Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Opportunity for High School Students

High school students have an opportunity to travel for FREE this summer, so tell your little brothers and sisters! They could star in EF’s new reality travel series, Life on Tour™!

Selected individuals will travel for FREE on a 10-day EF educational tour. Learn more at

www.eftours.com/lifeontour

Act FAST! Casting is open only until MARCH 31, 2008, enter now!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Spring Breakin


Last week I had the joy of visiting Nassau, Bahamas for spring break. I went to the Atlantis with my family, but I was MORTIFIED by the prices of EVERYTHING at the hotel. DO NOT GO THERE if you are a broke college student. Sit down dinners for 3 were hundreds of dollars, slices of pizza were $7.50.

Other than the beds, nothing was included in the price of the hotel. We stayed at the Reef, the newest tower to the Atlantis compound. While the rooms were nice, there was not a business center or a fitness center in our hotel. What they do not tell you is that after you pay thousands of dollars to stay in a room, you have to pay an extra $10-$150 every time you use these auxiliary services. We didn't even have a restaurant- only a Starbucks in the lobby.

However, the pools were fabulous and so much fun! The Cain Pool at Atlantis was the "hippest" and most enjoyable for our demographic. The daquaris and Pina Coladas were to die for. The hotel itself is incredible and huge, and a great destination for any fun loving twenty something.

So here are some hints to travel to Nassau on a budget and still enjoy the Atlantis:

1. Don't stay there! There are plenty of other hotels on the island that are way cheaper.

2. Bring your own drinks. While liqueur is inexpensive, mixers and beer are not. Pack your extra suitcase with drinks to enjoy on your vacay (if you are of age of course)!

3. Sneak into the Atlantis to enjoy their amenities. Supposedly, you have to buy a one day pass to enjoy the Atlantis pool. I never had a wristband on (their measure of whether or not guests were there legally) and never once ran into trouble. Just take a cab over to the Atlantis and lay low by the pool all day. Don't cause a scene, act confident, and you should be fine.

4. Travel in off season times. Prices are high over winter and spring break and lower over the summer.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

FareCast

I love playing the airfare game. Before I book a flight, I check out StudentUniverse, Kayak, Priceline, Expedia, and any other search site I stumble across to ensure that I am getting the best deal available. Now, my game has gotten even more fun.

A relatively new (free) service called Farecast helps travelers predict whether the price of airline tickets are going to drop, rise, or stay the same in the coming weeks and months.

While it is not good for booking last minute travel, it is very helpful for booking trips far in advance. For example, this summer I will be working in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and I know I need to book a flight out there on June 6. When I looked at flights in December, the price of a round trip ticket from Atlanta was $650. Farecast told me to wait to buy my fare, and sent me weekly emails with their predictions. Sure enough, the price dropped significantly and farecast urged me to buy my ticket when the price hit $320. Just by being patient and utilizing new technology I saved $300.

Farecast definitely helps travelers play the airfare guessing game and come out on top. They have a very high success rate and their site is very easy to navigate. The only down side: it does not have tracking information for smaller U.S. airports.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Machu Picchu: An Adventure Traveler's Paradise


There is nothing like hiking off the beaten path. Leaving a world of cars, computers, and cell phones behind, it is invigorating to travel to a land and place where technology and progress are irrelevant. Head into the Andes mountains high above the Urubamba River and experience one of the world's most sacred remains.

Machu Picchu is an old Incan ruin that cannot be accessed by car or plane. While a windy train ride will get travelers close to the ruins, only backpackers can reach the sacred land, and they must travel by foot. Time is running out however, and as "adventure" travel becomes more appealing, Machu Piccho will become overrun with tourists. For now, enjoy the daily visitor limit that the Peruvians have implemented to preserve their sacred history, and experience Machu Picchu for yourself.

Monday, March 3, 2008

A Cheapskate's Guide to Spring Break Financing

I am committing social suicide when I depart for my spring break destination on Saturday. I am not hopping in a car with 5 of my best friends heading to Destin or to South Florida to meet my boat for a Booze Cruise. Instead, I am heading on spring break... with my parents!

SO lame, right? I mean, who does that? Unfortunately for me, I have no money and my spring break options included sitting at home with my mom and dad staring at the snow fall in St. Louis. So I got to thinking... I have never been to the Bahamas before and I have always wanted to go there, but on my budget that kind of travel is just not possible. What did I do? I talked mama and daddy into taking me. It wasn't too hard, but it did take a little buttering up. Use these tricks and you'll be sipping Pina Coladas on the white sands of Paradise Island before you know it.

1. Agendas succeed when it appears that no agenda exists. Start by sending your mom and dad a sweet note in the mail just to tell them you love them and you miss them. I got crazy and went to moo.com and had personalized greeting cards made. I usually use them to send to friends all over the country, but I designed a special one with a picture of my parents and me to send to them... they loved it!

2. Your next phone conversation with your dad needs to go something like this:

Hi Daddy! Classes are fine but I am already on the countdown for spring break. My friends all want me to go to Panama City. MTV Spring Break will be there, and I think things might get too crazy for your little girl... but I don't really have any other options because it is the only trip I can really afford, and all my friends are going, so I guess I will too. Well, gotta run. Love you daddy! Bye!"

3. Give him some time to think about his precious daughter surrounded by 500 drunk guys at a wet t-shirt contest. Also, give yourself enough time to "seriously reconsider your spring break priorities," and call back and tell him that after a serious self-reflection, you decided that you could not see yourself partaking in a week of debauchery on the beach (what they don't have to know is that it is because your liver needs a break from the debauchery you take place in on a daily basis in college).

Tell him that you think you want to go to Iraq and volunteer in an orphanage for a week. Hopefully, they will say yes. If they are anything like my parents, however, they will not send their daughter to a war zone for spring break, but they will know your heart is in the right place, and it will open their mind to other spring break options.

4. Step 4: Throw yourself a pity party and say that you will just come home and do nothing on spring break. When they give you the witty parent line along the lines of, "Come on, honey, we aren't that bad are we?" You say, "No, its not you guys. I never get to see you and I would actually love spending spring break with you, but I don't want to go home... that's lame."

They will feel sorry for you and you can tell them that you will do some "research" about places you would all enjoy as a family. All this takes on your part is pulling up the power point you have already made explaining all the wonders of The Atlantis in the Bahamas. Mom can lay by the beach, dad can play golf, little brother and sister can go to Kid's Club, and you can be free to mix and mingle with like-minded college kids from all over the country.

So here's to you, mooching college kid who still wants to live off your parents money for a few more years. Good luck!

Sunday, March 2, 2008

City Spotlight: Kaikura

Kaikura, New Zealand is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It is a quaint town on the South Island of New Zealand know as an eco-tourism mecca. I had the chance to visit Kaikura with the University of Georgia Study Abroad in the Pacific program in the summer of 2007.

I recommend going swimming with dolphins, horseback riding, vineyard tours, and renting bicycles to explore the quaint little village. It is right on the water but also has a beautiful mountain backdrop. If you ever make it to New Zealand, Kaikura is a town you do not want to miss.