Bulgaria: Hiring A Car
April 30, 2008
Bulgaria: Hiring A Car
by: Michael Coy
The following guide to car rental in Bulgaria offers information on six large rental firms. It’s worth bearing in mind that:
• Bulgarian provision for visitors is growing rapidly, and there are many local car hire firms
• The data included here refers to winter 2005-6, and seasonal variations are inevitable
• Though Bulgaria uses the cyrillic alphabet (it’s like Russian lettering), street signs in the major cities are also printed in Roman letters (ie, using our alphabet)
This guide gives a brief overview of the big international hire franchises, and introduces one or two of the smaller operators. It will be a matter of personal choice for you: staying with the big boys is probably safer and more reliable - you know what you’re getting. On the other hand, the smaller outfits are generally cheaper, and can provide many more service points - certainly inland.
WHERE TO PICK UP YOUR HIRE CAR
1. Airports
Bulgaria has three sizeable international airports, SOFIA, the capital city, VARNA and BOURGAS, which both serve the Black Sea Coast. All three are obvious and convenient pick-up points. Hertz and Europcar have rental desks at all three airports, Avis does not offer Bourgas. Moto Roads and Sixt have pick up/drop off facilities at Sofia and Bourgas.
How to Avoid the Going Home Gloom
April 29, 2008
How to Avoid the Going Home Gloom
by: Zoe Dare Hall
When you live in a holiday resort like Marbella, you get used to watching an endless stream of holidaymakers with the last-day blues, solemnly wheeling their suitcases past the swimming pool, taking in a last view of the sea, before embarking on that dreaded journey to the airport.
“I hate this moment,” sighs Mary Foster from Bristol as she hauls her bags out of her seaview apartment on Marbella’s Golden Mile. “It’s always such a horrible feeling having to leave all of this,” she says, wistfully casting an eye across the palm trees.
Mary only has six weeks to go though before she comes back again. Apart from other obvious benefits such as being able to escape when the black skies of August at home look disturbingly like winter, owning a bolthole in Spain is a great way to avoid that awful final-day-of-holiday feeling that you’ll never return.
Along with some 600,000 British buyers so far, with a further half a million predicted to do so in the next five years - Mary has bought a holiday home in Spain which she visits several times a year, sometimes for as long as six weeks each time, and with different combinations of friends, offspring, grandchildren or on her own.
How Costa Blanca is Putting the Spa in Spain
April 29, 2008
How Costa Blanca is Putting the Spa in Spain
by: Zoe Dare Hall
Bea Geenen can recommend a great way to start the day. It involves covering herself - and her husband, if he’s handy - in mud, then steam-blasting it off. A close second is wrapping herself in algae and sweating it out beneath a hot blanket. Then she heads off to work.
“It’s a fantastic way to get going in the morning or to relax on your day off. It’s great for couples too,” says Bea, a house doctor (she advises people on how to spruce up their property to sell it) who lives in Alfas del Pi near Benidorm.
Bea is a spa junkie. It’s an addiction she feeds at least once a month, or whenever a new spa emerges on the coast. And she’s not alone as the Costa Blanca is fast developing a reputation for being the spa capital of Spain - the region that puts the spa in Spain.
Bulgaria - Some Interesting Statistics
April 28, 2008
Bulgaria - Some Interesting Statistics
by: Michael Coy
111
The number of thousands of square kilometres of Bulgarian territory (making it half the size of the UK)
9
Thousand feet high - that’s Mount Musala, the highest point in the country (just under 3 thousand metres, as lofty as all but the biggest Alps, and dwarfing Britain’s Ben Nevis (1,340 m).
nine also represents the number of cities in Bulgaria with a population greater than 100,000 (Sofia, the capital, has a little over a million residents).
40
The percentage of Bulgaria under the plough: it is very much a farming nation (compare Britain’s 23%)
7.5
Million people - that’s Bulgaria’s population: looking at it another way, Bulgaria has 68 people per square kilometre, compared with Britain’s 250 - and the Bulgarian population is falling!
38
The number of British pence which equal one Bulgarian lev (so there are just under three leva to the pound)
It is also the percentage of Bulgaria’s land which is covered in forest
37
Thousands of kilometres of motorway, the same amount in both Britain and Bulgaria - and Bulgaria, remember, is half the size!
Vacation in Liverpool
April 27, 2008
Vacation in Liverpool
by: Maria Williams
Liverpool
Introduction
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in the North West of England. Liverpool is one of England’s core cities, situated along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, with the city centre located about 5 miles inland from the Irish Sea. Liverpool has a varied topography being built across a ridge of hills rising up to a height of around 70 metres above sea-level at Everton Hill.
History
In 1190 the place was known as ‘Liuerpul’, meaning a pool or creek with muddy water. Other origins of the name have been suggested, including ‘elverpool’, a reference to the large number of eels in the Mersey. The origins of the city date back from August 1207 when patent letters were issued by King John advertising the establishment of a the new borough of Liverpool, and inviting settlers to come and take up holdings. In the 18th century, as trade from the West Indies grew on top of that from Ireland and Europe, Liverpool began to grow.
Top Travel Reservation Tips For A Stress-Free Trip!
April 26, 2008
Top Travel Reservation Tips For A Stress-Free Trip!
by: Susan Wong
Anyone who wants to enjoy a stress-free trip has to start with the basic concern of any traveler - how to effectively handle travel reservations. Below are a number of advice that may help:
- Decide on a travel plan - specific destination, how many days, what activities, routes, and other details. The attention given to this first step will ensure smooth sailing in making the necessary travel arrangements.
- If the destination is a foreign country, make sure all information that would be needed in making reservations are on hand.
How about booking your airline tickets? Below are some airline reservation tips you can use:
- If notification of your reservation is done by e-mail, make sure that the ticket price quoted is the same. Sometimes, some airlines claim the airfare booked earlier is no long available.
- If booking on online, use a reservation site where ticket prices for all airlines are shown so a comparison can be readily seen.
- If booking for more than one person, check also the ticket price for both a single passenger and multiple passengers. Some airlines quote different prices.
World Travel - Hints on How to Do It
April 25, 2008
World Travel - Hints on How to Do It
by: Andrew Smith
If you have set your mind on traveling around the world, you might run into the difficult task of having to make a hard choice: where do you want to go? The multitude of destinations and travel options is great, but it is also something that you might deal with for days or even weeks before you make a decision.
The best thing to do is to create a top ten list of the places that you always wanted to visit. The list may include different countries or even cities in the same country. No matter what you will place as number one in your list you shouldn’t worry about getting there, as the travel industry is huge today and able to send you to your destination. Try to find out as much as possible about the most attractive destinations. Travel literature offers a wide variety of sources for good information. You can either go at a local bookstore or search online for facts about your destination(s).
How To Keep Yourself Healthy While Traveling
April 24, 2008
How To Keep Yourself Healthy While Traveling
by: Susan Wong
Have you ever planned a trip weeks or maybe months in advance, but when the time comes to have fun, you get sick during the journey and have to spend your time alone in the hotel room? Of course, this is something that no one wants to experience. In this article, I will share with you a few tips for keeping yourself healthy at all times during your travels to prevent this unfortunate scenario from happening!
First, by doing some biking, aerobics or long walks, one is able to condition the muscles for those long tours. By obtaining information on the weather or climate so as to pack the right clothes for the trip and the condition of the drinking water are just some examples one can also work on. By purchasing water purification tablets before going to a place with suspect water sources, one is able to avoid getting any sickness from the water.
If one is taking medication, it is best to pack sufficient stock for the trip and must also check if the medication one is carrying is allowed in the place where one is going to avoid any problems with customs.
Vacation in Leeds
April 24, 2008
Vacation in Leeds
by: Maria Williams
Leeds
Introduction
Leeds is a city in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire in the north of England. The River Aire runs through the city. In 1974 the former county borough of Leeds was merged with the towns of Wetherby, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, and other surrounding areas to form a metropolitan borough - the city status of the county borough being conferred on the new metropolitan borough.
History
Leeds was an agricultural market town in the middle ages, and received its first charter in 1207. In the Tudor period Leeds was mainly a merchant town manufacturing woollen cloths and trading with Europe via the Humber estuary. At one point nearly half of England’s total export passed through Leeds. The introduction of the Leeds and Leeds Canal in 1816 and the railway in 1848 catalysed the city’s industrial growth.
Places of interest
Despite its longtime reputation as a grimy northern industrial city, Leeds will surprise anyone with the beauty and diversity of its City Centre. Some places to visit except the museums and art galleries:
* Quarry Hill Cultural Quarter
* Millennium Square
A Travelers Guide To Currency Exchange
April 23, 2008
A Travelers Guide To Currency Exchange
by: Stephen Kreutzer
Exchanging currency is something frequent travelers must become familiar with. There are many different currencies around the world. Finding out how to exchange currency and where to do it can help travelers get the most out of their money.
The following outlines the major places that will exchange money for travelers. Also indicated are any problems or concerns about exchanging currency using the methods.
1. Airports. Airports will exchange currency for travelers at desks they have set up for this purpose. They usually offer exchange rates that are the worst available. They charge high fees which can sometimes be as high as 20% of the exchange amount. This type of exchange is most convenient for the time pressured traveler. It is conveniently located at the airport and it is easy to do a transaction.
2. Banks. Local banks are happy to exchange currency. They often offer the best rates and do not charge fees that are too high. Banks tend to use exchange rates based on the actual traded values. Banks, however, are limited in hours of operation and may be unable to exchange certain currency or large amounts.
