FRANCE TRAVEL INFORMATION :

France travel information tips, Paris hotel specials, and France travel and tourism facts. DISCOVER FRANCE FRANCE BICYCLE TOURS FRANCE WALKING TOURS FRANCE GETAWAYS PARIS TRIPS PARIS HOTELS Theme Travel » Honeymoons Family Trips Wine/Cooking Paris Packages His & Her Woman Tours Gay/Lesbian Corporate Group Travel Club Trips Info Book a Tour Site Map Walking Tour Regions Alsace Brittany Burgundy Champagne Dordogne/SW Paris/Ile de France Languedoc Loire Valley Normandy Provence Bicycle Tour Regions Alsace Brittany Burgundy Champagne Dordogne/SW Languedoc Loire Valley Normandy Poitou-Charentes Provence Rhone-Alpes Travel news/announcements/Info: See our latest newsletter for updates Southern France, Spain, Italy - the best weather in the fall season ! We can take last minute bookings up to 7 days in advance of travel - subject to hotel availability. Our recommendations: Carcassonne Countryside - more challenging cycling tour visits the famous Cite of Carcassonne and vineyards of the Corbiere before finishing at the sea side. Provence - Avignon to Mediterranean - most popular tour for a full cross section of charming Provence. Spain - Catalonia and the Costa Brava near Girona . Lovely farmhouse family style lodging or gastronomic charm hotels. Exceptional late season biycle tour! Italy -Tuscany - enchanting region with its famously hilly terrain is best visited in the fall. We can accommodate 4 or 6 night packages. Paris Getaways : Low Season - November through March from low rates for excellent hotels of charm. Add on museum passes, metro passes, airport transfers or even add a stay in any of the many provinces easily reached by train from Paris like Dijon, Bordeaux, Avignon, Strasbourg, Tours, Reims, Lyon, and so on! Paris by foot; see our new Da Vinci Code tour and other programs in Paris Self Guided Walking Tours : Our program of self-guided travel is open to anyone; to know more visit this page of our website: Self Guided Touring FRANCE TRAVEL INFORMATION : This bit of information is for general travel throughout France. Each of our tour clients will receive this in addition to more detailed information about their tour. Paris Hotels - see our site at www.hotelsparis.net Hotels throughout France - see our site at www.francegetaways.com Regional Tourist Offices throughout France - see our links page See our new Vocabulary and interactive Language page Arriving in Paris: most flights now arrive at Charles de Gaulle airport from foreign destinations. There are still some charters and inter France flights going out of Orly. Our site at www.gotoparis.net discusses in detail the different options available for getting into the city. These options include: express buses, trains, taxis, and private transfers. To get from CDG airport to Orly, the best is by Air France bus. They depart every 30 minutes between 6:30 am and 10:30 pm. Traveling around in France: France is 1 hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (G.M.T. +1). This makes it 6 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time (E.S.T. +6, and +9 PST). The time is the same all over the country. The country is divided in 95 departments – each has its name and its number and this number is set by alphabetical order. That number is found at the beginning of each zip code of the department as well as the last 2 digits of the car plates. Documentation U.S citizens only need a valid passport to travel to France as long as their stay does not exceed 3 months. You are required to carry identification with you at all times when traveling in France. If you lose your passport, contact: American Consulate 2, rue Saint Florentin - 75001 Paris Tel: 01.42.96.12.02 or 01.42.61.80.75 Consular Section for Canadians 35, Avenue de Montaigne - 75008 Paris Tel: 01.44.43.32.00 Post Office - Mail / Shipping The Post Office is called LA POSTE or PTT. Generally open M-F from 9am to 6pm and Saturday from 9am to 12pm. Telephone France is divided by 5 zones for the telephone. The 2 first digits of a phone number tells you the area: 01 is Paris / 02 northwest / 03 northeast / 04 southeast / 05 southwest. From the States, you don’t need to dial the 0. But once in France, you have to dial the 0. Phone numbers must have 10 digits (including the first 0), no exception – except of course the emergency numbers. Public phones in France require a telephone card, or they can often work also with a credit card. Check for the signs “Visa”, “Master Card”, etc… Emergency telephone numbers throughout France 24 hour ambulance (called “SAMU”): 15 Police: 17 Fire: 18 Other telephone numbers in Paris: 24 hour doctor: 01.47.07.77.77 24 hour dentist: 01.43.37.51.00 English language crisis line: 01.47.23.80.80 Public Holidays January 1st / Easter Monday / May 1st = Labor Day / May 8th / Ascension Thursday (last Thursday of May) / Pentecote Monday (beginning of June) / July 14 = Bastille Day / August 15 = Assumption / November 1st / November 11th / December 25th. Electric current Electricity in France runs on 220 volt, 50-cycle AC current. If you bring electrical devices, you will need to have a transformer and plug adapter. Banking / Purchasing Banks are generally open weekdays 9am - 4:30pm. In many cities outside Paris banks close for lunch, sometimes for 2 hours. Most banks are closed Saturday and Sunday and all holidays. The main banks are: BNP / Credit Agricole / Societe Generale / Caisse d’Epargne / Credit du Nord, etc… The Euro - € As of January 1, 2002, the Euro is the official currency in France and the 11 other countries currently participating in European currency union. The old French Franc is now part of history and is no longer accepted as a payment form. Check before departure the equivalent of the Euro compare to the U.S Dollar. The Euro paper currency will be the same in all 12 countries, in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 Euros. The coins however, will bear a different face according to the country. There are 8 coins: 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents and 1 and 2 Euros. Driving in France Document / Insurance / Law - An American driver’s license is valid for Americans driving in France. Have another ID document with you like your passport. - Insurance is highly recommended, be sure you are set before you leave home. - The legal age to drive in France is 18. - Trucks – except with special authorization – are not allowed to drive on Sunday. - Seat belts must be worn at all times – children under 12 must sit in the backseat - Park your car only where it is authorized, fines arrive quickly! And cars are often towed away. Car rental The legal age to rent a car is 21– but most companies require being 25 years old. See our links page for companies, and insurance options. Gas Taxes on gas are very high in France, which explains the price of the liter: On the petrol pump “Sans Plomb” means unleaded petrol. Gas stations along highways are open 24 h / 7 days. French usually get gas at large stores like Carrefour, Leclerc, Casino, etc… You can go at any time, help yourself and use your credit card Types of roads Interstate toll way / Motorway = A + the number of the road / 130km/h is the speed limit. This is also a toll road, you can pay tolls with a credit card; this is the fast way to travel, but is not cheap! Every 20 km you have restaurants, gas station, sometimes shops, restrooms… National road = N + number of the road / 90km/h. If you are not traveling too far or if you have plenty of time, then the more scenic and free way to go is on the National roads. A famous road in France is the National 7 / N7. There is even a song ? about that road sung by Charles TRENET! Department road = D + number of the road / 50km/h. Great for seeing the back country of France; very slow going. PARIS - some basic info is below. Museum passes, metro passes, day tours, shows, bus tours, more: www.gotoparis.net TOURIST OFFICES There are many convenient locations within Paris: Carrousel du Louvre: 99 Rue de Rivoli, 75001. Metro: Palais Royal / Louvre (1,7) Montmartre: 21 Place du Tertre, 75018. Metro: Abbesses (12) Gare du Nord: Metro / RER (B,D,4,5) Tour Eiffel: Metro / RER: Champs de Mars / Tour Eiffel (C), Bir-Hakeim (6) Gare de Lyon: Metro / RER (A,D,1,14) Opera – Grands Magasins: 11 rue Scribe, 75009/ Metro: Opera (3,7,8) / RER: Auber (A) Train Stations in Paris: Gare du Nord: North of France, Belgium, Eurostar to London, UK Gare de L’Est: Champagne, Alsace / Germany Gare de Lyon: Southeast, Provence – Cote d’Azur / Italy Gare Austerlitz: Loire Valley, Southwest France Gare Montparnasse: Brittany, TGV to Loire and Southwest Gare Saint Lazare: Normandy, western coast More detailed travel information is available at the French Governement Tourist Office Website at www.franceguide.com Home | Cycling Classics | Pure Adventures | Bicycle Tours | Walking Tours | Media | Links Promotions | Travel Agents | FAQs | Weather | Newsletter | Group Travel | Privacy © 2006 Discover France (SM)

Austria Travel

Austria. At Last! Site Map | Meeting & Incentive | Professionals | Jobs | Your Country Portal: ----------------------- Österreich Australia België (nl) Belgique (fr) Canada Česká republika China Hrvatska Danmark Deutschland España France India Italia Japan Korea Magyarország Malaysia Nederland Polska România Russia Schweiz Singapore Slovensk republika United Arab Emirates Israel Slovenia Sverige Taiwan Thailand UK & Ireland USA All other countries Macromedia Flash Player: DOWNLOAD Macromedia Flash Player: DOWNLOAD -- Hotline: USA: 212 944-6880 Canada: 416 967-3381 Brochure Request Brochure Download E-Mail: travel@austria.info Register to get the latest information and travel deals. Home The longing for a vacation in Austria cannot be easily explained, sketched or demonstrated. Our friends, the two penguins Joe & Sally are the manifestation of this desire. They are curious and fascinated by the appeal of discovering a destination and the unknown - the wonderful quality of a truly Austrian experience. Joe and Sally are well travelled. In fact they have been practically everywhere and seen everything there is to see. Finally, the two are experiencing the wealth of enjoyment Austria has to offer. Go ahead and discover Austria - the most charming travel destination! If you are looking for an agent with excellent knowledge about Austria, we can help. Every year we educate travel agents across the U.S. & Canada, who graduate from our intensive course on Austria and are designated Austria Experts. More Celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Sound of Music . This great 2-disc set is brimming with all-new special features, incl. audio commentary by Julie Andrews & Christopher Plummer, SINGALONG karaoke subtitles and much more... More ...and clebrate his 250th birthday with us with great celebrations staged throughout Austria ...book now and celebrate with us... More Arranging your trip to Austria is easy. We have compiled great Travel opportunities specially for you... More Add information marked with to the Suitcase. and listen to Jeremy Irons presenting Mozart... More buy your tickets online... More make your reservation now... More ...get ready and buy travel literature for your stay in Austria... More About Us | Press | Contact | Imprint/Disclaimer (c) 2005 by Österreich Werbung - All rights reserved.

Orlando Vacation memorable. You

orlandoinfo.com -The Official Site to plan your Orlando vacation presented by the Orlando/Orange County Convention&Visitors Bureau, Inc. Home International Meeting Planner Press Room Members Research Travel Professionals Partly Cloudy 69°F Hot Links Home Magicard Hotel Reservations Discount Attraction Tickets Contact Us Calendar of Events Start Date: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 End Date: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 advanced search » Orlando Podcasts There is Always Magic with an Orlando Family Vacation From insider information with your Orlando Family Vacation to the latest happenings, the Orlando CVB has provided a series of entertaining and informative podcasts for your enjoyment making your next Orlando Vacation memorable. You can either listen to our Orlando Family Vacation or Orlando Vacation podcast live or download for later listening. We encourage you to provide feedback and tell us what you think as well as make suggestions for future Orlando family vacation podcast topics. Simply drop us a line at podcast@orlandocvb.com Recent Orlando Family Vacation Podcasts RSS « Subscribe to our Orlando Family Vacation RSS Feed » Podcast Details Mon, 7 Nov 2005 Download File File Size: 6.01 MB (((Listen Now))) Planning the Ideal Orlando Vacation for the Family Nationally syndicated columnist and travel expert Eileen Ogintz gives travelers great advice on how to plan the ideal Orlando vacation for the family, while involving the children in the process, and what to take with you for a seamless Orlando vacation. View Orlando Family Vacation Transcript » Podcast Details Mon, 7 Nov 2005 Download File File Size: 6.00 MB (((Listen Now))) Get the most out of your Orlando Family Vacation From navigating Orlando's world-renown theme parks to exploring hidden treasures beyond the parks, nationally syndicated columnist and travel expert Eileen Ogintz provides valuable information on how to get the most out of an Orlando family vacation. View Orlando Family Vacation Transcript » For your next Orlando family vacation be sure to visit our Orlando vacation accommodations page where you can make a reservation and learn more about why more and more families choose an Orlando vacation to bond with their family. RSS « Subscribe to our Orlando Family Vacation RSS Feed » Company Privacy Policy Terms of Service Site Map © 2005 Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.

Taiwan Travel Guide Overview

Taiwan Travel Tips and Advice | iExplore.com FORBES' #1 ADVENTURE TRAVEL SITE 5 YEARS IN A ROW — TIME MAGAZINE TOP 50 Keyword Search: -- Home Trip Finder Travel Guides Community Special Offers Store My iExplore advertisement -- Home Travel Guides Far East Taiwan Do's and Don'ts Taiwan Travel Guide Overview Tours Where to Go Activities General Info History Weather Travel Tips Dining Shopping Visa & Health View Trips to Taiwan Far East Overview Browse Taiwan Photos Taiwan Questions and Answers Read Taiwan Journals Find a Taiwan Travel Buddy Taiwan Travel Tips & Advice Social Conventions Handshaking is common. Casual wear is widely acceptable. Ancient festivals and customs are celebrated enthusiastically and traditional holidays are important. Entertainment is usually offered in restaurants, not at home. Visitors are not expected to entertain. Chinese culture in the form of drama, opera and art is very strong. Despite rapid industrialization and development, the way of life is very much Chinese, steeped in tradition and old values. Tipping Tipping is not an established custom, although it is on the increase. Taipei hotels and restaurants add 10 per cent service charge and extra tipping is not expected. It is not customary to tip taxi drivers. The standard tip for porters is NT$50 per piece of luggage. International Travel: Travel warning Earthquakes (mostly minor) occur regularly and typhoons and tropical storms are a risk: visitors are advised to learn about emergency procedures for such events on arrival. Air The national airline is China Airlines (CI) (website: www.china-airlines.com ). EVA Airways (BR) offers flights to destinations throughout Asia (excluding China, PR), Australia, Europe, New Zealand and North America. Other airlines serving Taiwan include British Asia Airways , Continental Airlines , Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways . Approximate flight times From Taipei to London is approximately 15 hours including a stop in Hong Kong. International airports Chiang Kai-shek-Taipei (TPE) is 40km (25 miles) south of the city (travel time - 30 minutes). Airport facilities include an outgoing duty free shop, post office, car hire, bank/bureau de change, bar/restaurant and tourist information. Buses depart every 15 to 20 minutes for both Sung Shan (domestic) airport and the main railway station. Taxis and buses are available to the city center. Kaohsiung International (KHH) (website: www.kia.gov.tw ) is 9km (4 miles) from the town center. Airport facilities include an outgoing duty free shop, car hire, bank/bureau de change, post office and bar/ restaurant. A regular bus service is available (travel time - 30 minutes). There is a taxi service to the town. Departure tax None. Sea Ferries run regularly between Keelung and Kaohsiung ports (Taiwan) and Okinawa (Japan). There are also sea links between Kaosiung and Macau. Duty-Free The following items may be imported by persons over 20 years of age without incurring customs duty: 200 cigarettes or 25 cigars or 454g of tobacco ; 1 bottle (not more than 1l) of alcoholic beverage ; reasonable quantities of perfume ; other goods for personal use up to the value of NT$20 , 000 (NT$10 , 000 for passengers under 20 years of age) . Prohibited items Narcotics, arms, ammunition, gambling articles, non-canned meat products, fresh fruit and toy pistols. Publications promoting communism are prohibited, as are items originating in Albania, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China (PR), Cuba, Korea (Dem Rep), Laos, Romania, Vietnam and members of the CIS. All baggage must be itemised and declared in writing. Internal Travel: Air Far Eastern Air Transport , Mandarin Airlines , Transasia Airways and Uni Air are amongst the domestic airlines that run services to local destinations from Sung Shan Airport, Taipei. Sea There are reasonable connections from local ports. For details, contact port authorities. Rail Services are provided to destinations all over the island by the Taiwan Railway Administration (website: www.railway.gov.tw ). The main tourist routes are Taipei-Taichung-Chiayi-Tainan-Kaohsiung (a top-class service), Taipei-Taichung-Sun Moon Lake (with the last leg of the journey by bus), Chiayi-Alishan (with spectacular mountain scenery) and Taipei-New Hualian-Taitung (scenic coastal route). Air-conditioned electric trains run at least hourly from Taipei to Kaohsiung; some trains have restaurant cars. Children under three travel free; children aged three to 13 pay half fare. Train tickets can be purchased at many major hotels in Taipei, as well as at the main railway station. Road Traffic drives on the right. There is an adequate road system joining all major cities. A highway links Taipei and Kaohsiung. Some main streets have English signs. Congestion can be a problem, and mudslides may block mountain roads. Bus: There are both local and long-distance bus and coach services. Taxi: These are plentiful and inexpensive (metered). The destination may have to be written in Chinese for the driver. Car hire: This is available in major towns. Documentation: An International Driving Permit is required. Urban A number of private bus companies provide extensive services in Taipei. An unfinished Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, a monorail train, serves Taipei and its suburbs. Metered taxis are available in Taipei; tipping is not expected, but it is starting to come into practice. TRAVEL TIMES The following chart gives approximate travel times (in hours and minutes) from Taipei to other major cities/towns: Air Road Rail Kaohsiung 0.40 5.30 4.40 Tainan 0.40 4.30 4.10 Taichung 0.30 2.30 2.30 Hualien 0.30 7.00 3.00 Taitung 0.50 10.00 5.30 Sun Moon L. - 4.30 - Alishan - 6.00 - Kenting - 6.30 - Makung 0.40 - - Sponsored Listings ( Add your listing ) advertisement Advertisement -- advertisement Why iExplore? About Us Advertise Site Map Privacy Policy Travel Agents Contact Us © 2005 Adventure Travel with iExplore --

Disney Vacation Club by

Epinions.com - Disney Vacation Club by resale - the way to go! Join Epinions | Help | Sign In Disney Timeshares Read Advice Write an essay on this topic. Disney Vacation Club by resale - the way to go! Apr 03 '00 My family and I have been going to Disney World for the last 15 years. My parents have been coming with us for the last 3 years. Its great to go as a big group. In order to accommodate the 7 of us, we have always gotten 2 rooms at the hotels we have stayed at. My parents decided to do it right and decided to buy into the Disney Vacation Club. I did some of the research for them, and they did some as well. They called and talked with a Disney representative. They were told how Old Key West was sold out. If they wanted to buy in, they would have to buy at the Boardwalk. Cost would be about $67 a point. After my research, I told them that it wasn't a good idea to buy at Boardwalk. The room point rate for a week was a few points higher, but worse, the annual maintenance fee was about $1 per point higher at Boardwalk than at OKW. My suggestion was to buy through the resale market and buy at OKW. I did further research and found out there are basically two real estate agencies handling the DVC resales. The Timeshare Store and ATimeShare are the two agencies available. They are both EXTREMELY helpful and informative. They could sell me whatever they had available in their inventory. They obviously can only sell what they are given to be representatives of. They ended up buying through ATimeShare. Not because of what the dealer did, but more because of what the agent had available. ATimeShare had the number of points my parents were interested in at the price they were willing to pay. If the Timeshare Store had what my folks had wanted, they would have been just as satisfied buying through them too. I won't tell you what they paid, but I will say it was QUITE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS than $67/point! The point of this discussion is if you are interested in buying into the DVC, seriously consider the resale market. Once you own the points, Disney treats you just as if you were the original owners, but you saved BIG $$$ doing it! Comments on this Review Read all comments (1) Write your own comment Epinions.com ID: psimon Location: NJ Reviews written: 122 Trusted by: 22 members View all reviews by psimon View psimon's profile Help | Member Center | Message Boards | Site Rules | User Agreement | Privacy Policy | Site Index About Epinions | Careers | Contact Epinions | Advertising Epinions | DealTime USA | DealTime UK | PriceTool | Shopping.com | Rent.com © 1999-2005 Epinions, Inc. Trademark Notice Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.