Austria Travel Guide, climate:

Austria Travel Guide - Information and Advice Austria Travel Guide Information and Advice Austria Map | Austria Pictures Vienna Pictures | Vienna Travel Guide exodus specialises in “The different holiday”, offering the widest selection of walking, adventure, cycling, mountain biking, wildlife, cultural and winter holidays, and overland journeys across all seven continents! exodus: Homepage | Austria Tours | Brochure Request Austria Travel Guide, climate: Best: May - June, September for summer activities with less crowds and less heat than July/Aug, or Dec - March for a deep white winter. Worst: The country is rarely over hot or hideously overcrowded but July, August and Christmas are very busy times, while Oct/November can be miserable - dark, wet and grey. Length of stay: Minimum worthwhile stay, not incl. flights: Vienna and Salzburg - 4 days Recommended: At least 2 weeks to take in Vienna, Salzburg and some country/mountain activities. Main Festivals in Austria : mid May- June: Vienna Festival - wide range of arts, especially music, naturally, but also dance and theatre, sometimes challenging pieces, all set in magnificent buildings. mid July-Aug: ImPulsTanz - a dynamic and diverse dance festival across the whole of lovely Vienna. End July - end August: Salzburg Festival - opera and concerts. 'Europe's most prestigious summer musical event.' Very large, very expensive. Every year in Mozart's pretty home town. Dec 31st, Kaiserball - waltzing into Vienna's glamorous ball season is this, the ultimate in smart dances, set in the magnificent Hofburg Palace. No expense spared. For some precise dates, more suggestions and information see European Festivals or Arts Festivals Austria activities guide: Hiking: The Alps in summertime offer a zillion stunning, well-marked walking routes, open along with the spring flowers in late May. The Zillertal Alps are particularly scenic and leg friendly, and Zell am Ziller is a good starting point. Lifts help the less fit. Climbing: Plenty of challenging climbs available, with northern Tyrol being especially popular . Skiing: With all those mountains and snow Austria is a great downhill and cross-country ski destination, tho' not cheap. Tyrol and Vorarlberg are most popular. Hangliding & paragliding: Due to the excess of high places and affluence of the country, gliding is commonplace and kit can be rented easily from ski resorts. Rafting /canoeing: Land Salzburg [Salzburg Alps] has superb locations for watersports from quiet canoeing to wild white water rafting. Speed boats are restricted. Biking: This country is extremely bike friendly, with rental machines available from most railway stations and dedicated tracks everywhere. The best long route is the Lower Danube Cycle Track, running beside the river from Vienna to Naarn and passing many gorgeous medieval towns on the way. River Cruises: Lengthy and a bit slow on sights . If your travel time is limited don't bother with the Danube. Night life: Austria is culturally more about classical music than techno raves, tho' the natives do know how to have a good time. Austria Star Guide: Monuments *** Shopping and souvenirs ** Walkability ***** Food Quality and Variety *** Value for Money *** Hotel Prices and Value *** Beaches no sea! Wildlife ** Landscape ***** Local People **** Architecture ***** Safety ***** Nightlife and Clubbing **** Health Problems none Museums ***** Why Travel to Austria? It's efficient, safe, uncrowded [by locals - total population is about 8m], and has stunning towns and magnificent mountains . The rise and fall of the Hapsburg dynasty [1278- 1914] and the Austrian Empire is a monumental story, gone but not forgotten by tourists gaping at the mass of gothic, baroque and rococo royal relics or listening to present day concerts by long-dead Vienna inhabitants - Mozart, Strauss, Brahms and Beethoven to name but a few. Museums offer a lot more than Hapsburg lifestyle samples and cover many topics in great depth and style. The climate offers a comfortable heat in the summer and acceptable cold in winter, encouraging year-round outdoor activities, particularly summer hiking and winter skiing. Transport systems are brilliant and road access to other European cities is easy. Locals are friendly and many speak English. Downside: -Food is heavy and dedicated to carnivores. Vegetarians may have a hard time finding suitable body fuel. -German is more a language of command than conversation. Where to travel in Austria: 1] ***Vienna, a superbly walkable, beautiful, interesting city. Vienna page 2] **Salzburg. Mozart's home is a pretty little town - well, the old bit is - but heavily travelled and without much space to permit tourists to relax and enjoy its rampant baroquery properly. The castle towering over Salzburg is sturdily interesting, as is the cathedral, the Residenz [palace] and the nearby graveyard/catacombs, but the focus is more on where Wolfie the Wonder Boy grew up or Sound of Music locations. It's a very long day trip from Vienna so stay over and visit the 16thC town of Krems , magnificent Melk Abbey and Hellbrunn Palace on the way. Also worth a look, 48km from Salzburg, are the ice caves of Eisriesenwelt , near Werfen. Dramatic, elaborate shapes and frozen waterfalls line the 42km of explored caverns, tho' not all is open and guides may be necessary. Fascinating but cold and slippery so not suited to very young or old travellers. 3] ***Salzkammergut is a vista-overload resort area of mountains, lakes and charming towns just east of Salzburg. In the summer it offers walks and water sports, in winter skiing. Key towns are Bad Ischl [fashionable spa resort], St. Wolfgang [on Wolfgangsee Lake] and Hallstatt . 4] ***Grossglockner Road. If you have wheels and it's May-November then this stunning 50km mountain/glacier route will really honk your horn. Start the tortuous tour from Zell am See. 5] *** Innsbruck [Tyrol] A lovely, partly medieval city surrounded by spectacular peaks, it functions perfectly as a summer resort or winter sports base, though it doesn't have immediate access to slopes. Nearby is Seefeld, a prime ski resort that offers more than just slopes and Mutters , 'the most beautiful village in Tyrol' and romantic in any weather. 6 ] ** St Anton am Arlsberg [Tyrol] Near Switzerland this is another picturesque Tyrolean town with some of Europe's best skiing at reasonable prices. The Blue Danube? Not likely, muddy green at best. There is an explanation for the name however... Napoleon had never lost a battle when he came across the white coated Austrian army at Aspern, around the Danube, in 1809. The French, in blue coats, lost, and their bodies were thrown into the Danube. Due to poor dye quality the colour ran into the water, turning it temporarily blue. Strauss remembered the great victory in 1867 by calling his latest waltz, 'The Blue Danube.' Austria Tours Tour operators offering tours to Austria can be found in our listings here: Austria Tours For links to Tourist Offices, Embassies, Cheap Air Tickets, Currency Converter, Climate, Language advice, other online Travel Guides and more, visit Bugbog Travel Directory Map of Europe Visas: EU citizens and nationals of USA, Australia and New Zealand do not need visas for visits up to 90 days. Electricity: Electric sockets are 230v and take 2 round pin plugs. Safety: Crime is rare and more likely to be opportunistic theft by transient East Europeans rather than locals. Language: German is the native language but most Austrians under 50 speak excellent English. Cuisine Guide: This is not good weight-loss country . National dishes tend to be heavy, saucy and meat oriented - hardly surprising for a place with no coastline - while local cheeses, pastries, beers and wines are excellent and too tempting by half. Street snacks tend to be of the sausage, pickles and chunky bread variety. About the only thing that will not pile on the pounds is the superb coffee. Money: The currency is the Euro and prices are fairly high. ATMs are plentiful and most Traveller's Cheques accepted. If you plan to travel Austria you may find these other Bugbog guides to Europe useful: Germany Travel Guide Hungary Travel Guide Czech Republic Travel Guide Belgium Travel Guide Italy Travel Guide France Travel Guide Greece Travel Guide UK Travel Guide Travel Pictures | Destination Finder | Exotic Places | World Festivals | World Wonders | Safari Wildlife | Beaches | Top of Page European Places | Walking Tours | Travel Health | Travel Safety | Travel Directory | English Speaking Places | Tours Gap Year | Site Map | Travel Guide Homepage | Contact | Press | Advertising | Legal | Maps | Travelogue © 2000-2005 Bugbog

Mexico Travel

Mexico Travel Guide - Mexico Articles Wednesday Dec 28th, 2005 Mexico Central Time Back to Mexico Articles After many years of hard work and saving, you deserve to treat yourself. Many foreigners now look to Mexico as an ideal place to retire to. This section is designed to give you an overview of advantages and disadvantages of retirement in Mexico. Before you make the decision to move to Mexico permanently, be sure to visit several different towns and see what each has to offer. Different cities have different personalities and available activities, as well as varying amount of other retirees living there. Currently, the most popular retirement communities are in Guadalajara and the nearby Lake Chapala area, Puerto Vallarta, Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Cuernavaca, Manzanillo and Oaxaca. All of these locations are along or near to the Pacific coastline of Mexico, and have mild to hot temperatures year-round. Many of the established retirement communities in these locations are well-designed resorts in themselves, featuring golf courses, tennis courts, movie and performing arts theaters, and swimming pools. Be sure to choose a community which offers all that you are looking for. Talk to the residents and ask their opinions. You can stay as long as six months on a tourist pass in Mexico, so if you choose to drive or fly down to Mexico, be sure to allow enough time to make it back across the border before this time period expires. Should you find the place that's just right for you, you can begin the process of established residency. Before moving south of the border permanently, you must weigh the advantages and disadvantages of moving to a foreign country. We'll start with the advantages. First of all, rent will be cheaper. Depending on where you choose to live, rent could be extremely cheap or extremely expensive, but you can easily rent a nice apartment or house for around $300 to $600 per month. If you're interested in buying a house or condominium, please refer to our real estate page for more information. Another great advantage of living in Mexico, especially the farther away you get from the tourist traps, is the price of groceries. By shopping in residential markets and out of the way grocery stores, two people could easily eat on a budget of $200 per month. As well as inexpensive groceries, small Mexican restaurants (not the fancy tourist restaurants mind you) serve excellent Mexican dishes for a fraction of what you would pay in any American or Canadian restaurant. In addition to cheap food and cheap rent (if you so choose...), the Mexican people are generally tremendously polite. Back to Top The more Spanish that you are able to speak, the better you will fare in Mexico, but even if you don't speak a word of Spanish, many Mexican people will still treat you very politely or at the very least, they will treat you with respect. Contrary to popular belief, the health care in Mexico is top-notch. Many practicing doctors in Mexico were themselves educated at American medical schools, and offer just as good (or sometimes better) health care as doctors in the United States. Pharmacies are always well-stocked and you should have no trouble finding any medications that you may need; and most at significantly lower prices. Another great advantage (although maybe a disadvantage to some) about Mexico is the climate. If you love year-round warm weather, lots of sun, and the always warm waters of the ocean nearby, you will love your retirement in Mexico. Before you pack your bags and move to Mexico, let's go over the disadvantages first. We'll start with weather. If you are used to cool, northern weather, the heat of Mexico during summer will likely give you some trouble. The summer season can be muggy or dry, but it is inevitably hot. Air conditioning can help, but nobody can be expected to live indoors throughout the summer season, so while researching where you may want to live, go during both the winter AND the summer season. Another disadvantage about moving to Mexico is that invariably, you will have to leave many friends behind. As nice as it sounds to have people come visit you, many retirees have had privacy problems due to old friends visiting constantly because of a free place to stay in Mexico. You will, of course, make new friends in Mexico, and you can always return to the United States to visit. It is advisable not to offer a place to stay in Mexico to many people before you leave, though. You may find many (too many?) of them taking you up on your offer! Transportation may or may not be a problem for you in Mexico. If you are used to driving your car around and dislike public transportation, you might be slightly inconvenienced. The public transit of most Mexican cities is adequate if not excellent, and will be cheaper than driving. High gas prices, difficulties with insurance, and the effects of the Mexican climate on your car are all things to consider. If the advantages of living in Mexico outweigh the disadvantages, you may want to look into retirement to Mexico further. An excellent guide to retirement in Mexico is AIM, a newsletter which costs $16 U.S. or $19 Canadian. Contact AIM, Apdo. Postal 31-70, Guadalajara 45050, Jalisco, Mexico. Back to Top Send us your comments about this article Back to Mexico Articles Acapulco | Cancun | CopperCanyon | Cozumel | Guadalajara | Huatulco | Ixtapa | Los Cabos Manzanillo | Mazatlan | Mexico City | Monterrey | Oaxaca | Puerto Vallarta © 1995 - 2005 Let's Go2Mexico ® - All Rights Reserved - Powered by ® Go2 Producciones ernesto luna sierra

Golf Vacation

Costa Rica Beach Hotel Spa Resort & Yoga Retreat - Lodging Accommodations & Tours - Vacation Luxury Villas, Hotels & Houses at Tango Mar Costa Rica Vacation Costa Rica Beach Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa Luxury, Exclusive Accommodations & Nature Tours - Spa & Yoga Best of Hotels, Villas and Vacation Houses & Rentals Welcome to the Tango Mar Beach Hotel, Golf Resort, Spa & Yoga Retreat website - a Costa Rica favorite, luxury vacation holiday destination. If you can read this page, your browser does not support frames. Please use the links below to navigate the site to see our hotel resort, spa, and residential community with rental villas, houses, tropical gardens, and wildlife. Make Tango Mar your next tropical vacation holiday, or come to our community to live or retire. Please visit our honeymoon and wedding pages, and our new expanded Costa Rica tours section. Tango Mar - Best of Costa Rica Hotels and Resorts, and the Temptation Island II filming location. We hope to see you soon! Management and Staff of Tango Mar Information about Tango Mar Beach Hotel and Golf Resort Community and Country Club Gourmet Costa Rica restaurant at vacation resort Tango Mar Costa Rica Golf course, Nicoya Peninsula, near Barcelo Resort, Tambor Costa Rica Vacation maps and how to get to Resort Tango Mar Tango Mar - a private ecological resort near Curu Biological Reserve and Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve. Vacation packages, all inclusive, green season, discount package at our hotels Costa Rica Honeymoon Vacation Wedding Packages For Sale - Beach lots, view properties, lots, and golf course homes - real estate houses and villas. Hotel Rates, Tango Mar Reservations for Villa Rentals & Houses Things to do, recreation and activities at the Tango Mar. Tango Mar Reservations, online bookings for our hotel, Villas and Houses. Costa Rica beach hotel, beachfront lodging accommodations, villas & houses Costa Rica Tours, Jungle Tours, Adventure Tours, Nature Tours Adventure tours, horseback riding, birdwatching, snorkeling, mountain bike riding, sportfishing and deep sea fishing. Costa Rica vacation rentals - luxury beachfront villas, houses, homes on the beach Tango Mar Community homeowner newsletter - retire at a beach and golf resort in Costa Rica Costa Rica Vacation & Honeymoon Beach Hotel Resort Tango Mar - Lodging Accommodations Costa Rica Spa Resort - Costa Rica Yoga, Meditation, Instruction Ile de la tentation - 4 Tango Mar Hotel / Resort - Lo Major de los Hoteles, Resortes en Costa Rica Contents, Costa Rica Holiday Information

Argentina Travel

Welcome Argentina: Travel Adventure in Argentina En espaol Introduction 4x4 - Quad Rides Air Activities Nautical Activities Diving Horseback Excursions Canopy Ski - Snowboarding Mountaineering Mountain biking Rafting Hiking Other Activities See the most requested destinations by our visitors. Salta Puerto Iguaz Gualeguaych Mendoza San Juan Crdoba Buenos Aires Mar del Plata Bariloche Puerto Madryn Ushuaia A good way to do tourism in Argentina. dventure travel and extreme sports, in their various modalities, are tending to increase the amount of fans worldwide. Argentina, in particular, is being the favorite scenery for lovers of adventure who are willing to receive a good dose of pure adrenaline. This selection is not casual, as the geography presents high diversity, in the wide sense of the word, for the practice of these exciting sports. The sceneries are multiple and varied and all of them ideal to let imagination fly and let yourself be carried away to whatever adventure decrees. Imagine yourself among the endless plains of the pampas, the fast-flowing rivers of the mountain range, the high summits of the mountains and volcanoes, and even the deep and blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean. All the sceneries are waiting to be discovered by intrepid adventurers. The practice of this kind of adventure or alternative travel allows people to visit unusual or unknown places in a more active way and in permanent contact with nature. In this portal, you will find all the necessary information, both for beginners in this activity and for those who have previous experience. You will find circuits with different levels of difficulty that will enable you to share excursions with your family as well as activities in which experience and risk await you at every step. Here you will have the opportunity to know in depth each of the disciplines that are part of adventure travel, where they are carried out, in what time of the year, what security measures you will have to take into account to perform each of them, and the different levels of difficult. If you are ready... fasten your seatbelt, harness, life-jacket or simply your hiking boots, and dare to make a raid into adventure travel and extreme sports, all of them practised in a fantastic natural environment offered by Argentina. Adventure travel includes activities through which people change from being spectators to becoming protagonists of the landscape. Hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, horse-riding, rafting, rapelling, canopy, etc., are the activities that require physical effort, which may be moderate or high, depending on the itinerary choice or the physical condition of the person involved. The good thing is that in Argentina, and especially in Patagonia, we have a menu for everybody. From hiking on the high country, over 4,000 m.a.s.l., during several days, through rides across ancient forests, kayaking in white waters rivers or in quiet lakes, to rock or ice climbing at the huge glaciers in the South. What must be clear is that, as we make contact with nature, we have to comply with certain rules that nature itself sets for us to respect. We must be respectful and conscious of the preservation of the environment and that our pace must not leave permanent traces in the various habitats. Especially, we should not leave any waste behind and this way we will be able to continue enjoying for good the beauty our world offers us. “The drops of my sweat falling on the ground are a tribute to Nature." Jorge “Gurí” Aznarez Tourist Guide Director of the Desafío de los Volcanes (The Volcanoes Challenge). E-mail Welcome Argentina - Adventure Travel in Argentina 2002-2005 Total or partial reproduction forbidden. Derechos de Autor 299606 Ley 11723

Japan Travel

Japan Travel Guide, Japanese Popular Culture, History and Japanese Etiquette Japan travel guide, information on Japan and Japanese culture. Japan Store JZ Originals | Books, CDs, DVDs, VHS | Geisha Fans | Folding Screens | Japanese Design | Baseball Goods Japanese Games The Gaming Industry | Game Developers Modern Japan Entertainment Movies | Movie Posters | Anime Movies | Tezuka Osamu | TV Comedy | Yoshimoto | TV Anime | Manga | Pop Music | Takarazuka | Pachinko Famous people Directors | Actors & Actresses | TV Stars | Comedians | Musicians | Sports Stars | Designers | Politicians Japan Inc Economy | Global 500 |Companies A - F | G - L | M | N | O - S | T - Z Cultural Japan Entertainment Kabuki | Noh | Bunraku | Geisha | Instruments Arts Tea Ceremony | Kodo | Ukiyoe | Ikebana | Bonsai | Origami | Literature | Modern Literature Royalty Imperial Family Calendar Festivals | Annual Events | Four Seasons | Cherry Blossoms Costume Kimono | Footwear Food & Drink Basics | Dishes | Alcohol New to Japan General Visas | Accommodation | Health & Welfare | Transport | Local Transport | Mobile Phones | Money | Etiquette | Meeting People Language Alphabets | Kanji | Useful Expressions | New Japanese Employment Working | Teaching | Find a Job Japan Omnibus Geography Facts & Figures | Regions & Cities | Climate Sightseeing Onsen | Tokyo | Kyoto | Hokkaido | Tohoku | Kanto | Chubu | Kinki | Chugoku | Shikoku | Kyushu | Okinawa Sports Baseball | Soccer | Sumo | Martial Arts | Others History Early | Medieval | Modern Religion Shinto | Buddhism | Others | Shrines | Temples | Zen Gardens Politics Government | Parties | Prime Ministers Japan Gallery Landmark | Nature | People | Scenery | Urban | Miscellaneous Japan Job Search Search GaijinPot's database of available jobs JapanBloggers Webring ? Ring Home # Make 100s of thousands of new friends today, FREE! Japan Zone Features: Chat Room | Quizzes | Games | E-cards Street Fashion Our latest poll: "What's the best way to spend New Year in Japan?" Thursday, 29th December 2005 Today's Japan News | Japan Weather | Japan Stocks | Currency Converter | The latest posts on our Japan Forum Join Japan Zone Friends in December - Win a DVD! - Join Now Everyone who joins Japan Zone Friends between now and December 31st will be entered to win a DVD! It's FREE to join, so why not? Welcome to the bizarre world of an American mannequin family who have recently moved toJapan, and cause quite an uproar. Fashionably hip and gut-splitting funny, this feature was first shown on the Japanese late-night show Vermillion Pleasure Night and now has a cult following. Available from ADV Films (the largest producer/distributor for Japanese anime) from December 20 on DVD. Official website Watch a classic clip, "Lady Tutor": High quality | Low quality (Quick Time) The Latest -- Japan Zone is the only site that brings you regular news and gossip in English from the Japanese entertainment world. Noriko's Fashion Choice Talento Kato Noriko (32) is to get married on New Year's Day, according to her agency yesterday. The lucky man is Wakatsuki Yoshio (43), a creative director in the fashion world. The fax announcement of the engagement caught the media by surprise as the two have only been going out since the spring, though they've been living together for the last couple of months. They have known each other for several years, and met when Kato took a break from showbusiness to study in Paris in 2000. Wakatsuki was working on the Paris Collection at the time. • Rock band Mr. Children finished up their first nationwide "dome tour" with a show last night at Tokyo Dome. They played to 45,000 fans, bringing the tour total to about 390,000. Vocalist Sakurai Kazutoshi (35), who battled with serious illness in 2003 that saw the band take a 6-month hiatus, said 2005 was the best year ever. • Kabuki actor Onoe Matsusuke died of cancer at a Tokyo hospital on Monday. He was 59. • A survey has shown that people are pretty evenly divided about whether national broadcaster NHK should take legal action against those who refuse to pay their license fee. The number of those refusing to pay has increased to over a million following a series of scandals involving NHK employees. December 28, 2005 Recent Headlines • Noriko's Fashion Choice (December 28) • All Eyes on Women Skaters (December 27) • Ryoko Polishing Her Bridal Skills (December 26) • Boyz of Summer? (December 24) More news available on our News page . (powered by Movable Type 3.15 ) Syndicate this site Content Picks Planning a trip to Japan? ROYALTY : With the marriage of Princess Sayako, the Imperial Family lost one of its members. Will one of her nieces ever ascend to the imperial throne? CULTURE : Aromatherapy may be all the rage these days, but kodo , the art of incense, has been around for centuries and is one of the three major Japanese traditional arts. ROMANCE : Are you looking for a partner in Japan ? We have some useful background info and a list of resources to help you on your way. TOURS : Try our selection of half-day and one-day tours in Japan's most popular destinations SIGHTSEEING GUIDES : Browse our extensive sightseeing guide to the whole country, with information on all the major sights. Tokyo Kyoto Hokkaido Kyushu Mt. Fuji Osaka/Kobe Okinawa More... ELECTRONIC DICTIONARIES A must-have item for any student of Japanese or trip to Japan is a pocket dictionary.In our JapanStore, we have chosen some of the best ones around. From the reasonablypriced to the multi-featured, you're sure to find one that suits your study, businessor travel needs. Find out more... We've teamed up with Japan's No.1 online job site for English-speakingprofessionals. Search the Gaijinpot job database now for free. Through our partnership with Amazon.com, we are offering an exclusive JapanZone version of the award winning Alexa Toolbar- FREE! No browser should be without this handy tool! Plus, when you download anduse the toolbar, you'll help support Japan Zone. The Top Sites in Japan -- -- Web Japan Zone The current time in: Hawaii Los Angeles Chicago New York Brasilia London Berlin Paris Milano Israel New Delhi Bangkok Beijing Hong Kong Singapore Tokyo Seoul Canberra Guam Sign up for free & meet... Asia's largest friend finder network. Join FREE today! Sign up for our free newsletter. Keep up with the latest news and gossip from Japan. Cultural Japan | Modern Japan | New to Japan | Japan Omnibus | Japan Gallery | Japan Forum | Japan Store About us | Advertising | Links | Terms of Use | Comments on the site? © 1999-2005 Japan Zone international calling cards, phone cards