With the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup happening next month there is a huge focus on Brazil. Aside from the football, Rio’s white sandy beaches with the limestone peaked backdrop are about as picturesque as it gets, the music and culture probably more joyful than most places in the world and the vast Amazon jungle a paradise to be explored. But whilst Brazil has all of this, I always suggest to people that if they […]
Choosing your next travel destination
How do you go about choosing where to go next? Research shows that most people are influenced more by where their friends have been than any other factor (ie magazine / newspaper articles, travel agents, books, movies etc.). And for those of us on Facebook, seeing the holiday snaps of friends creates even more of a desire to experience that destination for ourselves. These days every holiday moment seems to be captured and shared on […]
A non-cruisers guide to cruising
If you’re one of those people who balk at the idea of cruising, you may want to think again. It’s one of the fastest growing travel sectors in Australia with expenditure rising at 15% – 20% annually. If it’s growing at such a rate then it can’t be all that bad. Can it? Actually no – it’s not that bad. Personally, I’m one of the semi-converted. I’m an independent traveler and the idea of being […]
Flying with animals
Have you ever sat next to a dog on a plane? How would you feel if you did? Whilst Australian airline rules specify that pets must travel in the cargo hold, this is not the case in Europe, North America and some Asian countries. I wasn’t aware of this and had the surreal experience of watching a lady put her dog inside a bag through the X-ray machine on a recent trip in America. I […]
The world’s 50 best restaurants – a great way to plan your travels
The world’s 50 best restaurants 2014 were announced yesterday with Noma in Denmark coming in at #1 again. Interestingly the US had the most restaurants in the top 50 with 8, followed by Spain just under with 7. Unfortunately Australia only had 1 on the list – Attica in Ripponlea – but this isn’t necessarily bad – it gives us all the more reason to travel. Food is a glorious thing and for some people […]
Tips for getting over jetlag
There’s nothing worse than wasting the first few days of your holiday (or turning up for a business meeting) being completely exhausted from the 24 or so hour flight across the world. Flying business or first class will clearly help if you have a nice flat-bed to sleep on (or even better, one of the Emirates First Class Private Suites – yes please!) but not all of us have that luxury and even if we […]
What is the best way to take money when travelling overseas?
One of the questions we get asked often at TTFN Travel is ‘How should I take my money overseas?’ Pre-millennium, travellers cheques were the norm. I remember doing a student exchange in France in 1992 and my parents would regularly send me travellers cheques which I would then have to change inside the bank or at a ‘cambio d’echange’. It was a laborious process at both ends (buying them in the first place also took […]