Author: noel

Bondi Beach: Not Just Babes in Bikinis and Boardies

If you’re planning a trip to Australia, there’s no better place to start than at Bondi Beach, the most popular beach in Sydney, New South Wales. Located just 7 km east of Sydney’s CBD, Bondi Beach is a golden sand beach so iconic to the Aussies that it was added to the Australian National Heritage list in 2008. The scenery is absolutely fabulous and I’m not just talking about all the fit people in bathers! Lara Bingle I’m looking at you, girl! One of the best views isthe Great Wide Blue: the Pacific Ocean rolls in in sets of great foaming waves and the water’s always fine at a sweet 21°C! So what are you waiting for! Grab your togs, bathers, bikinis or whatever and get here now!

Finding Nemo

When you hit the beach of Bondi you’ve got to be a strong swimmer. There are a lot of feisty rips out here, just gagging to drag your butt out to sea. If you’re not a confident swimmer, stick close to the shore and make sure you swim between the flags.

Hey Shark Bait!

There’s a lot to do at Bondi once you’ve tired of the people-watching and lying around all day! If you’re travelling with young children, the saltwater sea baths at the bookends of the beach are perfect for young families. If you’re looking for an adrenaline rush there are two surf clubs that offer lessons. You’ll be carving up those sandbars in no time with a little instruction! Or you’ll be shark bait! Nah, there are shark nets in place to avoid your chances of being a shark-snack.

Diary of a Wimpy Traveller

Once you’ve had enough of the water, grabs your wheels and head to the skate ramp at the southern end. And if worse comes to worse and you’re feeling a little intimidated by the masses of hard bodies present, take your bad self to the outdoor gym and pump some iron. No one’s judging you, sugar!

Snack Attack!

If you’re looking for a bite to eat then look no further than the Bondi Pavilion that has a fantastic gelato shop. At the northern end there’s a grassy knoll with coin-operated barbecues. Bring your choice cuts but be aware that booze is a no-go at the beach. Save that for when you hit the Sydney bars later on!

Hit the Road…

Now that you’ve had a wee taste of all that Bondi has to offer, you just need to find a ride! If you want to avoid the masses of public commuters you might want to think about driving. At Transfercar we can get you and your mates to the beach for free with our free rental cars. If you haven’t registered, what the bloody hell are you waiting for, mate?!

Editor’s Pick for Best Travel Blogs

Ok. There are literally tens of thousands, no, possibly millions of travel blogs out there in the World Wide Web that cater to every, and any, traveller’s tastes. Over the year, we’re going to publish our picks of the most popular travel blogs and the ones we believe are the most inspiring, too. If you come across some that you think we should have a look at then get in touch as we’d love to see them!

Young Adventuress is a darling blog geared toward adventure and slow travel. Liz Carlson began travelling at the age of 16 and 40 countries later she’s not showing any signs of slowing down! She starts her blog while trekking through the Andes before moving to Spain for two years, where she was teaching English and living the expat life before kinda getting sent packing by the government for over-staying on her visa! Yikes! She’s so hard-core! With over 25 countries under her belt, Liz is living in New Zealand and you can follow her (mis)adventures as she wanders, eats, and photographs her way around the North and South Islands. Her posts on how to talk the talk with kiwi slang are well, sweet as, bro.

Bridges and Balloons Victoria and Steve, a writer and filmmaker from London packed up their home in 2012 and took their careers on the road for as long as they can. They were recently in South America, but right now they could be just about anywhere! They happen to be serious vegetarians and their posts do a great job highlighting how to continue that lifestyle choice while travelling the globe. Their blog is composed of travel stories, photos, personal tales, interviews, curated content, and practical guides that are written in a way to inspire you to explore, dream, discover.

The Polar Route is a travel photography blog geared towards anyone with a hunger for seeing this incredible world through pictures. The best thing about this site is the daily photo which could be taken from anywhere in the world. No country seems too far for Ed Graham who has travelled almost everywhere and manages to produce professional style travel photography. This site is a great inspiration if you’re looking to travel but you’re not quite sure where you want to go yet.

Four Jandals: Cole and Adela, an adventurous traveling couple from New Zealand, started this blog when they began travelling together in 2009. They have great posts on how to travel as a couple and not break-up! Ha! Trust me, it happens! Their posts have an interesting take on locations, pushing you to experience all that there is available in certain locations. The idea for their blog began during an 18,000km road trip across Canada. Man, I bet if Transfercar had been there they would have saved some sweeeeet cash! Clearly they managed because the adventure continues! FYI: “Jandals” is kiwi slang for flip-flops or sandals.

Anywhere But Home is the creation of Naomi, a 20-something wanderer pursuing her travel dreams on a backpacker’s budget. In 2010, she left home in search of unique experiences and hasn’t looked back since, which is I guess why her blog is so aptly titled. She gets up to all kinds of no-good: she’s been shot at with live fireworks in Taiwan, tracked wild orang-utans and pygmy elephants in Borneo, worked with mummies in Peru and dropped plans to impulsively move to Georgia, the country. Her posts on Australia will have you packing faster than you can say “koala” so maybe book your Transfercar now for that epic Aussie road trip?!

Emma’s Travel Tales is a blog aimed at the under-30 traveller, but not necessarily a backpacker. Emma is a 22-year-old Scottish lass who has already been on over 10 cruises. Girl likes boats! Her quest is to see the world and to work wherever she can to satiate her wanderlust! She’s an inspiration for travellers who want to keep going and who work travel into their life plans.

Our Tasty Travels Brett Domue, a lifelong gypsy who has been traveling the world since 2004 created this blog to inspire everyone to quit their jobs and work overseas!  He started in the Netherlands and Taiwan and then paired up with the lovely Erin De Santiago, an avid foodie and wine-lover, and together they search the world for tasty dishes. Yum! Erin just happens to be “Best of” Food and Drinks writer for CBS Sacramento and she regularly contributes to Examiner: Belize Travel Examiner, Luxury Hotels Examiner, International Travel Examiner, Culinary Travel Examiner, Islands Travel Examiner, and Worldwide Disney Theme Parks Examiner.  She was previously the Topic Editor of Asian Cuisine and Old World Wine for Suite 101. I think she knows her food inside and out! Consider yourself warned: do not look at this blog while hungry. You will eat your computer.

Flora the Explorer is one cool chick who is out in the world looking for the wonderful weird and wacky! Over the years, adventurous Flora has studied Italian in Florence, literature in San Francisco, volunteered with villagers in Kenya and orphans in Lithuania, and worked with musicians in Iceland and celebrities in India. There is no stopping her! She’s eaten crickets in Thailand, slept in the deserts of Jordan, read nursery rhymes to numerous classes of Nepali children and navigated her way around America’s East Coast via the notorious Chinatown bus system. Oopf! If you’re looking to do the same, maybe grab a free rental car from us first?!

And there you have it, some of the finest blogs on the Web to date. Dirty secret: I wanted to put the Transfercar blog on there too, because we have posts on everything from budget travel tips to how to party in some of the great places in America, Australia and New Zealand. If you’re looking to explore any of those three countries sometime soon, have a look at our free rental car system. And then book!

Travel Apps: Making Travel Easy-Peasy

With Smart Phones and iPhones basically running the world, they make everything seem easier, even the complications of planning and booking a trip. While travel agents and DIY travel sites are still excellent and aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, we think it’s time to turn to our phones to check out what travel apps can do for you and your holiday. Have a look at some of the trending travel apps available. You just might find one that catches your eye. And if we’ve missed any get in touch and let us know which ones you prefer to use and we’ll add them to our next list. Promise!

FlightTrack
This sneaky app helps you check out the paths of heaps of international flights with detailed info on departure gates, delays and even pesky cancellations. If you’re looking forward to someone’s impending arrival, and you want to be there on time, this is the app for you.

WeatherPro
You know how weathermen always get it wrong? Well, with this intuitive app offering weather reports for over two million geographical locations, you’ll never be underprepared again! This app is so accurate that it can basically tell the future of weather. Get it and get it now.

JetLag Genie
How many remedies do you have up your sleeve for jetlag? Well guess what, smarty-pants? They don’t work! What does work is gradually altering your sleeping habits before your trip and this app will help you do that. Simply input your destination, dates and sleep schedule and it will create personalized alarm clocks to set your internal clock straight.

XE CurrencyIt’s all about the bling bling. This free app is the user friendly and it uses live currency rates making it super accurate. FYI: it’s been downloaded over 5 MILLION TIMES, so everyone you know already has it! Get it together!

Packing Pro
Yes, some people need packing help to this extent, and yes, there is an app for to help them. Just tell the app where you’re going and for how long and who with and it tells you what you need to bring in list form that you can tick off as you pack. Amazing.

Onavo
Ugh. Data roaming charges can be a kill buzz for any trip, and I know this first hand. With Onavo the amount of data required to perform everyday tasks is drastically decreased, so it won’t cost you an arm or a leg retrieving emails and posting selfies to Facebook. Can I tell you how it does this? No, no I can’t, but does it matter when it’s saving you money and doesn’t cost anything?!

Perfect World Clock
In a perfect world this clock would run it, but because the world is flawed, we turn to this app to access the time in hundreds of different cities the world over. Is it revolutionary? Not really, but you won’t be calling your mom and dad at 3am anymore so there’s that. Keep time zones at the touch of a screen by adding several clocks as home-screen savers.

TravelSafe Pro
This app is basically your lifesaver. A database of emergency service numbers for every country you’d want to visit, and a few you wouldn’t! And if you’re prone to losing stuff, and your mind in the process, there are embassy details if you “misplace” your passport.

WorldMate
If you have a personal assistant, then I hate you, I mean, fire them this instant because all you need is this app, and this app is all you need. Just forward your various confirmation emails for flights/hotels/hire cars/restaurant bookings etc. to [email protected] and the app generates an itemized itinerary. And it’s free. FREE.

Waze
This is where GPS navigation meets social networking. Just tap in your destination, or use the nifty speech recognition option if you’ve got busy hands, and other users submit traffic reports ensuring you the quickest route!

HopStop
This free app gives you the public transport information of over 68 of the world’s biggest, busiest metropolitan centres. So if you’re looking for the best Metro routes in Paris or you’re just looking to catch a bus in downtown Montreal, this app will give you a stop-by-stop itinerary making it less likely to get lost.

Pin Drop
There are two kinds of travellers: the psycho over-planners who devour all the guidebooks and those who just off and enjoy the spontaneity of travel on the fly. If you subscribe to the latter, this app is for you. It allows you to drop GPS pins onto a map when you come across something interesting, or browse user-made lists recommending the best places for shopping, dining and sleeping in town.

Foodspotting
Foodies rejoice! This app responds to your every gastronomic whim by giving you user-generated recommendations for the local area you’re travelling in. So if you’re in downtown Kiev looking for the best pierogies, have a scroll through Foodspotting and you’ll be on your way to cheesey-potatoey heaven in no time. And it’s free!

Better Translator Pro
Say hello to the highest rated translation app on Android. This app has more than 50 languages in text-to-text mode, and an impressive 11 that operate with the voice recognition feature. Who needs phrasebooks with apps like this?! Don’t expect immediate fluency, and learning a language while travelling is always a better choice, but this app is at least a start in finding your feet in countries where English isn’t centre stage.

I could go on and on as there are so many great travel apps out there these days, but you’ve got work to do exploring the list we have here. When you’re travelling in the States, Australia or New Zealand with your free Transfercar rental, these apps can give you a head-start on the trip of your dreams. With most of the best ones available for nothing, it just goes to show that the best things in life truly are free. Register with us today.

Beachin’ It at The Great Barrier Reef

Did you know that the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system that consists of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,300 kilometres? Great sounds like a bit of an understatement all of a sudden!  Covering an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres, you can find this World Heritage Site in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia. So, where the bloody hell are ya!? The Great Barrier Reef waits for no-one. Oh wait, that’s not true, it’s just sitting there. But really, if you haven’t been here are a few reasons why you should!

The Great Barrier Reef is so massive that it can actually be seen from outer space. It’s one of two structures that can be seen from space, alongside the Great Wall of China, but that one’s man-made, so way less cool. The world’s largest single structure is actually made by living organisms: billions of tiny coral polyps. There are literally hundreds of different types of coral here in the reef, in all different colours and textures.

Labelled as one of the seven natural wonders of the world, The Queensland National Trust named it a state icon of Queensland as well. This Reef is getting all the titles and it deserves it.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park protects the reef by helping to limit the impact of human use, like fishing and scuba diving. But the reef has bigger problems than just tourism: with climate change and other environmental pressures, the reef has lost over half its coral in the last 20 years. While tourism is a minor problem, it also helps support the area by generating over $3 billion per year. The Whitsunday Islands is a very popular destination for tourists and locals but the reef is also important to Aboriginal Australians as well.

With over thirty species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises, the Great Barrier Reef is home to more than 1,500 different types of fish including the clownfish, red bass, and red-throat emperor. Keep an eye out for forty-nine of the species’ mass spawn! Want another fun-fact? Seventeen different types of sea snake live here! The reef has more than fish and sea snakes: be ready to get wet and wild with 6 different breeds of sea turtles and even some saltwater crocodiles! Add some sharks, stingrays, and 5000 types of mollusc and you’ve got an underwater dance party that’ll have you singing that Disney classic Under the Sea!

But it’s not all sea creatures on the reef. Over 215 different species of birds make nests on the islands and over 1 million of them use the nesting sites to breed. It’s like a veritable Hitchcock movie out here. This incredible natural gift has such breath-taking beauty that people come to see the 3000+ individual reef systems and coral cays and hundreds of picturesque tropical islands with the most beautiful golden beaches.

Known as one of the 7 Wonders of the World, as a visitor to the Great Barrier Reef you can enjoy various experiences including snorkelling, scuba diving, helicopter tours, boating, and countless other cruises and tours. Fearless? Then you can swim with the whales and sharks if you’re looking for an adrenaline rush. Whatever it is you’re looking for, the Great Barrier Reef can cater to any type of adventurer.

At Transfercar we’ve got the cars to get to all the good spots near the reef. Here are some of the most popular locations on Great Barrier Reef that we think are worth your time…

Haggerstone Island: This incredible Robinson-Crusoe-feel retreat offers a whole new level of exclusivity, intimacy and privacy. Rent out one of the incredible bungalows and take all the time that you need for rest and relaxation. Why not beach yourself with a loved one on this island and spend some time playing Blue Lagoon if you know what I mean, wink wink!

Heron Island: World famous for its incredible scuba diving snorkelling, Heron Island is the place to be if you want to spot the Green and Loggerhead Turtles. If you haven’t snorkelled before there are plenty of businesses on this island and others that have courses to get you get your snorkel on! You’ll see the most amazing array of sea-life with your own eyes and you’ll never need to go back to an aquarium ever again!

Brampton Island: This picturesque island is a beach lover’s dream, offering 12 different golden sand beaches for you to lie back on if you’re over all the adventuring and just want to relax. If you find a beach and you don’t like, just keep walking on to the other 11 beaches! With so many spots you can guarantee you’ll find a place to kick back without be crowded by too many other tourists.

Bedarra Island: Hey moneybags, if you’ve got the cash to spare (after saving money on rental cars by using Transfercar) then now’s the chance to splurge on this luxury retreat. Spas, hotels, shops, you name it, if you’ve got the moolah, here’s the place to spend it.

Lizard Island: Contrary to the popular belief, Lizard Island IS actually covered wall-to-wall  in lizards. Don’t go here. I’m just kidding! This place is a tropical paradise. Seriously, there’s only like a few lizards, and none of them bite (maybe). You’ll be too busy frolicking in the water, catching rays with sting rays to worry about these cold blooded critters anyway!

Now, how do you get to this National Treasure?! That’s easy! You can just pick up your free Transfercar rental car from any major Australian city and start driving! The marine park is almost parallel to the Queensland Coast, from Bundaberg, where you can score some great rum, before heading up to Cape York. Just picture yourself, the wind in your hair as you drive along to one of the world’s greatest wonders. So don’t wait any longer. Book now, you won’t believe your eyes.

Budget Travel: How to Get the Best Deals

There’s nothing better in life than planning a well-deserved vacation and booking your own holiday online. Whether you’re trying to find a last-minute ticket to the nearest tropical island or you’re looking for cheap accommodation when you get there, it can be hard knowing where to purchase flights and make bookings. The internet is like an ever expanding universe when it comes to finding great travel deals. But how do you find the right sights with the best deals? That’s where we come in! Our travel obsessed staff have put together a list of great travel websites to help you get to where you want to go on a shoestring.

 FLIGHTS

Flightfox  https://flightfox.com/

Flightfox is the only global marketplace of the world’s best flight experts who are obsessed with customer service. The best thing about this site is that the experts don’t earn commissions on your flights, so getting you the best deal is their main goal. Joining costs a small fee but it’s totally worth it.

FlyinAway  http://www.flyinaway.com/

Flyin Away is a new site that puts pricing directly into the hands of YOU: the traveller and other travellers interested in the same flight. That’s right sugar, this is a competition! You have outbid the other scumbags, er, travellers to get the best deal. So get your game-face on and start ballin’.

Hipmunk https://www.hipmunk.com/

One of the best designed travel sites, Hipmunk can help you optimise your flight for layovers, length and, most importantly, price! And it’s not just about flight deals now that they have an extensive hotel search page as well.

Google Flights https://www.google.com/flights/

Oh Google, is there anything you can’t do?! Welcome to Google’s own flight search, a site perfect when looking for domestic flights in the great U S of A. Drag and drop your route to another location to see the price changes with a nifty map navigator. Keep your eyes on the bar graph view too, to see how fares change over any given time.

Yapta http://www.yapta.com/

The worst thing about booking your own travel is once you’ve bought your flights and then you see that they’ve gone on sale! Argh! But with Yapta, those days of endless frustration are gone. Yapta is like your mom, and she ain’t messing around. Depending on the airline’s policy, Yapta helps you get back some of the cash you blew.

Kayak http://www.kayak.com

If you don’t already know kayak then you must be some kind of hermit/hobbit hybrid who lives in a cave. This site is geared to finding you the cheapest airfares possible searching over 150 airlines and travel agencies that include Travelocity and Orbitz and some of the other big league travel mammoths. Kayak is like a one-stop-shop for cheap travel.

Last Minute http://lastminute.com

Disorganised? A little bit distracted? Just plain lazy? Last Minute is the perfect site for you. This dude shows you all the last minute airfares, hotel rooms and even attractions in an easy-peasy database. Often the cheapest flights are found on Last Minute, so as long as you can pack fast and tidy up loose ends quicker than you can say “Hawaii”, this might be your favourite site in this bunch! Happy shopping!

ACCOMMODATION

Couch Surfing  https://www.couchsurfing.org/

If you’re not too fancy for your own good then catching a night’s sleep in somebody’s couch and saving hundreds of dollars on accommodation costs might be your deal! CouchSurfing is a worldwide community of amazing hosts who offer adventurous travellers a free roof over their heads to help them see the world on a budget. Just sign up and away you go!

Home Exchange https://www.homeexchange.com/

Oh snap! You’re planning on travelling for more than a week or two? Then how about a house swap?! This site offers a huge listing of homes all over the world. You just list your own house, find a house where you’d like to stay and contact the owner to see if they’re up for swapsies!

Hotwire http://www.hotwire.com/

Hotwire offers some of the best travel deals available, both flights and accommodation, and also includes sweet planning tools and tips to ensure that you have the smoothest trip ever.

 HOT TIPS

 TripAdvisor  http://tripadvisor.com

Tripadvisor is the ultimate site for serious vacation planners. You can book flights, hotels, and get tickets for shows and fun parks here, but the best part is that there’s a huge amount of reviews and trips from real travellers, and not computer cyborgs. Check out the destination guides too, as they’re cheaper than Lonely Planet.

Travel Blogs

If I had a dollar for every travel blog out there on the world wide web, I’d be taking cash baths daily, but how on earth does one find the jackpot when there’s so many to choose from. Check out this sweet site:

http://fathomaway.com/slideshow/fathom-2014-best-travel-blogs-and-websites/

This is where you’ll find the 24 of the best travel blogs that can help inspire you with their far-out destinations (Antarctica anyone?! No?..) and just some excellent writing.

And there you have it, some of the best sites online to help you plan your trip on a budget. Of course, there are even cheaper ways to travel, especially if you’re just looking to travel in New Zealand, Australia and America. With Travelcar we hook you up with a free car. Sign up today!

The Best things to do in Ballarat

Come and see the wonderful city of Ballarat. Home to miners, wizards and the famous Dr. Blake! When people think of holidaying in Australia, they often think of the bigger cities or the outback. Ballarat is a smaller city that packs a punch and is definitely worth a trip to visit. There is so much to do in this city, you can explore the history of the gold rush, wander through gorgeous gardens, spend the day in a Medieval wonderland and see the arty side of the city.

Ballarat has a rich history of gold and mining. To learn more gold rush history in the area, check out the Sovereign Hill outdoor museum. There are over 60 historic buildings, complete with people in period costume, so you can experience life in the gold rush times. In 2012 a gold nugget worth half a million was discovered in the nearby area and is now on display, so maybe you will strike it rich too! While at Sovereign Hill, make sure that you go to the ‘Blood on the Southern Cross’ sound and light show to see the history of the Eureka rebellion.

If you go at the right time of year, you can attend the Ballarat Begonia Festival. This year, around 45,000 people attended and the number keeps growing each year. The festival is one of Australia’s top ten festivals, and has wine tasting, lectures on tea traditions and plenty of things for the kids to do! The event is free and great fun for everyone.

Garden lovers will also enjoy both the Ballarat and Buninyong Botanical gardens. The Ballarat Botanical garden covers over 40 acres and has amazing Victorian style gardens. The garden is home to one of Australia’s biggest cool climate gardens, with 52 mature trees to wander under. The Buningyong Botanical gardens is one of the oldest public gardens in Victoria. It is the perfect place for a picnic, with access to public BBQ’s, playgrounds and great places to spy fish and birds.

A trip to Ballarat would not be complete without a visit to Kryal Castle Adventure Park and Resort. You can walk through a world of dragons and knights, visit Wizard workshops and experience first-hand their magic, potions and spells. Make sure you see the terrific torture rooms and find your way through a mystical maze! Be sure to make a day trip of it!

The Art Gallery in Ballarat is Australia’s oldest regional art gallery. The gallery offers exciting things for everyone; it has a wonderful display of Australian art, including colonial pieces and modern artists. The Art Gallery is located in the Arts and Heritage precinct of the city, so after your visit go and meander through antique stores, bookshops and cafes to complete your day!

Wherever you go, Transfercar can help you get there. Check out our awesome relocation deals to help get you from A to B, for free.