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09. Feb, 2010

The Informed Traveller

Deals2 It is true for almost everyone that if you have information on the location in which you are travelling to, you will have a much more enjoyable, and rewarding experience. This can be anything as extensive as the history on the country, local statistics, or as simple as knowing the best hot spots that are worth seeing, or local secrets of the best places that are not so well known among the tourism masses. All of this information can be found in a travel guide.

When it comes to travel guides, there are a variety of publishers, and focal topics for you to choose from. Whether you are a budget traveller, a senior traveller, a history buff or other, you can find a travel guide that suits your needs.

These guides often include reviews by real travellers, such as yourself, on restaurants, tourist attractions, accommodation and other aspects that are crucial and common to every vacation. Having this info can make the difference between a good trip, and a great trip. If you know what hotels to avoid, or what attractions are worth the trip, you can make more of your time and overall holiday.

20. Jan, 2010

Getting about in Cornwall

beach-cornwall Whereas package holidays might take care of everything for you, including all of your travel arrangements, they also force you into a strict, rigid, set plan of what your holiday will be like, governed entirely by your tour operator. Making your own decisions regarding your trip can leave you much, much happier, as long as you’re sure to properly plan before hand, and ensure that you know what you’re getting yourself into.

Accommodation, activities, weather and so on are not normally things that people overlook, but travel once you’re there is left until the last minute more often than you’d think. It’s a real shame as well, as if you’ve decided to book a more intimate holiday, perhaps in a hotel with a loved one, then shoddy travel arrangements can really ruin the mood. Family cottage holidays don’t have the travel pre-planned either, and little Jeremy and Ron are going to drive you mad with wailing if the travel arrangements are less than satisfactory.

So what can you do to alleviate this? Well, depending on where you are you have plenty of options. From my experiences in the UK (mostly in Cornwall, in the South West), I can say that travel is easy there as long as you spend the time preparing. Train, plane, coach, or car are all available, and booking early is a possibility in all cases. Almost every service also allows you to view schedules or even book online if you want to, making the whole process as hassle-free as possible.

The train lines in the UK are generally very good, though planning for delays is for the best, especially if the worst does happen. Many smaller lines also branch of the main one, meaning that once you’ve taken the main line down to Cornwall, you can get a smaller train to near your Sennen Cove cottage, for instance.

Plane flights in the UK can get you around, but I always find it actually takes just as long as getting a train, what with check-in times, and then getting transport to and from the airport. If you can rent a car whilst you’re abroad then that’s great, but longer journeys may still be better if you utilise a bus or train.