If you are thinking of an Antarctica cruise, one of the most important things you need to consider is the best time of year to travel. There are many facets to choosing Antarctica cruises and a great way to work out when to travel is to evaluate what you most wish to experience while there. The best Antarctica cruise period is from November to March, when there is nearly perpetual daylight.

Our Recommended Tour Company
Aurora Expeditions, a Sydney based company, offer Antarctica tours departing Hobart & Argentina to Antarctica throughout the entire season to ensure you have the experience of a lifetime.

For more specific details on Antarctica cruises, contact Aurora Expeditions at their website and use their free ‘Ask and Expert’ service to ask any questions you may have and register for their E-News to enjoy exclusive special offers, exciting competitions, helpful travel tips and other news from our destinations.

November and December Wildlife
A voyage in November or early December is the best time to cruise to Antarctica if you love the freshness of spring and the first flush of new life. Penguins, snow petrels, skuas, giant petrels, cormorants are starting their breeding cycle and building nests. You will see penguins display complex courtship behaviour, ritualized posturing and song. The ice is crisp and clean, and some sea ice may linger still attached to shore. Icebergs frozen in this winter ice start to break free creating a shifting landscape.

December and January Wildlife
Another great Antarctica cruise time is mid season, between December and January as the abundance in food from the ocean means wildlife is prolific. Whales, especially humpbacks have made the long migration south in search of krill, and are feeding along the coast of Antarctica, often with their young. Skuas, petrels, and albatross make the most of the productive season and during these months penguin chicks are making their first foray from their shells. Weddell seals, Crabeater seals and Leopard seals lay hauled out on icefloes or on the shore ensuring this is truly a great time for an Antarctica travel adventure.

February and March Wildlife
February and March is also a good time for an Antarctica cruise. In these months you will see the culmination of the breeding activity of previous months. Penguin chicks are large, curious and inquisitive. They rest in crches, as the adults feed at sea. Leopard seals are making the most of the juvenile penguins first swim and are feeding intensively. Fur seals rest on ice floes and Minke whales, and Orca can appear at anytime. All wildlife is making the most of the final weeks of sunlight. This is the best time of year for Antarctica cruises across the Antarctic circle and into the deep south. Here you can encounter some serious ice in a rarely visited landscape. Sunsets are particularly dramatic as the days shorten.

Due to the variable nature of weather on an Antarctica cruise , you can experience crystal clear days at any time of the season. Ice conditions also shift with the weather and you may experience snow, sleet and wind any time.

Whenever you decide is the best time for an Antarctic cruise ship vacation, you will discover a breathtaking continent, and a landscape which changes from hour to hour.

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A travel sheet, for those of you who have not heard of such an item, is a light weight piece of fabric sewn together in a sleeping bag configuration. Travel sheets are used to protect against unclean bedding, usually in hostels, but also are called sleeping bag liners, as they protect the sleeping bag from bodily fluids like sweat. The materials used to make travel sheets or sleeping bag liners range from cheap thin cottons, poly cottons, polyester fleeces, to silk and higher qualities of cotton. Silk is used primarily to make them light weight for backpackers to carry and wash easily in a sink and air dry quickly. Sheets and liners are usually closed with a Velcro tab, button or snap, or tie up. Prices range from 20 dollars up to 200 dollars, depending on size and fabrication.

For our discussion today we will focus on the higher end travel sheets meant for protection from everything from harsh detergent sensitivity, lice, bedbugs, allergens like animal and dust mite dander, and just plain unclean bedding in hotels. Some terms you will need to familiarize yourself with are:

Pillow Pocket: an attached sleeve or envelope to place a pillow in so the user will not contact the pillow.

Fold Over Top Sheet: a flap on the top of the travel sheet which folds over the blanket so the user does not contact the blanket.

Pore Size: the size of the space between the threads of the fabric, measured in microns.

Chemical Sensitivity: Hotels have to contend with a wide range of guests along with each guest’s particular human condition. Does the guest sweat at night, is the guest incontinent, are the guests having sex, does the guest drool, must I go on. Just knowing what your own bodily functions are capable of while you lie in bed is enough to fathom, let alone sleep in a bed whose last guest you never knew.

To combat the stains and germs associated with the hotel concept, the industry must use fairly powerful detergents, bleaches and surfactants, to provide us with those freshly scented sheets we, as the traveling public, have come to expect. Some people equate the smell of detergents or the masking scent of flowers or “Spring” with cleanliness. On the other hand, there are people who are very sensitive to these chemicals, and they are chemicals, that produce these scents and the bright white linens.

If you are one of these sensitive guests, you would be well served to use a travel sheet, one with a pillow pocket to shield you from the pillow case. For chemical sensitivity, pretty much any quality travel sheet will do, unless of course you are sensitive to polyester or the dye which colors the travel sheet. In that case choose a white, cotton or silk, travel sheet. Organic, un-bleached, un-dyed fabrics are available but they are very expensive.

Critters (bedbugs, lice, etc.): While head lice are not very prevalent in hotels , they can be experienced on planes, buses, trains or anywhere you lay your head. It is a misconception that head lice are found on only dirty people, in actuality, they like clean heads and hair and don’t live that long when not on a nice clean warm host. Again, a travel sheet with a pillow pocket is ideal, just slip the pocket over the headrest and sit down or climb in.

Now bedbugs are a completely different story. With the banning of DDT in the sixties, bedbugs have made a comeback in a big way, they are now epidemic in many of our cities and towns. Bedbugs are excellent travelers and they or their eggs can survive cold, even freezing. They are, or are becoming, resistant to many of the chemicals legally used to kill them. Once your home or hotel is infested, they are extremely difficult to eradicate. Bedbugs don’t transmit disease but being bitten can cause reactions from local irritation, redness and swelling to a full blown allergic episode, not to mention a bad case of the heebie-jeebies.

Short of using chemicals or professional pest control services, the only reliable way to kill bedbugs and their eggs is high heat for an extended period of time. Washing affected clothing or bedding in hot water, at least 60 degrees centigrade/130 Fahrenheit, then drying on high heat is the best way. Some pest control companies use steam to kill the vermin but this must be done properly to ensure complete success. Just one egg will be all that’s needed to re-infest. With that said, a travel sheet will help to protect against bedbugs, especially if is zippered. That way only your head is vulnerable to attack. Theoretically a bedbugs’ mouth parts are long enough to penetrate fabric but highly unlikely.

Allergens: Here’s where we get a little technical. For the purposes of this article when we talk about allergens, we mean dust mite by-products and cat /dog dander. Dust mite by-products encompass everything from their dead bodies to their fecal excretions. Dust mites are unavoidable, they feed on the dead skin cells which fall off our bodies constantly, 80% of house dust is dead skin. I don’t care how clean you are it is impossible to completely eradicate dust mites from our lives and certainly from a hotel room. The best we can hope for is to keep their numbers down to a minimum. Actions like vacuuming, providing you are using a well filtered vacuum and not just spreading the dust around, encasing mattresses and pillows in mite proof materials, replacing carpets with flooring, and using non toxic topical applications can greatly decrease the allergens present in a room.

Most dander whether from cats or dogs or dust mites are very small, with cat dander being smallest. While dust mite allergens average around 10 microns, cat dander can be as small as 6 microns. In the ” allergy industry ” any barrier with a pore size of less than 10 microns is considered effective in blocking most dander. That’s not to say it’s allergy proof, but is the best you can get without using a material like plastic or something that won’t breathe well. It is important for a travel sheet to ” breathe”, be able to pass some air from one side of the fabric to the other. A plastic bag does not breathe, a fabric with a 4 micron size breathes better than a plastic bag but not enough to be comfortable to sleep in, 4 microns makes a great mattress encasement but not a great travel sheet. Silk does an excellent job of filtering out allergens because it is tightly woven and has a small pore size, but if you’ve ever worn a silk shirt you know how warm silk can get, and silk is delicate and can’t be washed in hot water or placed in a hot dryer.

I haven’t mention composite or coated fabrics. These are materials with either a coating or another layer of another material bonded to it. These layers or coatings serve to shrink pore size to very small or not at all. Some of these materials claim to be waterproof but breathable. They may be just that and be great for protective sheets for incontinence or childhood bed wetting but not for a comfortable sleep. There is a difference between sleeping on a sheet and sleeping in it. If the material does not breathe well you’ll end up sweating all night long.

The last type of travel sheet material is one that has been treated with an insecticide. These are great if you’re in the Congo but not so great for Chicago. That would be overkill to say the least.

You Need: a travel sheet that has these attributes:
Pore size below 10 microns
Pillow pocket and fold over top sheet
Zipper not Velcro, snaps or buttons
Breathability and comfort
Ability to be washed in hot water and dried in hot air
Quality, something that will stand up to repeated washings
Affordability
Totally Gross: This sums up how I feel about sharing a bed with strangers. It doesn’t matter if it’s a $400 per night hotel in New York, $90 a night in Roanoke, or $3000 per week cruise ship. I have experienced dubious to filthy in all of them. Cleanliness is not dependent on price or cache, some of the ritziest hotels in New York have had bedbug infestations and I have stayed in a $50 a night motel in South Carolina that was so clean I could have eaten my fried chicken off the bathroom floor.

“He’s paranoid”, “I’ve never had a problem” you say. Well, that may be true, at least that you’ve known about. Want to get grossed out, buy a 10 dollar black light and take it with you next time you stay in a hotel, close the lights, shine the black light on the sheets, just be prepared to sleep in your car or not at all. To be honest, I don’t worry about bedbugs or getting sick from the bedspread that’s only washed a few times a year, after Billy Bob and Bobby Sue consummated their marriage on it, or the pillow that the fat guy with sleep apnea was drooling on. I use a travel sheet just because the thought of not using one is just GROSS !

www.allersac.com

Conde Nast Traveler Magazine, Travel 50 and Beyond Magazine and Vacations Magazine are three of the travel industries leading magazines. Each of these three magazines offers a slightly different perspective on travel and ways to save money while traveling.Conde Nast Traveler Magazine is a travel magazine designed for the travel connoisseur. Conde Nast Traveler Magazine is written with style and quality of travel in mind. It provides candid advice on how to travel in foreign countries and maps that illuminate where you can travel to. Conde Nast Traveler Magazine is for the person who is a well seasoned traveler not for the casual tourist. In Conde Nast Traveler Magazine you will be able to read well written articles from travelers that present the truth about travels in the U.S. and abroad.In comparison Vacations Magazine is more about the glitz and glamour of travel. It features fun to visit tropical locations as well as great family destinations in the U.S. Vacations Magazine is oriented to give advice on saving money while traveling and how to make the most out of your vacation.Vacations Magazine is well written and a great magazines for couples or families that want to travel and experience the tourist side of vacationing.Travel 50 and Beyond Magazine is a combination of the two magazines above with the over age 50 traveler in mind. Travel 50 and Beyond Magazine has great ideas and tips on getting senior discounts on airfares, rental cars, hotel stays and local attractions. Travel 50 and Beyond Magazine also features great articles on undiscovered locations for quick easy weekend getaways as well as extended vacations. With the help of Travel 50 and Beyond Magazine you will be able to plan beautiful driving vacations for travel in your RV or for road trips in the car with fantastic hotels at each destination.Conde Nast Traveler Magazine is the most expensive of the three magazines compared here. Conde Nast Traveler Magazine cost around $12.00 for a full year’s subscription and is perfect for the distinguished traveler.Vacations Magazine and Travel 50 and Beyond Magazine both have a cost of around $7.00. Both these magazines are well written and best for a more causal tourist approach to travel.

For just about anyone who is anticipating travel, it is likely that he or she is also looking for the best air travel deals that he or she can find. With the advent of the Internet, and the many travel sites that it has to offer, finding good travel deals has become easier for the savvy traveler. What has not changed, just by the promulgation of the Internet travel sites, is the fact that a smart traveler will have done his or her homework. This homework may entail several things, but these things are all relatively easy. If you are one of the many people who may enjoy traveling and are looking for travel deals, then this article should spark some ideas to begin planning.Whether one is anticipating travel for pleasure or business reasons, to take advantage of the best travel deals, he or she should have a little background knowledge of the destination. For example, one should know if there is a peak season particular to the destination. Traveling to the destination during typical off-peak, yet not unappealing times, may be one option for savings right off the bat. Another consideration for the traveler is the hotel’s or other accommodation’s acceptance of certain discounts, which may be particular to the traveler, such as senior or military discounts.In addition to knowing about the destination, the potential traveler should research what accommodations are available and where they are located. Perhaps a hotel that is off the main drag is acceptable to the traveler and offered at a lower rate. In doing this background research, the traveler is preparing him or herself to negotiate the best travel deals when it comes time. The potential traveler who also gains a thorough knowledge of what is available is better equipped to make a decision as to what good travel deals are compared to bad.Often times, travel deals can be arranged to include airfare and hotel together for a combined savings. These types of deals may be offered by the airlines, the hotels or travel sites in their stead on the Internet. Whatever the case may be, it is also wise to have an idea what one will accept in the way of travel: whether he or she wants bare bones travel or some higher level of service.There are numerous sites on the Internet that allow travelers to find the best deals on travel, and with the traveler who has done his or her homework, he or she will know what a good deal looks like. Furthermore, the knowledgeable traveler is not at the mercy of poor descriptions that may be offered on the site offering deals on travel.Searching for an acceptable deal on travel may seem to be a very daunting task, but it does not have to be insurmountable. With a little research, which can be conducted primarily online, the one who is looking into traveling can be well equipped to seek out deals. It takes just a little effort, but anyone can find good travel deals with a little help from the Internet.

But as I said in the opening line of this article that was until recently. So what has happened to change things I can again hear you asking? About nine months ago a business associate enquired as to why I never use the Gatwick valet parking service. I replied it was because that I was not that aware of what it was or what it did etc.
This business associate is called Paul and he looked at me as if I was some kind of lunatic – I could kind of tell that he was thinking along the lines of – you are a frequent flyer and you do not know about the valet parking services. In truth it is rather bizarre – perhaps I have been walking round with my eyes closed and my ears covered lol.
As you can no doubt tell I have now started to use the valet parking Gatwick service and I have to say that it does make life one heck of a lot easier. Instead of having to find a place to park when I arrive at the airport I merely go to the meeting area and hand over the keys – on arrival back in the country I go back to where I left the keys and my car is waiting for me – bliss! 
If you would like information about Gatwick valet parking please feel free to visit our website at http://www.abcgatwick.co.uk.

Active Travel Asia offers travelers many possibilities to save on the travel budget. Travelers will definitely spend less for their next holiday in Indochina with Travel Cheap campaign.See the great Travel Cheap options as follows:Cheaper OptionsActive Travel Asia offers cheaper tours by using alternative cheaper services or cutting off unnecessary activities. The clean, cozy, centre located 2-star hotels would be replaced the luxury and expensive 4 or 5-star hotels. The comfortable shuttle bus would be replaced the costly private transfer. There are more ways Active Travel Asia can do to save traveler’s money while offering quality trips.Active Travel Asia does not down grade their quality, Active Travel Asia offer cheap tours with greater value. Travelers can save up to 20% or more.Preferred Set DeparturesActive Travel Asia is aware that travelers need to plan the travel arrangements early to take advantage of their early payment discounts, utilize frequent flyer miles or benefit from airline early booking offers. Active Travel Asia is also aware that travelers want to meet other travelers and save money by joining group tours. To assist you in planning a great holiday in Indochina, Active Travel Asia has designated a number of tours as preferred set departures based on the reliable booking history.PromotionsTravel can be very cheap if travelers take the Promotions. Active Travel Asia offers great Promotions regularly and travelers can afford the travel anytime of the year. These promotions are not only about good prices but also offer lot of add-on value to make travelers travel cheap with great experience.DiscountsBook a private tour or more and take the advantage of the discounts to save money. Get discount when travelers travel with theirs family and friends, get discount when travelers book more than one tour at the same time. Travelers can save up to 10% or more.More details at http://www.activetravel.asia/special_offer/

Traveling across the world is something so enjoyable that most of us want to do it on a regular basis. Travel and tourism today is thus a multi billion dollar industry, with a rare capability of witnessing growth even in the worst economic scenario.
The exploding internet market has helped online travel companies to mushroom and cater to the growing market demand of instant travel booking facilities. They not only allow the customer to book travel tickets, they also help them plan out the entire holiday or vacation itinerary.
In the success story of any traveling company, a very big role is played by the travel brochures. Let’s see how…
Why a good travel brochure?
By designing and creating a unique travel brochure by any reputed graphic design agency based in the UK, the USA or India you can advertise your services and reach out to your clients in a more positive way.
A travel brochure includes general information related to the selected destination along with useful information about places to stay, prices, places to visit with plenty of appealing images. The first impression is usually the most lasting impression. And if your travel brochure makes a mark at the first glance, you stand a good chance of converting your visitor into your customer.
The process of designing a professional brochure
1. Do some research to get an idea about your competitors’ business strategies and policies. It would help you to plan the input of your travel brochure in a more successful way.
2. List the destinations which you want to include in your travel brochure from advertisement point of view. Look for all the possible destinations that your customers might be interested in.
3. From this list of important destinations, select the more popular destinations which you would like to highlight in the brochure, given their tourism potential.
4. Try to make a complete profile of the destination by providing a detailed map of the destination, geographic and environmental descriptions, population and weather reports, and a list of major places to see, languages spoken and the currency used.
5. As during a holiday, everybody wants to have some fun, a travel brochure must have a small description on the hot spots or events at the desired destination. Also remember, not everyone is alike and hence it is better to provide a cross section of all kinds of places of interest.
6. After you have classified the information and laid it out neatly in the pages, highlight the facets that you might feel is important for the user. Users usually do not read everything word for word. Hence highlighted information helps them to scan the pages faster.
7. To convey the collected information in a persuasive fashion, use lots of detailed descriptions, action verbs, and imaginative phrases.
8. Make sure to put a downloadable print version of your travel brochure in PDF format on your website so that users can take print outs and carry them along.
Check some online web and graphic design agency based in the UK, the USA or India to design your travel brochure effectively and efficiently. Remember to go for the designing part of a travel brochure only once all of the information and images have been collected. A well designed travel brochure can expand your market reach and customer base extensively.

1. Fruits
Everyday fruits such as blueberries, apples and bananas are great sources or energy and nutrients while on a trip. If you are hiking bananas are full of potassium that keep your muscles from cramping. Apples have natural sugars that give you an immediate carbohydrate load to keep your muscles fueled.

2. Cereal Bars

Low sugar, high fiber content cereal bars are an excellent source of fulfillment when on a long trip. The high fiber content helps to keep your stomach satisfied longer while on the road, and the low sugar keeps you from adding up excess calories.

3. Trail Mix

Dried fruit and nuts contain many vitamins and minerals to keep you going. A handful of trail mix can boost your body with potassium and magnesium which are both essential to metabolism, nerve function, and muscle function.

4. Peanut Butter Sandwich

Mom had it right packing peanut butter sandwiches when you were little. Two slices of whole wheat bread and a center full of an all natural version of that creamy delight from childhood and your energy will soar to keep you going.

5. Chex Mix

On average a bag of Chex Mix contains 50%-60% less fat than potato chips. This snack also carries a fiber boost from the whole grain portion helping you to curb your hunger till you have time for a bigger more satisfying meal.

6. Walnuts

A power packed snack for anyone, walnuts offer a serious relief for those in need. Containing more omega 3s than salmon, half the amount of protein as chicken, as well as anti-inflammatory polyphenols, walnuts are an essential part of any healthy attack of the munchies. Your heart, metabolism, and muscles will all thank you.

7. Grab-n-go fruit and yogurt smoothies

A great source of portable heart boosting energy, yogurt smoothies are an excellent addition to any diet as well as a great travel snack. Not only will you get anti-oxidants from fruits or berries in the mix you will increase your calcium intake without having to drink milk.

8. Energy Bars

Chock full of fiber, protein, and carbohydrates the average energy bar is nearly a meal in itself. When you are in dire need of a pick me up, a healthy energy bar low in sugars and fats will boost your energy and metabolism in all the right ways.

So the next time you take off on a trip, pack your own snack bag. Keeping several of these 8 healthy & easy travel eats at your side will make your trip more enjoyable and less stressful letting you rest assured that you took your waistline and body into consideration before departing. For more detailed information of healthy travel snacks for you specifically, always consult your doctor or nutritionist.

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