Postcards From Millie travels the world and speaks to travel experts to bring you the best itineraries, fabulous all-women tours, the smartest online travel booking solutions, great travel tips, inspiring stories and so much more.
We’ll ease the pain and hassle of planning and organising your trip, so all you have to do is Dream, Plan & Go!
Travelling the world is not just a privilege but a great responsibility. Here are some great travel tips to make your travelling experience less stressful and more enjoyable.
Being Single Doesn’t Mean You Have To Travel Solo!
Jan 2011
Grand Pacific Tours, the New Zealand Luxury Coach Holiday specialist, know that coach touring throughout New Zealand is skewed towards the senior traveller, it is an age group where many travel without partners for various reasons and maybe feel a little inhibited surrounded by couples. By joining a tour specifically aimed towards single travellers they get the opportunity to travel with like-minded individuals and make a network of new friends.
In 2011 Grand Pacific Tours will celebrate their 15th Anniversary, Managing Director Peter Harding expresses, "Our 15th ...
Travel Briefs and Hot Deals - The Mantra Group
Jan 2011
NEWS:
GOLD COAST, QUEENSLAND
ABOVE THE CLOUDS: Q1 Resort & Spa is celebrating the relaunch of the stunning SkyPoint Observation Deck, high atop the world's tallest residential and hotel tower. The new-look deck complete with lounge bar and delicious dining delivers a unique Gold Coast experience with unsurpassed 360 degree views. The deck features an amazing list of things to see and do, including an array of educational and historical displays, corporate event hosting, chic modern decor and much more, all perched 230 metres above the ...
The World’s Coolest Hotel Arrivals
January 2011
Check out the world's coolest hotel arrivals selected by the hotel review team at KiwiCollection.com - Hotels for People Who Care Where They Stay.
Cameron House, Scotland
http://www.kiwicollection.com/hotel-detail/cameron-house
Mists rise off the inky Loch Lomond, and dew sparkles in the morning sunlight on the Cameron golf course. This is a place of natural beauty, and what can become of it when it's respected and refined.
Arrival: You can arrive by seaplane from Glasgow airport that lands on Loch Lomond and delivers you to the front door of the hotel where ...
TAZMANIA BALLROOM –
Hong Kong’s New HQ for Glamour, Glitz and Games
It’s billiards meets ballroom, cool meets chic, and games meets glam. It’s TAZMANIA BALLROOM, the latest venue launched by dragon-i’s Gilbert Yeung and Hong Kong’s new HQ for serious partygoers.
With fond memories of time spent at a British boarding school and at college in Canada including many hours of enjoyment spent at a venue bearing the same name, Gilbert Yeung recognised that the unique concept of glamour meets games was tailor-made for Hong Kong’s hip, cool urbanites, dressed to the max, oozing style ...
Top 8 Ways to Score Free Hotel Upgrades
Written by Amy Chan, Director of Marketing, Kiwi Collection
Kiwi Collection - Hotels For People Who Care Where They Stay
Sometimes, just being personable and friendly can go a long way in scoring a free hotel upgrade. But for times when a nice smile and pleasant demeanor is not enough, here are some other tricks to try.
1. Timing -- Check in later, between 4-6PM as the front desk can see the cancellations and no-shows of that day. Also, if your dates are flexible, don't book on busy holiday times, ...
Paperbark Camp: Founding Member Of Eco Lodges Of Australia
Fourteen of Australia's leading independent ECO tourism properties have joined a new marketing group, Eco Lodges of Australia which was launched recently at the Global ECO Asia Pacific Conference in Noosa.
As a founding member, Paperbark Camp is proud to have joined this collection of independent ECO lodges and camps offering the ECO conscious traveller responsible, ethical and sustainable ECO experiences in Australia's most inspiring and extraordinary natural ...
Australians Connect Worldwide To Launch New Travel Social Network
Watch out Facebook!
Travellers can now share experiences as they happen with friends and family around the world using TraceMyTrip, a new social network launching in Australia on 1 December from its head office in ...
Travel Inoculation – Know The Facts Before You Travel
by Victoria Ugarte
There is nothing like the thrill of exploring and discovering other peoples and cultures as we travel the world. However, there is a serious side to travel. Visiting a foreign country also means that we are exposed to bacterias and viruses that we may otherwise not come into contact with in our own country. This is why travel inoculation is so important. In many cases, it can save our lives.
The subject of travel inoculation causes great amounts of confusion and anxiety in many travelers. The type ...
Hi, all.
Allen Delper has written a great article on Stress-Free Tips for the Clever Holiday Traveler for his blog on aasdegree.org. I thought you would find this helpful, as I did! Read On .....
Victoria Ugarte, Postcards From Millie
50 Stress-Free Tips for the Clever Holiday Traveler
By Allen Delper of aasdegree.org
Traveling for the holidays doesn’t have to be a drag. Sure there are crowds, lines and hold-ups, but if you stay organized and understand you can’t control everything, you’ll have a fairly painless time packing up the kids, making your way to the airport and arriving at your destination in on...
Hotel Staff: 7 Tips On How To Get The Most From Them
by Victoria Ugarte
The behavior and performance of hotel staff can make or break your next travel experience. Find out how you can guarantee the best service from hotel staff on your next business trip or vacation.
You have reached your destination bleary-eyed after a 20 hour international flight and you are irritable by the time you arrive at the hotel accommodation. You are then advised by the young lady at hotel reservations that your room isn't ready yet. You could be forgiven for loosing your cool. It ...
6 Steps To Avoid Jetlag
by Victoria Ugarte
My first introduction to Albuquerque, New Mexico, came after a gruelling 12-hour overnight transit from Maui, Hawaii. Bleary eyed after only an hours worth of sleep on the flight, stepping out into the Albuquerque heat was like walking into a furnace. Definitely no island breezes here!
Finding our way to the Hertz rental car premises, we picked up a Toyota Camry, our silver “chariot” with which we were going to explore and discover New Mexico for the next two weeks. With our eyes hanging out of our heads and dragging our sorry ...
When Distraction Can Equal Disaster in Your Travels
by Victoria Ugarte
It is so easy to get swept away by the grandeur of a big city or get caught up in the romance of a quaint town for the first time, isn’t it? After all, one can’t help feeling a sense of wonder when we discover other lands. It’s what travel is all about. Having said that, it is vitally important to be aware and alert at all times, as distraction when traveling can often have negative consequences.
What happens to our brain when we are ...
How To Gain One's Perspective Through Travel
by Victoria Ugarte
This morning, I attended a networking breakfast at 7:30 AM. Yes, I was well and truly back in my corporate mode after being away on vacation for a month in Mexico.
I found myself thinking back to my Mexico trip, remembering how tired I still felt a week into my vacation. When I should have been relaxing and enjoying the sites, my mind was like a car engine that was still running hot, even after the motor had been turned off. The reason was that I had been hosting back-to-back networking functions for ...
7 Tips on How To Avoid Stomach Bugs In Your Travels
by Victoria Ugarte
Oaxaca is one of the most beautiful and vibrant cities in Mexico. A colonial city with a lovely tree-lined, traffic-free central square, also known as the zocalo, you'll find the cathedral with its handsomely carved facade built between the 16th and 18th centuries, and lovely restaurants and cafes under the plaza's arcades. Picturesque and oozing with charm, it was one of our favourite cities on our most recent Mexican adventure.
But Oaxaca had an adventure of another sort awaiting us. On our 3rd day in Oaxaca, Peter, my husband, ...
Giving Back While Traveling
By Christine Mackay Co-Founder of Crooked Trails
Ah-Sut, Lahu, headman of the village of Pang Sa, stood calmly near a sacred alter explaining its significance. Suddenly, a min-van of tourists guided by a Thai man arrived. I was in Pang Sa leading a group that was visiting the Hill Tribes in the far north of Thailand near the Burmese Border. We stood in disbelief as the tourists jumped out of the van, armed with cameras, and literally run through the village, shooting trophy photos of people they did not know.
They aimed in close range at mothers nursing ...
The Art of Safe Travel for Women
By Victoria Ugarte
Increasingly, women are traveling the world for business and pleasure, and doing so on their own. According to a 1998 study commissioned by the Travel Industry Association of America, 44% of travelers are now women. Personal security is a major issue for women as female travelers are targeted and harassed in ways that their male counterparts are not. Women are also more affected by cultural differences in certain regions. Although it's unnecessary to approach ones travels with a spirit of paranoia, it is wise to be prepared and informed on the art of...
By Victoria Ugarte
The extreme volatility in the market place and fall in job security has sideswiped consumer confidence. The fall of asset prices have reduced household wealth for the first time in nearly 20 years. We have skidded into a “Cash is King” economy. The natural consumer response to these conditions is to “spend less, travel less”, as travel is considered discretionary spending. Because the main drive of travel and tourism is income, the outlook for the traveler is looking pretty grim. Or is it?...
Wendy Chadwick, Director of Clarity Clear tells Post Cards for Millie about her inspiration behind the eye catching Clarity Clear Refillable Travel Packs. “To me it is all about enjoying style and elegance, complying with security regulations while allowing travellers like myself to take their own preferred cosmetic and toiletry items internationally with co...
10 Commandments of Smart Travel for Women:
by Victoria Ugarte, Postcards From Millie
Traveling well is not necessarily synonymous with traveling frequently. In fact, during my frequent travels around Australia and the world, I noted with dismay the number of travelers that unknowingly jeopardized their own travel experience, or those of others, by not following the 10 Commandments of Good Travel.
1) Check and organize all relevant documentation at least one week prior to departure date:
This means your passport, tickets, visas and travel insurance. Get yourself a passport/document holder and keep all relevant documentation together. This may appear like I’m stating the ...
