most visited cities in Europe and now the State Department is warning US citizens about the threat of a terrorist attack in that city this summer.

Islamic State and al-Qaida

The two main terrorist groups responsible for all these threats and attacks are the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaida. They have plenty of operatives already in place all over Europe and these sleeper cells are waiting for the opportunity to strike. The US State Department doesn’t believe that these attacks are imminent but there are strong possibilities.

What You Should Do

If you already have travel plans for Europe this summer, it may be too late to change your plans. If this is the case, don’t worry, the odds of being in a terrorist attack are very minimal and just being smart will help you out. If you plan on traveling to the alerted areas, contact the local embassy or consulate and see if there are any new developments. Watch media and see if there are any new warnings.

Look for things that are odd or out of the normal but overall just try and enjoy yourself. Life is too short to let the terrorists win, let’s keep living our free lives and we will always win in the face of adversity.