Changes to Australian Working Holiday Visa programme

Significant changes to Australia’s popular Working Holiday Maker Visa came into effect on 1 July 2006. The changes give holiday makers the opportunity to work and study for longer in Australia and the chance to extend their visa for another year by offering an increased selection of seasonal jobs in regional areas.

Working Holiday Maker (WHM) Visa applications are now subject to the following changes:

• increased work rights; the ability to work for any one employer for 6 months, rather than the 3 previously allowed
• increased stuffy rights; the ability to study for 4 months, rather the 3 previously allowed
• increased selection of seasonal jobs in regional areas; leading to a second working holiday visa of an additional 12 months

‘Although the primary group of applicants for this visa are young gap year students, university students and backpackers, in the last 12 months or so we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of young professionals taking career breaks,’ said Oonagh Baerveldt, spokesperson Australian Visa Bureau.

‘They are frustrated or feeling burnt out and want to take a year out. The WHM visa is a good solution because you don’t need to dip into your savings to travel – you work to travel.’

‘The ability to work in the same job for 6 months means travellers can choose to be transient or settled whereas before they were looking for a new job every 3 months,’ said Baerveldt. ‘This ‘new and improved visa’ is ideal for travellers who are looking for a careers change and want to spend some time studying and some time gaining practical experience.’

‘We’re expecting a considerable spike in the number of WHM visa applications we receive over the next two weeks. Since these changes were announced it’s been relatively quiet and we’ve even held back applications on request that they only be lodged on or after 1 July,’ said Baerveldt.

‘Anyone interested in taking a year or two out in Australia under the Working Holiday Maker visa program should visit our website and complete the WHM Online Assessment to make sure they meet all of the requirements,’ said Baerveldt.

Australian Working Holiday Maker Visas are available to passport holders from 11 different countries, including the United Kingdome and Ireland. Visa applicants must be between the ages of 18-30 (inclusive), have no dependent children and must be able to support themselves financially for the duration of their trip to Australia.

The Australian Government issued 93, 760 working holiday visas in 2003/4; of those 47, 321 were to UK and Irish nationals.

Why Is The Atlantic Ocean So Desirable?

Well it might be wise to start this column off by stating that it comes with a bias. I love the Atlantic Ocean and I would not move away from it in a million years. My bias comes from the first 22 years of my life living on the beaches of Santa Barbara over on the west coast.

Not what you expected to hear I bet! Most people that grow up in California either stay there, right on the coast, or at least stay on the western side of the states where they can at least enjoy the mountains. I however have quite a different take, not an unpopular one either, especially after you are able to hear and to think about what you are able to hear and think about what you are about to read and ponder in the following paragraphs about the wonders of the Atlantic Ocean.

Growing up on the west coast was great don’t get me wrong but there were certainly things that tainted the beautiful serenity of the Pacific ocean for me that are not associated with the Atlantic ocean in my mind.

Number one thing would be the drugs. Basically in California if you weren’t a weirdo you were high on some chemical that made you forget about the high cost of living that you had to deal with and the constant threat of earthquakes ever lurking on the horizon of my anxiety. The mixture of these more than average stressors drove me to cocaine and heroin, which was everywhere you turned in sunny California and especially on the beaches. I’m sickened to think about the dragnet that this was for me and a lot of other folks who wasted their chance at a productive start on the shores of an ocean that was not the Atlantic Ocean.

The other main thing I love about the Atlantic Ocean is the relative lack of surfing, a sport I once loved but now detest. I lost my love to the jaws of a viscous Pacific Ocean shark as she was paddling out on a large wave day you see, and have renounced the sport that took so much from me. Its not that the east coast waters don’t have sharks its just that they are colder and less enjoyable to surf in (less waves.)

So overall it isn’t a love of the Atlantic Ocean for me so much as it is a hatred for the Pacific Ocean that haunts me with all of the deepest recesses of my life that I want to recover from and forget about. Maybe this way I will be able to fall asleep at night without valium.

Choose The Perfect Accommodations

One of the best ways to make a great vacation quickly horrible is to choose the wrong accommodations for your trip. There is nothing quite as bad as spending a great day of vacation only to come back to a less-than-great place to stay for the night. Anytime you are away from home it is important to choose the best accommodations for your comfort and enjoyment. It doesn't matter if you are going on a three week trip to Europe of if you are going to a weekend wedding celebration, choosing accommodations should be on the top of your list no matter what.

One of the most important things to remember when you begin to search for accommodations is yourself. Knowing your interests, preferences, and the things that are most important to you in any place you stay is necessary in choosing the right accommodations. For example, you should know whether you prefer an all-inclusive type luxury hotel or a quiet cabin that is off the beaten path. Know the things that will make a trip amazing or horrible for you and then don't settle for accommodations that are different than what you want.

Your budget is another thing to consider when you're looking for great accommodations for any event. Sure, you might love to stay in the nicest five-star hotel a city offers, but if your budget calls for something a little more modest then it is best to agree with your budget. Keep in mind, however, that your budget should look different based on how important the event or trip is to you. Your honeymoon, for example, should be a higher priority than the accommodations for your next business trip or even for the wedding of a friend. Don't be afraid to alter your budget for accommodations from trip to trip, just don't expect for each getaway to be as nice as the rest.

Your personal taste and style can help you determine what is the best accommodations for you in any situation. Go for a place that offers the ammenities that you desire and that feels comfortable and relaxing to you. If having a jaccuzi tub is important to you, then look for accommodations that offer them at no extra charge.

The important thing in any travel situation is to stay somewhere that is restful, relaxing, and peaceful. So whatever it takes for you to be at peace, find accommodations that match your needs. You will enjoy any event, holiday or vacation more if you're stayin in a great place.

Make Your Cruise Memorable

Taking a vacation cruise is a one-of-a-kind experience. Even people who take cruises often consider each one different, with new locales and destinations, different boats, and different activities and experiences on board. It's a great idea to preserve your memories of each trip in a special way so you can get the most out of your vacation by remembering it for years to come. There are a few small things you can do along the way to make this process simpler when you get back to dry land.

Don't be shy about taking pictures! Some people avoid doing this because they feel it makes them look too 'touristy.' But all of your fellow passengers are tourists, and it's the staff is certainly used to tourists. So if the kids get involved in a dance contest, or the chandelier in the dining room is fabulous, feel free to snap a picture. If you catch them at the right times, the crew in uniform is usually very open and willing to get into a picture with you. Ask nicely when they're not busy, and get a great shot of the captain or a crewmember in full regalia. Get cheesy if you want to; ask a fellow passenger to take a photo of you and your spouse waving by the side of the boat. My parents took a cruise when they were first married, and their favorite snapshot from the trip is one of my father pretending to throw my mother overboard. Well, whatever floats your boat, as they say. Make it campy, make it silly, make it romantic... just make it memorable.

Keep in mind that if you're planning on making a scrapbook or a memory box of your trip later, the secret is to save, save, save! Maybe your ticket stub doesn't look like much while you're on the boat, but years later you will love to see it. Your room reservation holds valuable details that might just remind you someday that you had a western window or a terrible cot that folded out of the wall. Ask the waiter for copies of menus or carbons of your check so you can remember what you had at that memorable first dinner on the water. Save your slips from the casino if you decide to give your luck a try- it might make you cringe to remember you lost $50 in bingo, but at least you'll remember it!

So enjoy your cruise. Make good memories, and preserve them. Steal the soap if you must; but there are better souvenirs to be had. You just have to look for them!

Cheap Annual Travel Insurance

Annual Travel Insurance, a cheap one? Planning a ski trip or golfing holiday? Maybe you’re going to explore the world with nothing but a rucksack and a two-man tent on your back? Whatever break or holiday you’ve got planned, you’ll need travel insurance. Get cheap annual travel insurance for individual, couple and family holiday insurance at competitive prices.

Your benefits with online annual travel insurance!
• Automatically include winter sports cover for free
• No limits on the number of trips taken each year
• Choice of policies with trip duration limits of between 45 and 90 days

You can choose to insure a short trip or you insure your annual holiday on the whole, if you travel abroad more frequently. You can travel alone, as a single parent, a same sex couple, a family or a group. No matter what the mix, there are a wide range of travel insurance options and cheap holiday insurance specialists, you would expect nothing less.

Get benefited from the best priced travel insurance with excellent cover, provide by travel insurance specialists who take customer service as seriously as you do. With single trip travel insurance, insurers can protect you for anything up to a year away from home and with a maximum age of 79, and can insure most people’s holidays.

Breathe easy if you have pre- existing medical conditions too. You can still be insured under the same cover.

The activities that you can indulge in while you are on your trip:
• Winter Sporting breaks
• Annual travel cover
• Single Trip cover
• Business Trip
• Backpacking treks
• Over 65s travel insurance

Cheap Annual Travel Insurance covers an emergency cash transfer, if your wallet or purse is lost or stolen, you can get an emergency fund (cash loss only up to £100). Up to £250 total valuables limit to replace your stolen or damaged items. Avail a long stay backpacker policy too.

With students and gap year customers embarking on a backpacking adventure holiday, online travel insurance can cover medical and emergency cover for single trip or long term covering up to 18 months in length.

Get instant quotes and travel insurance documentation online, experts at desk can help you get answers for your questions and help decide the right insurance cover you require. If you plan to take more than two trips per year it some times is cheaper to buy an annual holiday insurance policy than buy two separate single trip travel insurance available. The choice is yours, make a right decision.

Southampton Airport: a cheap gateway to the UK?

The rise of the internet seems to have brought many benefits, one of which has undoubtedly been the increasing flexibility that we now have at our disposal when booking holidays.

This is particularly true in the case of flights. Online flight price comparison websites ensure that we can shop around to seek out the best deal from a variety of agents and airlines.

People flying to and from the United Kingdom have possibly benefited more than most. There seem to be numerous budget airlines based in the UK, allowing easy access to Europe at cheap prices. The new budget airlines have also brought benefits for regional airports – the likes of Exeter, Bournemouth, Doncaster, Southampton and Norwich have been growing a great deal.

Let’s look at one of these specifically – Southampton Airport. This airport on the outskirts of the Southern coastal city was relatively small until recently, specialising in flights to the Channel Islands. The arrival of Flybe has meant that much has changed. There are now flights in and out of Southampton from beautiful cities like Geneva, Paris and Amsterdam. Not to mention the cheap flights available to popular holiday resorts.

Despite this growth, Southampton often seems to be overlooked as an arrival airport for travellers looking to get to the UK on a budget. This is particularly strange given the close proximity of Southampton Airport to London (it is, after all, barely an hour by train from the airport’s dedicated mainline railway station to London Waterloo, in the heart of the capital city).

This short journey time means that Southampton is barely further away from Central London than Stansted. You’ll also find that processing of your baggage at the airport tends to be much faster than that found at more major airports, since there are less incoming flights. Taking this into the equation, you may well find that your journey time could even be reduced.

So next time you’re looking to visit London (or maybe looking for a cheap flight out of the UK) don’t forget to look at the offers available at Southampton Airport. You may find that the prices will come as a pleasant surprise, while the journey into Central London is so straightforward that you’ll not lose any time on your holiday.

Different Types of Timeshare

Timeshares are great way of enjoying the vacation while owning the piece of property with a standard of quality, through which personal expectations are satisfied year after year with the certainty of good facilities with comfortable accommodation made available to the person owning it. The concept of timeshare enables the person to experience a quality holiday among the company of fellow owners like him.

The timeshare concept is very simple. A person enjoys ownership by buying a week or weeks for a fixed number of years or for his lifetime in a luxury holiday resort or home. The owner only pays for his share for the upkeep and development of the property he owns. High quality of furnishing and amenities are made very affordable because the developmental cost is shared among all the owners.

Different types of timeshare ownerships:

Fixed timeshares: This kind of timeshare is only for a particular week or days of the year. The resort sells the particular unit of time says a week or weeks of the year to the person who is willing to buy it. The rest of the year, other owners in similar fashion utilize it.

Floating timeshare units: A floating timeshare too is only for a particular period of time fixed. But there is no specification of dates and that is the advantage of floating timeshares, say the owner is eligible to stay for a week of summer, it can be defined by the owner, which week of summer he would like to holiday.

Rotational timeshare units: This combines the benefits of both the fixed and the floating type of timeshares. The rotation of holiday stay can go either backwards or forward on the season and calendar, giving opportunity to all owners on a rotational basis.

Apart from the above three types of timeshares there are two more kinds of ownerships of timeshare properties, one being the deeded and the other right to use type of ownership. According to the deed property, the owner owns a bit of the real property, bought and sold under the by-laws of the community according to the owner’s wishes. The right to use kind, allows the person to have right on the property for a particular period of time for a fixed number of years, after which he does not have any rights on the unit or facilities or the time slot.

Due to the increase in popularity of timeshare concepts apart from the resorts and apartment style accommodations, it is possible to have a cruise ship timeshare, campground timeshare, yacht and even private jet kinds.