Posted by traveller on March 10, 2010
If you are visiting South Africa the best way to get around and see the area is by getting your own wheels. Getting a rental car in South Africa isn’t much different than getting on anywhere else. Rental cars in South Africa are fairly inexpensive with rates around $40 a day with included insurance. Booking your South Africa rental car is typically cheaper if you book and prepay in advance before leaving your home country.
South Africa car rental companies include:
- Around About Cars
- Avis
- Budget
- Europcar
- Hertz
- Imperial
- Tempest
You can also book rental cars in South Africa on sites like Expedia
or Travelocity
.
In South Africa they do drive on the left; like they do on the United Kingdom. Road conditions in South Africa are excellent. Other drivers will be your biggest concern as the road accident and death rate is quite high at 10,000 to 15,000 deaths from road accidents each year.
Petrol stations in South Africa do not have self-service. Instead they are full service and you are expected to tip around $0.50 when you get your tank filled.
Posted by traveller on March 4, 2010
Known as the City of Light, Paris is a popular destination for tourists. This may be due to Lonely Planet’s observation that Paris like has more familiar landmarks in the city than any other city in the world. You may want to book a hotel near one of these landmarks, such as Notre Dame, or you may prefer having a sweeping view of the city that includes the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Regardless of your preference you should have no problem booking a Paris hotel that meets you needs.
Opt for a package deal that lets you book your hotel and airfare at the same time. Such packages are typically offered on airline websites as well as travel booking websites such as Expedia and Travelocity. Booking in this manner does usually limit your hotel selections but you can end up saving some money as vacation packages are typically discounted.
Go directly to the hotel’s website if you already have a Paris hotel in mind that you want to book. For example, if you know that you want to stay at the Park Hyatt Paris hotel you can go to Hyatt.com to book your reservation. If you have questions or prefer to call the hotel directly you can get the phone number from the website. If you do not speak French you can say “Parlez vous Anglais?” to inquire if the hotel clerk speaks English. Typically the hotels that are part of international chains do have someone that speaks English. If you are booking an independently owned hotel you may not find anyone that speaks English. Be sure to pay attention to the currency quoted for the room rate on the hotel website as it may be listed in Euros instead of US dollars. If so, you can use a currency converter, such as XE.com, to convert the amount.
Search for hotels to book on Kayak.com. It can search several travel booking websites at once for you. The sites it can search include Travelocity, Expedia, Hotels.com and Priceline. If you see a result from one of those sites that you want to book you can select it and make your reservation. Keep in mind that if you book a hotel using one of these sites you are required to pay in full when you make your reservation. As a result, no cancellations or changes are allowed on the booking.
Get a discounted Paris hotel through Hotwire.com. By not showing you the hotel you are booking until after you pay in full, Hotwire can offer discount rates on hotel rooms in Paris. You will only be able to see the star rating, nightly room rate and the amenities at the hotel before booking it. No changes can be made and no refunds are allowed once you pay for the reservation. If you want an even lower price you can try bidding at a lower rate on Priceline with their “Name Your Own Price” option. Like Hotwire, you will not know the hotel unless your bid is accepted. If your bid is accepted you are charged for your entire stay immediately with no changes or refunds allowed.
Posted by traveller on March 3, 2010
Situated in the southwest area of the Indian Ocean is the volcanic island of Mauritius. It is home to beaches, coral reefs, Dutch ruins, top golf courses and first class cuisine that consists of French, African, Indian and Chinese. According to Lonely Planet, Mauritius is the most developed island of the Mascarene Islands. The local currency in Mauritius is the rupee. While the main language in Mauritius is Creole, you will find plenty of people the speak both French and English on the island. Booking your hotel to Mauritius is no different than booking a hotel in the United States.
Use Kayak.com to search for a hotel in Mauritius on several of the major travel booking websites at the same time. Kayak can search Travelocity, Expedia and Hotels.com all at the same time for you. This will allow you to see if one site happens to have a better price on a hotel that you are interested in booking. This is a great way to book a hotel if you are not familiar with what hotels are available in Mauritius. Other travel booking websites you can use to book include Booking.com and Orbitz.com. If you decide to book a hotel using one of these major travel booking sites you will have to pay in full for your booking up front. This means that you will not be able to make any changes to your booking or get a refund if you have to cancel the booking.
Book a vacation package that includes your Mauritius hotel with your airfare. For example, the Virgin Holidays website allows you to book a Mauritius vacation package that includes airfare from London’s Heathrow Airport. Only a deposit is required with this booking.
Contact the hotel directly to book if you already know where you can to stay. You can book direct by using the hotel website or by calling the hotel. Most people in Mauritius speak and understand English so you will not have to worry about a language barrier when you call. If booking directly online just go to the hotel website. For example, if you want to stay at the InterContinental Mauritius Resort Balaclava Fort you can go directly to the hotel website at ICHotelsGroup.com to book the hotel.
Arrive at the hotel with no reservation and book a room in person. As a walk-in you may end up paying a higher rate. You also risk showing up and there being no rooms available to book in your preferred hotel.
Priceline and Hotwire do not have any Mauritius hotels listed in their databases.
Posted by traveller on February 26, 2010
If you are planning a trip to Rome, Italy you may be asking yourself when is the best time to visit Rome. You for sure want to avoid visiting Rome in August. This is the month that Italians on holiday. You will find most of the hotels, restaurants and attractions actually closed in the month of August.
The best time to go to Rome is from late March through May and from late September through October. Not only will you experience less crowds during these periods but the temperature is also pretty mild. Your airfare will also be cheaper.
Peak travel season in Rome is June to August. It can get incredibly hot in Rome during the summer and the airfare during these months is the highest that it is all year.
Posted by traveller on February 25, 2010
If you are looking for a cheap airfare to Rome from another city in Europe your best bet is to try a budget airline. There are two airports in Rome that the European budget airlines will fly into. Fiumicino International Airport (FCO) is the main airport in Rome. The other airport that serves Rome is Ciampino Airport (CIA).
Budget airlines that fly into Rome’s FCO airport:
- Aer Lingus
- Air Baltic
- Air Berlin
- Air Europa
- Air One
- Baboo
- BelleAir
- Blue Air
- Blue1
- Blu-Express
- Brussels Airlines
- easyJet
- Flyglobespan
- Germanwings
- Jet2.com
- Meridiana
- Norwegian
- Smart Wings
- transavia.com
- TUIfly
- Vueling
- Wizz Air
Budget airlines that fly into Rome’s CIA airport:
