Green Valley Moments

Why travellers should have insurance to protect against accidents abroad

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:06:26 +0000

You can plan your actions for your smooth survival but there are certain actions that take place by themselves without your control. And there are a lot many inconveniences in life that strike us. These are illnesses, accidents abroad, thefts, and the like. Given the high cost of living and high medical costs, meeting medical emergencies may turn you bankrupt. A similar situation entails in a travel plan. Most travelers get insured with some medical insurance to meet such emergencies if any during their entire trip.

Travel insurance in India is offered by a number of insurance companies; these companies also provide other comprehensive insurance policies. Travel insurance in India is almost similar to the same offered abroad with the key objective being assurance of financial security during the travel period. It differs in the benefits covered. There are chances that while traveling abroad, you may be stuck owing to a sudden illness and with little or no understanding of the local language, you may end up spending lots turning yourself bankrupt as medical expenses in a foreign country is exceedingly higher than in India. If your company pays for the expenses, you stay at a competitive advantage. But if the same is gone from your pocket, you may face a financial crunch and it may take months to recuperate yourself from the situation. A travel medical insurance requires you to pay only a meager amount for a certain insured sum and in case you face any emergency, the expenses will be incurred by the insurer.

Travel Insurance in India covers emergencies related to illnesses, thefts, loss of baggage, loss of passport, etc. that can impact your plans while you travel. The travel health insurance plans offered by the companies covers individuals and family members. Companies like Apollo DKV offer you unique benefits associated with travel such as transport of imported medicines, emergency cash, family transportation, doctor referrals, etc. besides access to latest travel and health-related information. A travel medical insurance policy may differ from plan to plan in terms of premium and benefits offered. The higher the premium the higher is the insured sum. You can also compare the various travel health insurance plans online in addition to getting instant quotes at online insurance platforms. The validity covered in travel insurance in India extends from a few days to a complete year depending on the policy one buys.

Golfing in North Cyprus

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:47:22 +0000

Since the opening of the Korineum Golf Course and Country Club near Esentepe in 2007, North Cyprus has become a favoured destination for golf tourism. The course was designed by the renowned British golf architect, David Hemstock, and is of international championship standard, hosting several professional tournaments each year. These include the Glenfiddich Open Golf Tournament in February, the Besparmak Trophy and Gayem Open.

About a half-hour drive north of the capital Nicosia, Korineum is served by numerous hotels, both close by to Esentepe, and further out towards Kyrenia. If you are unfamiliar with the area, or if you are planning your first golfing trip to North Cyprus, it is well worth your while checking out some independent hotel reviews through a Northern Cyprus Hotels booking and reviewing website so as to give yourself a feel for the type of accommodation available, and its distance from the Course.
Korineum Golf Course Information

Spectacularly woven into 65 hectares of natural olive grove and Carob Tree scrub, the Korineum Golf Course is a real asset to the landscape in which it is set. Views of the mountains and the sea are afforded at every one of its 18 holes. At par 72 and 6,232 metres in length, Korineum is designed to challenge pros, but equally is suitable for beginners to the sport.

The course is open all year round. Features of note at Korineum include:

* Greens average 500sqm
* Tees average 5 per hole
* Fairways undulating and strategically shaped
* Bunkers are a mix of sand and white crushed marble
* Two lakes provide water hazards on the course

Club House and Facilities

The clubhouse at Korineum is a state-of-the-art eco friendly building designed to blend with the natural environment in which it stands. It houses two restaurants, a golfer’s lounge, bar, spa, fitness centre, gymnasium and conference rooms. Sea and mountain views are gained from the building’s extensive outside terraces, as are views along the golf course itself. So whether you wish to relax with a drink or a meal after a round of golf, or simply need inspiration to keep your non-golfing partner happy while you’re out with your clubs, the Korineum clubhouse could be just the ticket!

Get active in Venice

admin — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:36:53 +0000

Venice may be more renowned for its cultural and historic appeal than its sporting credentials, but if you want to kick-start the New Year with something a little more active, don’t despair. Venice’s sporting calendar is bursting with exciting events throughout the year, as well as boasting a wide range of sporting activities to tempt all outdoor lovers. Check out our guide below:

Football/Soccer in Venice

Italy’s passion for football is not wasted on the Venetians and its popularity is growing by the day. The city’s team, Venezia plays in the Pierluigi Penzo stadium, located in the eastern side of Venice in Lisola SantElena. If you’re visiting in football season, tickets are readily available at branches of the Banca Antoniana Popolare Veneta – perfect for an afternoon out.

Boating Regattas and Rowing in Venice

Being the original city of water, boating and rowing regattas are obviously popular in Venice. If this sounds up your street, be sure to visit in September when the Regatta Storica takes place. Celebrating the Renaissance period, this exciting pageant features a wealth of costume-clad crews and historic vessels. Gondola races are also a popular pastime, particularly down the Grand Canal where it becomes particularly competitive. If rowing is more your thing, visit in May during the Vogalonga Marathon, where foreigners are welcome to take part.

Sailing in Venice
If you’re partial to a bit of sailing, a number of sailing schools are located around the city where even motorboat licences can be gained. The main sailing clubs lie near the Giardinetti area in San Marco, which offer boating lessons for adults and young children.

Golf in Venice
If you prefer something a little more slow-paced, a number of great golf courses are located on the lido, just a short distance from the city. The Golf Club Venezia is a particular favourite, having hosted the Italian Seniors Open Tournament and stretching to nearly 7,000 yards.

Tennis in Venice
Also over at the Lido are a number of tennis courts and clubs which welcome non-members should you fancy a game. Get there via the Lido vaporetto, then the bus.

Swimming in Venice
Finally, if you’d prefer to cool off then simply take a dip in the Lido or alternatively head to one of the many public beaches. The best are located in San Nicoló to the north and Murazzi and Alberoni to the south.

For more information on activities, events and restaurants in Venice, check out these online travel guides.

4 Ways to Make Money as a Travel Writer

admin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:30:08 +0000

Money For Traveling asked:

Have you ever wanted to travel the world and make money for writing about what you see? It’s not as hard as you may imagine. Using a few underground techniques, you can be making a healthy income in no-time flat for writing about traveling the world!

Here are the ways you can make money as a travel writer:

1) Traditional Method: Selling Your Stories To Travel Magazines and Newspapers.

This is the most common and most well-known method. Ironically, it also pays the least of all the methods.

You can take two paths when selling your article to a magazine. First you can query a magazine on their interest about a particular subject. If interested, they will agree to buy your article if it meets their standards. The second method is to write the article, then try and sell it.

To find magazines and periodicals that purchase travel stories, go to the library and check out the most recent Writers Market and you’ll have over a dozen periodicals that pay anywhere from a few hundred bucks to a few thousand dollars for an article.

The risky side to this is that there are no guarantees of payment, and you must either have a great story or be a great writer to make this work. Not impossible, just tough.

2) Writing For Other People’s Blogs.

If you can write a 400-1500 word post on any given subject, you can sell the post to a blog at a set price. Heres why: Blogs constantly need new content. It’s how they stay fresh with their readers and how they stay well-ranked in the search engines.

However, writing a new post every few days is a difficult task! If you take over that task for a blog owner, you’re going to be saving them a TON of time and effort, providing their readers with great value, and making an income for a project that is relatively easy for you to complete.

You can get paid anywhere from 20 bucks to a few hundred dollars for this kind of writing… and it’s a LOT easier to do that writing for a magazine.

Think of it: You spend a day writing 5 articles and sell the articles for $30 dollars each. Now you’ve made $150 dollars for a couple of hours of work and everyone is happy.

3) Writing for Your Own Blog.

Another option is to write your own blog and use your travel stories to drive traffic to it. You’d be surprised at the number of bored, lifeless people who want to live vicariously through someone traveling the world. You can then monetize your blog by selling adspace or selling products related to your blog. This sounds basic, but it has made many-a-traveler tens and even 100’s of thousands of dollars per year.

4) Completing Writing Projects on ‘Project’ Sites.

There are literally hundreds of writing projects posted every single day on Elance, Guru, DoMyStuff, and other ‘project’ posting websites.

All you have to do is set up a free account as a content provider, then answer people’s requests for writing projects. Once you’re done, the funds will be electronically deposited into your bank account, and you can withdraw the money from any ATM in the world. You can then pick up another project… or complete several projects all at once!

Many projects go for $1000+ dollars, so it doesn’t take a lot of these to be able to travel well and travel often. You can even do the work on the airplane ride to your next destination!

If you have any writing skill at all, you will be able to pick one of these methods and become a well-paid traveler.

**Attention Readers**

To get your copy of our free step-by-step guide showing you how to make money as you travel without ever holding a ‘job,’ visit http://www.moneyfortraveling.com. The expert authors at www.MoneyForTraveling.com

have all made a substantial internet income while traveling or they have been hired and paid well to travel the world and will show you how to do the same.

**Attn Ezine editors/Site owners**

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site as long as you leave all links in place. You may not modify the content and must include our resource box as listed above. However, you may sign up as an affiliate at MoneyForTraveling.com and insert your affiliate links to earn income for your efforts.

Travel Guru Guide to Prague City Breaks

admin — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:44:05 +0000

Travel Guru asked:

Guide To Prague City Breaks

Knowing where to go in Prague while on a break either during traveling through or stopping and staying is to know something about the city itself. Prague is the Capital of the Czech Republic and a famous historical city as well. Prague is known for hosting events like the Film, Music, and Writers Festivals as well as Fashion Shows. There is more money going through Prague than most places in all of Czech.

Prague Hotels & Sights

Prague has a wide range of hotels offering luxury and budgeted stay. The famous hotels of Prague are Corinthia Panorama, Corinthia Towers and Hotel Hilton Prague. Not to mention Prague has some of the most inspiring architecture around, one such is the St Martin Rotunda with its beautiful rounded design and historical significance. What about the grand Prague Castle and the glorious St Vitus’s Cathedral with its many spires and stained glass windows. Both of these will inspire even the most hardened of hearts and give you a memory you will never forget.

Prague City Break Attractions

There are other magnificent Churches you can visit while you are on your Prague city break, the Church of St Nicholas that brings the old world style and modern glamour in one. Then there is the view of the Wenceslas Square or the Prague Gardens such as the Petrin Park. The bridges in Prague are something else that should not be missed one fine example is the Charles Bridge.

The Neo Gothic towers of St Peters and St Paul, here you can see where myth and legend meet history are viewable by anyone and everyone as the first seat of Czech Princes and Princesses. You will also want to visit the Astronomical clock dial, which was made in 1410 by Mikulas of Kadan and Jan Ondrejuv called Sindel. There is also the National Museum to visit, the Rudolfinum or House of Artists and of course the many art galleries. You can find yourself basking in history or mixing it with the modern world.

Getting Around Prague

While on your Prague City Break you might find yourself wanting to spend more than a few hours wandering around and need a place to stay. Well with the new Ruzyne Airport only 20 km northwest getting there is easy, public transportation made up of trams and Buses or car rentals you can get around Prague easily and efficiently. There are many hotels in Prague to choose from Corinthia Panorama, Corinthia Towers and Hotel Hilton Prague to renting an apartment.

Travel Writing: How to Make Money Blogging About Your Travels

admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:37:31 +0000

Money For Traveling asked:

Have you ever wanted to travel the world and make money for sharing your adventures with the world? Using the web and a simple blog, this couldn’t be easier. There are just a few simple, yet hidden techniques for making a healthy income for blogging about your travels.

In fact, the number of underground travelers who hold no jobs, yet make cash for writing about their travels is growing by the day. We keep our mouths shut about our techniques as we visit worldwide destinations and get paid for telling the world about it. I know there have got to be great people out there who deserve to travel and want this information, so I’ve decided to share a few of our techniques:

1)   Own Your Blog. Sites like Blogger, Myspace, and BlogSpot are no good for our purposes, because you can’t tweak the site to make a profit very easily. Instead, if you buy a domain for 10 bucks and then install Wordpress, you now have the platform to make it extremely profitable.

2)    Utilize PPC (pay-per-click) to get started. You won’t make a massive income off of this right away, but you can easily make 5-10 bucks a day in the beginning. That may not sound like a lot… but it’s enough for a meal every day or a flight after a month, and the number only gets bigger as your blog grows in readership.

3)    Collect names and email addresses. You want to do this so that you can bring your readers back to your blog. Very few people ‘bookmark’ a site any longer, but if you email your readers every time you post a new article, you will grow your readership at an exponential rate.

4)    Offer an RSS (Real Simple Syndication) subscriptions. Don’t let this intimidate you. Setting this up is as simple as checking a box on your blog’s options. RSS is another way for your readers to keep up-to-date with your blog. Insead of you emailing them, their RSS reader of choice will automatically show them the newly posted content. The more they see your content, the better chance they’ll click on an ad (and therefore, the better chance you’ll get paid)

5)    Sell a product that will interest your readers. Once you are up and running, you will see your readership growing as well. Now it’s time to really monetize your site. This is where affiliate marketing comes in. This is simply taking a commission for any customer you send to another product (considering they buy the product). So, every now and again, make a blog post about the affiliate product you are promoting. When your readers see this, those who are interested will click on your ‘affiliate link,’ and if they buy, you get paid. Easy as that. Becoming an affiliate is always free, and there are thousands of products begging for active affiliates.

By the way, affiliate commissions are typically 50% to 75%. Gigantic, and very profitable.

6)    Create your own product. The only problem with affiliate marketing is that the product is completely out of your control and you only take a part of the cut. Once you have a bunch of blog posts, you can bundle them together and make an ‘ebook.’ Sell this to your loyal readers, and you’ll be surprised at how many of them will pay for the content they’re getting for free anyway!

There are bloggers out there who are making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for writing about their passions. My instincts tell me you’d be happy with a few hundred or thousand dollars extra per week, so start taking action on these ideas. They’re not complicated, they just require action. The best part is, once they’re set up, they can all be automated and can take place without your presence!

**Attention Readers**

To get your copy of our free step-by-step guide showing you how to make money as you travel without ever holding a ‘job,’ visit http://www.moneyfortraveling.com. The expert authors at www.MoneyForTraveling.com have all made a substantial internet income while traveling or they have been hired and paid well to travel the world and will show you how to do the same.

**Attn Ezine editors/Site owners**

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site as long as you leave all links in place. You may not modify the content and must include our resource box as listed above. However, you may sign up as an affiliate at MoneyForTraveling.com and insert your affiliate links to earn income for your efforts.

What Kind of Travel Experience Do You Want?

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:56:03 +0000

Stuart S. Travel asked:

So you’re going on a trip. Fantastic! Exciting! But what sort of trip are you planning to take? Is it for business or pleasure? Where are you headed? Who are you going with? Just what kind of travel experience do you want?

Traveling on a budget can give you all sorts of experiences, depending on a) your budget, b) where you want to go, and c) what you want to do. Everyone’s budget will be different, and traveling on a budget means knowing how much money you can afford to spend and sticking to that amount. So if you have a budget of two thousand dollars, your travel experience will be different from someone who has a budget of ten thousand dollars. It’s all relative to the dollar amount, but knowing some tricks to help you save money while traveling will make your dollars stretch further therefore increasing your travel experience.

Do you want to travel overseas? Do you want to travel around your home country? Do you want to stay in luxury accommodation or are you going to back- pack? Are you traveling with children or are you honeymooning? Are you traveling with a bunch of friends or are you keen to experience a group tour with strangers? Do you want to go to popular tourist sites or do you want to experience a destination’s way of living in remote areas?

All these questions are things you need to ask yourself before you begin to plan your trip. You can either plan your trip with your budget in mind, or plan your trip, work out how much money you’ll need and save until you can get there. The first is probably a little easier to do because when the travel bug hits, you generally want to take off as soon as possible. Knowing your budget can guide you in making your decision of how and where you will be traveling. But if you have your heart set on a trip of a lifetime to an exotic island in the Pacific then you will need to save accordingly. It’s your choice.

Once you know what type of experience you are after, it’s time to work out the best way to get it on your available funds. Traveling on a budget is easier than you think these days. No longer does it mean living on stale food and sleeping in questionable accommodation. If you are wise and spend some time investigating deals to your chosen destination you could be able to enhance your traveling experience more than you thought possible. A bit of research will get you a long way when traveling on a budget.

This article is brought to you by: Stuart S. Travel – Your Online Travel Guru

www.stuartstravel.com

Travel Jammu Kashmir, India

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:38:40 +0000

K H Travel asked:

Millions of tourist visits Jammu Kashmir situated in India every year to see its fascinating tourist destinations,exotic wildlife, heritage sights. Jammu Kashmir has been famous for its natural beauty since time immemorial and has been aptly described as “heaven on earth”. The city of Jammu is known for its temples, Srinagar is famous for its houseboats while Kashmir is known for its scenic beauty and has often been referred as the “Switzerland of the East”.Some of the major pilgrimages centers of the nation are located in Jammu Kashmir, the two most important being Amarnath cave and VaishnoDevi shrine.

The state has lot to offer to its adventure loving visitors ,like trekking, mountaineering, skiing, paragliding & parasliding, cycling, water sports,angling, hand gliding and hot air ballooning. Jammu, Gulmarg and Sonamarg are few places where these activities are carried out.

Places to visit Patni top, Dal lake, Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Leh, Ladakh, Katra, Bahu Fort, Raghunath temple.

The hotels in Jammu Kashmir range from deluxe/luxury hotels, five star hotels, budget hotels to business hotels and economy hotels and also Dal Lake Houseboats are of all categories. If you are planning to travel Jammu Kashmir then visit our website kashmirhotravel.com to make online booking for hotels.

Special offers:

Magic of Kashmir (4 Nights and 5 days in Heaven)

Srinagar Short and Sweet Package

Contact us:

Ph: +91-177- 2860601

Fax: +91-177-2860602

email: info@kashmirhotravel.com

marketing@kashmirhotravel.com

Cheap Airfare for travel vacation

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:15:51 +0000

Globester Travel asked:

Traveling is the most expensive part in planning any holiday vacation. No matter what the reason, everyone needs to use air travel at some point and for many it is a great expense and worry due to the high prices and associated costs of flying. Finding discount air travel can be one of the best ways that you can manage to get a cheaper trip. Cheap flights are becoming a much sought after commodity and people are beginning to find many different places where it is possible to find affordable cheap flights without a lot of hassle, time and effort. Many people who wish to travel cheap will want to go online and offline to find the best deals on their desired tickets. There are many resources appearing now which are able to find cheap flights and compare many different routes and airlines so that you can be provided with the details of the best offers.

The invention of the Web portals plays an important role in promoting cheap airfare from websites. There are times where you can find good deals through online airline ticket purchase especially you are buying from low cost or budget airlines. Applying some useful tricks while buying your airline tickets, you can save a lot. Various web portals give you easy access to information, so that you can become familiar with various travel sites dealing with airlines and airline tickets. There are travel sites which claim to be the lowest fare, but you never know until you look around, and surfing the Internet for the best price may take some time, and time is money. Internet has become the most significant revolution in the tourism industry with the advent of commercial air traffic.

It has been seen that you can get cheap flights from website, incase you book your airline tickets late night and early morning hours. There can be some great airline deals to be found during off peak hours. Follow the trick to book your cheap airfare during weekdays. Weekdays may cost you much cheaper instead of weekends. Prices can skyrocket unexpectedly, therefore it will cost you cheap if you’re willing to fly on Saturday and return on Monday, than if you need to leave on Friday and return on Sunday. Generally on online travel sites you can book you airline tickets along with your complete information about your destination like about your desired location, destination weather, perfect time to visit, tourist attraction, accommodations, entertainment places and when and where should you go in your destination.

One of the easiest places you should search is the major airline websites. One can come across cheap airfare online if they desire to break their flight journey. Most of the times it is more expensive to buy a direct flight than to buy a flight that stops one or two (or even three) times on the way. Such issues have been seen while using an online travel or flight agency. Various airlines display information about inexpensive flights offer on their websites depending on the season, destinations and departures. Browsing and comparing various cheap flights from websites ensures a traveler to get the best deal available. Don’t forget to take advantage of airline miles from credit cards and other rewards programs to pay for your flights.

Why Traveling Without Insurance May Cost You More

admin — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:18:11 +0000

Stuart S. Travel asked:

You are going traveling. You have lots of expenses to cover. You need to pay for your air fare, your accommodation, your food, your travel while away, cultural experiences and the list goes on. You want to save money so you decide not to bother with travel insurance. You are going on the trip of a lifetime so nothing will go wrong. It’s an unnecessary expense so you don’t need it. Wrong. Very wrong. Traveling with out insurance can be the biggest mistake you make when organizing your trip and a very costly one.

What is travel insurance? Well there are two kinds of insurance to look at when traveling.

1. Travel insurance, (sometimes called trip insurance) which covers cancellations, delays, lost baggage and emergencies.

2. Travel medical insurance protects you against any medical expense while traveling.

Ideally, you need a combination of the two when traveling.

Imagine these scenarios:

You are in Darwin, Australia when a cyclone hits the area. The city is devastated by the cyclone and all services shut down. You have to be evacuated and sent home. Your travel insurance will cover you for this. You do have travel insurance don’t you?

Your luggage goes missing in India. You need to buy new clothes and fast. Can you afford it in your budget? Of course you can, you took out traveler’s insurance – didn’t you?

Or what if you go surfing in Hawaii and take a big wipeout? You are so severely injured you need surgery and major medical assistance, and then are airlifted home. But that’s okay – your travel medical insurance covers all that. You have got it, haven’t you?

Travel insurance is there to protect you in case bad things happen on your trip. It is a necessary expense. Overseas medical costs can be astronomical if you are not insured. And if you are injured in a developing country, medical attention may not be as good as at home. If you are insured you can get flown home and attended to at no cost.

Every year the government deals with thousands of cases of travelers being injured, falling ill or dying overseas. This is a distressing situation for all involved, but made even worse when the travelers are not insured, often leaving them with huge bills to pay. Hospitalization in other countries can cost over one thousand dollars a day. Medical evacuations can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and if you die in Europe, it can cost over ten thousand dollars to bring your body back home. If you do not have travel insurance you have to cover these costs yourself (or your family will have to find the money).

Travel insurance is a cost you need to budget for. If you don’t take it out, your medical expenses could cost a whole lot more. Insure yourself and travel safe.

This article is brought to you by: Stuart S. Travel – Your Online Travel Guru

www.stuartstravel.com