Indonesia a La Carte Special

Author: Robert

Comprised of seventeen thousand islands, Indonesia is a sure smorgasbord surprise. Wide-eyed guests could simply marvel at the wondrous beauty before their eyes but have to settle for a few courses in order to enjoy each trip to the largest archipelago of the world.

Here is a sampling of the extensively diverse Indonesian travel

menu.

Sumatra

Sitting on the equator, Indonesia’s largest province is covered with tropical rainforests which is home to a rich collection of flora and fauna ecosystem. The island boasts of several reservation areas including Mount Leuser National Park, home of the endangered Sumatra Orang-utan and Berbak Wildlife Reserve which accommodates the largest tiger population in Indonesia.

Bali

Its serene panorama, both on land and underwater, simply fills the senses with the beauty of nature and the wonders it offers to man. Aside from the breathtaking beaches, Bali also takes pride of Bali Barat National park, home of a number of bird species declared as among the rarest and most beautiful in the world.

Borobudur Temple

Located on a hilltop in Central Java, Borobudur Temple is one of the world’s most celebrated Buddhist temples. Dated back to the 9th century A.D., the temple was discovered in 1984 under thick forest foliage. After a successful restoration, the temple showed panels carved in stone that tells of the life of Buddha and the tenets of Buddhism.

Komodo National Park

By the name alone, it obviously is world-famous Komodo dragon’s only home on earth. It is one of the oldest and rarest reptile specie that has survived several earth eras. The largest reptile, growing up to three meters or more, is actually a monitor lizard that hunts and scavenges around the barren lands of Komodo Island.

Bromo-Tengger National Park

Bromo-Tenger was already a buzzling community long before the concept of Indonesia was conceived. It is located in Mount Semeru where thousands of Hindus flock for annual pilgrimage in honor of the god that looks after the mystical place which is composed of volcanoes covered by thick forests. Most of these volcanoes are still active lead by the notorious Semeru volcano that records an eruption every eight minutes.

Bunaken Marine Park

With marine biodiversity comparable to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, Bunaken Marine Park is a heavenly refuge for avid divers and snorkelers. Both amateur and pro underwater explorers will surely be mesmerized by the rich collection of colorful corals and reefs that are homes to an equally rich assembly of fish and marine animal species.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/indonesia-a-la-carte-special-350415.html

Indonesia in Extreme Style

Author: Tatyana Kogut.
For most travelers Republic of Indonesia is mainly associated with Bali island. However, the country has a lot to offer for those who are eager to take a rest far from trendy resorts

and beach exotics. Those who love everything out of ordinary can choose an extreme tour

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Travel managers say that the number of tourists who choose adventurous trips is getting bigger and bigger. Indonesia is probably one of the best places to spend your time this way. The country includes: Greater Sunda Islands (Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Java and Madura), Lesser Sunda Islands, Maluku islands and the western part of the New Guinea island, formerly known as Irian Jaya. This is the real expanse for extreme travelers.
The most typical pastime is a trip to Java and Bali islands. This is in fact not an extreme tour, and it suits simple tourists who love active rest. Having arrived at Jakarta, travelers change their means of transport to Jeeps and ride along the Java island, admiring volcanoes, national parks, active geysers and wild animals. I trip like this usually includes a tour around huge internationally renowned temples, like Buddhist Borobudur and Hindu Prambanan. In Borobudur you can observe 1500 VIII-X century bas-reliefs and sculptures whereas Prambanan offers stunningly graceful and realistic sculptures that portray gods. After a week of walks along rural roads tourists find themselves on Bali. At day, the best pastime is sunbathing and swimming whereas at night you can spent your time clubbing and partying. Such 15-day tour costs no less than $1500.
Those who value real adventures are offered other kinds of trips. For instance, you can pay $2,5-5 thousand and spent your time on Irian Jaya island living among cannibals (better not to spend too much time here) – an ancient nationality which managed to preserve its world-known traditions. Tourists live in real Papuan villages, raft along tropical rivers, participate in magical rituals and wild hunting using primitive tools. You will also get your doze of adrenalin when participating in tours called “Visiting head hunters”. This is a trip to Kalimantan island, during which you will travel

on Jeeps, boats and by foot along the primeval jungles surrounded with rhinoceroses, giant butterflies, orang-utans and bears. Travelers spend two weeks on getting acquainted with customs and tempers of local wild tribes, familiarizing themselves with a fabulous sultan’s palace in Tenggarong, dancing at Tanamur – the country’s most famous disco and doing shopping at local floating market.
Another kind of extreme tour is a trip to Sumatra island, where you can enjoy Krakatoa volcano, which erupted in 1883 – this was one of the largest cataclysms in history of human being. Travelers will also float along the Palembong canals – the Venice of the South-Eastern Asia, visit Bukittinggi, the capital of Minangkabau ethnic group. Some scientists say that it is in this city that descendants of Macedonian warriors and Amazons live. The journey is accomplished with a tour around the jungles.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/indonesia-in-extreme-style-182204.html

How to Make and Popularise Travel Guides

Author: Mike
Which is the best place to look up for information, when you are about to travel in a new land? What is best source of guidance if you are lost in a new city? Where would you seek help when you are out with your family or friends in a different town and you are looking for a place to live in? All the answers lie in travel guides – one of the most important keys to all the questions above, and more.

In this article we will talk about travel guides, how to make them, how to popularise them or available to the common public or the target audience and what to remember while making the travel guides. Travel guides are important source of information and they take a very significant position in a traveller’s life because it is the guide to various destinations – it provides the means to reach there and it provides the information about the place.

When you are making travel guides, there are two very important things to remember. First, the travel guides should be written in simple language and second, they should cover important topics – critical to the traveller. The travel guides should be written in simple language because you don’t expect the traveller to carry a dictionary wherever he goes, neither would you expect your reader to be interested in rich literature. A simple diction would help the reader understand better and stay interested.

The second important thing is that it should cover the important topics like areas, geographical details important to a traveller like, culture and lifestyle, languages spoken, places to eat and stay along with expected costs, climatic conditions etc. You can make your travel guide available through the internet – blogs and online journals. Or you can also get them printed as a booklet or make it available through travel magazines and periodicals that support travel features and write ups.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/how-to-make-and-popularise-travel-guides-330003.html

Prague: Great Free Pocket Travel Guide by Flashbooking Online Booking

Author: Michele De Capitani
Flashbooking is a growing cheap hostel Prague and hotels directory specializing in budget accommodation for independent travellers, students, adventurous backpackers, international volunteers, families and all the ones that travel on a budget.

Those who love travelling light, those with a sense for adventure, those who love flexibility in their trips, those who like meeting locals and travelling slow and low... those are Flashbooking happy travellers!

Flashbooking accommodation database is easily available online and comes completed with all relevant information about youth hostel and hotel location and map, description, services, hostel contacts, customer ratings, six pictures and updated prices inclusive of taxes and services together with instant real availability.

Having the reservation final price is also convenient as it does give the transparency our users pretend while booking. Having the final total amount of your booking means you do not have to worry about other extra surprises! Flashbooking cheap lodging solutions are all available for online bookings and divided by Countries.

Travellers have free access to the updated list of Europe hostels and budget hotels, North and South America hostels, Caribbean and Central America hostels as well as for Asia cheap accommodations, Oceania youth hostels and Africa hostels. Flashbooking's happy travellers can book their rooms and beds not only in cheap hotels or youth hostels but also consider other budget accommodations in Bed and Breakfast, Guesthouses, Campsites, apartments, farm houses and much more.

Flashbooking chose to provide backpackers, students and families with a list of budget selected and independent accommodations worldwide, mostly run by locals, in order to promote an alternative tourism respectful of cultures and different societies.

For this and other reasons Flashbooking is becoming a recognized source of information and services for who loves creating a trip by him/herself and book bed nights securely online. In fact, thanks to a secure server certified SSL provided by Thawte (the global certificate authority) www.flashbooking.com is able to guarantee instantly confirmed and secure online reservations.

Thawte is a system which encrypts all the processed data and guarantees that this will not be read, used or modified by other parties. Confirmed online bookings mean that your holiday is just a click away, that you can get all the information needed to book online, that you can save time and money!

Recently added a new free customer service online at travellers disposal to suggest the perfect accommodation for their trip and voyages. The Skype account 'Flashbooking Customercare' gives more assistance also in the booking process for all our travellers and backpackers needs.

Other reasons to chose Flashbooking? Flashbooking helps you saving money with a special promotion that allows travellers to earn money and credits of 1,5 euros by inviting other friends to subscribe and receive the monthly newsletter, rich of information about hostel and hotel deals. For each friend that sings up, our travellers get 1,50 euros: it is possible to earn up to 40 euros! These credits are immediately registered in the user's personal online account 'My Booking' and at the reach of 40 euros they are automatically deducted to pay your online hostel reservations !

With the monthly newsletter, Flashbooking puts at travellers' and partner hostels' free disposal some useful information tools as pocket travel guides of the top world cities: the Amsterdam City guide, the London City guide, the Barcelona City guide, the Paris City guide, the Rome City guide, the Florence City guide, and the freshly issued Prague City guide!

In general, these guides have been written for giving the essential information about the most visited cities in the world and in particular for any traveller or first-time visitor. For a short visit, a week-end, a city break, these free pocket guides are useful printable and downloadable tools available online.

The free City pocket guide of the Czech Capital contains, in just 9 printable pages, all the essential information and very good suggestions divided by areas: Prague New City and Prague Old city, the Jewish quarter (Josephov), the Malastrana district and the Castle. Prague is renown for wooden toys, crystal products, flea markets and Christmas markets, Wenceslas Square and museums, Art Galleries, breweries and beers and cheap lodgings, classic itineraries in the Boemian countryside and a lot more to make a visit worth wise. Free for anyone who wish to book and go and rich of colour pictures, the Prague Travel Pocket Guide is at backpackers disposal in Flashbooking.com! For Flashbooking users and travellers that might have a personal website or a travel blog, or even manage a youth hostel or a hotel accommodation, and are interested in the travel city guides, the pocket guides can be collected and put at your visitors' disposal.

In the Prague City guide students, families and backpackers can get a large selection of cheap or low cost accommodation with plenty of low cost solutions in budget youth hostels, Prague bed and breakfast, guesthouses, cheap hotel deals.

Our travellers are also our good partners as they help us either giving their ratings of some accommodations, lodgings, BandB, youth hostels and budget small hotels where they personally stayed, either enlarging the hostel offer by reporting some new contacts.

Flashbooking policy tends to privilege small and family-run hotels in order to promote an alternative tourism respectful of cultures and different societies.

So mates, we are looking forward to finding you THE budget accommodation that meets your needs and pocket for your next trip!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/prague-great-free-pocket-travel-guide-by-flashbooking-online-booking-82225.html

Travel Deals Tips

By: Andrea Farah
The two key things that can have a huge impact on the cost of your vacation are the destination and the time of year. In fact, the single biggest saver is likely to be when you travel, not how successfully you manage to haggle for that last minute hotel bargain!

Don't overlook the importance of considering these two factors together. Some destinations will be extremely cheap at one time of year yet finding a bargain four months later may be impossible. Traveling to a popular destination at a peak time will never be cheap. For example staying at a luxury hotel in a party city on New Year's Eve is not likely to be a budget holiday; however, traveling to a traditional summer resort over New Year's may be a very different story.

One thing that is very important to realize is that low seasons are low for a reason. A classic example of this is hurricane season in the Caribbean and Florida. Other low seasons to be wary of are the extremely hot areas such as Egypt during the summer months, when the heat can be so oppressive that it makes the holiday less enjoyable. Summer resorts are often so quiet during low season that there is quite literally nowhere open. This can be great for a retreat, but when it comes to a raging nightlife you may be sadly disappointed!

Shoulder Season

Shoulder season is the perfect time to be trying to travel for those who want to find a happy medium between low and peak seasons. Identifying where is in shoulder season when you want to travel or when your favorite destination is in shoulder season can save you literally hundreds of dollars.

Take a look at the guide books. Whilst they will not tell you when the shoulder season is, they will tell you when peak and low seasons are. The time in between, is, by definition, the shoulder season.

With almost every resort there is a period where the prices become low, not because the location is now poor but because all of the hotels and flights are still servicing the area but the demand is simply not there. Examples of shoulder seasons are Europe in the fall and the Caribbean during late spring.

Winter

Winter is an interesting time of year to travel. Before Christmas, most individuals are trying to make last minute shopping trips. After Christmas, people are dealing with their credit card bills. As such, holidays on far off beaches are often incredibly cheap during the winter period.

A wonderful destination for the winter months is Asia. Flights are losing popularity, however, availability is still good, meaning that there are plenty of discounts on offer. Weather is variable in Asia during the winter which could mean that you are surrounded by snow one minute and then basking in glorious sunshine. This lack of dependability is something that puts a lot of visitors off and can mean that there are some excellent bargains for those prepared to take the risk!

Spring

If you are looking to travel to Europe, this is the time to do it! Flights are a lot cheaper during the spring months when temperatures are still relatively low.
Mexican beaches and the Caribbean islands start to see their prices drop from mid April as the weather becomes hotter. However, during the spring months, the water and air temperatures are still pleasant and the resorts less crowded.

During later spring, for example May, the traditionally hot and dry countries are not in their peak seasons but have not yet become intolerably hot. So if you want to visit Morocco, Jordan or Egypt, plan a spring vacation.

Summer

Finding a bargain in summer is tricky. Americans, Japanese and Europeans are all on the move and this is also the time of year that most weddings take place, so honeymoon destinations are in a great deal of demand.

During the early part of summer, through June and July, Caribbean destinations are still good to get a deal, provided you try to book before the Europeans start to flood in during their school holidays at the end of July.

Safari holidays are a good option between June and September. High season ends in May, but the weather is still relatively dry.

Flights and hotels are still quite reasonable in Southeast Asia during the summer months, but temperatures can be quite hot, so if you can't stand the heat, avoid this destination during the summer months.

Fall

This is the time to head to Europe. Flights to most major European destinations will be cheaper from October onwards, mainly because the schools are no longer on holiday and families are not traveling as much. Temperatures are normally perfectly pleasant until mid November, so grab yourself a fall bargain in Europe.

http://www.travelmondo.biz

Andrea Farah , from Nazareth Israel, F.O desk clerk, reception and reservation department in hotel and travel agency . http://www.travelmondo.biz

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Personal Safety Advice For Those On A Cruise

By: Victor Epand
When you are on a cruise you are usually very safe. Most areas of the ship are well populated with people milling about, so there are rarely instances when you might find yourself on your own. Similarly, because there is a very close community of people, all of whom have paid a fair price to be there, you can be usually assured that you are in good company.

However, there are a few points worth mentioning to help ensure that you are safe, and not an unfortunate victim of either a petty crime or something more serious.

As far as your own personal safety is concerned, and that of any children travelling with you, if you are in any doubt then it is best not to wander the corridors between cabins on your own. Although statistically you are safer than anywhere else, particularly young children on their own are vulnerable as there are rarely any cameras, and during lovely days there are often few people around. Staying together, or going to your cabin during busier times can be a better choice.

Your cabin will of course be lockable, and it is easy to not bother locking it as you are on deck. However, it is a very sensible thing to get in the habit if always locking your cabin door when you are out, even if just for a short while. Almost certainly you will have your passport, money, credit cards, tickets, cameras, phones and other very valuable items in your cabin, and there are very few places to hide these items, so are easily located. Anyone who is of an unpleasant nature will know this, and it is a sad fact that sometimes theft does take place on cruise ships.

Make sure you aren't one of the victims, and lock your door as a matter of habit every time you leave it. For the sake of a few seconds inconvenience, you will gain a great deal of peace of mind. If you have other occupants with you, such as children, make sure that if they ever visit the cabin without you, they are also aware of the importance of this routine.

Another aspect of safety worth considering is of course the railing around the outside of the ship. One of the joys of cruising is hanging over the railing looking at the waves, and even seeing dolphins swimming along side you. It hardly needs mentioning that leaning out too far, especially for children, carries with it obvious dangers. The railing is quite high and it would have to be a fairly determined or sheer madness to get close to falling, but it is always important to keep an eye on children, especially those with a tendency to fool about.

Another aspect of leaning over the railings is of course the potential risk of losing valuable items over the side. How many coins, glasses, wallets, keys, cards and other little essentials are now lodged firmly at the bottom of the world's oceans? A countless number, certainly.

Always make sure that if you plan on looking over the side, your essential items are securely inside your pockets and can't easily fall out. Particularly at risk are coat or jackets pockets which, should the breeze catch them, may flip upside down and promptly empty. Jacket pockets or trouser pockets that zip up are ideal. Even better is leaving the items back in your cabin.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant about luggage, cruises, hotels, and shopping. You will find the best marketplace for luggage, cruises, hotels, and shopping at these sites for http://www.bags-luggage.info, http://www.hotels-cruises.info, and http://www.krishnadesign.com.

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Travel Insurance – Read the Small Print!

By: Patrick Chong
With cheap travel insurance available more widely than ever before, the vast majority of travellers will buy some kind of insurance policy before they go away. But how many people actually know what they are buying? Very few people read through their policy thoroughly enough, leaving themselves vulnerable to massive costs and missed claims. Here are a few of the things you need to check for when looking through your travel insurance policy.

Hazardous Sports and Activities

Worldwide travel insurance may cover you in every country, but it won’t cover you for every activity! You need to check the small print of your policy carefully – basic and cheap travel insurance usually won’t cover more dangerous sports and activities like rock climbing, snow boarding and bungee jumping. Of course, these more high risk activities are much more likely to result in injury, leading to some seriously expensive medical costs if your travel insurance isn’t comprehensive.

Pre-existing medical conditions

This is relatively well known, but it still catches people out when they are buying discount travel insurance. Standard insurance will NOT cover you if you have a pre-existing medical condition, including asthma and diabetes – you will have to get specialist insurance with higher premiums in order to be fully covered.

Death in the family

If you have to return home in a hurry due to an illness or death in the family, even cheap travel insurance usually has some kind of cover for your travel costs in the ‘Curtailment’ part of the policy. But be aware – there are a number of terms and conditions you need to be aware of. It won’t cover you if your close relative is suffering from a pre-existing medical condition or long term illness that you are already aware of. Travel insurance policies are also very specific about who counts as a close relative; usually you’ll only be able to claim if the relative in question is a parent, grandparent, partner, child or sibling.

Travellers Over 65

Fortunately, most travel insurance companies make this restriction fairly explicit, but not all! If you are over 65, you will need to get specialist travel insurance, and the price is likely to go up significantly since older travellers are considered to be higher risk.

Reckless behaviour

Many people think that once they have their worldwide travel insurance that they have a free rein to do whatever they like and their insurance company will bail them out. Not so – most travel insurance companies (reasonably enough) won’t cover you for what is deemed to be reckless behaviour, especially if you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time.

Theft, Receipts and Police reports

If you’ve been the victim of theft, make sure that you report it to the local authorities. They may do little more than give you a reference number, but without this reference a travel insurance company is not likely to process your claim. Keep the receipts for any valuables you take with you as well – if you can’t prove ownership of a valuable item in the first place, you’ll struggle to make a successful claim if it is taken.

Patrick Chong is the Managing Director of Journey’s Travel. Their commercial travel insurance website, Insuremore, offers cheap travel insurance for families, singles, children and skiers with free cover against acts of terrorism and a quick and easy online claims feature.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com