Personalized travel map

Checking out my google reader I find an interesting present for whoever wants a world map.

Yes, it’s the world map poster and you can scratch every country you’ve been. It’s a quite classy wall map, but then you scratch off the places you’ve been travelling and it reveals some lovely colourful and geographic detail. You only need to rub it with the edge of a coing, scratch-card, keys….and get the amazing dettail underneath.

Check it in a video 😉

Pros of staying at Hostels (and promotions)

Saving in accomodation when you travel? Sure! Although when I travel I prefer staying with my fellow couchsurfers, sometimes having a good time at hostels is a nice adventure to discover by yourself and other travelers the best places of the city you are visiting!

I read in a blog that if you want to travel in May to Athens, Barcelona, Krakov, Dublin, Edimburgh, Lisbon, London,  Los Angeles, Melbourne or Rome  and you book your hostel at Hostelbookers, beds are 20 cents (not all of them, check the conditions)!! (don’t book them at HostelWorld if you want this deal).

Other promotions can be found on the chains like Hostelling International, where you can get free nights if you are travelling and staying at their places.

But…why a hostel? here are my reasons to stay in a hostel better than a hotel:

Pros of statying at hostels:

1. Hostels usually are budget-oriented (check it before you go there because sometimes you can find cheap rooms for 2 in hotels, but rates are lower than hotels).
2. Hostels also have private rooms like the hotels and private bathrooms too (usually you sleep in dorms with shared bathroom: girls separate from boys).
3. Hostels have computers with internet connection or free WIFI for its travelers (I’ve never seen a hotel with free internet yet, they usually charge you 😦 )
4. Hostels usually have more common areas and opportunities to socialize. The dormitory aspect of hostels also increases the social factor of meeting new people.
5. Hostels have different activities every day: contests, parties, and other programs to share books, DVDs and other items. Sometimes they have agreements with gyms or other activities in the city  for free or cheaply.
6. Hostels do not usually have the same level of formality as hotels, you can find young people at the office desk with piercings, tatoos or just part time workers that are at university and it’s always good vibes.
7. Almost all the hostels provide you with breakfast, although it’s a self-catering action: they provide you the food and you organize your breakfast. For lunch and dinner, you cook the food you buy using the recipy your mom teach ;). Usually hostels have one kitchen or more.
8. Some hostels offers you the opportunity to stay there for a while, you can deal a better price for your staying, and some of them offer you the option to work over there if you want, like the one in Flagstaff, AZ.

Cons of staying at hostels:

1. It depens on your life style, maybe the reasons above are not for you, but if everyone is clean and we use hostels facilities and we leave them as we find them , I just think there’s no reason on having cons and enjoy some nights at the hostel 😉

And you guys, do you think there’s more cons? more pros? help me to settle the list up!!! Safe travels!

City guides with your smartphone for free

Before going to travel to a city, you have different options to get the information for a better exploration of the new place you are. That options are infinitive, depending on your relationship with locals (a lot of people have a lot of contacts everywhere in the world, or use sites like couchsurfing or hospitality club), or forums online, libraries,  bookstores for a Lonely Planet (my favourite guide) …so many places to get that information for really cheap and just  to take the best for their days in the new city.

But today, there’s another option also for free for having the information on your mobile device!

If you have a smartphone and want to travel to the major cities in the United States and Canada, this is the perfect time to download for free the 13 Lonely Planet city guides! The apps are available for free until tomorrow, February 4th (they are usually 5,99 USD) and they include: Hundreds of places to explore and points of interest of real interest, the maps work offline and all the information is in detail of the following cities:

• Lonely Planet Boston City Guide
• Lonely Planet Chicago City Guide
• Lonely Planet Las Vegas City Guide
• Lonely Planet Los Angeles City Guide
• Lonely Planet Miami City Guide
• Lonely Planet Montreal City Guide
• Lonely Planet New Orleans City Guide
• Lonely Planet New York City City Guide
• Lonely Planet San Francisco City Guide
• Lonely Planet Seattle City Guide
• Lonely Planet Toronto City Guide
• Lonely Planet Vancouver City Guide
• Lonely Planet Washington D.C. City Guide

Also available the Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel

Yes, as you can see, they are only available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod, and I’m an android user 😦 !!

Tip: they are almost 20MG, so download from the Itunes or with a Wifi connection, the 3G connection can take forever!

New Year’s resolutions: top 10 countries for 2011

Yes, it’s been a while since my last post, but after realizing how important is to share my little tips, my reads, my travels with not just my friends, with everyone here is my New Year resolution:

1. Post more often

2. Travel more

3. Keep you updated about my movements this year.

So before start thinking about what i’m going to blog, I share with you the TOP 10 countries for 2011 from the Lonely Planet blog, with a ranking based on scores for topicality, excitement, value for money and the «special factor» that makes a country different.

1. Albania
2. Brazil
3. Cape Verde
4. Panama
5. Bulgaria
6. Vanuatu
7. Italy
8. Tanzania
9. Siria
10. Japan
From this list, I’m thinking about Japan, Cape Verde and Tanzania (yeah, i want to visit Africa), but I think Lonely Planet is missing something important:  Peru.

The reason is because it’s been 1 centurysince Machu Picchu was discovered. The Peruvian goverment will organize a big party with Paul McCartney, Sting and Bono to commemorate these 100 years, although I don’t like that a festival will be holded in the natural amphitheater of Machu Picchu I think it will be something good for the country and i’m sure they will take care of the enviroment of this World Heritage.
Another country to my list 😉

Teaching English in Spain. For USA and Canada people

Teaching English in another country is part of a experience. As I wrote  in the «work abroad: where to apply I» the option of showing your culture and teaching a language is sometimes a good option.

The «Teach abroad grants» for north americans (usa and canada) and culture assistants are perfect to come to Spain.

Here more information:

The job: The assistants and the classroom teacher (or the school representatives) may agree upon other activities and responsibilities they should be involved in, such as

• Conducting conversation lessons,
• Attending meetings,
• Making presentations in classes
• Participating in extra-curricular activities, such as workshops, school trips, student exchanges, music and theater performances or sporting events

Requirements:

• Hold a U.S. or Canadian Passport.
• Be a native English speaker.
• Be a Junior or Senior college student or have completed a BA, BS, MA or MS.
• Have an intermediate/advanced level of Spanish

The period: The program begins in mid-September and ends in mid-June. The academic calendar, however, is subject to the regional education norms.

Schedule/working hours: 12-16 hour weekly. You can have another part time job or travel too 🙂

Salary: A minimum monthly allowance of EUR €700 (USD$ 1,025; CAD$ 1,060)

Other benefits:

• Orientation course at the beginning of the school year and ongoing development.
• Full medical insurance.
• Official certificate, issued by the regional education authorities.
• Grants will be given on a first-come, first-served basis.
• No application fees.

The deadline is TOMORROW. Fill out your Online Application til March 30 here .

If not, wait for November (the application process starts November 30 til March 30)

Road Trip a Continent

There are a lof of ways to get good deals when you travel, but this one I found it’s completely wild. How many days will take you to drive you over a continent? a what about if that continent is Australia?

Yes guys, if you have 6 weeks off and wanna travel through a part of that 7,686,850 km2 you should start thinking that maybe it’s your turn to apply for the Aussie Roadtrip Adventure.

The Van-Tastic Adventure offers the opportunity (if you got selected) that seven pairs of travellers, will:

• Fly (you and your team) from anywhere in the world to Australia
• Drive all the way to the selected area the organization tell you with a
• Have free acces to the main statet’s top attractions
• With money for gas
• A digital video camera and laptop

And you only have to tell the organizators the best places you visit with a mini-documentary.

An initiative from the Tourism’s department of different city councils that can be the perfect excuse to visit the country with a really low budgetI don’t know if this type of promotion works, but what I’m really sure is that this type of experience can be something that can change your life, like it did it in

And you only have to tell the organizators the best places you visit with a mini-documentary.

An initiative from the Tourism’s department of different city councils that can be the perfect excuse to visit the country with a really low budget. I don’t know if this type of promotion works, but what I’m really sure is that this type of experience can be something that can change your life, like it did it in

Some of you will think like me, I don’t know if this type of promotion works, but what I’m really sure is that if you are selected: it’s destiny and good luck, this type of experience can be something that can change your life, like it did it to other participants before and other initiatives like this, for example the Bacardi Freedom Route, from Istambul, Turkey to Essaouira, Morocco with only one purpose: finding the best summer sunset.

Good luck if you apply!

Work Abroad:where to apply II

After the succes I got with the ideas throught Work Abroad I, I had to write the second part.

Work Abroad I was for everyone and you didn’t need a university degree, now I’m  posting about other ways to get into the labor market abroad if you have a college degree.

If you are graduated, almost graduated, you should check:

• International organizations: They provide students in higher education with experience relevant to their studies in the field they want.
  • AIESEC, the largest international young organization for people who wanna develop their potential. One of last steps into the AIESECWay is the Work Abroad and everyone can apply for one of the 4 types of intership into the fields of: management, technical, educational and development interships. If you need to know more about it, just ask me I was part of this organization and can give you the contact info of the closest office.
  • IAESTE, the international young organization for the exchange of student of Technical Experience. It works like the one before, but just for enginerring and technical majors.

• Technical jobs
  • Architects without borders, Check your closer chapter and join it, you will be able to cooperate for fair and sustainable development initiatives with disadvantaged people and communities.
  • Go4contruction, a global recruitment website for the building, civil engineering, infrastructure, energy and oil and gas industries.
  • Domestika, a Spanish website for jobs related with design, graphics, tv, 3d, music and other technical positions.

• European Union: there so many portals where you can find options for applying for a job in the EU countries.
  • Eures, Eures is the European Job mobility portal, for work in the EU and different sites to look for jobs.
  • Euraxess, EU website you can find Information on jobs, services, rights and networks for researchers.
  • EPSO,  European Career, website for working for one of the European Institutions.

• Other organizacions
  • CIVI, French organizations that allows you to find opportunities abroad. For people from 18 to 28 years old.
  • AIPT, the Association for International Practical Training is another international organization that offers you the opportunity to have an intership. AIPT is authorized by the U.S. Department of State to issue form DS-2019, the document required to enter the United States on a J-1 visa.
  • CDS International, Fellowships, internships, study abroads and another innitiatives to have a cultural experiencie.
  • IIE, It’s the website of the Institute of International Education. For education professionals. Not only jobs, also fellowships, conferences and events.
  • Internabroad, Look for an internship abroad by country or by field.
  • Intership program, Not only for looking an intership, also for job seekers.

• Community Services for teens:
  • Global Routers,it’s a summer teen community service programs & gap-year or college internships in Africa, Asia and Latin America

Althought this is only a short list, you can find a lot of programs abroad around the web, every university also offers interships, fellowships from your major to other countries. You can also find opportunities looking with web2.0 tools, I’ll write about it too on another blogpost.

Good luck

Blog Day 2009. Traveler Recommendations

Today, all the bloggers around celebrate the Blog Day. This consists giving  5 recommendations of new blogs that you have just discovered. This way, your blog readers wil

l find  other interesting stuff to learn about it and will have the opportunity to follow th

em.

My recommendation for today are different blogs I’m following throught my Reader. Some of them are in English or in Spanish. Use google translate if you are in trouble with the words or the whole text.

So, here is my recommendation for this day:

• Go Green, travel green.  Everyone should think in green. Always and more when we travel. Really interesting blog with travel tips for eco-conscious travelers.
• Blog de viajes. An argentinan blogger who shares almost everyday interesting things about travelling, tourism and . This blogger was awarded as the Best Spanish Language Blog by the Lonely Planet Travel Blogger Awards 2009.
• La volta dels 25. This blog has 2 special things for me and just found it looking for some links. These special things are: It’s in Catalan, the language of Catalunya and of course, my language. The secong one, he’s 25, like me. He decided to take 1 year off and travel the world. He’s interviewing 25 young people from 25 years old around the world and write a book about it. Also awarded as the Best non-english  travel Blog by the Lonely Planet Travel Awards 2009.
• The practical nomad. I guess that if you just wanna travel and love international travel, this blog is the first stop you have to do before start planning anything. He’s an expert on airfares and how to get the best deals on the Internet and updates a lot of information and resources.
• Comer y tapear bien barato en Barcelona. This one is not about travelling throught the world, is about another trip to one city and its food. If you are in love with Barcelona, and you like the feeling of a good meal. Don’t miss this update with the best places on where to eat and for how much, from the most visited places in the city to the most hidden ones.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!!!

Delays, Overbooking, Cancelled flights, what???

After realizing that flying from Santiago (de Compostela) can be the longest flight ever (more than Santiago de Chile, which I thought it was the longest) I was searching the possible compensations for my coworkers Genís and Marc.They already did something. Hence, try to avoid  flying with Spanair.

In the unlikely case  you are: denied boarding, or if your flight is cancelled, or if your flight is delayed for more tha two hours, airlines must give you a compensation and assistance, depending on the  situation. The reasons because an airline could change the time of your flight or cancel it altogether can be due to weather, mechanical problems and for not having all the crew in the boarding gate. Sometimes airlines might cancel a flight when there are not enought people that booked on.

All the information I’ve found is about flights departing from EU countries, landing to an EU country or with an EU airline.  You can check the information in Spanish here or just read the tips below. I think you can obtain similar compensations everywhere.

Denied boarding because of overbooking or cancelations:

When there’s an overbooked flight,  the airline will call for volunteers already with the confirmed reservation to exchange their flight for an agreed compensation. This compensation depends on how you get it:

If your exchange is for cash, the compensation goes like this:

• Flights of 1500 km or less: 250€
• Flights within the EU of more than 1500 km, and all other flights between 1500 and 3500 km : 400€
• Flights not falling under the other cases (another continent for ex.): 600€

You can also exchange it for Transportation Credit Voucher, depending on the airline you are flying with, it increases the agreed compensation. Usually it is about 100€ or 200€ more than the prices I wrote before.

If there’re not enough volunteers,  boarding can be denied to passengers against their will, if this happens, the compensation and assistance can be denied for the passenger. So don’t think it twice and get the money or the voucher!

Assistance when overbooking or cancellation

Every passenger have to receive, free of charge:

• Rerouting to the final destination under similar transport conditions and as soon as possible (maximum 7 days). The passenger can fly a later date at his/her convenience subject to the availability of seats.
• Meals/refreshments in a reasonable relation to the waiting time
• Hotel accommodation in cases of overnight stay with transport to the hotel included
• Communication: 2 telephone calls, fax messages or e-mails

Delays in flights

• There’s no compensation for 2 hours or less delay in the case of flights of 1500 km or less
• There’s no compensation for 3 hours or less  delay in the case of all intra-EU flights of more than 1500 km and of all other flights between 1500 and 3500 km
• There’s no compensation for 4 hours or less delay in the the other cases.

And think that:

Not with all the delays you can get an economic compensation, but you can check the Montreal Protocol and request it to the airline.

Not with all the the flights cancellations you can obtain a compensation:

• If the airline announces the flight cancellation 2 weeks before the flight.
• If the airline announces the flight cancellation 7 days before the flight and they offer an alternative transportation that will allow you to reeschedule your trip and take off 2 hours before your cancelled flight and with another requeriment: do not arrive 4 hours later than the first scheduled flight.
• If the airplane shows a cause by «force majeure«

And my last tips:

• Don’t loose your boarding pass. This is your proof you have a seat assigned and it can help in the future with the complaints.
• Be patient, in these situations, the airplane crew in the boarding gate or customer service of the airline have just a little bit more information than you and sometimes they can’t do anything. Just make your complaints by requesting the complaint book.

Work Abroad: where to apply (I)

«I don’t find a job», «this crisis is affecting so much to the economy in my city», «I don’t know where to look for». Most of you probably have thought  of taking the first option offered, others can think about they will find it later and it’s better of  just keep looking for…and most of you have the desire of travelling because you feel useless at home waiting for a  call.

If you have this last feeling, don’t think it twice. Despite the economic gloom and doom, there are millions of jobs abroad available these days. If you can afford at least 3 months of living by yourself, it’s time to make a decision (most of the times it won’t be the salary you’ll get in your country, but most of the times it’s not about the salary, it’s about the experience).

Some of the travel jobs on the list you are gonna read below pay better than others. Some demand specific qualifications, while others are available to just about anyone who can speak some specific languages.

• Teaching Languages.
  • Spanish: The Spanish goverment offers some grants to spanish teachers to go to the US, also, there’re a lot of countries who are lack of spanish teachers.
  • English: you can become part of  the cultural assistant program to teach English in Spain, althought there are a lof of countries where you can teach this universal language.

• BabySitting:
  • The International Au Pair Association works to put in contact families with people who want to take care of their childrens. Before taking care of a kid, kust make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into first, because it’s sometimes tough depending on the children.
  • There are also other different networking websites to help new babysitters to find families on their own. One of the best is Great Aupair, and mommymixer,  aupair.com and easy aupair . Never forget that a lot of babysitters work as family assistants and drive kids to after-school programs, planning birthday parties, etc..

• Voluntering:
  • The world needs you and a volunteering escape can help a lot to the organization you are working on and yourself. Volunteer opportunities are practically innumerable and in almost every country. Sites like Volunteer abroad or Idealist are references.
  • Other organizations like the European Youth Portal or the Global Volunteer Network can help to look for the best work. One organization I’d like to mention is Vicente Ferrer Fundation.   Read a little bit about what people says about these  or other organizations before going there.

• Cruising/Sailoring
  • The perfect way to enjoy the good weather throught high seasons in different parts of the world. There are thousands of cruises which weigh anchor everyday in different parts of the world. All cruise Jobs is the biggest job board dedicated to employment in cruises.
  • Another sites where you can be a part of the cruise crew around the world are cruiselinejob,  workoncruiseship and if you want to try something different that just entretaintment, this site allows you to work in platforms and huge non touristic ships.
  • if you don’t like crowds, don’t think it twice and check the opportunity of smaller private yachts. They also need people for the crew, some cool websites I found: crewseekers, findacrew and crewfile.

• Tourguide:
  • Being a tour guide can be really interesting if you like history and you have good social skills. There so many tour companies where you can apply
  • But tour guide does not only mean going to cities and explain the history and the buildings, you can also combine it with your hobby: mountain biking, birdwatching. Some hostels I’ve been offer the opportunity to be a guide and discover the beauty of the region you are in.

• Exchange work for Hostel Beds
  • Maybe this option sounds crazy, but some hostels, like the ones next to my favourite area offer it. Grand Canyon are offering some positions of cleaning rooms or computer work. Some hostels have the option already, if not, ask the hostel owner if it’s possible to exchange work  for a bed. Make sure to mention you are good for this position because there’re a minimum days you have to stay there. You can find more information about working in hostels in the Hostel Jobs webpage.

• Seasonal Agricultural Campaigns
  • Ifyou  don’t like cities and want to feel the countryside, the beginning of seasonal campaigns are your option. It will be tough, but being in contact with nature is always good. The seasonal agricultural campaigns are everywhere. It’s about team work and undertake the tasks of picking, storing and packing the fruit. Check this site for Spain and this post in Australia. Working in an organic farm somwhere around the globe can be also a wonderful experience. Helpexchange is a great site too.

• Commercial Airplane crew
  • This is not a short term job, it’s another career. Cabin crew work for airlines is a very popular option for a lot of travelers. Qatar Airways or British airways are two options, there are so many opportunities and a lot of companies are hiring. It sounds like a really cool job, but don’t forget that the cavin crew are the responsible for the safety of passengers and are specially trained to deal with security and emergency situations. Their work can be stressful but allows you to discover a lot of places in the world.

• Artist:
  • Being an artist can bring you everywhere. You can think about music and check the tours of a lot of artists. You can be one of them too. There are also a lot of people who are going abroad to show their culture or travel as a staff. Also, the circus can be a good way to tour the world showing your talent.

And don’t forget you can always travel without working. Just enjoy your time but first of all check out your budget!!