With the summer upon us many people are finalizing their holiday plans if they haven't already done so. In these difficult financial times many are opting to stay within the UK rather than venture abroad, providing a great opportunity to get to know our own country and also reducing the need to travel by plane. For those still traveling to other shores, there are also many different ways to travel, which can in fact be an adventure in themselves.

Traveling by plane produces vast quantities of greenhouse gases, and reducing or cutting air travel out altogether can make a big difference to your carbon footprint. Especially when traveling abroad, it is easy to instantly think about flying to your destination, but there are often alternatives which will almost certainly be greener, could be cheaper and will often become part of the fun of the holiday.

Within Europe in particular there are plenty of options to travel by ferry, train or coach. The numerous UK ferry ports travel to various destinations in both northern and southern Europe with the longer journeys often a mini holiday in themselves. Once at your destination, look into train or coach travel for the remainder of your journey. Coach travel from the UK is also an option with companies offering various packages across Europe.

You can, of course, travel by train direct from the UK to mainland Europe using the Eurostar. There are all sorts of travel tickets available allowing you to work out the most cost effective and quickest (or longest if you want to take in some more scenery and locations) way to travel. With sleeper carriages on many long distance trains, you can travel in comfort with the whole family.

If you are traveling further than Europe, the options are of course more expensive and take longer, but it is worth looking into the options available as you can make the journey part of your holiday.

Whatever your travel plans this summer and beyond, do consider alternatives to flying; it will probably make a refreshing change to your traveling and will also help the environment.

So you fancy a holiday in the Greek islands but you are not sure which one is right for you? They all have great weather. Most of them have nice beaches. Some of them have warm seas ideal for water sports. It can be difficult to choose.

You also have to consider the cost. For families with older children, in particular, things soon mount up. They have four flights to pay for and need to book two rooms. Add in spending money once they arrive and the cost escalates still further.

If you want a great destination that offers good value for money I would recommend Zante. It has some of the best scenery you will ever see. The island is small, just 40 kilometers long by 20 kilometers wide, but is blessed with a large number of golden beaches spread over its 120 kilometers of coastline. The most stunning beach on the island, perhaps the most scenic on all the Greek islands, is Smugglers Cove. You can only get there by boat but it is well worth a trip. Get there early, before it gets too busy, and take your camera.

The island has the bonus of offering a wide range of accommodation at very reasonable prices. One of the best solutions is to get a Zante apartment. You can sleep two, four or even six people comfortably. Parents can still get some privacy at night. When you want a rest you can watch a selection of DVDs in your apartment. Best of all, however, is the freedom an apartment allows when it comes to meals. You can stock up your fridge with fruit, drinks and ingredients for sandwiches if you just fancy taking a packed lunch to the beach or leisure park. You can have breakfast at whatever time suits you. You can go to a restaurant for dinner some nights, stay in your Zante apartment and eat whatever you please on other nights.

If you look around you can find great value deals on comfortable, spacious and well located apartments. Ask your travel agent about Zante apartments, or check out your options on the internet. You will be pleasantly surprised by the range on offer.

Exotic Spa and hotels are scattered in all nooks and corners of the worlds. The Best spa hotels generally help their guests to unwind and release tensions, stimulate the metabolism and develop a feeling of increased wellness necessary to recuperate and rejuvenate.

One of the Best spa hotels is located in Nuevo Vallarta, on the golden coast of Mexico.

Grand Velas All Suites and Spa Resort have received the "Most Excellent Spa Hotel" award from Conde Nast, where the masseurs carefully select the aromas and therapies for their massages, which they claim, are the best. The view from this Luxury resort spa is stupendous and overlooks the ocean where the vast expanses of blue water create a therapeutic effect.

The Datai in Langkawi, Malaysia is one of the most sought-after Spas and resorts retreat.

This Luxurious resort spa overlooks the coolest and cleanest of white sandy beaches, along the sea, amidst natural green where the sounds are mostly those than can be found in a forest. One of the best Spas and hotels where one can completely de-stress by allowing the spa to engulf one's worries and tensions away.

Grand Hyatt, Tokyo's NAGOMI Spa and Fitness Center is one of the most serene and peaceful retreats as a Luxury resort spa if one is looking for a perfect getaway from city life. The treatments at the spa deal with restoration of body, mind and soul to bring about a harmonious feeling of tranquility and calm that is necessary when one lives in the city. Grand Hyatt, Tokyo is one of the best Spa and hotels in Japan.

The Imperial Palace Hotel offers an Oriental spa, complete with traditional elegance and promises a tranquil stay in luxurious settings. Even though most of the Spas and resorts are located in the heart of the city, when you enter the Imperial Palace Hotel, you automatically leave your worries and cares behind with the wonderful relaxing therapies, offered to you in the spa.

The Spa Imperial in Hotel Du Palais, in Biarritz, Basque Country, France is the ultimate of all Spa and hotels in the worlds. They only use Guerlain products and their spa treatments include lymphatic drainage along with aromatherapy messages. The masseurs are professional trained to deal with each type of relaxation required to soothe the individuals. The Hotel Du Palais is one of the best Spas and resorts in France.

The Spa at Mandarin Hotel is renowned as a couple's spa and ideal for a romantic getaway interlude. They specialize in the "Time Ritual" which is about two hours of cleansing, exfoliation and massaging process, leaving you energized and rejuvenated.

One of the best Lake spa resorts is Spa of the Pines in Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa in California, U.S.A. This Lake spa resort uses natural pine and sage with other ingredients and guarantees to release your stress and tension away. This mountain top retreat is set amidst picturesque surroundings of majestic alpine. This Lake spa resort is one of the Best Spa hotels in California.

India is such a diverse country, and one of the main ways that its diversity is expressed is through its dance. When you have your India visa then you will have the opportunity and pleasure to visit many parts of India to attend some of its dance festivals. The types of dance across India are so different in style and colour, that several trips maybe needed to see such extravaganzas; hence you will also require several Indian visas for these trips. Below are a few of the dance festivals that your India travel visa will allow you to visit:

The Konark Dance Festival

The Konark Dance Festival is based in Konark, Orissa, and is held twice a year, in February and also December. Both times the festival is held in the open air auditiorium grounds in near the sun temple. The sun temple is based approximately 68kilometres from the states capital Bhubaneswar. Note that your normal India visa will allow entry to this region of India. The location is close the the Black Orissi Dance Pagoda, which is a monument that is build of black granite and shows the chariot of the sun god. The dance festival shows the classical forms of the regional dances of India as well as national forms of dance, in a celebration to celebrate Orissa. The dances are held under a huge mandap called the Natya Mandap. The dances styles are typically those from the 19th to the 21st centuries.

The Modhera Dance Festival

One of the most famous dance festivals that your India visa will also allow you to visit is in the state of Gujrat, called the Modhera dance festival. Modhera which is close to the capital of Gujarat, Ahmedabad was build by king Bhimdev many centuries ago. You can enter Gujrarat quite easily with the traditional visa for India for business or tourism purposes. The festival is held in the sun temple, which is dedicated totally to the lord Surya, otherwise translated as the sun god. The dances on display at the sun temple include classical Gujarati dances. This beautiful festival is held for three days during the month of January. As this is one of the most popular seasons for Indian tourism, be sure to apply early in advance for your India visa, at the VFS offices or via the services or Rapid visas.

The Elephanta Islands Dance and Music Festival

If you are planning on using your India visa to enter via Mumbai, and shall be entering India during the month of February, then the annual festivals held on this small island 10 km from Mumbai harbour is surely to be attended. The island was rename elephanta by the Portugese after they saw it had elephant carvings inside the walls. This annual festival is arranged to worship the Maheshmurti, or otherwise know as the Shiva-idol which is located in the main caves. As well beautiful dances being put on by professionals, it is also fascinating to see local folk dances being displayed by local fisherman, who also serve their local food.

For more information of the dance festivals of India, and also the processes required for applying for your India visa then please feel welcome to contact us at rapid visas.

No doubt about it, traveling with kids can be tough, but worry not: we are here to assure you that South America is indeed a family-friendly travel destination; all you need is a little research, creativity and a great packing list!

Let's take Peru as an example: in a country as diverse and magical as this, options abound for activities that the whole family can participate in, enjoy and learn from. For starters there's the massive variety of geography in Peru, which alone provides plenty of options for adventurous families in search of an unforgettable vacation experience.

Options range from a jungle experience deep in the tropical selva, to admiring the stunning blue ice giants of Huaraz, exploring the impressive ruins of Machu Picchu (a definite requirement) and swimming on the glorious beaches of southern Peru or white-sanded northern Máncora. With just a little more research, plenty of kid (and adult) friendly activities can be found. To make traveling with kids extra easy, we've listed are a few unusual outings that'll be memorable for the whole family.

Starting off where many a Peru vacation begins, Lima has more than a few distinctly Peruvian activities to offer family travelers. First on the route is the Lima Zoo, known by its more formal name of Parque de las Leyendas. Warning: the zoo isn't up to the highest US standards but is a favorite of the locals and a great place to spend a few hours with the kids. Having undergone an extensive renovation of its animal pens, the park provides a variety of animals native to South America and beyond (giraffes and water buffalo included) as well as up close opportunities to even pet them!
Lima Zoo
Ave. La Marina, Block 24
Open 9am-5:30pm daily. Adults: US$ 3, children 3-11: US$ 1.30

Not far from Lima is another opportunity for up close wildlife experiences. At Pucusana Port, many families go on penguin and dolphin watching excursions. Located roughly 70 kilometers south of the capital, this is a small fishing town of only about 10,000 inhabitants. Life here remains much unchanged by recent developments in modern technology; the people still live off the ocean as they have for many generations past. Every morning, dolphins crowd to the port entrance and guided adventures can be arranged for children from a minimum age of five which will take you past the lazy sea lions sunning themselves on the hot rocks and occasionally flopping into the water for a fish snack.

If your goal is to provide a little eye-opening perspective for your kids, head south toward Lake Titicaca, and give your children the unforgettable opportunity to share for one day (or more) the lives of the indigenous communities who live on the lake's floating reed islands or Uros. Residents of Uros and the nearby craggy terraced islands of Amantini and Taquile still speak Quechua (the language of the Inca empire) and are happy to share their way of living with you. Take a hike to the island summit of Amanatini's Pachamama and Pachapa (Mother and Father Earth) temples or admire the precision of the centuries-old communal system Taquile Island; run entirely on a co-op system.

Boats and trips to Amantini, Uros and Taquile leave from Puno, on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. Buses are 12 hours from Cusco.

Of course, a Peru vacation that bypasses Cusco and Machu Picchu would be absolutely inexcusable, especially when the goal of traveling abroad with kids is to open their minds to the world's mysteries and treasures. While a trip on the train to Machu Picchu is a definite must-do, don't forget that the remainder of the region offers a variety of other fun learning experiences as well. Visit the Inca 'ceremonial fortress' of Sacsayhuamán, located on a 3,000 hectare site just a mile from central Cuzco. This fortress offers a great landscape for exploring, climbing and fresh air fun-there's even a few stone slides (rodaderos) and adventurous tunnel called the chinkana. Additionally, guided trips through the ruins on horseback can be arranged, as well as a special riverside picnic at the 'holiday resort' favored by Incan rulers-Tambomachay.

If in search of some quiet time to spend with the family, head up north to Máncora for a little peaceful R & R. Although there are cultural learning opportunities to be had here just as across all of Peru, the main draw card is opportunity to relax and enjoy the beach, and soaking up some sun. And if the desire for action manages to overcome the lazy beach atmosphere; try your hand at mastering surfing and body boarding the world class waves. Animal lovers can also visit the UNESCO protected Amotape Forest, where over 100 different species of mammals, birds and reptiles can be found in their natural habitat.

Finally, the idea of letting your children run wild through a jungle might not seem a great idea but at the Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm and Animal Orphanage located a short boat ride away from Peru's jungle city of Iquitos, such an adventure is perfect for families.

Here, orphanage managers Gudrun Sperrer and Roblar Moreno have worked to expand the original facilities of the park to include an abandoned animal refuge. Children and parents can wander the grounds of this not-for-profit animal oasis, examining the hundreds of different butterflies as they glide through the air as well as play with a huge number of friendly monkeys, spotting enormous caiman in the lake, getting up close and personal with an orphaned jaguar and even pet fairy-tale worthy animals like a hulking tapir named Lolita and Rosa, the resident 8ft long anteater www.AmazonAnimalOrphanage.org
Padre Cocha
Iquitos, Peru

Our top tips for long plane and bus journeys with youngsters:

If at all possible, bring along a car seat for the plane or bus. This not only makes it safer for the child, but also cuts down on stress by putting them in a familiar and comfortable position.

Carry an extra change of clothes for yourself and baby: spills and dribbles happen!

Always have some snacks and drinks to hand. Non-perishable items like crackers and dried fruit are great keeping up the energy levels- especially when unfamiliar food is leaving your child hungry and cranky.
Only travel by night if necessary. Long, overnight bus rides can be rough on children as there is not much leg-room for comfort and few activities to keep them entertained. If there is no other way, make sure you request first floor seats on double-decker buses to avoid excessive bus swaying.

Keep up the interest levels in places like ruins and on city tours by getting your child their own disposable camera, that way they can create their own souvenirs of the journey and focus on points that really interest them.

Take along a notebook and a glue stick to create a vacation scrap book while you travel.

I have been to 80 cities in 30 countries. I'm not a travel expert by any means, but I do have some travel advice for the next guy. The biggest tip I can give is to do your research. Most of the tips I'm going to provide fall in this category and will be explained in greater detail.

Check travel Warnings and Alerts.
Make sure it is safe to travel where you're heading. Travel Warnings and Alerts are available at any of the regional passport agencies and U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. The information is also available online at the Department of State homepage. All information about travel warnings and alerts are updated constantly.

Register your trip. It is a free service provided by the State Department.
I don't want to deter you from traveling, but there is a good number of tourists that disappear each year. By registering your trip, they will at least have a starting place to look if you go missing.

When traveling abroad, make sure you have the address and phone number of your local U.S. Embassy.
In an emergency you want to have this information readily available.

Before traveling, find out if your health insurance company will cover you in an emergency abroad.
In the event of an emergency, cost is not your first concern, I know. It is however, a third or fourth concern. I had a friend who traveled to Thailand and had to have an emergency appendectomy. He spent four days in a hospital in Bangkok and when he got home he had a bill for $20,000 that wasn't covered by his U.S. provider. A travel insurance policy would have cut that cost to almost nothing.

Notify your credit card companies when traveling to unusual places or for long periods of time. The last thing you want to happen is to have your cards canceled by your credit card company because they believed the card had been stolen.

When checking your backpack at an airport, use a pack cover to prevent pockets opening and straps catching on conveyor belts. Now I can tell you from experience you don't want to be the person at the airport collecting their pack that is open and ripped to shreds. To add insult to injury, my journal was missing and everyone in baggage claim saw what type of boxers I wear.

Keep 20 bucks in your shoe. In an emergency, $20 can get you a ride, meal, and a phone call. It hasn't happened to me but I have met people with horror stories about being robbed abroad. With no money and no ID, they had to beg for a few bucks for a cab ride to the U.S. Embassy.

If your unsure about drinking the water where you're going, use a water bottle with a filter. You can get one at any camping store. When I was in Egypt and I was kicking myself for not having one of these. Remember different countries have different organisms in the water that the locals' bodies are used to. Forgieners might not have that same luck in drinking the water. When in doubt, drink bottled water with a name that you trust.

Go with the flow. Traveling, especially aboard is one of the best experiences you could possibly have. You'll meet tons of travelers who just want to see the world and have a good time doing it. Be respectful of others and their beliefs when abroad because they might be different from your own. Be open minded and friendly and I guarantee you'll have a great time.

Caernarfon is the beautiful country town situated in the county of Caernarfonshire, North Wales. Caernarfon has a lot to offer to its visitors, and the town is mainly known for its very own impressive Caernarfon Castle built by King Edward I. The stunning castle with spectacular towers, stands at the beginning of the Seiont River, and dominates the town, and is also one of Wales' most famous castles. The impressive architectural castle is not the same as other Castles built by Edward I which where used for defence, it was built to symbolise the power, and English dominance over the Welsh, and Edward made sure that his Son was born here on 1284, as the first English Prince of Wales.

Caernarfon also has an individual unique transporting system. It has a airport located within 4 miles, which offers pleasure flights, revealing the stunning country town from above, and an aviation museum is also situated here. It also offers Caernarfon railway station, which was once used as an important port, exporting slate from the Nantlle Valley Quarries.

Caernarfon also has a lot of other different things to offer its visitors. It has guest houses, hotels, beautiful hand made craft shops, swimming and sports facilities, a large golf course, tasty restaurants, and stunning visual architectures and landscapes. Caernarfon also has a small harbour and a stunning beach at Victoria Harbour. Caernarfon is a major tourist centre and is one of the only few towns that is mainly welsh speaking. It is said that just less than 90% of the community in Caernarfon is Welsh speaking. The local residents encourage visitors to enjoy there lasting cultural traditional town, and welcome them to learn and enjoy there rich historical past.

Modern technology has allowed us to visit many places that were once off limits, but technology still hasn't totally beaten the desert. The desert traps cars and trucks in its ever moving sands and travellers can easily lose their way with no roads or landmarks, so the best way to embark on desert adventures is on the 'ships of the desert' -camels - guided across the expanses of sand by both a GPS and the stars. That's what makes the desert one of the few places to embark on a journey with the gung ho attitude of explorer heroes like Lawrence of Arabia.

Like Lawrence, some mad men are drawn to desert adventures as they can be an unforgiving challenge. The desert's ability to both fry and chill - yet breathtakingly sensuous dune lines are often compared, by the poetically inclined, to a lover, usually female, and usually difficult. The endless, shapely and ever changing sand dunes radiate the romance of the desert adventure and the sun beating against them creates enigmatic and confusing shapes to beguile those who dream of conquering her.

Some desert adventures are quests; Wadi Rum is one of the most spectacular desert locations in Jordan, hire a local Bedouin guide and go on a two or three day trek by camel and sleep under the stars. But if your interest is more for the archaeological, then the ancient city of Petra, an abandoned necropolis of temples and tombs cut into towering cliffs of red sandstone will delight you.

The desert festivals and historic journeys of the Tuareg Salt Caravans promise quiet evenings of ancient stories told under the stars sipping mint tea, and days travelling the same un-marked routes as a thousand years worth of forebears. Your saddled camel could take you to Ksar Ghilane, every desert adventurer's ideal oasis, a cluster of green palms surrounding a still pool. Or to the Oases of Zagora, travelling between deep rocky gorges and the huge dunes, Cheggaga and Djebel Saghro; the settlements you pass between here are like ornate red boxes and lives tick by as they have done for thousands of years - for the old ways of life and ancient cultures are another of the deserts temptations.

Camels are an acquired taste; they have a reputation for being docile work horses, but their gait rolls like the ocean, which may be how they got their nautical moniker, and if they don't like you or another camel they're not beyond biting. Some guides will lead you into the desert on foot, where you'll have the feeling of wandering aimlessly into oblivion, your feet crushing nothing but sand and your vista repetitive. A desert adventure through the Moroccan Sahara is very different to a walk up a mountain, you have to be open to some serious self reflection; the vista's stimulus is unchanging but relentless.

To capture all the sensuous majesty of the desert you need to see it from above, preferably from the cane basket of a balloon coasting silently above it. Easily the most romantic desert adventure around.

Beijing is the capital city of China, and it is a world famous city filled with ancient history and culture. It is also China's political, economic, cultural, and transportation center covering an area of over 16,800 square kilometers. With a population of over 15 million, Beijing has a semi humid continental climate. Its winters are cold and dry, while the summers are hot and humid - both spring and autumn are short lasting. Because of the winter cold and summer heat, the best times to travel to Beijing are during the spring and autumn seasons.

Where Ji (Beijing today) was situated was a strategically advantageous location for development. It's situated on a small plain with three sides closed off with surrounding mountains, and expansive rolling plains to the south. Leading to the south were a number of gorges such as Shangguan Pass, Juyongguan, and Nankou Pass (south entry pass). To the northwest, there is Badaling (Eight Prominent Peaks, which happens to be a popular tourist destination for Great Wall Tours today), leading to the Mongolian plateau. With this, Ji was a strategic communications hub between the north and the south.

Beijing is the capital of China, located in the northern part of China. As the capital of China, Beijing stands as the nation's social, economical, political, and cultural center. Beijing has had a rich history of enduring invasions by warlords and foreign powers, devastating disasters, and has seen the rise and fall of generations of imperial dynasties.

Since 1949, Beijing officially became the capital of the People's Republic of china. This splendid city attracts millions of visitors and tourists from all over the world each year. Today, Beijing is the center and home of the greatest repository of historical landmarks and monuments from imperial China.

Beijing has a fantastic blend of historical tourism sites and modern 21st century technology and lifestyle. From the world famous Great Wall of China, Forbidden City Palace, Summer Palace, and Ming Tombs to WangFuJing, Tianmen Square, Beijing's West Railway Station, and China Central Television Tower.

The Beijing Opera has a history of over 200 years, and it is one of the key features of ancient Chinese culture. It was named Peking Opera as it evolved from several types of local operas that were performed in the city of Beijing. Its origins tracks back to 1790 during the Qing Dynasty, where 4 famous operas from Anhui Province performed in Beijing.

You'll also discover the wide variety of gourmet cooking Beijing has to offer including the eight most famous regional cuisines of China, ranging from the hot and spicy Szechuan style cooking, to light, non-greasy tasting ShangDong style, and the Huaiyang cuisine with a history traceable back to 300 BC, and most famous of all, Peking Duck (Beijing Duck). Peking Duck (Beijing Duck) history can be traced back to more than 1,500 years ago; however it has its roots in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644).