If you stay in a vacation rental in Barcelona but aren’t sure when the best time to go is, just read on about Barcelona’s weather. The climate of Barcelona is Mediterranean, with sub-Mediterranean influences because of its location in the north-western Mediterranean and is sheltered from prevailing winds through the Pyrenees. Barcelona Winters are drier [...] [...more]
If you stay in a vacation rental in Barcelona but aren’t sure when the best time to go is, just read on about Barcelona’s weather. The climate of Barcelona is Mediterranean, with sub-Mediterranean influences because of its location in the north-western Mediterranean and is sheltered from prevailing winds through the Pyrenees. Barcelona Winters are drier than in the traditional Mediterranean climates such as Portugal and Italy. On the other hand, in the summer, there are periods of disturbance and storms. It is primarily a period of rain and strong thunderstorms between May and November, but especially in August when the sea reaches the high surface temperatures (often over 25 º C). The rainiest months of the year are May, October, September and August with the driest being July.
If you are staying in a vacation rental in Barcelona, you must know that the average annual temperature in Barcelona is 15.4°C. The temperature of the warmest months reaching over 28°C, the minimum coldest winter are greater than 4ºC. December, January and February are the coldest months, with an average temperature of 10ºC at the center of the city. July and August are the hottest months, with an average temperature of 24°C. Barcelona can be a sunny city but its location between sea and mountains often creates a wall of clouds sufficient to produce long days of covered skies with fog, especially in early spring and in autumn. We recommend to visit Barcelona in the spring (May and June) and fall (September). The climatic conditions are favorable because the sun is usually present and it does not undergo excessive heat. Another advantage: it avoids the tourist crowds! Then you can fully enjoy Barcelona when you walk out your vacation rental in Barcelona.
Travelers have different motives when visiting a new location. Some go to enjoy the beach, others want to go shopping and some go to visit museums. Cultural holidays are growing in popularity. Culture is a broad category that includes visiting historic sites, attending cultural events or simply visiting museums. Vacationers will choose their holiday destinations according [...] [...more]
Travelers have different motives when visiting a new location. Some go to enjoy the beach, others want to go shopping and some go to visit museums. Cultural holidays are growing in popularity.
Culture is a broad category that includes visiting historic sites, attending cultural events or simply visiting museums. Vacationers will choose their holiday destinations according to their own interests. Most of the top visited museums in the world are located in large urban cultural cities such as Paris, London or New York. Statistics from 2007 rank the most visited worldwide museums:
1. Le Musée du Louvre (Paris, France): 8.3 million visitors
2. The British Museum (London, England) : 5.5 million visitors
3. The Tate Gallery (London, England ): 5 million visitors
4. The Metropolitan (New York, USA): 4.2 million visitors
5. The Vatican Museum (Vatican City, Italy): 4.4 million visitors
6. The National Gallery (London, England): 4.1 million visitors
7. Le Château de Versailles (Versailles, France): 3.4 million visitors
8. Le Musée d’Orsay (Paris, France): 3.1 million visitors
9. The Tokyo National Museum (Tokyo, Japan): 3.2 million visitors
10. The Prado Museum (Madrid, Spain): 2.7 million visitors
Three of the most visited museums are in Paris (click to see more on the most popular Paris Museums) and three are in London. Those popular cities are the most visited in the world and, therefore, lodging is not cheap; in fact, it is outrageously expensive.
Unless you have a generous budget for your stay, you should look into more affordable accommodation options such as a vacation rental. Holiday rental properties are probably the most comfortable lodging solutions for travelers on budgets in Paris, London, New York, Rome, Tokyo or Madrid (Madrid vacation rentals)
Florida is a large state covering an area of 65,795 square miles. It is 361 miles wide and 447 miles long. People on Florida vacations hoping to explore several cities should be well organized and plan their Florida trip and routes well in advance. We selected the major vacation destinations in Florida and computed the distance [...] [...more]
Florida is a large state covering an area of 65,795 square miles. It is 361 miles wide and 447 miles long. People on Florida vacations hoping to explore several cities should be well organized and plan their Florida trip and routes well in advance.
We selected the major vacation destinations in Florida and computed the distance between cities in Florida to help those on Florida vacations plan their trip. People who plan to explore on Florida vacations will discover great cities with many different attractions and points of interest. The roads in Florida are very well maintained and renting a car is easy and inexpensive. Directions from city to city are very clear.
The use of a car is strongly recommended when exploring the sunshine state on Florida vacations. Hereunder, find a grid containing the distance between cities in Florida. Look into affordable lodging options at each destination. The best quality found for the most affordable prices are vacation rentals: Miami vacation rentals, Florida vacation rentals, Daytona Beach vacation rentals and more.
There are some magnificent sights to be seen from a helicopter. If you are making your way to any of these areas, make sure to look into one of the helicopter tours. Get settled in a base destination in hotels or affordable vacation rentals. Now go on and explore the best sights on the planet. 1. [...] [...more]
There are some magnificent sights to be seen from a helicopter. If you are making your way to any of these areas, make sure to look into one of the helicopter tours. Get settled in a base destination in hotels or affordable vacation rentals. Now go on and explore the best sights on the planet.
1.New York City, US
This very busy city is a sight to be seen even from the ground. It is very different from other cities and flooded with yellow cabs and skyscrapers. Get a glimpse of the city’s famous Hudson River from above. Most helicopter tours run from 6 minutes to half an hour, unless you charter a private helicopter. Depending on the length of the tour, the number of familiar sights you will fly over will vary. Some of the key sights you will see from above include the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Chrysler Building and Ground Zero. Find accommodations and New York vacation rentals.
2. Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii
Up in a helicopter is the safest way to get an up-close look of the lava flows and potential eruptions. These helicopter tours leave from Hilo and fly over the rich green rainforests. The lava fields are marked with dark terrain whereas other surrounding beaches are covered with golden sand. Hovering over Kilauea Caldera is probably the closest you will ever come to an active volcano. It is not guaranteed that you will see live eruptions, but you will definitely see lava flows and steam. Find accommodations and Hawaii vacation rentals.
3. Hermanus, South Africa
A whale migrations passes off the shore of Hermanus between the months of August and November. Some may spot a whale from the shore, but helicopter tours offer the best views. Fly out of Cape Town and float over the beauty of Cape Peninsula and east over Walker Bay as you make your way to Hermanus. During whale season, it may be necessary to charter a private helicopter. Helicopters are often the only way to spot whales that veer away from the shore including humped back whales, southern right whales and orcas.
4. Jumeirah, Dubai
Fly above the Jumeirah coastline and get a glimpse of Dubai’s buildings as well as the Palm and World constructions. It is not uncommon for many of the helicopter tours to take passengers over a nearby arid desert so that they may get an idea of how this area once appeared.
5. Great Barrier Reef, North of Australia
The only way to get any idea of the real size of the Great Barrier Reef is from above. Leave from several airstrips along the coast or from Cairns. Many visitors leave Queensland to the reef through the ocean. From above, you will see the reef and all its shapes and different shades of blue, green and white. Guides will point out manta rays, turtles, sharks and dugong below.
6. Franz Josef or Fox Glacier, New Zealand
Both of these ancient glaciers are part of the world’s one percent of glaciers that are not shrinking. To get a real, hands-on experience of the glaciers, do some ice-climbing. If you would prefer to avoid the frozen fingers, see the top of the white and blue glaciers from a helicopter above as it makes its way to the top of snowfield at the top. The ice caves and pinnacles are impressive sights. Some helicopter tours of Franz Josef and Fox Glacier also tour Mount Cook.
So you reserved a flight in advance and now something has come up and you need to change your reservation. What do you do? Do you call and notify the airline in advance to change your ticket or wait till the day-of and personally stand in line to change your ticket before the airplane takes [...] [...more]
So you reserved a flight in advance and now something has come up and you need to change your reservation. What do you do? Do you call and notify the airline in advance to change your ticket or wait till the day-of and personally stand in line to change your ticket before the airplane takes off?
I thought the obvious answer was to call and make changes as soon as you find out you will need a change, but there is a significant trade-off with the peace of mind you receive from responsibly taking care of the situation in advance. Depending on the airline, a flight change may come with an exchange fee, a fee making up for the difference of price between the original ticket and the new ticket, or both.
More than likely, travelers that wait until the day of the original flight - but before the flight takes off - to change the ticket, will pay less. One way to avoid this whole situation is to get a nonrestrictive ticket, which allows you to make changes without a penalty. Only problem is, those tickets are normally available at higher prices. Following are some ticket change penalty fees of some popular airlines:
Frontier Airlines:
Travelers who call before their flight takes off will be responsible for the price difference between the original and new ticket
Southwest Airlines:
Charges the difference between the first and second ticket
JetBlue:
Travelers who notify the airline before the flight are charged a $40 fee
Travelers who arrive and make changes after the flight has taken off are charged $100 plus the price difference between the original and new ticket
Advance changes have a $100 fee plus the price difference between the original and new ticket
Alaska Airlines:
Travelers may fly standby on the day of the trip at no additional cost
Advance changes have a $100 fee as well as the price difference between the original and new ticket
AirTran:
Travelers may fly standby on the day of the flight at no additional cost
Advance changes have a $75 fee plus the price difference between the original and new ticket
Planning a vacation or business travel? Check out vacation rentals around the world. An efficient and affordable way to feel at home away from home!
1
