France Travel

France Travel Pictures | France Travel Photos France Travel resources, links and information for France. Click on the thumbnails to read stories and see travel pictures. Book your hotel Book a hotel in France Book a hostel Book Youth hostels in France Fly your way! Book your flight to France online - saving 40% or more! Other countries: Andorra Austria Bulgaria Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland Germany Greece Hungary Italy Liechtenstein Lithuania Malta Monaco Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Spain Sweden Switzerland The Netherlands Turkey United Kingdom Vatican City Country of joie-de-vivre, of a very appealing and metropolitan capital versus a laid-back countryside. Stories and pictures: Paris Père Lachaise Cemetery Musée d'Orsay Eze Villefranche sur Mer Useful travel links: Book your hotel in France Weather Lonely Planet Visit Paris Paris VidBook Guide Travelogues for France Currency exchange Many more links on France ! Suggest a site Go directly to: Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania South America Join our mailinglist: If you want to be updated about developments at Around the World in 80 Clicks, subscribe! Your E-mail address: Travel Forum Join others in discussions on Europe Also on this site: read and sign the guestbook send us your suggestions ! send this site to a friend read about the background of this site publications on this site meet new friends for travel, dating or just fun! Around the World in 80 Clicks All rights reserved - www.traveladventures.org - 1999-2005 Share your comments

Mexico Travel Guide, climate:

Mexico Travel Guide - Information and Advice Mexico Travel Guide Information and Advice Mexico Pictures | Mexico Map | Mexico Beaches Specialists in the best adventure travel that Central America has to offer, Trek America have been successfully organising memorable camping, lodging and walking tours for 31 years. Mexican Tours - Ruta de Maya | Yucatan Adventure | Mexican Adventure | Canyons and Pyramids | Mexican Highlights Mexico Travel Guide, climate: Best: Nov-April. Worst: June-Oct [wet and hot]; June also has US College kid overload. Length of stay: Min. worthwhile stay, not incl. flights : 6 days , e.g. Cancun airport - Merida, Playa del Carmen & Chichen Itza. Recommended: 2 weeks, or much, much longer. Mexico's main Festivals: Jan, Chiapa de Corzo [Chiapas] Fiesta de Enero. Bizarre dances, costumes, masks, parades, fireworks. Feb/March.Veracruz [Gulf Coast] Carnival . Huge, wild party time. Dance. music, parades blahblah.. March, Chichen Itza [Yucatan] see the Kukulcan snake god appear, plus varied entertainments. Couple of days before & after too. Easter Week/Semana Santa. [nationwide but esp. Chiapas state] Processions, costumes, fireworks, music, dance and some weird rituals] Mid April - early May , Aguascalientes [the North] Feria de San Marcos. Large and long established celebration of Mexican music and machismo, with rodeos, bull fights, folk dancing, parades, mariachi and mucho more. May, Puebla [just north of Mexico City] Cinco de Mayo is celebrated with the usual music, dance, parades and mock battles in the 'living museum' of Puebla. Oct - Nov, Days of the Dead. Mainly in the states of Michoacan [ esp. Patzcuaro] and Oaxaca. See Dias de los Muertos. For precise dates, more suggestions and information see: Exotic Festivals Activities Guide: Hiking, Biking & Horse Riding: All over the country but especially well developed in Baja California and Copper Canyon [Barranca del Cobre]. White Water Rafting: Veracruz, Chiapas, Oaxaca and Morelos states. Snorkelling, diving & swimming with dolphins: Off 'Maya Riviera', esp. Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Playa del Carmen. Also the Pacific coast between Peurto Vallarta and Acapulco. Surfing: All down the Pacific Coast, esp. around Baja California [Ensenada], and Mazatlan, Puerto Escondido. Wind Surfing: Puerto Vallarta, Los Barriles, Manzanillo. Whale, dolphin & seal watching: off Baja California and Puerto Vallarta. Grey whales are especially visible in February. Sea Turtle watching: around Puerto Vallarta and Zihuatanejo. 'EcoParks' [like Xcaret] will give you and the kids Disneyfied wildlife and environment experiences. Mexico travel star rating: Monuments ***** Beaches ***** Shopping and souvenirs **** Walkability **** Value for money **** Hotel prices and value **** Museums **** Food quality and variety *** Nightlife and clubbing *** Health problems *** Architecture *** Landscape *** Wildlife **** Safety ** Local people ** Butterflies: Millions of monarch butterflies migrate to the high forests around Michoacan in winter. Easiest to view by hiking up from El Rosario village. November - Feb. Why Travel to Mexico? Mexico is a multifaceted tourist paradise, with landscapes of every description, from wild deserts to monstrous mountains, superb beaches ranging from action-packed sand to stretches devoid of packaged life forms, chart-topping ancient Maya sites, wild and colourful festivals, wild and colourful wildlife, terrific weather if you get your timing right, excellent public transport systems, excellent undersea life on one coast and great surfing on the other, good food and booze, pleasant colonial towns, and all at a very reasonable price. Downside: - It's perhaps not quite as colourful as the myth of Mexico might suggest. It's a big country so some towns and landscapes can be dull. - Banditry and thievery are not a myth. - Handicraft quality has gone down the tubes. - Worst of all many Mexicans are resolutely uncommunicative [unless you've got $ in your hand] and taxi drivers in particular are a disgrace. However! Good handicrafts and people seem to have travelled out to the coastal resorts...try Mexico City and find out why! Where to travel in Mexico: *** Chichen Itza. A sensational Maya pyramid and many other strange and interesting structures in large expanse of greenery. Stay 2 nights nearby and do it properly. ***Oaxaca, a relaxed, pretty town with a lovely main square and the ancient Zapotec site of Monte Alban nearby. A great location for Dia de los Muertos festivities. **Merida , another pleasant colonial town, with agreeable daily free concerts and dance, good restaurants. A couple of days? Not too far from Uxmal. ***Uxmal, a good warmup for Chichen Itza: a pleasing and unusually rounded pyramid with other varied Maya buildings. A day trip. ***Palenque , a really wild Maya place; terrific but difficult to get to. Small plane, [new train line?] or looong bus travel. **Playa del Carmen [near Cancun] for a cool, casual beach scene and excellent bars/restaurants/shops. Also the Pacific Coast, from **Puerto Vallarta to **Puerto Escondido has great beaches and facilities. *Cancun for 5 star beaches with little culture. **Acapulco , a lively 20 mile bay of beaches, bars and hotels that has entertained Elvis, Sinatra and Kerouac but still has space for budget travellers. A bit brash and busy, but quiet spots survive, as do most of the famous [45m/148ft] cliff divers at La Quebrada. **Mexico City. Visit excellent museums, see superb murals at the Palacio Nacional, and frolic in the Zocalo. Also day trips out to : The grand Teotihuacan pyramids, and the 'living colonial museum' of Puebla. **Barranca [Canyon] del Cobre. A stunning 6 hour train ride from Los Mochis on the Pacific coast up the mountains to Divisadero or Creel drops you on the edge of Mexico's Copper Canyon. Good hiking but trails are not well marked. Travel Safety: Mexico City and some large towns endure fairly high levels of crime, most of it petty, but armed robbery and even rape is not unknown. As usual take special care in busy places like bus and metro stations, when using ATMs and at night. Green taxis are better avoided if possible as they have been implicated in serious assaults. See Bugbog Safety pages. Mexico Tours More tour operators offering travel around Mexico can be found in our listings here: Mexico Tours Caribbean Map Caribbean Beaches For more information on Mexico Travel try these links: National Tourist Offices Online Travel Guides Cheap Airline Tickets UK Cheap Airline Tickets US Travel Insurance UK Tour Operators Embassies Currency Climate Language Mexico Travel Links Electricity: 127v[!], 2 flat pins Health Guide: Hygiene is unexpectedly good in Mexico but, nevertheless, ensure your vaccinations are to the max and up-to-date. Diseases you should be concerned about, at least, are T yphoid [get a jab], Hepatitis A and B [get a jab], Hepatitis B, C,D [take care what you eat, drink, or who you share fluids with, blood included], and dengue fever and malaria , both acquired from mosquitoes . If you plan to travel in Mexico you may be interested in some nearby countries too: Costa Rica Travel Guide Cuba Travel Guide Guatemala Travel Guide Ecuador Travel Guide Peru 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

Japan Travel International Travel

Travel in Japan Japan Job Ads EFL/ESL & Teaching Teacher Intro Services IT & Technology General Employment Bilingual Model, Act, Entertain Piece Work/At Home Candidate Ads EFL/ESL & Teaching IT & Technology General Employment Bilingual Model, Act, Entertain Japan Classified Ads Friends & Interests Language Exchange Lessons Offered Lessons Wanted Parties Housing Events Wanted Help Business Opportunity For Sale Ads Electronics Cameras Computers Software Telephones Training/Exercise Furniture Appliances Automobiles Motorcycles Bicycles Hobby/Collectors Outdoors Clothes Sayonara Sales Books/Tapes Music Art Adult Items Travel Real Estate Health Tickets Kids Pets All Other Items Services Offered Ads Web Design Web Hosting/ISP IT/Computers Telephone Design Tax Sports Lessons Help/Security Immigration/Visa Counseling Printing Photography Dating Hair & Beauty Moving Translation Writing Education Homestays Housing Automotive Health Japan Travel International Travel Kids Int'l Schools Cleaning Placement Security Entertainment Escort All Other Services Personal Ads Women Seeking Men Men Seeking Women Women Seek. Women Men Seeking Men Secret Romance Sensual Clubs & Organizations Advocacy/Environment Alumni EFL/ESL Family & Children Health Human Rights Int'l Associations Leisure & Interests Lesbian & Gay Music Political Professional Outdoors Socializing/Friendship Sports Technology Toastmasters Other Speaking Clubs Religious Volunteer/Charity Women @ Travel in Japan Your PTA (Personal Travel Assistant) in Japan: Bilingual personal assistant to clients requiring assistance with business trips to Japan - K?COo T|[g?sGO[NeBuAVX^g . For more information, visit:http://ptajapan.com(p osted 5/27/05) Kyoto Personal Guided Walk in Kyoto. Usually each tour will take around 2 hours. More for www.toshi-otsu.com (posted 3/9/05) Submit classified ads by e-mail to ads<atjobsinjapan.com ( how to post ). *** PLEASE NOTE EMAIL ADDRESS LISTING STYLE *** For the purpose of cutting down on junk mail jobsinjapan.com will list all email addresses with the @ mark replaced by either [ ], { }, or ( ) with some arbitrary characters/numbers inside, e.g. [*-], [-7], {6$}, {&!}, (#2), (#*), etc. Please replace brackets and contents with an @ mark when replying to mail . @ @ Japan & Other Links Global Links Japan Links ESL / EFL Links Global Job Links Japan Job Links Eng. School Links

European Vacation By Ray

10 Money-Saving Tips for Your European Vacation Web TransitionsAbroad.com Home Work Study Travel Living As seen in Transitions Abroad Magazine March/April 2001 Related Topics Back Door Travel with Rick Steves Budget Travel Related Articles Europe’s Online Travel Deals Cheap Travel in Europe Ricks Steves' Thrifty Fifty: How to Make Your Dollars and Sense Carry You Further in Europe Ricks Steves' Dirty Thirty: More Tips on How to Make Your Dollars, Euros, and Pounds Stretch 10 Money-Saving Tips for Your European Vacation By Ray Bangs Traveling cheaply is not just about saving a few francs, it is really about getting a better value for your money. Eat like the locals and you will save big bucks. Food and drink costs add up. For breakfast, a cup of coffee, a roll, assorted cold cuts, and a piece of fruit from the local market can be very reasonable. For lunch, try a picnic. Even in winter you may find Europeans unpacking a sandwich in the park. Choose the fixed menu and the house wine. Restaurants usually offer two or three choices that highlight some of the house specialties. Spend the night on a train. Your long-haul transportation and accommodations are taken both care of and you gain one more day for exploration. Bring a meal and snacks with you, since the dining car prices are often outrageous. Water is essential and will help you avoid that hangover effect if you do not sleep well. If you decide against the sleeper-car, an inflatable neck-pillow is important. Buy the postcard. Instead of snapshots of the Eiffel Tower take pictures of your friends and the people you meet. Keeping the rolls of film in a Ziploc bag will allow you to safely transport them back to the U.S. where developing costs are much less. Digital cameras are another eco- and wallet-friendly option, as long as you have some means of recharging the battery. Send an email instead. At a dollar each, the cost of mailing postcards can add up. Try to get everyone’s email address before you go, then at every city send a group email from an Internet café. If you are using a digital camera, you could even send that photo of you trying to distract the Buckingham Palace guards. It’s nice to receive emails from the people who write back to you as you travel. Try to speak the language and meet the locals. Everything can cost more than it should when you are unfamiliar with the currency, the customs, and the language. Following the advice of locals beats following the guidebooks. Use your credit card and get cash at ATMs. You will get a much better exchange rate and not have to pay conversion fees. Buy prepaid phone cards. In Europe these are available at any market or kiosk. Plan your souvenir budget. The little sew-on patches, stickers, or postcards are inexpensive mementos. If you simply must have a replica of Julius Caesar’s bust, remember that the further away from the Coliseum you go, the cheaper it will be. Get the discounted price. A student ID card can help you get the best prices on everything from museums to hotels. Joining a hostel association is worth the small investment. In the larger cities, an inexpensive public transportation ticket will allow you to enjoy the tour at your own pace. RAY BANGS lived for two years in Europe before moving to Tempe, AZ. He is planning a move back to Europe. Contact him at RCBangs@hotmail.com . Web TransitionsAbroad.com Home Work Study Travel Living Disclaimer ©Transitions Abroad