Travel tips from around the world

The trek to Annapurna Base Camp is graded ‘moderate’ for difficulty, and ‘exceptional’ for Himalayan scenery. This base camp trek starts in the lowlands and winds its way up to the Annapurna Base Camp at 4130m, where you will be standing on a glacier surrounded by towering snowy peaks, without any risk of altitude problems.

The two week trek to Annapurna Base Camp follows the same route used by expeditions attempting the massive south face of Annapurna I. It combines the experience of amazing natural scenery with a real taste of local culture. Besides being surrounded by lush alpine forests with rhododendron trees, terraced farmland and the backdrop of the breathtaking Himalayan range, accommodation in village teahouses of quaint hatched roofed settlements, gives insights into Nepalese culture. The trek allows time to take photographs and chat with local people, most of who belong to the Gurung and Magar ethnic groups, who are well known as the brave Gurkhas soldiers of the British army.

The adventure to the Annapurna Base Camp starts from Pokhara, a quiet city nestled in a valley beside a peaceful lake with an incredible view of the Annapurna range. For many travelers Pokhara itself is a destination in Nepal. We start our trek into the Annapurna foothills at a rushing stream called Phedi, from where we ascend up to Dhampus, the first of many mountain villages we will pass through. Each day as you trek you will enjoy the impressive snowy peaks of Annapurna I, Annapurna III, Annapurna South, Himchuli, and Fishtail, from your changing viewpoints.

To reach base camp, the last two days of trekking follow the narrow gorge of Modi Kola until you are surrounded by a high and glaciated wilderness sanctuary, the breathtaking and unsurpassed Annapurna Base Camp.

Annapurna Foothills Treks and Expeditions offer competitive prices and excellent packages which assure that you are well taken care of and enjoy your trek to the fullest.

Anyone have any recommendations for good travel insurance (covering medical + trip cancellation/interruption) company for a year-long round-the-world trip?

Alternatively, does anyone know of any insurance policies I can get JUST for insuring the loss or theft of my high-value electronic items? (Aside from not bringing them altogether, but I find having a laptop is essential when trying to book hostels, find hosts, get flights, etc.)

Hello! Here is my little story about traveling by car across Russia.http://russianodyssey.livejournal.…

My friend is going to a wedding in Chios, Greece at the end of August and needs to find a place to stay that is somewhat decent. Doesn't matter if it is a hotel, Bed & Breakfast, or a hostel but she wants to spend under 70 Euros for one night with another person in the room. Anyone have any suggestions or been to any places she should avoid?

The wedding is at Karfas Resort but any place around Chios that is a reasonable distance would be great.

Thanks in advance!

Hey guys,

My boyfriend and I taking our first vacation together to Jamaica for 7 days next week (June 12th-June 18th) and staying at an all-inclusive (the Gran Bahia Principe Jamaica) in Runaway Bay.

Any tips on what to/not to pack, and activities we should/shouldn't do?

We have a master wish list of adventures including seadooing, parasailing, surfing, ATVing, renting a motor boat, horseback riding, the Bob Marley museum, the Appleton Estates rum tour, going to Black River and Y's Falls, going to Negril (for Rick's Cafe and cliff diving), and going on the Ocho Rios shopping tour. We obviously won't have time for all of that though, haha. Any advice on what to keep and what to cut from the list?

Also, right now the weather reports are showing chances of thundershowers for the first three days of our trip at least, so we may need to come up with some backup activities for the rainy days. Any ideas?

We're also from Vancouver, so we'd like to find a pub/restaurant/etc. to watch the playoff games with other hockey fans on Monday and Wednesday night (if the Canucks haven't already beaten Boston by then) - any tips on where to go? I checked http://nuck-yeah.com/, but they don't have any entries for Jamaica.

Last thing: We were really keen on renting a car for the week so we could cruise around and explore the island (he did this when he vacationed in Hawaii and had a blast), but our travel agent recommended against driving ourselves in Jamaica and told us to take cabs when we needed to instead. Can anyone confirm or deny this? Would renting bicycles to take rides around the city be any better?

Thanks so much!!

Didn't see this question posted within the tags:

I work a minimum wage retail job - it takes a while to save. I have never travelled on my own outside of my country (USA) but I definitely have the travel/adventurer gene - I'm starting to feel completely suffocated where I am, and I'm itching to see the world!

I just wanted to know, where did you start in all of your travels? How did you begin doing all of it if you were on your own?

What did you do to make better money if you (like me) work minimum wage? Did you just wait every 6 months to save enough to take a trip?


I know a lot of planning and scrounging is involved - but other than that, how did you prepare?

Keep in mind, you're talking to a 20 year old person who has never been out in the world other than a student trip six years ago to Europe where everything was planned and in a group.

Does anyone have any hostel or otherwise-cheap-housing recommendations for Vancouver (of the Canadian variety) and/or Seattle (of the Washington variety)? I'm going with my boyfriend the second and third weeks of June, if that's of any assistance.

I'm looking for non-gender segregated housing with large, secure storage lockers where I can leave my massive suitcase (I'll be staying on in Seattle for a few weeks afterward) while we romp about the city.

Thanks in advance!

Hi guys!!

I want to fly into Italy this August and stay for about two weeks. The way I like to do this is buy two one-way tickets. This way I can fly into Rome, make my way to Milan and fly out from there rather than stressing about getting back to Rome.

That being said, ticket prices seem to be crazy right now- I'm looking at $900+ for each one way ticket, and $1300-$1400 for round trips. I don't recall ever paying over $1,000 to get to and from Europe.

Are these prices what I can expect? Or is it just too early to book? I know that August is top holiday season but I've gone in August before and haven't paid this much!

Thank you so much for any/all your help!

I just got back from Baja Sur. Right on the border between Baja California and the southern half (Sur), MX.

I had a lovely time! The trickiest bit involved trying to co-ordinate with another person who had a totally different idea of what a Baja vacation would be. I wanted to meet whales, and he wanted to go to Cabos to be pampered. We tried for months to try to have a two-part vacation and connect up the two things, but apparently no one does it, and it was difficult to do. (Especially if one of you balks at taking a long bus ride. Just sayin') I was starting to say that we should probably take separate vacations, when he capitulated and came on the eco camp vacation.

It did involve a hotel night at either end. We also were to have a one-day snorkel/picnic in the Sea of Cortez. He was able to do that, but 15" of snow prevented me leaving Minneapolis on the appointed day, and he had to go without me. I was then a day behind him, which meant that he was on his own two days. (He was coming from Virginia). Because of the whole bus aversion, we flew into LA, spent the night there and (in the plans) and flew on to Loreto the next day. It was possible for me to do this in one day, but it adds to the flight costs. If it turns out you don't mind a long bus ride, fly into Cabo San Lucas, and immediately get on a bus for La Paz. Spend the night there, and bus on to Lorato the next day. This breaks it up. It is possible to fly from CSL to La Paz, but there is one flight per day, and it requires planning and luck!

Loreto is a city, but it is not particularly touristy. I learned that in the 15 years since I was in Mexico, that it is OK to use tap water in the larger cities. (Beware the smaller ones, however) Loreto was gearing up to be the *next destination* and then building just stopped with the recession. Prices are higher than you might suppose south of the border, but compared to Los Cabos, they are very nice.

We had to leave at 7:30AM (mountain time) on a van to catch our panga on the other side of the penninsula, so eating at the hotel restaurant was not an option. The food was very good, but service is slow. If you don't have a tight schedule, simply slowing down to the pace of where you are is best. We bought food for breakfast at the local supermarket, El Peskadore. So we munched while we got ready. We had re-packed the night before, because we were about to go camping!

We did a pretty good job of assembling in time to leave, though the family of four only got coffee before having to leave. We had an ornothologist along as a camper, and that added another dimension of appreciation. The van ride is 2 hours through the mountains to a plateau/plain of sorts. High desert. We arrived at Bahia Magdelena 2 hours later and embarked on our first whale-watching ride on a panga (skiff). The first day, the whales seemed to love us. We got really spoiled.

Camping was the best kind, where the tent is pitched, there is a sleeping pad, and we just change out the liner they wash in between groups from the sleeping bag. We were on a barrier island, with a view of the bay which included frequent whale sitings. They also cooked. My companion is vegetarian, and I was gluten free. Although we ended up bringing in some food (which caused us a little concern), the cooks did their best to accomodate our needs. I was really happy to have my gf bars if there was a long time between meals, but they had run out of tabouleh and ended up not using my quinoa. I was still fed really well.

The second day, we spent an hour in the mangrove swamp, which was teeming with birds. It was a choppy day, and the whales weren't too keen on coming near the boat, anyway.

The last day, we brought our gear onto the panga, because we headed to the port town to disembark. There was lunch in town, and then the van ride back. That night was at a hotel. There was a farewell dinner, which was loads of fun, but we needed to pay for that. It was a great group!

I probably could have opted to go on the snorkel the next day, but I had had enough of being scheduled. We wandered around Loreto, and had lunch before getting ready for our ride to the airport. I could have used about 4 more days.

I am a new owner of a digital camera, so my photos are only so-so. I'm posting a link to the travel company, which has good pics of living conditions.

http://www.seakayakadventures.com/…

Hey awesome people! I really want to see "The Wave" in Utah, I already know about the lottery system and applied. (There's also showing up at 8am for the stand-by ticket, so I'm really hopeful something works out.) The website and all of its warnings are starting to freak me out though, and the guy at the BLM was rude and thought I was an idiot. I'm not, but I am a New Orleans girl, walking on flat land that goes from 6ft below sea level to about 1 ft above. I've never driven a car on anything but a highway or paved streets. I have hiked in the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee, on pretty steep cliffs at Giants Causeway North Ireland, and in a few National Parks in California. So could anyone tell me if I'll be ok, or if I really am in way over my head? One of the biggest website concerns is the heat and I can assure you I'm not worried about that at all. I'm used to 110 degree summers with humidity, so I'd probably love a dry heat. I just have no idea what Scramble ratings mean, and what you could compare a Scramble 3 to. (I was thinking California b/c of the steep/slick areas with no railings and the man at the BLM told me it was nothing like it b/c there were no trees b/c Utah is a desert. Really!? Thanks man.) I'd really appreciate any tips, words of encouragement, etc you might have. Anything at all would be great, but I'm particularly interested to hear stories from anyone who has hiked both The Wave and one of the places I've been. Thanks all!