travel advice Archives - Seek Your Trip

October 5, 2018 by Arlene

Carry On Luggage Buying Guide: How To Choose One For You

It is really important to have a perfect luggage that perfectly fits your travel requirements. While you’re travelling, you need a carry-on luggage that can pack all your essentials in an organised way and suit the various airline restrictions. Different people have different requirements about the cabin luggage such as a traveller will need a perfect backpack for carrying goods throughout the trip and a business person will need a bag that comes with a laptop compartment.

Buying guide for choosing ideal carry on luggage: Below mentioned are the notables points you must consider to make the choice for an ideal carry on luggage for your next trip.

Lightweight

This is the most important point that needs proper consideration. No one wants to carry a luggage that is too bulky to manage. Thus, it needs to be lightweight so that it can be scrolled or handled anywhere easily. Not just this, a lighter carry-on luggage can help you save a lot of money by paying excess baggage fee during air journey. When you’re travelling to different places then a lightweight luggage can be easily managed and carried.

Sturdy wheels for rolling

One important that should also be included in the buying guide is the rolling features. Carry-on luggage should be fitted with wheels to make easy rolling on any surface. Along with smooth rolling, wheels help in pulling the luggage sideways in a congested area without hitting any other people.

Expandability

Here comes the other point that must be included in the buying guide. An expanding luggage is great for trips especially when you’re returning home and have bought a lot of souvenirs. If you’ll buy an expanding luggage then you’ll be able to fit many more goods. Another benefit of having an expandable luggage is that it can be used as perfect cabin luggage without asking you for extra luggage fees.

Highly Spacious

When it comes to buying the perfect luggage, the important thing that needs to be considered is the space factor. Always go with wider body luggage as it can help in keeping goods in large amount. A wide body of the luggage ensures excellent space for keeping more stuff. Internal pockets and small compartments can help in managing the small goods in an arranged way.

Optimum Durability

One of the important points of this buying guide is the optimum durability of the luggage. Your luggage should be strong and durable enough to withstand the impact during travelling. Thus, you need to choose it carefully depending on your travelling activities and destination. Apart from this, there are many other points that must be considered while choosing the best luggage for your travelling. These include safety & security features, outside pockets, sturdy handle, security locks, and material.

For every travel and tour, you need a perfect carry on cabin luggage that can easily withstand the roughness and impact of the travel. The abovementioned buying guide will help you in finding the best one in terms of lightweight, durability and easy rolling.

February 21, 2018 by Arlene

What to Do When Your Partner Won’t Travel With You

How do you go about getting your partner to travel with you when they have absolutely no desire to? It is not easy to get someone who doesn’t like to travel to accompany you on trips but it can be done with a few adjustments.

There are a lot of travel lovers around the world who are in relationships with people who just don’t understand or like travel. You are not alone. If you want to experience traveling as a couple, you will have to persuade your lover to come with you. Here are some ideas on how to go about it:

Putting Your Relationship First

Before you can persuade someone to do something, you must first disarm their defenses. If you are in a relationship and you travel solo a lot, you might come off as selfish and as someone who only cares about their own happiness and not the success of their relationship. We all know this is not true and that you care deeply about your significant other and the success of your relationship.

To remedy this situation, you want to build an environment in your relationship where your partner knows that your relationship is actually more important to you than your travel hobby. If they think that you value travel more you value the relationship, they will start to act defensive and all your chances of getting them to join you on your adventures will be ruined.

Putting Them at Ease

Everyone has insecurities. You may be surprised to learn that your partner has issues with you being on the road all the time with vibrant people who actually enjoy the hobbies you love.

To address the insecurities that may arise due to this scenario, you want to communicate more with your significant other during your travels. Don’t go off the radar for long periods of time. Simple things such texts and calls, especially video calls, can go along way into putting them at ease and making them comfortable with you being away from home for so long.

Piquing Their Interest in Travel

Travel is always fun. If you can effectively communicate how fun your adventures are or have been, you are half-way through convincing your partner to tag along the next time you hit the road.

You can tell them stories of your adventures, take amazing pictures to show to them, and bring back souvenirs that tell a story about your trip. With time, tales of your experiences will begin to grow on them and they will be the one begging you to bring them along.

Dismantling Their Excuses

People who don’t want to travel make up lots of excuses for why they stay away from the road. Most of the reasons they give are stupid. The excuses can range from not having enough money to travel–to being scared to travel since they never have before.

You can easily talk your significant other out of most of these excuses. Don’t be offensive when you do this. Employ some tact and come off as someone who understands their line of reasoning but who is willing to show them a new way of thinking. Since you share almost the same circumstances as them and you are able to travel, debunking their excuses won’t be hard at all.

Get Started the Simple Way

When they finally agree to come with you on a trip, take a small simple vacation first. You don’t want to complicate your first trip so give Murphy’s Law a chance to mess up your first travel experience with your partner.

A weekend getaway is a great first-time couple’s travel experience. You don’t have to go far from home. It’s likely there are great travel destinations for couples that are about an hour’s flight away from where you live.

Do the Heavy Lifting

You want to eliminate as many of the burdens of traveling for your partner as possible. Since you are the pro traveler, you should do most of the planning. Travel planning can be a boring and confusing affair. Don’t let your first-time-traveler partner handle most of it. The idea here is to eliminate as much friction as possible so that their first experience traveling with you is a good one.

Going for a Longer Vacation

For a longer vacation that lasts a week or so, you should take out a chilled out and relaxed vacation such as a beach vacation at a luxurious beach resort. You can never go wrong with a beach vacation.

You are in for a treat as most luxury beach resorts are built for couples. You can find a package deal that includes almost everything from accommodation to excursion tickets to tour guides. When you’re looking into resorts, make sure you choose one that isn’t family friendly–otherwise you will be surrounded by a bunch of families with children.

Don’t Force it

If your significant other doesn’t want to travel no matter what, don’t force them into it. Some people have no desire to see the world, and that’s OK.

It can be difficult considering you love to travel the world and you don’t share this interest with your partner. At the end of the day, it’s normal for you to be completely different people with different hobbies. If the traveling is putting too much of a strain on your relationship, you might want to rethink the situation you’re in.

September 18, 2017 by Arlene

Zanzibar Travel Advice

A tropical paradise in East Africa, Zanzibar is an archipelago off the coast of Tanzania. Famous for the cultural traditions, cuisine, and gorgeous beaches and lagoons, it is not surprising that Zanzibar Holiday Packages are so popular and are the preferred option to visit and explore Zanzibar. However, while most trips to Zanzibar occur without any incidents, it is always important to be aware of travel advice and notices before your trip.

Personal safety measures and dress code

Being a predominantly Muslim society, Zanzibar can be conservative in some ways. Visitors are advised to respect the local customs and traditions, and dress modestly when not at the beach, particularly when in town. It is recommended to wear light, knee-length, loose-fitting clothing and cover the shoulders.
While regular beach wear is allowed on the beach, there are no nude or topless beaches in Zanzibar.
Avoid carrying large amounts of cash and expensive jewellery, and carry a copy of your passport and leave the original in the hotel safe.
Don’t accept lifts from unlicensed taxis.
Avoid walking alone especially in isolated areas and after dark.

Health

Get a yellow fever vaccination no less than 10 days before your trip. Keep the certificate as you might need it for visa and entry purposes.
Take the necessary precautions against malaria (anti-malaria medication, bug spray, mosquito nets).
Zanzibar lies along the equator, and the sun is very strong. Wear sunscreen and hats, and avoid long exposure in the sun.
Wash your hands regularly in case of cholera outbreaks.
Do not drink the tap water.

Traveling around

The high-speed ferry is a cheaper alternative to taking a Cessna flight from Dar Es Salaam. In general, those boats are safe, comfortable, and modern, although in general it is recommended to not board if it looks overloaded. If you’re prone to seasickness, stay on the top deck for fresh air and nice views.
Many visitors use taxis to get around, but they can be costly if used regularly. It is better to pre-book a taxi at the airport for better prices. Most locals use a mini bus called dala-dala, which is relatively safe but can get crammed with people, fish, and some farm animals.
It is recommended to rent a car to explore the island. Choose a reputable rental car company, and be aware that most cars are older than 15 years old, despite their low mileage. You will have to obtain a local driver’s permit, which the car hire company can provide if you bring a valid driver’s license. Rental cars are usually automatic, with the steering wheel on the right hand side of the vehicle, as they drive on the left side of the road. Drive very carefully at night as visibility is reduced, due to lack of street lights. There are regular traffic police checks, so make sure to always have your relevant documents handy. Always ask for an official ticket and the police officer’s information if they fine you.

General travel tips

Avoid the months of March, April and May as they are prone to long and heavy rainfalls
During the fasting month of Ramadan, many restaurants and amenities will be closed, but resorts stay open. Openly consuming drinks, food, and cigarettes outside of the resorts is frowned upon.
Life in Zanzibar is slow, and things such as your meal order can take a while.
Avoid sitting under coconut trees as coconuts tend to fall without notice.
Street-food markets are packed with locals and tourists, and generally serve delicious food. Enquire about the food prior to eating it, in case it’s been sitting out all day in the sun. Do not eat from street markets if there is a cholera outbreak.
Understand Zanzibar time to avoid miscommunications: Zanzibaris start counting time as from sunrise, not from midnight.

August 23, 2017 by Arlene

5 Reasons Why Business Travel by Rail is the Best Option

Source

Business travel is an inevitable part of any business person’s life. Living out of your suitcase for your work could be stressful. Discover why and how trains could act as a great stress-buster besides being a clever choice for business travel.

Economical

Train tickets cost way less than airplane tickets. Even the best sleeper seats on a train cost far less than a first-class plane ticket. If you buy rail passes in advance, then the travel expenses come down even further. For example: With International Rail’s Japan Rail Pass, you can discover the country by travelling in Japanese bullet trains’ 1^st class coaches in just £273! On the other hand, a first class round-trip ticket from Tokyo to Osaka would cost £387, approximately. Therefore, the more cities you want to visit for business meetings, the more you would have to pay when travelling by plane. In rail travel, you pay for just one pass and get access to unlimited travel in and around the country.

Flexible

You can change your travel itinerary or make one as the journey progresses when you are travelling by trains. The flexibility to alter your plans without burning a huge hole in your pocket is something that other modes of travel do not offer.

No stress of ‘allowed baggage’ and airport security

Who likes delays, long queues for security checks and arriving 4 hours before the departure at the airport? Not many do. When it comes to train travel, you get an opportunity to cover multiple cities and explore much more. Unlike air travel, you can arrive at the railway station just a few minutes before the departure time. There are no long queues, especially when you have a rail pass in your pocket. You can also bring as much baggage as you need without shelling out extra money.

Gives you time and space to relax

Unlike leisure trips, business trips can be a bit unnerving and taxing. However, in trains, you get the opportunity to sink into comfortable seats, stretch your legs, and doze off for a few hours without someone’s elbow poking you. The bonus of gazing at the picturesque views and seeing the magnificent landscapes of the country you are visiting only adds to the allure of rail travel.

Opportunity to mix business travel with leisure

While the regular working hours would be packed with meetings and networking activities, you can still steal a few hours from your business trip for sightseeing. Most business travellers mix vacation time with work to make the experience less stressful. With a rail pass in your bag, you could easily explore the most famous and hidden spots of a country.