The Search for the Perfect Holiday
If you’re planning a trip abroad, you should take some time to plan beforehand. Often, the same vacation packages are offered, with the same terms and conditions, but at different prices. For these reasons, it’s worth taking your time to compare all the offers. When it comes to vacations, you shouldn’t watch every penny, but it’s important not to get ripped off by travel deals. After all, you want to have enough money left over for expenses and leisure activities on vacation. Expensive doesn’t necessarily mean good, and cheap doesn’t necessarily mean bad. Hotels that are available at a reasonable price and are just as good as others on the market will naturally be preferred.
It’s also important to have adequate insurance for your upcoming vacation, as there’s never a guarantee that nothing catastrophic will happen. Depending on where you’re vacationing, the likelihood of something happening varies. The likelihood of an accident is significantly higher during a skiing vacation than during a wellness retreat.
You should also make sure you always have your valuables with you, as it’s not entirely safe to leave them out of sight in some vacation destinations. It’s a good idea to keep your most important items, like money, ID, and plastic cards (credit cards, health insurance cards), in a hip pocket.
Colombia – tourism is slowly picking up again
In recent years, Colombia has repeatedly made headlines. Unfortunately, these have usually involved reports of kidnappings of foreigners, roadblocks, guerrilla warfare, drug deals, and the like. The political situation has ensured that security in Colombia, especially for foreigners, has been absolutely nonexistent, and travel to Colombia has been generally discouraged.
Over the past five years, the situation in Colombia has gradually improved and is now comparable to other South American countries in large parts of the country. Travel to a few remote areas is still discouraged; otherwise, the same safety advice and risks apply to Colombia as to other South American countries:
- Pickpocketing in crowds
- Possible robberies in unlit streets
- Avoid public buses at night (risk of accidents)
- If possible, withdraw money accompanied
- Do not wear any visible jewelry
- and the like. Anyone who takes this advice to heart and moves and acts with caution can travel to Colombia very safely.
Flights to Colombia may be very, very expensive, but that shouldn’t deter you. Colombia not only offers an extremely interesting culture, but also an extremely diverse flora and fauna.
Due to its location in the far northwest of South America, travelers to Colombia have the opportunity to experience a wide variety of landscapes. Colombia has both a Pacific and a Caribbean coastline, is then “divided” by the Andes, and ends in the Amazon lowlands. Combined with the well-known cities of Bogota and Medellin, every traveler will find something to their liking and will remember this wonderful country for a long time to come.
Diving in Thailand
Almost unnoticed, Thailand has developed into a mecca for divers in recent years. While the well-known diving spots on Koh Samui and Phuket have been well-known and popular for many years, more and more spots have been developed, often offering a virtually untouched underwater world. Colorful corals and fish, wrecks, and even caves and grottos – there are suitable spots for every diver.
The small island of Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand is only about 22 square kilometers in size, yet more PADI licenses are issued here than anywhere else in the world. Over 25 different dive sites are spread around the island, with impressive names like Shark Island, Mango Bay, and Green Rock. Several dive schools have German-certified instructors under contract, so even without foreign language skills, you needn’t worry.
Getting to Koh Tao, however, is a bit more complicated. You need a flight to Thailand, either with Bangkok as your destination, or, better yet, directly to Koh Samui. You’ll spend one night there (you can stay longer if you like) and can take the ferry to Koh Tao the next day. You’ll be picked up from the ferry dock by the dive center you booked. Transfers are usually made from the back of a pickup truck.
Once you arrive at your destination, you’ll feel like you’re in paradise. White sandy beaches, crystal-clear water, and breathtaking vegetation will make you forget the journey. The holiday feeling is complete, especially when you round off your first evening with a fiery-spicy Thai curry and a cold Singha beer.
