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Road trips are fun, and train trips are becoming more popular and adding more stops, but both of those methods of travel take a long time. Flying is still the best way to get from place to far-away-place the quickest. Unfortunately, airlines know this, so flying is not only the easiest way to travel, it’s also the most expensive. However, if you know how to work for a deal, they can be found. Here are some little cheats that can help you find a good deal booking airfare.

1. Book online.

This sounds pretty obvious, right? Well, there used to be a time when the best deal could often be found by calling the airlines directly and booking your flight over the phone. Now it’s best to book online, where you can do more research by checking multiple airlines, and checking them more often.

2. Use comparison sites.

Use travel sites to show you airfares for the same trip across multiple airlines to make your time online more productive. Sites like Kayak, CheapOair, CheapTickets, Skyscanner, Hipmunk, and more will search a variety of airports, days, and layovers to find you the best deal to get you to your destination.

3. Clear browser cookies.

Since you’re booking online, checking a lot of sites at different times, you need to clear your browser cookies. If you don’t, airlines and travel sites can see that you’ve visited their site before, which to them means you really want to go on this trip, regardless of what deal you can find. When you clear your cookies, the site doesn’t know you’ve been there before, so they’ll show you the same deals they show other new customers. Clearing your browser’s cookies is quick and easy, and ensures you’ll get a fair deal every time.

4. Book early.

If you know about your travel plans in advance, try to book airfare as soon as possible. The best deals are usually found about six weeks before you intend to fly.

5. Buy on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Airlines often release new flights and seats on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so it’s a great time to look and see what kind of deal you can score early.

6. Be flexible.

If you’re traveling for vacation, try to be flexible about what days you travel. Have your vacation dates in mind, but search for a few days before and after both your departure and arrival dates. This will give you more flight options, and you might find a better deal on a different day.

7. Fly on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.

These days are the “off” days for the airlines. Most business people will fly from Monday to Friday, and people will leave for weekend trips on Thursdays and Fridays. If you can plan your travel either midweek or on the weekends, you’re going to get a great deal because airlines are trying to fill up these flights.

8. Fly off-peak hours.

While you’re searching for tickets on those off-days, also consider what time you’re flying. No one wants to get up and go through airport security before the sun is up, and most people want to get to their destination before it’s late. If you’re able, find an early morning flight (between five and seven) or leave after eight at night. Airfare on these flights will be cheaper, again to ensure that the flight is full.

9. Buy one-way tickets.

Sometimes one-way tickets are cheaper than round-trip tickets. Consider buying a one-way flight to your destination, and another to get back home. This way you can buy the cheapest ticket from different airlines. If you’re flexible, you could even buy a one-way ticket there, then wait and purchase another one-way ticket while you’re still on vacation to get back home. You might find a great last-minute deal if the airline is trying to fill a flight.

10. Buy round-trip, even if you’re just going one-way.

Yes, this is the total opposite of the last tip, but it can work! If you’re going to a place and then driving back, or moving, or staying for a long while, then buying a round-trip ticket could be to your advantage. Sometimes airlines will gouge people flying one-way because the airline is not going to get the return flight money. It might be cheaper to buy round-trip even if you just don’t use the ticket back. Basically, don’t think you have to buy a one-way ticket if you’re going one way, or a round-trip to come and go. Keep an open mind, check all of your options, and see what you can find.

11. Sign up for email newsletters.

Many airlines and comparison sites want you to sign up for their newsletters, and you should! If you’re worried about spam, create a special email address for travel deals, or flag all of the travel sites so they automatically go to a certain folder in your email that you can check when you’re ready to travel. These newsletters have great deals for flights, and might offer a special vacation package that you can book if you don’t have a destination in mind. The emails might also qualify you as a “member” with certain sites, so you get a discount when you book travel through that particular site.

12. Use the cancellation policy.

You’ll have to read the fine print to get this deal, but some airlines offer a 24-hour cancellation policy. Book the best deal you can find, but then check the airline’s site for the next 24 hours. If the ticket price falls, cancel what you bought and buy the cheaper fare. Some airlines also refund the price difference if the tickets get cheaper after you book yours. It’s worth reading the user agreement to take advantage of this option.

13. Fly anywhere.

If you’re traveling just to use your vacation time and get away from it all, search random destinations. See what tickets are cheapest, and go there! Of course you’ll need to do a little research to make sure you aren’t stuck in a boring place for a while, but it’ll be an adventure to go someplace new, and it’ll save you a lot of money if you just pick the cheapest tickets.

14. Travel off-season.

Don’t go to any of the Disney parks in summer, and don’t go to Australia for Christmas. Every place has an off-season when tourists aren’t packed in, so do a little research on your chosen destination and find out when this is. Traveling in the off-season doesn’t only mean your airfare will be cheaper so the airlines can fill the flights, it also means your destination will be less crowded and more relaxing once you get there.

15. Check nearby airports.

It’s so easy to leave from your local airport, but it might be worth a two- or three-hour drive to fly out of a neighboring city. Different airports offer different destinations, and a more popular airport might have cheaper flights than the one in your city. A lot of comparison sites will search surrounding airports within a certain radius for you, so be thinking about how far you’re willing to drive to get the best deal.

16. Buy last-minute.

Yes, this is contrary to the earlier tip about buying six weeks in advance, but both options can be true. If your trip isn’t set in stone and you can fly by the seat of your pants a little bit, try to book a flight the Tuesday or Wednesday before you leave. As previously mentioned, those days usually offer the cheapest airfare. But if you book on one of those days, wanting to leave that Saturday, you might find an incredibly cheap seat on a flight desperate to fill up. Of course, you could find that everything is booked, so you only want to try this one if you’re able to push your vacation back if it falls through.

17. Check budget airlines directly.

Some comparison sites might only check the big airlines. If you’re traveling to another country, do a bit of Googling and find out what their home airline is, and check that site directly. They might have a better deal than a major airline, because they’re smaller and only serve certain areas.

18. Try bundling.

This option requires a bit of time and trial and error, but if you’re going to need a hotel or rental car, try bundling your travel for a better deal. Some airlines and comparison sites give discounts of hundreds of dollars if you book a car or hotel at the same time as your flight.

19. Stay longer.

That’s the dream, right? A permanent vacation… Well, it doesn’t have to be forever, but if you have enough vacation time saved up, stay away longer. Staying away at least one Saturday makes your airfare cheaper. A lot of flights are booked during the week by business people traveling for work, so if you fly out midweek and stay through the weekend, your return trip will be cheaper the next week when you return on another off day.

20. Check layover time.

Layovers can be a hassle if you’re worried you won’t have enough time to get from gate to gate, but long layovers make you feel like you’re wasting time. If you’re traveling to another country, however, you might have a layover in a third country. There are international airlines that will allow you to extend your layover up to seven days before you catch your connecting flight. That way, if you’re flying from New York to Germany with a layover in Iceland, you can postpone your connecting flight for a few days while you explore Iceland, and then get back on the plane to go to your final destination. It’s like two trips in one!

21. Don’t check luggage.

Carry-ons can be fairly large these days, so get a nice bag that fits the requirements and pack only what you need. Fees for checked baggage can be expensive, and while it doesn’t necessarily directly raise the price of your airfare, it makes your trip more expensive. You can have a piece of carry-on luggage and a personal item like a purse, laptop bag, or camera bag on the plane, so pack smart to avoid luggage fees.

22. Print your boarding pass at home.

It depends on the airline, but sometimes you’re charged a fee to print your boarding pass at the airport. Save money by printing it at home, and you’ll also streamline your time at the airport by being able to go right to security, as opposed to waiting in line at the desk or a kiosk to get your ticket.

23. Snag the deal.

These tips can really help you save money on airfare, but if you need to travel during peak times, don’t wait around for things to get cheaper. Compare airlines and flights as much as you can and pick the best deal, even if it’s not as cheap as you might like. Some flights might never dip below a certain price, and it’s better to snag the best deal you can than to never take that vacation.

The post 23 Ways To Score A Deal Booking Airfare appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

Image via Flickr/ Chad Sparkes

You might have fooled yourself into thinking vacations are just a mental health thing, but they’re not. They have a profound impact on physical and emotional health, too; in fact, based on the studies listed below, it looks like vacations are essential for your overall health and wellbeing. So the next time you feel like you should skip the vacation and work yourself to death instead, just remember these 15 facts.

1. Vacations decrease depression.

The Wisconsin-based Marshfield Clinic conducted a study that found that “the odds of depression and tension were higher among women who took vacations only once in two years compared with women who took vacations twice or more per year.” In other words, take more time away from the stress and tension of everyday life and you’ll be much less likely to feel depressed.

2. They also decrease your risk of heart disease.

The Framingham Heart Study, known as the largest and longest-running study of cardiovascular disease, found that men who didn’t take a vacation for “several years” were 30 percent more likely to have heart attacks compared to men who took regular time off. Women weren’t immune, either; the study discovered that women who took a vacation once every six years or less were almost eight times more likely to develop coronary heart disease or have a heart attack compared to women who took a vacation at least twice a year.

3. Your productivity will improve.

Skipping a vacation might seem like it’s a surefire way to get more work done and cram in more productive hours, but it’s actually just burning you out. A 2010 study found that 35 percent of Americans are more productive after a vacation; by taking the time off to recharge your batteries, your brain will be well-rested and better able to tackle your workload.

4. You’ll be less stressed.

This one’s kind of obvious, but apparently, a lot of people still need to be forced to get off their stressed asses and take vacation. A study published in the “Journal of Occupational Health” stated that during a vacation, people feel healthier, more energetic, less tense and in a better mood.

5. You’ll be more creative and a better problem-solver if you take a vacation.

Allowing your mind to wander gives you perspective and helps your brain reset itself, leading to daydreaming and enhanced creativity, according to Daniel J. Levitin, director of the Laboratory for Music, Cognition and Expertise at McGill University. When you take the time to relax and not think about anything at all, you’ll often find that you stumble upon new ideas and great insight.

6. People who take more vacations are happier.

A 2010 study on Dutch vacationers discovered that people who are about to take a vacation are much happier than those who aren’t. It also found that post-trip happiness wears off relatively quickly; therefore, the author of the study suggested that people taking several short vacations a year will maximize their happiness the most, since they experience more pre-trip anticipation and more post-trip happiness.

7. You’ll live up to 20 percent longer.

A study from the State University of New York at Oswego found that of 12,000 men (ages 35 to 57) surveyed, the ones who go on vacation every year reduce their overall risk of death by 20 percent. Reduce your risk of death and go on vacation.

8. You’ll be happier with your marriage.

Women who take vacations are not only less stressed, depressed and tired; they’re also happier with their marriages, according to Marshfield Clinic. The same study mentioned in item one on this list found that “the odds of marital satisfaction decreased as the frequency of vacations decreased.” So take more vacations for a happier, healthier relationship.

9. People who take more vacations are more satisfied with life.

When researchers from the University of Pittsburgh’s Mind-Body Center interviewed 1,399 study participants about their vacations, they found that people who participated in more leisure activities “reported more life satisfaction [and] finding more meaning in life.” So not only will taking time off make you more satisfied, it will also make you feel more purposeful. Don’t be afraid to find the true meaning of life by relaxing on the beach!

10. Vacations make people closer to their families.

A survey conducted by Expedia found that 53 percent of respondents came back from vacation feeling closer to and more reconnected with their families. If you want to stop feeling like a mindless, unconnected drone, your yearnings for a vacation are totally justified.

11. Your good mood might be contagious.

The positive effects of taking time off aren’t just good for you; they could be good for your officemates, too. The more relaxed, more creative and happier you can influence your coworkers, spreading the good vibes of your vacation around the office.

12. Our current vacations are pathetic and only reinforce our crazily short modern attention spans.

The pro-vacation organization Take Back Your Time notes that 20 years ago, 80 percent of families visiting Yosemite stayed overnight. Today, the average visit lasts five hours.

13. It fans the flames of romance.

A Nielsen poll from Diamond Resorts International found that 80 percent of people who take yearly vacations report that “romance is alive in their relationship.” Only 56 percent of people who never take a vacation said the same, leaving nearly half of them with romance that is apparently dead and depressing.

14. Taking vacations keeps you from losing the benefits you’re entitled to.

Most workers are given paid vacation days; when they don’t take them, they lose them. The Nielson poll also found that 52 percent of people surveyed didn’t take all of their paid vacation days last year. On average, they forfeited about seven paid days of vacation a year. That’s a full week — or one business week and two business days — that they could have spent on vacation while still being paid, but didn’t go.

15. Vacations make you happier with your job.

According to the same Nielson poll, 71 percent of people who take yearly vacations report feeling “satisfied to very satisfied with their job” compared to 46 percent of those who never take a vacation. You too could be among this privileged 71 percent! Just get out from behind that desk and go on vacation already.

The post 15 Facts That Will Make You Realize How Important It Is To Take Vacations appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

Image via Anatolian Houses

You might be used to taking trips to see certain cities or sights, staying in a chain hotel just to have a place to sleep at night. Instead of traveling that way, what about staying in a hotel that IS the sight you’re seeing? These ten hotels offering unique experiences and extravagant rooms that will have you re-thinking how you want to spend your vacation.

1. Croatian Lighthouse Rentals

Image via Lighthouses of Croatia

If you want to visit Croatia’s popular pebble beaches but avoid the crowds, you can rent a lighthouse. Each of the 11 lighthouses has one or two rooms that sleep anywhere from two to eight guests. These lighthouses include bedding and fully-equipped kitchens, along with solar-powered hot water. Several of the lighthouses are still active lighthouses with full-time keepers; and those keepers can prepare meals for the guests, elevating your stay from a secluded hotel to a luxurious retreat.

2. Cedar Creek Treehouse

Image via Cedar Creek TreeHouse

If you’ve ever wanted to sleep in a treehouse, look no further than Ashford, Washington. Cedar Creek Treehouse is a magnificent hotel treehouse 50 feet off the ground near Mount Rainier National Park. Reservations include a special tour of the “Stairway to Heaven” suspension bridge and observatory. The inn is open year-round, but some winter reservations may not be available if the weather is bad.

3. Norfolk Bay Convict Station

Image via Discover Tasmania

Norfolk Bay Convict Station was Australia’s first convict railway station, carrying goods to Port Author convict prison several kilometers away. Each of the five rooms in the station has a bathroom, television, and refrigerator, and the rest of the home is open to all guests. You can have a breakfast featuring local produce and jams, have Tasmanian wine or beer in front of the fireplace, or enjoy the gardens overlooking Norfolk Bay. The Tasman Peninsula is famous for its sea cliffs, so take beautiful walking tours while you visit.

4. The Library Hotel

Image via Library Hotel

Book nerds, start planning your vacation now! The Library Hotel in New York City has 10 floors themed with Dewey Decimal numbers, and each room has art, decor, and, of course, books relevant to their category. The rooftop has a Writer’s Den and Poetry Garden where you can sit and read while taking in stunning views of New York City. At night, the roof becomes Bookmarks Lounge, a bar that serves literary cocktails.

5. Anatolian Houses

Image via Anatolian Houses

Have you ever wanted to live in a cave? With the Anatolian Houses in Turkey, you can finally have this experience, but you won’t feel like a caveman. While the rooms are set up within natural cave formations and are decorated with stone carvings to really set the scene, your stay will be very extravagant. Each cave suite has a minibar, Jacuzzi, and fireplace. On the grounds, you can take advantage of the indoor and outdoor swimming pools, Turkish baths, and a wine fountain.

6. Fossil Rim Wildlife Center

Image via Facebook/ Fossil Rim Wildlife Center

If you dream of going on an African safari, but can’t afford to get overseas, why don’t you head to Texas? That’s right — in Glen Rose, Texas, you can stay at a lodge or camp on the grounds of the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. The nature reserve is 1,600 acres, and you can get close-up views of the animals with safari tour packages.

7. Hotel de Glace

Image via Hotel de Glace

The Ice Hotel in Quebec, Canada, will make you feel like you’re staying in a five-star igloo. The hotel is made of ice but the rooms have comfortable beds, and some suites even have special fireplaces. You can soak in outdoor hot tubs if you get too cold in your room, or warm up with some cocktails at the Ice Bar. There’s also an Ice Cafe, Ice Chapel, and the Grand Slide. The hotel is only open the first week of January through the last week of March each year, so you might want to book your stay well in advance.

8. Jules’ Undersea Lodge

Image via Facebook/ Jules’ Undersea Lodge

It doesn’t sound like much of a getaway to say you’re staying at a former research facility, but when you find out that place has been remodeled to be a hotel under the sea— well, that’s something completely different. The lodge is located in Key Largo, Florida, and offers scuba lessons. In fact, if you’re not a certified scuba diver, you have to take a certification through the lodge because checking in requires you to dive 21 feet below the surface of the sea! Once you’re in the lodge, however, you’ll find all the comforts of a regular hotel, including a kitchen, shower, and air conditioning. The large windows allow you to look out at the water around you, and you’ll get to sleep with the fishes that night.

9. The Underground Motel

Image via The Underground Motel

If being under the sea isn’t your cup of tea, what about sleeping underground? The Underground Motel in Coober Pedy, South Australia, has rooms that were dug into a sandstone hill. Located in the Australian Outback, the rooms have natural ventilation which keeps them cool in summer and warm in winter. While the location of the rooms might be unique, the services the Underground Motel offers are in keeping with any other lodging — private bathrooms and showers, complementary continental breakfasts, and clean, comfortable rooms.

10. McMenamins Kennedy School

Image via McMenamins

“Fall asleep in class” at McMenamins Kennedy School, a unique hotel in Portland, Oregon that — you guessed it — used to be a school! There are still desks and chalkboards in the classrooms, where you’ll sleep if you spend the night. The detention hall is now a bar and cigar lounge, and the old auditorium has been turned into a movie theater. Instead of soggy flavorless food, the cafeteria is now a restaurant. You know you’re definitely going to have a unique experience when you walk into the girls’ restroom and find a brewery.

The post 10 Novelty Hotels Around The World You’ve Got To See To Believe appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

Huis Ten Bosch

The Dutch-themed Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Japan’s Nagasaki Prefecture is known for its annual display of lights and its myriad attractions, which include Duck Tours, canal cruises, horse and carriage rides, imperial gardens, something called a Ghost Story Hall, a Magic Mirror Maze and a Castle of the Dead. The park appears to run the gamut from Dutch-inspired tulip gardens complete with windmills to a Digital Horror House full of zombies and evil lab experiments. Now, however, Huis Ten Bosch will add to its distinctiveness with something even more terrifying: robotic hotel employees.

According to Japan’s National Tourism Organization, robots will provide “a wide range of services” at the new Henn-na Hotel, opening this summer in Huis Ten Bosch. These services include room cleaning, front desk and porter services. These human-looking robots will be multilingual, according to Engadget, and are capable of establishing eye contact and responding to body language.

Huis Ten Bosch

These robots, or “actroids,” are a line of female androids manufactured by Kokoro, and are designed to be as realistically human as possible. According to Kokoro’s website, these actroids possess “overwhelming realism and ultimate functions of expression abilities.”

In addition to robot employees, the hotel will also use facial recognition technology instead of room keys.

The Henn-na, scheduled to open on July 17, will have 72 rooms. Another building of the same size is slated to open in 2016. Although the hotel will only have about 10 robot employees at first, Huis Ten Bosch company president Hideo Sawada said at a recent press conference that in the future, “we’d like to have more than 90 percent of hotel services operated by robots.”

If you’re interested in being a part of the robot hotel employee revolution, single rooms at the Henn-na will cost about $60 a night, while twin rooms will cost about $76.

The post Hotel Staffed By Robots Set To Open In Japan This Summer appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

Image via Unsplash/Jérémie Crémer

Traveling alone might seem counterintuitive to you; after all, you’re traveling so you can have fun, not so you can get all stressed out and self-conscious. But traveling by yourself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Even if you face the occasional stressful moment and at first feel uncomfortable doing things solo, by the end of the trip you’ll wonder why you didn’t do this sooner. Here are 15 reasons you should try traveling solo at least once in your life.

1. You Become More Independent

Once you’ve done something as huge as traveling by yourself, other things don’t seem as daunting. Having solo experience under your belt will make you eager to see what else you can handle alone, and you’ll find yourself totally unfazed by the idea of doing things that used to seem terrifying.

2. It’s Scary

We get few opportunities to face up to our fears during everyday life. Traveling alone is a great way to see what you’re made of and face rational fears like getting lost, handling money, communicating in another language and figuring out situations like missed trains.

3.You Learn To Rely On Yourself

When you travel alone, there’s no one to help you out or tell you what to do if something unexpected occurs. You have to figure everything out yourself, and while this can be daunting, the sense of accomplishment that comes from successfully conquering a situation all on your own is a great feeling.

4. You Step Outside Your Comfort Zone

People often feel uncomfortable doing things alone in public, like eating alone or sightseeing alone. However, taking the plunge and spending some time with yourself will make you more accustomed to being alone with your thoughts, and, although you might feel self-conscious at first, stepping outside your comfort zone will ultimately make you more comfortable with doing things alone.

5. You Feel A huge Sense Of Accomplishment

You didn’t just go to France; you went to France by yourself. No one else chipped in to your travel expenses. You made all the flight and hotel and train arrangements. You navigated from city to city. You saw amazing things. You didn’t lose anything or have anything stolen or make a total fool of yourself. You did all this by yourself, and that’s an awesome feeling.

6. It’s Freeing

Often, when we travel with other people, we feel a sense of obligation. We imagine that if we don’t see all the major tourist sites or do all the major tourist things (or conversely, if we want to do all those things but don’t think our traveling companions do), we’ll be scorned. We think that if we’re tired and just want to sleep late and spend the day in a park that we can’t do that because it’ll ruin everyone else’s plans. Well, when you travel alone, a whole new world of freedom opens up for you. You don’t have to worry about anyone else’s expectations, tastes, opinions or sleeping habits. You don’t have to adhere to a specific itinerary; in fact, you don’t even have to make an itinerary if you don’t want to. You can be totally spontaneous and discover things you might never have discovered if you had stayed cocooned in the safety of traveling companions.

7. You Can Do Whatever You Want

You don’t have to make compromises or cram 40 things into one day in order to satisfy everyone in the group. You can change your mind on a whim. You can spend an entire day eating only gelato, and no one can tell you you’ll regret it.

8. It Makes You More Engaged With The World Around You

Since solo travelers don’t have traveling companions to rely on, they often find themselves relying on the kindness of strangers. Whether it’s asking for directions, ideas on where to go or just striking up a random conversation with another traveler, you’ll be less insulated from the people around you and might end up being a lot more outgoing than you’d expected.

9. You Can Just Get Up And Go

Without having to coordinate around other people’s schedules, preferences and budgets, it’s much more simple to just decide where you want to go, pack your bags and get on a plane.

10. No Arguments

Sometimes even the best of friends can go through a tense period when they travel together. The close quarters, packed schedule, stress of being in a strange place and different food/hotel/sightseeing/activity preferences can drive a wedge between people, resulting in huffy silence and hurt feelings. When you travel alone, you don’t have to worry about any of this. Your friends will be waiting for you when you get back, and you can annoy them with the 12,000 pictures you took instead of getting into fights over whether to go to the beach or to a museum.

11. You Can Do Things At Your Own Pace

Some people like to speed-walk through cities and museums, keeping up a brisk pace that would have a professional Olympian gasping by the end of the first day. Others like to slowly stroll at a pace that would frustrate a snail. When you’re neither being dragged along nor held back by other people, you can see all the things you want to see without becoming exhausted or seethingly angry.

12. You Can Eat Whatever You Want

Instead of going to approximately eight different restaurants and lurking outside each one while trying to read the menu, then concluding that only two of the five people in your group can eat there, you can go into the first place you see, sit down and eat whatever you want. If you don’t feel like going to any restaurants at all, you can also do that. No one will be there to judge you for eating a diet composed primarily of bananas, croissants and cheese.

13. You’re On Top Of Everything

If you take a trip by yourself, you don’t have the luxury of being an oblivious doofus. You have to make sure you know where you’re going, when your train is, what documents you’ll need, how much money you have, whether your money has been pilfered, etc. Traveling alone makes you the ultimate organizational machine. If your skills in this area are lacking, they’ll probably improve quite a bit after taking a trip alone.

14. You Can Really Leave It All Behind

Everyone travels to “leave it all behind,” but when you’re traveling with 10 of your college friends or your entire extended family, what are you really leaving behind? You’re spending time with people who already know you; you all know exactly what to expect from each other. By traveling alone, you untether yourself from all aspects of your regular life and have time to discover new sides of yourself — and experience a completely foreign place without a support network.

15. You Have Something That’s Yours, And Only Yours

Traveling is an exciting and special experience, but when you share it with other people, it’s not entirely yours. That’s not to say that traveling with others isn’t great, but when you go alone, you have memories that no one else has. You’ve experienced things that are special to you and you alone.

The post 15 Reasons Why Everyone Should Experience Traveling Alone appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

Image via Shutterstock

Every year, Lonely Planet releases a “Best in the U.S.” list of 10 up-and-coming destinations in America that travelers should be sure to visit. The 2015 list, which by no means makes it appear that Lonely Planet is running out of locations to write about, includes bold choices like New Orleans, western South Dakota and Indianapolis, Ind. Its number one spot, however, goes to Queens.

Queens, New York’s largest borough, is also quickly becoming its hippest, but most travelers haven’t clued in… yet,” says Lonely Planet. Citing Flushing’s Chinatown — the largest in New York City — as well as the trendy melting pot of Jackson Heights and the “reinvented seaside” at Rockaway, the travel guide lists the surprising variety of attractions that can be found in Queens. Its microbreweries, boutique hotels, art scene and museums also get a mention.

The area is being promoted as a foodie destination, too. Lonely Planet mentions the boardwalk as a prime spot for seafood and wine bars, and gushes over the borough’s “truly global food culture.”

Queens is hot and on the move, and we’re thrilled by the growing attention and interest,” Queens Borough President Melinda Katz told the New York Post. “You haven’t really seen New York City unless you have experienced Queens.”

There’s always been a psychological barrier to getting people out here [from Manhattan],” said Rob MacKay, director of the Queens Tourism Council, in an interview with the Post. “When they come here, they have a good time. It’s just a question of getting them out here.”

With an endorsement from Lonely Planet, which reaches an audience of 11 million people a month, it may be a little easier to encourage people to venture into Queens.

To celebrate its new number one destination, the site is offering the Queens chapter from its New York City guide as a free download until February 1. “2015 is the year to try Queens,” says Lonely Planet.

The post Queens, N.Y. Named America’s No. 1 Travel Destination For 2015 appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

Image via mynewsdesk/Nordic Light Hotel

Sweden’s Nordic Light Hotel knows that these days, social media is like gold, and that’s exactly how the Stockholm hotel is treating it.

The size of hotel guests’ social media networks will allow them to receive a discounted stay ranging from 5 percent off to 100 percent off a standard room for one or two people. The discounts are contingent upon guests making social media posts about the hotel, of course; they must share a Facebook post mentioning the Nordic Light website and Facebook page when they make a reservation, check in and check out. They also must like the Nordic Light Hotel (on Facebook, that is; guests are presumably free to dislike the hotel in real life) and tag themselves as being there at check-in and check-out.

Nordic Light’s policy also includes Instagram. Guests seeking a discount are required to share a post at check-in and check-out in which they tag the hotel (#nordiclighthotel). If these rules aren’t followed, their discount will be cancelled.

You can stay at Nordic Light Hotel for up to seven nights a year using this social media discount, which also doubles as free advertising for the hotel. However, you need to have a certain number of followers on your social media accounts in order to reap the benefits of the system. According to Nordic Light’s website, 5,000 Instagram followers will get you a 5 percent discount; 10,000 will get you a 10 percent discount; 15,000 will get you a 15 percent discount, and 100,000 scores you a free night. The Facebook rules are similar: 500 friends equals a 5 percent discount, 1,000 friends a 10 percent discount, etc. Someone with 2,000 private friends or 100,000 fans gets a free night.

Be warned: Anyone without the correct amount of fans, followers and friends may be charged the full price for their hotel room. With standard room prices for the next two months topping out at 1,632 Swedish krona per night (about $217), you might want to make sure you have the right number of Internet friends before booking a room.

The post Swedish Luxury Hotel Hotel Is Accepting Social Media Followers Instead Of Money appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

Image via Flickr/ Mark Fischer

For the wanderlust there is no destination unworthy of discovering. Each city, each town, each corner of this world is an experience waiting to happen — it’s just a matter of choosing the one that you’ll find next. If you’re tired of the overcrowded tourist destinations, and your heart desires a journey to a place filled with wonder and old-world charm, it’s time to find Chefchaouen.

Often called “The Blue Pearl,” Chefchaouen is a Moroccan destination right out of your dreams. Nestled in the Rif Mountains, Chefchaouen is well known for its distinct blue-washed homes — the views both looking in and out of this mountain town are picturesque enough to fill the pages of an entire photo album. But the experience only begins there.

What You’ll See

Chefchaouen, like many old cities, is split into two parts: the old medina with its charming red-tiled roofed, blue homes and the ciudad nueva, and the new city. The eastern and western halves of Chefchaouen meet at the Plaza Uta el-Hammam, a city center where you can enjoy a meal or pick-me-up at one of the many lovely cafes or restaurants. The Plaza is also home to the city’s historical and well-preserved Kasbah. A place which will feed your interest for local culture and sights, Chefchaouen offers unbeatable views of the mountains and valley that surround it. You’ll get a chance to explore one of the many old mosques in the town and even relax by the city’s waterfall, where you’ll catch many locals catching up and doing their weekly laundry.

History

Founded in 1471 by Moulay Ali Ben Moussa—a descendent of Muhammad— Chefchaouen began as a small fortress built to fight the Portuguese invasions of northern Morrocco. During medieval times, the city was not only settled by Ghomara tribes, but also by Moriscos and Jews following the Spanish Reconquista. Spain seized Chefchaouen in 1920 and it became part of Spanish Morocco. After Morocco declared independence in 1956, Spain surrendered the city. Chefchaouen took on its current hue in the 1930s when the Jewish refugees who lived there painted the city blue.

What You’ll Do

Rather well known for being Morocco’s leading producer of marijuana, or kif, you’ll be prompted for some of the local goods before you even step on the street. Buy at your own discretion, but you won’t be judged enjoying a little pot on your trip here. Hashish is a part of the locals’ daily life, and if getting high is what you want to do on your vacation, you may have found your Heaven on Earth. This cool city is also a great spot to pick up some other unique local goods that you won’t find anywhere else. Look for things like handmade woven blankets and wool garments in addition to high-quality leather goods and cedar wood furniture. Goat cheese from this area is popular among visitors. And when you’re ready to take advantage of the blue city’s ideal location, you can take a rigorous hike up Jebel al-Kalaa, the mountaintop immediately overlooking the town, or enjoy a two-day hike through Talasemtane National Park. You’ll get the chance to check out the famed marijuana fields, trek through some paths on a mule and take in the breathtaking views of the Moroccan mountainside. And when you come back down to Earth, you can do absolutely nothing at all in this wondrous little city but still feel like you’re floating on a cloud.

Image via Flickr/ YoTuT

Image via Flickr/ Jean-François Gornet

Image via Flickr/ YoTuT

Image via Flickr/ YoTuT

Image via Flickr/ YoTuT

Image via Flickr/ Jean-François Gornet

Image via Flickr/ natsumi morikita

Image via Flickr/ travelwayoflife

Image via Flickr/ Jean-François Gornet

Image via Flickr/ Davidlohr Bueso

The post The Moroccan Town Of Chefchaouen Is Covered In Blue Paint, And It’s Breathtaking appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

Image via Unsplash/Caroline Gutman

You’ve got time off — what should you do with it? Sometimes it’s tempting to save money by having a “stay-cation” at home, and while there may be benefits to that option, you should try to go somewhere else, if at all possible. Check out these great reasons why you should travel.

1. It’s Easier Than You Think

You don’t have to plan everything out on your own — unless you want to! Pick where you’d like to go, call a travel agent, and let them do the leg work. If you want to do it yourself, or don’t want to pay an agent money you could use for your trip, then never fear – the Internet makes planning travel easier than ever. There are countless websites that suggest travel itineraries, offer up places of interest, and recommend vendors that give the best deals. You don’t even have to do that research by yourself — type a certain destination into Google and see the myriad results that come up!

2. You’ll Meet New People

Visiting new places means you’ll be around new people! Whether you share a meal with fellow travelers in your hotel or meet some locals around town, you’ll get a chance to talk with people you never would have met if you’d stayed in your own city. It doesn’t matter if you keep in touch with these people once you get back home, because you’ll have had the chance to get to know someone new, and you’ll have expanded your view just by learning about them and their lives.

3. You Can Experience Different Cultures

Culture is everywhere! You don’t have to travel to a foreign country to experience something diverse. If you’re a northerner, visit Georgia and try their southern cookin’ and laid-back approach to life. If you just lived through a cold New England winter, go camping in the Utah desert. You can find different cultures everywhere you look, as long as you’re open to exploring them instead of just taking your own approach to life on vacation with you.

4. You Will Learn About New Places And Their History

Trips don’t have to be built around educational places like museums and landmarks for you to learn something. Experiencing a new place with new people and a different culture will be a learning experience of their own! If you’re in to history or a certain town, research places of interest before you go, and make sure you get to see them while you’re there. If you’re going somewhere just to go, ask around and see if the locals know of any noteworthy accomplishments of their town.

5. You’ll Have Freedom

Unless you’re traveling for a specific reason, like for business or to visit family, then you’ll have a lot of freedom. Sometimes the best part of planning a vacation is not planning at all! Get in your car and drive, or book a flight but leave the rest to chance. Don’t box yourself in by having a hotel booked every night — go with the flow and see where your journey might take you! You’ll find it’s refreshing to not have obligations every day.

6. You Can Break Your Habits

Having freedom while traveling means you get a chance to break your habits! Your routine might be to get up, have breakfast, dress for work, be at your desk all day, come home, cook dinner, and watch a movie before bed. But when you’re traveling, you don’t have to do that! In fact, you might not be able to do it, even if you wanted to! You have the chance to do something different every day, and that will help you feel refreshed when you return home. It might even help you mix up your daily routine!

7. You’ll Be Curious

Visiting a new town means there are new places to check out. It looks like there’s a crowd at that restaurant — should you try it? A local recommended that you go see this site – go! Being in a new place and having the freedom to explore different things means your curiosity will be inspired, and you’ll want to find cool things to do. Think of all the stories you’ll be able to tell when you get back!

8. You’ll Get To Experience Things For The First Time

Due to daily routines and the grind of a workday, it’s rare that you get to experience something for the first time. Your drive to work is the same every day, you cook similar dinners every night, your weekend plans rarely change. When you travel, you’ll be in a new place and get to experience more things for the first time! This means you might have to step outside of your comfort zone and try that strange food or risky activity, but come on! You’re on vacation, live it up!

9. You’ll Realize What You’re Capable Of

Did you know that you could climb a mountain, learn a new language, or even simply navigate a new city without the help of a GPS? When you travel, you’re often pushed to your limits, and you’re happy to feel this way because it seems like a treat, not an obligation like it might seem to be at home. You’re presented with many new experiences, so you’re eager to try them and see what you can actually accomplish. Surprise yourself!

10. It’s A Good Transition Step

Traveling can help you cope with periods of transition in your life. I traveled extensively after my company closed and laid off all the employees. It sure was more fun than jumping back into the job search! Travel could also help you regain perspective after a painful break up, or the death of a loved one. Taking yourself out of your comfort zone, away from the monotony of daily life, will help you get back on track and feel better about how you life can change from here.

The post 10 Reasons Why You Should Travel appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

Image via Flickr/ Sarah_Ackerman

Some pools have the ability to instantly transport viewers to another time or another place. These 21 pools create entirely different worlds from new perspectives.

This cave-like pool was created by Caviness Landscape Design for Twin Creek Farms. The swim-through grotto includes amenities like a bar, television, sound system and waterfalls.

Image via Flickr/ Caviness Landscape Design

This infinity pool from AMS Landscape Design Studios cleverly incorporates a tree in the middle to add a dreamlike quality.

Image via AMS Landscape Design Studios

This pool at a Singapore resort overlooks the entire city and gives the illusion that guests might just fall over the edge.

Image via Flickr/ kfcatles

Greg Marshall photographed this infinity pool in Marmaris, Turkey. It blends perfectly with its surroundings and the sky.

Image via Greg Marshall

Flickr user cloudzilla took a dip in this pool at the Hotel Villa Mahal in Turkey. He said it’s about a 20-foot drop from the edge of the pool.

Image via Flickr/ cloudzilla

This indoor pool from Deep River Partners has glass art along the bottom, creating a gorgeous runway effect.

Image via Deep-River.com

This pool, designed by Paola Lenti, uses a tan walk-in design and a teal bottom to create the illusion of a beach.

Image via Style Grésivaudan

The Nemo 33, photographed by Eric Burgers is the deepest indoor swimming pool in the world, extending to a depth of 113 feet. The pool is located in Neerstalle, Brussels and is used primarily for diving lessons. It has several simulated caves for instructional purposes.

Image via Flickr/ Eric Burgers

The San Alfonso del Mar resort in Chile is home to the largest outdoor pool in the world. It extends three-fifths of a mile and holds 66 million gallons of water. It’s the deepest pool in the world, with a depth of up to 115 feet in some places.

Image via Flickr/ lanube360

This stunning pool is in the Jade Mountain Resort in St. Lucia. It provides bright and colorful surroundings.

Image via Jade Mountain Resort

This pool in Thailand’s Anantara Golden Triangle Resort blends perfectly with the lush greenery surrounding it.

Image via Flickr/ Robert Stokes

This beautiful pool, photographed by Sarah Ackerman, is located at the One & Only resort in Reethi Rah, Maldives.

Image via Flickr/ Sarah_Ackerman

Photographed by Abe Kleinfeld, the Hotel Riu pool in Cancun is reminiscent of ancient times.

Image via Flickr/ Abe K

This pool at the Amangiri Resort in Canyon Point, Utah was built around geological formations that are 160 million years old. The result is an oasis in the desert.

Image via Amangiri Resort

This dreamlike pool is in the Mardan Palace Hotel in Antalya, Turkey. The hotel is considered Europe’s most expensive luxury resort.

Image via wherecoolthingshappen.com

This curvy masterpiece in the Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort in Abu Dhabi offers stunning panoramic views.

Image via Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort

The water’s clear in this pool in Thailand’s Koh Samui Resort. The red effect is achieved with an underwater mosaic of red, yellow and orange tiles.

Image via forgethome.com

Natural lighting lends a warm glow to the Gellert Baths in Budapest, Hungary.

Image via Wikimedia

This private home in Costa Reyes, Mexico, called Casa Sol De Occidente, is perched atop a cliff with a moat-like pool surrounding it.

Image via kickassthings.com

This glass-bottom pool at the Shanghai Holiday Inn gives swimmers a look down.

Image via wherecoolthingshappen.com

Neptune’s Pools in California look like they came straight out of ancient Europe.

Image via Flickr/ Vincent Miao

The post 21 Of The Most Insane And Amazing Pools From Around The World (Photos) appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.