Enjoying local travel experience in a foreign destination makes a vacation more interesting. Local travels enable you to explore your destination’s diversity more. Even if you travel to a destination that is visited the most, touring it like a local will enable you to enjoy extraordinary experiences. That’s because local travel allows you to go past the ordinary tourist sites, monuments, and museums. Here are tips on how to enjoy local travel experiences in a foreign destination.

Get Lost

Don’t be too keen not to get lost. Instead, be ready to be lost in your destination. You will realize that being lost enables you to explore your destination more as you try to find your way to the hotel room. You can even interact with the local people more and learn more from them. In fact, it’s by being lost that you can end up in places where you will have more fun. Don’t be surprised if you end up dressed in local clothes and dancing to the local tunes.

Explore Cultural Diversity by Tasting the Local Foods

Navigate the local scene for foods and drinks. Take time to discover the fruits diversity at your travel destination. Different terrains and climates give the locals different types of fruits. Be ready to enjoy local desserts made of different fruits. In fact, you can go on a food tasting tour if there is a company that provides it at your destination. This will enable you to sample multicultural cuisines during your trip.

Hang out with the Locals

Don’t spend all the time alone or with other travelers. Instead, hang out with the local people. Engage in their sports and go to places where they spend their free time. You will learn more about their way of life if you spend time doing something together.

In addition to these guidelines, focus on exploring past the most popular cities at your travel destinations. Leaving the major cities enables you to find hidden treasures with beautiful landscapes, powerful interactions, and distinct cultural experiences. These will make your experience better.

January travelers like my favorite travel roofer/blogger, Mr. Arturo T. of GT Roofing San Antonio, has always have many options to consider in the summer south of equator and the northern hemisphere. You may opt to embrace a snowy season and what it has to offer including ice skating, skiing, hot cocoa and cozy fireplaces. Basically, there are many choices for a January traveler. If you plan to go on vacation this January, here are some of the destinations to consider.

Park City, Utah

January is snow time at the Park City. Visitors have a chance to enjoy all kinds of winter activities at the mountain community that is 32 miles away from Salt Lake City. Cross country, snowboarding and downhill skiing are some of the activities that you can engage in.

Aruba

This is situated in the Southern Caribbean Sea. It’s about 15 miles from the Venezuela coast. Along with Sint Maarten and Curacao islands, this destination is part of the Netherlands Kingdom. It has a dry, warm climate and low- to mid-temperatures that makes it a perfect January getaway. Aruba is a perfect January travel destination for anybody escaping cold weather. It has amazing white sand beaches where you can relax, desert landscapes worth exploring, and mangroves where you can kayak. Engage in amazing outdoors activities like deep sea fishing, horseback riding, windsurfing and kite surfing.

Courtina d’Amezzo, Italy

Cortina is among the most beautiful ski resorts in the world. It’s called “The Queen of the Dolomites” for a reason. This is a prime travel destination in January due to its amazing ski areas, room options, and gorgeous landscapes. It dates back to the Roman settlement times when it was the World War I battles site. The Outdoor Museum of the Great War is a testimony of its fascinating history. It’s situated a few hours distance from Venice and this makes a pre-skiing side trip a great option at this destination.

If you plan to go on a trip this January, consider one of these January travel destinations and you will enjoy a truly amazing experience.

Unique Vacation Ideas That Will Lower Your Travel Costs

Whether you are planning a weekend break or a long vacation out of the city, travel costs are among some of the greatest concerns. Here are some of the unique vacation ideas that will lower your travel costs without compromising your travel experience.

Book Flights to the Closest Airport to Your Destination

Before you book a flight for a trip, make sure that it will dock at the nearest airport to your destination. This will ensure that you do not spend more on moving from the airport to your hotel or wherever you intend to spend time during your vacation.

Consider Using Public Transport to Move Around

Using taxis and other means of private transport for airport transfers and moving around can be expensive for some people. To cut down on travel costs, use trains, buses, trams and other means of public transport.

Book Cruises in the Last Minute or Far in Advance

If you are planning a cruise vacation, one of the best ways to avoid paying more is last minute booking. Most cruise liners offer amazing last minute deals just to fill up their cabins. As a result, booking in the last minute can see you pay quite less. Additionally, cruises offer pretty low fares for bookings that are made one year or several months in advance. This trend applies to several tour companies.

Make the Most of the Hand Luggage Allowance

The extra baggage that you carry can impact huge travel costs. There is no weight limit for hand luggage. Therefore, make sure that your hand luggage is well stuffed with heavy items. Put the lighter items in a checked in bag to avoid the additional costs that are impacted by bags or suit cases that go over the recommended weight limits.

Think Outside the Box

There are many vacation destinations across the world all of which provide incredible experiences. Instead of sticking to the common trends, look for cheaper alternatives. For instance, if most people visit a popular destination in summer, choose to go during winter or spring. Travelling against the prevailing trends can save you more money.

There are many ways to explore the world without incurring huge travel costs. These ideas might just be what you are looking for to enjoy a great travel experience without incurring hefty expenses.

There are things that you should consider when traveling to mass gatherings. Mass gatherings are large crowds of people that collect at a particular location for a purpose. Examples of mass gatherings include sporting events, political rallies, concerts, religious observances, and festivals.

Generally, mass gatherings pose health risks to travelers. That’s because they bring large crowds of people to small spaces. This facilitates spread of prevalent infectious diseases. There are also higher injury risks in crowded places. And healthcare resources are not always able to meet the healthcare needs of all people in mass gatherings.

Important Considerations

There important things that you should consider whenever you travel to mass gatherings, whether locally or internationally. Essentially, these are the characteristics of the gatherings and possible health risks.

Here are the major factors to consider:

• Local diseases- Take time to find out more about prevalent diseases in the local area. What diseases pose a risk to people that assemble at your destination and what are the best ways to avoid them?
• Climate- When traveling to a mass gathering at a place with very cold or very hot climate, consider the best ways to avoid cold-or heat-related illnesses.
• Crowd density- When people in a gathering are packed closely, the risk of injury is higher. Therefore, prepare accordingly.
• Crowd characteristics- The purpose of a mass gathering, crowd age bracket, and whether alcohol and drugs will be used influence violence risk.

Taking Precaution

One of the most important precautionary measures to take is talking to a travel medicine expert. Ideally, make an appointment with this expert at least a month before the trip. A travel medicine expert will provide medicines or vaccines that will protect you from possible illnesses.

Other precautions to take include:

• Staying up-to-date with routine immunization
• Avoiding most crowded places or places with limited exits
• Being careful when in places where people use drugs and alcohol
• Paying attention to the nearest emergency exit and medical facility
• Avoiding gatherings that can promote violence

Knowing the risks that you face when traveling to mass gathering is essential. Therefore, take time to conduct extensive research before you travel to a mass gathering.

Traveling to hot climate areas makes some people sick. This problem is common among people that are not used to heat. Young children, elderly persons, and individuals with chronic illnesses are at a higher risk of getting sick when they travel to hot climate areas.

However, even healthy and young people can also get sick when they participate in heavy or strenuous physical activities when they travel to hot climate destinations. That’s why it’s important to know how to prevent or avoid heat-related illnesses, injuries, or even death when you travel to hot climate areas.

Steps for Preventing Illnesses and Injuries when Traveling to Hot Climate Areas

Among the steps to take to prevent injuries and illnesses when traveling in hot climates include:

• Drinking fluids in plenty
• Wearing lightweight, loose, and light-colored clothing as well as sunscreen
• Scheduling outdoor activities when its cooler outside
• Resting more often and trying to stay under a shade while outdoors
• If you intend to engage in strenuous activities when you travel to high climate areas, try to make your body adjust by exercising at least an hour per day in a hot area before you leave.

Generally, overheating causes heat exhaustion. This is also called heatstroke. Symptoms of heatstroke include profuse sweating, excessive thirst, confusion, dizziness, nausea and headache. If you or a person that you are traveling with starts to show these symptoms, take appropriate action immediately.

Basically, when a person develops any of these symptoms, it’s wise to get away from the sun or hot area immediately. Fan the body to cool it off and drink water. It’s important to note that heatstroke is life-threatening. In fact, it’s a medical emergency. Therefore, seek medical attention immediately if these symptoms persist even after trying to cool off the body and drinking water.

A friend of mine that owns a San Antonio Nightclub once gave me this talk about traveling to high altitude areas come with risks that are associated with low levels of oxygen that are found there. Essentially, low oxygen levels can cause problems to travelers that travel to destinations that are above 8,000 feet above the sea level.

Ascend Gradually

One of the best ways to avoid the effects of low oxygen level in high altitude areas is to ascend gradually. If you do not ascend gradually, you risk getting sick if you travel to a high altitude area and sleep there.

Basically:

• Don’t move from a low altitude area to sleep to an area that is 9,000 feet above the sea level in a day. Instead, spend some days at an area that is between 8,000 and 9000 feet above the sea level before you proceed to an area whose altitude is higher than this. This allows the body time to acclimatize to low levels of oxygen.
• Do not increase sleeping altitude by more than 1600 feet per day when you reach areas that are above 9000 feet. Whenever you ascend 3300 feet, spend a day without climbing further.
• Don’t engage in heavy exercises or drink alcohol for at least 48 hours after arriving at an area whose altitude is above 8000 feet.
• Consider taking a single day trip to an area of a higher altitude as an alternative. Taking a day trip to an area of a higher altitude and sleeping to an area of a lower altitude is less risky.

There are times when the itinerary does not permit gradual ascent. In that case, ask your doctor to prescribe medication that prevents altitude illnesses. It’s also important that you familiarize yourself with signs of altitude illnesses. This will enable you to take appropriate steps towards preventing altitude illnesses from becoming severe if they affect you.

Bear in mind the fact that many high altitude travel destinations are mostly in remote areas with poor medical care access. As such, preventing altitude illnesses is better than waiting to get sick and struggle to get emergency treatment.

Travel is generally relaxing, exciting and rewarding. However, travelers with chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and asthma face some challenges whenever they travel abroad. However, with careful preparation and planning, travelers with chronic illnesses can have enjoyable and safe trips.

If you or a loved one has a chronic illness, it’s wise that you visit a travel medicine expert at least 4 weeks before you travel. Let the expert know your condition and guide you accordingly in preparing for the trip. It’s important to note that there are chronic illnesses that weaken the immune system. As such, you need to prepare for your trip adequately.

Get Adequate Medicines

Your travel medicine specialist may recommend that you get specific medicines and medical supplies before you travel. For instance, the specialist can recommend that you get glucose test strips, insulin needles, or asthma inhalers. You might need these on regular basis or during emergencies.

In that case, make sure that you have adequate supplies that will last throughout the trip. It’s also wise to carry a little extra supply just in case you happen to delay your return. If you plan to be away a little longer, ask your doctor how you can access medicines and other supplies while away.

When packing, be careful to ensure that you pack all medical supplies and medicines in the carry-on luggage. This ensures that you won’t be stuck without medicines or medical supplies in case you lose your suitcase. Also carry your medicines in the original bottles. And, don’t leave the original prescriptions.

Get Adequate Traveler Insurance

Travelers with chronic illnesses should have three travel types of insurance.

These are:

• Travel Health Insurance- This covers the cost of healthcare that you receive in a foreign country. It’s important to note that you may have an ordinary health insurance but it might not cover your overseas healthcare.
• Trip Cancellation Insurance- This insurance covers the cost of a trip when you cancel or reschedule it due to a sickness.
• Medical Evacuation Insurance- This covers transportation cost to a high-quality healthcare facility in case of an emergency. This insurance is very important when traveling to remote or rural areas.

Additional Preparation

Before embarking on a trip, travelers with chronic conditions should plan on getting care oversees in case they need it. Essentially, it’s wise to carry a note or card that provides information about the chronic condition including food and drug allergies. What’s more, carry a health kit that indicates everything required to manage the chronic illness and other items necessary to ensure a healthy and safe trip. Feel free to check out one of many travel sites I use to book fares, click here.

Are you considering going to a foreign country and you don’t know if you should consider staying at a 5-star hotel or at a motel? You aren’t the only one. There are many people that are wondering what the difference really is and if they should choose the cheaper or more expensive option. With this information, you will be able to make a decision about the 5-star hotel or the motel.

What your budget is

The first thing that you should look at before you are going to make a booking for accommodation is the amount of budget you have. You don’t want to make a booking at a 5-star hotel if you really can’t afford it.

Too many people are choosing the better quality hotel, but then they don’t have enough money in their budget to be able to afford other things during their trip. Your budget will decide if you want a 5-star hotel or a motel.

The experience that you want to get from the accommodation

The other thing that you need to consider is the experience that you want to get from your accommodation. Do you want to have a luxurious holiday or do you want to have accommodation so that you can spend the whole day visiting tourist attractions?

You don’t want to stay at an expensive place, but you don’t use the amenities during the day. Then, you are actually going to waste money.

Do you want a place to stay for a week or so or overnight accommodation?

Are you going to stay at this accommodation for a couple of days or your whole holiday? Or, are you going to travel through the country and you are only going to stay for a night? For overnight accommodation, it can be a much better choice to stay at a motel. You just want to have a bed for the night.

The country that you are planning to go to

This is something important to consider. The country where you are going. If this is a country with high crime, you might want to book a hotel that has some safety features that will keep you safe. At a motel, there isn’t really any safety features and you might be at risk.  Not all the countries are safe enough to book yourself into a motel. You should also consider the area in the city where you are going to book a motel. Is it a safe area or a high-crime area?

A question that many are asking. A 5-star hotel or a motel? The answer isn’t that simple. There are a couple of things that you should consider before you can decide which one to choose. The most important thing that you should consider is how much money you have for your accommodation.