Bugbog Travel Guides and Pictures Helping you find the right holiday destination in 2012!
Some good weather destinations for July - August 2012: Corsican beaches, France; Wildlife in Etosha NP, Namibia; Alberta activities, Canada; US National Parks   Bugbog Pages   July - August vacation time will be arriving shortly so where to take that long awaited holiday? Hmm, overpowering heat, humidity and/or rains in much of Asia, winter chills in most of South America and southern Africa, excessive heat in North Africa, rains and storms in the Caribbean and central America... Looks like it's time to staycation again? Well, not quite. It's true that there's plenty of entertainment to be had in our home countries during these months but this is also a great time for Americans to head north into Alaska or Canada's wild open spaces and Brits and Americans to take a trip to Europe where the euro has crashed and the weather is at its best. But there are a few exotic destinations available for those lucky few who are not suffering austerity pains with wildlife safaris in Africa topping the list of must-dos. Read more below. Americas, July - August: The USA celebrates Independence Day on July 4, of course, but offers some sensational festivals as well, with music festivals such as Newport Folk Festival and Jazz Festivals [28 July-5 August], Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico [29June-25 August], the massive Lollapalooza mixed modern music event in Chicago [3-5 August]. Then there are some off-the-wall gatherings such as Wyoming's Cheyenne Frontier Days - 10 days of wild west action [20-29 July], the Sturgis Rally, Hog Heaven [6-12 August], Washington State International Kite Festival [20-26 August], the liberal madness of Burning Man in Nevada [27 August- 3 September]. This is of course the perfect time to get some exercise and see the extraordinary sights in America's great national parks such as Yellowstone, Arches, Zion Canyon, Bryce and naturally the Grand Canyon. Up in Canada this is a brilliant time to do some cool hiking around the spectacular Rockies national parks of Banff or Jasper in Alberta or across the other side of the country in the Atlantic Provinces; alternatively do some urban walking and French language practice in exquisite Quebec City. But Canada does crazy festivals too, with the Calgary Stampede in Alberta a world-class rodeo riot [6-15 July], also in Alberta Edmonton's Capital EX offers concerts, racing pigs, racing bath tubs and much more [20-29 July] and stay on for Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival - wacky theatre of all kinds [16-26 August]. Down in Central or South America just about the only country offering decent weather is Brazil, where the Amazon awaits the adventurous or its spectacular beaches offer dazzling sand, surf and boisterous aprés-beach life [though stay away from the southern region chills]. Europe, July - August: Now that the euro has finally fallen and the sun has made an appearance Europe looks like the place to go, but note that not all countries there are Eurozone members and those outside the zone may well be significantly more expensive, such as the UK or Scandinavia. Stay away from London anyway which is likely to be chaotic from mid July to mid August due to the Olympics. Our choice of newly affordable and interesting Eurozone countries without riots [!] would be Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. The best beaches are along Spain's Costa del Sol and Costa de la Luz, Portugal's Algarve coast, France's Côte d'Azur, Atlantic coast or Corsica and the Greek Islands. See should I take a holiday in Greece? Africa July - August: This is an excellent season for nature and wildlife safaris in Africa with varied superb locations ranging from Madagascar's baobab trees, chameleons and lemurs, to Namibia's massed beasts, deserts and massive dunes, Kenya and Tanzania for incredibly beastly migrations and beaches and South Africa's Kruger Park self-drive safaris. Asia July - August: Asia has few good-weather tourist destinations in this season with the exceptions of Indonesian attractions such as Bali beaches and Sulawesi's weird walks while high altitude Tibet is a strangely beautiful knockout but try to approach it gradually in order to acclimatise. Whatever, wherever, happy holidays!
Special Deals and Vacation offers from Tour Operators: China Tour Deals [China] Trek America discounts [USA, Canada, Central America] Adventure Life discounts [Latin America, Alaska, Antarctica] UncoverTheWorld Specials: Egypt, Nepal, Thailand Special deals on city breaks or adventure holidays.

London airports 2012; UK Border waiting time, how to reduce the chance of a 2 hour queue:

• Don't fly to Heathrow, especially Terminal 5, though Stanstead airport also suffers long queues. Gatwick is the other major London airport, has good train services into central London and has less of a waiting-in-line problem.
• Aim to arrive during regular working hours, in other words 9am-6pm. Late flights are cheaper and consequently busier but the majority of UK Borders staff will be home in front of the TV having a beer at that point. Though, to be fair, some management are always at home. It's part of their job description.
• get a seat near the front of the plane, even if you have to pay a small premium and hurry off on arrival!
• travel only with hand luggage if possible as the baggage carousels are also in chaos since passengers cannot collect their baggage on time!
• Get a biometric passport, although the scanners still have reliability issues so the new passport may not help.
• There is a new plan to form a separate queue for travellers from outside Europe who do not require a visa, meaning shorter queuing times for US, Canadian, Japanese and some South American nationals.
The longest queuing times will be confined to those who need a visa to come to Britain, including Indian, Pakistani, and Jamaican citizens.
• note: this UK Border disruption is political problem due to appalling decision making by upper management and ministers. They decided to increase checks and reduce staff at the same time. Incompetence thy name is Theresa May [UK Home Secretary].

Worst airports in the world. Heathrow isn't one of them!

Saving money on low cost flights

Times are still tough for world travel with austerity budgets spreading and fuel/flight costs higher than ever, so consider a vacation destination that isn't long-haul and do some thorough research.

There are obvious downsides to flying with low cost airlines so check 'legacy' airlines, their fares may be competitive if you take in account all the extras [food, drink, baggage+!] and if you have problems you are much more likely to receive satisfaction.

Flight Travel Tips:
1: Book online and pay by debit card, [Ryanair may charge for this]. If using a tour operator check they have ATOL insurance coverage. According to industry research the optimum time to pre-book is 8 weeks before departure.

2: Keep check-in baggage to the minimum, preferably zero, for cheap flights and ensure the airline knows how many bags you'll have. n.b. Ryanair will not permit musical instruments as hand baggage.

3: Eliminate any 'world care fund' or 'carbon footprint' contributions - they probably go straight into the airline's revenue stream.

4: If you already have travel insurance make sure the airline doesn't add it to your charge by default. If not, check offerings through a price comparison site, and consider multi-trip insurance if you take more than one holiday abroad in a year.

5: Check flight status before leaving home.

6: If you are planning to drive yourself to the airport, choose your parking area and book it well in advance to get the cheapest rate. Alternatively explore public transport options; buses are often fast and good value for couples, though not perhaps if travelling as a family.

7: Never change money at the departure airport - apart from a little emergency cash if essential. Check around before you leave for the best exchange deals; for example the UK's Post Office offers good value. If you forget and need some cash pronto, exchanges at your destination usually give better rates, assuming you don't arrive in the middle of the night.

8: Car hire costs differ dramatically place to place, so research will be required in this area too. If you're planning to head for a city first then drive around the country, it will be easier and cheaper to taxi or bus into town from the airport then rent a car after you've finished the city sightseeing.

Check consumer rights and protection against airlines and tour operators going bust, hotel overbookings, TripAdvisor fake reviews and more on our Consumer Protection page.

See our cheap flights comparison listings:
UK Cheap Flight Comparisons | USA Cheap Flight Comparisons

Using bank cards abroad efficiently

Buy goodies or pay bills [checks] with credit cards when on vacation as they provide insurance as well as delayed repayment but don't draw cash out from ATMs with them [unless it's a new-wave, no-fee card]. Interest starts accruing immediately and bank exchange fees in addition to the ATM fee may be unreasonable.

It's better to buy foreign cash at home from a commission-free provider though, of course when you travel you'll have to carry a fat wad around, so the best solution depends on the security of your holiday destination. If you travel a lot and want to get cash from an ATM do some research on transaction fees and get the lowest fee debit [not credit card] card you can find.

Gap Year travellers might consider also acquiring a prepaid Travel Money Card [aka Currency Card] which can be loaded with any amount of any currency before travelling and then topped up by family or friends while the Gappist is still in the big nowhere. Compare prepaid Travel Money Cards.

And of course never pay for anything abroad in your home currency [the exchange rate will be absurd], insist on paying in local currency.

To summarise, buy stuff abroad with a credit card, but try to pay off the balance each month before interest charges blow the wheels off your trolley; get cash from ATMs with a debit card.

Finally, don't go short of travel insurance if you're going to be participating in any kind of marginally dangerous activity, or even a non-dangerous activity in a third world location, that's NOT the way to save money! Use your brain while it's intact!

Cheap Phones when travelling

Using data abroad can be expensive but most UK and US networks offer prepaid European travel data bundles –15 MB daily for a modest fee for example. In addition networks are obliged to cut you off when your monthly data bill reaches €50.

To keep data bills as low as possible, iPhone users should install Onavo. Fire up this app in a new country and it keeps you updated as to your usage and compresses data heading into your phone, thereby squeezing perhaps 50 per cent extra out of any data bundle. The app is free from iTunes for now, but charges are planned. Find a list of supported networks in almost 100 countries at Onavo. An Android version is scheduled for release later this month. For now, the 3G Watchdog app tracks your data use; it's free from the Android Market.

Unfortunately, you could eat up a few megabytes just finding your hotel on Google Maps, so these tricks still don't exactly enable seamless home-and-abroad smartphone use.

To avoid data bills altogether, switch roaming off before you leave. On an iPhone, push the data roaming slider to off at Settings>General>Network. Android users should uncheck data roaming at Settings>Wireless & Networks >Mobile Networks. This eliminates some of your phone's functionality, but it doesn't hobble it altogether – and has the odd benefit, such as extending battery life. Instant access to a local map is one of the smart-phone's key benefits for travel, and all is not lost if you're without a web connection.

Android users can pre-download a map covering a 10-mile radius from anywhere: enable the 'Download map area' feature via the Labs tab in your Google Maps app and follow instructions. For iPhone users, an app called ForeverMap gives offline access to zoomable European country maps. Destinations outside Europe should be available soon. Download whatever countries you need over Wi-Fi before you leave. Any onboard map should work in tandem with your device's inbuilt GPS to guide you as you walk without using data.

Another tip for staying in communication when traveling abroad is using a Roadpost Satellite Phone for those off-the-beaten track places when the nearest cell phone mast is somewhere else.

If you're downloading a travel-guide app, make sure that it also includes 'offline maps'.
- Time Out publishes iPhone apps, with a range of eight cities.
- Lonely Planet covers over 70 destinations.
- Apps from Spotted by Locals are written by locally-based writers with a real insider voice and offbeat cities among 33 titles.
- Travelfish's eight apps are the best for Asia.
- The best Android traveller apps are in the DK Eyewitness Top 10 series covering 10 cities.
Source: Telegraph newspaper, UK.

The cheapest foreign phone options are:

1 - Skype phone by internet via wifi on a laptop/smart phone/or even iPod Touch, costs are tiny tho' sound quality can be erratic. We're especially impressed by international video calls from a iPod Touch 4 in a wifi zone to a PC via Skype, incredible sound quality and pretty good pictures. USE WIFI WHERE POSSIBLE.

2 - sign up with the new breed of cheap international calls providers.

3 - get a 'world' sim card at home or buy a new sim card on arrival at your destination and change the card over. The main drawback is number will be new and you may have to own an unlocked phone [either get your unlocked or buy an already unlocked extra phone], but it's convenient and you only pay for what you use if you buy the right package.

4 - check out new generation phone cards to call just about anywhere.

'The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page' St. Augustine

Bugbog is an independent travel guide that helps plan holidays - whether it's beaches, wildlife safaris, adventure travel, exotic vacations or European tours - quickly and efficiently. We provide guides to the world's best destinations, with key tourist information, festival dates, travel pictures, travel health and safety advice, maps, videos and thousands of useful exit links.

We summarise the best times to go, good and bad points of different great holiday destinations and give you an idea of what they look like with a mass of travel pictures in various photo galleries as well as some informative and scary stuff in World Travel Videos.

Bugbog is not attempting to be a detailed reference, but rather a concise and inspirational guide for fast, informed destination decision-making. Use us, then buy the guide book!

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