Travel | Vacation Guides

Archive for September, 2011

Naturally Enchanting Kuala Selangor

Situated just near the mouth of the Selangor river is the pretty town of Kuala Selangor. The center of the city is located in close proximity to the new bridge. There are several shops in the city along with an old bus terminal. Few more shops have sprung near the mosque however the old time shops still remain the favorites with the tourists and the locals. Many Malaysians visit Selangor on weekends to enjoy the sights here.

The fireflies are the main attraction for the tourists. When its pitch dark the image of hundreds of fireflies littering the darkness with their tiny glows make for an amazing sight. You can view this scintillating sight via a boat ride that begins at Kampong Bukit Belimbing. The trip starts downstream and the vessels are usually equipped with silent electric motors so as to not perturb the stillness. On the quiet dark river banks the fireflies can be seen as moving tiny dots of lights. The sight is so mesmerizing that one loses the sense of time and place and the overall experience is quite romantic.

The other major tourist attraction of Kuala Selangor is the Silverleaf monkeys. They are so called because of a silvercolored lining on their darkcolored body. The Silverleaf babies have an orangecolored appearance in contrast to the grownups. The orange color eventually fades away giving a more silver colored appearance. The monkeys are very playful and its fun to offer them food. They take things graciously gently and thankfully. The Kuala Selangor Nature Park is yet another tourist location quite famous for bird watching.

Bukit Belanda Tanjong Keramat is an old fort in Kuala Selangor. The fort is built on a small hill near the road coming off De Palma Inn and the town. Sultan Ibrahim of Selangor constructed this fort which was later taken over by Van Braam of the Dutch East India Company.

Kuala Selangor can be a lovely place to take a break from the daily stresses in life. Visitors have a good selection of hotels nearby in the city and if you are looking for a budget hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The city outskirts will provide several excellent choices. Among them the Citrus Hotel Kuala Lumpur is highly recommended for travelers.

About the writer:  Naveen Marasinghe is an Online Marketing Executive at eMarketingEye which is a search engine marketing company that offers integrated Internet marketing services and specializes in serving the online travel and hospitality industry.

Marbella Costa Del Sols Luxury City

There are so many places to visit in the European continent. One of the famous destinations is Marbella in Spain. Marbella is beside the Mediterranean and is one of the cities in Andalusia. As a beach resort on the Costa del Sol its a favourite destination for British holiday makers. Its surface area is about 117.2 square kilometres and is 10 metres above sea level. Marbellas current known population is approximately 101144 inhabitants and of course during busy tourist seasons from April to August numbers increase greatly. Marbella is currently the most cosmopolitan and famous spot in the Costa del Sol. It includes the Mediterranean marina and the Puerto Banus marina known for its luxury yacht mooring. Marbella is a wellmaintained town in terms of its cleanliness safety and order. It has beautiful boulevards gardens and green parks. The landscape is beautiful despite the cities high population density. This is due to high quality urban projects in terms of building design and space conservation.

Marbellas climate is absolutely stunning with strong blue coloured skies. This is one of Marbellas many attractive features and invites tourists throughout the year. The Meditarranean beaches have fine white sand and the seas intense blue colour complements the colour of the sky. The warm sea is also a big draw for tourists who are keen to take a dip. The beaches contain fantastic old styled bars offering a great range of drinks and food. The beaches also have excellent leisure activities making it a must visit tourist hotspot. Marbella is also known for its golf courses and is the head quarters of the world cup golf. Marbella also houses the head quarters of nautical events and tennis. Apart from calling it a tourist paradise the city is also called a golfers paradise as one can practice and play golf throughout the year on any one of the 70 local golf courses. Of these courses is the very famous Dama de Noche a flood lit course. It is the first one in Europe and only the tenth in the world. The area is also home to several tennis and horse riding schools as well as sports centres and gymnasiums.

Apart from the beaches Marbella has beautiful mountains and could even be referred to as a hikers paradise. Marbella contains beautiful hotels that offer 5 star service ensuring tourist have the best stay possible. Hotels such the La Villa Marbella Charming Hotel the Hotel Gran Meli Don Pepe the Gran Hotel Guadalpin Marbella amp; SPA etc offer great breath taking views inside and outside the hotel. There is also the possibility to rent a luxury villa in the Marbella mountains. By the time tourists leave they start to think they might be making the wrong decision! The city has so much to offer that many tourists return year after year. The city is also home to many celebrities including songwriters actors and multimillionaire company owners. Antonio Banderas of the Mask of Zorro fame owns a property in Marbella. The city is also featured in many international movies TV series and music videos. The Marbella Town Hall can guide tourists as they would require information where information regarding the city activities climate accommodation sports and festivities can be acquired. Being such a beautiful place on its certainly worth considering Marbella for your next holiday!

About the writer:  Marbella is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the Costa del Sol. Rent a villa in Marbella.

Lowering The Cost Of A Caribbean Vacation

Blue skies golden sand azure water and swaying coconut trees is an image etched in the minds of many when they think about the Caribbean. This image often fills the mind with a desire to visit a tropical island but then thoughts about whether it will be too expensive begin to intrude and dampen the desire. This article will look at ways to lower the cost of a Caribbean vacation so that you can visit those glorious beaches.

Getting There

Very often throughout the year there are special offers of reduced prices on airfare to various Caribbean islands. If you check regularly you can find a great deal on airfare. However that great deal may not be for the island that you want to go to or may not be at a time when you want to travel. If that is the case one way you can reduce the cost of airfare is to be flexible on your travel days. On the major airlines flying to the Caribbean flights on week days especially midweek are priced lower than flights on weekends. If you are also flexible in terms of the time of day you will find that where there are multiple flights to a destination flights on offpeak hours are even cheaper. You will also find that multistop flights are priced lower than direct flights. You can achieve further savings on airfare by booking early at least one to three months in advance of your departure date.

Accommodation

One of the major cost items in a Caribbean holiday is the cost of accommodation. One way to lower the cost of the accommodation is to consider staying in a house rather than a hotel. Throughout the Caribbean there are numerous villas houses and cottages available for rental as holiday accommodation. By using a house you can go on vacation with friends and share the cost of the rental thus lowering the cost of your vacation.

There are beautiful villas in the Caribbean with all types of amenities including Jacuzzis swimming pools maid service cable TV in every room. Before renting a villa consider your activities what do you plan to do and therefore how much time will you spend in the villa to make use of the amenities. If you plan a very active vacation with plenty of outdoor activities then you may find that you do not spend much time at the villa other than for sleeping. You may therefore not need a villa with all the amenities and houses with fewer amenities will cost less.

No friends who want to accompany you or maybe you desire privacy and an intimate setting then consider an apartment hotel or self catering hotel. Many selfcatering hotels provide all the conveniences of a regular hotel room with the added benefit of a decent sized kitchen or kitchenette. By being able to prepare some of your meals at least breakfast you can reduce your vacation food bill. When choosing selfcatering hotels look at the photos of the kitchen area to determine if it will be adequate for your needs.

Caribbean beaches are a major attraction on all islands and most visitors when thinking about a Caribbean vacation think about staying on the beach. Another method to save money on a Caribbean vacation is to consider a location away from the beach as such properties will cost less than accommodation that is directly on the beach. Make sure however that the house is within walking distance of the beach as you do not want to spend on transportation to get to the beach all the money you have saved on accommodation.

If you are considering a house or selfcatering hotel find out if there are any supermarkets within walking distance of the property so that you can easily purchase items. When you visit the supermarket buy local or regional brands rather than European or North American brands as you will generally find that local brands cost less.

Activities

Research the sights and places of interest before you travel. Very often tour guides take you to places that you could have easily gone to on your own. By researching you will know which places of interest you can easily find and so save the cost of a tour guide. The Internet has made researching sightseeing attractions much easier and one of the places you can learn about the places to visit on different Caribbean islands is at the Island Adventures Page of the Caribbean Outdoor Life web site.

Many of the attractions on the various islands charge a fee for entrance. There are however many other attractions that you can visit for free particularly historic buildings especially churches the smaller forts and government buildings. The capital of each island is one location where you are certain to find historic buildings and monuments that are free places to visit.

Getting Around

Renting a car is a great way to do your sightseeing. Many of the attractions on each island can be found once you are armed with a good road map. In addition having a car allows you to widen the circle of places where you can choose to have dinner. In deciding to rent a car however you should think of the amount of time the car is parked in the parking lot while you are relaxing on the beach in front the hotel or villa or taking an afternoon siesta. While the car is parked and you are not using the car you are still paying the rental for the car for that entire period.

One method of having the benefit of a car and still save some money is to plan your holiday in advance by researching the sights. Once you have completed your research you make a list then rent a car for only 2 or 3 days and do all the sightseeing on those days. In this way you save on the car rental. On the days that you have the car you can choose to visit restaurants that are not in walking distance of your hotel.

Another potential vacation saver can be found in the area of car rental insurance. Check if your home auto insurance or credit card will provide insurance on a rental vehicle while you are on vacation in the Caribbean thus saving you from purchasing insurance from the car rental company.

On the other days when you do not have a car you can use local transport for getting around. All hotels either have taxis at the hotel or arrangements with taxis who will quickly come to the hotel once they receive a call from the front desk. A much cheaper alternative however is to use the local bus service. The front desk staff can usually provide you with directions and advice on using the bus service.

Eating Out

One of the pleasures of a Caribbean vacation is dining as there are numerous restaurants on each island serving all types of cuisine. One way to save money during your Caribbean holiday is to eat where the locals eat. You will invariably find that the prices at these establishments are lower as these places cater for locals who do not have the purchasing power of tourists. Part of the benefit of a vacation is to experience the culture of the island and local cuisine is a great way to experience local culture. How to know where to eat; use the time tested method: if it is lunchtime and there are many people lining up then the food must be good and the price must be reasonable.

Street Food is a great way to get a quick meal at a low price and also experience local culture. The Caribbean has great street food whether it is doubles in Trinidad or barbcued pigtail in Barbados or jerk chicken in Jamaica. Before buying street food however look at the cleanliness of the surrounding and of the person serving the food.

Other Costs

Although the idea of a vacation is to get away from it all in today’s world most people want to stay connected to the persons at home even if it is to tell them how much they are enjoying themselves. One of the hidden costs on a vacation can be the cost of Internet access. Many hotels will advertise that they have internet access but this comes at an additional cost. Fortunately the number of places that are offering free WiFi access is increasing. You can check sites like wifi free spot to find outlets at your destination that have free WiFi and Travel Post for a list of free WiFi carrying airports in the Caribbean. If you do not have a free WiFi hotspot near to where you are staying you can look for an Internet Caf. A directory of Internet cafes can be found at cybercaptive. In choosing an Internet caf look for places that don’t seem to cater to tourists as their prices will generally be lower. Another source of low cost internet access is usually the public library. In some countries internet access at the library is free while at others there is a charge but it is significantly lower than at hotels of cafes.

When to go

Any time of year is a good time to visit the Caribbean however the biggest cost saving on a Caribbean holiday is found by visiting in the summer. During the summer months hotels and airlines significantly reduce their rates. As such you can save on the cost of your vacation and when combined with the other points in this article you will significantly lower the cost of your Caribbean vacation.

About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;For Luxury Holidays in Hong Kong try the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong Hotel