Sustainable Travel

Flip a switch, and you have electricity worldwide… the lights come on. Plug in an appliance, and it will go on too… right? Not necessarily. There are different voltages and currents all around the world… not to mention the shape of plugs. Electricity worldwide is always there…. it’s just delivered differently, and you need to know about it.

If you’re planning to … read more

It’s easy to slip into being a travel worrier. You start to worry about some event that HAS happened…. or worse…. you start to worry that something MIGHT happen while your traveling. We’ve done it ourselves, usually just the few days before a trip when we’re trying to get everything done. Don’t get caught up in this.

Travelers tend to sit at home before their trip… all alone… just thinking of reasons to be stressed. You did your research about the safety of the country you’re going to visit, you got all of your … read more

Why do you feel fatigue after flights? Ever wonder why you feel done in after traveling? Here are some facts about why you feel that fatigue after flights.

We’re not talking jet lag here, though that fat-headed fatigue is definitely part of jet lag. You may feel fatigue after a long north-south flight where there is little or no change in time zones or even after a daytime cross country flight with only a couple of hours of time change.

One of the main culprits is the cabin air in airplanes. Commercial aircraft are pressurized… … read more

Have you ever dreamed of staying in castles?  Can You do that?  Don’t you have to be a King or a Queen or something?  Or at least a Lord to stay in a manor house?

There are castles and manor houses all over Europe that have rooms available for tourists wanting to indulge in a little fantasy… I mean haven’t you ever dreamed that you were royalty, and the world just hasn’t figured it out?

As far as accommodations go, this is probably one of the more expensive ways to spend a night in Europe, but it can be … read more

Volunteer Vacations are becoming more popular all the time.  Some organizations have been around for a long time… Groups like Habitat for Humanity and Earthwatch.  Others are gearing up to fill the need for tourists who want to volunteer.

These are programs where you travel for one to three weeks to “do good”…. You go to help the environment, to help educate, to build or repair homes, to help with research.  There are long term volunteer programs of course, like the U.S. Peace Corps, or Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) which was started by the French, but … read more

Bed and Breakfast.  The term started in Great Britain then spread through Europe, but you can find this type of accommodation almost everywhere now.  Oh, no, you’re thinking.  I’ve outgrown that bathroom down the hall stuff.   Well, most B-and-Bs have too.

“B&Bs” started with people inviting travelers into their homes… providing rooms and serving breakfast to earn a little extra money.  They all used to have toilet and shower facilities down the hall… sometimes with a sink in the room.  That’s what your thinking you’ve outgrown.  But Bed and Breakfasts have changed, and it helps to know what … read more

The Normandy beaches that are most famous are the ones between Cherbourg and Le Havre.  They are also known as the D-Day Invasion Beaches.

While Normandy beaches are great for family holidays, with miles of peaceful, sandy beaches to enjoy, the area is a special draw for those interested in the history of World War II.  Americans, Canadian, English, and some French troops stormed these beaches on June 6th, 1944.  On D-Day, the beaches were anything BUT peaceful.

The Allies gave the beaches code names…. Sword, Gold, Omaha, Utah, and Juno.  The British were assigned to Sword and Gold.  … read more

Eco-tourism or green travel is becoming a new catchword in travel. But this doesn’t mean you need to rough it. You could stay in a tent or go backpacking or canoeing, but just little everyday things can make any trip more eco-friendly. You can stay in cities or in the countryside; sleep in a big hotel or a B&B…. but you do need to think about what you can do to protect the environment. I’m talking conserving plants and wildlife but also other resources like electricity and water.

There are more and more of us traveling every … read more

What is sustainable tourism? Why should you even think of being a sustainable tourist? The consequences of tourism is both local and global. Sustainable tourism advocates the need to protect the cultural and natural environment of the destination we travel. We need to respect the cultural and sensitivities of the local community. If all of us practice sustainable tourism, we can keep the negative impact of tourism to a minimum.

So what can we do to be a sustainable tourist?

If we’re not careful, we’ll degrade the environment and the cultures we … read more