Danielle's Travel Blog

Most people dream of traveling to Africa to go on a Safari. Last night in my World Destinations class we learned about South Africa, and after class was over I decided one day I was definitely going to make a trip there. We learned about all three capitals, a very, very, very high class luxury train called the Blue Train that can run you about twenty four thousand round trip from Pretoria to Cape Town and back, to many of the game reserves and which type of animals you can see.

One thing that interested me the most I actually saw from a episode of the Bachelor (yes I'm obsessed). That last three women and the bachelor traveled to Sabi Sands Game Reserve. At first it looked like any other safari park but then when they showed the accommodations I knew it was much more than that. One of the girls had a room that was literally open to the wilderness, the only thing that protected you from getting eaten by a tree-climbing lion was a mosquito net and a wooden gate, literally. Another girl had a beautiful in door/outdoor room. You could be protected but still be one with the elements if you wanted to be. The last girl had a fully enclosed room, no lions or monkeys can come for a visit but it was still a very elegant room, definitely luxurious.

Unfortunately unless you save your money for quite a while or you are or apart of a pretty affluent family, an African safari doesn't look like it would be happening for you for quite a while. I picked out one of the many different packages you can choose from on their website : http://sabi.krugerpark.co.za/Exclusive_Safari_Lodges-travel/londolozi-private-granite-suites.html

Its called the Modern Elegance Package, 3 days/ 2 nights. It includes a transfer from Johannesburg Airport to the Sabi Sands game reserve by air. All meals and drinks daily, your accommodations, two game drives in open land rovers, nature walks, yoga class, a fitness room, activities for children, emergency medical evacuation and VAT.

Obviously the next question is what does something like this cost? Well the answer is $3,830 per person sharing. Its very expensive for only 3 days and 2 nights but for whats included it almost makes up for the high price tag. You do get fed daily, you're pampered, and you get to experience a once in a life time opportunity to see carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores in their natural environment doing their everyday thing. Also, you must get to South Africa somehow. Using cheaptickets.com and flying out of Los Angeles International Airport to Johannesburg will run you about $1,575 per person. So for a grand total for two people is about $10,810.

If you have the money to spend and it's not gonna put a dent in your check book, I would definitely recommend this vacation as well as some other sights in South Africa. However, for the people like myself and the middle to lower class, this vacation would take quite a while to save up for and you would have to weigh whether or not you want to spend $10,000 for a 3 day vacation. Yes it is an amazing opportunity and the sights you get to see are phenomenal, but you could also use $10,000 for a used car or towards a new car or for school tuition, etc.

From the video I watched in class, South Africa seems like an amazing place to visit and it seems like there's so much beauty and historical things to see. Even if you can't afford a safari, definitely try and visit sometime in your lifetime, I know I will and you should too!

So, since I'm so fascinated with travel, I want to go everywhere. Unfortunately I don't have the time and the money to travel exactly when I want to. However, it doesn't stop me from looking up tours or packages online that I'm interested in! Currently I've been looking into going to Iceland. My mom thinks I'm crazy and doesn't know why anyone would want to go somewhere where it would be freezing but I want to experience things she just doesn't understand.

I found an awesome deal on an Iceland tour package the other day. The website is called http://iceland.nordicvisitor.com/ and they not only book tours in Iceland, but in Sweden, Finland, etc; and even day tours to Greenland! The tour package that I'm interested in is called the Northern Lights City break. It's a quick 4 day/3 night tour and it operates from the 1st of October to the 31st of March, so that means it only operates in the winter time. The average temperature is about 32 degrees Fahrenheit so its VERY cold. You have to bring wind proof and water proof jackets and pants and pack warm clothes. Here's the itinerary:

Day one: You arrive at Keflavík Airport and your met by your private chauffeur and transferred to your Reykjavik hotel. You check into your hotel and then you have the rest of the day to do as you please, you get to explore what they call Reykjavik, the capital of the north!

Day two: Today you go on a sightseeing tour of Reykjavik which takes you through the capital and to some other small towns outside the capital. If the weather permits, tonight you go look for the Northern lights! (The company does not guarantee you will see them, it depends on the weather).

Day three: Today you go on a very popular six hour tour that includes the Geysir, Golden Waterfall and Þingvellir National Park.

Day four: Today you get to experience the amazing and well-known Blue Lagoon! Its a natural hot spring with mineral rich and theraputic waters that relax your body and make you feel well rested. After your time at the Blue Lagoon is finished you are transferred to the airport (however the company notes that if your flight is in the morning they will adjust your packaged accordingly).

Sounds like a nice relaxing vacation in a country visited by not very many people! The price isn't too bad either. They let you pick which type of accommodation you want based on your finances. Your choices are Budget, Comfort, or Luxury. They're all reasonable prices for the amenities you get. For instance, I would like to stay in the comfort accommodations. For two people (price is per person) the cost is ISK 77200 ($660). So a grand total for two people would be ISK 154400 ($1,320).

Whats Included in that price and whats not?

Included:
-Private meet and greet and transfer to your hotel
-Accommodation for three nights and breakfast
-Greater Area Reykjavík Sightseeing Tour Reykjavík (2,5 hours)
-Golden Circle Guided Bus Tour (6 hours)
-Northern Lights guided bus Tour (3-5 hours)
-Blue Lagoon Entrance
-Transfer from the Blue Lagoon to Keflavik International Airport
-Taxes and fees
-24 hour emergency service

Not Included:
-Personal Insurance
-Airfare
-Food and Drinks (lunch and dinner)

Two air carriers fly to Iceland: Icelandair.is and Icelandexpress.is

Airfare for two adults our of Los Angeles International airport is about $1,078, not too bad!

All in all I find it a very good tour package that gives you your moneys worth. The price comes out to be $2,380 for two adults (not including insurance) and I'm looking forward to hopefully being able to book this trip for mid March 2012!!

Yesterday my boyfriend applied for his passport and was told he would be receiving it by April 1st! Very exciting! He's never been out of the country so I'm extremely excited for him!

Also, we're trying to think of things to do in or around Punta Cana. We've got 5 nights there so we don't have time for a trip to Santo Domingo unless it was a day trip but I think that would not give us enough time to see the most important places. I definitely want to do a dolphin encounter, I've always wanted to do it! We also want to do a adventurous activity, whether it be dune buggies or zip lining, which I'm leaning more towards. My boyfriend definitely wants to go to a cigar factory so he can bring some home. We also want a little glimpse into how the locals live.

I would love to find a day tour that includes a lot of things that we want to do, I've found a couple but I'm not sure if its exactly what we want. So much to do not enough time or money! I know we'll figure something out!

My name is Danielle and I'm fascinated with anything travel! I love immersing myself into new places to learn about the history and culture of wherever I go--and of course the relaxing aspect of traveling! I'm a travel and tourism student at my local community college and when I complete my certificate I want to become a travel agent and help people become excited about traveling like I am. I'm always wanting to travel everywhere and I don't want to wait, I want to go now! Unfortunately I can't yet but I will one day and it will be great!

In this blog I will keep you and myself updated with my travel plans and anything new and exciting I learn about different places!

My boyfriend and I both decided we wanted to go on a vacation together and after discussing whether to do a cruise or five nights somewhere, we decided on the five nights in an amazing country we had yet to pick. We discussed different places and dates and it came down to Mexico or somewhere in the Caribbean. Mexico would have been our best option because of our location in Southern California however I would rather not be involved in any of the bad things happening right now in Mexico. We decided that we would love to go somewhere in the Caribbean and finally decided on the affordable and beautiful country of the Dominican Republic in June!

After searching around on travel sites for different hotels and talking about the amenities we wanted in our hotel we came across the Dreams Palm Beach Resort in Punta Cana. One of my boyfriends co-workers had previously stayed in one of the Dreams Resorts in Cancun, Mexico and said he had an amazing time so we were pretty much sold on the idea of this hotel and location. The best thing about this hotel besides the beautiful property and gorgeous turquoise water was that it is an all-inclusive resort. This means all of our food and beverages on the resort are already paid for. We also get a $200 resort credit for certain things at the spa, a romantic dinner for two and some bottles of wine!

In one of my travel classes, my teacher mentioned it is almost always better to book your vacation through a travel agent just in case something happens whether flights are canceled, hotel is overbooked,etc. So my boyfriend and I talked about it and we decided to book our vacation through a travel agent. We kept an eye on the prices online and when they started to rise we decided now was the time to book our trip! We headed over to our local AAA office and met with a travel agent named Amanda. She was very sweet and asked us all about our vacation and took down notes so she made sure everything we wanted was correct and on paper. The only thing she needed was a copy of my passport and a copy of my boyfriends birth certificate until he got his passport and then she could put our deposit down and guarantee our flight, hotel, transfers and everything else! We emailed/faxed everything over to her and she was able to book our vacation! All we need to do now is pay the balance in April and start packing!!

My boyfriend and I are both very excited and we can't wait for June!