If your New Year's resolution was to take a volunteer vacation, i-to-i Volunteer and Adventure Travel is offering an incentive for you to keep it.
The travel company is offering 12% off any of their volunteer or adventure experiences if you book by January 31, 2011. i-to-i has several different types of trips planned for 2011, including building, teaching, and conservation opportunities to fit any skill set. ]]>
We love Tuesdays. Why, you ask? Because the day brings many travel tips and quips as "Travel Tuesday" on Twitter, and we're going to share our favorite with you. Got an avid travel twitterer we should follow? Let us know.
Do you follow @nomadicmatt on Twitter yet? Because you totally should. The man, Matt from Boston, has been traveling the world consistently since 2005, when he did what everyone dreams of doing; he quit his job and just took off. Contrary to what you'd expect, Matt has been living this way as a true modern nomad; he's frugal and advocates Couchsurfing and slow travel versus hotels and flying from dot-to-dot.
Currently he's in Bali after a stretch in Indonesia's Gili Islands, and he tweets what we've feared about the exotic destination: ]]>
The Indonesian island paradise of Bali, a major tourist hangout, seems to be having a few glitches lately. As if running out of alcohol wasn't already a pretty big problem, now the rabid dog problem looks like it is getting a bit out of control.
Previously rabies-free, the disease hit Bali last year, but it's only in the last few months that the drama has really hit the press and worried tourists. Ten locals have even died from rabies in the past year, and now tourists who get bitten by suspicious-looking dogs might have nowhere to turn—post-exposure vaccine supplies at Bali hospitals are pretty much non-existent. ]]>
Indonesia's popular beach vacation island of Bali might become a perfect retreat for vacationers wanting to detox, since the government started tightening up the laws on alcohol importation.
It turns out that until recently, some 90% of the beer, wine and spirits being brought into Bali was imported illegally to avoid the 200% duties and taxes. But with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (we'd vote for him just for his cool name) getting in for a second term, he decided to crack down on this practice. As a result, alcohol is starting to get scarce, and what's left in store there is starting to get ridiculously expensive.
Apparently some hotels have even started asking their guests to bring alcohol along and the hotel will reimburse them. So if you're heading to Bali soon with the intention of indulging in plenty of cocktails by the pool, either think again or BYOB.
Related Stories:
· Bali Running Out Of Alcohol [The Age]
· Bali Travel Guide [Jaunted]
[Photo: rfaulds] ]]>
Last one in's a rotten egg! We're finding the best places in the world to stick our toes in this summer (or next winter) for our World's Coolest Pools map. Know of any pools we must check out? Let us know.
After seeing our Santa Barbara triple hop last week, a tipster writes in to up the ante. This pool with a view has a five-star resort around it, but that view's worth a million bucks.
The Amankila resort in Bali opened in 1992 to sell that view from its 34 suites (each an individual beach house) to vacationers craving something nice to look at. Acrophobics fret not, the beach below is also owned by the resort privately. ]]>
Not many would recognize the name "Ngurah Rai International Airport," but many have flown into it: It's the arrival point for anyone visiting Bali and it's more commonly referred to as Denpasar. Whatever you call it, it's in for quite a few changes, judging by the announcements made this week by Indonesian VP Jusuf Kalla.
The problem right now is that the airport's capacity is really only 2 million passengers a year--yet 4 million people are arriving in Bali annually. Quite rightly, authorities have decided that a $110 million expansion is needed, and so the terminal that currently services domestic air traffic will be enlarged. Once it's done, it'll become the international terminal.
An interesting part of the planning is that no commercial shops will be built in the new terminal. Officials say that since Bali is known for its "traditional art markets" in the tourist areas, there shouldn't be a bunch of new airport shops to compete with them. And here we were thinking airport shops were meant to be tear-the-last-foreign-currency-out-of-you pit stops.
Shops or not, the new Bali airport is meant to be finished during 2010. But let us be the first to say that we think "island time" will make that 2012.
Related Stories:
· Bali Airport to be Renovated [Jakarta Globe]
· Bali Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: zhaffsky]]]>
Uh-oh. The Indonesian island holiday paradise of Bali is not quite the paradise we thought. It's just lost the status of being rabies-free, so now we've got to warn you about it.
Last year it was the chickens that were dangerous, but Australian health authorities have just confirmed that rabies is back in town. The Balinese are denying it for now, saying three locals died of a brain infection... after being bitten by dogs. We'll let you decide.
In any case, there are now warnings for tourists to consider rabies vaccinations before they fly to Bali and to look out for dogs, cats, monkeys and other animals who might scratch or bite you. Even if they're not (yet) foaming at the mouth.
Related Stories:
· Bali Tourist Paradise Bitten Again [The Age]
· Don't Play With Chickens in Bali [Jaunted]
· Bali Travel Guide [Jaunted]
[Photo: marcomazzei] ]]>