Travel Guide

Time Out - City travel guides to hotels, restaurants, shops and events Time Out Home Cities A-Z Shop Your Account SEARCH: monday theatre sydney art film amsterdam tuesday tokyo clubs festivals moscow restaurant wednesday london comedy chicago thursday hong kong soho dubai friday hotels bars fashion west end new york gigs saturday paris dance barcelona gay rome sunday cafes venice sport CITIES A-Z » London Chaotic, confusing, bloody-minded – bloody lovely; London's a multi-faceted metropolis you can't help but love. TIME OUT LONDON » New York Go beyond bagels, Broadway and Brooklyn with our critics' picks of the best to see and do in the culture capital of the world. TIME OUT NEW YORK » Chicago A quintessentially American city with smoky juke joints, cutting-edge architecture and world-class museums. TIME OUT CHICAGO » City guides From Amsterdam to Zürich: more than 140 of the world's most exciting, beautiful and culturally rich cities. TIME OUT CITIES A-Z » flights huge hotel savings city breaks hotels, B&B & apts hotels big discounts More top destination guides Amsterdam Europe's most charming and notorious city; world-renowned museums, idyllic canals, a red-light district and legal cannabis. Barcelona What may indeed be Europe's coolest city; fantastical architecture, sweeping beaches and idiosyncratic museums. Beijing Beijing is getting the mother of all makeovers; today it has become an elusive blend of dynamism and antiquity. Berlin Top-flight attractions and a thriving underground arts and music scene mark Berlin as a major cultural centre. Dubai A tourist paradise boasting opulent hotels and restaurants, tax-free shopping, pristine beaches and year-round sunshine. Istanbul Gaze at the mosques of Sultanahmet or bargain-hunt at the Grand Bazaar in this ancient, continent-straddling metropolis. Los Angeles From the crème-de-la-crème of Hollywood hipsters to the cool celeb factor, Tinseltown oozes chic charisma. Moscow Europe’s maddest capital has transformed from staid, Stalinist monolith to modern cosmopolitan metropolis. Paris From hidden historic treasures to cutting-edge creations in fashion and the arts, Paris always has something to offer everyone. Rome A wealth of ancient wonders - Renaissance, baroque and modern - as well as stylish drinking dens and gourmet eateries. Magazines LONDON » NEW YORK » CHICAGO » DUBAI » More Time Out magazines -- Other Time Out magazines Abu Dhabi Chicago Cyprus Dubai Istanbul London Mumbai New York Tel Aviv Guides £3 OFF! London Eating & Drinking Guide 1,500 independent and impartial reviews, plus 15% discount at a selection of great venues. VIEW GUIDE » Ski & Snowboard Europe From your first schuss to your last schnapps. This is the definitive guide to Europe's best resorts. VIEW GUIDE » More Time Out guides © 2005 Time Out Group Ltd. All rights reserved. All material on this site is © Time Out. About the site | Contact Us | Privacy policy | Jobs at Time Out | Advertising

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.

Central America Travel

Guatemala Central America - Travel Tourism Vacation Information  You are here: About > Travel > Mexico / Central America for Visitors > Guatemala > Guatemala Central America - Travel Tourism Vacation Information Travel Go Mexico Essentials Packing List for Travelers to Mexico Health Information Mexico / C. America Safety Considerations Travel Books Mexico and Central America Tourism Offices Mexico/ Central America Articles & Resources Mexico Mexico City Acapulco, Mexico Cancun Yucatan Baja Los Cabos Puerto Vallarta Other Places Photos of Mexico Belize, Central America Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama Forums Help FREE Newsletter Sign Up Now for the Mexico / Central America for Visitors newsletter! See Online Courses   Search Mexico / Central America for Visitors Map image - Courtesy of CIA Stay up to date! Map image - Courtesy of CIA Email to a friend Print this page Explore More of Guatemala Guatemala Travel Links Guatemala Hotels Guatemala Travel Reservations Recent Discussions Travelling to Central/South America? Multi-Destination Flights Sport Fishing Charters Most Popular Mexican Music La Paz, Mexico Quinceanera Packing List Tijuana, Mexico What's Hot Buying Real Estate in Mexico Puerto Vallarta Cozumel, Mexico Whale Watching Fishing In Mexico Related Topics California for Visitors South America for Visitors Caribbean for Visitors Mexican Cuisine Guatemala, South America From Apply Now , Your Guide to Mexico / Central America for Visitors . FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now! Guatemala is the northernmost country in Central America. It borders on the Caribbean Sea, between Honduras and Belize, and also borders on the Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico. It has a territory of about 42,000 square miles (slightly smaller than Tennessee) and a population of about 13 million people, the majority of which are Mestizo (Amerindian or mixed Amerindian-Spanish). The official language is Spanish, but many indigenous languages are also spoken. The country enjoys a warm climate throughout the year, with an average temperature above 20 degrees C (75 degrees F). Guatemala is a small country, but it has much to offer visitors. It is a natural paradise offering some truly breathtaking scenery of mountains, lakes, volcanoes and flora and fauna. It has a number of very beautiful tropical volcanic beaches on the Pacific Ocean, and some large coral reefs on the Caribbean side. Guatemala ranks very high in biological diversity, and has numerous tropical low rainforests and mountain cloud forests. Guatemala also has some of the largest and most fascinating Mayan ruins found anywhere in Latin America, together with a friendly, Mayan population with their culture and traditions. Below are some popular venues in Guatemala for visitors: Antigua This beautiful 16th-century city was founded in the early 16th century by the Spaniards. Built 1,500 meters above sea-level in the highlands of Guatemala, it was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1773, but many of the original monuments are still preserved as ruins. Antigua has some of the most gorgeous Spanish-style colonial architecture found anywhere. Its cobblestone streets, built in the 16th century lead you past dozens of great restaurants, flowered courtyards, and the preserved ruins of numerous churches, monasteries and other structures. Antigua's natural setting is spectacular, with several majestic volcanoes surrounding the city on all sides. The Colonial Museum, located in a building which at one time housed the third university founded on the American continent, is well worth visiting for its vast collection of colonial art. Tikal Tikal, at one time the largest Mayan city in the world, is now a world famous site of Mayan ruins. The ancient Maya began constructing Tikal around 550 B.C., and for many centuries thereafter the city was an important religious, and political center. Today, the largest number of Mayan ruins in the world are to be found in Tikal. The ruins, extending over six square miles, include temples, pyramids, terraces, palaces, ceremonial platforms, plazas, steam baths, and other stone structures. It is estimated that only about 30% of the ruins have been excavated - the remaining 70% lie buried underground. Visitors can visit the Tikal site by taking a short flight from Guatemala City to the rain forest area where Tikal is located. Lake Atitlan Lake Atitlan, which is of volcanic origin, is located about 90 miles from Guatemala City, in the mountainous province of Solola, in the Guatemalan highlands. Aldous Huxley once called this lake "the most beautiful in the world", and many would agree with this statement. The lake is located about 5,000 feet above sea level, has a depth of over 1,500 feet and covers an area of about 50 square miles. It is the deepest lake in Central America. The water of the lake, usually crystal clear and a vivid blue, changes in color as the light varies. The lake is set against a dramatic backdrop of three spectacular 10,000-foot volcanoes - Toliman, Atitlan and San Pedro. Lake Atitlan is a is a great venue for a wide variety of water sports, including swimming, diving, water skiing, hang gliding and boating. It is also a great place for fishing, as the lake is home to numerous species of edible fresh water fish. Along the shores of Lake Atitlan are a number of small Indian villages where the traditional Maya lifestyle is followed. Guatemala City Guatemala City is home to 25% of the country's population and is the capital of Guatemala. The city lies in a deep valley where the dormant Agua volcano dominates the horizon. With a population of about 3 million, it is the country's commercial, financial, and cultural center. It is a city where colonial architecture, sits side by side with modern skyscrapers and shopping malls. For visitors, there is much to see and do in Guatemala City. Worthwhile is a visit to the Zona Viva , the trendy and very modern center of Zona 10 , where numerous upscale restaurants, bars, and clubs stay open long into the night. Those interested in Spanish colonial architecture should visit Zona 1, the city's historic center. Visitors interested in handicraft will find a wide variety of authentic Guatemalan wood carvings, textiles, leather, ceramics, jewelry and basket work in the downtown Central Market. Also worth seeing is the National Palace and the Ixchell Museum.        Topic Index | Email to a Friend Our Story | Be a Guide | Advertising Info | Work at About | Site Map | Icons | Help User Agreement | Ethics Policy | Patent Info. | Privacy Policy | Kids' Privacy Policy ©2005 About, Inc., A part of the New York Times Company . All rights reserved. Around About New Video iPod - Review POLL: Must-Have Gadgets VIDEO: Portable Gaming VIDEO: Choosing a TV Hugh Hefner's Life What's Hot Buying Real Estate in Mexico Puerto Vallarta Cozumel, Mexico Whale Watching Fishing In Mexico

Air Travel Passenger Rail

TSA | Transportation Security Administration | A MUST read for anyone traveling by air... Home | FAQs | Sitemap | Contact Us Travelers & Consumers Employment Business Opportunities Industry Partners Law & Policy Security & Law Enforcement About TSA Briefing Room Site Search Travelers & Consumers Air Travel Passenger Rail Passenger Vessels Highway Travel Mass Transit TSA Partner Programs Persons with Disabilities & Medical Conditions TSA Customer Service Signup for Homeland Security Alerts Passenger Resources Travel Tips Travelers & Consumers Printable Version Travel Tips A MUST read for anyone traveling by air... Following these tips will help you reduce your wait time at the security checkpoint. Before the Airport Do not pack or bring Prohibited Items to the airport. Read the Permitted and Prohibited Items list. Place valuables such as jewelry, cash and laptop computers in carry-on baggage only. Tape your business card to the bottom of your laptop. Avoid wearing clothing, jewelry and accessories that contain metal. Metal items may set off the alarm on the metal detector. Avoid wearing shoes that contain metal or have thick soles or heels. Many types of footwear will require additional screening even if the metal detector does not alarm. Put all undeveloped film and cameras with film in your carry-on baggage. Checked baggage screening equipment will damage undeveloped film. Declare firearms & ammunition to your airline and place them in your checked baggage. If you wish to lock your baggage, use a TSA-recognized lock . Do not bring lighters or prohibited matches to the airport. Do not pack wrapped gifts and do not bring wrapped gifts to the checkpoint. Wrap on arrival or ship your gifts prior to your departure. TSA may have to unwrap packages for security reasons. At the Airport Each adult traveler needs to keep available his/her airline boarding pass and government-issued photo ID until exiting the security checkpoint. Due to different airport configurations, at many airports you will be required to display these documents more than once. Place the following items IN your carry-on baggage or in a plastic bag prior to entering the screening checkpoint: Mobile phones Keys Loose change Money clips PDA's (personal data assistants) Large amounts of jewelry Metal hair decorations Large belt buckles Take your laptop and video cameras with cassettes OUT of their cases and place them in a bin provided at the checkpoint. Take OFF all outer coats, suit coats, jackets and blazers. Transportation Security Administration Internet Privacy Policy : Terms of Use : Accessibility : FOIA : FirstGov

Europe Travel Planning >

Off Season Travel In Europe - Tips and Tools for Off-Season Vacations  You are here: About > Travel > Europe for Visitors > Europe Travel Planning > Off Season Travel In Europe - Tips and Tools for Off-Season Vacations Travel Go Europe Essentials European Vacation Planning Map Europe Travel 101 - Before you Go European Distances The Best of Europe European Photo Gallery Articles & Resources Europe Travel Planning What to do In Europe Lodging - Hotels and More European Travel Maps Sex and Nudism Travel Photography Transportation Benelux Countries France Germany Austria Switzerland Greece Italy and Malta Travel Info Scandinavian Travel Spain and Portugal United Kingdom and Ireland Buyer's Guide Before You Buy Top Picks Italy Travel Guidebooks Europe Travel Guidebooks German Travel Guidebooks Product Reviews Forums Help FREE Newsletter Sign Up Now for the Europe for Visitors newsletter! See Online Courses   Search Europe for Visitors Off-Season Rain in Vienna - Time to duck into a cafe for some Sacher Torte! James Martin Stay up to date! Off-Season Rain in Vienna - Time to duck into a cafe for some Sacher Torte! James Martin Email to a friend Print this page Off Season Travel Tools Historic European Climate - Cities Hours of Daylight Winter Travel to Europe Off Season Things to Do Chrismas Markets in Europe Oktoberfest Fall Tours and Trips Recent Discussions Need Help Planning a Trip Accomodation in london Mediteranean Feries Most Popular Europe Map - Distances Between Cities in Western Europe Europe's Best Nudist Beaches Europe Picture Galleries Italy Pictures Europe Travel 101 - Before You Travel to Europe for the Firs... What's Hot Power Adapters Noord-Holland - Delights of North Holland Travel Visiting Pompeii Italy Guidebooks Naples - Getting There Related Topics France for Visitors Greece for Visitors United Kingdom / Ireland for Visitors Eastern Europe for Visitors Italy for Visitors Off Season Travel In Europe - Tips and Tools for Off-Season Vacations From James Martin , Your Guide to Europe for Visitors . FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now! Travel Cheap - Enjoy Europe's Culture - Go in the Off-Season You'll hear seasoned travelers extolling the virtues of September-May off-season travel so often you probably know them by heart: fewer tourists, greater cultural options and mingling opportunities with the locals, more relaxed atmosphere, cheaper airfares and hotel rates, and the lack of that summer swelter. But there's a reason folks travel in high season in Europe: it seldom rains, there's maximum daylight, it's easy packing light, and there are abundant tourist resources. But off-season travel still aces out high-season travel in my book, because all those problems with off-season travel can be overcome with a few tricks seasoned travelers call upon to make their vacations meaningful and fun. Read on. Places to Go - Choosing an Off-Season Destination Seasoned travelers base their destinations on seasonal considerations. For example, I don't particularly fancy eating the traditional tourist favorites of Germany, Switzerland or Austria in summer; the food is too heavy for the heat. But give me a crisp fall day to walk the black forest or cruise the Rhine, then let me return to my hotel, take a hot bath, and go downstairs to a medieval wood-beamed room with roaring fire and I'll happily eat mounds of sausages and spaetzle while drinking lustily from a flask of homemade reisling. For Mediterranean countries, fall starts the rainy season. Over the ages, many cities have found ways to deal with the inconvenience of a daylight rain. The Italian city of Bologna features a huge network of arcaded streets. You can walk from one side of town to the other without getting wet. Medieval Europe featured houses with overhangs, it's one of the ways you can tell the older parts of a city. Old towns also offer seductive cafes. Pop in and nurse a coffee, soda, or warming snifter of brandy while waiting for the rain to taper off. Or use your railpass to take a scenic train ride . Hours of Sunlight - Off-Season's "Shorter" Days Yep, the off-season in Europe is marked by fewer hours of sunlight. This doesn't bother me at all, because I find moonlight strolls more seductive than daylight ones. If you shudder at the thought of walking "downtown" in a city after dark, consider that European city centers are quite a bit safer than most American ones at these hours, because European culture favors convivial meetings in public places along with moderate alcohol consumption. Filling the streets with good, honest people is probably the best defense against street crime there ever was. But how can you figure out how much daylight there'll be? Here's a handy site, The Sun and Moon Ephemerides . Pick your destination and the date, and the tool will return the hours of daylight to expect. Climate - What's the Off-Season Like? Here is a directory of historic climate for Europe's major cities . Packing Tips for the Off-Season in Europe Packing light is easy to accomplish when your daily wear is shorts and a shirt. Things get tricky when the weather cools. The key is layering. Everything in my suitcase goes with everything else. I wear a light undershirt, long sleeved shirt, sweater if it's going to be cold, light windbreaker/rain jacket for the rainy days. I pack two fashionable sweaters of varying warmth instead of lugging around a coat. On the beautiful days I don't end up with a coat slung over my arm that's too big for my suitcase. When it rains I simply get out my rain jacket. I can also wear a sweater into a fancy restaurant and look pretty presentable. (Europeans tend to dress more formally, especially in the off-season. You might consider throwing a tie or scarf into your suitcase.) But sweaters are big and bulky. True, but there's a fix. A sweater keeps you warm by trapping air between thin fibers, much like house insulation. Take the air out and sweaters compress to a fraction of their size. If you're stuck in the 50's, you have dad sit on your suitcase while you latch it. Today you can purchase clothes compressor bags. Eagle Creek makes some I use and recommend ( review ) ( check prices ). You'll find that you can squeeze 40-50 percent of bulk out of a sweater with these bags. The downside is that sweaters don't work as efficiently in the wind, and you may need that rain jacket as a windbreak on blustery days. The Bottom Line - What's good about Off-Season Travel in Europe Europe takes advantage of the cultural activities that enjoy a winter season. Sure, in summer you can hear short chamber music in Vienna structured for a tourist's short attention span, but you'll have to wait until the real symphony and opera season to hear the best European orchestras playing serious music for hours on end. And who cares if it's raining outside when you intend to spend your day at the Louvre? Bottom line: if you like meeting folks on their own turf, have a hankering for high culture, or just like to lounge around a roaring fire listening to a foreign language and dreaming of learning it--off-season travel is something you should try.        Topic Index | Email to a Friend Our Story | Be a Guide | Advertising Info | Work at About | Site Map | Icons | Help User Agreement | Ethics Policy | Patent Info. | Privacy Policy | Kids' Privacy Policy ©2005 About, Inc., A part of the New York Times Company . All rights reserved. Around About New Video iPod - Review POLL: Must-Have Gadgets VIDEO: Portable Gaming VIDEO: Choosing a TV Hugh Hefner's Life What's Hot Power Adapters Noord-Holland - Delights of North Holland Travel Visiting Pompeii Italy Guidebooks Naples - Getting There