General Travel Advice group posting on GLOBOsapiens

Preparing to go - where?

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davidx Premium account Joined: Dec 04 Points: 34719 Posts: 440 Posted: 2006-04-05 16:42:00    I shall try to put up a series of threads about different aspects of preparing for a holiday in the hope that others will contribute their ideas. This may seem too obvious – but not all every member is a seasoned traveller and money/dates/health/temperature tolerance all place limits on our freedom to choose. ClLIMATE AND DATES These go together. Some destinations are particularly suitable to a winter temperature for those, like me, who don’t like great heat. [Sicily and Andalucía are obvious European examples.] Some temperatures may not be what you expect [e.g. Peru] so it’s worth doing some research.. Rain may actually appeal as a relief from heat [tropical Africa] but beware! Game viewing may be more difficult in the wet season. LIMITED HOLIDAY TIME Retirement has its [few] advantages but in general if you have the time, you don’t have the money and vice versa. In my view you need at least three weeks available for a really long-haul destination – and you may need time before going to work to recover from the flight! Otherwise I guarantee there are good destinations nearer for you to see. If you can choose your time as you wish, your chance of cheap travel soars so be prepared to spend a lot of time looking at what’s available cheap. HEALTH Don’t get depressed about what you can’t do – rejoice at what you can. Obviously different things limit people with different conditions. I can’t go far uphill steeply – so the existence of high level buses and funiculars is an important factor. For some sand is a major danger. You may not be able to use some types of anti-malarial preparations or travel injections. If you need to get health advice, don’t leave it too late. Insurance will be covered later. --- Grieve not for that which you cannot do but rejoice in that which you can. Reply    Reply with quote    Contact davidx   marianne Premium account Joined: Sep 03 Points: 20248 Posts: 349 Posted: 2006-04-06 11:11:00    David, Preparation is the number one. Many European thinks that when it is summer in Europe it is summer everywhere else in the world. Travel Agencies and holiday advertisements are not very helpful as they rarely mention the weather. Asia has a tropical climate, but they don't tell that very often in European summers it is monsoon time and the Caribbean is the perfect place to get sun and good weather all year round. Limited holiday time is something we all struggle with (or maybe no longer now). What you say is true: when you have time, you have no money, when you have money, you have no time. If we have a long haul flight I like to arrive in the evening so that I can go to bed straight away to overcome the time difference. If this is not possible, I will try to adapt to the local time, and don't sleep during my first day. Instead I go to bed very early, sometimes 7 or 8 and have a long sleep. Another thing that helps for me is that I convince myself that jet lag doesn't exist. It is exactly the same as staying up until the small hours. I absolutely agree with David on his views of health: do what you can, don't resent things you can't do (any longer). Marianne --- “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” Robert Louis Stevenson Reply    Reply with quote    Contact marianne