Tag: Travel Stories

Planning A Long-Haul Vacation

Planning a vacation is one thing, but going for a long-haul vacation is an entirely separate set of challenges. To be in the position to choose a destination on a far-flung side of the world is a blessed one. Deciding to go on an adventure and trek the foothills of the mountains or ski down the slopes covered in fresh, powdered snow instead of lounging on a beach an hour away is a big decision.

 

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Before you do anything, though, you have to plan. For some, planning is hard and boring and for others, the excitement of an adventure is in the planning. Proper planning is an absolute essential when you have only a week or two to play with for your vacation. You not only have to ensure you have all the right travel documents – including any visas for the place you are going. There are so many websites that can tell you what you will need to have alongside your passport and you can check out FAQs here to see if you will need authorization to travel through Europe. You also need to look up the right insurance cover for your vacation; long haul destinations tend to need better coverage so ensure you look into that.

The absolute first thing you need to decide is what you want from your holiday. Are you looking for lush jungle treks or lounging on the white sandy beaches? Are you aiming to city hop your way around a country or scale to the summit of a mountain? Whatever your tastes, you have to check the local advice with the Foreign Office for travelling to ensure you’re covered for any visas you need and health requirements. Some places require you to have injections before you go to protect against certain diseases, and you don’t want to be turned away at the airport because you didn’t check!

 

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Next, you need to decide if you want to create a package holiday, or if you want to book everything separately. Sometimes, it’s cheaper to book a holiday as a package but for others, it makes more sense to book flights separate from hotel. All-inclusive breaks are easier to come by if you book a full package, and if you want less hassle, a package break is an easy option. There are plenty of travel agencies that offer vacations that are quite specialist, including specific skiing holidays and mountain hikes. Wanderlust is infectious and you should think carefully about exactly what it is you want out of your holiday before you book it.

Be practical about your holiday. We’ve talked about travel documents and the possible need for vaccinations for a holiday. Being practical about timelines before you go on holiday is important, because if certain travel authorizations and visas take a little time, you need to plan ahead so that you don’t lose out on a great holiday deal. There is nothing better than planning a break away, so doing it carefully will get you memories to last a lifetime!

 

Coping With The Top 3 Worst Travel Troubles

In an ideal world, every trip will go as smooth as can be. There will be no problems, and we travel with complete confidence and no hiccups. Unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world, and things go wrong all the time.

So, here’s my list of the top travel troubles and how you can cope with them:

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Cancelled Flights

When your flights get cancelled, it can ruin your travels. It prevents you from getting somewhere on time and can cause a great deal of stress. Especially if it’s your flight home, as you end up lost in a foreign country with no way of getting home.

It’s hard to cope with this travel trouble, but there are some things you can do. Mainly, try and have a plan B wherever possible. This doesn’t mean you should book multiple flights, but more that you should prepare for the worst. For example, reserve a room at a hotel near the airport for the day of your flight. Then, if your flight gets cancelled, you have somewhere to stay for the night. If your flight isn’t cancelled, you can cancel the reservation free of charge (check with the hotel that you can do this, most allow you to, but some don’t).

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Lost Luggage

Losing your luggage is one of the worst travel troubles out there. When an airline loses your stuff, it can put you in a really bad position. All of your clothes and precious belongings have gone, leaving you stranded with nothing.

Thankfully, you can cope with this problem in two ways. Firstly, you can prevent it from happening by avoiding paying for hold luggage. Try and only use hand luggage, and you can keep your bags with you at all times. This may be hard for some people, but you can always pay for extra hand luggage too if you can’t keep it all in one bag. The second idea is to help you cope with the aftermath of some lost luggage. What you should do is buy travel insurance to protect you when this happens. There are loads of places like GoBear that compare travel insurance so you can find the best one. Once you’ve done this, you’ll be protected if any of your luggage goes missing or gets damaged. You can claim compensation and get replacements or money for anything you lost.

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No Cash

Most of us like bringing foreign money with us when we travel. This is because it can cost a lot to use our cards, and our banks may see activity in a foreign country and block our account as a security measure. This leads to a long phone conversation as you prove who you are and get the account unblocked. So, we use cash, but what happens when we run out? It can cause a big problem for us, particularly if we didn’t bring our card at all.

Well, coping with this issue is easy. First, always bring more than you need, just in case! Secondly, get a travelcard and load it up with money. You can use this card at ATMs to withdraw cash without being charged fees!

There you have it, three travel troubles complete with ideas on how to cope with them. Now, you can travel with confidence this summer.

 

 

Timeless Tawang

Breathing lowers, eyes get transfixed and soul flies off leaving the senses spellbound. Nothing seems breath taking as the 400 years old monastery looming across the horizon. Perched at a height above 12,155ft and having drenched in quintessential aura of Buddhism, this land of Monpa Tribe is nestled in the knolls of dawn-lit mountains. Nuzzled in the icy folds of higher Himalayan foothills of North Easthern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, Tawang is scarcely populated mountainous track lying roughly on the northwest extreme. Mesmerising lofty mountains, clear sparkling lakes, deep gorges, exquisite Gompas and quaint villages shade this tinsel town as the basket of adventure. The high altitude bare mountains, uninhabited hilly belt ranging from 6000 ft to 11,000.ft comprising of plateau and sparsely populated narrow valleys graduates Tawang as the Mecca of trekkers and hikers.

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