Traveling with the right person is fundamental to the success of your trip.

Making the wrong choice can make you miserable and ruin a, perhaps once in a lifetime opportunity, to see a particular part of the world.

I once got stuck with a moaning minny whose whining reverberated around my ears like a dying wasp.

Luckily the trip was short. But not short enough.

Don’t make the same mistake as me. Ask yourself these 10 key questions before committing to a travel partner and go see the world in peace and harmony!

1.    Have you spent a concentrated amount of time together?

A crucial point. You never really know someone until you’ve spent at least a weekend straight in their company. This is a great test, do it!

You may be surprised what you find out about that person you thought you knew so well.

2.    Are you planning the same trip?

Have you actually sat down and scoped out the details of your trip? If not, you might be talking at cross purposes.

You don’t want to set off on your wild road trip only to find your buddy settling into the nearest yoga retreat.

3.    Do you have the same taste in people?

You’re going to meet a lot of people on your trip so it’ll help if you got similar ideas of who’s good company and who’s not. Think about the people they bring to parties.

Think long and hard.

4.    Is your relationship ‘issue free’?

All the deep-rooted grudges and resentments come out when traveling, that’s just the way it is. Ask yourself if there are any unresolved emotional issues between you and your potential travel partner?

If the answer’s yes then sort them out before you go…. Or go with someone else.

5.    Do you have the same routines?

You’re going to be doing pretty much everything together so your lifestyle’s had better be compatible. If you’re an early bird and they’re a nocturnal beast it just isn’t going to work.

6.    Are they a moaning minny?

Travel can be inconvenient, and frustrating and uncomfortable. A moaning minny WILL ruin your trip. See reverberating dying wasp anecdote above. You have been warned!

7.    Have they ever displayed violent, irrational or psychotic behavior towards you or anyone else?

This is an important one. You may love your friend dearly but if they’re a little bit cuckoo and unstable then I guarantee they’ll have sent you cuckoo too by the end of the trip.

8.    Do you like to do the same things?

Pretty obvious but it’s amazing how many people don’t think this through. Don’t go away with a bookworm if you’re a crazy raver. Figures.

9.    Can they roll with the punches?

The key to successful travel is flexibility. If your buddy can’t be spontaneous, go with the flow and muck in here and there then they will impair your enjoyment of the trip.

10.    Are they a good conversationalist?

Think long flights, train journeys, bus-rides and hikes. It helps if they’ve got something interesting to say.

Do you prefer traveling with a buddy or going solo?? Post up your comments below, we want to hear from you!

If you liked this you might also like: 10 Ways to Avoid Vacation Stress

Dad, why did you do it to us? Why did you make make us pose for the camera in that stupid hat? Why?!

We’ve all been through the pain and awkwardness of embarrassing family snaps and though it was traumatic at the time, it sure is worth it now when we can look back and laugh, laugh so hard it hurts!

These 13 Fabulously Funny Family Vacation Snaps WILL make your day. They are not to be missed!

1.    Barrels of Family Fun

2.    The Brady Bunch Goes Psychedelic

3.    She’s Still Got It!

4.    Smooth Cruisers

5.    What We Do for the Kids

6.    True Romance

7.    When in India…

8.    When in Mexico…

9.  The Happiest Place on Earth

10.   Erm… Speechless

11. Tan-tastic!

12   Stephen King What Have You Done?

13.   Sore But Safe

Are your sides hurting? I’m not surprised. Priceless!

Which one’s your favorite? Let us know!

Got some awkward photos of your own? Send them over to the guys at awkwardfamilyphotos.com and share the awkwardness!

If you liked this you might also like: 10 Menu Mistakes that will Crack You Up!

Enjoy!

All photos courtesy of the fabulous awkwardfamilyphotos.com

All the people featured in these photos have consented to us poking fun at them, so no need to feel bad, laugh as hard as you like!!

What’s interesting about travel is that the places / hotels / restaurants that everyone agrees are fantastic, are often not so fantastic.

And even if they are, it can all be a bit predictable.

Now what’s really fun is when you find somewhere obscure that is truly out of this world.

You can’t believe your luck to have stumbled across this travel gem. How could you not have heard of this place before??

You want to shout it from the rooftops.

So here goes… these are My 3 Best Kept Travel Secrets

1. Koufonisia, Greece

lula1977

We all know about Mykonos, Ios and Santorini but there are 100’s of Greek islands that you won’t have even heard of.

Koufonisia, in the Cyclades group is probably one of the most relaxing places I have ever been.

There’s literally hardly anything there apart from a few guest houses, deserted coves and clear turquoise sea.

3 reasons to go to Koufonisia:

- It’s an amazingly quiet place

- You can sunbathe naked in your own private cove

- There’s only one restaurant.. a boat ride away, pretty cool!

2. Little Bay Restaurant, London

Dining out when traveling can make a big dent in your budget.

And London restaurants are notorious for serving up over-priced food of dubious quality.

So what a delight to find a restaurant that offers excellent dishes at very, very good prices.

3 reasons to eat at Little Bay:

- The food is extremely tasty

- It’s cheap

- You can sit in cool, balcony tables

3. Magnetic Island, Australia

loloeig

Magnetic Island in Queensland, Australia is a tropical paradise, a great place to come for a vacation but what struck me was that there didn’t seem to be anyone there?!

In fact, apart from a hand full of other travelers, the place was pretty empty.

Why hadn’t I heard of Magnetic Island before? Why wasn’t the place swamped by tourists?

All very mysterious but what a find!

3 reasons to go to Magnetic Island:

- The beaches are stunning

- You can drive around the island in a golf buggy, so much fun!

- There’s hardly anyone else there

So, there you have it, those are my 3 Best Kept Travel Secrets.

Want to hear some more?

I’m nominating these 5 bloggers to share their top 3 travel secrets on their blog:

Carrie, My Several Worlds Erica, Travel Blissful, Guido, Happy Hotelier Nora, The Professional Hobo Liz, Travelogged

It’s Tripbase Blog Tag!

The final list of Top Bloggers’ Best Kept Travel Secrets will be published in a special blog post and shared across the Net.

Stay tuned!

Want to join in?

Post up your Best Kept Travel Secrets below!

Secrets are most fun when shared

I got caught in the rain today and a man gave me his umbrella. Not a cheap, plastic one but a nice one with colors and a wooden handle.

It made me feel warm and fuzzy. It’s nice when strangers are friendly for no reason.

Even nicer when you’re thousands of miles from home and maybe feeling a bit lonely and fed up.

Want to feel warm and fuzzy when you travel? Check out Lonely Planet’s list of the Top 10 Friendliest Countries in the World,* and stay dry across the globe!

1.    Ireland
2.    USA
3.    Malawi
4.    Fiji
5.    Indonesia
6.    Vietnam
7.    Samoa
8.    Thailand
9.    Scotland
10.  Turkey

Who’s been to Ireland? Got more friendly stranger stories? Disagree with this list? Post up your comments below, we want to hear from you.

If you liked this you might also like: Top 10 Happiest Countries in the World

*List taken from the Lonely Planet Bluelist: Best in Travel 2008

On the lookout for haunted spots this Halloween?? There are plenty of places to creep you out all over the world.

Take a tour of these 11 places to raise the dead and find ghosts and ghouls across the globe!

1. Haunted House, Romeo School, Michigan

country boy shane

2. Highgate Cemetery, London, UK

Anders B

3. Windsor Castle, Windsor, UK

qbird!

4. Buzzards’ House, Maryland

Trostle

5. Blair Witch Forest, Seattle

JamesH

6. Ghosts’ Lobby, Hotel Del Corrinado, San Diego

Adam Arthur

7. Lake of Menteith, Scotland

left-hand

8. Catacombs Museum, Paris

albany tim

9. Skyline Cemetery, Portland, Oregon

Chad.latta

10. Hill of Crosses, Lithuania

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11. Notre Dame, Paris

anonymous to you

Been to any of these places? got more spooky travel suggestions? Post up your comments below and let us know.

Enjoyed this post? Don’t miss out on what’s to come. Sign up for free email updates below.

If you liked this you might also like: 15 Most Magical Places in the World.

Every year, over 40,000 people come together in a utopian experiment that challenges conformity and encourages radical self expression.

Held in Black Rock City, Nevada, the festival is named Burning Man after the ritualistic burning of a wooden effigy in the shape of a man.

Beyond being an incubator for personal growth, the festival is fertile ground for some of the most stunning artwork, grandiose costumes and outlandish art cars on earth.

The ephemeral existence of this unique conclave – it lasts for a mere seven days — makes it even more mind boggling.

These 25 photos capture a few of the most unforgettable structures, people and mutant vehicles I’ve seen out on the playa over the last eight years:

1. The Stunning Temple of Honor created by world-renowned sculptor, David Best, in 2003.

2. One participant goes all out for the ‘American Dream’ theme by turning her body into a canvas.

3. A magnificent unicorn struggles to emerge from the cracking dust-covered playa. An ancient lakebed, today it serves as a playground for imaginative art and communal experience.

4. A rotating installation that breathed four hot streams of fire into the air at night, piercing the dark sky with a terrestrial star.

5. With her stunning pair of horns and striking coloring, its easy to see why this female ram brings mythical goddesses to mind.

6. Enjoying a moment atop a beautiful white art installation constructed from carved metallic sheets. Check out the attention to detail!

7. Two little angels pose for photographs at center camp.

8. A floating astronaut hovers above the playa in honor of the American Dream theme in 2008. It may not be the surface of the moon but it certainly feels like another planet!

9. A congregation of Pan-like creatures on stilts frolicking in the late afternoon sun.

10. The climactic annual burning of ‘the man’, for which the festival takes its name, is always preceded by fire dancing and spectacular artifices. There have been many peaceful demonstrations to save the man over the years but so far to no avail.

11. This giant flower, made from a cherry picker, brought a dance party to the exodus lines to cheer people up as they left. The gauzy fabric gave it a delicate softness despite its massive size. It was truly a graceful piece of art.

12. Forget pretty in pink. Think hot in pink.

13. This gigantic, bowing statue made entirely of metal had a heart that literally ‘broke’ every night as liquid fire poured from its chest onto the ground right outside the center camp tent.

14. Waving to the mountains at the outer fence. Some people call it the last frontier.

15. A golf cart cum peacock makes its way slowly across the open playa.

16. Two stunning Japanese geishas take a break from serving tea to pose for the camera. They were a long, long way from home!

17. Day and night, this chariot kicked it along in grand style, ambling across the playa like something out of a futuristic spaghetti western.

18. A beautiful goddess mother made out of metal bowls celebrates the universe with outstretched arms, a fertile womb and dancing feet.

19. Over 200 feet long and 50 feet high, this awe-inspiring Conexus Cathedral, built in 2006, was a hallowed place that inspired both reflection and dancing.

20. Constructed in 2008, the Babylon Art Installation was a 100 foot tall steel tower with a photo booth on the ground that projected images taken during the day onto the tower by night. The structure is re-usable, recyclable and multi-purpose. Its creators even hauled it out to the playa using trucks fueled by 2nd generation vegetable oil!

21. Pondering an installation. Much of the art at burning man is interactive and encourages people to participate in its creation. One memorable piece of art even required that four people power up a set of monkeys spinning from tree to tree by riding bikes at its base.

22. Mutant Vehicles form a larger circle around the man in anticipation of the climactic annual burn.

23. Looking up from inside the magnificent Temple of Honor.

24. Life is Beautiful.

25. A giant wooden structure set up close to the peripheral fence that attracted participants from all corners of the festival and became a popular meeting place to watch the sun rise over the mountains.

This is merely the minuscule tip of an enormous iceberg. For more information about attending the event or participating as an artist or volunteer, visit www.burningman.com

Coming up….. The Burning Man Project: 20 Things I wish I’d known before stepping into the desert.

Photos: DoraExplorer1

Ah the elusive flight upgrade. Everyone wants one but noone knows how. Read on for my upgrade secrets, guaranteed to improve your chances of flying like a VIP.

Everyone likes getting something for nothing but it’s even sweeter when you’re surrounded by people who’ve paid full whack or haven’t quite made it as one of the chosen few.

Perhaps this seems tad mean, a little mercenary.. but let’s be honest, deep down we know it’s true.

So now that we’ve agreed we’re more than happy to leave our colleagues/friends/partners languishing behind in couch class, here are my tried and tested methods for securing that elusive flight upgrade:

1. Ask

If you don’t ask, you rarely get. Be up-front and cheeky rather than shy and apologetic. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be you that gets the upgrade.

2.  Engage in check-in banter

Not all upgrades are confirmed at check-in. They are often allocated at the boarding gate when the airline has the full picture re. check-ins and no-shows (business travelers often fly on flexible tickets).

Working at a check-in desk is not the most thrilling of experiences. Make it more enjoyable for the airline staff and they will remember you.

There is then every chance you’ll find a nice surprise waiting for you when you go to board the plane.

3. Travel alone

There are not many seats available for upgrades and those that are tend to be given to passengers traveling alone.

If you don’t mind being separated from your travel companion, then book and check-in separately. You never know, you might both get upgraded!

4. Find out if the flight is over-booked

Often if a flight is over-booked the airline will be looking for volunteers to take a later flight.

If this is the case, and depending on where the volunteers were sitting, this may free up some seats for upgrades. Why not offer to take one of them? Just to be helpful of course!

5. Get an airline membership/loyalty card

Airlines store a lot of information on their passengers, including whether you are a loyal customer or cardholder.

Bear in mind that cardholders almost always get priority when there are seats available for upgrades.

6. Travel in August or over Christmas and New Year

Business travel is much lower at these times meaning a reduced demand for premium classes.

Airlines still want to fill flights and therefore overbook their economy cabin. This means they’ll need to bump people up to ensure everyone gets on the flight.

One sign that they have done this is if they are offering cheap upgrade deals at check-in.

7. Take advantage of special deals

The difference between Economy and Premium Economy is much smaller than Premium Economy and Business.

If you are offered a cheap upgrade to Premium Economy and take it, there is every chance you’ll get to jump another class to Business.

OK, you had to pay something extra, but the size of the leap and your odds of being chosen will be significantly improved.

8. Exploit special occasions

Honeymoons and anniversaries are great reasons to ask for an upgrade. But your chances will increase with some forward thinking.

First, let your travel agent know in advance and get them to note it in the booking. Second, take proof to present to the airline at check-in. As you would imagine, they may be skeptical otherwise!

So there you have it, 8 precious pieces of advice that have worked well for me. Go forth and enjoy the fruits of first class, good luck!

Enjoyed this post? You might also like How to Get Stuff for Free Wherever You go!

Been upgraded recently? got more tips? Post up your comments below and let us know!

Photo: Jonathan on a recent trip to Japan.

Incredible Underwater Shots @Pixdaus

Colours of Italy @Soul Travelers

Delicious Food Blog @The Traveler’s Lunchbox

Top 25 Things to do in Europe @Viator

Top 10 New York Cafes for Wireless Working @Nerdy Nomad

Happy Travels!

garryknight

I know that some of you guys have been on the road for years but could your trip be reaching its natural conclusion?

Check out these 24 signs that you’ve been traveling too long, it might just be time to hang up your rucksack!

1. You start every sentence with “so, where are you from?”

2. You have loads of new friends but have no clue what their surnames are

3. Carpet feels like cotton wool

4. You look dirty but it’s just your tan

5. Throwing toilet paper in the toilet feels wrong

6. You’re adorned with bits of coconut, stones and shells head to toe

7. You’ve been wearing the same pair of Thai pants for weeks

8. You very rarely know (or care) what the time is

9. Staying put for more than a few days makes you antsy

10. Paying more than $5 for a meal feels extravagant

11. Sleeping in a room with strangers seems normal

12. Your rucksack weighs about 50% less than before you left

13. You weigh about 50% less than before you left

14. Sunsets bore you

15. A 6 hour train journey feels short

16. You sleep well on airport chairs

17. You laugh in the face of the Lonely Planet

18. The thought of wearing a suit makes you snigger

19. Your family/friends have stopped asking when you’re coming back

20. Crazy people seem normal

21. Your home food cravings are becoming delusional

22. You’d happily trade in your iPod for a bubble bath

23. When stepping into a hotel lobby, it usually takes about 3 seconds until you’re escorted out

24. You used to have a day-job but it all seems very hazy

Identify with these tell-tale signs or think there’s never a time to go home?! Post up your comments, we want to hear from you!

Coming soon… 20 questions to ask yourself about your travel partner. Don’t miss out, sign up for free updates below.

Staring out of a rainy office window daydreaming of sandy beaches and far-off adventures is not fun. I’ve been there.

Coming back from vacation can be tough.

Your everyday life hits you in the face with a sharp slap and your next vacation seems a lifetime away.

But don’t be glum! Check out these 10 tips for beating the post-vacation blues and re-find your happy place!

1. Break  up Your Routine

Take a new route to work, go somewhere new for lunch, anything to break out of the monotony that’s making you miserable.

2. Do a Day Trip

Taking a road trip to someplace new can give you that same feeling of adventure and discovery as flying to the other side of the world. Brilliant!

3. Take up a New Hobby

Whether it’s language classes, painting or pottery, taking up a new hobby will inject something fresh and new into your life and distract you from your boredom.

4. Frame Your Photos

Don’t focus on how sad you are to be home, rejoice in the good times. Frame your travel photos, reminisce about your trip and take a mental trip back to vacation happiness.

5. Treat Yourself

A massage, new shoes, a big steak… Treat yourself to something nice, a sure-fire way to make you feel good.

6. Make a Grateful List

Remind yourself of all the great things in your life. Actually make a list -  it’ll leave you feeling incredibly grateful and perhaps even a little spoilt.

7. Book Another Trip

Sure you probably spent a bomb on the last vacation but have a look around for some cheap flights and book a little trip. It’ll give you a fixed date of something exciting to look forward to.

8. Write a Travel Article

Channel your love of traveling into something positive and write up an article about your trip. You might even get published, now that WOULD be cool!

9. Throw a Party

Organizing a fun party for all your friends and family will surround you with all your favorite people and remind you how great it is to be home.

10. Make a Travel Wish List

Write down all the places in the world that you’re burning to get to. Use the Web for inspiration if you need it.

Focusing your travel objectives might lead to unexpected opportunities to fulfill your dreams, you just never know!

Suffering from the post-vacation blues right now? Got more tips for bouncing back? Post up your comments below, we want to hear from you!

Coming soon, 10 sure-fire ways to get an upgrade. Fancy flying first class? Sign up for free updates and stay in the know!