New Travel Promotions

I've received the following promotional sale this week. Too bad my daughter is so busy that we can't afford to go anywhere. We don't travel individually so much you know. It's all or not at all.

Anyway, you may be interested so here it is:

1. Super Ferry

Now, you have six more days to get the most affordable fares to Visayas and Mindanao!

Selling dates (buy period) : August 06 - 11, 2008
Sailing dates (travel period) : August 18 – September 30, 2008

You can buy your tickets online using your ATM Cards.
Go to http://www.SuperFerry.com.ph/eticket/search.asp
for the cheapest fares. No service fee added!*


FARES

Manila to Visayas & vice versa
(Bacolod, Cebu, Coron, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa & Tagbilaran)
Super/Mega : P599
Tourist : P999
Cabin : P1199
Stateroom : P2998


Manila to Mindanao & vice versa
(Butuan, Cagayan, Cotabato, Davao, Dipolog, Gensan, Iligan, Ozamis, Surigao and Zamboanga)
Super/Mega : P899
Tourist : P1299
Cabin : P1499
Stateroom : P3498


Interports
(Cebu to Cagayan & vice versa)
Super/Mega : P399
Tourist : P599
Cabin : P799
Stateroom : P999


(Zamboanga to Gensan, Zamboanga to Davao & vice versa)
Super/Mega : P599
Tourist : P799
Cabin : P999
Stateroom : P1199


PLEASE NOTE
Prices are inclusive of fuel surcharge and 12% VAT, but exclusive of Terminal Fee, Supersure Insurance (optional), Security & Service Fees.
Tickets are non–refundable but may be revalidated with applicable surcharges, plus fare difference.
Promo is available for both with and without meals ticket.
Promo is available for both Confirmed and Open-dated voyages. Open-dated is not available through eTicket.
Other discounts such as Round Trip, Student, Disabled and Senior Citizen are not available.
*P75 service fee per ticket will be charged upon boarding in the ports of Coron, Dipolog, Ozamis and Surigao.


MORE INFORMATION
Visit http://www.SuperFerry.com.ph
Email info@SuperFerry.com.ph
Call +63 2 528-7000, Mondays to Sundays, 6:00AM to 10:00PM GMT+8
Text +63 917 889-2421

2. Jetstar Asia Flights


Jetstar.com Fares Hotels Travel
Insurance

Jetmail Subscriber's Bargain Deals are back!

If you thought you’ve missed the NATAS Sale or the National Day Special, here’s another chance to grab our special fares.

Macau from $25
Manila from $45
Bali / Taipei / Hong Kong from $50
Yangon from $60

Sale starts from 11 to 12 August 2008 for travel from
20 August to 30 September 2008.

Terms and conditions apply*

Check out these out and some others at Jetstar.com

3. Malaysia Air
A holiday in Langkawi offers you much more than sun, sea and sand.

And it's now easier than ever for you to uncover the island's many charms.

EVERYDAY Low Fares will fly you there from Kuala Lumpur – at low, low fares whiles enjoying award-winning service.

*Philippines to Kuala Lumpur from USD8
Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi from USD6

Happy travels!

New Zealand - Land of Milk and Honey

Literally, New Zealand is the land of milk and honey as it is a vast agricultural land . We have been invited to visit New Zealand. Why? After my husband's friend heard that I have gotten my nursing degree, he sent us a link about how NZ needs nurses and how they prefer Filipino graduates. That's good. After all, I had been prodding my husband about migrating to NZ for a very, very long time.

As an Executive Secretary, I saw several pictures of Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown from business contacts. They had brought me goods from the place. I heard so many stories about how they live by the beach while driving to work everyday. I love that kind of life.

Auckland is a city near the beach. But despite its urbanity, it does not fail to showcase its heritage and culture. Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and apart from being an arts and culture center, it is beautifully set in a place very close to nature - forests, mountains, wildlife sanctuaries, the sea. It's a nature lover's paradise. Imagine the tranquility of the forest or the sea breeze on a cloudy day...

I think it's worth a family vacation to check on whether the place suits our taste. Or, if not to immigrate, at least to enjoy its culture and its landscape that sets it apart.

Hong Kong on a Budget

Everyone who visits a new place and does not take a package tour will be jittery and a bit scared of getting lost and feeling really helpless. What more when going to a place where noone speaks english or your native tongue? I feel that way everytime we go on a trip abroad. I mean, I don't know the place nor does my husband. The worst part is that everyone in our party counts on me to know what to do and where to go, as if I was the tour guide and that adds to the jitters. But each time we come home from a trip, the feeling of being able to accomplish something for yourself and for your family is there, and it feels good.

Well, I always start with research,then book, then research, buy a map, then research, and more research. So yes, you got it right, the secret is to research. Start off with viewing websites such as virtuatourist and lonely planet. These two offer tips for going about your destination and you can book online with them. But I don't book with either one. With VT, I am able to save my travel guides to a certain folder which is exclusive for a particular destination. You'll have to be a member to do that. Anyway, membership is free. I read travel guides and ask questions in the forum. The guys at vt (I'm a member too you know) are really accommodating and will try to help in anyway they can.

After I have made my temporary IT, I try to check out the prices. I won't expound on this as I have written a blog about it so do read the other posts. the resources I have for booking flights include Trip Advisor, Booking.com, cheaperthanhotels.com, Expedia.com, Asiatravel, ctrip.com, and Hostelworld.com. Hostelworld and booking.com have hostels listed for the budget conscious travellers which we are.

Next, I read more on the places of interest. For Hong Kong, I found THKA and the Hong Kong tourism Board to be of so much use. THKA offers a local's way to go around hong kong, saving the traveller money from taking cabs and suggests walks that can be done by themselves. The Hong Kong Tourism Board gives you more options to include in your IT attractions that you can visit for free such as the museums that are free on wednesdays and tuesdays, heritage walks, free chinese junk ride, free visit to a theater, and the MTR-Ocean park package (which gives you a free ride).

I don't find Hong Kong cheap at all. So, because we have 8 days and 7 nights to spend for our holiday, I've decided to include both Macau and Zhuhai in our IT too. These two places are also interesting because they give another perspective of the modern China - Macau for the Portuguese-cantonese culture and Zhuhai for the beach, the chinese palace and shopping! Well, Shopping mainly because according to my sources, Zhuhai is the place where you can get cheap goods (mostly unbranded and imitations though). Cheaper than Shenzhen and way way lower than Hong Kong.

We need a visa to go to zhuhai. So, instead of getting a chinese visa from here which will cost us 1,500 php each, I've discovered that we can actually get them at either Macau or Hong Kong. It only takes a few hours to secure the visa and is good for single entry and exit at zhuhai only. This costs about 750 php which will save us 50%. Also, Zhuhai hotels cost only about 30 to 50% of the hotel prices in HK and Macau for the same hotel star rating. Jumbo Hotel costs only 30 USD per night and it's even a 4 star hotel (5 star even according to some).

If you've been following my blog you'd know that I gave myself a 25k challenge for the whole Macau, HK and Zhuhai trip. So far so good. I've still managed to keep the costs to 21k including the ferry trip which costs around 4,500 php for all 3 of us, and the chinese visa. It is a good thing that the main purpose of the trip is to orient my daughter with chinese history and culture so we can actually stay out of Disneyland. Well, quite frankly, she's not so interested in going because she says it's too small when compared to the disneyland parks she's been to. That saves me at least 180 USD. plus, the places she wants to see are either free or cheap with the exception of the Ocean park which is not that expensive either.

I guess that's that for now. I'll let you know my final IT before I leave. Check back in when you can.



Jane


For more info, please visit:

Travel Hong Kong Attractions
This site offers you an ultimate virtual guide on how to get there, to the Hong Kong attractions and where else you can go from there. Save your time and money to your Hong Kong journey, know before you go.

Pay Your Hotel at Your Destination

Most online travel agents ask their clients to pay the reservation fee or the full amount of their hotel stay right when their desired dates are confirmed. this is what I knew all along. While looking for the hotels for our Hk trip, I noticed that both destiny.com and asiatravel.com do not follow this practice. There's always an exception to the rule, though, because some hotels do ask for the deposit via credit card. It's good to have a credit card when dealing with online travel agencies because that's the way you pay them.

By the way, just to let you know, both booking.com and asiatravel.com are reliable sites according to my sources. I have yet to find out.

Hostels and Budget Hotels in Hong Kong

After asking friends and researching over the internet, I've found that most of the hostels and budget hotels in Hong Kong have very small sizes. Also, that these places mostly do not have towels for their clients to use. Well, for hostels that could be forgiven. But for hotels? How do they manage to get a 1 or 2 star rating?

Another thing is that most accommodations in Hong Kong cannot give a price for a reservation that's made more than 60 days of the check in date. That's because they would like to charge higher rates during the peak season.

To address these concerns, it is necessary to:
1. Check out the room first. Some places have crawling creatures or smell like smoke even when it's supposed to be a non-smoking room.
2. book a large room - if there are 3 of you travelling, then you should probably get a room that's good for 4. That's to assure you that you'd have space for your luggage.
3. Bring a towel or buy one in HK.
4. Reserve with an online travel agency that can get the desired date for you. I've heard that Hotelclubs.com, hotels.com, ratestogo.com, asiarooms.com, asiatravel.com, expedia.com, booking.com, cheaperthanhotels.com, hostelworld.com, tripadvisor.com and travelocity are some of the more reliable sites.
5. Just for added security, it would be best to pay through paypal if the travel agency or hotel will accept it.

Keep safe and happy travelling!

Earn While I blog? Why not?

I love to blog. It gives me the necessary brain activity I need. But earning while blogging makes it more interesting. Wouldn't you agree?

I'm talking about setting up an online travel agency. Well, not actually a travel agency as the travel technology claims to connect the travel suppliers with the consumers directly giving the consumer more flexibility and wider options. Just an online booking engine. I've seen one of those blogs while searching for travel options for HK. Nice. I didn't think that it is possible for me too. Although I should do some research as to its reliability first. I'll update you on this in case

I've been thinking too of a business for my mom in the US. The Caregiving Agency they own is not doing so well and they need something to augment their income. They love to travel, like me, and are valuable sources of information regarding US domestic travel. Some of their friends run to them to get opinions, get directions and the like. Travel Distribution will provide them the opportunity to help and earn at the same time.

As I understand it, There's just a link that has to be placed on the website and voila! it's there. Just like Google Adsense where you blog what you like and get some dinero too. Let's see if it will work for me.

Bouncing Through Travel Sites

Hah! I've not been able to book my hotels for our Hong kong trip yet. Hong Kong has always fascinated me. I've come across so many stories- personal accounts from friends, historical accounts from books since one of our former presidents went on exile there, and from blogs and websites over the internet. It is a good thing that travel bookin sites such as www.cheaperthanhotels.com are now made availabe to us, the travellers.

I can't consider myself a seasoned traveller yet. Yes, I've been to 4 countries and a great deal of domestic sites but that doesn't make me a seasoned traveller. When we go to a place unknown to me (and most countries are in fact unfamiliar to me), I get hold of as much information as I can. www.cheaperthanhotels.com
,booking.com, hotels.com.ph, and other such travel agencies come in so handy. I get to compare prices, am able to obtain information about hotels, events, tourist attractions, budget... and all those pertinent data. It's so funny sometimes that our friends in those countries I've been to even ask why I know such and such exist! Technology is such a powerful tool to the traveller, whether neophyte or seasoned.

In case you're wondering though, I've come to the decision to book with www.cheaperthanhotels.com. I don't like taking too much risks and have asked friends and travel forums for travel sites that they could recommend. So far, from those that I've been give, www.cheaperthanhotels.com
have the best rates I could find over the internet. I can make this conclusion for myself because I've made a comparison table in excel listing down costs from booking.com, expedia, asiarooms, asiatravel, lonely planet... and a hundred more sites. www.cheaperthanhotels.com
beats them all.

Well, next time I hope I can go to the Scandinavia area. Why would I go to sandinavia? Well, for one, I do like driving and I like how I can drive and see the sites on a cool day with my family. Sounds interesting eh? what about having to spend a night or two in a rustic hotel, with a fireplace and some cheese and wine? Finland would be perfect. Alternatively, drive to Sweden and stay in one of its hotels. Or probably see the auroras? A good resource I've found for this travel would be www.visitfinland.com . The tourism www.cheaperthanhotels.com provides info for those who wish to drive the countryside of Scandinavia. Some of their tips include:

1. Cars are driven on the right side of the road all over Scandinavia.
2. Use of seatbelt is a must.
3. Driving under the influence of alcohol is prohibited.
4. There are different speed limits in the different scandinavian countries.

I've browsed the site and searched for pictures through the internet. Seems like they do have a beautiful scenery in those countries. The site has resources too for stockholm hotels, norway hotels and Oslo hotels with hotel rooms that cost as low as 550 SEK! Some rooms are breakfast inclusive. They do have great deals. Budget travellers can find great deals in these travel sites. It's like finding pearl in the deep blue sea.

Trip to Macau - Creating an Itinerary

Whew! I never thought preparing for a trip could be so exhausting. Or maybe I've just forgotten how it is to get ready for a family holiday. It has so far cost me sleepless nights and huge eyebags in the morning, not to mention that my sleep pattern has been altered to that of GMT -8:00, being awake in the wee hours of dawn and asleep until noon.
Cebu Pacific recently had an PHP888 promo for all its international flights. After all taxes and charges had been added, it amounted to about 4,600 pesos or so. It was the perfect opportunity for us to travel abroad after not having done so for the last 2 years. Instead of taking a trip locally, why not go abroad? After all, part of the reason for travelling is to familiarize Ikee with the place which she will study about in the Social Studies subject next school year. Second year in PCSHS has Asian History. Social Studies has always been boring to her. But travelling makes it interesting. So, why not hit two birds with one stone?
This time it would be Macau-Hong Kong-Zhuhai. It should've been Beijing after all Chinese history revolves around it. But it must be so boring for my husband that when presented with a choice of Shanghai-Beijing and Macau-Hong Kong, he chose the latter. So, I said what the heck? Macau and Hong Kong are Special Administrative Regions and Zhuhai is part of mainland China. We're getting 3 histories for the price of one.
I know very little of Macau and Hong Kong but I absolutely did not know Zhuhai was even part of the globe! But, the adventurous person that I am, I started to buy our tickets from the Cebu Pac website which endlessly bumped me off until i finally got our booking for 7 nights! I couldn't do anything. It was my first time to book online with them and from what I heard before, I had to get the first schedule available for me.
I am so used to coordinating travel plans for my family even when I myself am not familiar with the place. Usually, I would have read heavily about the place before I even book. But with this trip, it's the other way around. I got to learn about the places only after we had purchased our tickets. So, I then I found out that travelling to HK and Macau aren't so cheap after all. Zhuhai however is a different story.
The more I learn about Zhuhai, the more it becomes inviting to me. It has cheap hotels and has both beaches and hot springs which I like going to. Not only that, it's a shopper's paradise. Of course I've not gone there yet and might be proven wrong. But so far, from the virtualtourist.com traveller's reviews and reviews from both Yahoo travel and Trip Advisor, I've been able to locate Hotels and interesting spots which I have not heard of in the past. All hail the net!
The challenge is to be able to come up with an itinerary which would be both interesting and affordable. So far, I've come up with the idea of spending 2 days in zhuhai, 3 days in hong Kong, ang 2 days in Macau.

Let's see if I can meet the challenge. 25k?