Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Cheap insurance policies and a few problems drivers should watch out for


When you still believe in the tooth fairy and the probability Santa will deliver something you had on your list come Christmas, you guard the feeling life is usually fair. It’s only when you enter the foothills of old age around seven or eight that you learn the hard way about all the pitfalls standing between you and justice. As an adult buying your first insurance policy, there’s one particularly hopeful myth. It says, simply, that if you’re not at fault and your insurance company does not have to pay out on a claim, your premium will not shoot up when it comes around for renewal. As an example, you leave you car safely in the garage while you jet off for a little R&R. When you return, you discover that during a deluge of Biblical proportions, your garage was demolished and your beloved car swept away in a flash flood. You decide to sell the rusting wreckage for salvage and buy another heap. Why not trouble the insurer? Well, your third party, fire and theft policy is not really relevant to this situation so there’s no claim to be made.


Even though there’s no claim to be made, you have to notify the insurer your car is gone. A new cheap car insurance policy will be required for the replacement. At this point you discover many insurers increase the premium rate even though the company has not suffered a loss. The explanation is one of these statistical quirks. It seems being involved in a no-fault situation is often followed by a claim in the next two years. The same thing will happen if you’re involved in an accident and you recover all your losses from the other party. This is not fair but it’s the way many insurers manage their policies. Whoever thought the no-claims discount was gold-plated is still there with that old belief in the tooth fairy. So to protect yourself, you should always shop around for the cheapest car insurance rates annually. To get your business, one of the other insurers will offer you cheap auto insurance. All you have to do is give up the thought of loyalty and go where the premium rate is lower.


Be emotionally prepared for possible problems with cheap auto insurance


Buyying your first insurance policy, there’s one particularly hopeful myth. It says, simply, that if you’re not at fault and your insurance company does not have to pay out on a claim, your premium will not shoot up when it comes around for renewal. As an example, you leave you car safely in the garage while you jet off for a little R&R. When you return, you discover that during a deluge of Biblical proportions, your garage was demolished and your beloved car swept away in a flash flood. You decide to sell the rusting wreckage for salvage and buy another heap. Why not trouble the insurer? Well, your third party, fire and theft policy is not really relevant to this situation so there’s no claim to be made.


Even though there’s no claim to be made, you have to notify the insurer your car is gone. A new cheap car insurance policy will be required for the replacement. At this point you discover many insurers increase the premium rate even though the company has not suffered a loss. The explanation is one of these statistical quirks. It seems being involved in a no-fault situation is often followed by a claim in the next two years. The same thing will happen if you’re involved in an accident and you recover all your losses from the other party. This is not fair but it’s the way many insurers manage their policies. Whoever thought the no-claims discount was gold-plated is still there with that old belief in the tooth fairy. So to protect yourself, you should always shop around for the lowest annual premium rates. To get your business, one of the other insurers will offer you cheap car insurance. All you have to do is give up the thought of loyalty and go where the premium rate is lower.


Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Tricks for Getting Cheap Flights

In today's economy, everybody is looking for a bargain. Cheap flights are one area that fluctuates a lot, but there are big savings to be had. Here are some tips for getting the best deal on your flight.


Timing


Research has found that the cheapest day to find a flight is Tuesday in the afternoon. This is when the most sale seats are available. Also, while this can vary due to last minute and early bird specials, in general, the best time to purchase your tickets is three months before departure for domestic flights, and five months for international. Prices go up drastically about 2 weeks before lift off.


Credit Cards


If you are a frequent flyer, you might consider an airline affiliated credit card. These cards might not be worth it for the occasional travel, as they typically come with membership fees. However, miles can add up quickly and they often include extra benefits such as no baggage fees or priority boarding.


Fare Watchers


Many websites such as Bing Travel and Airfarewatchdog.com will allow you to set a fare alert which will email you when they find the lowest price on airfare. This process can take awhile, so it probably isn't for last minute shoppers, but if you plan in advance you can find some good deals. Some sites also have a price match guarantee, which will refund the difference if your fare goes down.


Schedule Flexibility


If possible, consider being flexible with your travel dates. Some websites automatically check multiple dates for you, others you will just have to experiment. Traveling on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday, or choosing flights with one or more stops, is usually cheaper, so if you can adjust your trip accordingly you might save some money.


Packaged Deals


Usually hotel/airfare combinations are cheaper than if you were to buy individually. Expedia.com and Travelocity.com can help you find packaged deals, but many hotels will set one up for you as well. Not every flight and hotel qualifies, but you can potentially save $500 or more.


Hidden Charges


Taxes and fees are required to be advertised in your fare, but there are extra expenses you might not consider. Checked baggage and seat selection are two that people often don't think about. Outside of airline credit cards and promotions, there isn't a lot you can do to get rid of these fees, so include them in your budget.

Cheap air tickets are less cheap when you add in the hidden costs

When the air industry was desperate to find that extra dollar to tip it from loss into profit, it discovered we passengers were prepared to pay for "services". This unbundling really hit the big time with the decision to charge us for checking in bags. It's estimated this generated an additional $3 billion last year. Then airlines decided to levy a penalty if we decided we wanted to cancel and rebook a ticket. Curiously, the domestic airlines only raised $2.4 billion out of that last year. If you add up all the hidden costs from all the airlines around the world it's estimated they added about $22 billion in additional profit. So what exactly are we now paying for?


You may thought the airlines were just in the people carrying business, but these entrepreneurs have decided they are retailers of seats on airplanes. Everything else is an extra and liable to be charged separately. So do you have a preference as to where you sit, e.g. would you like an aisle seat, do you want priority when it comes to physically getting on to the plane, would you like to use one of the overhead bins for your carry-on bags, if you want to use your computer, do you want a wi-fi connection? And that's before you ask for a drink of water or, if you're really feeling brave, something to eat.


All this leads to considerable frustration because, until you go through the process of getting on to the airplane, there's no way you find out what the total cost of the flight is actually going to be. If you're trying to work to a budget, this is really annoying. When you're looking for cheap air tickets, the airlines should be obliged to publish an all-in price. That way, we can all compare like with like to find the cheapest seats. Even more interesting is that the federal taxes are payable on the price of the seat. No taxes are payable on the extra fees. This is a legal tax avoidance scam by the airlines to avoid paying tax on their income. Getting cheap air tickets should not be like this. Booking and billing should be transparent.

Auto Class Types Rented by Cheap Car Rental Companies


There are several different classes of auto provided by cheap car rental companies. This allows for a wide range of prices and options when renting your car, whether you’re on a budget or have a ton of people and luggage. Although each company will vary slightly as far as selection goes, there are a few basic categories which are pretty common.


The Economy Car


If you’re looking for the ultimate in cheap car rental, the economy size is your new best friend. Not only are the rental prices lower for economy cars, but the gas mileage is usually outstanding compared to larger vehicles. Economy cars may also be called compact cars, although some companies may offer compact cars as a separate rental category. If this is the case, compact usually costs a little more than economy.


Standard Size


The next level up after economy/compact are the midsize or standard vehicles. Again, some companies may separate these into two separate categories (or more) while others include all mid size and standard vehicles under one “standard” rental category. These cars seat more passengers than economy/compact cars, and also have more cargo room.


Cars to Avoid


If you are aimed at cheap car rental, you should definitely avoid larger vehicles. Trucks, vans, minivans and SUVs will all cost quite a bit more to rent than either economy or standard vehicles. The larger class of rentals also get worse gas mileage, so you’ll be paying more at the tank than with other rentals.


 


Luxury rentals are another no-no if you’re trying to save money. Forget the brand name cars and look for something that’s more budget-friendly.


 


Making Your Choice


When it comes time to decide which rental car will work best for you, don’t forget to take into consideration more factors than just price. For example, you have to have enough seating for everyone in your party, and room for any luggage you may have. The family who needs to rent an all-wheel drive vehicle in order to get to their campsite will have very different needs from the single businessman who’s just using the car to get from his hotel room to his conference and back again. If your goal is cheap car rental, take a look first at the economy and compact cars, and go from there.


Rental companies let you choose any vehicle from standard sizes to sports cars


There are several different classes of auto provided by cheap car rental companies. This allows for a wide range of prices and options when renting your car, whether you’re on a budget or have a ton of people and luggage. Although each company will vary slightly as far as selection goes, there are a few basic categories which are pretty common.


The Economy Car


If you’re looking for the ultimate in cheap car rental, the economy size is your new best friend. Not only are the rental prices lower for economy cars, but the gas mileage is usually outstanding compared to larger vehicles. Economy cars may also be called compact cars, although some companies may offer compact cars as a separate rental category. If this is the case, compact usually costs a little more than economy.


Standard Size


The next level up after economy/compact are the midsize or standard vehicles. Again, some companies may separate these into two separate categories (or more) while others include all mid size and standard vehicles under one “standard” rental category. These cars seat more passengers than economy/compact cars, and also have more cargo room.


Cars to Avoid


When the goal is cheap car rental, you should definitely avoid larger vehicles. Trucks, vans, minivans and SUVs will all cost quite a bit more to rent than either economy or standard vehicles. The larger class of rentals also get worse gas mileage, so you’ll be paying more at the tank than with other rentals.


Luxury rentals are another no-no if you’re trying to save money. Forget the brand name cars and look for something that’s more budget-friendly.


Making Your Choice of a car rental


When it comes time to decide which rental car will work best for you, don’t forget to take into consideration more factors than just price. For example, you have to have enough seating for everyone in your party, and room for any luggage you may have. The family who needs to rent an all-wheel drive vehicle in order to get to their campsite will have very different needs from the single businessman who’s just using the car to get from his hotel room to his conference and back again. If your goal is cheap car rental, take a look first at the economy and compact cars, and go from there.


Auto Class Types Rented by Cheap Car Rental Companies


There are several different classes of auto provided by cheap car rental companies. This allows for a wide range of prices and options when renting your car, whether you’re on a budget or have a ton of people and luggage. Although each company will vary slightly as far as selection goes, there are a few basic categories which are pretty common.


The Economy Car


If you’re looking for the ultimate in cheap car rental, the economy size is your new best friend. Not only are the rental prices lower for economy cars, but the gas mileage is usually outstanding compared to larger vehicles. Economy cars may also be called compact cars, although some companies may offer compact cars as a separate rental category. If this is the case, compact usually costs a little more than economy.


Standard Size


The next level up after economy/compact are the midsize or standard vehicles. Again, some companies may separate these into two separate categories (or more) while others include all mid size and standard vehicles under one “standard” rental category. These cars seat more passengers than economy/compact cars, and also have more cargo room.


Cars to Avoid


If you are aimed at cheap car rental, you should definitely avoid larger vehicles. Trucks, vans, minivans and SUVs will all cost quite a bit more to rent than either economy or standard vehicles. The larger class of rentals also get worse gas mileage, so you’ll be paying more at the tank than with other rentals.


 


Luxury rentals are another no-no if you’re trying to save money. Forget the brand name cars and look for something that’s more budget-friendly.


 


Making Your Choice


When it comes time to decide which rental car will work best for you, don’t forget to take into consideration more factors than just price. For example, you have to have enough seating for everyone in your party, and room for any luggage you may have. The family who needs to rent an all-wheel drive vehicle in order to get to their campsite will have very different needs from the single businessman who’s just using the car to get from his hotel room to his conference and back again. If your goal is cheap car rental, take a look first at the economy and compact cars, and go from there.


When renting a car your choices of a car class are as varied as the prices


There are several different classes of auto provided by cheap car rental companies. This allows for a wide range of prices and options when renting your car, whether you’re on a budget or have a ton of people and luggage. Although each company will vary slightly as far as selection goes, there are a few basic categories which are pretty common.


The Economy Car


If you’re looking for the ultimate in cheap car rental, the economy size is your new best friend. Not only are the rental prices lower for economy cars, but the gas mileage is usually outstanding compared to larger vehicles. Economy cars may also be called compact cars, although some companies may offer compact cars as a separate rental category. If this is the case, compact usually costs a little more than economy.


Standard Size


The next level up after economy/compact are the midsize or standard vehicles. Again, some companies may separate these into two separate categories (or more) while others include all mid size and standard vehicles under one “standard” rental category. These cars seat more passengers than economy/compact cars, and also have more cargo room.


Cars to Avoid


When the goal is cheap car rental, you should definitely avoid larger vehicles. Trucks, vans, minivans and SUVs will all cost quite a bit more to rent than either economy or standard vehicles. The larger class of rentals also get worse gas mileage, so you’ll be paying more at the tank than with other rentals.


Luxury rentals are another no-no if you’re trying to save money. Forget the brand name cars and look for something that’s more budget-friendly.


Making Your Choice


When it comes time to decide which rental car will work best for you, don’t forget to take into consideration more factors than just price. For example, you have to have enough seating for everyone in your party, and room for any luggage you may have. The family who needs to rent an all-wheel drive vehicle in order to get to their campsite will have very different needs from the single businessman who’s just using the car to get from his hotel room to his conference and back again. If your goal is cheap car rental, take a look first at the economy and compact cars, and go from there.


Why cheap air tickets are suddenly not so cheap?


When the air industry was desperate to find that extra dollar to tip it from loss into profit, it discovered we passengers were prepared to pay for “services”. This unbundling really hit the big time with the decision to charge us for checking in bags. It’s estimated this generated an additional $3 billion last year. Then airlines decided to levy a penalty if we decided we wanted to cancel and rebook a ticket. Curiously, the domestic airlines only raised $2.4 billion out of that last year. If you add up all the hidden costs from all the airlines around the world it’s estimated they added about $22 billion in additional profit. So what exactly are we now paying for?


You may thought the airlines were just in the people carrying business, but these entrepreneurs have decided they are retailers of seats on airplanes. Everything else is an extra and liable to be charged separately. So do you have a preference as to where you sit, e.g. would you like an aisle seat, do you want priority when it comes to physically getting on to the plane, would you like to use one of the overhead bins for your carry-on bags, if you want to use your computer, do you want a wi-fi connection? And that’s before you ask for a drink of water or, if you’re really feeling brave, something to eat.


All this leads to considerable frustration because, until you go through the process of getting on to the airplane, there’s no way you find out what the total cost of the flight is actually going to be. If you’re trying to work to a budget, this is really annoying. When you’re looking for cheap air tickets, the airlines should be obliged to publish an all-in price. That way, we can all compare like with like to find the cheapest seats. Even more interesting is that the federal taxes are payable on the price of the seat. No taxes are payable on the extra fees. This is a legal tax avoidance scam by the airlines to avoid paying tax on their income. Finding cheap air tickets should not be like this. Booking and billing should be transparent.


Tricks for Getting Cheap Flights


In today’s economy, everybody is looking for a bargain. Cheap flights are one area that fluctuates a lot, but there are big savings to be had. Here are some tips for getting the best deal on your flight.

Timing

Research has found that the cheapest day to find a flight is Tuesday in the afternoon. This is when the most sale seats are available. Also, while this can vary due to last minute and early bird specials, in general, the best time to purchase your tickets is three months before departure for domestic flights, and five months for international. Prices go up drastically about 2 weeks before lift off.

Credit Cards

If you are a frequent flyer, you might consider an airline affiliated credit card. These cards might not be worth it for the occasional travel, as they typically come with membership fees. However, miles can add up quickly and they often include extra benefits such as no baggage fees or priority boarding.

Fare Watchers

Many websites such as Bing Travel and Airfarewatchdog.com will allow you to set a fare alert which will email you when they find the lowest price on airfare. This process can take awhile, so it probably isn’t for last minute shoppers, but if you plan in advance you can find some good deals. Some sites also have a price match guarantee, which will refund the difference if your fare goes down.

Schedule Flexibility

If possible, consider being flexible with your travel dates. Some websites automatically check multiple dates for you, others you will just have to experiment. Traveling on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday, or choosing flights with one or more stops, is usually cheaper, so if you can adjust your trip accordingly you might save some money.

Packaged Deals

Usually hotel/airfare combinations are cheaper than if you were to buy individually. Expedia.com and Travelocity.com can help you find packaged deals, but many hotels will set one up for you as well. Not every flight and hotel qualifies, but you can potentially save $500 or more.

Hidden Charges

Taxes and fees are required to be advertised in your fare, but there are extra expenses you might not consider. Checked baggage and seat selection are two that people often don’t think about. Outside of airline credit cards and promotions, there isn’t a lot you can do to get rid of these fees, so include them in your budget.

Health insurance quotes stay the same for more cover for women


Well, the Supreme Court has spoken and Obamacare is constitutional. No matter what your view of the decision, the world continues to turn on its axis and the Act has now kicked into life again. As from the 1st August, all health insurance plans have to offer free access to a range of preventive treatments for women. This is part of a more general public policy shift in favor of prevention. We need to be clear why this is desirable. There are a number of tests that can reveal a precancerous state. If there is treatment at this point, the development of an actually malignant cancer can often be prevented. This provides a long life with a better quality. From the government’s point of view, this is a wonderfully effective use of resources. You blanket the medical system with as many tests as possible to detect problems before they become serious and, by offering early interventions, keep the population healthy. What’s wrong with this? Well, doctors make their money when you fall seriously ill and have to go to hospital for treatment. The scale of their profits depend on you not having preventive treatment.


Because the success of Obamacare will only be complete if it controls costs, the switch to preventive medicine is essential. The range of screenings and treatments now available women free of charge has now been significantly increased. No longer will they be deterred by high initial fees or copayments. The highlights include mammograms to detect breast cancer, tests for papillomavirus for cervical cancer, tests of bone density to detect osteoporosis, screening for sexually transmitted disease including HIV, screening and counseling for domestic violence. These tests cover the situations in which women are most at risk with cancer being one of the top causes of death and osteoporosis being one of the more troublesome causes of fractures as the body ages. With the focus now on wellness and prevention, the quality of life enjoyed by women should significantly improve. This is a complete reversal of the situation before Obamacare was enacted and most health insurance quotes failed to provide any separate cover for women’s healthcare.


Saturday, July 28, 2012

Tips on Buying Your First Car Ever

Car Showroom




There are few things more liberating than the feeling of being a first time car owner. While you may have enjoyed a few nights out with mom and dad's car over the years, the fact of the matter is there's nothing quite like the freedom you feel being behind the wheel of your very own car. You don't have to worry about getting permission to use it, having it back at a certain time, or keeping it clean (although you probably should keep it clean!). However, there are a few things you should do before diving into the realm of car ownership. Making a rash and emotionally charged decision will be much more likely to lead you to make a decision you'll end up regretting. Let's look at some things you'll want to consider before you sign the papers.

The first things you'll want to look at are some of the basics of car ownership, such as car insurance, which mechanic you'll use should you have any issues, and what your budget is. The best advice that could be given for each of these things is to shop around for the best deal. Obviously you won't be able to get insurance or mechanical repair quotes without having a specific make, model, and year of car, but you can at least gain insight into what companies might be reliable by asking around to friends and family, and doing online research. Setting your budget (and sticking to it) is very important. Sales people are trained to make you think emotionally, not logically, so you need to keep this in mind when confronted with a decision. In their mind, they'll ideally talk you into going over your budget in order to get you into a car that speaks more to your emotions than anything else. You'll need to be sure to stick at least close to your budget, and not get into a situation where you overextend yourself.

Figure out what it is that you need in your car. After you establish what your requirements are, you can get into what you want. Luxury items are certainly nice, but there have been many first time car buyers who have been induced to buying cars that are out of their price range because they fell in love with the extra features of a certain car. If you look at your car buying experience logically, rather than emotionally, you'll ensure yourself a reasonable deal. You need to find the balance between finding a car that's serviceable and a car that costs much more than you'd ideally be spending.

You'll also want to consider after purchase costs, like gasoline and maintenance. If you buy an expensive car that's also a "gas guzzler", you'll end up spending a lot of money on your car payment every month, as well as on your gas once every one or two weeks. You'll want to include research into these types of things when searching for your ideal car.

The decisions you make when searching for your first car will likely have long term ramifications on your life. When it comes down to it, if you're smart about your first car purchase, it's an investment that will pay dividends for you for years to come.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

World Travel Guide - Search for Holiday Destination

The World Travel Guide grants all sort of information on various destinations in the world where one can spend their holiday. The target of this guide is to provide every information and facilities of the particular place. If one has been planning for a vacation but are unaware which destination is best to go, for those confused people the travel guidelines may help it. Around the globe there are many holiday destinations where one can go with their family, friends or with loved ones. World Travel Guide gives you information on the places for vacation with the weather information, route to go, accommodation information from hotels, motels, backpackers and lot more. Many holiday destinations attract many people with the amazing sightseeing view or some sites which one should visit. The most important part in travel is that one should know the knowledge and information about the places.

The World Travel Guide provides information to the person who needs. When it comes to choices like which place to go. It's been always a difficulty to choose one particular destination. Intention to go on vacation is to make the moments into memories for that best place should be needed. As there are different people there are different choices. Some of them prefer going on a calm place where they can spend peaceful vacation, some prefer going on a romantic place, but majority of the people prefer to adventure travel. When there is thrill, fun, excitement it makes the holidays more memorable and is also blend of all emotions from fear to fun.

For adventure travel one has to tighten the shoe lace and buck up with the up coming tasks. One can go into the most beautiful islands or in some rainforest place to explore the feel of adventure. In this trip one can definitely climb, hike and ride the bicycle in the rugged mountains. The water sports done in the Ocean Sea or beaches is the scuba diving, swimming, snorkeling, fishing, and rafting in the water, parasailing and lot more. With the help of the World Travel Guide one can have the perfect vacation in Asia, pacific or may be in some other countries. Those who are seek of adventure one can travel to the following places including Africa, America, Canada, Himalayas, Costa Rica, New Zealand and the list goes on an on.

Adventure travel is the very common trend among the young population. In this travel one can get all sorts of combination from trekking, hiking and mountaineering, water rafting, zip-lining and bungee jumping which gives a best memory in this vacation.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Tour Travel Information

Sometime it is very important to spend some valuable time with family and friends to over come from daily tight work schedule. Relaxation and refreshment is necessary for human to give 100% output in their work.

There are various places in the world where people can spend few moments with their family, friends or loved once. People those who are married and have family, they can grab the opportunity of family holiday packages, vacation packages that is launched by various tours and travels all over the world. During the time of vacations or festival's, they usually declare holiday or vacation packages with discount rates for customers.

There are most beautiful and peaceful places to spend holiday with family those are India, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, Maldives, Singapore, Italy, America etc. These places are memorable for tour and also to move around these places with family or friends.

People can surf for the reviews on the internet regarding tour that will help you out in selecting place as well as hotel booking. For more convenience, travel or tours agency provides pick up and drop facility, also provide car rental and cruise booking services.

Nowadays planning for international tour become very easy and takes no time or not even panic for customers. Even those who don't have internet access or don't know how to use internet, travel or tourism agents are always there to help them out.

So for what are you waiting? Join and book hotel or resort for you and your family. Contact any tours and travel agency for joining their best family holiday package. Enjoy your trip and have fun with your family friends or loved once.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Popular Destinations And Travel Guides: Egypt

Egypt is one of the most popular travel destinations, with its Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada resorts, the Pyramids and the monuments of the glorious past. Egyptian travel agencies are well known for their professionalism and ability to assist in organizing a memorable tour.

The rich and long history of Egypt has left a huge number of world famous attractions.

Cairo is the capital of the country and the oldest city in Africa that can boast having a myriad of monuments of the Middle Ages. Here one can go to the Valley of the Kings to see the mysterious tombs of the pharaohs that protect the mummies. The Pyramids are Egypt's business card, there are more than a hundred of them here. At the time of the Pharaohs, pyramids served as a complex of huge temple buildings, richly decorated with statues, obelisks, sphinxes, reliefs and wall paintings.

The ensemble of the great pyramids of Giza consists of the three highest pyramids in Egypt. The most important and famous of them is the Pyramid of Cheops. The second largest pyramid is Khafre, and Menkaure Pyramid completes the ensemble. Next to them, there is a complex of several small pyramids, where the wives of pharaohs, the priests and high officials were buried. Great Sphinx is carved, like most colossal statues of Giza, from solid rock. Every evening, there is a special light and colorful performance called 'Sound and Light' at the foot of the pyramids.

The Egyptian Museum is the main global repository of Egyptian antiquities, probably the world's only art-historical collection, where even the youngest of the exhibits are about two thousand years old. And when you are bored with gloomy corridors of ancient tombs, you can always go to radiant Alexandria, which keeps the memory about Alexander the Great and Cleopatra. Time and culture are interwoven here, preserving the remains of one of the 'Wonders of the World' - the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Tourists will also see the Colossus Ptolemaic and the Roman theater, Catacombs of Kom el-Shugafa and the 25-meter column of Pompey, surrounded by statues of sphinxes.

Having made a cruise on the Nile, you can admire the fabulous palaces and temples of Luxor, formerly known as the city of Thebes, and praised by Homer. In Aswan one can enjoy an incomparable spirit of Africa, created by the collision of the great waters of the Nile and the hot sands of the Sahara.

On the verge of the Libyan desert, there are two grand temples carved into the rock. They were built to commemorate Ramses II and his wife Nefertari. Twice a year, in October and February, the temples become the place for the holiday of 'The Miracle of the Sun' when the solar disk alternately illuminates the giant statues of gods and kings.

From Sharm El Sheikh one can make a trip along the Gulf of Suez in the Bedouin land, Sinai. One of the local plateaus here hosts the 4,000 year-old temple of the goddess Hathor. The pearl of Sinai, Feyran Oasis, stretches here with its rustling leaves of thousands of palms. There is also the Christian monastery of the Seven nuns. It was at Sinai that Moses received the divine tablets. Returning to Sharm el Sheikh, you will have the opportunity to swim in the gentle waters of the Red Sea and enjoy one of the world's most beautiful underwater worlds.

If you want peace and harmony with nature, it is worth going to Taba, offering excellent untouched pristine lagoons and coral reefs. Due to its unique location on the Sinai Peninsula, Taba offers a wonderful panorama view of three countries - Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. They can always be visited with guided tours. On the coast, one can find a small island of the Pharaohs, where a medieval fortress rises.

Egypt travel agents listed on Tripcook can be contacted, individually or all in one message, to request a tour in Egypt. Tour operators in Egypt can provide best service in finding air flights, hotels, land transportation etc.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Gathering Travel Information for Your Trip

If you're a budget traveler who must carry or drag your luggage through airports, subway systems and city streets, then you'll want to travel as lightly as you can. One area where you can really cut down on both the size and the weight of what you carry on a trip, plus make yourself less of a target for street criminals, is when it comes to packing travel information.

Before your trip, by all means, read all of the guidebooks about your intended destination that you can get your hands on. Use them to help you plan your itinerary and to choose your personal must-see sites for each city or region that you plan to travel to. Read them, but don't take them with you on your trip. They can be extremely heavy and bulky and amount to dead weight. In addition, sitting in a big city park or on a subway train reading a travel guidebook to that city marks you as a pigeon ripe for the plucking. You may as well wear a big hat that says, "Tourist."

I use two alternative means of carrying critical trip information with me. First of all, as I read travel guidebooks, I take old fashioned handwritten notes: from particularly interesting bits of historical information, to the opening hours of shops and banks, to key foreign language phrases. I take notes on each city or town, including specific monuments or buildings that I know I'll want to see due to my personal taste in art and architecture, not just going by what the guidebooks say that everyone should see. This way a few pages of lightweight handwritten notes allow me to distill key bits of information without adding to the weight of my luggage.

I know that as I arrive in each town I can pick up a brochure that will include a town map and the opening hours for each site of interest. This single brochure can stay right in my pocket where it can easily be consulted as needed while I'm sightseeing, yet stay discretely out of sight the rest of the time. If I'm in Prague, for instance, one slim combination map and brochure in my pocket is more easily consulted than a big guidebook, plus it sure beats traipsing around Prague carrying a heavy travel guidebook that covers all of Europe.

Today, with the advent of Internet, trip planning has become easier than ever. Although there are many bogus travel sites on the net that are nothing but come-ons for overpriced hotels, there are also many good ones. I particularly like going directly to the official websites of each monument, city, region or country that I want to learn about. It can be a time-consuming process, but there's a treasure trove of travel information, plus maps and photos, to be found. Via books and the net I can learn about the major tourist attractions of each place, as well as find details about the quirkier sites or the downright odd ones that might be of interest to me.

I can gather up train schedules for each leg of my journey, historical information, up-to-date prices, and opening days and hours for each historical site and museum, and plenty more. Patience during the planning stages of a big trip can save infinite time and inconvenience during the trip. Anyway, learning about places you've always dreamt of seeing is part of the fun.

Online I can seek out low cost hotels and chart them on city maps to determine which ones seem the most conveniently located in relation to historic town centers, and I can then book rooms via email. If I were to print out every single Internet page that is of interest to me, though, I'd soon end up with a mass of papers as heavy as those inadvisable-to-lug-around traditional bulky travel guidebooks. Much of each printout page would amount to wasted blank space or irrelevant banner ads and link lists, as well, so this is what I do: I create a blank text document and each bit of information that I'll want to have with me during a trip gets copied and pasted onto this one document. On it I can list a variety of train schedules, hotel contact information and sightseeing information. I can freely combine bits of information gleaned from many different sources so that, for example, all of the bits of information about a particular castle are together in one subsection of my text document.

When I'm done gathering all my information I can eliminate any duplication of information and reduce the size of the text font on the document before printing it out. That way I wind up with just a few sheets of paper that are tightly packed with relevant information. I can even print on both sides of each sheet of paper to further reduce the total number of pages. I can organize the text document anyway I like, with hotel confirmation emails all on one sheet, or all train schedules on a single sheet, or travel phrases all together or, if I've accumulated lots of details about historical sites to be visited, I can create separate printouts for each city or country.

That way, as I visit each locale, I only need to carry that one page of information around with me during my stay there - one piece of paper that can be folded up and carried in my pocket for easy consulation or to supplement a travel brochure that I picked up locally. From Internet I can also print out a map for each town on my route, so that I'll be able to find my way from a train station to a prebooked lodging even if I can't immediately get my hands on a more detailed local map when I first arrive in a new town.

It is possible to have with you all the travel information and transportation schedules that you'll need during your trip, yet not let it add to the burden that you must carry around as you travel from place to place. A handful of condensed printouts in lieu of a big fat guidebook is one more means of traveling well prepared even though you're traveling light. You can have your cake and eat it, too, so Bon Appetit!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Online Travel Guides Are Making An Impact With Travelers

Traveling to a new place needs lot of preparations. However, the first thing that should be done as a part of preparing for the travel is buying travel guides for the place. It is always good to consult more than one guide for traveling to be sure that the information that is furnished is correct. However, with time things have changed drastically and these guides have also taken a new shape and appearance. Online guides related to travel and tourism are available and you can gather all kinds of information regarding a destination. Many travelers and tourists also publish their travel experiences and travelogues online so that people can read them and get ideas or advice.

Travel guides become very important in places where there is a language problem barrier. In such countries, it is very important to have the right kinds of guides so that moving around becomes easy and convenient. Many guides also have some language help for tourists and some common terms and phrases are mentioned so that travelers can communicate the very important things without any problem in the new country. These kinds of assistance are also offered through the various online guides. There are translation facilities available on the internet as well that make things easier and convenient. Some of the online guides also have forums where travelers and tourists can interact with one another and share their experiences.

Online guides that help in traveling also provide complete and detailed information about a place, like the climatic conditions, the weather patterns, food habits, lifestyle, places of interest and similar things. Therefore planning the entire trip becomes extremely easy and convenient with such guides. In fact, the total program of the trip can be planned with the help of proper guides so that the whole trip remains smooth and hassle free. And when things are planned in advance, there are no additional tensions as well. Detailed planning for each day can be done. Guide books provide information regarding the various places of interest in the country and the ways to reach there. One can sort the most important places if there is time constraint.

Having the right kind of food is very important during a trip. Good guides will provide detailed information about the various restaurants and eateries that you will find in the city. The kind of cuisines that are served in the restaurants are also mentioned along with the direction and the opening hours of the restaurant. Apart from large and well known restaurants, information regarding general eateries is also provided in many guides. Apart from printed guides, online guides are also great sources of such information.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

New Car Technology Advancements

San Diego Personal Injury Attorney Michael Pines




Car technology is advancing at amazing speed so it's no surprise that at least a couple cool things turn up each model year. Here are some of the latest innovations that will be coming out sometime in the near future that new car buyers can look forward to seeing.

Economy Mode

While we consider that most of us drivers are set in their ways and odds are we will never make the necessary changes to conserve on fuel. One example of such would be, we know that by simply not using our AC increases our fuel economy when we drive, but rather than just rolling down our window when we could to save fuel we opt to use the air conditioner to keep us cool. We are simply set in our ways when it comes to running our AC even when we could be just as comfortable at this time with a window down. With the new idea and innovation of the Economy Mode the car it will be able to determine what systems in your car are non-essential at the time and turn them off to save on fuel for the driver; examples could be the AC, Cruise Controls and others. The car would begin making these adjustments for the driver automatically. It's not just an idea in fact; some Hybrids feature an economy mode that limits A/C use on several models right now.

Black Box Technology

Planes have them and cars will too, and why not the Black box on planes have be literally invaluable for many years with its ability to get detail records of trips and logs of what happens to a plane in flight or when accidents occur. It's still being debated like most things that come to personal privacy and many people will no doubt object to the idea of the black box being implemented into their personal vehicles. The fact is that both Ford and General Motors already are using black Box technology in around two-thirds of the models built, but they are referred to as "recorders". Drivers can expect the advancement of these "recorders" to be able to tell police officers and insurance companies about car accidents, how fast you were driving, where you had driven that day and much more.

Cars That Park for You

Yes, a car that actually will do the parking is already in production today. There is already one type of system where the driver keeps his foot on the brake while the car amazingly enough parallel parks it's self. Its future looks bright, as this type of application could be very useful in the future not just in parking but also use in other tight places like garages.

Let the Car do the Driving

It's no longer just a dream or something we have seen in the movies, with the advancement of GPS and robotic technology setting your car on Auto Pilot where the navigation system guides the car to its destination while the driver sits back and relaxes will become a reality sooner than many people could imagine. Experimentation and planning is underway with the use of magnets and GPS to make this dream become a reality.

Crash Detection

Is already a reality with the Acura RL and it's called the Collision Mitigation System. Hopefully, one day all cars will include this type of safety feature. Where the cars decides on its own that a wreck is unavoidable and will warn the driver to brace for impacts as it automatically takes action for the driver by deploying the airbags hitting the brakes and tightens up seatbelts etc. all own its own.

The near future is indeed an exciting time.

Monday, April 2, 2012

How Travel Guides Can Be Beneficial

A well-planned vacation can be so much fun. Traveling can be wonderful especially when doing so with family and/or friends. Quite a number of families usually plan for vacations every year. Many of them prefer to go to unknown destination. This makes them curious and excited at the same time. The vacations are usually planned so that family and/or friends can have time to relax and bond together.

One important thing that is needed when going to an unknown destination is a travel guide. The term 'travel guide' can be interpreted as a document that helps people find their way in a certain area or a person who helps tourists find their way in a new country. In this writing, we will look at the documented travel guide i.e. the one that comes in forms of pamphlets and brochures.

The benefits of using documented travel guides are outlined below:

Knowledge of weather patterns - When people are going for vacation, they have to carry the right kind of clothes. This means they have to know the weather that is being experienced at their destination. This will make them pack appropriately. Travel guides usually provide information to travellers regarding the climatic conditions of their destination. They show the various seasons experienced and the periods the seasons last.

Cultural Events - One of the things people desire to see in their destination country is the culture of that country. Thus, the guides usually explain some of the cultural events that take place in that country.

Modes of transport - The guide also suggests some of the modes of transport that can be used by tourists. The guide will recommend the best type of transport when moving from one area to another. If the distance is long, the travellers can use either an airplane or a bus. However, the decision lies with the tourists.

Security and Safety - This is one important thing that is provided in travel guides. People who are going for vacation are advised on safety measures that they can take. Each and every country has its own social evils. Thus, these guides can provide safety measures for travellers.

Recreational Facilities - Travellers usually look forward to enjoy some of the recreational facilities of the country they are going to visit. The guides provide information on hotels and restaurants. They also provide information about other activities that the travellers can enjoy while touring the new destination.