With the new year approaching fast, it is the perfect time to think about planing your holiday. There are many things to be considerd. If you plan travelling to an exotic location, you should check out the CIA Factbook, which is a great resource when planing your holiday. The World Factbook provides information on the history, economy, geography, people, government, communications and much more issues for countries all around the world.
The top 10 countries to be visited in the year 2012, according to Lonely Planet are:
- Uganda
- Myanmar (Burma)
- Ukraine
- Jordan
- Denmark
- Bhutan
- Cuba
- New Caledonia
- Taiwan
- Switzerland
Source: Lonely Planet
For some of these countries you might want to check out the Website of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which has a designated travel-section and informs about the various vaccinations needed for traveling to the exotic places. But be aware, even in an old fashioned country like Portugal and Greece, you could be faced with something unusual like „Dengue fever“ or Malaria. The CDC advicdes to see a doctor around 4 to 6 weeks before your trip, and their desination list provides potential health risks for countries all over the world.
There are also many legal restrictions when it comes to travelling to certain countries. You might be able to see Cuba when you are in Key West, but going there directly from the USA is almost impossible and usually comes with a great deal of bureaucracy. Do not underestimate the time needed to obtain a visa. To travell on the trans siberian railway from Bejing to Moscow, you have to get visas for Russia, Mongolia (not US citicens) and China, getting all three of them might take up to 7 or 9 weeks and will cost you around 200 Euro if you organize it through a travel agency.
Even if you travell from Europe the United States, you have to apply for authorization and then pay the Esta fee. Be carefull when checking online, there are many privat organisations that offer the ESTA Service, but usually they charge a higher price compared to usuing the Esta Service directly at
The United States offer pretty much everything when it comes to holiday. You can either gamble away in Las Vegas or shake hands with Mikey Mouse in either Florida or California. Its a great place for adventure, either the Rocky Mountains, the mighty Grand Canyon or the endless forrests and rivers of Alaska. If architecture and art and is your passion, New York is the place to go. Washington DC offers many great museums, which, espacially during the hot summer are all air-conditioned and most of them have free admission.
