Holiday and Traveling

Easy Guide to Exciting and Fun Traveling

Archive for December, 2009

Great Places to Play in New York

without comments

New York actually has a great deal to offer young and old kids alike who enjoy very little better than playing a great game, video or otherwise. For those of you who enjoy this particular pastime, there are many unique opportunities in New York City in which you can participate in the games you enjoy so much while spending time with friends and family.

Astroland Amusement Park at Coney Island has much to offer the adventurous gamer. From thrills and chills on the midway to the Cyclone Roller Coaster and many wonderful rides in between, this park also offers arcade game rooms along the way where you can play video games of all kinds. This is great for those rainy days when you can’t ride the rides or simply when it’s just too hot to stand in line. It’s also a great bonding experience for father and sun to play the games together and see who has the edge at any given moment.

Dave and Busters is a unique dining experience while offering a wide selection of gaming options. This is not your average arcade food by any means. In fact, this isn’t your kids arcade or their arcade games. Dave and Busters offers good food and great fun under one roof and if you have the chance I recommend you take the big kid in you to try it out.

The ESPN Zone is a great place to spend the day with the family. They offer food, fun, and 200 televisions. Who could ask for more? The food is American grill type food and the entertainment is for the most part sports themed and interactive. If you’re looking for a great way to bond with the kids this is definitely better than Chuck E. Cheese, especially for the slightly older kids.

The Nintendo World Store is another wonderful attraction that is located at 10 Rockefeller Plaza. This neat store will have your kids thinking you’re the coolest parent on the planet just for bringing them. That of course will not stop them from asking for everything they see but it will buy you a few minutes of coolness before they grow tired of hearing the word no. You may want to relent at some point however as there is some merchandise offered that is exclusive to this store and cannot be found elsewhere. Even if you must order it and have it shipped home for a later surprise it is better not to always wait until too late to find out you can’t get something (at least not without a costly trip to New York). Perhaps one of the coolest things about this particular store is that your kids can try out games that haven’t been released yet so they can go back to school with the inside scoop on the latest Nintendo games and you are once again world’s coolest mom.

Even for the technologically challenged parents among us it is often a good idea just to enjoy playing games with your kids. Even if they win or maybe, especially if they win, let’s hope they are better winners than we were when we were kids. I think we all need to take the time to play with our little ones every chance we get. They grow up so fast and one day they will stop asking us to play with them.

Written by admin

December 23rd, 2009 at 3:17 pm

See the World in Vegas

without comments

Las Vegas today is offering many of the wonders of the world on a much smaller scale to its visitors. There is really nowhere else on earth you can go and see all the sights and witness the thrill of the experience that is Las Vegas. With so much to do and see it’s a wonder that anyone ever gets sleep in this great town. Look below for some of the many places to go and sights to see in Vegas that will quite literally have the world at your feet.

Paris Hotel and Casino Las Vegas presents the Eiffel Tower Experience. Quite literally this is a replica of the famed Eiffel Tower of Paris built at 1/2 scale. You can ride to the top of the tower and enjoy a view of the city from 460 feet above ground while pinpointing other landmarks that you may wish to try next.

Rio Suite Hotel offers the Masquerade Village Show in the Sky. This show is designed to bring the thrill of Rio’s Carnival to Las Vegas visitors. This is a great show to witness or in which to participate. Enjoy the sights, sounds, and revelry that are unmistakably Carnival. This show is free to watch and costs $12.95 to participate.

Luxur Hotel and Casino takes you In Search of the Obelisk. This adventure takes you on archaeological digs searching for Pharaohs. This is a great adventure and takes you not halfway around the world. There are height restrictions for this ride so small children might not be best suited for this particular experience.

You can experience the thrills, chills, and spills of the Grand Prix at the Las Vegas Mini grand prix. This park is a fun day for the entire family and even features an Adult Grand Prix with Sprint Kart tracks that have high banks and a more authentic experience. This is a great way to have fun and invite a little friendly competition among family members.

If you’d like to experience Venice without traveling halfway around the world then you should really experience the Venetian Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The highlight of your Vegas Venice experience should be one of the Gondola rides that you can take. You can book a private 2-person gondola for a romantic excursion while being serenaded by your gondolier.

While at the Venetian you can also check out the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum, which will have some of the best offerings from around the world in order to enhance your experience. You should also take the time to enjoy the beautiful Venetian inspired architecture of the hotel and casino while you’re visiting in order to prolong the experience.

The Mirage offers a volcano for guests to experience. While this isn’t quite taking your around the world, most of us do not get to experience the sight of a volcano morphing from peaceful waterfalls into streams of molten lava. This is definitely a must see show in Vegas and is free to the public. You can see this show from dusk until midnight every 15 minutes.

If you want an experience that will take you even further away you should try the Star Trek Experience at The Las Vegas Hilton Hotel and Casino. This will not take you to another country per se, but it will definitely take you into another world. Enjoy this encounter with alien creatures and an introduction to the future. Then take a stroll through the museum, which is home to some wonderful memorabilia from the television show and the movies.

Just remember that you are on vacation to get away from it all. Isn’t it truly neat that you can literally do that and so much more in this unique and intriguing city? You can travel to different countries, experience different cultures, and literally go out of this world without ever leaving the city limits of Las Vegas. Who could ask for more in a vacation experience?

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

Written by admin

December 20th, 2009 at 3:16 pm

Posted in City Guide

Tagged with , ,

Budget Travel Basics

without comments

The world of budget travel can be filled with excitement and appeal, and in our expensive world today traveling on a budget is becoming more necessary if you want to travel at all.  It is important to keep costs low when traveling, whether you are traveling solo seeing a foreign country for the first time or a family with your car filled with kids and luggage heading for the beach or an amusement park.

If you want to go the lower cost route while traveling, it is definitely a good plan to generate a travel budget.  Determine the approximate costs and prioritize the different portions of your trip, such as hotel, airfare, car rental, visiting attractions and sights, food, and gasoline.  Once you have a good idea of what you want to spend on each part of your trip, then you need to begin shopping around for the best deals.

When it comes time for you to formulate a budget for travel, you should first prioritize by deciding what is most important to you and what you can cut back on.  For example, while some travelers would rather spend a more on a higher class of accommodations, others would rather save money by staying at lower priced hotels or motels splurge on sightseeing or their food budget for the family.

Once you have prioritized the elements of your trip, begin researching what the best deals are.  Often, discounted admission rates on area attractions are the most common and easiest to find, since many theme parks, museums and other attractions run specials to draw tourists.

To get big discounts on local attractions, the best place to start is the Internet, specifically the web site of whatever attraction you want to visit.  Often you will find great deals online, such as two-for-one deals, free admission for children, special reduced admission days, even discounts on food and lodging.

There are other ways to get great discounts.  If you are in the military, a senior citizen or a member of an organization such as AAA, you will find that there are many discounts available to you.  Most AAA offices sell discounted tickets for theme parks, museums and other attractions within driving distance, and most AAA offices sell discounted tickets to popular destinations like the Walt Disney World Resort, too.  The secret to making the most of your travel budget is to research and take advantage of any discounts available.

If you plan to drive your car on your trip, make sure you get it services so that it is in good condition before you leave.  Something small like under-inflated tires or worn spark plugs or brake pads can affect your gas mileage and increase your fuel budget.

A good tip for keeping your fuel spending under control is to invest in a map of your destination.  It will keep you from getting lost and therefore wasting gas.  Being able to find your way to and from the hotel or other destinations without trouble will make your vacation less stressful and less costly.

No matter how work to save money on your next vacation, planning a budget and adhering to it will let you enjoy your vacation more, and worry about the costs less.

Written by admin

December 6th, 2009 at 12:10 am