Fiji Airways DC-3 circa early 1960s
Airlines have a bad habit of being unstoppable forces, cruising to their immutable destiny completely powerless to change course even if a financial need or other potentially catastrophic event might warrant it. Like some flying Titanic, they jet off towards the future with little ability to get out of the way of the oncoming iceberg.
Considering this, I have to hand it to Air Pacific for taking back their own destiny. Come October Air Pacific will officially return from whence it came and reclaim the airline’s 1958 title, Fiji Airways. The change comes after extensive research showing that people were not connecting with the name Air Pacific in significant ways and saw a glaring need to return to profitability.
Image credit: The Telegraph
If you’re a person into superlatives, you’ll want to read this. The newest edition to Tokyo’s skyline is now the world’s tallest tower, the second tallest freestanding structure and may have the most expensive ticket price for any single travel attraction.
The Tokyo Sky Tree is finally complete and now stands at a majestic 634 meters (1093 feet), eking out the title of world’s tallest tower over the Canton Tower in Guangzhou, China. The only taller man made structure now is the stupidly tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai (at 830 meters).
If you’ve spent any time in South America, you’d know that all large cities have a uniquely Latin flair to them. Buenos Aires is no different, except that it also has a European influence not evident in any other city on the continent. This unique blend of Latin and European culture makes Buenos Aires stand out among the rest of the cities in South America and gives it a different look and feel.
When planning a trip to Buenos Aires, there are many options. The city is massive, and the different barrios give travelers an opportunity to stay in a part of the city that fits their style. While there are 48 distinct barrios in Buenos Aires, most travelers choose between one of the six most popular: Microcentro, Retiro, Recoleta, Palermo, Puerto Madero, and San Telmo.
Even though each is in close proximity to each other, they all vary and offer something different and unique in terms of accommodations, restaurant, and entertainment options.
Microcentro
The microcentro is technically the city center and encompasses the area around the Plaza de Mayo, Casa Rosado, National Bank, Cathedral, and Congress. Florida Street runs off the Plaza de Mayo and is a big, outdoor mall area that has anything you may need (though it’s not the most authentic of places). This area is quite touristy, and while the architecture is impressive and there are some good restaurants (though there are good restaurants around the entire city).
I would recommend staying somewhere else and spend an afternoon visiting the sites here.
The tight little traveling unit that is Theodora Sutcliffe and her son Z has been roaming the planet for the better part of the 2 and a half years, seeing sights and generally enriching both their lives as they go. Since their departure back in 2010 Theodora has taken this unique opportunity to contemplate parenthood while still realizing her dreams of travel, giving her her readers lessons she’s learned about her son, international travel, even elephants that can paint, collected into a highly entertaining and informative “family” travel blog.
Over the course of this time period, said blog, Travels With a Nine Year Old, has amassed a generous supply of family travel how-tos that you should read if you’re trying to muster the courage to take your own child(ren) with you on a trip around the world.
The following is a guest post by Nick Ball of Lanzarote Holiday Villas
The small Canary Island of Lanzarote is just a two and a half hour flight away from mainland Spain. But as your plane circles above the island before coming in to land at Arrecife airport you could be forgiven for thinking that you’ve been transported to another planet. As the island boasts the most surreal volcanic scenery – forged in the heat of some of the biggest eruptions ever recorded.
Lanzarote is located just off the coast of North West Africa and whilst it is part of both Spain and the EU it is worlds away from the green and verdant scenery of the Iberian Peninsula. A desert islands in the truest sense, Lanzarote is almost totally denuded of trees and plants as it lacks any natural water sources or springs and is rarely troubled by rainfall, a major plus point for sun starved tourists but a giant headache for the locals. Who have had to resort to some truly ingenious methods of dry cultivation over the centuries in order to feed their families.
If it’s one thing we love to promote over at BootsnAll, it’s independent travel. Sure, tours are a necessity sometimes, they can be a great way to visit certain places, and they can add to an experience in some cases, but if we had to choose a certain way of visiting a new destination, it would be independently.
Which is why New Zealand is one of my personal favorite destinations in the world. It truly has everything you want in a destination. Stunning scenery, super friendly people, great food, wine, and beer, a variety of activities (from extreme adventures to casual hiking), and easy and varied ways of getting around the country.
To sleep peacefully in an airport terminal is a comfort not many of us know. Most of us are relegated to the misery of cold tiled floors and iron armrests sticking into our backs. Fortunately a few airports have taken pity on those long-connection unforntunates stumbling around in the early morning.
Munich is the latest international airport to hear you.
It’s been a hoot talking about family travel over the past few weeks, getting to know several family travel bloggers out there in the trenches and gleaning tips from the fray. Some great advice has risen to the surface and with any luck a handful of new traveling parents have reaped some benefit.
To round out the series, here are 10 helpful links to some of the best traveling with kids advice I found out about during this journey.
Babble.com recently listed their favorite family and baby travel bloggers on the web. It may take a while but this resource should bring some great leads for both information and inspiration.
The latest in our Take Your Kids Traveling series is an article written by new parents Nicole and Cameron Wears and appears in its entirety on their great travel blog, The Traveling Canucks. For more about them read their “about” page. Thanks Nicole and Cam for your help showing our readers how not scary it is to travel the world with children.
When we started telling people that we were going to have a baby, a common response was, “so I guess all of that traveling will stop now that you’re having a baby?”
The statement confused us.
Obviously traveling with a baby is a completely different experience, but that doesn’t mean that we should stop traveling just because we have a baby. It simply means that our travels will need to evolve with the times.
All travelers travel differently. Some travel solo, some travel as a family, some with siblings or friends, and some travel with their significant others. Who you travel with, and your dynamic, is a major factor in what happens once you’re on the road.
My wife and I had traveled plenty together before planning a RTW trip. We had been together for 8 years, lived with each other for 6, and been married for 3 by the time we set out on our big adventure, so we assumed that traveling for a year as a duo would be a piece of cake.
While we were partly right, and overall the trip was a massive success, there were plenty of bumps along the road. Even though we knew each other well, when you spend every moment with someone, you have to work hard to make the lifestyle work.
Once on the road, we realized just how different this trip was from every other one we had taken. When weeks turn into months and travel burnout rears its head, you begin to question value of the whole endeavor. After a while, though, you get your travel legs and routine sets in. Like at home, you each fall into different roles and start trusting each other wholeheartedly.
Here are a few tips for all those traveling couples out there to help make long-term travel easier, especially if you’ve never done it before.
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