Where to next...

As a student I often can over whelmed with my school work, organizations and jobs that I have. Sometimes you just want to get out of here- to see new things in new ways. It's times like these that I find a minute to look into the future and think f all the places I would still like to go to! Working for Collette this summer I learned a lot about many new destinations.

One place in particular that I have heard many great things about over the past year or so is South Africa. Its a very unique country. It has everything from large cosmopolitan cities to the tropical rain forest and the safari wildlife.

The first time I really began to think about this destination was actually on my Contiki last summer and we met some South Africans who were really awesome. Then I talked to someone at the travel abroad fair about this place and he told me it was probably the most beautiful place he's ever been.

I've still got some research to do, I've started by looking for itineraries on STATravel.com, which is a great travel agency for students. I've also looked at plenty of images that people have posted!

I'm back!

It has been a little over a year since my European adventures and re reading my posts puts such a smile on my face. I love recalling those times. I want to continue to share my passion for travel and also to share some of the knowledge I gained from working with travel companies. Since then I have worked for two different tour operators: Contiki Vacations and Collette Vacations.

Tour Operators are different from travel agents because an agent is more of the middle man. A tour operator offers a series of products in the form of tour itineraries. A package will include a series of things, depending on the company you will mostly like get the hotels, transportation between places, airfare and some meals included in the price of the tour. A travel agent will sell a varies of tour packages from a variety of tour operators, they also sell things like airfare schedules separately or just hotel stays if you want to make your own itinerary.

If you asked me my opinion of going on a tour before my trip last summer I would have thought it might be boring or too structured. But I want to point out some great reasons to consider a tour.

• When you buy a package that included things like hotel stay, meals, airfare and transportation you can save a lot of money because the price of these things can fluctuate. When I worked for Collette this summer I learned that if you pay your airfare up front the company will absorb the fuel increases. This is huge because with the economy the way it is fuel surcharges were being added to bills almost monthly! If you planned your trip a year in advance you could save hundreds of bucks! Also when going to places like Europe where the dollar isn't doing so well buying these things here saves you the constant increases.
• Another great thing about these tours is that you have a tour manager. These people, if you go with a good company, really know their stuff! My Contiki tour manager Ryno was a truly remarkable man. He is a great resource for any traveler. These people can really save time from doing all that research before you go away!
  
• Another thing that I loved about being on a tour way being surrounded by people as eager to explore as I was. I met some many great passionate travels on my tour, many of which I still talk to often today!

These are just a few short reasons to think about using a tour over backpacking. But one peice of advice I can give about traveling is to do your research. Whether you are looking up the destinations and hotel stays yourself or for the perfect tour operator it is important to chose the expeeience that is right for you! While many people realize there are many places to travel around the world some underestimate the many ways to explore and experience these places as well!!!