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Barcelona’s Climat


Sep 30

Posted: under Barcelona, Spain.
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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.


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Top Visited Museums in The World


Jul 24

Posted: under Best of..., Destinations and Places.
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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

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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)

Quality hotels in those cities can cost anywhere from $400 to $1200 per night. Alternatively, visitors may rent a vacation rental condo in London, a holiday rental apartment in Paris, short term holiday rental apartment in New York or a vacation rental villa in Rome for a fraction of the price.

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Distance Between Cities in Florida, Florida Vacations


Feb 12

Posted: under Destinations and Places, Florida.
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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 rentalsDaytona Beach vacation rentals and more.

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Distance Between Cities in Florida:

Boca Raton Bradenton Clearwater Cocoa Beach Daytona Beach Ft. Lauderdale Ft.  Myers
Boca Raton · 201 247 204 212 17 142
Bradenton 201 · 47 164 172 209 84
Clearwater 247 41 · 152 160 256 124
Daytona Beach 212 168 160 78 · 229 207
Ft. Lauderdale 17 209 256 221 229 · 133
Ft.  Myers 142 84 124 193 207 133 ·
Ft. Pierce 79 148 170 69 133 97 123
Gainesville 295 164 132 156 98 312 230
Jacksonville 300 223 261 156 89 317 285
Key West 193 353 399 350 405 177 270
Kissimmee 176 103 97 50 71 193 141
Lakeland 193 61 54 101 108 210 109
Melbourne 126 158 158 8 86 144 170
Miami 39 220 270 192 251 22 141
Naples 121 117 164 232 241 105 34
Ocala 258 129 103 119 76 276 195
Orlando 192 114 106 47 54 209 153
Panama City 519 364 328 382 331 536 448
Pensacola 613 458 433 485 425 630 541
St. Augustine 264 214 185 118 53 281 251
St. Petersburg 226 26 21 162 159 234 110
Sarasota 199 13 52 176 181 201 71
Sebring 135 79 123 124 140 150 85
Tallahassee 427 272 235 289 234 444 356
Tampa 218 41 20 130 139 234 123
West Palm Beach 26 176 217 127 187 43 124
Ft.  Myers Ft. Pierce Gainesville Jacksonville Key West Kissimmee Lakeland
Boca Raton 142 79 295 300 193 176 193
Bradenton 84 148 164 223 353 103 61
Clearwater 124 170 132 261 399 97 54
Daytona Beach 207 133 98 89 405 71 108
Ft. Lauderdale 133 97 312 317 177 193 210
Ft.  Myers · 123 230 285 270 141 109
Ft. Pierce 123 · 217 221 272 98 118
Gainesville 230 217 · 69 474 123 121
Jacksonville 285 221 69 · 493 152 180
Key West 270 272 474 493 · 355 363
Kissimmee 141 98 123 152 355 · 44
Lakeland 109 118 121 180 363 44 ·
Melbourne 170 47 175 174 319 54 98
Miami 141 118 331 338 155 212 220
Naples 34 154 264 319 236 175 143
Ocala 195 181 37 95 436 87 87
Orlando 153 114 109 134 371 18 54
Panama City 448 441 236 260 698 347 339
Pensacola 541 535 330 354 792 441 433
St. Augustine 251 184 73 39 456 115 152
St. Petersburg 110 165 143 208 379 95 52
Sarasota 71 146 177 236 341 116 74
Sebring 85 79 170 219 304 71 60
Tallahassee 356 349 144 163 606 255 247
Tampa 123 145 128 188 387 74 32
West Palm Beach 124 54 269 274 219 150 168
Melbourne Miami Naples Ocala Orlando Panama City Pensacola
Boca Raton 126 39 121 258 192 519 613
Bradenton 158 220 117 129 114 364 467
Clearwater 158 270 ? 103 106 328 433
Daytona Beach 86 251 241 76 54 331 425
Ft. Lauderdale 144 22 105 276 209 548 650
Ft.  Myers 170 141 34 195 153 448 550
Ft. Pierce 47 118 154 181 114 451 554
Gainesville 175 38 264 37 109 237 339
Jacksonville 174 338 319 95 134 265 368
Key West 319 155 236 436 371 702 805
Kissimmee 54 212 175 87 18 353 455
Lakeland 98 220 143 87 54 339 433
Melbourne · 165 201 138 67 399 493
Miami 165 · 107 294 228 561 663
Naples 201 107 · 229 187 483 589
Ocala 138 294 229 · 72 264 366
Orlando 67 228 187 72 · 336 438
Panama City 399 555 481 262 334 · 107
Pensacola 493 649 575 356 428 107 ·
St. Augustine 137 302 285 83 98 298 404
St. Petersburg 149 245 143 113 96 342 435
Sarasota 174 211 105 142 127 376 481
Sebring 121 161 117 133 86 397 500
Tallahassee 307 463 389 170 242 97 199
Tampa 129 245 156 93 85 332 434
West Palm Beach 101 64 147 233 166 507 609
St. Augustine St. Petersburg Sarasota Sebring Tallahassee Tampa West Palm Beach
Boca Raton 264 226 199 135 427 218 26
Bradenton 216 26 12 79 271 41 176
Clearwater 185 21 52 ? 235 20 217
Daytona Beach 53 159 181 140 234 139 187
Ft. Lauderdale 285 241 211 150 455 237 40
Ft.  Myers 251 109 71 85 355 123 121
Ft. Pierce 187 167 150 79 358 148 59
Gainesville 72 145 180 170 143 130 278
Jacksonville 38 217 248 219 168 196 279
Key West 468 381 344 304 606 391 223
Kissimmee 115 94 121 71 257 78 155
Lakeland 152 52 74 60 247 32 168
Melbourne 137 149 171 121 307 129 101
Miami 310 255 217 161 468 251 67
Naples 292 146 107 117 391 159 160
Ocala 82 116 146 133 171 98 242
Orlando 98 104 130 86 243 84 171
Panama City 298 344 376 395 97 332 507
Pensacola 404 448 481 489 199 434 609
St. Augustine · 198 230 183 201 180 243
St. Petersburg 197 · 39 102 250 20 200
Sarasota 230 39 · 89 283 51 179
Sebring 183 106 92 · 304 90 113
Tallahassee 201 248 283 303 · 239 412
Tampa 180 19 51 84 239 · 199
West Palm Beach 243 208 179 109 412 199 ·

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The World’s Best Helicopter Tours


Feb 06

Posted: under Adventure Holiday News, Destinations and Places.
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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.

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A Flight Worth Waiting For


Dec 18

Posted: under Airlines News, Transportation News.
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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!

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