New York City is a favorite for travelers from the United States and for visitors from around the world. It’s one of those must see cities right up there with London, Paris and Rome.
So where do you start with a city that offers so much? Well, any self-respecting tourist has to hit the tourist highlights, so unless you have a particular agenda, you’ll probably want to visit this short list.
You can certainly see New York City on your own, but if your time is short or you’d like a quick overview, you might want to consider a city tour. Another option is to check into one of the sightseeing city passes that are available; they can save you time and money.
To start with you’ll probably want to visit the Statue of Liberty. There is no admission fee for the island that she stands on, but you must buy a ferry ticket to get there for about $12 for adults. If you want to go into the Statue of Liberty, you must reserve a free "Monument Pass". These passes are time specific, meaning you have to go in at the time you have reserved.
Security onto Liberty Island is as serious as it is for getting onto an airliner these days. You will have to clear a security screening before boarding the ferry. There will be a second security screening if you have a Monument Pass for entering the Statue of Liberty. Allow plenty of time… probably 2-3 hours.
You can also visit Ellis Island. Again there is no admission fee, but you must pay for the ferry. Both of these attractions are only a short ferry ride from Battery Park. The ferry circles from the Statue of Liberty to Ellis Island and back to the city. Check the ferry schedule for details.
If you just want to see the Statue of Liberty from the harbor, you could take the free Staten Island Ferry from Lower Manhattan over and back for great photo opportunities.
See the Empire State Building. Take the elevator to the observation platform for a great view of the city. There is an admission fee, and often a long line.
Take a walk in Central Park. There are lakes and open spaces right there in the middle of the city. It’s a great place to get away from the hubbub of the city and maybe have a picnic.
Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art with it’s extensive collections of painting and ancient art. It is located on the east side of Central Park at Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street. The American Museum of Natural History is on the other side of the Park at Central Park West at 79th Street.
See the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum. Or try the Frick Collection to see stunning art and get a peek at what a New York mansion from the early 1900s looked like.
And if you’re ready to get back outside, how about a little shopping or at least window shopping? Take a stroll down Fifth Avenue. Or see Times Square where New Yorkers and visitors celebrate New Year’s Eve, and where you can find out more about Broadway plays.
And all this is just for starters, so bring good walking shoes and enjoy New York City.
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Tags: new york city, new york city tour, new york city travel
See Rome In A Day? It’s called the Eternal City. Eternal means "lasting or existing forever".
While Rome hasn’t necessarily existed forever, it has been around for a very, very long time. There are layers and layers to see. Do you want to see ancient sights, religious centers, or medieval and modern Rome?
When you’re contemplating a visit… your first visit… all you can hope to do is see the highlights… SOME of the highlights. You’re going to have to limit yourself if all you have is a day or even two. You can get a good overview of all the layers of the city if you plan it right.
Good guidebooks will give you specific information about what buses and subway lines to catch… and you’ll need to have this planned out in advance to make any plan to see Rome in a day work.
To get a feel for the Imperial City, start at the Piazza del Campidoglio on the summit of Capitoline Hill. Around this ancient sacred site are a couple of museums that you should see… someday, but not on this trip. Walk around the corner of the Town Council (the Senatorium) for a panoramic view of the Forum. Dying to go in, aren’t you? Check out the statues in the piazza and make due with the panoramic view if all you have is a day!
Leaving Capitoline Hill, walk east along the Via dei Fori Imperiali. Here you can get a little closer look at the Forum. It’s a good vantage point to get some photos and at least get a feel for the size of what has been uncovered.
At the end of this walk, you’ll arrive at the Colosseum, and you can see the Arch of Constantine. Don’t linger though, there are more modern layers of Rome to sample. Take a cab, bus or subway to Vatican City. Squeeze in a lunch on the run or at a little cafe somewhere in between.
You can check the lines for the Vatican Museum. If you’re REALLY lucky, the line won’t be too long, and you can try to make a quick visit. You’ll have to dash through… glance at most of the master’s paintings, and make your way to the Sistine Chapel.
Even that will take you a couple of hours. You might be able to sidestep the lines by paying for a guided tour right there in front of St Peter’s. If the lines are too long, and you can’t find a tour, settle for seeing St. Peter’s Basilica. Climb the dome to get a great view of the Piazza. (If you DO get into the museum, you can see St. Peter’s, but you won’t have time to climb the dome.)
No time to stop… you’re seeing Rome in a day, right? Now head for the Pantheon. It stays open until 7:30 Monday-Saturday. After a quick visit to this ancient monument, wander around the corner to the Piazza Navona for a romantic place to have dinner.
Before you choose one of the open air restaurants, wander around the piazza. Used for chariot races in ancient times, the piazza is now graced by Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers and medieval churches. With the modern restaurants, you’ll be dining with three layers of Rome around you.
After dinner, catch a cab to the Spanish Steps or the Trevi Fountain. After you’ve seen one, you can walk though some of the oldest streets in Rome to the other. Grab a gelato on the way.
So have you seen Rome in a day? No, but now you know you’ll be back.
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Tags: rome italy, rome travel
Many people try to see Venice in a day. Time and money are often short when you’re traveling, so you want to get to as many places as you can. You really shouldn’t see Venice just in daylight…. a day and a night maybe. Or two nights and a day.
Venice really is a small town. You can walk right across it from the train depot to St. Mark’s Square in less than an hour… but that would be if you were just walking and not looking, and what you really want to do is stroll and SEE Venice…. La Serenissima herself is the main attraction.
The first time we went to Venice, we arrived by train at night and stayed near the train station. As soon as we settled in, we hit the street and started walking. To see Venice by street light is magical. Narrow winding streets…. Blue and red stripped "barber poles" holding boats and gondolas on the canals…. Little arching bridges to cross….
Don’t worry too much about your direction or getting lost…. Follow those signs that say "Per Rialto" or "Per St. Mark’s"… (Per Rialto means the direction for Rialto Bridge; Per St. Mark’s means… well, you get it…). Sometimes the signs "Per St. Mark’s" point in BOTH directions…. isn’t that wonderful! Wander where you want! All of the day trippers have gone home in the evening, and the narrow streets are all yours and so romantic!
Do what we did and wander all the way to St. Mark’s Square. If you don’t want to spring for an expensive drink at one of the cafes on the square, buy a gelato on a side street, then stand in the square and enjoy the dueling orchestras playing sentimental old favorites.
In the morning, try to see St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace. You probably won’t have time to go up the Campanile for the view with only a day, but it’s your choice…. if you only have a day, you’ll be back.
Stroll the streets, shopping along the way. There are lots of wonderful expensive things to buy in Venice, but there are some affordable Italian fashions too… and what better, easily packable souvenir could you ask for than some flamboyant Italian creation?
Find a table at one of the restaurants along the Grand Canal with a view of the Rialto Bridge for lunch. Yes, it’s touristy… it has been touristy for centuries, so you are in good company.
In the afternoon try to sample some of the art… at the Church of the Frari or the Scuola Grande di San Rocco. Or if you’re interested in the history of Venice, you could venture into the Museo Correr. If you want to see one of the grand palazzi that line the Grand Canal, see the Ca’ Rezzonico, the museum of 19th century Venice.
When you get all the way to one end of Venice, take a vaporetto to the other end… you’ll never tire of seeing Venice from the water, watching all those palazzi glide by. It takes on a different look in the morning, in the afternoon, at night.
Choose a romantic canal-side restaurant for dinner… or a wonderful little trattoria down an alley. Take a gondola ride before or after dinner. Who cares if it’s touristy? Your gondolier will sing for you, tell you where Marco Polo lived… and you’ll love it.
Go to a concert in the evening… there are chamber orchestras all over vying for your money. Or just go back to St. Mark’s square and listen to those dueling orchestras again.
Two nights and a day will let you see Venice in the short time you have… and by having one or two nights there, you’ll be able to savor it with fewer crowds….. how romantic!
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Tags: venice gondola, venice italy, venice rialto
When you’re packing and choosing your clothes, it pays to think about security at the airport as well as what you’ll be doing on your trip.
You need to decide if you’re going to carry everything on or if you’ll be checking luggage. It will make a difference as to how you pack…. and how you pack can make a difference when you are trying to go through security lines at the airport.
If you will be traveling with carry-on only, then you need to prepare your one quart/one liter-sized, clear plastic zip-top bag. Have it ready ahead of time… you don’t want to be throwing out liquids at the checkpoint or trying to cram some 3 ounce/100ml bottles into a plastic bag at the last minute. All of your carry-on liquids, gels and creams must go into one bag, and they must all be 3 ounces/100ml or less.
If you will be checking luggage, you can put liquids into those bags. You are not limited to the 3 ounces or 100ml, but can carry as much as you want.
Try to pack your carry-on bag in an orderly fashion. It may seem easiest to just throw everything into a backpack, but things that are jumbled up together are hard to make out on the x-ray screen, and that may cause you to be delayed at screening or even be pulled aside for an extra bag search.
If you’re planning to take a laptop computer or other large electronics, it’s safer to pack them in your carry-on bag. You’ll have to take these large electronic items out of your bag for screening. (The exception here is if you have one of the newly approved laptop bags that allows the computer to be screened without removing it. Check with airline or government websites for more information).
Small electronics like iPods, cameras, curling irons, and shavers can stay in your carry-on during screening. If you still carry film for a camera, it will go through screening just fine unless it is faster than 800-speed. (You’ll have to ask for an officer to hand inspect fast film to avoid x-rays.)
If you’re carrying gifts, don’t wrap them until you get to your destination in case they need extra screening. You don’t want to have to wrap them twice.
Think about what you’re wearing too. Anything you have on that is metal is apt to set off alarms. Leave the heavy jewelry home or pack it in your carry-on bag. Are you into body piercing? You may want to remove those for the flight. Even hair barrettes and clothing with big metal buttons can set off metal detectors that are very sensitive. You’ll get through security with any of these things eventually, but you’ll get through faster if you’re not wearing them.
Have your boarding pass and identification available for the officers. Get to the airport early enough so you won’t be rushed. Know what airline cut-off times are for check in. You must generally check in earlier for international flights than you do for domestic flights. And remember it can take a while to get through those security checkpoints even if you’ve packed and dressed for it.
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If you’re interested in adding a little budget travel to your itinerary, and who isn’t once in a while, think about getting out into the countryside instead of spending all of your time in the big cities. No matter where you’re traveling in the world, the countryside will almost always be cheaper than cities.
To maximize the benefit of this formula, you have to refine it even more, and plan when you’ll be in the city and when you should spend time in the countryside.
If you’re on a driving trip in your home country or one next door, this type of budget travel planing is easy. You’ve got your car, so you can do both city and countryside. Even when you want to spend time in a city, you can save money by just staying on the edge of the city or in a suburb.
Then you can drive in… or better yet, take public transportation in and avoid the frustration of trying to find parking, not to mention the cost. Parking can be expensive in almost any city in the world.
OK… maybe your time is limited, and you don’t want to waste time getting into town. If you want to stay in the city rather than on the edge of it, remember that most cities will be cheaper on weekends when the business people are gone. Hotels sometimes have cheaper weekend prices, and there could be more going on in the way of plays and entertainment.
And if you think about it… the countryside will be cheaper during the week when most people are working…. so if you’re a budget traveler, you want to plan to be in the city on weekends and in the countryside on weekdays. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are days that can save you money in the countryside.
And that will be especially true if the countryside you’re visiting is a real get-away destination for those city folks you’re trying to avoid. In this case you get that equal and opposite effect. If you’re in a popular get-away destination, it will be more crowded and expensive on the weekends.
If you’re traveling internationally or you’ve flown to your destination, you’ll have to factor in the cost of a rental car or some kind of transportation to get to the countryside. You can take a bus or a train. Some European areas popular with tourists have trains and buses that run conveniently. Some even have train and bus routes that will take you on a circle tour to some of the prettier and smaller towns.
In the United State, public transportation isn’t as good, but it is improving, so check around. In Asia, public transportation is good in some countries and spotty in others. In Australia, it’s probably easiest to drive. It always pays to ask at the tourist information offices if you’re interested in something like this.
So see, you don’t have to give up the sights you want to see to trim your budget, you just have to plan smart to save. Lay out a calendar, and work your itinerary so that you spend most of your weekends in those cities and the weekdays in the country.
You’ll be money ahead. That’s budget travel made easy!
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Tags: countryside travel, travel budget
Time for some trip planning. You may know exactly where you want to go on your vacation… good for you! Start planning. But what if you have no idea where you want to go? I’ve got some tips if you are searching for good places to go. Some of these may be helpful even if you know what you want… you still need to get information unless it’s someplace you know well or return to often.
So where do you start? Well, you need to take into account how many days you have and what your budget is…. then start talking to the people you will be traveling with. The kids will probably say Disneyland or Disney World. You could do that… again… or you could break out and do something you’ve always dreamed about.
And your dreams about where you want to go can be domestic or international. Don’t limit yourself when you’re dreaming. Trip planning can work for you. If you plan this right, you might just surprise yourself and find that you CAN afford it. Of course, in this economy, I advocate only taking the trip you can afford, otherwise you will come home full of regret instead of great memories.
A good place to start trip planning is the old TV. What television programs have you watched that make you want to pack your bags and go there? Do you like travel shows? Wildlife shows? Culinary adventures?
Check out travel magazines. If you don’t get any yourself, you can probably find them in your dentist or doctor’s office. You might find a destination that you’ve never heard of before… but it looks inviting, and it fits your budget.
Get brochures. Look at standard tours. The pictures will get you dreaming more, and the itinerary will give you an idea of what’s possible for your length of time. If you want to go to a beach, could you make it a beach in Mexico or on a Greek Island instead of Florida? (Nothing against Florida and Disney World… just trying to get you thinking outside the box to decide where you want to go!)
Check with your local travel agencies. They’ll have lots of brochures and information for trip planning. You may want to book on the internet, or you may find that it’s easier to have an agent set things up for you. Keep in mind that the economy and airline compensation have changed the way travel agents work. Some agents now have to charge for their services. Still, don’t overlook this resource.
Use the state or national travel agency…. Most states in the United States have a bureau that promotes travel to their state. If you’re thinking of traveling abroad, contact the national travel agency of the countries you think you might want to visit. You can find these on the internet.
Now back to your budget. Is this going to be a splurge or a budget trip? Write down a figure. Then write down all of the possibilities for where you want to go. If your dream destination will break the bank, you might want to make it a shorter trip or save the research for a later date. But travel research is never wasted. If you have ideas written down, you might just find that next time you’re trip planning and thinking about where you want to go, you’ll have a destination all picked out!
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Tags: trip planning
Travel with friends and family can be a tricky thing. You may have talked about your dream vacation with your friends… Think about what you’ll do if they say, "Yea, I’ve always wanted to do that! We should go together."
Maybe you think, why not? You get together a couple of times a month for barbecues. You’ve caught a few ball games together, spent days together getting those house projects done. Why not enjoy a trip together?
A trip together can be a really good thing, but you have to make sure you think things through… You really need to have an idea about who likes what before you start traveling with friends and family. You want them to be your friends when you come home too!
Prior to planning a long dream trip with your sister and brother-in-law or your best friends… you might want to take a couple of weekend trips… see if your travel styles are compatible. You might discover a few personality quirks that never showed up on those afternoons together or disabilities that you never gave a thought to when you were just sitting around at dinner.
Here are a few things to think about.
If you’re the type who likes to walk and explore cities all day, but your brother-in-law has arthritis, you’re going to be having some rocky times unless you’ve planned time apart for individual activities or you’ve planned for some bus or car tours.
You want to grab a snack and keep on exploring, but your sister likes long leisurely lunches… one of you is going to be unhappy unless you plan for this. Maybe you can tell her this is your new diet plan. Just kidding, but you see what I mean.
You’ve enjoyed beer and wine together at your barbecues, but find out if your buddy wants to stop often for a beer or stop early in the day for a nice cocktail hour.
You can still take a trip together if you have different styles and physical limitations, you just have to plan for it. Maybe taking a cruise together would be better. Or a tour instead of independent travel.
You can prowl that museum while they take that river sightseeing tour that would bore you do death. Traveling together doesn’t have to mean spending every waking hour together. In fact, your trip will probably be much more pleasant if you plan for time apart…. You will come home still speaking to each other and have great memories because of it!
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Tags: travel planning, travel with family, travel with friends
Toilet Stories Are A Funny Part Of Travel
Toilet stories…. now here’s a part of travel you might not like to think about. If you’re traveling in rich, "first world" countries, you probably don’t need to worry too much about it. But if you’re traveling internationally, you’re probably going to run into a surprise or two. Talk to people who have been traveling internationally for a while, and they’re bound to have one or two amusing toilet stories.
In the U.S. almost all toilets will be "pedestal style". Some may be a bit run down, but they will mostly look the same.
In Europe, most of the time you will find pedestal style toilets too. There are some pretty interesting flush mechanisms, so you may have to figure that out.
If you get out into the countryside or into less developed countries, it’s just possible that you’ll run into some WCs that are more like porcelain footprints with a hole. Seasoned travelers often say "Western style" and "Eastern Style", but you can run into either anywhere in the world. You won’t always have that "throne", so just make up your mind that you can deal with it.
It always pays to have some tissues or toilet paper in your pocket. Even if you find a toilet that has a dispenser, it could be empty. In more rural areas and more undeveloped counties, TP might clog up the plumbing. In places like that, you’ll see wastebaskets with dirty paper… put yours there too.
Finding a public toilet can be harder abroad than it is in the U.S. If you’re out wandering the street, look for train stations or department stores. If there is a U.S. style fast-food restaurant, you can find a toilet inside. Big hotels will have one tucked away in the lobby somewhere, and they are reliable for having TP. You can find one in restaurants too. If you’re not a customer, ask politely, most of the time they will let you use their WCs. Never leave a museum or restaurant without going - even if you don’t need to. Who knows when you’ll find the next facility.
Many big European cities have coin operated "toilet booths" on street corners. Public toilets often are pay toilets. Carry small change to pay for them. Some will be coin operated on the door, others will have attendants sitting by the door. Even if they don’t insist on you paying when you go in, it’s polite to leave a small tip… it’s usually only the equivalent of about 25 U.S. cents. Don’t expect them to have change… they might, or they might just keep the change if you don’t have anything small enough. It’s another way for them to make a little money… so plan ahead — don’t give away all of your "little money". It’ll come in handy.
Get used to occasionally having women cleaners in the Men’s rooms and sometimes men attendants in the Women’s room. Lots of toilet stories come from these encounters, but they’re used to it, so you might as well just get comfortable with it too.
When you get beyond Europe, you’ll run into more and more of those "Eastern Style" porcelain holes-in-the-ground. Some will even be just that — holes in the ground. OK… if you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go. Just deal with it, and you’ll come home with some toilet stories of your own.
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Tags: foreign toilet
Grand Paris! Think of a romantic trip to Europe, and the City of Lights springs immediately to mind! And why not? It’s a beautiful city. Easy to navigate. And the sights! Well, there is no shortage of sights. And because of the combination of tourist attractions, food, and romance, it is one of the most popular destinations in the world.
So what do you want to do in this grand city? The museums? The Monuments? The markets? The bookstalls along the Seine? Is it the food that attracts you at world class restaurants, or do you just want to sit in a sidewalk cafe and watch the world go by?
There are so many "must sees" that you really will have to choose what is most important to you. Monuments? How about the Eiffel Tower. The Place de la Concorde with it’s Egyptian obelisk. Think of the line up of the Arc du Triomphe du Carrousel through the Tuileries to the Arc de Triomphe, and the grand Grande Arche in La Defense district. Or how about Invalides where Napoleon is buried.
Landmark churches? Start with Notre Dame de Paris. The Basilique du Sacre-Coeur… dramatic and white on the hill in Montmartre. The churches of La Madeleine, Sainte-Chapelle, and the Pantheon. Or just landmark buildings like the Palais Garnier.
There are so many world class museums that it would take your entire vacation to see them. The Louvre, the Musee d’Orsay, the Musee Rodin and the Musee Picasso to name some of the most obvious. Museums can make your head spin after a few hours. To avoid being overwhelmed by them, get a museum card. They are available for 1, 3 and 5 days.
The card will allow you can go in and out of the museums over the period of your stay and not get "museum head". The museums are fantastic, but you want to get a feel for all of Paris don’t you?
Take time to stroll in a garden or two. The Tuileries stretches in front of the Louvre. The Luxembourg Garden is a great place to watch children of all ages sail small boats on the ponds. Sit in one of the cafes and have a glass of wine.
Wander in some of the neighborhoods. See Montparnasse with it’s artists and cafes. See the delectable food displays in stores around La Madeleine. Explore the Latin Quarter… see the Sorbonne and visit a bistro or two. Or just wander along the Seine and see what the booksellers have in those green metal boxes.
The food is… well so French and wonderful. You can certainly eat expensive meals at restaurants with who knows how many Michelin stars, but the food will be good almost everywhere. Pop into any bistro or neighborhood restaurant and order a "prix fixe" menu and you are sure to have a great meal. You have to try the favorite street food of Parisians…. crepes… try one with Nutella, or sugar and butter.
Food, wine, lots of action….. If we haven’t got you packing your bags for Paris, we hope we at least have you dreaming of the City of Lights.
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Tags: paris france, paris vacation