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Posts Tagged ‘great barrier reef’

Regardless where you travel, accommodation takes up a huge hunk of your travel budget and unless you find a way to save you might have a much shorter trip than you are hoping for. One of the first things that will affect your accommodation budget depends on how many of you will be traveling together. There are huge advantages to traveling in a group or even to travel with another couple. It can save you in that staying in either youth hostels of at camping sites gets much more comfortable and cost effective if you are 4 or more people.

Obviously hotels are nice, but in reality the price of a hotel room for one night can buy you a week in cheap accommodation. Obviously you won’t have too many creature comforts but you are only sleeping there, right?

For cheap accommodation you basically have 2 choices. Youth hostels and camping sites. Lets quickly look at the pro’s and con’s of each.

Firstly, youth hostels offer cheap, cost effective stays that are often very centrally located. The accommodation is usually very basic with shared dorm-type rooms and shared bathrooms. There are usually one central kitchen area and you basically buy a bed for the night. Some do offer en-suite rooms with more comforts but these are probably more in the price range of a hotel suite. The main benefit is the fact that its central and close to all the sights and attractions that you would want to explore as a tourist.

Camping offers a lot more creature comforts and if you don’t like he idea of being cramped into a dorm room with 20 other backpackers then camping is well worth it. Its probably much cheaper than a youth hostel but you will need to either have your own tent or your own camper van. Although its much cheaper its usually on the outskirts of cities and can make the commute back and forth a real hassle – and an expensive exercise. Camping can be very sociable and a great option if you are traveling in a group.

In all my personal travels, accommodation selection is a very important part of the planning process. I try not to travel on group packages when exploring Asia, they usually take me to cashew nut factories, gem merchants and bird’s nest restaurants, none of which appeal to me. I also often get put up in hotels which are crammed and fairly worn by groups of travelers brought in by the travel agencies.

The internet is my best source for planning a trip, I get great deals on hotels, transportation and on-the-ground arrangements and very good information such as reviews and recommendations from fellow travelers.

When doing a personal trip on a mid-range budget, it is not as easy as business travels where I can pick a reliable hotel chain and book a room. I personally choose my accommodation based on the following:

1. Location – close by to the following, depending on purpose of the trip:

a. The skytrain/underground (for places such as Bangkok, Singapore, London and etc)

b. Shopping centre(s) or point of interest, within 10-15 minutes walking distance is acceptable

c. Good hangouts, e.g. eateries or pubs/bars/clubs

d. The beach or nothing for that matter (for pure relaxation, isolation can be therapeutic. I personally like views of the paddy field when in Bali)

For location, I would try to stay away from being located on main streets, on the entertainment row (pounding music at night is no fun nor the sight of men picking up scantily clad women), brightly lit neighboring buildings (which is quite common in Hong Kong),

2. Price – a very important factor, several sites offer very good discounts, here are some I recommend, Asia Travel, Asia Hotels, Asia Best Hotel, PYO Travel. Asia Travel has been most reliable and no issue with internet payments so far. For country specific travels, there are other sites, some local, which offer better discounts. I’ll cover this in a related article. Best is to always compare offers from several sites, you can sometimes save quite a lot – extra money can always go towards the shopping budget :p

3. Traveler reviews – I use the Tripadvisor site religiously, they provide rankings of hotels as rated by travelers based on several criteria. This is important as images of the rooms provided by the hotels are usually not accurate. Often I’ve passed on some hotels as travelers did mention that it was old or dirty, important facts that you cannot obtain on brochures or hotel websites.

4. Cleanliness – I’m Virgo and a clean environment is very important to me. Clean carpets, sheets, room walls and bathroom are necessary. Heaven forbid that the room or sheets smell. I can’t sleep otherwise. I’d sacrifice a small room for cleanliness anytime. Try to pick hotels which have been newly opened or recently refurbished. For the latter, make sure they put you in the new wing.

That aside, go out, explore and have fun! Accommodation is important but please don’t stay indoors and explore the room walls when traveling. It should only be a place for peaceful rest in preparation of the exciting travel ahead the next day.

Bon Voyage!

Now is the season to visit Australia. Travel insurance and digital camera in hand, pack light and prepare for the return of the whales.

The first pods of giant humpback whales have been spotted just off the Gold Coast in Southeast Queensland. The crossing of thousands of these gentle and beautiful creatures marks officially the coastal city’s whale-watching season. The period usually runs from June to November each year, so make sure you find good accommodations near or within the coastal city. Get any cheap travel insurance, enough to cover your fears of cruising on the open sea as well.

Humpback whales, species of baleen whales, are known to leave Antarctica this time of the year. They have a distinctive body shape, hence the name, and possess an unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. They swim at least 25,000 kilometres to the warm tropical waters of Queensland, and then proceed to the Great Barrier Reef.

Found in oceans and seas everywhere, humpbacks feed in the polar waters during summer and migrate to tropical or sub-tropical waters to breed. During winter, they give birth to calves and live on fat reserves.

Spectators and whale-watching enthusiasts will certainly have a grand experience. In warm waters, humpbacks are far from being lethargic. They will probably spend a lot of time eating krill and small fish through different feeding methods, including the bubble net feeding technique. They, however, can turn playful anytime. Their moods are very much evident when they playfully tail or pectoral fin slap the surface of the water.

If you are quite fortunate, you’ll see some whales do some acrobatic breaching, spyhopping, lob-tailing, peduncle throws, charging, and parrying. This is because such behaviours are hard to capture on videos, so make long term arrangements with your hotel in Australia. Travel insurance and advisory subscription should be kept active during your lengthy stay.

Courtship patterns will be very evident during this year. Hopefully you’ll see a lot of butting and charging. Male humpbacks outnumber females in most pods. Sometimes, groups of up to 20 males congregate around a single female and exhibit varieties of courtship behaviours for several hours.

Humpbacks also vocalize before and during mating, so be sure you hear at least two types of songs before you depart Queensland. Males produce long and loud complex sounds in the low registers. Some can even sing continuously for 24 hours or more. Scientists also say that each pod or group intones their unique songs.

Australia’s tourism agencies and conservationist welcome the return of the endangered animal. Recent accounts indicate that humpbacks are returning in bigger pods. Their number has been reported to have increased gradually by about 10 percent each year. Conservationists expect humpback population to reach more than 13,000 this year.

The ban on whaling activities in crucial areas has been a big boost for many whale species. Thanks to the greater public awareness to their plight, humpback and other types of whales and dolphins are making a big comeback in the open seas around the world.

Don’t go chasing humpbacks around the world, though. Your whale-watching experience in the Gold Coast will certainly be enough and memorable. So contact your travel agent and book a flight now. Get cheap travel insurance and reservations to a nice hotel.