Holiday Articles

The kids are grown and out of the house… time to think about year round vacations! This is no time to mope about the empty nest…. This lets you start planning to take vacations when other peoples kids are in school.

You can stop thinking only about kid friendly places. You can plan late night entertainment. You can go during different seasons. You can explore more museums or archeological sites or do some wine tasting… things that just weren’t possible with the kids in tow. Now you can think of things you’ve always wanted to do, but you put them off because they were things that might bore the kids.

Maybe you still want a beach vacation… but you don’t have to go during spring break or school holidays! Think globally here… warm Caribbean hideaways, Australian surfing, Moroccan beaches, or diving in the Seychelles. There are beaches all over the world for year round vacations!

Warm tropical beaches are great destinations at almost any time of the year. There are some considerations when you’re planning that beach getaway. While winter cold in the north makes those Caribbean beaches very enticing, it is also high season and costs more. Summer is cheaper, but there are all those families, and it IS hurricane season. Maybe you can opt for fall and spring, but check when spring break is so you aren’t caught up in that.

You can forget about Disney World this year, and instead of exploring the world from Disney’s Epcot Center… think about really exploring the world. Anywhere you choose to go will be more colorful and more fun in person than Epcot can make it.

If you’re going to the popular vacation venues like national parks or beaches, do a little research…. It sure would be nice if you could go someplace on shoulder season wouldn’t it? If you could avoid some of those crowds and prices?

Cancun will be FULL of spring break rowdiness, but venture inland in Mexico…. stay in Merida and make the loop around the Mayan Ruins.

How about New York City in winter to see the Christmas window displays or to celebrate New Year’s Eve and watch the ball drop? OK, you won’t avoid crowds on that one, but wouldn’t it be fun? Attend plays and hear music; explore those museums more thoroughly.

Go to Europe in the Fall and enjoy the food… long leisurely dinners with no kids can be very romantic. Take culinary classes. Or go in the Spring and visit gardens that are just coming into bloom.

You could go to explore the Pyramids in Egypt in January or February when it’s not so hot.

Take an African safari in late September or October to see the Wildebeest migration.

Go wine tasting in Australia or New Zealand in March, the late northern winter, just when their harvest is coming in because they’re at the end of summer down under.

The possibilities are endless. You just have to develop a different mind set. You don’t just need to take a summer vacation… think outside of THAT box… Start making your list for year round vacations.

Come the last week of July every year, you’ll find airplane nuts in Oshkosh. Pilots and airplane lovers from all over the world converge on this little town…. Its rural airport becomes the busiest airport in the world. I know that’s hard to believe… but just look at the tower. It has a banner that says “busiest tower in the world”.

Busiest in the world? Yep, it is for that one week of the year when the EAA — The Experimental Aircraft Association — puts on its AirVenture. “The Greatest Aviation Celebration in the World.” And it is a celebration…. if you’re an airplane nut, you really should plan to make it to Oshkosh some day.

Part of the fun of Oshkosh is to tune into the tower frequencies (yes there are two) and listen as the controllers bring planes in to land…. two and three at a time. You hear things like “Blue Cessna keep flying and land on the green dot…. , white tail-drager get it down on the numbers and get off as fast as you can… turn into the grass… off into the grass.”

The controllers don’t want aircraft identification numbers… just colors and types… they are too busy. They just want to see you and get you down. Coming in on final, they want to make sure they have the right plane, so they’ll ask you to “Rock your wings for Oshkosh”. Airplane nuts love this stuff. I know. We just spent a week in Oshkosh.

There is a second runway and tower frequency they use for larger and faster planes, though the main runway sees plenty of those. Everywhere you look there is something taking off or landing…. there’s always something flying…. sometimes it looks like a swarm of bugs off in the distance.

No where else will you see things like the “Bonanzas to Oshkosh” group arrival where 137 Bonanaza airplanes arrived in formation AND landed in formation… three at a time… one group right after another. All 137 are cleared for landing at the same time! They all got down in a nice display in about 30 minutes!

Airplane nuts in Oshkosh are there because they can see all the newest planes available for private pilots. They can check out restored antiques and “warbirds”. There are businesses selling corporate jets. Vendors are selling airplanes parts and fun “extras” if you have your own plane.

Pilots who want to bring their own plane to Oshkosh don’t need to register before arrival…. Plane parking in the exhibit area is first come first served. You can opt to be judged or just park on the line. If you park in the exhibit area, you are sharing your plane with others, and they will be peeking in the windows and under the airframe all through the week. Almost everyone who comes to Oshkosh is an airplane nut in one form or another, so they will be respectful of the planes…. and there are tons of vigilant pilots around who will straighten them out if they’re not.

Pilots can camp with their airplanes in a parking area adjacent to the AirVenture show grounds or away from the planes in Camp Scholler adjacent to the airfield. There is a small store in the campground, and the EAA runs shuttles to grocery stores and nearby shopping malls for all possible needs. There’s lots of food available on the field including breakfast and dinner, and it’s better than most airshow food.

If you want to stay in a hotel, you’d better have reservations well in advance… like a year ahead…. many of those airplane nuts in Oshkosh return every year.

So if you’re an airplane nut and you’ve always wanted to go… why don’t you plan to get to the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh one year.

What to do if you have a long layover? Do you have any airport layover ideas on how to fill your time? People are always telling us they think travel is no fun anymore because of the airport hassles, the baggage limits… and the airport layovers.

You know by now that we love travel… so we think much of that negativity is just your mind set. We try to make the most of every trip, and that can include layovers… and we have some airport layover ideas for you.

Sometimes we take the “red eye” from the West Coast to the East Coast to begin our trip… then we might have to wait all day for a flight. We sleep pretty well on planes… but really who gets that much sleep on the red eye? We usually find a nearby hotel that will give us a reduced “day rate”.

We can then take a nap in a real bed…. eat in a real restaurant (though airports now have a better selection than they used to) and take a shower. Using the layover this way gets us more rested, lets us get partway acclimated to a new time zone, and lets us arrive at our destination feeling much better.

Getting a little rest and quiet time on layovers during long trips can be a good thing. Many airports around the world have hotel rooms inside security… and you actually can rent them by the hour… no bad joke intended here. Some rooms come with showers and toilets in the rooms. Some just have a desk and a bed with showers and toilets down the hall.

If airports don’t have hotels inside security, some at the very least have shower facilities. We’ve made use of these from time to time too…. and on a long flight from Africa connecting through London, a shower and a change of clothes felt really good… maybe not as good as a full day in transit with time to sleep, but good enough.

Are you feeling fresh enough that you would just like to go shopping? Airports do have better shopping now than they used to… and many guarantee that the prices will be the same as you would pay in town.

What about airport layover ideas for just a few hours…. Do you have time for a massage at the airport? Maybe there is a gym at the airport or nearby where you could get a little exercise and a shower. Getting exercise will make you feel better on your trip.

Do you have enough time for some sightseeing? You might be able to take a train, subway or bus into the city or nearby attractions and see some sights. For instance, take the train into Philadelphia and see Liberty Square. The Le Bourget Air Museum is about a 45 minute local bus ride from Charles De Gaulle Airport.

If you have friends near the airport, one layover idea is to see if they can meet you for lunch or dinner. We have stayed connected with travel buddies that way… and sometimes a dinner is just long enough.

Activities off the airport are easier if you can leave your luggage somewhere. This is harder to do with today’s security levels, but some airport do have left luggage facilities. Check airport websites before your trip to see if your airport has one. Make sure you know when your connecting flight leaves so you don’t miss it.

Be creative in your thinking and you’ll come up with some airport layover ideas of your own. If you don’t… you can always read a book!

Bratislava is a small city, by capital city standards, and it IS a capital city. You’ve never heard of it? Capital of what?

It’s the Capital of Slovakia. The country of Slovakia used to be part of Czechoslovakia until they peacefully parted ways to become the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. This great little city has only about half a million people. The beautifully restored historic center is very easy to walk and enjoy… much of it is pedestrian only.

We arrived in the city by hydrofoil from Budapest… And there we were on a dock by the Danube without so much as a guide book or a hotel reservation, but the city is easy enough to navigate…. So easy that we found a hotel just a block from the river. The historic center of the city is a compact area right on the Danube, and information is as easy to get as hotel rooms are.

Bratislava Castle sits on a hill overlooking the city and the river. The castle is closed for renovation until 2011, so since our time in the city was short, so we didn’t hike up the hill for a closer look at the castle… We were content to just take pictures of it.

For our quick overnight tour of the city, we stayed in the old center and found plenty of sites to keep us busy. St. Martin’s Cathedral (Dom sv. Martina) is one of the largest and oldest churches in the city. It sits right under the castle.

As in all historic cities, there are several beautiful churches you can visit, and a smattering of Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance houses and palaces which sit along cobblestone streets. Many were closed for renovation when we were there, but that was OK.

It seemed to us that the charm of the city was just to wander the narrow pedestrian streets. It has a small and concentrated historical center. We enjoyed stopping at outdoor cafes for snacks and a beer. Outdoor cafes seemed to be everywhere which gave the town a very cozy and friendly feel.

This Central European capital is only 37 miles (60 km) east of Vienna Austria. You can fly into the city from many European cities on low cost airlines or you can fly into the Vienna International Airport, which is only 25 miles (40 km) from Bratislava, and take a bus from there.

It’s also easy to reach the city by train from downtown Vienna. A fun way to get to the heart of the city is by hydrofoil on the Danube. You can board the boat in Vienna or take it from Budapest as we did.

We think you only need a day or two to get a feel for this great little city. We could easily have missed it, but we’re glad we took that hydrofoil trip to and from Budapest and spent a night in Bratislava.

Never heard of the Budapest Aviation Museum? Maybe you’re not an airplane nut, but we love taking time away from art museums and churches to have fun with our hobbies when we travel, so we’ll tell you about it anyway.

When we went looking for the Budapest Aviation Museum, we headed straight for the Transportation Museum… that sort of seemed logical. The Aviation Museum is part of the Kozlekedsi Transportation Museum, but it’s located in a separate building, Petofi Csarnok (Petofi Hall), a couple of hundred yards into the Varosliget Park where the Transportation Museum is located.

My hubby loves to see all types of historical aircraft, and he couldn’t pass up a chance to see some planes that you just can’t see at home. The Budapest Aviation Museum displays a lot of both Hungarian and foreign aircraft… from antique airplanes to gliders and helicopters… along with a display of engines and other aviation related equipment.

This permanent exhibition about the history of flight includes a Junkers F-13, the first airplane in the world with metal frame-work…. how’s that for a vintage airplane! That was the signature plane that really sent us looking for the museum. There are mostly civilian planes on display, though you will see a Yak-18 and the space capsule of the first Hungarian cosmonaut.

Other planes of note are the Hansa-Brandenburg B.1. It was an unarmed military reconnaissance bi-plane of World War I; one of the earliest designs of Ernst Heinkel of World War II fame.

Another World War I vintage airplane is a Hungarian Lloyd Prototype 40.01 (1914). This clumsy looking biplane set altitude records on her first day of flight… 4,120 meters with two passengers. We’re talking 4,120 meters here (13,517 feet)! And it reached 6,170 M (20,243) just a few days later. I don’t know about you, but I find that impressive for 1914!

A Repulogepgyar Levente II (1942-43) on display was a Hungarian two seat trainer and liaison aircraft from World War II.

Varosliget or City Park is a fairly large public park. It is easily reached by a historic Metro subway from the city center. The tram ride itself is to partake in transportation history… It’s the second oldest underground Metro system in the world, built between 1894 and 1896. The original purpose of this first metro line was to carry passengers from town to the Budapest City Park. How lucky for us!

That Metro Line 1 was itself declared a World Heritage Site in 2002! The station in town is reminiscent of the 1890s… including the floor, the benches, the lighting and wooden window frames in the station… and old pictures. A great way to start a journey to the Budapest Aviation Museum and the Transportation Museum.

In addition to the Transport Museum and the Aviation Museum, the Szechenyi Medicinal Baths are located in Varosliget Park… as well as the Millennium Monument, a couple of other museums, and the zoo.

The Aviation Museum is open Tuesday – Friday 1000-1700, Saturday and Sunday 1000-1800. Hours are shorter during the winter. The museums are closed on Mondays.

You might have to be a bit of an airplane buff to want to visit the Budapest Aviation Museum, but the City Park itself is worth a visit to see the Szechenyi Baths, and if you’re lucky, as we were, you might even find a festival going on… you never know what you’ll run into when you get a little off the beaten track following your hobbies.

Cappadocia is unlike any tourist destination in the world. Rather than centuries old buildings, gorgeous gardens and sun kissed white sand beaches, it is sought for its seemingly extraterrestrial landscape and underground cities.

It is located in the Central Anatolian region of Turkey and comprised of the five provinces of Aksaray, Nevsehir, Nigde, Kayseri and Kirsehir. Its unique geological features are a result of volcanic eruptions and the eroding effects of the flowing waters and blowing winds in the region tens of thousands of years ago. Now, Cappadocia looks like a vast rock tableland with soaring vulcanic tufas or what appears as rock towers to the layman’s eyes. These volcanic tufas are popularly known as fairy chimneys.

The best way to fully appreciate the volcanic landscape of Cappadocia is to look at it from above. What better way to do it than from a romantic canopy of a hot air balloon? Hot air balloon rides are popular in Cappadocia and several outdoor outfitters are more than willing to take you for a ride.

The town of Avanos is a promising base of your exploration of the Cappadocia region. It is a charming town of pottery makers set on the banks of the Red River in Kizilirmak. Beautifully crafted pots and plates are available for sale and you can see how potters work in their kick wheels that remained authentic to its original form from generations long gone.

Another good alternative is the town of Uchisar which literally means “Pointed Castle” referring to one of the most popular landmarks in Cappadocia, the Uchisar’s Kale or fortress. Its many century old stone houses have been converted into hotels and other affordable guesthouses and pensions. Some of these structures have cave rooms that were restored into hotel rooms for tourists to experience cave accommodation.

Cappadocia is also famous for the hundreds (nobody really knows the exact number) of underground cities. These are not just little rooms in a cave but are actually interconnecting chambers that house an entire village. Derinkuyu is the biggest of these discovered underground cities.

It has 8 levels of interconnected tunnels and said to accommodate 20,000 people, at the very least, all at the same time. Just imagine the size of it! It has also its own ventilation ducts, toilets, water wells, stables, wine and oil presses, cellars and storage rooms. Refectories and chapels are common among many of these underground cities considering that these chambers were used by the first Christians as hiding places from the persecution of the Roman Empire.

Of course, you can’t leave Cappadocia without visiting the Goreme Open Air Museum. Goreme houses many churches and chapels that vary in size and splendor or the lack thereof. A remarkable collection of century old frescoes at these churches and chapels provide fascinating insight to the faith of the people during a dark period and their efforts at keeping it alive.

A similar monastic complex can be found in the town of Zelve about 10 kilometers from Goreme. It may not have the extensive collection of frescoes in Goreme but the Fish and Grape churches are good enough reason to visit this place.

Most travelers spend much of their travel budget on food. We all look forward to a sumptuous meal but if we are far away from home, it’s a luxury most budget travelers cannot afford. Well, you don’t have to starve yourself to save on food. Cheap eating is possible with the following tips.

Most hotels or guesthouses offer free breakfast to their guests. It’s not exactly free because the cost is part of what you paid for your accommodation. Take advantage of this free breakfast; fill up on it before you hit the road for a long day of sightseeing and exploring. Do take note that some hotels serve breakfast for a limited time only. You want to wake up a little early for it if you want to save your dollars for something special a little later.

It is a fact that lunches can be significantly cheaper than suppers. So if you want to splurge on food, do so during lunch because it’ll still save you some money compared to doing it at dinner.

When eating in a restaurant, skip on the drinks. They usually cost three times more than their retail price. It pays to bring your own bottled water especially when you are in a place with not-so-safe drinking water. This brings us to a big money saver trick: stock-up on bottled water and other drinks at the supermarket. Bring a bottle or two when going out because buying the same from a street vendor or a convenience store will cost you a lot more.

Avoid touristy areas when choosing a restaurant. They are usually over-priced. Follow the locals and eat where they eat. You will be surprised at how big the price difference is. It’ll also help if you know one or two ethnic communities around the area such as Chinatown, Tokyotown and the like. Restaurants in these areas cater to locals and they also have the same local-friendly price. They are most likely to offer mouth-watering dishes too!

Carry some snacks with you. Chocolates, granola bars or trail mixes usually do the trick for hunger pangs. Local fruits from the supermarket are also cheap. A snack in between meals will help you avoid splurging on meals.

Carrying along a portable heater will save a lot of money on food. You can easily make coffee or instant hot chocolate in your hotel room when you feel hungry. It is also perfect for whipping up an instant meal in cup. Cup noodles are inexpensive and usually fill-up pretty good.

Cheap eating can save you a lot of cash that you can use to indulge in a relaxing massage, buy some souvenirs from the local crafts or have some great time in a local pub. By just playing smart, you’ll be surprised at how far you can stretch your budget. If you become an expert at it, you just might save enough for another exciting trip!

Do you worry about where to get travel ideas? I hope you’re not putting off travel because of that. We have friends who actually say they don’t want to take any vacation time because they can’t think of a place to go!

We think travel is important, but it’s not just us…. Studies show that taking time away from work on holiday makes workers more productive. Even if you don’t feel like you can take a long vacation, you can get away for a long weekend. If your budget is a little tight this year, find a budget get away. However you do it, it’ll be good for you.

We’ve never really been at a loss for finding a place to go, so let’s see if we can help you get travel ideas.

We keep a wish list of sorts, and we think that’s the best way for you to get ideas for your life style. When we read about a place that piques our fancy, we put it on the list. We might even look it up right then and find out when the best season is for that destination.

We might quickly research what there is to see and do there, and figure out about how much time we need to allow to see everything. Later, when it’s really time, you have a head start on your research.

We love traveling to far away and exotic locations, but we also put nearby destinations on our list. That way when we have even a long weekend, we can get travel ideas from our list.

You might have to let your employer know way ahead when you want vacation time… we do. So we try to have a few ideas about where we could go in any season, so we have destinations to choose from depending on the time of year we actually end up with vacation time.

If you still can’t come up with ideas about where to go, there are plenty of travel websites and travel magazines with great pictures and stories.

Yeah, you say…. so many websites that this option might be just too overwhelming. Well, you could go to a site like Travel Muse. Find their “Get Inspired” function… Fill in your budget, where you’re traveling from, the time of year you want to travel, the length of time you have for your holiday, your interests, and, of course, your budget. They will give you some suggestions.

Some of the travel magazines also have “destination finders” online. These online magazine sites cater to all budgets, so find one that fits with the amount you have to spend for travel. They have filters that let you put in your interests, and they come up with destinations that they have printed articles on lately.

Do you want active and adventure, arts and culture, or nightlife and shopping? You can even put in several interests and see what they come up with.

You might get travel ideas that are just what you want from one of these sites… or you may find that their recommendations aren’t exactly what you want, but they trigger an idea that is perfect for you.

Don’t stay home just because you can’t get travel ideas… there are plenty of places to fit any budget and time line… Start thinking about it, and soon you’ll have a list too!

A river cruise on the Danube? Sounds great, but if time is short, hydrofoil the Danube like we did, and enjoy the highlights.

River cruises that last for a week or so are a great way to see the Danube towns. But we had plans for wine tasting in Hungary, so we didn’t have time for a leisurely river cruise.

We discovered that hydrofoils regularly travel between Budapest Hungary, Bratislava Slovakia and Vienna (Wien) Austria. Departures are daily in August, and three days a week from May to September. There are generally no departures in the off season.

These cruises take you, speedily, by the beautiful scenery along the Danube including cute little villages, castles, and the sites of the famed “Danube Bend”. There are two locks between Budapest and Bratislava and one more lock if you hydrofoil the Danube all the way to Vienna. The trip for us between Budapest and Bratislava took a little less than four hours.

Most passengers travel from Budapest all the way to Vienna… or the reverse. The hydrofoils do stop in Bratislava, but you have to be sure to have reservations. They will also stop in the pretty little town of Visegrad Hungary which is on the Danube bend if you made reservations in advance.

Those reservations for the interim stops don’t have to be made way ahead… We were going only as far as Bratislava, and we made ours just the day before we took the hydrofoil.

Though you are speeding along, the trip is narrated in Hungarian, German and English, so you will know which towns and important sights you are seeing… however briefly. There are snacks and drinks available for purchase on board.

When we approached Bratislava, the Steward alerted us to our approach. The hydrofoil moored at the dock, and we disembarked with our luggage…. Before we could think to ask any questions, the boat took off up the river… and there we were standing on the dock. One other couple got off with us, and we all just looked at each other and laughed… it seemed so…. abrupt. I mean, there we were in a new country, and we just got dumped off the boat!

There was no customs house or information booth or anything. This really wasn’t a problem… it was just a surprise to us. It’s a funny story, and now you know what to expect if you decide to take a similar trip.

Bratislava doesn’t straddle the river like Budapest does, but the main part of town is a short manageable walk from the dock. We found a great hotel only a block away. All of Bratislava is walkable and tourist friendly.

We returned from Bratislava to Budapest the next day… that wine tasting drive was calling! We had to search a bit for the departure dock… it was not the same dock where we had been dropped off, but it was only about a half a block away in a cruise terminal building.

We couldn’t resist the opportunity to hydrofoil the Danube. We thought it was a great way to maximize our travel experience…. It might be just the thing for you too.

Every traveler needs an internet travel toolbox these days. A toolbox? You know, sites that can help you plan your trip. Put a “travel toolbox” category in your browser header… then start bookmarking sites, and before you know it, you’ll have an internet travel toolbox.

I remember when we first started traveling, we would write… on paper… to tourist bureaus for information…. I’m talking snail mail here!

We’d call or write to remote lodges for reservations… and sometimes wait weeks to hear back if the only way to reach them was by mail. We have some friends in Botswana who discovered an interesting problem when cellular service started getting them all connected. They were used to communicating by slow mail… suddenly they complained that everyone wanted answers by the next day!

Instant communication and travel information at your fingertips has changed things for sure. The internet has made things so much easier. Do you have your own internet favorites that you use all the time? Consider those the start of your internet travel toolbox. Earmark your favorites on your computer. If you travel with a laptop or a smart phone, bookmark sites on those that are helpful to you. We have some suggestions.

It always pays to check on travel advisories. Government sites are probably best for these. Department of State Travel pages are where you want to look in the U.S. We always check advisories from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Canadian Foreign Affairs, and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs too. Check on your own government’s site.

It’s helpful to have a currency conversion site like Oanda bookmarked. Check those exchange rates before you leave. Sometimes you can make the conversions in your head, but sometimes it’s nice to print out the little “cheat sheet” they calculate for you.

There are websites that help you figure out those three letter codes for world airports. Something like World Airport Codes.com. That’s important if you’re buying your airline tickets online. You want to know if that San Jose Airport you’re flying to is in California (SJC), Costa Rica (SJO), or Mexico (SJD). Getting off in San Jose, California is OK if you’re looking for Silicon Valley, but not so good if you’re looking for a tropical beach!

Want to know about bus and subway systems wherever you’re going? Look up Urban Rail.net. You can find the subway stop for Chandi Chowk in New Delhi, India or Wall Street in New York City.

It’s a good idea to include the information for the airline you’re using and any hotels, travel agencies or car rental companies. If you’re renting a car, you could program in the local automobile association.

To get a little more personal… or a little more into the nitty-gritty of travel… there are always sites like the Bathroom Diaries to add to your internet travel toolbox. Not only can you read amusing stories… if you’re a squeamish traveler, you might get help finding a toilet.

Keep in mind, on this site, these are reported by other travelers, so the lists are not comprehensive. Ah well, good as the internet is, you can’t have it all!