Author Archives: Dan

Maybe You Can’t Travel, But You Can Indulge!

With the frigid winter upon us, diminishing hours of daylight and heavy holiday meals surrounding our waists, it’s more important now than ever to make sure we take care of ourselves. Whether it’s a skin treatment to rejuvenate our chapped skin, opting to join a fitness center to maintain our summer bods, or just indulging in a relaxing massage to decompress after a long working week, wellness is important this time of year. Travel might not be a feasible alternative with work, but treating yourself or loved ones to a little bit of TLC could be an option.

While all the things mentioned above surely sound appealing, health and wellness services are not very cheap. Thankfully, Groupon has created a good interface with all of these types of services including business hours, detailed maps, services offered, prices, etc. The best part of all of these pages is that most offer discount coupons for said services as well, truly making them something that is financially reasonable. You can check out one here at Dallas Crossfit

crossfit in dallas

20 Dec 2015

Check out Groupon Pages for great insight on Restaurants!

Groupon has been expanding into different verticals recently. Their bread and butter is still deal-a-day vouchers, but they have a massive selection of online coupons and have now created a sort of directory of sorts for restaurants around the country. There are real reviews about the places, detailes, maps, business information, etc.

You can check out an example here: Tampa Pizza Company. Groupon Pages are very well laid out and helpful and can be a great asset next time your traveling on business or pleasure!

groupon Pages

13 Nov 2015

How to save big time on any future travel purchases

This site is called Best World Travel Deals.com for a reason! Today we’ve got a great tip for you all. Most people are familiar with Groupon for being the deal-a-day giant, but they have recently gotten into a new vertical, online coupons. Leveraging their massive relations with retailers small and large, they were able to secure over 70,000 exclusive coupons with more than 9,000 different retailers available on their website, sans annoying sign-ups.

You can find coupons to save money on virtually anything you might be shopping for, but there are an especially large amount of coupons available in the travel arena. There are all the companies you know and trust like Travelocity, Orbitz Fox rent-a-car and much more. Check out Groupon Coupons today and start saving!

travelocity coupons

 

25 Oct 2015

Ultimate petrol head vacations!

There are more vacations than ever designed to attract specific groups of people. For petrol heads, depending on your budget, you could drive a dune buggy in Dubai or drive a high performance car around the Nürburgring in Germany. Let’s take a closer look at what’s available, how to get there and where to stay.

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NASCAR driving

Why not get a group of friends together and spend a day driving a NASCAR stock car at one of 13 of the country’s major speedways?

A number of options are available, such as Ride Along, which includes three laps at racing speed, driven by a professional; a Three Hour Experience driving a NASCAR car for a five minute timed racing session; and the Premium Drive 8 Minute Timed Racing Session – this three hour driving experience includes either one eight minute timed session or multiple, back-to-back sessions.

The three-hour sessions feature a driver’s meeting with the Crew Chief, instruction and training, followed by timed laps on the speedway. In-car radio enables an instructor to offer advice as you drive, but there are no restrictions; overtaking is allowed and you drive yourself. At the end of the session you receive a souvenir racing license and a graduate certificate.

As all the speedways hold major events there will be plenty of nearby hotels/motels to choose from, not to mention eateries and entertainment.

Drive the Nürburgring, Germany

One of the most challenging and by far the longest racetrack in the world, the 12.944 mile Nördschleife or North Loop is used as a test track by numerous motor manufacturers. Home of the German Formula 1 Grand Prix until 1976, the F1 record of 6min 58.6secs, is held by Niki Lauda in a Ferrari 312T.

The Nördschleife is open for tourist drives throughout the year. Tickets are available for one, four, nine and 25 laps of the circuit, each limited to 15 minutes. There are campsites within minutes of the circuit and a number of nearby hotels.

If you are flying into Germany with Delta Air Lines, the nearest international airports are Frankfurt-Main (100 miles), Frankfurt-Hahn (80 miles) or Cologne-Bonn (60 miles). All the major car rental companies have desks at these airports, but if you are looking for a seriously rapid vehicle for your laps of the Nürburgring, you are advised to carry out a search of specialist car rentals at the circuit. Cars range from Renault Clio RS200s and Porsche GT3 991 PDKs to full race Lotus Exige S V6s

While in Germany, why not pay a visit to BMW, VW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi or Porsche? All offer factory-tours and have their own museums.

Road trip from Pikes Peak to Bonneville Salt Flats

Start by taking a drive up the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb course, around ten miles west of Colorado Springs. The 12.42-mile, 156 turn course winds its way to an elevation of 14,110ft, a height gain of 4,720ft.

There is a good cross section of accommodations to be had in Colorado Springs, along with a choice of restaurants and shopping.

Pikes Peak to the Bonneville Salt Flats is a drive of around 720 miles through Wyoming and into Utah. Take a couple of days for the trip and book yourself into a motel at one of the small towns along the I80 between Cheyenne and Salt Lake City. The nearest town to the salt flats is Wendover, a distance of around 87 miles; there are several accommodations to choose from, along with casinos and bars.

The only safe time to take to the salt is July. At all other times of the year there is a real risk of water on the surface, making driving hazardous. Make sure you sort out your visa to the states before attempting to enter as they are pretty strict.

Dune buggy driving in Dubai

For something a little different, search online for dune buggies in Dubai and book yourself a flight; Flights.com has some great prices.

Each rental company in Dubai offers its own packages; they typically last for between three and four hours and involve fully equipped buggies featuring roll cages, helmets, bucket seats, seat belts, night lights, fire extinguisher and back-up vehicle to minimize mechanical delays. Convoys are usually headed by a qualified safari driver. Minimum driver age is 18 and a valid international manual-driving license is required.

Whether you decide to stay close to home or take a trip to the other side of the world, there is sure to be a vacation to suit your pocket. What are you waiting for? Get online and start planning your next petrol head inspired trip.

09 Oct 2014

Top Destinations in Guernsey and Alderney

It is easy for potential visitors to be attracted to the top destinations in Guersney and Alderney. These archipelagoes are an example of how small cities and towns assert their independence and earned it through sheer development and political stability. The same can be said about San Marino (in Italy), Monaco (France) and Gibraltar (Spain). But the closest resemblance to the political situation of Guernsey and Alderney is the Island of Manx. Both territories are under the protection of United Kingdom and are also located close to the motherland territory. Guernsey and Alderney, also known as the Bailiwick of Guernsey, is located along the English Channel – the broad saltwater stream that separates United Kingdom from France. It is natural to assume that this territory also has a strong French influence.

Guernsey (more…)

11 Oct 2013

Top Destinations In Azerbaijan

The top destinations in Azerbaijan are iconic places worth visiting around the Caucasus highlands that practically demarcates Europe and Asia. As far as basic history is concerned, this country was once a tributary state of the Soviet Union. During its collapse in 1991, the country has faced another “adversary” much closer to home – Armenia. This neighboring nation has supported a separatist region named Nagoroh-Karabakh. This succeeding conflict took out 20% of Azerbaijan’s total territory. While the nation undergoes a certain difficulty in sustaining the 800,000 more refugees since the 1994-ceasefire, its people were able to assert their own cultural identity like never before. For a country that is predominantly Shia Islam, they are almost twice as liberal in their lifestyle than most Arab nations. This was all due to the extensive influence of secularism by the Soviet regime.

cityscape of Azerbaijan (more…)

11 Oct 2013

Travel Escapes: Belgrade!

Belgrade is quickly entering the limelight shared by exciting European travel destinations such as Berlin, Paris and Prague. Complimented by the Sava/Danube River that flows through the capital, the city’s non-stop nightlife, fascinating history and delectable traditional restaurants have been attracting thousands of visitors since Serbia’s tourism boom during the past decade. Perhaps best known for the Yugoslav crisis during the 1990s and Nato’s bombing of Belgrade in1999, which among other buildings left the Police & Army Headquarters desecrated. The remnants of the bombings and Serbia’s eventful past propels Belgraders of all ages to treat every night like a Friday night shaking off the past.

  Danube in Belgrade (more…)

09 Oct 2013