Europe Travel Guide » Travel Tips http://www.europetravelguide.net Melissa tips Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:19:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 My Top 10 Cities to Visit in Europe http://www.europetravelguide.net/2009/my-top-10-cities-to-visit-in-europe/ http://www.europetravelguide.net/2009/my-top-10-cities-to-visit-in-europe/#comments Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:03:44 +0000 Melissa http://www.europetravelguide.net/?p=139 Everyone has their own favorite place to visit and I have mine. You can decide to agree or disagree with me, but here are my choices for the top 10 cities to visit in Europe.  You can find hot deals on hotels in Europe with Twenga.

Top 10 cities to visit in Europe 1: Milan, Italy

Milan, Italy is considered as one of the world’s fashion and design capitals. It’s the most modern of all of Italy’s cities while still keeping most of its history intact. Here’s a tip: save on travel and splurge on shopping. This is why Milan is one of my top 10 cities to visit in Europe.

Top 10 cities to visit in Europe 2: Brussels, Belgium

Brussels is the capital city of Belgium and also considered to be the capital of the European Union. Don’t worry about being surrounded by international diplomats though. The city has vibrant areas filled with restaurants and bars and beautiful parks. The city also happens to be right in the heart of Europe so you can easily go to other European hot spots from here. This is why this is in my top 10 cities to visit in Europe.

Top 10 cities to visit in Europe 3: Berlin, Germany

Berlin remembers its colourful past with monuments and museums that are definitely worth seeing. The city is the heart of Germany and is a wonderful and exciting city to visit. There are trendy restaurants, shops, bars and boutiques. It also has great transportation which makes getting around easy. The festivals are also a key factor in being chosen as one of my top 10 cities to visit in Europe.

Top 10 cities to visit in Europe 4: Munich, Germany

Munich is the largest city in Germany and it has a fabulous culture. The city is historical and grand and features some of the best museums in Germany. There’s great architecture, culture, fund clubs and the famous Oktoberfest beer celebration. Why wouldn’t Munich be in the top 10 cities to visit in Europe?

Top 10 cities to visit in Europe 5: Istanbul, Turkey

If you want to feel intrigue when you arrive at a city, visit Istanbul. The city is shrouded in history, layered in religion and wrapped up in theater. There’s a rich culture to immerse yourself in. And that’s enough for me to name Istanbul as one of my top 10 cities to visit in Europe.

Top 10 cities to visit in Europe 6: Manchester, England

Manchester, England has a classy culture with a historic vibe. It’s never short of partygoers. They’ve got a great soccer team and tons of music venues to have a great time at. What else could you want in one of the top 10 cities to visit in Europe?

Top 10 cities to visit in Europe 7: Athens, Greece

Athens has a lot to offer with its many old and beautiful buildings and ruins that date back to BC. It’s rich in history and culture too. Why wouldn’t the birthplace of modern civilization be in the top 10 cities to visit in Europe?

Top 10 cities to visit in Europe 8: Seville, Spain

Seville lures tourists with its colors and vibrant nature. It’s the cultural and financial center for Spain. With a fascinating history, sights and attractions that will blow you away, and the wonderful coastline, Seville makes it into the top 10 cities to visit in Europe easily.

Top 10 cities to visit in Europe 9: Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh is built on history, romance and culture. It’s a great place to visit if you’re looking for history, festivals and a great nightlife. From visiting Edinburgh Castle to experiencing a rugby match, this city left an impression that made me list it in the top 10 cities to visit in Europe.

Top 10 cities to visit in Europe  10: Marseille, France

Forget Paris for a moment and think of Marseille. It’s one of the older cities in Europe and is listed as a major center of art and history. The city is fashionable in different aspects without forgetting its rich history. Marseille offers great bars and fun around every corner. This is the final entry to my top 10 cities to visit in Europe.

What’s on your list?

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Travel insurance is insurance that is used to cover medical expenses and financial and other losses incurred while travelling. Travel insurance can usually be availed at the time of the booking of a trip to cover just the duration of that single trip, or a lengthier, more extensive, continuous travel insurance can be bought from travel insurance companies. Travel insurance is also offered by travel agents and direct from travel suppliers such as cruise lines or tour operators.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a student traveller, a business traveller, leisure traveller or whatever else you may be travelling for. Having travel insurance will save you a lot of headaches as various options of travel can be insured.

If you’re still not sold on having to avail of travel insurance, here’s a list of things that are covered by travel insurance:

•    Medical expenses
•    Emergency evacuation/repatriation
•    Overseas funeral expenses
•    Accidental death, injury or disablement benefit
•    Cancellation
•    Curtailment
•    Delayed departure
•    Loss, theft or damage to personal possessions and money (including travel documents)
•    Delayed baggage (and emergency replacement of essential items)
•    Legal assistance
•    Personal liability and rental car damage excess

Some travel insurance policies will also provide for any additional costs but these may vary widely between travel insurance providers. In addition to the list above, some separate travel insurance policies can be purchased for specific costs such as pre-existing medical conditions, sports with an element of risk and travel to high risk countries. However, some travel insurance providers may also exclude costs for some pre-existing medical conditions, war or terrorism (but some travel insurance plans may cover this risk) and injury or illness caused by alcohol or drug use. Travel insurance policies also usually cover pregnancy related expenses, if the journey occurs within the first trimester. After that time, travel insurance coverage may vary every travel insurance provider.

If you’re still not sold on travel insurance, availing of one can also provide some very helpful services. Most travel insurance services include 24 hour service, 7 days a week that can include concierge services and emergency travel assistance.

If you’re worried about the cost of buying the actual travel insurance itself, don’t fret. Typically, travel insurance for the duration of a journey can cost approximately just 5 to 7% of the cost of the entire trip. If you still think that’s not a good deal, just think of how much it would cost you to not have any travel insurance when you have an accident while skiing in the alps or lose all your bags after a three-week long trip to Italy. Having travel insurance makes the trip all the more worth it.

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]]> http://www.europetravelguide.net/2009/travel-insurance/feed/ 0 The Best Traveler’s Mobile Phone: Blackberry Curve http://www.europetravelguide.net/2009/the-best-travelers-mobile-phone-blackberry-curve/ http://www.europetravelguide.net/2009/the-best-travelers-mobile-phone-blackberry-curve/#comments Sun, 19 Jul 2009 09:04:24 +0000 Melissa http://www.europetravelguide.net/?p=12 For any traveler, it’s important to still be connected to your loved ones at home, especially if you’re one to travel many weeks or months at a time. That’s why it’s advisable to always have a mobile phone and a laptop with you and that you find a hotel or other accommodation with internet access. But then again, you won’t always find yourself just staying inside your hotel room, so the mobile phone route is always best.

Everyone seems to think that the best mobile phone to have when you travel is the iPhone. Well, I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong. I think that the best mobile phone when you travel is the Blackberry Curve.

The Blackberry Curve, as well as other Blackberry smart phones, comes equipped with Wi-Fi. You may think that the features not that special but the Wi-Fi in this particular mobile phone supports a mobile system called UMA. UMA is technically a method of connecting to the mobile network using Wi-Fi and the internet instead of cellular towers. That means, that as long as you can get the phone connected to the internet over Wi-Fi, you’ll be able to use it just like you do when you are back home. And yes, that means you won’t get insane roaming charges that would cost you an arm and a leg to pay.

If you don’t get it, here’s a quick example. Let’s say you’re in Denmark. The cost of a call from back home to your mobile phone in Denmark is $1 per minute. But if you have free Wi-Fi at your hotel, you simply let your Blackberry Curve connect to that and you can make calls as long as you want, using the minutes in your plan. You can also send and receive text messages, and go online without those high roaming charges.

If you are a US traveller, I say you are a lucky guy. Another reason why I think that the Blackberry Curve is the best mobile phone when you travel because of a feature that is unique to US mobile service T-Mobile that they offer along with the phone and that is the T-Mobile Blackberry international plan. For just $19.95 per month, you can send and receive as many emails as you want on any mobile network in the world. Other mobile services would charge $16 for just 1 megabyte of data sent.

The only tip I have when using the Blackberry Curve is to disable the mobile network option before making a call. The phone can switch between Wi-Fi and cellular seamlessly so you might find yourself in a world of trouble if the Wi-Fi connection drops and you wouldn’t even know it until you get your phone bill.

Of course, there are other alternatives to making internet calls back home but with the Blackberry Curve it’s a no-brainer, so why look for something else? This is why I believe that the Blackberry Curve is the best mobile phone to have and use when you travel.

Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30691679@N07/3252506530/

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