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Research, research and more research

With the power of the Internet, you have advanced search options at your very fingertips. Find websites that provide quick and easy navigation to help you search for the perfect vacation spot for you and your family. Research is important because vacations can get very expensive and you don’t want to waste your time or your money on a sub-par vacation rental. With all the websites available to you, finding your next getaway is not as hard as it once was. No need to make phone calls and no need to ask the travel agent for pictures. Get all the info and pictures you need on that screen right in front of your eyes with the click of a mouse.

Word Of Mouth

Ask around. Talk to your friends, your family and neighbours about vacations they have taken in the past. Word of mouth is the most honest reviews you will find anywhere. Your friends and family will give you information on everything from the taste of the food, to the size of their suite. Plus, by asking others about their vacations you can ask certain people for exactly what you want. For example if you and your significant other is looking to take a romantic getaway, you can always ask the newly weds next door who just took their honeymoon.

Selecting the General Location

Figuring out the setting of your next vacation can be tough. So do you want to take a nice relaxing vacation on the beach or hit the slopes on top of a mountain? That’s the decision you have to make before anything. Maybe you want camp out in the wilderness or escape to your choice of beautiful Tuscan Villa rentals… who knows! If you want to narrow your search down, think about how much you want to spend, the temperature and how far you want to fly – drive – or sail.

Follow Ashely Wilson @ashelymarie1985 to see what else she has to say!

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The problem is though that we can only get one holiday per year. Some of us might be lucky enough to get too, but for the most part our finances and our time off work are restrictive and we’re limited to just the one. When you’ve got so many places to choose from, and only two weeks to enjoy them, how do you decide where to go?

Well there are plenty of places to choose from indeed, but here for your consideration we shall be looking at Lanzarote and putting forward the case for making this beautiful island your next stop. Here are some of the top reasons you should choose Lanzarote…

El Golfo – One of the famous points on Lanzarote!, Canary Islands, Spain by Moni Sertel

The Weather: The weather in Lanzarote is what you would expect from one of the Canary islands – sunny and warm and actually ideal for lounging in the sun. However at the same time there is also a constant cool breeze which many people find highly relaxing and which prevents the heat from becoming overbearing and unpleasant. There are plenty of holiday resorts on the island too.

The Desert: Almost all of the holiday destinations most people consider have great weather though. They also have great beaches and lots more for the casual holidaymaker besides. One thing that you can get from Lanzarote that you wouldn’t get from just ‘any’ holiday destination though is a desert – and short of travelling to Egypt this is the best way to combine a little desert trekking with your other more standard holiday activities. El Jable is a small desert, but that’s part of the charm meaning you’re perfectly safe and unlikely to get badly lost – it’s just enough to try something different and get some great pictures (or a great day out riding camels).

Volcano: One of the big advantages of all of the Canary islands is the volcanic landscapes that they feature. It’s beautiful in a desolate kind of way, but it also makes for some interesting natural demonstrations and days out. Visit Timanfaya Volcano National Park for instance and sample meat cooked by volcano…

Lanzarote Coastline, Canary Islands, Spain by Luc Viatour

Surf: The beaches are ideal for relaxing and chilling out in the sun, but that’s not all they have to offer. If you really want to experience them in a more active way then this is also an ideal holiday destination for surfers. Head to Famara and you’ll have plenty of great surfing beaches and a vibrant community of enthusiasts.

Mountains: Okay so you’ve already got great beaches, a desert and a volcanic park. However what Lanzarote can also offer you – and what you won’t get to the same degree many other places – is a great mountain landscape which can make for scenic walks or just a fantastic backdrop while you’re swimming in the sea.

The Green Lagoon: For a stunning and unusual natural phenomenon, head over to El Golfo Beach to witness the green lagoon. Separated by red rock, this is generally a very colourful site and well worth seeing.

Vueva de los Verdes: And while you’re visiting wonderful natural formations, why not go to Cueva de los Verdes and explore beautiful caves formed by natural volcanic eruptions.

Variety: In short then you really can’t beat Lanzarote for its variety. It has all the shops and amenities you would expect of a holiday hotspot, and it has great weather and resorts. But at the same time this is also an island that can offer volcanoes, mountains, caves, lagoons and even desert…

James Ben is a renowned adventurer who started his own travel and adventure blog, featuring holidays tips and advice. He recommends Lanzarote as a top holiday destination.

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Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Hector Garcia

If you should head to the Canary Islands then you will be certain to have a great holiday and there are many things that bring visitors to them time after time. First of all, these islands boast incredible weather. Being just off of the coast of Africa they are very hot as you can imagine, and this makes them ideal for beach holidays and for relaxing in the sun. At the same time as islands they also have lots of beach, and many of these are great for surfers.

The tourism on many of these islands is very pronounced meaning that there is a lot laid on for anyone wanting to visit including great nightlife and clubbing, and lots of places to eat and relax. However the islands are also known for their unusual and often stunning scenery – these islands feature volcanic terrain that looks sparse and desolate and almost like the surface of the moon or Mars.

If you want to visit the Canary Islands then you have several options of places to visit:

Tenerife

Of the Canaries, Tenerife is perhaps the best for night life and the one most associated with clubbing holidays and nights out drinking. To this end it has a fantastic strip of clubs and activities and a hugely bustling nightlife. At the same time though it also has plenty to do in the day and has great beaches and places to eat. One of the sites of most interest for tourists is undoubtedly Mount Tiede which is a volcano you can travel to the top of. Here the volcanic terrain is perhaps at its best – and interestingly this was actually the site on which the original Planet of the Apes was filmed.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Bill

Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria is another great spot if you’re after a good nightlife and the best spot for that is the YUMBO center which has everything you could need for a great night out. Again the island also has brilliant beaches for relaxing and even a small desert that you can trek through and get some great photos.

Lanzarote

Lanzarote is similar to both Tenerife and Gran Canaria in terms of climate and night life, though it enjoys a slightly more muted evening out with a little less drunken debauchery (though some of that still goes on) and a marginally cooler climate due to an ever-present breeze. This makes it the Canary island of choice for those who want to relax and kick back. At the same time it is also the island with the most impressively varied landscape of all – with more volcanic terrain, as well as mountain ranges, another desert and even caves. At the volcanic region of the island you can also enjoy having your dinner cooked for you by the heat of a volcano.

Nick Ball is a web enthusiast and maintains a Lanzarote Guidebook for all his travel queries which he likes to share through his blog. The latest column added to his guide are the list of Flights to Lanzarote.

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Here, on Guincho Beach you can enjoy fine sand, which forms the dunes but also clear water that is ideal for surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing. Therefore Guincho Beach is a popular destination for surfers from all around the world. It is regularly a home to Portuguese National Surfing, but also to the World Championships in windsurfing. Near Guincho Beach there are several surf schools and Surfcamp, where you can stay and borrow or get your surf fixed.

The beach also starred in the film – as a part of the movie about James Bond in 1969 (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service).

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If you wake up early and be among the first visitors here, you’ll enjoy a beautiful morning and plenty of solitude. At about 1′o clock the tourists are coming here together with the cruise ships. For its charm and stunning looks Porto Katsiki Beach was nominated for the most beautiful beach of the Mediterranean sea. Also according tourists it is among the eight most beautiful beaches in the world.

This beautiful beach is accessible from the tiny village of Athan and you must get roughly 90 stairs from the cliff. You can also walk through the adjacent beach Egremni, which is similarly beautiful and much longer. Porto Katsiki Beach is relatively short, the length is about 500 meters and during a high season there is not a lot of privacy. Parking at the beach is free for motorcycles, for the cars you sometimes need to pay a small fee.

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Thanks to its location the city and its surroundings belong to the warmest areas of the Bulgarian coast. For its beautiful nature the resort was a popular place for the Bulgarian royal family in the past. Today Tsarevo is a popular tourist destination suitable for lovers of comfortable, quiet, romantic, but also of active holiday.

In the center of town you will find the pedestrian zone, shops, markets, cafes, pastry shops, restaurants, discos, bars, parks, cinema or a jungle gym for children. Tsarevo has a football field with artificial turf, which is freely accessible to children. In Tsarevo you can also enjoy some sport activities such as sailing, diving or widsurfing. Close to the resort you can stay in well-known campsites Bulgarka and Nestinarka.

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The Navagio beach can only be reached by boat.

Access from the mainland is not possible, you have to take a boat at the island of Zakynthos. But you can ask also the local fishermen, who – at a lower price – also take you to the beach. Do not go there in the big waves. Then you can see the Navagio beach only from a distance of several hundred meters, because ships cannot enter the narrow inlets during the big waves.

From the cliff above the beach you can enjoy the view of the Navagio beach and surroundings. The most pictures are taken from this view point.

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Historically, Rhodes was famous worldwide for the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The medieval Old Town of the City of Rhodes has been declared a World Heritage Site.

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The city lay on the original crusader fortress (1265) and was lying on the important trade route. This caused the fast growing. Thanks to it, the town was fortified, and lots of medieval monuments were built, which tourists still respectfully admire. These are mainly the remains of fortifications with bastions and especially red tower from 15th century and Gate Tallinn from the 17th century.

The people from Pärnu are mainly proud of the local, several kilometers long, sandy beach. In the middle of summer, the temperature is around 20-25 °C. The sea is not too salty.

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This beach is famous mainly for its cliffs, but also for the pristine quality of the water. Advertising agencies and television producers often use Praia da Marinha in advertising campaigns.

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