Long Live the King

Off the coast of England near Lancashire lies one of the quirkiest vacation destinations you could imagine.  Encompassing around 50 acres, the island of Piel has history dating back to the middle ages, and a real-life “king” whose duty it is to manage the island’s tavern.  

Accessible by causeway at low tide, the island of Piel boasts castle ruins, wildlife viewing (especially birds), tent camping and The Ship Inn, an inn and public house managed by the current “king” of the island, Steve Chattaway.  The restaurant in the Inn sources their fish and game locally, and staff can organize seal watching and fishing trips for guests.

A ferry operates daily in the summer, and specialty weekends such as Murder Mystery, cooking with guest chefs and a weekend of romance are planned.  If you visit, be sure to remember your manners, and address the “king” properly as His Highness.

Adding to the bucket list – Mermaid School

So, apparently there’s a school in the Philippines that will teach you to be a mermaid.  The Philippine Mermaid Swimming Academy hosts classes on Boracay Island, in metro Manila and at several resorts in Cebu City.  You’ll be in for a great workout, as the mermaid leg gear actually helps give you a great core workout while you move your legs back and forth to propel yourself.  You can also learn mermaid scuba diving and scootering (not quite sure what that is – perhaps driving a scooter while wearing the mermaid tail?).

Classes start at $40 and include rental of the mermaid tail and a photo of your experience.  The school offers mermaid makeovers as well, for travelers who can’t or don’t want to get in the water.  Visit the Philippine Mermaid Swimming Academy website for more information and to schedule your class!

 

Pay what you want to stay in Paris

At payezcequevousvoulez.net, a French hotel company is currently running a special where customers can choose how much their hotel room will cost.  Sound too good to be true?  It isnt’!

The participating hotels are:

*Plaza Opera Hotel – in Central Paris near l’Opera Garnier

*Hotel Villa Boheme – in the Pigalle neighborhood, near the Moulin-Rouge

*Hotel Tour d’Auvergne – in Central Paris near l’Opera and Sacre-Coeur

*Le Grand Hotel Francais – at Place de la Nation

*Hotel Villa Opera Lamartine – in Paris’ business district

Of course, there is a little bit of a catch.  The “pay what you want” promotion is only good for stays through August 10, so you’ll have to hurry if you want to take advantage of this deal.

A little luck and a trip to Greece

My mother has wanted to visit Greece for as long as I can remember.  For at least the past twenty years, she’s had a poster of Santorini hanging on her wall.  About a month ago, my whole family went to Richmond’s Greek Festival to eat Greek food and watch the folk dancers.  My kids were mesmerized, and we enjoyed souvlaki and moussaka and baklava-flavored popsicles.  Then we made our way inside to check out the marketplace.

As soon as we walked into the building, we saw the table selling raffle tickets to win a trip to Greece.  There was a huge metal hopper, inside of which hundreds, if not thousands of raffle tickets sat.  I decided to buy a raffle ticket, and I wrote my mother’s name and phone number on it, knowing how she had always wanted to go there.  My sister did the same, and we watched a woman drop our tickets into the hopper.  I thought to myself, “Well, there’s a donation to the church.”

Later that evening, my sister texted me:  “Call mom.”  I called my mother, and she shouted out, “I won the trip to Greece!”  I couldn’t believe my ears.  Imagine the luck for my mom’s ticket to be pulled out of the huge stack.

Now I have the pleasure of planning my mom and dad’s trip to Greece next Spring.  They’re planning on flying into Athens, staying there a few days in an AirBNB rental near the Acropolis, then taking a flight to Santorini to stay for a few more days, before returning to Athens for another night.

If you’re heading to Greece, I’d love to help you plan your trip too.  Shoot me an email and I’ll be glad to get you price quotes for airfare, hotels, etc.

Flashback to when I was the Richmond Eco-Travel Examiner

A few years ago, I was getting my feet wet with freelance online writing, and I signed up with Examiner.com to post articles on eco-travel.  Today, I’m sharing some of my old posts with you:

Keeping your home green while you’re on vacation

Quick, down-home Virginia getaway

Green beach trip – Sandbridge, Virginia

Eco-friendly travel options for summer

Biking on your summer vacation

Green cruising

The green beauty queen – eco-friendly travel necessities

Going green with voluntourism is a good way to “give back” on your next vacation

I hope you enjoy some of these oldies but goodies!

 

Why Travel Agents Are Better Than the Internet

Thanks, Huffington Post, for recognizing the value of using a travel agent when booking your trip!

10 Reasons Travel Agents are Better Than the Internet

How to travel for free

Friends, family and clients often ask me whether it’s really possible to travel for free.  My answer?  Absolutely!  You just have to know how.

The easiest way to travel for free is to win your trip.  I’ve been an avid sweepstakes junkie for years, and I’ve traveled to Iceland, Mexico, California, Florida and more just by entering sweepstakes and contests online.  I recommend establishing a separate email account for contest entries, because you will get a lot of spam and marketing emails.  Also, be aware that you will have to pay taxes on any trip you win.  No legitimate sweepstakes will ever make you pay to claim a prize, so if a company tries to get you to, it’s likely a scam.  My favorite sweepstakes sites are OnlineSweepstakes.com and the Travel Sweepstakes board on FlyerTalk.com.

Another method that takes just a little more legwork is to work with your travel agent to organize a travel group.  Travel groups can go on a cruise or a guided land tour, and will require that a certain minimum number of travelers book their trip before you receive your free “tour leader” trip.  Minimums vary depending on the type of trip.  Most cruise lines offer free fares for every 10 or 12 passengers booked, although again it depends on the cruise line.  Some guided tour operators have a free space for every 8 travelers.  Most of the time, you’ll have to work with a travel agent to set up the group booking, so email me (worldvistatravel@gmail.com) if you’re interested!

If you’re looking to do some volunteer work in exchange for your room and board, Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms is a great organization.  Farms around the world who need workers can post their job opportunities, and members of the WWOOF organizations can browse listings and contact the farms to set up work experiences.  The types of work needed depend on the individual farms, but usually you’ll be working 4-8 hours per day, with time off for sightseeing that can typically be pre-negotiated.  If you have money for a plane ticket to a faraway country, but not enough to stay in a hotel or hostel, this might be a good option.  Be sure to contact me for help finding your airfare!

Good luck traveling for free 🙂

Travel Tuesday – Finding the cheapest airfares

Your first step in finding a cheap airfare is to understand how airfares work and why their prices vary so widely.  Without launching into a history lesson on airlines, understand that airfares fluctuate from day to day and week to week.  When you’re planning an international flight, it’s typically best to book about 7 1/2 weeks out from your trip.  For domestic flights, you may find good deals within a month or so of when you’re planning to fly.  If you find a good deal on a flight, be prepared to book it right away.  It may very well be gone if you wait and come back to find it later.

Typically, I visit ITASoftware.com and click on “Search Airfares Now” to do an initial scan of pricing.  You can search airfares for the cheapest flights within a given month, so if you’re flexible on your dates you can save a good deal.  I always check Kayak.com as well, since that site scans pricing across a number of the airfare discounters (Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, etc.).  Once I’ve come up with the lowest airfare for a given flight, I move to my consolidator fares.  As a travel agent, I have access to book with airfare consolidators, who purchase large “chunks” of tickets and resell them at deep discounts to travel agents, cruise lines, etc. I can usually shave a few hundred bucks off a given airfare by searching the dates with one of my air consolidators, especially on international flights.

When all else fails and you absolutely must find a cheaper flight, you might try BiddingForTravel.com, Priceline.com, Hotwire.com or a similar service.  These websites allow you to “bid” on airfares and see if the airline will issue you a ticket at the price you want to pay.

The bottom line is that it always helps to have a good travel agent searching for flights for you.  Occasionally, travel agents will have access to directly book a cheap ticket with the GDS (airfare purchasing software) for the airlines.  In these instances, fares are not available to be booked by the general public.  In other situations, the air consolidator will have the lowest fare and, again, you can only access those fares by booking with a travel agent.

Be sure to contact me if you need help finding the best price on airfares!  Just email worldvistatravel@gmail.com.

 

It’s a Dog’s World at Fairmont DC

This has to be one of the most adorable things we’ve ever seen!  Fairmont DC/Georgetown is a hotel that’s really for the dogs.  Their “It’s a Dog’s World” Package offers overnight accommodations with special dog-friendly perks, like dog treats handmade by the hotel’s Executive Chef, a walking map of pet-friendly local activities, a special pet “do not disturb” door sign and a donation of 5% of your room rate to the Washington Animal Rescue League.  Rates start at $209 per night.

What a neat way to welcome guests traveling with pets!

Disney’s Hit Movie “Frozen” Inspiring Families to Travel to Norway

The massive popularity of the recent Disney movie “Frozen” has inspired families from all over the world to travel to Norway and visit the far North that gave birth to the tale.  Hotel bookings to the Scandinavian country are up 37% over the past year alone.  Fans of Elsa and Ana (and Sven and Olaf and the rest) should know that there are many companies that operate family-based tours in Norway, including Adventures by Disney.

Norway definitely has plenty to see and do, from taking in the sights of the majestic fjords, to discovering quaint towns and villages, like Bergen and Flam.  The folk traditions and wooden stave churches are unique, and offer a new cultural perspective for families to learn about together.

Contact us today if your family is interested in following in Elsa and Ana’s footsteps and discovering Norway together!