Inyaka

Winter sports gives us the adrenaline rush. The ski pass prices though may also make most travelers just dream of the cold breeze and the drop down the slope. Snowboarding and skiing really does not come very cheap. If you have a tight budget though, you can still enjoy the winter:

Try new skiing destinations

Instead of heading to the Alps, look for other skiing destinations in Europe. Head east this time and try Bulgaria, particularly Pamporovo or Bansko where the prices are on the lower end of the scale. There is also Poland’s Zakopane that offers budget ski passes. In the U.S., you can head to Badger Pass and Snow King Mountain.

Know the discounts

You can get some discounts for getting an early-bird pass. You also get discounted rates if you are a student, going with the whole family, large groups, disabled, or if you are staying for a few weeks.

Pick the right airlines

Despite all the rush during the skiing season, you can still get budget flights. Do your homework and you will surely save a lot of money on your airline tickets. Follow your favorite airline’s social media pages and catch their posts about promos.

Go for the package deals

If you can roll together the accommodation, flights, equipment, and lift pass, you can get wonderful bargains.

Perfect timing

You can save a lot if you go off season. Find out when will be the best time to avail of the cheapest rates. Do not go when the school is on vacation since the prices will naturally spike up.

Cost cut on your gear

If you are planning to rent or purchase your skiing gear at the resort, then better say goodbye to your travel money. The wiser choice will be to get second hand gear. It needs a bit more planning but it will save you lots in the long-run.

When we try to preserve memories of our travels through our photos, not all shots come easy. There are times when we have to deal with the poor lighting, maybe our subjects are moving, we have to shoot thru glass, or have to negotiate thru a thick crowd. Here are some useful photography tips to help you frame a memory:

Motion

Whether you are moving inside a train or bus, or your subject is moving, dealing with this scenario is always a challenge. Composing the picture will not be easy or you have to deal later on with blurry images that you cannot anymore re-take.

One technique you can do is panning. You have to follow your subject as your bus moves away from it or as the subject moves in your field of vision. If you can take multiple shots, make most of the feature and snap quickly. With action photography, timing is very crucial. Add a ton of patience too.

Crowd

When trying to shoot while in the crowd, you have to enjoy the fact that you are in the crowd. Use the heads and shoulders of people as your boundaries to frame the shot. It will also be best to find an elevated position if you think this is needed to give justice to the shot. Look for a stage, a chair, or a balcony which you can use. Try to cut down on the gear that you want to bring to so you can shoot well sans the weight of your extra cameras and lenses.

Thru the glass

If you are shooting thru a glass case or thru a window, try to get as close as possible so you can eliminate any reflection on the glass. Turn off the flash and see how this will effect the image. Try to move a bit and and find the best position to capture the best image.

One thing that you will notice whenever you go in London there are different views.  Take the London Eye for example.  This little ride certainly makes a ton of different views of the city and all of them are breathtakingly beautiful!

The wait is a little long most of the time; however I can tell you that it is definitely worth the wait.  Typically, on a good day, you can catch the wait at about thirty-minutes however; it can go a lot longer sometimes.

If you are looking for a fun and awesome ride, I can tell you for sure, that the London Eye is certainly the best option for you!

Although it is not quite the end of February, Easter will be here before you know it, so now is definitely the time to start booking your flights, train tickets, and hotel reservations.

One great place to visit this Easter, or simply this spring in general, is Boston. Natives to New England like to say that spring, like autumn, lasts all of ten minutes, but they may well be the most beautiful ten minutes in the world. Goodness knows that Boston definitely blossoms in spring time.

It is a great vacation idea for a number of other reasons as well. For one thing, the historic significance is a big draw, especially during family vacations. Not to mention, this is a great time to go on a whale watch.

Now that we have talked about the skiing aspect of Valentine’s Day, let’s move onto the hotter and wetter version of a V-Day vacation.  By far, one of the most romantic places for you and your sweetheart to take off to for the weekend is Laguna Beach.

While it might not be super warm in Laguna Beach, you can definitely still thaw yourself out – especially if you live on the east coast and you can definitely beat all of the crowds, as February is actually off-peak for Laguna Beach.  This particular time of year is actually beautiful too – everything from the beaches to the sunsets you can enjoy with your sweetheart.

If you want luxury and sun … along with some awesome hotspots, Laguna Beach is definitely the place you should go!

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and if you are anything like me, you are looking for a place for you and your sweetheart to stay for that night … right?  Well, if you haven’t booked your V-Day vacation just yet, don’t worry!  We have some of the top destinations that you should sweep your honey right off their feet and take them here.

One of the first places is Banff, Alberta.  This is the place that anyone who likes to ski should go.  There are a ton of different hills available and they range from bunny all the way up to mountains, which are of course for the more advanced skiers.

After you guys ski the day away, you can definitely take a load off at the Banff Springs Hotel – they have everything that you will ever need and honestly, it is all about luxury here!

I know for sure that whenever I go on vacation – I want to have all of the fun that I can have.  What happens though if you happen to get sick while you are on vacation?  Well, I have some tips and tricks in mind for you to do when you are sick on vacation.

One of the first things is making sure that you check all of your bags.  That keeps yourself free of any things that you have to haul up and down the hallways and onto the plane and it can also save you a heck of a lot of energy, as hauling bags can be difficult.

Next, make sure that you let any of the flight attendants to know.  That way, they know to try to keep any seats near you clear and they will get you anything you want.

Where do you want to be for New Years Eve? How many of you are thinking about Thailand?

It is one of those surprising, rarely considered destinations, but you would be surprised how awesome and awe inspiring the holiday can be when you spend it there, specifically around the Ko Phanagn area.

Typically, more than twenty thousand people fill the Haat Rin beach to the very brim in order to ring in the New Year properly.

People come from all around the globe in order to celebrate in wild, surprising ways — they paint themselves intricately, dance, and of course there is pretty of drinking going on, not just until midnight strikes but all the way until the sun comes up over the water.

To be sure, the festivities are smaller than what you see in places like Paris or New York, but the celebrations are just as lively!

Now that we have talked a little bit about what it takes to take a Christmas vacation, let’s talk about some of the activities and things that you should be doing.  One of the first things that you need to do whenever you are looking for a last minute vacation is your research.  You want to make sure that you find the very best price and the very best location.

If you really want the full winter experience, I can tell you for sure that you want to go somewhere snowy.  As mentioned before, Alaska is an awesome place to go to really get that winter feel.

Next, you want to decide what you are going to do on your vacation.  For example, skiing is very, very popular on winter vacations and if you do not know how to ski, it might be a good time to learn!

Christmas is almost here … can you believe it?  I can’t.  Only five days and if you are still looking for the perfect Christmas vacation spot, I can tell you for sure that you have not missed your chance yet.  There are a ton of different places that you can go to have the greatest Christmas ever!

By far, one place that I love to go for Christmas is Alaska.  Not only does Alaska have some of the best winter weather, but it holds the North Pole – which as you know, is the ultimate Christmas town!

If you are planning on going on vacation for Christmas, there are a few things that you should know and activities that you should plan – those things will be discussed in the next blog, stay tuned!