Archive for Practical advices

31 January, 2007 | No comments

World’s best diving-centers

Galapagos Islands
Galapagos Islands are very special islands. Here you will be impressed with the rocks from basalt and volcanic granite, planted with huge bushes of a black coral.  You can swim for a while with Galapagos penguins, and can be even see the rare starfish which have opened not so long ago. However immersing on Galapagos Islands - is not the entertainment for the beginners. You are obliged perfectly to be guided, able to define speed of current and to know one million different cunnings. One of the most interesting places for immersing on Galapagos Islands are the Darwin and Wolf islands, unsurpassed on beauty and quantity of sea inhabitants. Here sharks gather in flights, sometimes admitting skin-divers on a half-a meter distance.
Sipadan
The name of island Sipadan is considered with legends. Sipadan is located near to the northeast coast Borneo in Sulawesi Sea. Its area is only 12 hectares and it is possible bypassing it for half an hour. At first sight it looks like any other Malaysian islands: dense tropical vegetation, a ring of snow-white beaches. Sipadan is the extinct underwater volcano which has acquired with corals. It is well-known among divers first of all for the vertical reef wall leaving downwards almost on 700 meters that is in eight meters from local coast. Huge flights of barracudas and the fishes-parrots float there paying absolutely no attention to divers. Any fishing is absolutely forbidden here, so you may see many kinds of the exotic fish.
Malta
There is a set of diving-centers on Malta, besides all of them are well-known and solid. The most popular among divers are the islands Gozo and Comino. Small islands with coastal rocks from light yellow limestone involve with a unique structure: grottoes, caves, breaks… On a card where the best places for immersing are specified, coast Gozo is marked with badges: no matter where you dive, it will be interesting everywhere. The especial place included in all guidebooks - the Azure window, a huge stone arch, which is a symbol of the country. We advice you to dive into the Blue Hole; it is a well of 18 meters depth. You long go down downwards, and at last you appear as if at the bottom of the bank: on the one hand from you there is a huge grotto, with another hand - a stone arch, and above your head - a small sparkling circle where the sunrays are playing.
Maldives
Here there are huge centers, some of which serve even several islands at once. Their main priority is safety. On Maldives there are very strict rules of diving operate, and to the beginning diver, for example, it will be allowed to dive only on 20 meters depth. We advice you to stay at a luxurious hotel Kurumba Village, where the scuba diving school («Eurodivers») functions. All local entertainments are anyhow connected with the sea. Night immersing enjoys a special popularity. When the sun comes, the reef becomes unrecognizable. Familiar fishes change colors, starfishes, curtailed in ballin the afternoon, are coming out, as flowers.
Egypt
At northeast coast of Egypt there are such large resorts of the Red Sea as Hurgada and Sharm El Sheikh,  where the quantity of instructors of a scuba diving per capita is, apparently, the biggest in the world. Hurgada is an optimum place for the first output in the sea. Here there are more than forty places for immersing and more than hundred diving-centers. The only problem is an enormously high number of divers due to the cheap resorts and warm sea.

30 January, 2007 | No comments

1001 way to get to the Great Britain (Part 2)

What does ISIC card offer?
On the UNESCO’s initiative in 1949 the International confederation of student’s tourism ISTC (International Student Travel Confederation), promoting development of student’s tourism, educational and cultural exchanges, has been established. 
The Association of owners of international student’s certificate ISIC (International Student Identify Card) is one of the five associations entering in ISTC. ISIC is a unique official international student’s identification card which simultaneously is the discount card, giving from above 17 thousand of discounts and privileges worldwide (from 5 % up to 100 %). The discounts extend literally on everything: on accommodation in hotels and, on all kinds of transportations and a municipal transportation, on visiting of museums, theatres, cinemas, exhibitions, on telephone conversations and many other things. Pupils can get this card practically at any educational establishments. Only the student’s or student’s ticket (or the information from an educational institution) and a photo 3×4 is necessary for its registration. The cost of the card is established by the International confederation of student’s tourism and makes $7. 
What is an ITIC card?
Since 1984 the International Teacher Identity Card, similar to the student’s card, is issued by the Confederation ISTC. The cost of the card is $7. The list of privileges for teachers is a little bit less, than for students. ITIC card allows saving essentially on traveling worldwide. For registration of the card you should present the document (reference) confirming, that you are the teacher of the educational institution, and a photo 3Х4. 
How to reduce the price of the air ticket
Plan a flight in advance. The majority of reduced rates work on condition that the passenger buys the ticket 2 or 3 weeks prior to a trip.
Define the date and terms of a trip. Often the discounts for tickets operate during certain time (at the beginning of month, at the end of a season, at a minimum or a maximum of stay). It is possible to save much, having planned a trip according to these positions.
Plan an easy route. The cost of the ticket depends on the range of distance. If your route passes through 2-3 cities, do not do a “hook”. Ask the operator. Perhaps, just for you the most significant discounts and the most successful special offers are also stipulated.

29 January, 2007 | No comments

1001 way to get to the Great Britain

The Great Britain is an island. Therefore it is more convenient, and quirkier to get there by air. Nevertheless there are fans that prefer to travel by train, by bus and the ferry. However, both in air, and on the ground, and on water, people equally are not away to save.
By air
It is possible to save, flying to England by the plane, in several ways. Vacation tour for pupils (language training or just a rest). Not only parents, but also the tourist and educational companies plan school trips for the period of vacations. Travel companies reserve special blocks of tickets in airlines-partners in advance. Therefore tour agencies always have reserved places in the planes. Working with children, tour agencies more often form a group, and the group tariff is cheaper than the individual one.
If to your child is less than 12 years old, his ticket would cost approximately twice cheaper than it would cost to an adult.
Significant discounts (usually about 30 %) are given under the student’s tariff (if you have an ISIC card). These cards entitle to the discount not only at flight, but also in the further (at visiting of the theatres, museums, restaurants, clubs, etc.). The round-trip ticket would cost not more than $400 with the ISIC.
If you already out of the tender age and you are a hopelessly adult person, you also have equal rights to discounts. The preferential adult tariff exists on the ticket with rigidly fixed dates of the departure and the arrival. That is why it is necessary to redeem your tickets no less than a week prior to the departure.
One more a little bit non-standard way to save on tickets is cooperation with tourist agency. At first sight, the trip manages more expensive, in fact it is necessary to pay for the services of the agency. And basically, you can, having spent it is a lot of hours on calling to the airlines and on visiting of their sites in the Internet (to which too should pay for using), independently to find out, what tariff is the cheapest and the most favorable to you. The result is not guaranteed, as the tariff for private persons frequently strongly differs from the tariff stipulated for tourist agencies. Thus sometimes at intermediary of tour agency cost of the air ticket  transfer from the airport up to city centre or up to a hotel is included. The ticket reserved by tour agency, as a rule, is guaranteed. You are also likely not getting the ticket for the necessary flight as the majority of the places are already reserved.
One more, but not the new, way to save your money are charter flights. The only significant inconvenience at saving, almost in 2 times, at depreciation of the ticket’s price is the impossibility to refuse from it and a precisely fixed date of the departure. 
The ferry
Crossing La-Manche by the ferry, you don’t really save much money. But before this you will spend a lot of time and forces. It is necessary to go by the bus through Poland, Germany or France and that would take approximately three days, including tiresome night crossings. To travel across the Europe the additional transit visa (and it is not so easy to receive the Schengen visa) is required.
If you cross the Europe by train the ticket for the ferry can be bought, the truth, already with the discount up to 50 %. 
The underground railway
High-speed trains Eurostar and Le Shuttle go in both parties of the Eurotunnel, laid on five-ten-meter depth near the La-Manche.  It is possible to reach for 3 hours from London to Paris or to Bruxelles. Everyday about thirty trains ply between the countries. All tickets for these trains are strictly differentiated. The price depends on several factors: a departure time, a class, etc. The ticket in the “premium” car in one side would cost 240 pounds, in the first class - 190 pounds. In general, the fare in Eurostar exceeds cost of air flight. However here also there is a system of discounts, allowing traveling more economically, than by the plane. There are children’s, student’s and youth tickets. As a whole, the trip by Eurostar train borrows much less time, than the flight as the time for landing procedures is considerably reduced. 
(to be continued)

25 January, 2007 | No comments

Some useful links on Great Britain

1.       Shops are opened from 9.00 a.m. till 17.30 p.m. All the goods sold in shops, are assessed with the tax to the added cost in the size of 17, 5 %. If purchases are made for the sum more than 100 pounds within three months at crossing border it is possible to receive the refund in quantity of 11 % from the price of purchase. In shop it is necessary to receive the corresponding receipt. If any department of shop arranges sale the inscription: “Buy one, get one free”, is hung out.
2.       Museums are opened from 10.00 a.m. till 18.00 p.m. On Sundays the shops are opened from 14.00 till 17.00. For visiting museums there are preferential “family” tickets for two adult and two children. At visiting museums of London it is better to use the guide registered in the London management on tourism. These guides carry a dark blue badge on a jacket.
3.       The politeness of Englishmen is known all over the world. Really, you will hear indispensable “thanks”, “please” everywhere: in the cafe, in shops, stations and at the hotel. Restraint and even stiffness are the national character features of British people. Perhaps, the inhabitants of British Isles also seem a little bit coldish in dialogue, but it is very hospitable country which stores the culture and traditions, despite of thousand tourists from New and the Old World.
4.       One of the Great Britain’s features with which you will face at residing at hotel, is that till now in the majority of hotels water cranes above a washstand are not supplied by the amalgamator. Englishmen wash, having typed a full washstand of water, and then lower the used water. On the departure day it is necessary for you to check out till 12.00 p.m. If there is a lot of time up to the plane, your luggage can be left in a left-luggage office of the hotel.
5.       English people adore pets. Even if you do not like cats and dogs, try to not show it publicly. You will not be understood. It is the country where there are no thrown or vagrant animals.

11 January, 2007 | No comments

When you travel alone

Everyone who travels alone, and especially women, should be able to protect themselves from a different sort of crimes. Depending on a place where you go, these crimes can vary from a banal theft of money or other valuable things up to a sexual attack. Today we’ll try to make the list of the most stressful and dangerous situations and to give you some piece of advice how to avoid unpleasant situations and what to do, if some of them happen to you. 1. Not far from the house - does not mean that you are in safety It is not necessary to show your carelessness if you are near to the house. Eventually, you can fall a victim to the villain even in own court yard or an entrance. At the trip to the car block doors and do not open completely a window from the driver. Be especially careful on traffic lights. It is a matter of a several seconds for the robber to open a door of the car and to pull out you out of it and to drive away. 

2. Park correctly Try to park the car in crowded, and at night - in well lighted places. It is not necessary to park in dark deserted lanes, especially when you are in the unknown district. It is even better to leave the car at the parking. 3. Keep your money more close to a body 

While traveling far from the house, and especially, abroad, do not hold anything valuable in handbags and hand luggage. Use a purse, fastened to a belt, and hold it ahead. Or put money and the passport in internal pockets of clothes.  It is better for you to carry a part of money in traveler’s cheques or credit cards. Thus write down serial numbers of checks and coordinates of the agency which have given out them or phone of the bank which has given out a credit card. The lost or stolen checks will be replaced within 24 hours. Put your credit card separately from other money. And you should always take money with you even if go to a toilet. 4. Do not relax when you are in the hotel 

It is necessary to lock the door of your hotel room not only when leaving, but also when you are in the room. Keep your money and documents in the safe-box. 5. If the airline has lost your luggage Before starting to pack things, check up a condition of your suitcases and bags. If you will need to buy a new suitcase, choose the lightest and spacious, and also strong enough to keep the luggage. It is good, if the luggage has the lock or a code. However remember, that in some countries the search of the luggage without the presence of the owner is allowed and the lock can be broken. 

If luggage is not new, in advance take off any pieces of paper attached to them in order to prevent a probable mess owing to which your suitcase can go on absolutely other destination. Write your name and your home address or phone number on special luggage labels. If your luggage is lost, immediately inform on it your airline. We advise you to put all subjects of first necessity in the hand luggage. 6. Try to be confident and firm 

If you choose a car trip, plan carefully the route and try to be supplied with local road maps in order to avoid extra stops and looking for someone to tell you the right way. Hold your head highly, eyes opened widely and if you are mistaken or got lost, do not try to look like a potential victim or cause a panic. Good luck!