If you fancy visiting a beautiful european country this summer then there's no better choice than Italy. Eurocamp offer holidays at Lake Garda which provide a relaxing vacation for anyone.

  • Top 5 Christmas Break Destinations

    General

    The Christmas break is becoming increasingly popular with people escaping the family gatherings to go and have a bit of winter sun. Here are our top 5 Christmas break destinations.

    German Markets: They are springing up across the UK and becoming popular events, but why not pop over to Germany and experience the real Christmas markets they have to offer. With gift ideas you won’t find here and lots of food choices why not wrap up and head over to fully immerse yourself in the German market experience.

    Paris: if it is possible to make the most romantic city in the world that tad more romantic it can only be done by adding a dusting of snow to the equation. Paris in the winter is a sight to behold and the perfect location for a Christmas break. Warm up with a coffee and croissant after walking along the ….. and take in the Effie Tower for a truly romantic break.

    Norway: Now this may not be the first location that springs to mind for a Christmas break but it is one of the best locations to see the northern lights from and the best time of year. Spend the days snuggled up in your log cabins, exploring the snowy landscape of taking a ride in a husky driven sledge and spend your nights wrapped up with warm drinks viewing the wonders of the havens for a truly magical Christmas.

    Egypt: For those who want a bit of winter warmth Egypt is just the place. With lots to do and explore Egypt is packed with history, good food and warm seas to cater to every taste. Explore the valleys of the Kings and Queens from a hot air balloon or lounge around the pool in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt is perfect for the sun seekers looking to escape the winter blues.

    Lapland: No guide to Christmas destinations would be complete without this. Spend your days on sledges and see the vast landscapes of snow filled hills before the ultimate Christmas treat, a visit to Father Christmas in his grotto. This wll be a Christmas to remember for children young and old!

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  • Top 5 places to holiday in winter

    For those wanting to escape the cold and snow in Britain during the winter months there are a number of great winter holiday destinations offering winter sunshine. Just make sure to secure proper insurance from a reputable provider – such as Endsleigh travel insurance – so that nothing spoils your break.

    Florida

    Florida boasts a warm climate even in winter as well as a host of holiday entertainment attractions, such as Disneyland, Universal Studios and SeaWorld Adventure Park. In terms of accommodation, if you don’t want to go for a hotel, the holiday villas have proven to be popular with families.

    Tenerife

    A winter holiday in the Canary Islands guarantees sunshine, beautiful scenery, excellent beaches and very good facilities. Tenerife in particular offers the Loro Parque zoo and great after hours nightlife.

    Gran Canaria

    This provides one of the best locations for a winter holiday for those on a smaller budget, providing warm sunshine, surroundings of natural beauty – including the Maspalomas sand dunes – and blue oceans. Holiday resorts such as the Playa del Ingles are available at affordable prices.

    Lanzarote

    Another popular winter holiday destination in the Gran Canaries, Lanzarote offers even an even warmer winter climate due to its proximity to the coast of Africa. If you want a peaceful beach holiday, the best option is Playa Blanca, which ahs great beaches and excellent café and seafood restaurant facilities. If you have something more adventurous in mind, Lanzarote also offers camel trekking or the Timanfaya National Park, with its lava fields.

    Fuerteventura

    Most people wishing to escape the British winter are looking for sun, sea and sand and it is this that Fuerteventura – another location in the Canary Islands – offers visitors. For beaches and water sports in a peaceful environment, a resort such as Costa Calma, is the best option.

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  • How to pack for a cruise

    Packing a suitable wardrobe for a cruise holiday can be a challenging task – as you need to have the appropriate clothes for evening dining, daytime on the ship and stop-offs at the various ports, while also remembering that you chosen clothes will need to be fitted into very limited wardrobe space in your room on the ship. Perhaps the best way of managing these conflicting requirements is to try to minimise any unnecessary outfits – by recycling what you wear.

    While you cannot afford to be seen wearing the same clothes every day, with the correct planning, that won’t be necessary. Working with the example of a week long cruise through a warm weather region, with three stop-offs at ports, three days at sea and one evening following embarkation, you will need nine outfits for daytime use and seven for dinner in the evenings. From this point, you can begin to find ways of bending the rules.

    When it comes to clothes for dinner times, there will generally be two formal dining nights and five casual ones during the course of a cruise lasting a week. The same dinner suit can be used for both of the formal nights, while some judicious variance between a couple of shirts, pairs of trousers and jackets, means you will not require more than this to cover the other five nights. By combining these in subtly different fashion, it will appear to most that you are wearing different outfits each night.

    For those clothes worn during the daytime, sometimes the same shirts can be utilised for day and evening use, but you will require a slightly greater number of shirts for the days – say five in total – as these will be used for longer at a time, during periods when you are more physically active. With both daytime and evening clothes, the most important part is the top half, as this is the part more people will notice.

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  • Where to find travel insurance

    General

    Travel insurance – also sometimes referred to as ’holiday insurance’ – is an essential requirement for anyone looking to take a trip abroad. However, there are a number of different types of travel insurance available, such as single trip, family travel and annual travel, which are designed to cater specifically for the kind of trip you are taking.

    However despite the variety of specialist insurance policies available from companies such as Endsleigh, many travellers still choose to opt for ‘add-on’ insurance provided by their travel agent. This may seem like a preferable option in terms of simplicity, but it makes considerably less sense in every other way. Firstly this form of travel insurance is generally more expensive overall, with research undertaken by comparison site Insure4me indicating that the comprehensive travel cover provided by travel agencies was consistently more expensive than that provided by insurance companies. Furthermore, the same research demonstrated that this option was also considerably less extensive in the level of protection it offered.

    Therefore it is better to secure travel insurance from a reputable insurance company. In terms of finding the best deal for your requirements it is advisable to visit the actual company websites – such as http://endsleigh.co.uk – in order to find out more about the cover provided by the different types of travel insurance. This will also provide you with information about any extras the companies provide – such as the Scheduled Airline Failure Insurance provided by Endsleigh, which protects the policyholder in the event of the airline they are scheduled to fly with going bust. While a number of airlines such as Zoom and Silverjet have collapsed due to the recession, this type of extra is still only provided by a minority of firms.

    Another option is to visit one of the price comparison sites available online, in order to compare the available travel insurance options.

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  • Saving money on a rental car

    Travel Tips

    Hiring a rental car in any country can become expensive if you do not pre book. The way to save money before you travel is to book a car over the internet. Money comparison sites will find the best deal and the cheapest price. If you are on holiday and your accomodation is quite far away it might be cheaper to book a rental care rather then relying on taxis.

    You will need to pick a car which will suit your needs. As well as the car you need to be aware of the terms and conditions. You may wish to travel some distance in the car so make sure there are no mileage restrictions as this may end up costing a lot of money if you go over. You may find if you book a small car you will be upgraded. This happens on some occasions but do be aware you may still end up with a small car. If you have booked a separate flight to your accommodation some airlines also have shares in rental companies so will be able to offer you a good deal.

    If you are travelling will small children and require car seats or boosters always let the rental company know before hand as they might be able to supply you with these.

    Always check what the excess is on a hire car is. If you were to prang or dent the car they may charge you the full excess which maybe more then the cost of the damage to the car.

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  • Camping tips

    Travel Tips

    Holidays do not need to always involve travelling abroad. You can have some brilliant summer get aways here in the United Kingdom. Camping is a great, cheap and adventerous family holiday. If you wish to go further a field there are some great campsites around Europe.

    Many families will choose camping as it is easy to pack up the car and be on your way. There is no hassle of travel arrangements or airports. There are certain things to consider when picking a camp site. English weather can not be predictable so it is always a good idea to pick a campsite which has a variety of indoor activities on site or close by.

    You should always aim to have your camp set up before it gets dark as it can be very hard to put a tent up in the dark especially if it is very large. When it is daylight you will be able to pick a better spot for your tent and be able to spot any surrounding hazards such as glass or rocks which could potentially damage your tent.

    Always be conscience of the surrounding wildlife. Be careful not to disrupt them too much as they might be harmful. Bug spray is a necessity for the nights around the camp fire.

    Never leave valuables unattended in your tent. Tents can be easily broken in to and with so many people to one campsite it can become quite busy. It may be more secure to keep them on you or locked in your car. At least the car will have an alarm.

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  • How to stay safe when travelling

    Safety
    How to stay safe when travelling

    Being in a foreign can be a daunting experience especially if you are travelling alone. It will always be advised that if you are travelling abroad always travel with another person. If this can not be avoided always make sure you keep someone informed of where you are travelling to. Let them know of your travel plans and how you will be getting there.

    When using taxi services abroad it would be safer to get a taxi service number from the hotel or the accommodation you are staying at. More then likely they will use a company on a regular occasion and know they can be trusted. Never get into an unlicensed taxi as this will not be an authorised service.

    No matter how many people are travelling in your group it will always be safer not to carry large amounts of cash on you. The safest way is to only carry enough to see you through the day and leave the rest of your spending money in the safe in the hotel. If you wear expensive jewellery and act flash you will be a target for thieves and pick pockets.

    When walking around the local area you are staying in, try and avoid walking down dark alleys or off the main road. If you have been approached by someone trying to sell you something just carry on walking. They will more often than not over charge you as they know you are a tourist. If you engage in conversation with them it will be hard to leave without purchasing an item.

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  • Travelling with Children

    Travel Tips

    Travelling with any child by any mode of transport can sometimes be a stressful experience. There are certain things you can do to prepare yourself and them for the journey whether it is a car or plane journey.

    If you are travelling for a long time yo to be your child can become restless and agitated. Always make sure you take enough juice and snacks for your little ones as they might not eat the food provided if you were travelling on an aeroplane. It is always an idea to pack food that will not make the child messy or sticky. You should aim for food such and vegetable sticks and dry foods rather the chocolate and youghurts as they can cause mess.

    Always take enough toys or entertaining activities for your children. It maybe a book or portable DVD player. Try not to take toys that will get lost as they might not be found again as travelling in any mode of transport can be a quite cramped experience.

    A pillow and blanket are always and essential part of your travel equipment. You maybe travelling for long periods of time and your child will want to sleep and they like to have their own creature comforts.

    Always take a spare change of clothes and if your child needs nappies or baby milk always make sure you have enough if your plane is delayed or cancelled. If you are stuck in an airport abroad they may not have certain things your baby will require.

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  • How to save money when travelling to Disney World

    Destinations

    A family holiday can be very stressful especially when you are travelling with young children and babies and not to mention expensive.

    Disney World is the ultimate holiday destination for any family but the cost can add up with flights, transfers, hotels, eating and park tickets. The hotel location is key to enjoying your time at the parks. If you intend to stay somewhere in the park and not a private villa always try and stay at a hotel close to the monorail. This will make travelling back an forth easier especially if you have young children who will need a sleep during the day. Also it could cut the cost of eating down as you could eat back at your room.

    If you are staying at a Disney hotel try and be an early riser as you might get guest privileges. This will allow you to access the more popular rides before the park opens to the public and you may also get to meet the Disney charterers.

    The Florida sun can be very hot so try and save all the indoor activities such as shows and water attractions to the hottest part of the day so you can get out of the sun and cool down. Most visitors to the park will start at the rides and attractions that they first come to. Try starting at the back of the park where the rides will be much quieter.

    If you are planning to spend most of your holiday visiting the parks it will work out more cost efficient if you were to buy a multiday pass. Always shop around for the cheapest tickets.

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  • Things to Consider when booking the perfect Honeymoon

    Events

    When you come to booking a Honeymoon it more then likely a once in a life time opportunity. Weddings can be very stressful, so let your honeymoon be a relaxing decision with no stress or anxiety.

    The Honeymoon is traditionally booked for after the wedding and most couples used to jet off on the day of the wedding. Many couples in today’s society decide to leave a couple of days later. This is a good idea as it gives you time to recuperate and you still have something to look forward to. Always remember when booking your flights or travel arrangements that the brides name will need to be in her maiden name if the travel documents have not been changed already.

    The first decision to be made is the destination of the Honeymoon. If you are planning on travelling to a tropical climate always check the weather, as it might be rainy or hurricane season. Always talk through t decision as you want to pick a destination that it right for both of you.


    Many newly weds will spend a fair amount of time in the room or villa so always make sure you spend more on the room then anything else. A travel agent will help you get a great deal on a trip. When arriving at the destination let them know it is your Honeymoon and you might get a room upgrade. You should let everyone know you are on your Honeymoon as you might get free meals and maybe even spa treatments.

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