Before Planning Take Into Account Everyone's Ideas
http://e-marketingground.com/before-planning-take-into-account-everyones-ideas/
if you have paid for nearly every thing for the family holiday well in advance, you have got 1 less thing to be concerned about.
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Some great advice on planning a great family vacation.
Several Thoughts On Finding Great Value On Family Holiday Deals
http://hjdstravelgroup.com/several-thoughts-on-finding-great-value-on-family-holiday-deals/
When you are searching around for your family vacation you are likely to want to save money doing so. If you can still find a quality holiday that is at a much lower price, this would certainly be preferable to pay more than you should.
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School Holidays 2011, Australia : Family Holiday Accommodation and Vacations
http://littlenomads.com/reviews/school-holidays-2011-australia/
The best family holidays often start with careful planning and consulting with the family calendar of events, and the first thing that should go on the plan is kids school holiday periods.
Book early to avoid missing out because the Queensland school holidays have already started!
Travellers furious over hidden airline fees
http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/travellers-furious-over-hidden-airline-fees/story-e6frfq80-1225926741227
A recent study by Flight Centre found that travellers who fly on budget airlines may end up paying more than if they’d chosen a full-service airline due to the increasing number of extra charges, which can easily triple the cost of a ticket.
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There are many reasons why the cheapest airfare is not the best.. I think I'll be joining the advocate group for transparency.
Win a family holiday to Lapland - The Sun
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/advertisement_feature/monarch/3138190/Win-a-family-holiday-to-Lapland.html
MONARCH has been making dreams come true or families for more than 20 years and is one of the longest established Lapland specialists.
DAY TRIPS start from £399 per adult - based on December 11 or 12 departures - saving up to £320 for a family of four.
TWO-NIGHT trips start from £549 per adult - based on December 3 departures - saving of up to £568 for a family of four.
THREE-NIGHT trips start from £599 per adult - based on December 5 departures - saving up to £712 for a family of four.
FOUR-NIGHT trips start from £699 per adult - based on December 11 departures - saving up to £548 for a family of four.
FIVE-NIGHT trips start from £799 per adult - based on December 27 departures - saving up to £300 for a family of four.
Further departures also available from Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham.
Conditions apply. *Saving of £700 applies to family of four taking a three-night holiday on selected dates in December. Sun readers receive an EXTRA £100 per family of four when taking a three or four-night trip from Gatwick on selected dates (usual discount £600).
http://www.monarch.co.uk/offers/holidays/sun-lapland"> Click here for full terms and conditions.
Top cycling rides for family activity holidays in Wales - TravelBite.co.uk
http://www.travelbite.co.uk/travel-partners/articles/cycling-holiday/top-cycling-rides-for-family-activity-holidays-in-wales-$1378352$1363079.htm
If you’re looking to make the most of your family holiday in the UK, a cycling adventure could be one active break worth considering.
The power of the holiday photo
men wore ties. Even at the beach. Today it’s inconceivable that I was part of that black-and-white world and yet there I am, knock-kneed and toddler-bellied, not reaching up to my grandad’s waist.
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the suckiness of most vacation rental sites
http://www.tnooz.com/2010/09/07/news/the-problem-with-vacation-rental-websites/
Having spent my entire career in travel, and the last ten years in travel distribution, I’m a pretty savvy (I think) traveler.
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Business class airfares plummet
http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/business-class-airfares-plummet/story-e6frfq80-1225922129973
Travel.com.au and Flight Centre have reported a significant increase in the number of Australians searching for and booking business class seats, and are advising travellers to take advantage of the current discounts
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Image by littlenomads via FlickrYes it looks true, Oprah is not footing the whole bill and the Australian Government is using some of its dollars to pay for the show! But I actually think it makes sense to leverage a channel such as Oprah to spread the message about our great country Australia.
Personally, I'm not a Oprah fan as I don't fall into the target audience. But this show is one very powerful marketing show, and here are my off the cuff the reasons to why the investment is worth the effort.
The Perfect Social, Talking Storm
The final season episode that Oprah announced that she was taking the audience to Australia was watched by at least 7 million viewers with the majority of viewers being Women. This viewing audience are probably great influencers in their family households when it comes to the decision for a major purchase such as family holidays in the case of the Americans the vacation. Oprah's shows have the ability to move products in the millions; anything she likes and promotes tends to sell. She really is the queen bee when it comes to talk back shows.
The other big bang for buck is that The Oprah Show has global distribution in 145 countries that effectively means that the Australian Shows + the announcement get viewed in 145 countries. How much it would cost to run a TVC campaign across 145 countries to specific target audience? I actually believe $2 Million to $5 Million is value if you consider the cost it would take actually advertised on the time slot of a Oprah show. Considering the Australian Government blowed a cool $40m on creating an Ad for the overseas with the Baz Luhmann Australia AD which costed $40 million.
On the back of a envelope figures
The big questions will it bring visitors to Australia and how much will it generate for the economy. Let’s say there were 600 extra die hard fanatics that wanted to come out to Australian from the USA for 3 nights in Sydney just to be in the same city and maybe attend the show, if they got tickets.
There is over $2.5 million of potential revenue on some very conservative figures..
So what does the industry say about the show..
Tourism Australia's partnership with "The Oprah Winfrey Show," will see Ms Winfrey, her correspondents, and 300 of Oprah's most loyal viewers travel on an eight-day, seven-night trip to Australia, to film at least two episodes of the program during December.
The "Oprah" show cameras will be on hand to capture their journeys around Australia as well as bring everyone together at the steps of the Sydney Opera House - or as it will be known that week the "Oprah House" - for a spectacular show featuring Australian talent and special guests. Episodes will air first in the US in early 2011 and then roll out to other global markets.
Mr Dixon said the theme of the Australian visit "Oprah's Ultimate Australian Adventure" is a perfect fit for taking Australia's tourism message to the world.
Conversations
The word of mouth factor for the next 3 weeks from the announcement is worth every cent. Imagine the conversations around the water coolers in the office in the USA, or the social media sites (in which I'm sure the Australian tourism is measuring very closely) in regards to her announcement and show. Simply go and run a search for yourself on Oprah Australia and see what is returned, there is hundreds of results being returned from this announcement, it’s a great PR exercise.
The other positive is the domestic tourism factor is also good for Tourism NSW with the potential to have interstate visitors and intra--state visitors coming to Sydney to go to the show if they get a ticket. You only have to look at the comments on the Oprah site to see the Australian women that are hoping they will get a ticket and would be willing to travel to the show.
Here is hoping that we see more American Families travelling to Australia on the back of the any interest or seeds that Oprah plants in their minds.
Be sure to visit www.littlenomads.com for more great family travel ideas in Australia and best ways to travel with your kids.
Smelly nappy ... cool! Be sure to check out the diyfather link to making the most from a smelly nappy!
http://diyfather.com/content/smelly-nappy-cool
When you are out and about with your baby and you realise that the little nipper has just done “the business” in his nappy, rather than be annoyed about it - use it to your advantage. E.g. when you are shopping in the supermarket carry your baby at chest height (instead of leaving them in the stroller). You’ll be amazed by how many people will let you go in front at the check out queue.
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'You're going to Australia!' Oprah Winfrey's amazing holiday gift to entire
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1311694/Youre-going-Australia-Oprah-Winfreys-amazing-holiday-gift-entire-studio-audience-John-Travolta-pilot.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Surprise! Oprah Winfrey sure knows how to do a giveaway… she announced on her show that she would be flying her entire audience on an all expenses paid trip to Australia
Celebrity pilot! John Travolta will be personally flying Oprah’s guests on a private jumbo jet
And the crowd goes wild! Oprah’s audience are thrilled to learn about their fabulous gift Oprah announced that all 300 members of the audience will be going on an eight-day trip to Sydney, dubbed ‘Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure’.
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Seven-year-old struck down with salmonella on holiday
http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Seven-year-old-struck-salmonella-holiday/article-2635743-detail/article.html
A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD Notts girl was struck down by salmonella while on holiday in Cape Verde.
Daisy Lee, from Cossall, became ill while on a two-week family holiday in June at the Riu Funana resort. Her family have now instructed travel law experts Irwin Mitchell to act on their behalf against the hotel.
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How To Bring Back Boring, And Possibly Horrid, Travel Photos
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/how-to-bring-back-boring-and-possibly-horrid-travel-photos
"have taken boring travel photos. Sometimes. Maybe you know you take boring photos and maybe you don’t. And maybe sometimes, like me, you look back and realize you took some, but not until it was too late"
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Families Are Seeking Luxury Getaways and Weekend Breaks
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Families-Are-Seeking-Luxury-Getaways-Weekend-Breaks-Despite-Economy-Says-Haven-1317275.htm
The most popular regions for holidaymakers have proven to be Kent, Sussex and Dorset while campers and families or couples with touring caravans opted for Wales, Blackpool and Cumbria. The UK has become an extremely popular location for holidays recently, with airport delays and staff strikes causing people to look a little closer to home for breaks and discovering beautiful parts of Britain that they never even knew about.
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Richard Branson vows to undercut Qantas on long hauls | News.com.au
http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/richard-branson-vows-to-undercut-qantas-on-long-hauls/story-e6frfq80-1225920158347?area=travel
AIR fares from Australia to Europe are set to fall as much as 40 per cent if Sir Richard Branson can fulfil his ambitious plans.
The British entrepreneur yesterday vowed to give established airlines such as Qantas a run for their money on several new routes.
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Check out this interesting article on news.com.au
For people who have lost a loved one, moving beyond grief and mourning can seem impossible. In Germany, leading travel company TUI has teamed up with grief counselor Fritz Roth to offer mourners a 'journey back into life' by stepping out of their daily routine. Starting this month, Reise Ins Leben is offering group holidays to the Mecklenburg Lake District, Portugal, Spain and Greece. The trips follow a specific daily rhythm: mornings are devoted to quiet reflection, afternoons are about venturing into life by going to a beach or a museum, and evenings are focused on life's pleasures: enjoying a good meal or listening to music.
Since everyone is going through the same process, the groups bond quickly, with members offering each other support and encouragement. While death and grieving might feel like taboo subjects at home, the holidays provide an open and positive atmosphere, as well as the time and distance needed to deal with such a key stage in life. All trips are accompanied by grief counselors trained by Roth, and the company advises participants to wait three to four months after a loved one's death before going on a trip. It also recommends traveling without family or friends.
While similar holidays have been offered by smaller organizations, the involvement of a major brand like TUI suggests this could be a significant opportunity for entrepreneurs elsewhere.
Website: www.reiseinsleben.de
Contact: info@reiseinsleben.de
Spotted by: Andy Kurth
Looking for a free breakfast, a kids stay free discount or a resort credit?
Priceline introduced Hotel Freebies, a way for users to mine the company’s database of published-price hotels and search for free or discounted hotel offerings by freebie type or city.
Customers can type in a city name, retrieve properties offering freebies and search by freebie type.
The types of freebies include free parking, room upgrades, free nights, kids stay free discounts, resort credits, extras, golf credits and free breakfast.
Freebies are listed in tandem with room rates.
The other way to search for freebies is by freebie type instead of starting with a city search.
Hotel listings come with an availability calendar pointing users to the most likely travel dates when freebies will be available, Priceline says.
Priceline quietly introduced Hotel Freebies last week “after a major development effort,” a spokesman says.
So, after conducting a Hotel Freebie search for Orlando, Fla., hotels, you can see that the Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport hotel is offering a free breakfast, as does the Crowne Plaza Orlando Airport for some room types.
For Orlando, users can narrow their search by selecting filters for instant discounts, free breakfast, hotel extras and resort credits.
And, an ever-updating list of newly negotiated Priceline discounts scrolls by in a right-hand navigation pane, with the words, “Negotiated 3 days ago,” for instance.
Priceline considers itself a venue for value-oriented consumers and Hotel Freebies fits right into its sweet spot.
Well I guess it was only a matter of time ... The Wiggles have launched their own iPhone app. In fact they have launched 7 iPhone apps (!) One of the seven apps ('Colouring In') is available free of charge from the app store - all the others are paid for apps and will set you back $1.29 per app.
So all up you're looking at a spend of $10 if you get them all (not too bad considering what all the other Wiggles stuff costs). Here's a list of the apps with a short description:
Big Red Car – Drive the Big Red Car while collecting a range of musical instruments as The Wiggles make their way to their next concert destination.
Big Red Plane – Help The Wiggles by collecting their favourite items on their way to Wiggle Bay! Find Anthony’s flippers, Murray’s floatie, Jeff’s surfboard, and Sam’s hat as you fly through the sky in the Big Red Plane!
Thirds – The Wiggles are all jumbled up! Sort through a range of heads, torsos and legs to put The Wiggles back together again.
Maze – Guide Dorothy, Wags, Henry and Captain Feathersword safely through a set of mazes, while collecting some of their prized belongings along the way.
Tea Party – Dorothy is hosting a tea party with all of her friends! Help her prepare her tea party by catching items as they fall from the sky.
Dress Ups – Choose from a range of themes and give The Wiggles a makeover. Whether you like the circus, beach or safari, there are a range of costumes for you to dress your favorite Wiggle in. And the free app "Colouring In" (The Wiggles seem a little pale, and need some colour to brighten them up).
The apps will be loved by all kids who are into the Wiggles ... and perhaps also by kids who are yet to discover what the Wiggles are all about.
All in all an inevitable move by one of the world's biggest kids brands ... busy iPhone dads / parents will welcome the apps as a way to keep the kids entertained for a while. Time will tell how quickly the novelty of the apps wears off ... either way, probably worth checking out if your kids are Wiggles fans.
Enjoy!
-stef
If you are like us we love the iphone and all the children's apps that are availble. This one looks like like a cracker what little ones don't like the wiggles.. toot toot.
Term deposits are a great way to save for a family holiday simply find a rate that you are happy with and pop into the bank. It's like baking a nice wildfire loaf!
As mentioned on news.com.au - Mr Beu says the overriding factor favouring term deposits as a reliable savings vehicle is interest rate certainty.
Another advantage of a term deposit is that the money is locked away from a temptation to spend it.
Browse > Home / Travel News / New waterfalls discovered at El QuestroNew waterfalls discovered at El Questro
September 1, 2010
It’s not every day you stumble across previously undiscovered waterfalls.
But this is exactly what happened to Michael Bass, the El Questro Wilderness Park Manager
who was carrying out a routine aerial burn programme.“Finding Amaroo Falls was a surprise right out of the blue,” said Michael, more commonly
known as Micko, who has worked at El Questro for eight seasons. “I was speechless when
we landed to have a look. That such a beautiful place was not known about by now was
hard to believe. We did a couple of loops in the helicopter and I was amazed at the make-
up of the falls, a series of falls connected by crystal clear swimming holes that just screamed
‘explore me!’”“Two weeks later I was back, swimming in the pools.”
Located in the south eastern corner of El Questro, 25km south east of the main activities hub
of El Questro, The Station Township and 25km south of Emma Gorge Resort, Amaroo Falls
are the latest jewels in El Questro’s crown, found purely by chance. And because of their
beauty they have been named Amaroo Falls, ‘amaroo’ meaning ‘beautiful place’ in Aboriginal.Only accessible by helicopter, Amaroo Falls comprise a stunning collection of around 15
waterfalls and cascades of varying heights from 2 metres to 45 metres. In addition there are
pristine swimming holes and some of the most breathtaking views El Questro has to offer,
sweeping across the south eastern El Questro plateau.Vegetation at the falls includes Kimberley heather, grevilleas, acacias and spinifex. Being
one of the semi-tropical pockets of El Questro there are also maidenhair ferns with tropical
box trees and rock figs growing out of the walls.To allow visitors to El Questro to enjoy the waterfalls, the El Questro rangers have
developed the Amaroo Falls Tour. Taking a maximum of just two passengers, the tour is
priced at $650 per person and includes the scenic flight to Amaroo Falls, guided
commentary and interpretation from an El Questro Ranger and a gourmet picnic lunch. Once
at the falls guests can hike, swim, learn about the flora and fauna, or just relax in their own
magical corner of El Questro. The tour takes approximately two-and-a-half hours.Covering a massive million acres, El Questro is located in Western Australia’s East
Kimberley, 110km from Kununurra.It is a land of red-rock mountains, resplendent river
gorges, boabs and hidden patches of rainforest. And spread out across a million acres, there
are waterfalls, gorges, ravines and cascades that have remained undiscovered for years.El Questro was first owned by Torrance McMicking who, in 1958, lodged a pastoral claim
and named the property. Several owners later, Will and Celia Burrell purchased the lease in
1991, opening Emma Gorge after the wet season and launching it as a wilderness resort in
May 1992. El Questro Homestead, with its spectacular location overlooking the Chamberlain
River, was opened in September 1992 followed by the Station Campground and Bungalows
a year later in May 1993.Today, around 3,500 head of cattle still roam the northern flats of the property while visitors
can enjoy a range of accommodation and experiences suited to any style or budget: from the
Station Campground and Bungalows, to tented cabins at Emma Gorge and the luxurious
Homestead overlooking the Chamberlain River.Additional soft-adventure activities at El Questro include cruises along the Chamberlain
River, barramundi fishing, scenic helicopter flights, enjoying a dip in Zebedee thermal
springs, bird watching, 4WD tracks, gorge hikes and bush walks, history and bush tucker
tours, horse riding and much more.El Questro Wilderness Park opens from 1 April to 31 October every year, allowing for the
dramatic thunderstorms to pass over the Kimberley and replenish its numerous gorges and
waterfalls during the annual wet season.For more information go to: www.elquestro.com.au. For reservations, telephone 08 9169
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Image by littlenomads via Flickr
Researching the best places to stay with the family in Fiji, and you’re interested in finding out more about the InterContinental Fiji which is on Natadola beach. To help with your research we have compiled a quick list of reviews and articles on the Intercontinental in Fiji, plus some stunning images from the resort.
