4 Things that Put Chennai on International Travel Map

Chennai, the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, presents an outstanding blend of traditionalism and modernity. It is regarded as the cultural hub of South India and the Detroit of India, both.

Ancient temples, long traditions of music, arts and dance, and age-old customs make it the foremost place in South India to understand the regional culture. Modernity, on the other hand, is reflected in its being a major IT hub in the country and the choicest city for the automakers to build their main manufacturing units. The tall skyscrapers and contemporary buildings will convince you of the same.

The fourth most populous metropolitan area in India, Chennai is only the third, after Mumbai and Delhi, in the number of expatriates in the country. Definitely the most sought-after city in South India, it has been ranked as the only city in South Asia to go around the world by a leading international journal.

What makes Chennai an amazing city is the fact that it is home to some highly appreciable amenities and attractions. Hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs and malls ensure that you have a great time in the city for as long as you wish to stay.

Besides being home to most usual tourist-friendly attractions, the city of Chennai is also noted for a few landmarks of international fame and repute. These are actually the most important things that put Chennai on international travel map.

Travelers can seek out further information from a registered travel agent. The agents working with Hoodaki can also help you book Chennai flights at affordable prices. Make use of the facilities provided by such experienced agents and fly to an exotic destination in India. Discover 4 things that put Chennai on international travel map.

1. Marina Beach: A natural beach along the Bay of Bengal, Marina Beach runs more than 8 miles at a stretch, making it the second longest urban beach in the world. Not many people traveling to Chennai expects to see here one of the world’s longest beaches. Though a nice beach to spend moments of leisure, you can’t go swimming or bathing because of high undercurrents.

2. San Thome Basilica: No, it is not the architecture that this church is famous for. Built by the Portuguese in the 16th century, it is said to have constructed over the tomb of St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. This is again the last thing you might have expected to see in India! According to the locals, St Thomas arrived in Kerala from Judea in 52 AD, and was martyred in 72 AD on Saint Thomas Mount, which is in Chennai.

3. Arignar Anna Zoological Park: The native animals of India have always been a curiosity for foreigners. Kids as well as adults take delight in seeing exotic wildlife, such as elephants, tigers and crocodiles. The Chennai’s Arignar Anna Zoological Park is the country’s oldest and largest zoo, ensuring that you see all you fancy about. It houses around 1, 500 wild species that include 47 species of mammals, 63 species of birds and 31 species of reptiles, besides many others.

4. Parthasarathy Temple: Located at Triplicane, just about 4 km from Chennai Central, the Parthasarathy Temple is regarded as one of the oldest in the city, having been built in the 8th century for the first time. The Hindu Vaishnavite temple dedicated to the god Krishna features five of the incarnations of Vishnu – Narasimhar, Rama, Varadaraja, Ranganathar and Krishna. The temple reflects many standard features of South Indian Temple Architecture, such as the decoration of towers and pillars with elaborate carvings.

Top Independent Travel Blogs While you are Dreaming at your Deskc

Sitting at your desk all day crunching away at your keyboards usually leads to daydreaming about far away vacations. The dream usually takes places on a white sandy beach with crystal clear water, riding wave runners, skiing in powder that is 4 feet deep, or whitewater rafting. Most of us can only dream of quitting our job and traveling the world in search of whatever it is that we want to search for that day. There are quit a few travel professionals that utilize their assets to travel the world with not much money in their pocket. They report back to the world through their blogs with picture, video, postings, and e-mails to let everyone only dream of what they are experiencing. Here are 3 of the top independent travel bloggers on the internet:

The Cheap Route

The writers at the cheap route are dedicated travelers. Their goal in life is to cover every square inch of the world, preferably on foot. Recently, these travelers have been to beautiful lands such as Australia, Sri Lanka, they drove ATV’s on some of the highest sand dunes that you will ever see. If you are dreaming about leaving your office for a quick pedicure be sure to take a look at the post about the fish eating foot massage…… (insert Pulp Fiction quote here). If you need a United states Travel Maps for your destination you won’t be posting on this blog. Most of their time is spent in other places of the world.

E Travel Blog

The E Travel Blog is dedicated to more of a city tourist. You can find the secret bars and restaurants that only dedicated travelers know about. Do you need a hostel in Amsterdam? This is the site. They’ve traveled to Germany during Oktoberfest and have spent the holidays in New york city. They have a page dedicated to cheap flights and categories for any part of the world. You can waste a whole afternoon imagining your travels to Rio, Spain, Iceland, New york, London, and Berlin. They also have a page dedicated tour touristy tours that are given in major cities. My favorite posting on the site was the visitation to Iceland. Have you ever wondered why Iceland is green and Greenland is Ice?

If you actually took the time to read this article while you’re sitting at your desk “you are ready” book your vacation it is well deserved and needed.

Arriving Tips and Travel Guide

A trip would of course rejuvenate you. But, being well prepared while on a vacation is the best way to thoroughly enjoy it. Imagine, you visit a place for the first time, but no clue of how to proceed further on arrival. No one would like to go through such an unpleasant experience. Here is a few city travel guides to avoid you being in a state of oblivious on arrival.

Reaching a tourist destination spot can be by airways, sea route, or via a train, but doing a little bit of research about the place would mean a lot. There is aplenty of online travel guides to provide travelers with required tourist information. If you have a rough sketch of the airport or railway station you arrive to, you will be able to fairly manage the commutation in the city.

Like to make it even simper? Then go for airport limousine or book a hotel that offer pick up facility. Opting taxi for this purpose wouldn’t be a wise decision, especially when you are unfamiliar with the place.

Wherever you go, it is worth carrying a travel map. A destination guide book will also be a good companion. If you feel that assistance is must to go further, just check with any of the airline staff. In many airports, the concerned place’s tourism department have assistance booth to guide people on arrival.

Incidents, especially repulsive, are unexpected, and hence being attentive can avoid worsening a situation. So, during vacation, make sure that your belongings like cash, cards, and documents are secured and kept out of scandalous reach. You cannot just be running around the airport to withdraw money. Before you head off for the trip, have some amount of money converted to the local currency. Keep a small amount of cash at easy-to-reach place, so that you do have to open your wallet every time you need to make a payment. This way, you can protect the large sum of earning from getting lost.

India Tourist Maps and Travel Information Guide

Travel maps significantly help a large number of travelers and tourist to explore the amazing land of India. Along with the reasonable accommodations, guests include useful maps in their travel plan for a more extensive getaway. There are a lot of interactive tourist maps that are updated, consistent, and very friendly to use. Each contains overviews of the entire country, thus, contains localities and other interesting points, arterial roads, and so much more.

Definitely, maps of India greatly provide adequate information and travel guide to strangers in the country. Not only that they highlight road and railroad maps, districts and cities in India, they also come in colorful and different sizes. Mostly, tourist maps of India can be categorized as City Street maps, or City Tourist maps. The city street maps are highly detailed and very powerful tool for both locals and foreigners. While the city tourist maps show major locations, interesting points like hospitals and hotels, and other fascinating attractions.

Furthermore, with the multitudes of cities all over the country, city maps India will thoroughly acquaint tourists with the different corners and crannies of Indian cities. City maps clearly illustrate landmarks, streets, road, and even the changing movements of visitors in each city. Hence, the most visited localities in India are Agra, Bombay, Goa, Kerala, New Delhi, Rajasthan, and Veranasi. Tourist maps of India can greatly provide tourists and guests of valuable data and travel guide on which specific city they want to explore. Indeed, any city or destination in India tourists may want to travel around, they’ll discover how rich, amazing and interesting India really is.

London Map Guide – Make Your London Trip Convenient

In the western world, there are two leading financial centers of which one center is London. The other leading center is New york. London is one of the best tourist destinations for people travelling in the western world. It is the capital of England and the united kingdom. For people planning to visit this city for an upcoming vacation, a London map guide can offer them the right kind of direction to visit some of the best tourist destinations that are listed in the content given below:

The city has a number of attractions to visit. Any new visitor will be confused by the overwhelming number of choices of things to see. A travel map guide book will give them the right kind of information with respect to attractions. Getting hold of a map will not only enable them to find the right destinations, but it can also save a lot of time and money as well since they need not visit every place to find whether it will be suitable for them to visit. Some of the best places to visit in this city are:

Buckingham Palace: This is obviously a world-famous destination that is visited by most of the tourists when open. It is the official residence of the Queen. However, visitors will be allowed to visit this place only during an annual summer opening that falls in the months of August and September each year. For people visiting other than these two months of the year, they can witness the ‘changing of the guard’ ceremony, which happens on scheduled days only. The travel map guide book shows the best place to view this ceremony and our other travel guides enable visitors to get the schedule of this ceremony so that they can plan their visit accordingly.

British Museum: This museum has a wide range of displays, which includes human inventions right from the birth of human civilization to the current modern age from different part of the world. Some of the important attractions in this museum are the Rosetta stone, mummies of ancient Egypt and Parthenon Sculptures.

London Eye: The London Eye is a favorite attraction to visit for many. One of the interesting facts about this attraction is that 32 capsules can carry nearly 10, 000 visitors each day. The entire city can be viewed from this ride. Tickets to visit this ride can be booked online.

Cheap Travel Ideas – How to find Cheap Travel Deals Online

It seems everyone is looking for cheap travel ideas these days, and it’s no wonder. With people losing jobs and the economy in the state that it is, it makes a lot of sense to search out cheap travel deals online before you plan your vacation.

The worst thing you can do in a time like this is forego your yearly vacation. It’s important to continue your family traditions and also to get away from the stress of everyday life. Even if you only plan a shorter vacation, don’t let a lack of money keep you from your yearly trip.

Now, just how do you go about finding these cheap travel deals? First and foremost, you simply must plan early. The only other alternative to early planning is to look for last-minute deals, and by last minute I mean literally the last day or two. If you try looking for something within about 2 weeks of your trip you are going to pay the highest amount possible. So do begin with your travel plans as early as possible.

You can almost always find a good deal on one of the online travel agencies such as Travelocity, Expedia, etc. However, it may not be as straightforward as you may think. For example, you may have the idea that you can just log in at any time of the day or night and out will pop an awesome deal for your trip. What you need to remember is prices change constantly, and you will want to spend some time checking the prices on different travel sites at different times of the day. A lot of times you may log in and see a price, then an hour later it may have changed (possibly for the worse). So have in mind an idea of the amount you want to pay, and when you pull up a price that is close to your ideal, snap it up right away. You’ll lose it (most likely) if you wait and dither about.

Another tip to find a good travel deal is to check into prices one-way. In days past, it was common practice to buy your round-trip ticket from one airline, and you would get the cheapest deal. Nowadays, it seems you can often get a better deal by purchasing one-way tickets, sometimes from separate airlines. For example, you may find a great one-way deal departing from your city from JetBlue, and then you may find a separate awesome price on the way back from Southwest. If so, go ahead and snap up those deals.

Another thing that used to be true but is not anymore, is that you must travel mid week and stay over on a Saturday. No longer is this the case. Although you still may get cheaper flights mid week, it is just a case of checking prices and comparing.

Don’t forget to use your Triple A discount if you have one. I have this and am constantly forgetting to use it. You can use it for car rental as well, to help you get a lower price. Often this will be a great help and you’ll find a really cheap travel deal when renting your car.

Travel Ideas for your Trip to the Northern US

If you are seeking a memorable trip, then the following travel ideas will help you plan your itinerary to the Northern Tier of the Midwest. Activities that cater to every season make coming up with travel ideas a virtual breeze. For example, one of the places you can visit is Mackinac Island. Escape from the hustle and bustle of city life and regroup on this northern isle. While the island may not be a haven for palm trees, it certainly has enough in the way of natural scenery and unique activities.

Take a Carriage Ride

One of the exciting activities that Mackinac Island visitors can take part in is a narrated tour through the downtown area to Surrey Hills. Here, visitors disembark to visit the Mackinac Butterfly Conservancy. The carriage trip then continues to a place called Arch Rock where visitors ride through a boreal forest, stopping at such places as Fort Mackinac and the Grand Hotel. The carriage tours on the island depart each day on Main Street, adjacent to the island’s tourism bureau.

Go Horseback riding

Besides the public tour, you can take a private tour of the island. Customized narrated tours are available and cater to the tourist’s choice of locales. Besides going by carriage, Mackinac Island visitors can opt to horseback ride. Whether you are seasoned rider or an amateur, a horse that meets your level of experience will be provided. Stable hands provide instruction and guide participants over wooded trails.

Ride a Buggy Yourself

If you think riding a horse may make your sore, then you can drive a buggy instead. Island buggies can hold up to six passengers and can be rented by the hour.

Rent a Bicycle and Go Cycling

If taking an equestrian route is not your idea of a good time, then you can always rent a bicycle. In fact, Mackinac Island is a cycler’s paradise. You will be in good company if you choose this activity. Bikes are available for every level and include models that feature single-speed, 3-speed, 5-speed, and 10-speed designs. Mountain bikes, tandems, and child carriers are also available.

Visit the Zoo or Attend a Baseball Game

Besides visiting Mackinac Island, travel ideas include seeing such places as the Detroit Zoo or Comerica Park. Comerica Park is home to the history behind the Detroit Tigers’ recognition and fame. If you are planning a visit with your family, then you won’t want to miss seeing these two popular places on your vacation, especially if you are planning to travel during the summer. That being said, these travel ideas are not necessarily limited to the summer season. The zoo also showcases some wonderful exhibits during the winter. Plus, you can see such animals as the aardvark, bush dog, gorilla, arctic fox, and tree-kangaroo any time of the year.

Other Travel Ideas

Other travel ideas include seeing Traverse City, which offers canoeing and kayaking in summer and fall in addition to skiing during the winter months. You might also plan to stop by the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, which features a 26-foot indoor Ferris wheel and 3d space shuttle ride. Sleeping Bear Dunes is another natural spot that draws a lot of appeal for naturalists and hikers during the summer and winter times.

What are Some Cheap Travel Ideas If i Wanted to take a Vacation to Hawaii Without Lots of money?

Have you always dreamed of taking a vacation to Hawaii? Do you think it’s too expensive? You may be surprised to find out there are many cheap travel ideas for a trip to Hawaii. You can actually save money and still have a great time.

Hawaii has a reputation as being a place you can only visit if you have a money tree. But there are steps you can take to make it less costly.

The first thing you need to do is plan your Hawaii trip in advance. Oahu is a great area to go because you can find a lot of lower fares to this area. But don’t try to find these bargains at the last minute. If you try to buy airfare on too short of notice, you are going to be paying extra for your tickets. So right off the bat you would not be saving money, but instead you would be paying even more money than you should be. So try to start looking for your tickets a month or two before your trip. This is when you will find the lowest airfares.

If you plan to stay for more than a week or two, discounts are often offered to stay in a condo with a full kitchen and save on your meals. For a longer stay you will probably actually pay a lower amount per day than you would if you stayed in a hotel.

If you opt for a regular hotel, try to find the ones that will serve you a free breakfast even if it’s only a continental breakfast. Most people don’t really eat that much for breakfast anyway, so spending big bucks for a lavish meal when you first get up is often a waste of your cash. If the hotel provides free food in the morning, be sure to take advantage of it.

You will find a lot of places in Hawaii, especially right on the ocean, offering souvenirs, but if you have small children who are clamoring for keepsakes from this beautiful destination there is an easy way to save money. Just buy all of your souvenirs from Wal-Mart, Costco, or a store like that. Your kids will not know the difference. You can even buy T-shirts and things like that for your friends and family and they will not know they you didn’t purchase them in an expensive boutique. Well actually they might know that but they won’t care because they will be very happy with their loot since it has the word “Hawaii” printed on it.

Walk as much as possible and you will save on gas and/or taxi fare. If you are traveling to Oahu there is a great public transportation system, and you can ride the bus around everywhere using bus passes. This is a good cheap travel idea for those who do not want to rent a car.

To save money on your daily entertainment bill, remember that you are in Hawaii and there are many surfing competitions going on all the time. Go check them out, make a day of it on the beach. It’s great fun. You’ll also be able to see nightly hula shows, usually free of charge. Sometimes they even give lessons! That’s always great for a laugh or two.

The food in Hawaii can be wonderful, but keep in mind that you can get the same great food at restaurants that are not located right on the ocean and you will pay a lot less. If you are not real big eaters, consider buying one meal and sharing between two people since you probably won’t have a way to take your leftovers back to the hotel and you’ll just end up wasting food with two full meals.

You can pick up the Hawaii Entertainment Guide and find a bunch of coupons in there and also get some great ideas of how to save money with cheap travel ideas.

Five Top Canada Travel Ideas – The Lowdown on Traveling in Canada

Let’s get one thing straight from the offset: Canada is big. Not just big, in fact, but huge. Covering nearly 10 million square kilometers (about the size of Europe), only Russia is bigger. So picking five Canada travel ideas was never going to be easy…

1. City Hop

For the sheer variety of its cities, Canada’s pretty hard to beat. From the bustling capital, Ottawa, with its proud political institutions, to Montreal – all quaint historical neighborhoods – multicultural Toronto and groovy Vancouver, with so much to see and do, traveling in Canada has to be all about hopping from one city to the next.

2. Hit the Slopes in Whistler

Winter temperatures in Canada can get a little on the chilly side – to say the least! And if that can be bad news for the city traveler, it’s very good news indeed for someone else – skiers. Make no mistake, Canada has some of the best skiing and snowboarding in the world.

Although right across the country there are some great skiing options, Whistler Blackcomb wins hands down. 5, 000 acres of downhill slopes (catering for all abilities) and excellent snow might make it seem attractive, but its proximity to Vancouver really makes it the logical choice for the traveler looking to go skiing in Canada.

3. Watch a Whale!

To be honest, this was a toss-up between any number of animals and natural phenomena. It could have just as easily been trying to catch a calving glacier or go polar bear-spotting, but finally whale watching was decided upon!

Whether it’s vast Humpback Whales off Newfoundland, or Killer Whale watching excursions from British Columbia, what really could match the spectacle of the world’s largest mammal, rising for air – like a leviathan from the depths – before, with a flick of its vast tail, returning there again?

4. Learn a Language

Doing an English course in Canada is one of the best things that any non-Anglophone traveler could possibly do. Prices are a bit lower than in the states, and quite apart from actually learning the language, you get the chance to spend weeks – even months – in any one of Canada’s fabulous cities: Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa… the choice is a tough one!

And it doesn’t have to be English, either: in Montreal (and the rest of Quebec), you could of course learn French, too!

5. Try Trekking in Algonquin Park

Whether it’s trekking in Canada, walking, hiking, rambling… whatever you want to call it, there’s simply nowhere on earth like Canada for being outward bound. Wherever you look a vast, untouched landmass stretches away, a haven in every sense of the word for the outdoors enthusiast.

Europe Travel Ideas for a Memorable Vacation

Globe trotters from across the world prefer visiting multiple places within a short time; that way they get to see and learn more within budget and a short span of time. Ideally, they prefer to see and experience places that are well-known across the world. However, in a hurry to visit these places, often they miss out on the off-beat destinations that could be of great interest and beauty. Therefore, one of the best Europe travel ideas could be day trips in Europe. Currently, vacation rental deals in Europe majorly focus on these trips, given their popularity among frequent travellers. Some of the most popular day trip destinations include:

Jungfraujoch from Zurich: Ethereal would be an understatement for this destination, as the train journey through the Alpine beauty could unravel the marvel that nature has in store for us. Once you reach the destination, there is not dearth of things that could be done. While snow sports like skiing, ice man making and snow throwing are the most commonplace options, you could visit the Ice palace or the Sphinx Observation Terrace facing Europe’s longest glacier-the Aletsch.

Naples and Pompeii from Rome: A historical tour, no doubt, but something that could take you on a roller coaster ride to the ancient city of Pompeii and Herculaneum, the cities that were shattered by the flare-up of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. This entire day trip takes you on a journey along the Highway of the Sun, ruins of the Abbey of Monte Cassino, which were destroyed during World War II, not to forget the beautiful medieval villages that dot the route.

Some of the other best places to see in this day trip include the Royal Palace, San Carlo Opera House, Basilica of San Francesco di Paola, Gallery of Umberto, and the Castel Nuovo. The valley of Mount Vesuvius, however, is the centre of attraction as you get a guided tour to the buried villages of Ercolano or Herculaneum, Torre del Greco and Torre Annunziata and experience the last moments of the people before the villages were completely buried by ash. The daily life and the utensils, clothes used by the locals is clearly visible in the carefully preserved objects here.

Versailles from Paris: A trip to the castles and palaces of Versailles brings you the unforgettable joy of experiencing the royalty of the city. The Palace of Versailles has lots to share with you, right from Louis XIV’s suit of rooms, the Grand Hall of Mirrors and the residing apartments of Dauphin and Dauphine. Some of the other points of attraction include the Queen’s Bedroom, the Gallery of Battles, the palace gardens and the Queen’s Hamlet. The Grand Trianon, a mini palace recluse where the king liked to spend his time outside Versailles.