Travelista is delighted to bring you this special offer from Sea World Resort:

Stay at Sea World Resort for a 2 nights including unlimited entry to Warner Bros. Movie World, Wet’n’Wild Water World and Sea World

Stay before 30 June 2011 and get unlimited theme park entry until 30 June 2011.
Stay between 1 July 2011 and 31 March 2012 and get unlimited theme park entry until 30 June 2012

Get below the surface to discover a world of amazing marine animals, rides, and shows at Sea World. Discover a world of fantasy, super-heroes and world-class rides at Warner Bros. Movie World. Wet’n’Wild Water World offers something for everyone including adrenaline pumping slides and an amazing kids aquatic playground. And with the VIP Pass you’ll be able to go back again and again!

From $139 per person twin share. Most rooms sleep 4 so bring the kids for only $100* each per stay.

Click here to book this special with Sea World Resort

Terms and Conditions* Payment required in full by credit card at time of booking. No refunds. Date may be changed subject to availability and within the sell period timeframe. Surcharges apply for room upgrades, Qld School holiday periods and Gold Coast 600 Race week. Price includes entry for 2 adults to Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World and Wet’n’Wild Water World until 30 June 2011 for stays prior to 30 June 2011. VIP Passes valid to 30 June 2012 for stays from 1 July 2011 to 31 March 2012. Additional adults/children 3yrs+/pensioners $100.00 each. All packages are subject to availability. VIP Passes are provided on checkin and cannot be redeemed prior to your stay.

Costa Rica is a country with abundant gifts from Mother Nature making it one of the world’s leaders in eco-tourism. The bio-diversity of this place is one-of-a–kind. Environmentalists, nature lovers and enthusiasts of extreme sports like water rafting, quad biking, surfing and zip line tours through the rainforest canopy will certainly fall in love to this country. Botanists and gardeners alike will also admire Costa Rica’s breathtaking plant life whose grandeur is evident in the country’s national parks.

Strong influences from the Europeans are seen in the culture and tradition of Costa Rica’s society from the use of Spanish language and the architecture style to the tastes of the delicacies in the markets and restaurants. The mix of colonial Spain with Caribbean flavours is an exciting combination. Indeed, the country is not only bio-diverse but multicultural as well.

San Jose is the capital city of Costa Rica. Ticos (Costa Rican citizens) fondly call the city ‘Chepe’. San Jose is the complete opposite to what travel ads say about Costa Rica as a whole. Instead of finding the emerald rainforests, Chepe has more of the hustle and bustle of cities like Guatemala city and La Paz in Boliva. San Jose may be a noisy smoky mash up of a city but it is a city where you can find superb museums, excellent dining experience and fun bar hopping.

Our Top 3 must do’s in Costa Rica are :

1. Manuel Antonio National park
2. Arenal Volcano
3. Hit Pavones for a surf : http://www.surf-costarica.com/surfing-destination-pavones.shtml

Enjoy!

Special Offer

Travelista has partnered with Intrepid Travel to offer readers $150 travel vouchers on tours to Costa Rica

Hot Easter Hotels delals from Hotels.com – Click here

Valid until April 17th 2011

Don’t want to pay for a hotel? Can’t afford Parisian prices? Can’t afford the expensive tours around the city, or just can’t suffer the snap-happy fools you’ll be experiencing it with? Well couchsurfing or one of the many other free hospitality exchange options may be for you.

1. Couch surfing & Homestays

With 2.5 million members across the globe from Taiwan to Timbuktu, and advanced security referencing couchsurfing .com is a great way to travel the world. Stay with locals for free. The multi-lingual hospitality exchange BeWelcome offers a similar platform to couchsurfing.com, yet is Europe specific. A registered NGO, it has 10,000 members.

www.Couchsurfing.com
www.BeWelcome.org

2. WWOOFing

Willing Workers On Organic Farms (WWOOF) offers a perfect break from city living. The hospitality exchange offers food and board for a few hours of work or skill-share. Work may involve childcare, teaching the owner your native tongue, picking fruit or any other duties. The beauty of this site is that it specifies the exchange. A farmer on the British Columbia, Canada is building a fence, give him a hand… A single mother in outback Australia needs a farm hand or childcarer for a week… Pick your destination, pack your bags and experience local life, whereever you are, for free!

www.wwoof.org

3. Volunteering

Volunteering is a fantastic way to take a city break both locally or international. A host of websites offer free volunteering breaks for city dwellers with free accommodation and food. With a vast array of opportunities both local and abroad you can find just about anything you want. An enriching experience and holiday combined.

http://www.volunteer.com.au/

http://www.govolunteer.com.au/

http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/volunteer

4. Servas open doors

The UN recognised NGO, Servas Open doors, has 13,000 members or as it calls them ‘open doors’. Homestays are easily arranged with anyone of these members with profiles viewable on the website, you know what you’re getting, before you get there. Servas also supports volunteer programs that have led aid missions in India and Pakistan. Bragging to be ‘multi-generational’, the organisation welcomes young and old promoting goodwill and mutual tolerance.

http://www.servas.org/newsite/

5. Squatting

What top 5 would be complete without the intrepid travellers ultimate hospitality exchange, squatting. While often discarded to the dustbin of travel, squatting has for decades been a wonderful way to immerse yourself in the oft-unseen underbelly of everyday society. The ‘movement’ in Europe and North America has gained speed in recent years with many squatting abodes across the globe now bordering on hotel standard, some even bed-bug free! Numerous websites now exist to facilitate your stay, helping you negotiate the legalities of such travel and putting like-minded squatters in touch with each other.

www.squatspace.com
www.squat.net/

In early January I had the pleasure of travelling to Egypt, one of the oldest countries on Earth. While our tour ended barely three days short of the start of the internal conflict, we were able to get a glimpse at the real Egypt; at the places and people that make up the country, and not the political unrest that is undoubtedly what most people think of when they hear “Cairo”.

During the tour, our guide told us something that would prove to be rather prophetic. He said, “Tourism is critical to Egypt, and we cannot afford another incident like Luxor.” Both the Government and people of Egypt rely on Tourism for income; in such a resource-scarce region, it has proven to be a profitable, if unstable income. Simply put, in January Egypt was hoping for a good few eventless years to stabilise Tourism. Now, I fear, they may be set back yet again.

There are two cultures in Egypt; that which you see in the museum, and that which you see in the street. Modern Egypt is one of organised chaos and simple courtesies, often hidden to outsiders. The snarling traffic, largely ignorant of any marked road rules, communicates via a simple yet effective system of honks. Incoherent to us, this system allows for all kinds of insane manoeuvres that could never be attempted in a normal country.

In the words of our guide from the airport to hotel, “We drive according to the other cars, not the road. That way, you can react to when someone does something wrong much better.” Naturally, it was only seconds later that we were rear-ended on a freeway on-ramp. The guide, in ambiguous spirits, quickly got off to check the damage. When he came back he told us, “When you think about it, it is much safer to drive in Egypt”.

As with all tourism, the truly invaluable insights into a culture come not from the artefacts in museums or pages of prose at a temple; they come from a single moment overheard or caught in the corner of your eye, wherein you learn about what truly makes a country and its people tick. Watching market vendors chat amongst one another when no tourists around, seeing the guards with rifles texting on their phones, all these things indicate to me that while Egypt may seem vastly different from other countries, the people share the same values as us, and we are a lot more alike than we may realise.

While any potential tourists will likely be looking at Egypt with trepidation, I urge you to reconsider. It is the government that has changed, not the place or the people. Egypt should be in everyone’s top ten places to visit, if not at the top itself. The ancient culture, amazing relics and atmosphere of a vastly different yet oddly familiar country are not to be missed.

You might not believe it, but having a local show you New York, explaining intriguing history or showing you extraordinary modern art, can be done without costing a cent. This spring and summer in New York will be packed with memorable free tours to experience the city at ground level. Here are just five that you may not have heard of:

1. Cruise to Governors Island for free guided tours, art and great views

Open during summer, historic Governors Island is a great day out. It is hard to believe you can cruise to the island, have a guided tour, check out some art installations, and enjoy great views of icons like the Statue of Liberty – all for free! Check out www.nps.gov/gois from mid May for their schedule of events, ferries, tours, etc for 2011.

2. Free guided tour of Union Square – Crossroads of New York

Head to Union Square on Saturdays at 2pm for a 90 minute exploration of the vibrant social and political history of the neighbourhood. Check out www.unionsquarenyc.org.

3. City Hall free guided tours

Get online to reserve a place on a behind the scenes look into New York’s historic City Hall to learn about its fine architecture and rich history. Check out http://www.nyc.gov/html/artcom/html/tours/tours.shtml

4. Free guided tour into the Lower East Side’s artistic world

Join one of the ELS LES Art Gallery Crawls to discover inventive works and creative forms you would have a tough time finding on your own. These are on every last Sunday at 1pm from April to October (except August). Check out www.lowereastsideny.com.

5. Take a mystery tour with some passionate locals: Keep up with www.manhattanwalkingtour.com on Facebook or Twitter to see where these New Yorkers will take you each month in their beloved city. You could end up on a photo shoot of famous buildings, a behind the scenes look at Greenwich Village, or on something tailored to blokes for some “Guy” sights of the city.

To avoid problems you have to play by Tiger’s rules. Here are some top tips on how to do that.

1. If you have no luggage to check in, be careful of the Web Check-in rules to avoid extra fees

If you don’t have any baggage to check in you should use the Web Check-in facility when booking, and don’t forget to actually do it before heading to the airport. If you show up to the airport check-in desk without any luggage to check you will be charged $20.

2. Take their check-in and boarding times seriously

Getting to the airport early may not be in your genetic make up but Tiger are not messing with their check-in and boarding times.

They will not accept you for travel if you show up at the check-in counter less than 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time of your flight.

If you are not at the boarding gate at least 30 minutes before departure, you will not be getting on. Your baggage will be offloaded and you’ll get no money back.

3. They are strict on any excess baggage, be careful

If any of your checked baggage weighs over 30kg it will be subject to Tiger’s Excess Checked Baggage fees. They don’t seem keen on wriggle room here like other airlines.

Watch out for your carry-on luggage too. You are allowed two pieces provided that it does not exceed the dimensions of 54cm X 38cm X 23cm and that no individual bag exceeds 7kgs. The combined weight of these two bags cannot exceed 10kgs. This is strictly for each person (kids included); don’t assume you can pool this allowance.

Special offer for Travelista readers: book cheap domestic airfares with Zuji.com.au

Queensland offers the best value holidays this Easter. As the weather cools in the south why not think about heading north for the break? Or if you live in the Sunshine State, why not grab a bargain just around the corner, saving on travel time but still enjoying a relaxing Easter?

Images beamed into homes across the globe of flood-ravaged Queensland gave the impression that the entire state was devastated. Although the affect areas have recovered from the summer’s extreme weather, as far as tourism is concerned, the Sunshine State’s tourism industry on its knees and desperately needs holiday-makers to come back.

One initiative between Tourism Queensland, Sunlover Holidays and Virgin Blue –  ‘Queensland’s Hottest Deals’ – promotes offers from 137 operators including accommodation providers, iconic attractions and tour operators. Specials available today and ending 26 March, include:

• Three nights on the Gold Coast with an Avis hire car, staying in a deluxe room at Club Watermark Hotel and Spa and a $25 day spar gift certificate is $524 for two people
• Three nights on the Sunshine Coast in a one bedroom apartment, entry to Australia Zoo and three days Avis car hire to get you around is $608 for two people
• Four nights at Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort for $390 is two people.

Check out www.sunloverholidays.com.au/hottestdeals or call 13 88 33.

A trip to inland Queensland offers remarkable bargains as well. Any damage from Toowoomba’s unbelievable flash flood has been cleaned up and the area offers wonderful country escapes. One of these is Sugarloaf Country Retreat, a working farm where you can stay in the three bedroom homestead for $140.00 for two people per night. Check out www.sugarloafmountain.com.au

So take advantage of these incredible deals this Easter and enjoy for a relaxing holiday not so far from home.

On 16 May Qantas starts flying its new route to Dallas. So what does this mean for your US travel?

A direct link to America’s South. Did you watch too much Dallas in the 80’s and can’t wait to check Texas out for yourself? Qantas’s direct link puts you in the heart of warm southern hospitality to discover a glamorous urban metropolis with a thriving nightlife. As they say, everything is bigger in Texas, with immense landscapes to get out and explore.

Better airline connections. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DWF) is much better than Qantas’s previous hub, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), for ongoing connections to other parts of the US. It offers a wider range of connections and more options in terms of frequency.

A more pleasant experience that LAX. If you have been to LAX you’ll agree that finding a way to avoid it worth it. DFW is still a major airport but not as busy and badly designed as LAX. However, Qantas does not have a lounge at DFW so you can weigh that up in your benefit analysis of giving LAX a skip.

A really long flight. Flying from Australia to the US is always going to be an endurance event. This route adds a few more hours in one tin can; you need to consider if you can handle it.

You can’t fly on the A380. If the A380 is your preferred choice for comfort you might have to wait a while before you can experience it on this route – only 747-400s will be flying for now. However, given the engine scares last year this may not bother you.

If Texas is where you want to be this route is perfect for you. For other travel it will come down to weighing up for yourself the time savings possibilities and comfort aspects of Qantas’s Dallas route. Whichever way you look at it, having a new choice is a welcome change.