Awesome Vacations

What kind of traveller are you? You will more than likely fall into one of the following travel categories.

Cheap As Chips. The budget traveller is no longer an over-looked consumer in the travel market. Marketers now recognise their value as a significant component of a country's import economy. They choose to stay in down market digs but they spend a far greater time in a country than the majority of package tourists thereby contributing more to the local economy.

This beautiful photo of sunrise in Fiji can be purchased as a poster from Zazzle

Fraser Island Airways Mousepad by ElleDeeEsse
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Two Weeks A Year. Whether due to demands of your job, time restrictions around family commitments or financial limitations, having only a limited time in which to take a vacation means careful consideration of how to make the most of that time. You may enjoy the simple life and return each year to a favourite camp-site or tourist park where you can be sure of seeing the same familiar faces. Many will have pored over tourist brochures for the past year and be ready to hop on a plane to an anticipated resort with nothing to do except get to meals on time. Two weeks is a perfect time to take that adventure holiday you've always wanted to - skiing in Japan, golf in Florida, scuba diving in The Seychelles. Or just packing the car and taking a road trip. Options are endless even if time isn't.

The Once In A Lifetime Grand Trip. Whether it's a gap year, after retirement or somewhere in between this is probably the most exciting of all travel experiences. It's never a single experience but a whole lot of experiences strung together like pearls on a beautiful necklace. From planning to budgeting, deciding on destinations, style of accommodation and how to get around the opportunities for disasters are numerous. This type of trip can be minutely organised by a tour operator or taken as a freestyle DIY excursion.

Lay It On Me And Spare No Expense. For the fortunate few for whom money is no object, there are some extraordinary travel experiences to be had. The creativity surrounding the luxury end of the travel market is expanding constantly with new opportunities being added all the time.

If you are a budget traveller then typically you will have a swathe of destinations in mind. There are ways to narrow down your list by ascertaining what kind of traveller you are.
What are your interests?
What kind of food do you love? Or hate? You'd probably want to think twice about going to India if you're not a fan of curries.
Consider countries where your funds will go farthest. Think about the exchange rate from your local currency. There may be times when it is better to avoid a region if the exchange rate is particularly poor.
How well do you cope in stressful situations? How would you manage if faced with a dangerous situation? Find out the political situation before you go.
How well do you know the language and if not, how well can you amange with a phrase book? Will you manage in a situation where there is no possibility of language translation?

Just because a location is well travelled shouldn't put it on the crossed off list but there are certainly some destinations which have appeal simply because of their uniqueness. Take for example, Jellyfish Lake in Palau, one of the truly unique and amazing wonders of the world and swimming with its harmless inhabitants is an awesome experience. Palau is an island nation located in the Western Pacific surrounded by The Phillipines to its west, Guam to its North East, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Find out more about Jellyfish Lake

Find out more about Palau

Due to open in early 2010, this Fijian resort offers a whole new travel experience for elite travellers. Located 40 feet underwater, the world's first seafloor resort offers guests incredible luxury combined with an amazing water world experience. As if the accommodation experience isn't enough, there is also a range of unique activites to choose from such as pilotting a personal Triton submarine, or kitting out in a hi-tech diving helmet with surface supplied air and walk along the lagoon floor. Posidon Underwater Resorts will begin taking reservations on September 15.

Find out more about Poseidon Underwater Resorts

There are many ways to earn money as you travel. It pays to check on the rules concerning working in the country you are visiting before you go. Visit or contact the consulate and find out about work visas. Many working abroad programs will arrange the visa for you once you have been accepted into their program. If you have teaching, nursing or secretarial skills your qualifications will be well regarded in many countries. One idea is to teach English as a foreign language.

Los Angeles is a city that often divides people - they either love it or hate it. I have to admit I rather like L.A. The first time I was there I had broken my ankle two days before arriving, on the road trip down from San Francisco. It was the seventies and I fell of my platform shoes. What struck me was the friendliness of everyone we encountered. I was seventeen and travelling with my parents on our first trip overseas. We visited all the usual haunts, Disneyland, Universal Studios. one of Los Angeles's hospitals to get my cast put on, you know, standard tourist places. I met my childhood penpal for the first time. The second time I visited was with my husband on his first visit to the US. We flew in from London and this time, twenty years after my first trip Disneyland had much better attractions. No that's not the only reason to go to Los Angeles but you have to admit, if you are going to go it's hard to ignore going. My penfriend was now married as well and living in a granny flat in her parents backyard with her husband and his two kids. Not only did they welcome us into their home, they gave us the use of their car as well. Los Angeles is not a city of beauty but it is a city of colour. The best way to learn her secrets is with the help of a local and if you can do that you will discover a warm and friendly city, not the one most visitors first encounter.