Travel

The many benefits of living in serviced apartments

For corporate travelers the most popular choice for accommodation are serviced apartments. This provides a secure base and luxury living away from home without having to forego the comfort for place which you could call your own. Serviced apartments or more personalized means of accommodation. Online hotels and boutique hotels these tend to be less formal but have all the amenities wish you would fight at a hotel room.

These are basically self contained apartments in buildings. Each of these apartments have a separate bedroom and a lounge area. These apartments also have a fully equipped kitchen where you could hook up a meal if you do not fancy anything from the outside. Guest also have access to room service and can enjoy a host of utilities provided the by the management of the building. Service apartments also have breakfast facilities. It all depends upon the place that you choose to stay

  • When you live in a serviced apartment it offers the extra space. In hotels you are simply allowed enough space for a single room. If you are a corporate traveler you definitely would like to have a separate area where you could work in peace. Serviced apartments give you that kind of liberty. You can choose to work properly sitting on a desk, responding to formal calls.
  • You can also get much-needed privacy as well as flexibility when you live in a serviced apartment. Usually the apartments are situated in the metropolis with lots of local shops and restaurants to choose from. you even have the option of entertaining your business colleagues in your own personal space. At a hotel, there are just too many distractions and these do not offer the privacy which guests might crave.
  • It is also much more economical to live in a serviced apartment. The cost is usually 40% lower than the cost of living in a hotel room. During the peak seasons when tourists flock in the difference could be as high as 50 to 60%.
  • It is pretty easy to book a serviced apartment. There are no lengthy procedures involved and you do not have to pay large deposits of cash. Living here is ideal especially if you are planning a long stay because such a long stay would have a major impact on your budget if you choose to live in a hotel room.

These are only a few of the benefits which you could enjoy living in an Ultiqa serviced apartment. There are a host of other divinities wish you could enjoy at a lower cost however before you choose the department for your accommodation you need to keep certain factors in mind. You should consider the reviews left by previous occupants of the serviced apartments. It is important to check out these reviews so you can get an idea regarding their services. It is best to go for service apartments with an impeccable reputation so that you can make the most of your corporate travels.

Blog, Travel

How To Enjoy a Weekend Getaway On a Limited Budget

A weekend getaway with family and friends gives a tremendous chance to tranquilize, reconnect and have some major fun. But the real challenge here is how to manage your money when you are on a limited budget. When you are on a low budget, it may be easy to brood on the stuff you cannot afford. Nonetheless, keep in mind that happiness is not about how much money you spend or have, it is about the quality time spent with your loved ones. Moreover, it is a wrong impression that you need to have a huge amount of money to go on a trip. No doubt, weekend trips do cost money, but by managing your money and using cheap melbourne holiday packages you can have fun on a limited budget. Here are some tips that will guide you how to enjoy a weekend getaway on a limited budget.

Cook your own food

Cook your own food as eating in restaurants daily will cost you a lot especially when you are on a limited budget. When traveling on a tight budget make sure that you cook for yourself as it would save a huge amount of money. Moreover, no doubt it is a very important part of experiencing to try the national food of the place you are visiting but having a limited budget, make sure you do not eat your every meal out in restaurants. Hence, make your own breakfasts and other meals and do not spend too much only on eating.

Getaway offseason

The best time for a weekend getaway on a limited budget is after peak times. If the offseason timings gel with your schedule or if you have a flexible schedule, you can save a huge amount of money by simply traveling in the offseason. Plus, the costs get much lower, you can gain advantage from less crowded destinations, and experience an overall less stressful getaway. Moreover, avoid going on trips during holidays or in summers this is the peak time when prices are touching the sky. Therefore, inquire about the right time to visit your intended destination, before or after the peak season.

Try to travel by road

Keeping your weekend getaway at a local destination with a limited budget is the best way to go. You hopefully get a reasonable price for things, along with getting connected with the culture and encouraging the local economy, instead of large multinationals. Moreover, you enjoy and get to spend more time with your friends and family when you travel by road in your own city, or another city, for your weekend getaway. While having a limited budget you can manage things by cutting off expensive flights, not hiring a tourist, or by planning a trip within your city or nearby which can be traveled by road.
If a weekend getaway is something you and your friends and family cherish to do, it is forever a challenge when you have a limited budget. Keep in mind that a weekend getaway does not have to include expensive things or resort it can be spent enjoyably with your loved ones with even a limited budget by setting your priorities. You can adjust and manage your budget by making your own meals or by cheap traveling depending on your priorities.

Blog, Travel

COSTS OF A JOURNEY IN AUSTRALIA

Australia is expensive, intercontinental flight costs a lot, travel costs, overnight stays cost, it costs to rent a car and it costs to eat out. It costs everything 😀!

With this I don’t want to scare anyone, but we have to deal with reality, having said that it is also true that if you want you can not spend a fortune by living an unforgettable experience anyway. For example, despite being on our honeymoon, we have sometimes opted for cheaper solutions such as hostels or lodges booked on Airbnb, so we could cook in the evening and have breakfast in the morning at home, saving a little money. In any case, the cost of accommodation depends greatly on the period in which you decide to leave. We were there during the summer (a time when children are at home from school and even Australians go on vacation) and in Sydney we went to New Year, so it’s normal to have found in some cases very high prices.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO ENTER IN AUSTRALIA

To enter Australia you need to apply online to get a visa . In this post I will only talk about visa for tourism purposes because it is the one experienced by us in the first person, if you need information on other visas, I refer you to the website of the Australian tourism authority where you can find all the visas explained one by one.

Back to us, if you have a passport from a European Union country to obtain a 3-month tourist visa, you will have to apply on the official eVisitor visa website (subclass 651) . After making an online request, you will receive permission to enter Australia directly in your e-mail box, so make sure you have correctly entered the e-mail address, otherwise you will not be able to retrieve it.

DISPLACEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

AIR : in Australia everything is immensely large and far away, initially I could not believe that I had to take all those planes to move from city to city. Then I understood. I realized that for example between Melbourne and Sydney that, on Google Maps seem so close, in reality there are 900 km of distance (about 8 hours of car), so here the plane wins easy both for convenience and for speed , especially if you have limited time.

CAR : we rented it with Hertz to travel 7 days in the Northern Territory (Darwin, Litchfield National Park and Kakadu National Park) and to make a splendid ride on the road from Adelaide to Melbourne along the entire Great Ocean Road.

FERRY : To reach Kangaroo Island we took a ferry whose journey takes about 45 minutes. Tip: if you suffer from seasickness, equip yourself with anti-vomit tablets and sit in the back of the ship.

Quantas

WHERE TO STAY IN AUSTRALIA

Australia is a country suitable for all types of travelers, you will always find beautiful hotels and resorts for those who want to live a 5-star holiday, as well as more basic solutions for those traveling low cost. We have tried mid-range hotels, campsites (accommodation in bungalows), swag (go and see on Google what they are 😀), hostels and apartments. We had a good time almost everywhere and for this reason you will find a list of solutions that we can recommend:

  • Perth: Hotel Pension
  • Darwin 1: Palm City Resort
  • Litchfield National Park: Litchfield Tourist Park
  • Kakadu National Park (Cooinda): Cooinda Lodge Kakadu
  • Kakadu National Park (Jabiru): Mercure Kakadu Crocodile
  • Darwin 2: Vibe Hotel Darwin Waterfront
  • Alice Springs: Chifley Alice Springs Resort
  • Outback: under the stars, with swag
  • Adelaide: Adelaide Central YHA
  • Kangaroo Island: Central Backpackers
  • Mount Gambier: The Barn Accommodation
  • Great Ocean Road (Port Campbell): Best Western Great Ocean Road Motor Inn
  • Melbourne: apartment with Airbnb
  • Phillip Island: apartment with Airbnb – Aloha HA
  • Melbourne Airport: Ibis Budget Melbourne Airport
  • Sydney: apartment with Airbnb
  • Airlie Beach: Waterview Airlie Beach (apartment)
  • Brisbane: Meriton Serviced Apartments
  • Melbourne Airbnb

RENT A CAR IN AUSTRALIA

To be able to drive in Australia it is necessary to have an international driving license , to be requested at the Civil Motorization for time (count about 2 weeks to get it), you can apply for both versions of the International Driving License because you accept both, basically the difference lies in the duration , the “Geneva Convention 1949” version has a duration of one year while the “Vienna Convention of 1968” version lasts three.

Driving in Australia is on the right, this may initially destabilize you a little, but in reality the roads are so big and there are so few cars around that you won’t even notice! We have rented a 4 × 4 in the Northern Territory and a Nissan X-Trail for the road on the Great Ocean Road and we relied on Hertz , with whom we never had any problems. If you drive in areas that are not as popular as the Outback, I suggest you run out of petrol every time you meet a distributor because you might not meet more for the next 200 km !!! In general, respect the speed limits and do not drink before driving, the penalties are very high and severe in these cases.

Blog, Travel

Practical tips for a trip to Australia do it yourself

After returning from our trip to Australia and having put some scattered thoughts on paper, the time has come to gather all the information and practical tips that can help you organize a wonderful month-long trip to Australia!

Places visited : Perth, Northern Territory (Darwin, Litchfield National Park, Kakadu National Park), Outback (Alice Springs, Uluru, Olgas Mountains, King’s Canyon), Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Great Ocean Road, Melbourne, Phillip Island, Sydney, Withsundays (Airlie Beach, Great Barrier Reef, Withsundays Islands), Brisbane.

Movements :

  • Milan – Singapore and Singapore – Perth by plane with Singapore Airlines
  • Perth – Darwin by plane with Virgin Australia
  • Darwin – Alice Springs by plane with Virgin Australia
  • Alice Springs – Adelaide by plane with Qantas
  • Adelaide – Melbourne (via Kangaroo Island) by car
  • Melbourne – Sydney by plane with Virgin Australia
  • Sydney – Proserpine (Airlie Beach) by plane with Tiger Air
  • Proserpine – Brisbane by plane with Jetstar
  • Brisbane – Singapore and Singapore – Milan by plane with Singapore Airlines

COSTS OF A JOURNEY IN AUSTRALIA

Australia is expensive, intercontinental flight costs a lot, travel costs, overnight stays cost, it costs to rent a car and it costs to eat out. It costs everything 😀!

With this I don’t want to scare anyone, but we have to deal with reality, having said that it is also true that if you want you can not spend a fortune by living an unforgettable experience anyway. For example, despite being on our honeymoon, we have sometimes opted for cheaper solutions such as hostels or lodges booked on Airbnb, so we could cook in the evening and have breakfast in the morning at home, saving a little money. In any case, the cost of accommodation depends greatly on the period in which you decide to leave. We were there during the summer (a time when children are at home from school and even Australians go on vacation) and in Sydney we went to New Year, so it’s normal to have found in some cases very high prices.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO ENTER IN AUSTRALIA

To enter Australia you need to apply online to get a visa . In this post I will only talk about visa for tourism purposes because it is the one experienced by us in the first person, if you need information on other visas, I refer you to the website of the Australian tourism authority where you can find all the visas explained one by one.

Back to us, if you have a passport from a European Union country to obtain a 3-month tourist visa, you will have to apply on the official eVisitor visa website (subclass 651) . After making an online request, you will receive permission to enter Australia directly in your e-mail box, so make sure you have correctly entered the e-mail address, otherwise you will not be able to retrieve it.

DISPLACEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

AIR : in Australia everything is immensely large and far away, initially I could not believe that I had to take all those planes to move from city to city. Then I understood. I realized that for example between Melbourne and Sydney that, on Google Maps seem so close, in reality there are 900 km of distance (about 8 hours of car), so here the plane wins easy both for convenience and for speed , especially if you have limited time.