Mommy Plannerista

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Find a Happy Holiday Destination

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If you were asked which is the world’s happiest country, what would you guess at? Spain? Switzerland? Australia? All wrong. The happiest country is actually Costa Rica. Now if you haven’t ever been to Costa Rica then you seriously don’t know what you’re missing out on.

So where exactly is Costa Rica?

 Costa Rica sits in the bit of land that attaches North America to South America, between Colombia and Mexico. A short distance away from Cuba, it has the Caribbean Sea on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.

 What makes it so special?

 As well as the beautiful ocean surroundings, some of the great attractions are the various rain forest excursions that tourists can go on. Unlike your standard holiday, Costa Rica offers experiences that are hard to beat. It is also a very popular destination for divers and snorkelers.

If you love amazing beaches then Costa Rica has over 300 of them! It is also a great place for surfing, generating a great party atmosphere.

If you want to learn more reasons to visit this great place then the Telegraph published an article on 29 reasons to visit Costa Rica recently. The reasons include:

providing some of the best coffee in the world; a chance to visit the Monteverde cloud forest and Arenal volcano which stands at an impressive 5,358 feet! If you’re an adventure fan then you can do loads of exciting stuff in Costa Rica like zip wiring and white water rafting.

Another review of Costa Rica by The Guardian, cited the main attractions to be Costa Ballena beaches, Corcovado rainforest and seeing Arenal volcano erupt. All these reviews seem to say similar things, and all conclude that this destination is a totally unique experience

 Where to Stay

There is a wide range of options for holiday accommodation, from luxury lavish hotels to budget beachfront bunks, you can stay in Costa Rica in whichever style you wish. See sites like Costa Rica Holiday Rentals to get a full run down of the types of accommodation that is available.

If you’re looking to try somewhere new and unique this year then give Costa Rica a whirl. It has everything you look for in a holiday destination and much more. If you’re bored of the same European beach holidays, or tired of the predictable Florida attractions then be adventurous and try the happiest place on Earth. If the beaches and surfing aren’t your thing, then the opportunity to visit rainforests and volcanoes might be right up your street. If you’re taking the family then there is a great mix of adventure, nature, tranquility and fun at your doorstep. The other great thing about Costa Rica is that when you get there, you can easily keep the family entertained on a budget.

Finding Inspiration in South East Asia

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Travelling is a great way to broaden your horizons and it is often when we are encountering new experiences that we find the greatest inspiration. South East Asia, with its tourism favorites of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, continues to inspire millions of travelers every year.

No matter what your interests, you’re sure to find something to enliven your spirits in this vibrant part of the world. Below is a list of some of the most inspirational and stimulating aspects of South East Asia.

Street food

South East Asia has a rich culinary tradition and one of the delights of travelling here is being hit by the sights, sounds and smells of its many street food vendors. The selection of dishes can be overwhelming, but by sticking to some of the more well-known areas, like Phnom Penh night market in Cambodia and Ben Thanh market in Vietnam, you’re unlikely to go wrong.

Local highlights vary by country but be sure to try rice vermicelli with green curry in Thailand, stinky tofu in Taiwan and Pho in Vietnam. The brave souls among you may also want to partake in some chicken feet, which can be found all over the region.

Cultural Landmarks

If history and culture are your thing then South East Asia will delight and amaze you in equal measure. In Bagan, Myanmar, you’ll find the largest concentration of Buddhist temples in the world, while Cambodia’s world-famous Angkor Wat lays claim to being the largest religious monument on earth.

Even if you prefer your culture to be a little more contemporary, there’s plenty to get inspired by. The grandeur of Malaysia’s Petronas Twin Towers has to be seen to be believed, while the Hei Tower in Vietnam is now famous for its award-winning tetrahedral design.

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The People

One of the most inspiring things about South East Asia is the people, who are friendly, generous and always willing to offer a helping hand. Talk to tuk-tuk drivers, market traders and local tour guides and you’ll surely be met with plenty of warmth and hospitality.

For those of you that want to get to know the local culture a little better, there are plenty of programs to help you ingratiate yourself with the native population. For example, you could offer to volunteer in Thailand, Cambodia and other nearby countries in order to help teach and support the local community while immersing yourself in the native customs.

Nature

The natural world has been inspiring humans for thousands of years and continues to do so to this day. Travelers to South East Asia are spoilt for choice when it comes to breath-taking views and wonderful wildlife, so make sure you don’t spend all of your time wandering through the region’s bustling cities.

Natural highlights include the pristine beaches of Thailand, Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia and the Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines – the last of which is considered by many locals to be the eighth wonder of the world.

With travel more accessible than ever, there’s never been a better time to seek out something new. With its unique mix of history, wildlife and culture, South East Asia is the place to visit for a truly inspiration trip.

Love To Travel But Hate The Stress Of Planning? No Problem!

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Do you love to travel but hate the months of preparation beforehand? If so, we’ve got you covered. This is the only travel planning guide you’ll ever need! Bear these suggestions in mind, and you can enjoy the fun of traveling without any of the hassle.

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Planning your trip

If you love taking vacations, the planning stage should be exciting, not stressful. This is the bit where you get to choose where you go, and you receive those all-important confirmation emails. The fact that there’s a lot to organize, and multiple people to please can make life more difficult. If you’ve been tasked with arranging the next family vacation, these tips will help.

Choosing the perfect location

Before you book flights or search for hotels, ask people for ideas and work out a budget. Your budget should include the total package. It’s worth noting that you’ll often spend more on room only packages than you would on an all-inclusive break. Take spending money into account rather than the basic cost of the holiday. Once you’ve got a shortlist, you can start looking at flight and package prices and special offers. Some places may not be affordable, but if you come across several viable contenders, compare the pros and cons. Once you’ve highlighted the case for each destination, take a vote. Once you’ve got the destination pinned down, you can shop around for the best deals. Look for flight sales and compare prices of hotels online. If you’re booking a family holiday, it often works out cheaper to go for a package deal that includes everything.

Once you’ve booked your vacation, you can start researching the local area to see what you want to do and where you want to go. If you’re interested in traveling around, investigate car hire prices online. You can often save a lot of money by reserving a car in advance. If you want to book excursions, again, it’s worth doing your homework before you jet off. If there are several different tour operators offering the same trip, read some user reviews.

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Insurance and documentation

Always make sure your passports are valid before you book a trip. Once you’ve selected a destination, it’s worth checking whether or not you need additional papers, such as a visa. Before you go, you should also ensure that you have travel insurance. You can buy travel insurance online in a matter of minutes. If you travel without insurance, you run the risk of paying out for medical care. Insurance also covers lost luggage, flight cancellations and theft.

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Packing tips

Packing is arguably the worst part of going away, especially if you’ve got kids. However, there are ways of making it easier. Try and get organized early. Get the cases down, and pack anything you want to take that you won’t need before you travel. Wash and iron any clothing you want the week before. Write a list of anything you need to buy, such as adapters or headphones. Go shopping a few days before so that you can pack well in advance. Write lists for each case so that you don’t forget anything. Set aside hand luggage bags, and make sure you have everything you’ll need at the airport and on the plane to hand. Example of things you may want to carry with you include your travel documents, games and books, snacks, a music player and any medication you may need. Check the luggage allowance before you start packing, and weigh your cases. If you take too much to the airport, you’ll be charged extra. For more helpful packing tips, check out http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/fashion-news/holiday-packing-tips-our-guide-to-packing-like-a-pro-123710.

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Final preparations

Before you go away, make sure that your home is safe and secure. Switch off electrical appliances, and adjust the heating or cooling systems. Empty houses may attract interest from thieves, so make sure you lock all the windows and doors, and hide valuables away from sight. If you don’t have a burglar alarm, it’s a good idea to invest in one. You can read reviews and get recommendations from the alarm-reviews.net website. It’s a good idea to tell your neighbors that you’ll be away for a while, and ask them to keep an eye on your property. If you don’t have neighbors, you could ask a relative or friend to house sit for you.

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If you don’t want to park at the airport, book a taxi a few days before you’re due to fly. It’s important to give yourself enough time to get to the airport and get through check-in and security checks. In most cases, it’s best to arrive between 2 and 3 hours before your departure time. Check your emails and voice mails the morning before to make sure there haven’t been any changes to your flights. If online check-in is available, log on and go through the processes. You can then print your boarding passes, and this will save you time at the airport. If you don’t have a transfer booked at the other end, do this before you travel. It’s often cheaper to book a transfer than to flag down a cab at the airport.

Before you leave for the airport, check your packing lists once last time, and make sure everything is crossed off. Make sure you have passports, boarding passes, and essential items like phones and cameras.

Many of us love to travel, but the stress that comes with planning can take the shine off. With this guide, you can arrange holidays without the hassle. Next time you go away, follow these simple steps, and you’ll be getting onto the plane and switching into vacation mode before you know it. Plan ahead, shop around, and get your packing and shopping sorted in advance. Make use of the Internet to make reservations, and get the best prices. Always travel with insurance, and make sure your passports are in date before you book anything. Ensure that your home is safe and secure before you leave. Lock up valuables, and set the alarm. Book transfers, and then check you’ve got everything you need to travel. Finally, board the plane, get comfortable and put your feet up. Have a wonderful break!

9 Travel Tips for Families on a Budget

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Our family loves to travel. Not only is it a great opportunity to bond with each other, it’s also a learning opportunity for all of us. We haven’t done any traveling this year though because I’m pregnant, but hubby and I plan to take our soon-to-be four kids on a trip somewhere next summer.

Because we’re going to be a family of six already in just a few weeks, we’re obviously more conscious now of how much money we can afford for a trip. So as early as now, we’re already thinking of strategies on how we can afford to travel well with a limited budget.

For those of you on the same boat, I’d like to share some tips we’ve learned over the years when it comes to budget traveling for the family.

1. Stick to a travel budget.

Traveling is obviously an expense and it can be extremely expensive if you’re not careful. It’s best to prepare in advance and decide how much you are willing to spend for a trip. It’s not enough to decide on the total amount alone, though. Break it down into smaller components, such as transportation, accommodations, food, entertainment and the like. Once you come up with a budget, stick to it.

2. Choose a destination wisely.

Choosing a destination will depend on a lot of factors but a large part of it comes down to what your whole family will enjoy. If your kids are old enough, ask them to participate in the discussion on where to go so that you’ll get an idea of what types of activities they’d like to do. That way, you can choose an appropriate destination and not waste tons of money in a place nobody will enjoy.

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3. Read reviews from other parents and families.

Learn from the experiences of other families like yours. You can ask your relatives and friends of course, but don’t forget to check online as well. There are tons of reviews on the Internet from moms and dads, bloggers or not, who are keen on sharing what worked for them and what did not on their trips.

4. Check out travel websites and apps for great deals.

The Internet has made parents’ lives easier in a lot of ways and that includes planning for a trip. Travel websites, such as Traveloka, for instance, allows you to quickly and easily research on available flights and hotels all on in one place. You can book and pay securely online as well. Need to change or update something on your itinerary? All you need to do is log in.

Want to do it on your mobile device? You can! Traveloka even has a flight ticket and hotel booking app you can download for free, available on both Google Play and the App Store.

Don’t forget, booking online can also help you take advantage of travel deals only available on the Internet.

5. Book early online.

We all know that the early bird gets the worm. Well, that applies to booking, too. It’s not enough that you book online, you have to book early because it could mean more savings for you. Sometimes the best deals are only available for a short amount of time, so you better catch it while you still can.

6. Use loyalty cards, vouchers, or miles.

If you plan to do a lot of traveling, it would be wise for you to take advantage of rewards programs from credit cards and the like that can offer you frequent flier miles and other points you can use when you travel. Rack up enough points and you can even travel for free!

7. Travel during off season.

Take note of the peak and off-peak seasons for traveling. You can expect prices to skyrocket during peak travel times so it would be best to avoid traveling then.

Traveling during the shoulder season, which is the period immediately before and after the peak season, is usually better because the cost of airfare and accommodations are reduced. Another advantage of this is that there are fewer people traveling, which is exactly what you want when you have kids in tow. You can just relax more and take your time.

8. Look out for freebies.

Who doesn’t appreciate free stuff? Research well and you’ll find deals that give you free extras. Hotels, for example, can provide you free use of amenities, such as a swimming pool, playground or gym, that can occupy your time well. Some also offer free toiletries, breakfasts, and transfers.

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Don’t stop there and look for destinations or attractions, such as museums and parks, that can provide your family with free entrance or activities.

9. Be wise about food.

Traveling can make one hungry and you know how expensive food can be when you’re feeding several kids. To save on food expenses, cook if you can. If you can’t, just avoid eating near popular attractions where food tends to be more expensive. Traveling is a great way to educate kids about different cuisines anyway, so let them explore and eat where meals are cheaper, such as in food trucks or street stalls. Just make sure they’re clean!

These are just some of the tips you can use when you’re traveling on a budget. The bottom line is, be mindful of what you’re spending on so that you and your entire family can enjoy yourselves on your vacation. Happy trip!

Exploring the World’s Most Liveable City

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Which city is the world’s most liveable city? It seems to depend on who you ask. The lifestyle magazine Monocle seems to have a sweet spot for Tokyo, Japan. The Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Vienna, Italy as number one in a recent finding. But the city whose name is most often thrown about is neither in Asia nor Europe. According to the Economist Intelligent Unit, the Australian city of Melbourne is the world’s most liveable city. They came to this conclusion in the most recent ranking, in 2015. They came to the same solution in 2014. And in the three years before that, also.

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Five years in a row? That’s an impressive feat. But what is it that makes Melbourne a city so pleasant that it’s gained so much renown around the world for it? Thousands of travelers are flying over to Melbourne to try to solve this mystery for themselves. With such findings, vacations to cities like New York City, Paris and London suddenly don’t seem as hot as they once did.

Of course, you may ask yourself how a vacation can get these findings across. After all, it was a judgment of the liveability of given cities. How can a vacation give you the experience of actually living in Melbourne? Well, if you’re eager to explore the place for yourself, then you may want to consider staying in short stay apartments in Melbourne instead of a hotel. It will feel pretty similar to actually living in Melbourne for however long your vacation is!

Here are some of the amazing things to do on a trip to Melbourne.

See one of the world’s most incredible art centres

Melbourne has an astonishingly vibrant art culture. Walking through it’s many alleyways you will see an incredible amount of street art. (Tasteful) graffiti is embraced in this city. You can’t walk anywhere without seeing amazing colors and drawings.

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Of course, when people think about art in Melbourne, they usually think about The Arts Centre. It’s host to the best galleries and theatre pieces in the city. The building itself resembles the Eiffel Tower!

Visit one of the best botanical gardens in the world

When people think about visiting cities, they understandably have a very specific image of what the visit will be like. Lots of corporate buildings, massive crowds, shops everywhere. But some of the best parts of big cities are the places that don’t fit that description at all. Think of Central Park in NYC, for example.

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Wikipedia

In Melbourne, there’s the Royal Botanic Gardens. The amount of green space available here is astonishing, as is the diversity of gorgeous plants. It’s the perfect place to soak up some of that famous Australian sunshine.

Try some of the world’s best coffee

American cities like to make a big deal about the quality of their coffees. But very few of them actually have strong coffee cultures. The coffee in this town is famously rich and dark, with professionals people dedicating hours to finding the best coffee in town every week.

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Flickr

They also serve LSD in coffee shops in Melbourne. That stands for Latte of Soy and Dandelion by the way – a unique and refreshing drink, if a slightly strange one!

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