The Grand Canyon – More Than a One Day Adventure

The only regret I have about our trip to the Grand Canyon is that we should have planned more days to visit the area. There is so much to see it really isn’t a one day visit. Time should be taken to enjoy the stops you make along the way. Taking the time to capture special photo memories and the majestic views combined with the hiking possibilities don’t fit well with a one day visit, maybe if we had stayed closer but I still think two days is the right amount of time.

We arrived in Phoenix, Arizona where we spent the night. We left Phoenix, not realizing it would take as long as it did to arrive at the Grand Canyon. Four-and-a-half-hours later, a couple of us grouchy from the long ride, the other two hungry due to poor planning, we finally arrived at the park. We paid the $25 car entrance fee. The receipt is good for seven days, in case you want to journey back, like we should have. There are also other discounts to look into such as the Golden Eagle Pass as well as the Golden Age Pass. Once you receive your receipt you will be handed a brochure as well as a Visitor’s Guide. The guide gives handy information such as parking that is available, bus routes, the South Rim views, and so forth. I strongly urge you to read all of this information before you arrive.

You need to decide if you want to park your car and take the shuttle bus; or, if you want to park the car, view one area, then take the car and move to the next area. I strongly recommend taking the shuttle bus. The shuttles operate frequently and they are free. The South Rim has four shuttle buses. They each takes different routes and make different stops. The Blue Route is 60 minutes, the Red Route is 75 minutes, the Purple Route is 40 minutes, and the Green Route is 30 minutes.

If you plan to stay at the park there are a number of hotels available. However, it is strongly suggested that you make reservations in advance. Since you have your car with you there are also other accommodations outside the gates of the park. Although I did not check chances are the rates are less expensive too. Just be aware that, depending on the time of year, some places will require reservations. There are also a number of restaurants available inside the park but they are not cheap.

If you plan to visit during the summer months you definitely need to be prepared. Although we had most everything we needed, hats, water, sun screen, both of our friends had on very uncomfortable shoes. You will be doing a lot of walking so be sure you wear comfortable shoes.

While the trip was enjoyable and the views were magnificent it could have been better with some planning on our part. Even though our trip was not well-planned it was still a fascinating, entertaining, and educational adventure. Some day we will return and we will do it right.

I’m Pete and I enjoy traveling with my wife. I pick up some extra cash when needed by working with Bill Harmon selling deer scents and hunting products.

A Travel Guide to Pisa and Tips on Pisa Airport Car Hire

There is much more to Pisa than its Leaning Tower, but this wonky building is what draws the majority of visitors. They mainly come to the Field of Miracles (Campo dei Miracoli) the UNESCO listed world heritage site where Pisa’s most treasured monuments are found.

Although about 91,000 people live in this city in Tuscany, Northern Italy, that number swells considerably over the summer. Tourists who keep an open mind will find that there are many incredible buildings and artworks to see in Pisa. That is not to stop you from taking the obligatory photograph where it looks like you are holding up the tower with your hands.

So start at the aptly named Campo dei Miracoli which is the hub of the tourist trade and move out to less crowded but equally beautiful areas. Like any place that is jammed with tourists there are quite a few pickpockets to watch out for but other than that you will find Pisa to be a safe city. The only area that can be dodgy is the train station where some undesirables congregate at night. This is a good reason to have a rental vehicle which is more reasonably priced than having to take multiple taxis.

Cars can be collected from Galileo Galilei, the main flight terminal which serves Pisa. It operates lots of low cost flights and so is good for people who want to have a budget holiday in Pisa. Check your flight times though as this airport does not stay open all night.

The road you will use to complete your journey is the Firenze Pisa Livorno dual carriageway. You then take the Pisa Centro exit of the A12 motorway. This leads to the A11 motorway – Firenze Pisa Nord. Then just follow signs for Pisa.

Although you might need car hire Pisa at the international airport for your luggage, once you have arrived you will find that Pisa is small enough to walk around. This is a bustling university town which is full of students and plenty of bars and cafes to keep them occupied. The best reason to hire a car is to be able to see other parts of Tuscany which are also stunning. The city of Florence is only eighty kilometres away and so a short drive by car.

Within Pisa the Cathedral of Pisa is a magnificent building with a gorgeous dome. The Battistero is also a fine dome in the Romanesque style. From the top you can get the best view of the Leaning Tower or Torre Pendente. Have a listen to the audio effects in the Cathedral by singing a few notes, they are quite special. To preserve some of the cathedral artefacts they were moved to the nearby Museo del Opera del Duomo which is full of interesting paintings and sculptures.

A good time to go to Pisa is during June when various festivals are held. During the third week of June the Luminara festival in honour of the patron saint takes place. One week later there is a historical procession along both sides of the bridge which remembers how the city used to be split. The festival is known as the game of bridge. June is one of the busiest times for booking a car in Pisa so make sure you give lots of advance notice.

Ric is the Italian editorial manager for www.anyairportcarhire.com. He wrote this article for the site about car hire Pisa and Car Hire Pisa Airport. Vehicles are easy to book cheaply in Pisa but you need to do so in advance to beat the summer crowds.

Take In The Various Moods Of The Mediterranean With A Yacht Charter

‘The Mediterranean’ is oft-repeated located in the books of a traveller. Whether it is the Mediterranean food, the climate or the region, something about this phrase conjures up images of blue waters, sandy beaches and century-old coastal towns and ports; essentially, something of a tourists’ paradise. A tour of the Mediterranean coastline is a rich experience spanning the history and geography of many different civilizations and the best way to do it is a Mediterranean yacht charter.

A charter yacht is one of the best ways of experiencing both the natural beauty and the culture of the Mediterranean region. Depending on the places that interest you, you could chart out a route and follow it leisurely, surrounded by all the comforts money can buy, including an expert professional crew. Most yacht charters offer a wide range of vessels of different sizes, operations, and replete with different amenities. You could opt for a sailing yacht, an electric/diesel motor powered yacht one that’s a combination; a bareboat or skippered and also look at technical specifications like number of hulls, sails and interiors.

The Mediterranean Sea is comprised of many different seas, the larger ones being the Ionian Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the Aegean Sea and your sails could be customised to allow you to experience any of these. If the history and culture of the quiet Balkans allures you, you could start with the romantic town of Venice, Italy and move on to the smaller towns of Croatia, known for their lush natural beauty and as-yet un-commercialised towns. A popular cruise route should take in to the archipelagos of Brijuni and Kornati, known for their exceptional natural features as well as towns like Zadar, Sibenik, Trogir and Split, which are known for their architectural marvels, especially the St. James Cathedral, a UNESCO heritage site and the Krka National Park.

Greece has long been heralded as the cornerstone of the cultural history of the Mediterranean region and a yacht cruise along its long coastline can be quite rewarding. The many islands that dot the Aegean and the Ionic Sea are captivating for their beaches and ancient architecture as well as their resorts, hotels and nightlife. After setting sail from the city of Athens, you could choose to move on to islands of Kea, Tinos, Mykonos, Delos and Paros, Ios and Apollo. Each of these islands has a distinct cultural history as evidenced by their striking chapels, monasteries and churches and is rich in natural beauty, particularly the island of Apollo with its breathtaking mountain ranges and valleys. Each island also offers various tourists attractions like bars, clubs, restaurants, as well as water-sports.

After the quite towns and villages of Greece and Croatia, you could set off for the more glamorous coasts of Italy and France. The Cote d’Azur in France is world-famous as “the” destination for the rich and the famous, while its counterpart, “The Italian Riviera” is home to some picturesque fishing towns of Portofino, Camogli, Cinque Terre, Tuscan and Capraia. Cinque Terre is particularly known for its national park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Isles de Lerins off the French coast is a popular island for water-sports and the Tuscan Archipelago offers very safe anchorage, delightful beaches as well as some great historic sight-seeing opportunities.

All in all, the Mediterranean, with its many seas and coasts, offers an endless list of places to visit, scenes to take in and activities to indulge in. A yacht cruise along the Mediterranean gives you a taste of the many diverse cultures that abound the region, as well as the variety in the natural beauty of the region. With a chartered yacht, the only problem you might have is ending the holiday.

Mediterranean Yacht Charter – Fraser Yachts specialize in luxury yacht charter in the Mediterranean and provide the most luxurious Mediterranean Charter Yachts.

Plan A Perfect Tropical Holiday With A Caribbean Yacht Charter

The perfect getaway is one that you don’t plan to get away from. It is almost everyone’s desire to set off in the discovery of paradise-like places, with no map, and no intention of really getting anywhere. Although this may seem a little far-fetched, there are places where this is possible. And one of the best of these possibilities is the Caribbean. The Caribbean islands, or the West Indies, are an archipelago of over 7000 small islands, coves, reefs and cays enclosing the Caribbean Sea. They are known for their distinct culture which is a mixture of their origins and the remnants of colonial times, and even more so for the rich biodiversity which makes the Caribbean islands Conservation International’s Biodiversity hotspots.

A Caribbean yacht charter gives you the most convenient way of experiencing the Caribbean islands. You can float around (literally) the 7000 islands and structures, anchoring where you please, swimming and snorkelling or just lazing around on beaches or the deck. You can explore the islands’ forests and scrublands, enjoy local delicacies during the day leaving the yacht in the care of trained crew and personnel and head back to your luxury yacht for a romantic dinner under clear sky, cooked by your personal chef. It cannot get any better than this.

The Caribbean Islands form quite a sizeable archipelago and depending on the kind of time you have you could visit the large, popular islands of Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico located within the “Greater Antilles” or the smaller islands like Barbuda, Anguilla, St. Kitts, Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba and the Virgin Islands located within the Lesser Antilles. However, with a luxury chartered yacht at your disposal, geographical divisions needn’t be your concern. You can visit as many or as few you like – depending on the time you have.

However, there are certain destinations that are a must see on a Caribbean yacht charter. The Bahamas is ‘the’ place to start your travels. Start from Nassau, which is breathtakingly beautiful by day and equally entertaining at night, and move towards the Exuma Islands. Take your time as you spend hours on secluded beaches or explore coves and caves and reefs along Fowl Cay, Staniel Cay or Iguana Cay. Although Paradise Island and Exuma form the bulk of every traveller’s itinerary, with a private yacht, you can also charter towards the leave-me-alone islands like Abaco, Cat Islands, Bimini, Inagua and end your travels at Freeport, Grand Bahama; or you could just steer towards the most romantic of these islands – The Virgin Islands.

Sparsely populated, and hardly commercialised, the Virgin Islands will offer you miles and miles of sandy beaches, crystal blue waters and water sport adventures of a lifetime. The island of St. John’s in particular is known for snorkelling, diving, surfing and kayaking. Most of the beaches offer lots of seclusion and the waters are calm enough for children to dart in and out carelessly. And if you’re still not done, you could sail along and discover for yourself the other smaller islands that make up the Leeward Islands, all 120 miles of it. Each of these islands preserves intact its lush natural beauty in its waters, beaches, forests, coves, rack formations as well as their culture, which, rich enough in its origins is only enhanced by the impressions that the colonists left behind.

The Caribbean offers an extremely refreshing experience to a traveller. The islands as well as the people are a welcome change from our otherwise mundane, hectic and ‘planned’ lives. Yet, you will never feel too far from home in a chartered yacht. A Caribbean yacht charter mixes the best of both worlds, luxury and nature, for you sit to back and enjoy.

Caribbean Yacht Charter – Fraser Yachts specialize in luxury yacht charter in the Caribbean and provide the most luxurious Caribbean Charter Yachts.

Gatwick Airport – One of Europe’s Finest Airports

Gatwick airport is one of the most famous airports in the United Kingdom and Europe as a whole. It stands in the top 30 busiest airports in the world, and is the 8th largest in Europe by passenger traffic. Gatwick also holds the record as the busiest single-runway airport in the world, constantly handling traffic that other airports divide over multiple runways.

This airport was once a trans-continental powerhouse, but in recent years has focused on providing a transportation hub for European destinations in particular. Pretty all European airlines, as well as many airlines from elsewhere in the world, direct at least some of their aircraft through it.

Gatwick recently announced plans to expand their infrastructure with a one billion pound investment aimed at improving the visitor experience in terms of everything from access to aesthetics. Those responsible for running the airport feel that this investment will allow them to match, or even surpass, Heathrow airport, whose shadow it is has constantly had to exist under, in terms of amenities and passenger accessibility.

Though Gatwick has always been considered a ‘lesser’ airport than Heathrow, this is due to the merits of the latter rather than any shortcomings in the former. Indeed, Gatwick airport has a history that warrants more attention than it is generally given…

#1 – Royal Attentions

The Queen of England has twice graced Gatwick airport with her presence. In 1956 the airport temporarily closed in order to undergo a major redevelopment, and it was Queen Elizabeth II who oversaw the ceremonies in 1958. Then, thirty years later, the Queen and Prince Phillip were also present for the opening of the new North Terminal as well.

#2 – Advances in Architecture

In 1936, Gatwick unveiled the world’s first circular airport terminal, dubbed the Beehive. It was an extraordinary achievement, as it was the first terminal to combine literally every necessary stage of air travel. There was a rail link directly to the terminal, and for the first time passengers could directly board their aircraft instead of having to travel across the runway on foot or by bus.

#3 – The Blitz

The second World War saw Gatwick become primarily a military airport, to aid Britain with its air to air combat against the deadly German air-force. Gatwick participated when it was requisitioned by the RAF as a combat airfield, and provided service to a number of important operations necessary to keeping England’s skies clear of bombers.

#4 – From Jockeys to Pilots

Did you know that Gatwick used to be a racecourse? Purchased from private hands in 1890, the land was turned into a modern racing facility that even included its own railway station. Now called Gatwick Airport Station, this point was originally the Gatwick Racecourse Station, and even retained this name up until the opening of the Beehive forty five years later. The course even served as a substitute for the Grand National when the bombings in World War I made it unsafe to use the original course.

#5 – Private Fliers

Gatwick was not originally a public airport for major travel. In the 20’s and 30’s, for example, it was a private flying club controlled by Ronald Waters. The Surrey Aero Club used their growing prestige to promote interest in flying in general, and helped contribute to the continued growth of the airfield, to the point that Gatwick received its first commercial flying licenses in 1934.

Visit http://www.gatwickcarhire.org.uk if you need information or advice on London Gatwick car hire.

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