It’s one of the most sort after roles a travel enthusiast can hope for and with thousands of men and women competing for the same roles within the same organisations how can you make yourself stand apart from the crowd?
To help you on your mission to bag that job of your dreams we spoke to some of the people in the know. We went to the very horses mouth to find out the tips they wish they were given before they set out on their mission to succeed.
I’m pretty fortunate to say I’ve always lived only a couple of hours drive from the Lake District, England’s biggest national park. Made up of a number of breathtakingly beautiful lakes, the county is also home to Scarfell Pike, England’s largest mountain which along with Ben Nevis (Scotland) and Snowden (Wales) makes up the UK’s 3 Peak Challenge.
The Lake District entices a vast amount of tourists each year inclusive of Hikers, Campers and Adventurers. The spectacular natural surroundings makes it one of my favourite places to holiday which is why I’ve collated a list of things not to be missed on your weekend to the Lakes.
You can’t begin to explain the sheer beauty of Thailand to those who have yet to experience it. The scenery is out of this world in many parts and leaves you breathless, longing for more.
My top tips for anyone wishing to visit the land of smiles would be to research exactly what you want from your trip, the diversity of the country allows travellers to experience a whole different realm of culture from island to city. For those wanting to explore I heavily suggest heading east with an open mind, be willing to embrace whatever the country has to throw at you. Continue reading
I love America and have visited the continent on numerous occasions, but recently I undertook one large road trip across the states. As a UK citizen I found it difficult to gage the expenditure and budget for ‘cost of living’ against the activities I wanted to experience. I thought it useful to outline to travellers how much of the budget I actually blew on my road trip and the best ways to save when travelling the states.
In most countries, particularly Asia, it’s far cheaper to ‘wing it’ shall we say and book your accommodation as you arrive, this is not the case in America. Planning is everything when it comes to travelling America. Work out your route, and opt to spend more days in the cheaper areas, also consider weekends, it’s cheaper to stay out of the large conventional cities such as LA, San Francisco & New York on weekends.
Do your research, travelling by car appears expensive on the surface, but split it 4 ways and this makes getting about a less costly experience. Gas in the states costs nothing compared to Petrol in the UK so don’t just assume that a budget trip can’t include a car. A secondary advantage of having a car is you are able to sleep in it, or get to the more rural areas to camp, this will bring the cost of your trip down whilst being a fun alternative to another night in the Hotel.
Tips, I wrote an article on tips that you should check out before travelling. A minimum of 15% is compulsory and is not considered a generous tip, you should budget to leave 18-20% for all sit down meals, take this into account before you opt to eat in the establishment.
Wifi is available in mass across America, from bars and restaurants to historical establishments. Make sure you request the wifi password and Skype/Facetime home for free, far cheaper than purchasing an unnecessary and costly Sim Card.
The total budget for my trip was £2,000 (including flights from the UK), my total expenditure was around £2,400. It’s important you take into account all additional costs before you budget for the states! But always remember, you’ll make back your money when travelling Asia a less costly part of the world.
xx
If you’ve not heard of Polagram just yet then let me enlighten you. Polagram are the easy to use app that allows users to order Polaroid style prints of personal snaps at a fraction of the cost of the original, iconic but expensive Polaroid!
So how does it benefit me? I’m a snap happy kinda gal, self-acclaimed Instagram addict with a love for cold hard prints.. how could it not benefit me. No seriously, I really do believe it’s important to keep paper memories, I love scrap books and Polagram prints are the ideal size to slot in with my ticket stubs & receipts.
The pros:
The prints you receive aren’t as chunky as the original, this makes it easier to slip into my scrap books and cheaper to post.
Your choice of a personalised message is available at the checkout, making this a perfect alternative to a postcard should you travellers be missing home and wanting to post a little love back to your family & friends.
Prints are a great way to decorate a room, grab a marker pen and jot down the place & date on your photo! Then string it up on your wall, perfect!
So how does it benefit you? Ok, so you want a bit more variety in your print options, no matter, Polagram offers an array of options at reasonable costs:
1. The classic print, these are available in 3 different sizes costing £3.19 for 5 prints and an additional £0.29 for each extra print. Get it in only 24 hours!
2. The Large prints comes in 2 sizes for £2.39 and is shipped the next day, from Monday to Friday.
3. PolaSkins are the cool new design for your iPhone 4 or 5! Order your personal skin for only £9.99, a great gift idea.
4. or why not try something completely different!.. PolaSticks. For 9 personalised stickers (5 by 5 cm) you’ll pay only £12.49. Shipped in 48 hours.
I’ve got to say I’m becoming a Polagrammer Addict placing 4 orders in the past week, so tonight, I’m going to pin up my Luckies of London Corkboard Map and begin pinning my photos to my visited cities!
Would love to hear your thoughts on my review.
Rebekah Esme was kindly given this product but as always, my opinion is my own.
It’s always been a bit of a drag, going on holiday and having to source a nice postcard that reflects the area you have travelled to. From personal experience I have found myself putting aside half a day to hunt for the right cards to send home. Then there’s the added dilemma of actually finding a post office to buy some stamps & beating the card home before you yourself return!
I’ve toyed with the idea of personal postcards and have done some research into the best service at the right cost. Last week I stumbled across a Lettr.co. Lettr.co allows travellers to send innovated papery postcard from any place in the world. No need in having a pen, stamp or even postcard! Just snap yourself in your travel destination and take it from there.
I tested out the service to see exactly how well it works and I’m delighted to say ‘I’m impressed!’. The feature works great from both a mobile device or computer and is quick and simple to navigate (it took me the grand total of 3 minutes from start to finish, and that included some dithering towards what I wanted to write!), below are some print screens of the step by step process to sending home your personalised postcard.
Select your ideal photo
Add the body of your postcard
Add a description to your photo
This also works well from a mobile device:
With the great feature of adding your signature as a personal touch!
And fully impressed with the end result! Great quality card with both the QR code and exact location of which I sent the card. My new favourite service.
I believe in today’s society we have lost some authenticity, we rely too heavily on social media. Try taking a step back & consider how much your Grandparents will appreciate this heart felt notelet. I am offering my first 10 readers a free trial. To retrieve click here: Lettr.co
It’s difficult putting your itinerary together when planning for a city as dense as New York. After 4 separate breaks to the city I finally feel like I might have got it down to a tee. Here’s my ideal itinerary for catching all the tourist hotspots in just 2 days.
Day 1.
9.00am – wake up early and head down to Brooklyn Diner (just off Times Square) for a great New York breakfast.
10.00am – jump onto the Downtown loop on the hop on hop off bus departing outside the Renaissance hotel on Times Square.