By air or by sea: What is the best way to travel?

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You have two options when you want to travel to a foreign country. Land travel can only get you so far. The choice, therefore, is to travel either by air or by sea. If you're not sure of the best way to go, the following are prime considerations when you’re tempted to buy your airplane ticket or save yourself a spot on a cruise ship:

Cost

The price of air and sea travel can be different depending on a couple of factors. Buying a first class ticket on a plane would definitely be expensive but so is a VIP spot on a luxurious cruise ship. If you are a frequent flyer you might get more great deals on airfare, though. There are also good promos that will get you on a ship for a fair price. Ultimately, canvas prices from different cruise companies or airlines to get the best deal.

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Travel time

The ultimate advantage of air travel is that it cuts travel time significantly. It makes the world seem much smaller because access to various parts of the globe is quicker and easier. Obviously, it will take time for ships to reach your destination. If you're not in a hurry to get anywhere, cruising is a great choice.

Safety

Some say that driving a car is more dangerous than flying in an airplane but when you see news about a plane crash, it makes you wonder about the truth to that statement. On the plus side, plane crashes are rare and the pilot, crew, and airplane engineers have the expertise to prevent flight accidents. Sea travel is directly affected by weather patterns. Strong winds or heavy rain can make the voyage pretty dangerous. Proper navigation is a vital part of making sea travel safe for all people involved.

Amenities

Unless you're traveling first class, there isn't much to say about the amenities in an airplane. Even first class has nothing on a cruise ship's features and facilities. There isn’t much to do on a plane and more than half the time you will be fastened to your seat. While watching in-flight movies is probably the most fun you'll have on a plane, ships provide facilities for the comfort and entertainment of their passengers.

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REPOST: Why You Really Shouldn’t Skip Your Vacation Days

Vacations are a privilege given by employers to their employees. However, some people like to just skip their vacation days. This article from Care2.com gives us five reasons not to.

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Still have vacation days left in the bank for 2014? Start planning a getaway—here are five ways taking a vacation is good for your health, happiness, and even work and home life.

Planning a vacation boosts happiness

Here’s a convincing case for taking—or at least planning—a vacation every two months: researchers found that just the anticipation of a vacation boosts happiness for eight weeks. After the getaway, happiness levels go back to what they were…meaning it’s the perfect time to start planning the next one, right?

Going on vacation makes you a better employee

Can taking a break from your job make you better at it? One study of Ernst and Young employees found that performance evaluations improved by eight percent for each additional 10 hours of vacation time they took. Those who took frequent vacations were also less likely to leave the company.

Vacations can boost your energy

All that relaxing can actually make you feel more energetic. In one study, researchers found that 94 percent of people had as much or more energy after coming back from a trip. 55 percent came back to work with higher energy levels than before the trip.

Vacations may keep your heart healthy

In one study of 13,000 men at risk for heart disease, those who skipped vacations for five years in a row were 30 percent more likely to have a heart attack than those who took at least a week off every year. And other research found a similar correlation for women—women who vacationed once every six years or less were more likely to develop heart disease and twice-a-year vacationers.

Vacations can strengthen family bonds

Planning a trip for the whole family can grow your relationships and improve your everyday home lives. 97 percent of parents reported feeling like their kids learned new things about them during a family trip. The majority also felt that a family vacation made the family more excited, relaxed, and affectionate.

Learn more about the benefits of taking a vacation by following this Lagniappe Destinations Twitter account.

REPOST: Advent As It Was Meant to be Celebrated: In Europe

Christmas is one of the most anticipated holidays of the year and it is the perfect time to take a vacation with your family. This article by James Ruggia of  Travel Pulse shares the many fun activities you can do on a trip to Europe.

PHOTO: The Freiburg Christmas Market typifies markets throughout Central Europe where family fun trumps shopping. |
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Pretty soon Black Friday will make its annual post-Thanksgiving hash of Christmas tradition as the buying frenzy turns picking up a gift into the equivalent of trying to dig the puck out from behind the net against the Philadelphia Flyers. So if your idea of Christmas doesn’t correspond to throwing forearms and body checks at Walmart, you might consider these European holiday suggestions from tour operators and river cruisers. 

In Europe Advent runs approximately, depending where you are, four weeks from the end of November through Christmas. Forget the crowded parking lots and clotted highways. The Christmas markets in Europecome with a scent of pine, cinnamon and all spice as the Glühwein wafts out of the hot vats and the roasting nuts are purchased in small bags as you look through stalls at hand crafted nutcrackers and toys.

"For Europeans, Christmas markets are very special social events,” said Harry Dalgaard, the president of Avanti Destinations. “The markets are where locals go to hang out with their friends, have a drink and some seasonal dishes, listen to choirs and bands and watch dancing. It's like a community party that you can keep returning to.”

Avanti specializes in tailored land-only itineraries and is offering several Christmas market options. They suggest a four-day/three-night Munich vacation, priced from $495 per person double, with a Christmas market pass, sightseeing tour, daily breakfast and roundtrip transfers to the train station.

“The train system in Europe makes it possible to use cities like Munich and Nuremberg as hubs for quick daytrips - or evening trips - to see the Christmas markets in other towns,” said Dalgaard. “From Munich you can easily visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Augsburg, Ulm. Avanti’s Nuremberg Christmas market vacation is priced from $559.

PHOTO: Christmas markets in Europe offer something a bit more pleasant than Black Friday at Walmarts. | Image Source: travelpulse.com

If a tour is more up your alley, Insight Vacations’ 2014/2015 Winter & Spring Europe Collection also features Christmas markets. “Our Signature Events have been bought to the forefront in the popular Christmas market itineraries,” said Insight President Phil Cappelli. “This year, our guests won’t just be visiting some of the best markets in Germany, Austria, France and Switzerland – they will have the chance to meet a market stall holder in Dresden and learn about Glühwein and Stollen bread.”


CroisiEurope's Holiday Cruises, priced from $495 per person, feature both Christmas markets and New Year’s cruises. These short cruises can be added onto other European journeys offering not only markets, but local Christmas Eve masses, New Year's Eve dinners and city tours.

For instance, the Venice and the Venetian Lagoon at Christmas: Journey along the Po, from $971 per person double, adds a private boat excursion to the islands in the lagoon before heading to Venice for a tour of St. Mark’s Square and midnight mass at St. Mark's Basilica.

The four-day Christmas in Alsace: Potter Villages and Revue at the Royal Palace, from $533, explores the Rhine while visiting the Potter Village and the Christmas market in Strasbourg. The five-day New Year in the Bordeaux Region on the Gironde and Dordogne River, from $1,278, explores Bordeaux with Chateaux tours and a New Year’s dinner.

Emerald Waterways’ 15-day Christmas Markets, from $3,960 to $7,705 per person double, visits more than 25 markets, departs from Amsterdam on Nov. 29 and concludes on Dec. 13 in Budapest. Emerald Waterways also offers travelers a chance to experience the Christmas Markets on shorter sailings with two, eight-day itineraries: Amsterdam to Nuremberg, departing Nov. 29, and Nuremberg to Budapest, departing Dec. 6. Prices for the eight-day sailings range from $2,080 to $3,955.
Scenic Cruises’ Christmas Market Cruises include the 15-day Christmas Markets River Cruise departs Nov. 24 from Budapest to Amsterdam with fares of $6,555 to $10,045 per person double, while the16-day Christmas River Cruise sails the reverse route on Dec. 15 and is priced from $7,235 to $10,760.

Shorter sailings are also offered: the eight-day Christmas Market Danube Discovery Cruise on Nov. 24 travels from Budapest to Nuremburg at $3,530 to $5,350; and the eight-day Treasures of the Rhine Christmas Markets Cruise on Dec. 1 sails from Nuremburg to Amsterdam at fares of $2,975 to $4,440.

 Land cruising by rail is another way to visit the markets. Vacations By Rail New 2015 brochure includes nine-day tour that visits to four of Europe’s best Christmas markets Munich, Nuremberg, Salzburg and Vienna. Prices start at $2,195 per person double.

If you’re headed through France you might treat yourself to business class on La Compagnie, a new boutique, all business-class airline, which is offering a pre-holiday special for two people traveling together between New York and Paris Priced from $2,599. It’s valid until Dec. 12 for travel completed by Dec. 15. The airline features business class lie-flat seats, inflight entertainment provided on Samsung Galaxy Tablets, an amenity kit, and dining service created by Michelin-starred Chef Christophe Langrée.

Discover the hottest destinations and the most useful travel tips by following this Lagniappe Destinations Twitter account.

REPOST: 5 Simple Tips For Taking Killer Instagram Travel Photos

This Huffington Post article shares pointers from Foto Ruta on how to capture beautiful travel photos for Instagram.

When you're visiting a beautiful new place, it's perfectly natural to want to capture the moment with a camera to take it home with you -- or Instagram it, so you can share it with your friends immediately.

Well, creative tourism startup Foto Ruta (that's Spanish for "photo route") is here to help optimize this combination of exploration and photography. The company provides informational tours that come with tips about how to capture each destination on camera. Currently, they run tours in Buenos Aires, Barcelona, London and Santiago, as well as pop up events in New York City.

Sound like fun? We thought so. But, if you can't get to one of these destination spots, don't fret -- Foto Ruta gave The Huffington Post a few tips for taking photos on smartphones, no matter where you are. And the photos below -- all taken with iPhones on Foto Ruta tours -- are stunning examples.

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Create a mood. Smartphone photography is as much about creating an image as capturing it. Think about what mood you want to convey in your picture, and then select an app or filter that enhances it.

 

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Move your body and think about viewpoint. Using creative angles to frame your shot will take an ordinary photo to new heights. Think of using a bird's-eye perspective, or get down to street level.

 

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Get close. Really close. The iPhone and most Androids have increasingly improved technology for capturing detail and focusing up close. Test the limits of your camera, and try some macro shots. You’ll be impressed with what you can create.

 

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Crop instead of zooming. Using your smartphone’s digital zoom can result in a loss of quality. If you’re far from your subject, take the shot and crop later.

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Look for the light. The lower the light, the more grainy the photo will be. So if you want a crisp picture, look for where the light is -- and play around with it.

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All the things you need to know about having the best vacation ever are featured on this Lagniappe Destinations blog.

Summer is here: Ready, set, travel

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The seasons offer different travel experiences. Spring provides a wonderful escape. Autumn inspires a romantic getaway, while winter presents a cozy retreat. As for summer, it is all about fun-filled adventures. Thus, it comes as no surprise that airlines are expecting a jump in travel this summer. After all, 10 of the 15 busiest travel days of the year take place in the summer.

The bright outlook in summer travel also bids well for travel booking companies. Travel firms, especially companies like Lagniappe Destinations that offer vacationers a unique collection of destinations at reasonable packages, will reap not only good business but loyal customers, too.

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But perhaps, the fun of summer vacation is best experienced by those who are ready for all kinds of adventures. Whether cooling off in these bargain destinations or relaxing in popular vacation spots, summer is best enjoyed by those who are willing to travel anywhere their hearts desire.

This may be the surfing community of Mission Beach in San Diego, California, or the multiple theme parks in Orlando, Florida. It may also be South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach, which is one of the top summer destinations of 2014. And though Aspen is popular during the ski season, there is something to behold in this famed Colorado destination.

As this Huffington Post article reiterates, summer leaves little excuse for not traveling. Indeed, “It's the ideal season to get up, get out, and explore the planet.”  

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Let travel expert Lagniappe Destinations design your most memorable summer vacation. Learn more about the company’s lineup of premier resort destinations at LagniappeDestinations.com.