My Travel Backpack

With so many interesting sights to see on the planet, would you find it difficult to choose only five places to visit? When you are thinking about round the world flights, it can be very difficult to narrow down the field to just a few destinations. The good news for modern-day voyagers is that it’s easier than ever to travel around the world in style.

Star Alliance, which is the largest airline alliance in the world, has entered into partnerships with other companies to provide some superb benefits to globetrotters. One way that Star Alliance benefits travelers is by offering them lower rates for a world ticket than other carriers can offer.

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A number of people who are set to travel the world choose to start their journey in Dubai. This city, which is a gateway to Asia, is also home to luxury accommodation, a variety of top retailers and designer outlets and exquisite cuisine.

The next stop on your amazing adventure may be Bangkok. Visiting Thailand gives visitors a wonderful insight into how people live in Southeast Asia. The scenery is breathtaking, and you will want to take plenty of pictures to remind you of your visit later on.

From Thailand, move on to Australia. This island offers a number of places to see and attractions for people who are embarking on this leg of world trips, so you will want to schedule enough time to take in all that the continent has to offer.

World ticket holders may want to go to New Zealand to take in this country’s wonderful scenery next. Visitors to New Zealand can also get involved in a number of activities, including bungee jumping, white water rafting, paragliding, and skiing.

The next stop on your world travel plan could be exotic Fiji. This is a place to slow down, kick back and relax. It is a wonderful place for people who are interested in participating in water-based activities. Take a boat trip, or go snorkelling or scuba diving while you are there. Relaxing on the beach is another great option to finish your round the world trip.

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This post is Provided by : Round the World Experts
Whichever your plans for round the world flights, our Travel Experts are ready to help you make the best plans possible to get a great deal.

Barcelona is one of Europe’s most visited cities and the second largest
in Spain. It is the capital of Catalonia, and is located right on the
Mediterranean coast, which gives it its warm summers and cool winters.
This temperate climate makes it great for a visit any time of year, and
is made even more delightful by the extensive list of beautiful Barcelona
hotels, which really make a trip to the city one to remember.

A home to avant-gardes thinkers and artists, Barcelona’s bohemian
lifestyle is apparent in every nook, cranny and corner of the city to
anyone who beholds it. Rich in historical architecture, the cityscape
is nothing short of breathtaking; while you may see certain aspects
taken from and influenced by Gothic and Romanesque attractions, the
prevailing and unifying theme of the city’s architecture is the
Modernista movement, typified by master architect Antonio Gaudi.

Some of the most famous tourist attractions in Barcelona include the
following:

• Sagrada Familia Cathedral by Antonio Gaudi: This giant temple of worship, designed by Gaudi, has been under construction since 1882; despite the building time, it still has a good 30 to 80 years before its completion, depending on funds and resources. This sight to behold elicits different reactions from different people; some love it while others seem to hate it. Be sure of one thing, though: it reputation rests on its ability to produce strong reactions.
• Port Vell: Found at the bottom of La Rambla, a little further than the Columbus Monument, is Port Vell. What used to be the old port of Barcelona has today emerged as a hip, ultra modern leisure zone. With its surfeit of bars, restaurants and shopping arcades, there’s plenty to do. Also located at Port Vell is the L’Aquarium de Barcelona (the Barcelona Aquarium), a staple if you’re travelling with children.
• La Barcelonata: A boat excursion on one of the golondrinas found in Port Vell will take you around the harbour and to La Barcelonata. What used to be the boarding homes of the fishermen has now become a popular tourist attraction, despite its run-down and earthy appearance. Its fine selection of fish markets, lining the Passeig de Joan Borbo, attracts tourists and locals alike.
• Port Olimpic:Where the sea meets the sand in La Barcelonata, you will find some of the city’s most famous beaches. A stone’s throw from the city, these beaches have found themselves heavily populated ever since they were created as part of the city’s regeneration for the 1992 Olympics. The walkway connecting La Barcelonata to Port Olimpic, which has now become a marina filled with bars and restaurants, is called the Passeig Maritim. The entire area finds itself surrounded by five-star hotels: it’s a favourite among visiting celebrities.
• Montjuic: The Transbordador Aeri is a cable car that will take you straight from La Barcelonata to Montjuic, home to the Olympic Stadium that housed the 1992 Olympic Games. The main athletic events were held at the Estadi Stadium, which was first built in 1929 for the World Fair hosted by Barcelona. Also at home to Montjuic is the La Font Magica (or the Magic Fountain of Montjuic), an extravaganza of lights, music and water, as well as the largest fountain in Barcelona, right below the terraces of the Palau Nacional de Montjuic.
• Barri Gotic: For those more in tune with the darker days of Barcelona’s history, take a look at the Gothic Quarter just east of the Ramblas. Filled with medieval buildings dating back to the 14th century in the heart of Old Barcelona, its interconnecting dark streets will lead you to the Gothic Cathedral, Placa del Rei, the Ajuntament and the Palau de la Generalitat.

These famous hotspots aside, Barcelona has a an impressive roster of illustrious museums such as the Museu Picasso, Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Fundació de Joan Miró and the FC Barcelona Museum.

Found only a stone’s throw away from its historical buildings, the hotels in Barcelona are of an excellent quality; filled with just as much character as the monuments you leave them to see, they’re almost as memorable as the cities famous sites. No wonder Woody Allen chose to set Vicky Christina Barcelona in this wonderful city of art; it is a sure change of pace from the posh, fancy, swanky New York hotels and the director’s famous Manhattan.

Barcelona itself is pulsing with life and dances to its own drum beat. During your stay, listen closely to the music of the city, and let yourself fall madly in love with the city.

Although you might be saving on annual leave by booking to fly overseas at weekends, research from Travelsupermarket has revealed you may not necessarily end up saving cash. In some cases flights from the UK to popular overseas holiday destinations can increase by as much as 469%. This particular example relates to the price of a couple booking a bmibaby flight in June from Birmingham to Faro in Portugal. The combined midweek flight ticket on this route would be £58.08, whereas the same route on a Saturday would set the couple back a wallet thumping £308.08, a shocking 469% difference.

This isn’t an isolated example. Departing London Gatwick for Alicante on the Costa Blanca with Ryanair would cost you £44.99 on Thursday 15th July, yet the same trip just 48 hours later would cost you £94.74. So if you can get the time off work, you’d be saving yourself a 110% price hike as the budget Irish airline tries to capitalise on the weekend traveller.

You can see more examples of midweek versus weekend flight prices in travelsupermarket.com’s table of comparisons:

Research conducted by travelsupermarket.com, April 2010

There is a similar story for return trips too. The Easyjet route from Manchester to Dalaman, popular for people booking independent holidays to turkey, is clearly proving profitable for the airline as prices appear expensive in comparison to other flight routes within Europe. Bearing in mind holidaymakers to Turkey still have to book their hotel and airport transfers once they have paid for the flights, the cost of a DIY holiday is enough to force travellers to book through a package holiday company when you compare the two options. Flying out from Manchester on Wednesday 7th July for £92.99 and returning from Dalaman on Wednesday 14th July for £79.99 equates to a total trip price of £172.98 per person. However, should work commitments or school holidays force you travel from weekend to weekend the price rockets. Taking an outbound flight from Manchester on Sunday 18th July for £137.99 and returning exactly one week later on Sunday 25th July for £125.99 would mean a total price per person of £263.98, a frustrating 52% price increase. Fly on a Wednesday and that summer holiday in Turkey becomes £91 cheaper per person.

It’s difficult for some travellers to fly midweek for various reasons, commonly children in school or employers stipulating holidays can’t be split over two weeks. However, if you do have the luxury of booking time off midweek, then do so and you will save on your flights. The ideal period for city breaks to Europe would be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to give you the best chance of securing the cheapest flight tickets.

Here’s a list of 5 money saving tips to help you time your trip perfectly:

• Try to pick outbound UK flights from Monday to Thursday (especially if flying to the US)
• Try alternative airline carriers for inbound and outbound legs to explore pricing and give yourself a greater selection of flight times.
• Definitely avoid flying in peak hours i.e. morning and evening rush hours, airlines often raise prices for business travellers.
• Be as flexible as possible when planning your holiday and ask your boss for Tuesday to Thursday to get the cheapest city break flights.
• Look out for email newsletters from travel companies; they often contain tickets at rock bottom prices that airlines can’t shift.

74 beautiful islands and the Great Barrier Reef in the same area, life is good!

Only 3 full days, no time to waste.

Day 1 : The Great Barrier Reef

With 2900 individual reefs stretching for over 2600km, the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest reef system. We decided to explore Hardy’s Reef with Fantasea Adventure Cruising, a multi award winning cruise operator based in Airlie Beach. We had only one day to explore the reef so we chose the most well-known tour company in the region to be sure we’d enjoy our trip.

In fact, not only we had just one day of reef activities but we only had 4 hours on the pontoon. Yeah, 4 hours to do some snorkeling, semi-sub and helicopter. I forgot, the all you can eat lunch buffet… no matter, no time to eat.

This was probably one of the coolest 4 hours of my life. Here are some pictures of paradise!

A 6-hour road trip is a great way to enjoy the desert from Ayers Rock to Alice Springs. Jumping in an AAT Kings bus is probably the less complicated thing to do. Have a seat, open your eyes, enjoy.

The next day, we went on a full day tour of the main attractions in Alice Springs (Telegraph Station, Flying Doctor Service, School of Air, Alice Springs Reptile Centre) and in the eastern part of the West MacDonnell Ranges (Stanley Chasm, Simpsons Gap) with AAT Kings and Tailormade Tours.

Alice Springs

Stanley Chasm

Simpsons Gap

Simpsons Gap

Kangaroos at Telegraph Station

I would have prefered a full day in the West MacDonnell Ranges but it wasn’t possible with AAT at this time of the year unfortunately.

More pictures of Alice Springs.

In a previous post I told you about the importance to do both sunset and sunrise tours at Uluru. Here is why!

First of all, we booked with Discovery Ecotours, one of many tour companies in this region. Their website says : “Award winning Australia Ecotours enjoys a reputation as a unique, small group tour operator providing expert guided tours throughout the Northern Territory – a company delivering a quality product focused on natural and cultural heritage. The experiential nature of our tours, coupled with our agenda to avoid crowds, has proven very popular with domestic and international visitors.”

They were right! Small groups. No crowds. Quality.

Moreover, we think this was the only company offering a complete walk around Uluru (13km – easy walking). Other tour companies mainly go around Uluru by bus and stop for a couple of walks. We can assure you, doing the full walking tour is really something you want to do. You can deeply “feel” the spirit of Uluru and you can appreciate more of the legends that can be told about it.

Pictures can’t tell much, but here they are anyway!

Uluru Sunset Tour

Uluru Sunrise Tour / Uluru Walk

More pictures : Kata Tjuta National Park Pictures
Website : Discovery Ecotours

For some of you, it’s probably “just a big red rock” but that sandstone rock formation is the most visited site in Australia and one of its most famous landmarks. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is a World Heritage listed area.

Right in the middle of the country, you can get to Uluru by car (a bit less than 20 hours from Adelaide) or by plane (from Sydney, Cairns or Perth).

The closest place to stay for your trip at Uluru is Yulara located at 9km north. Voyages Ayers Rock Resort offers you 7 different places to stay from the welcoming campground to the luxurious (could it be more than that) Longitude 131°.

Voyages kindly invited us to enjoy a night at one of their hotels : The Lost Camel Hotel.

Warning : There is almost no cheap ways to visit Uluru if it’s your main concern. The cheapest would be : Go there by car, stay at the campground (site from 16.50$ + 16$ additional person, 150$/cabin + 16$ additional person) and visit the park by yourself. Well actually, do not visit the park by itself, a great guide is so important to enjoy this place. I’ll post another article regarding the tours we took.

The Lost Camel is one of the their not-cheap cheaper options. At 280$/night, it is overpriced in any ordinary Australian City but Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park has nothing to do with ordinary. Is the park worth this price? Definitely.

The Hotel is really well located within the resort. It’s 100m from the souvenir shops, the grocery store and the pretty nice and cheap Red Rock Deli (which offers great salads by the way). The room is a bit small but clean and well designed. The highlight of this hotel is probably the great pool that helped us surviving under the outback sun and cold 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).

There is a rumor over the web about a walk-in rate at Lost Came which would be a 100$ discount by night. Is it true ? Good question. It’s up to you if you want to verify this info by going to Lost Camel without a booking, but I wouldn’t try this in the high season for sure. But if you feel excited about this, go for it! (and let us know the result afterwards.)

My tip for Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park goes like this : You MUST be there for a sunset and a sunrise. One night is a bit short but it’s ok. Two nights would be better, you could see both sunset and sunrise at Uluru and Kata Tjuta (the other and less known big red rock).

More pictures : Lost Camel Hotel and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Pictures
Website : Lost Camel Hotel

I usually travel to discover new cultures, languages, ways of living. When you visit a western culture major city, it’s not that easy to realize that you’re in another country … comparing to any asian capitals for example. That’s true for Sydney, until you see the magnificient Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera… and… some koalas and kangaroos!

On our second day on the island continent, Taronga Zoo invited us to discover the native australian wildlife. Here is my first tip : Arrive early, leave late. With hundreds of animals (just look at this list), you’ll have to makes some choices… or walk fast if you don’t plan to spend the all day there.

To get to Taronga Zoo, you can take the ferry from Circular Quay (12 minutes, each 30 minutes). It’s a 12 minutes of happiness for us since it was the first time we could see the city from that angle. Take a look at this picture :

When you get at the Zoo, you should (MUST!) take the Sky Safari cable. It’s included in the admission fee so don’t bother with the bus! As you go up to the entrance, you’ll see some elephants as long as you’ll have a great view on the skyscrapers and the Opera. Amazing, really!

We’ve been at the Zoo for at least 6 hours, just enough time to make a bunch of new friends :

Admission fee is 41$ for an adult or 104$ for 2 adults and 2 childs which is a bit expensive for an entry to a Zoo but it totally worth it. Look for a ferry/zoo entry combo in tourist information offices in Sydney, there is a little discount.

More pictures : Taronga Zoo pictures
Website : Taronga Zoo

We arrived in Australia 34 hours after we left home. Imagine, 34 hours of great comfort in taxi, airport, plane, airport, plane, airport, plane, airport, taxi. We tried to sleep a couple of hours but we couldn’t really rest, we are too excited about our first trip down under.

Our first stop was Sydney for 2 days. This is just enough time to sleep sufficiently and to fight the jetlag (which wasn’t that bad).

The Travelodge Wynyard welcomed us in their peaceful place. That’s exactly what we needed. A comfortable place where we can take the time needed get a couple of good night of sleep before beginning this great journey in Australia. The problem with Sydney is that even if you got a great hotel, you just don’t want to spend time in it, you want to explore this great city. Low price in a good location, that is what a lot of people want!

So, what about the hotel? First of all, it is pretty well located. You don’t need to be an athlete to get to Darling Harbour and Circular Quay, they both are an easy stroll away. The room was clean and quiet, it is all we need!

Oh, I forgot to tell you that the staff is really nice, that’s so important when you haven’t sleep for more than 30 hours!

The Citrus Grove Restaurant offers simple but good menu open from 6am to late at night. Note that there are not a lot of restaurants around the hotel for open at dinner time since it is in CBD, so you should think of going to Circular Quay or Darling Harbour. By the way, there is a nice food court just down on Jamison street where you can find thai, indian and other oriental restaurants.

Pictures : Travelodge Wynyard pictures
Website : Travelodge Wynyard

Robert Lepage and Ex Machina created an amazing visual tribute to Quebec City (12th best destination worldwide according to Condé Nast Traveler) for its 400th anniversary, The Image Mill.

“Representing the largest projection ever done, it requires the use of fine technology to project a huge quantity of images and films on the grain silos of the Quebec Harbour, an oversized screen, 600 feet wide by 30 meters high! In the hands of the creators, this huge mass of concrete is in constant transformation, which gives us the strange impression of it being alive and talking to us. Leaving the usual clichés behind, we discover the fascinating history of Quebec City with its upheavals, its controversies, and its great political and popular moments.” – Ex Machina

(Sorry for the quality, it is – obviously – an amateur video)

The production will run for the next five years.