Rio Suites Accomodation Discounts

If you happen to be having a relative or a friend visiting Manila this December, here’s a great and affordable hotel accommodation deal offered by Rio Suites in Mandaluyong City. It's just few minutes away from Makati City and Ortigas Center, Pasig. Restaurants, malls, and even a golf club are also situated in Mandaluyong which makes it a great place in the Metro to entertain your visiting friends.

Deluxe Room good for 2 persons

Valued at P3,300

Twin Sharing Room good for 4 persons

Valued at 3,900

See how big the price drop is at daily deal site GrantonWorld Philippines. I assure you that this is a great deal to be grabbed.

Extreme Beauty of Banaue

A month ago, controversies sparked over a YouTube video posted by Red Bull. The energy drink giant posted a video of extreme sports athlete Brian Grubb "wake skating" the famous Banaue Rice Terraces. Many were concerned that this wake skating act may have damaged or disrespected our country's landscape pride. Others thought that this is a brilliant publicity to promote the beauty of Mountain Province.

So which side are you on? Well, for me, I thought that the scenes in the video really showcased the wonders of Banaue and it wasn't disrespectful at all. Others were right -- it does a great promotion for the tourism in Mountain Province or Cordillera region. This doesn't only attract foreign visitors but also Filipino travelers.

About a year ago, I had the pleasure to behold the beauty of Banaue. I got a cheap travel deal online that helped me save a lot of money, just for the trip's fare alone.

So if you happen to read this blog and have been thinking about vising the place, I really urge you to give it a try. It's really breathtaking, plus, the locals were really friendly and hospitable. You'll definitely enjoy your adventurous retreat here. Hopefully, you too can avail an online travel deal on Banaue.

Online Christmas Shopping

I really enjoy online shopping lately, since the holidays are coming, online shopping websites are starting to dress themselves in Christmas theme. It's really like going to the malls in December with all the twinkling lights an Yuletide decoration galore. These sparkling little things makes you want to shop more, right? Well, maybe it just makes the shopping experience more pleasurable, 'coz spending on gifts is like a therapy.

Like different malls, each websites have their own kind of Christmas theme. A few of my favorite websites were decorated for the holidays, and they look like these:

Granton World's Home Page. 

Don't be a scrooge this Christmas, shop at your convenience with online shopping!

Daily Deal Sites have taken online shopping to a whole new level this season. There's a certain warmth and joy in to it. And I like it!

Cheap Singapore Vacay

Where are you flying to this Christmas? I've always considered to spend the holidays at Singapore because of its glittering sexy cityscape that attracts foreign visitors all year round. And I could just imagine how sparklingly-splendid it would look in December. A friend told me that Christmas decorations and countless twinkling lights have saturated the city already, which excites me more.

I found this cheap travel package on Singapore from a daily deal site that only costs 9,000 pesos. The package includes airfare (Air Asia or PAL Express), hotel accommodation at Geylang Fragrance Hotel (a famous hotel chain in Singapore), tour, and a whole day pass at Universal Studios SG. The day tour will take tourists to Malayan Park, Orchard Road, China Town, Little India, Arab Street, Merlion Park and Orchid Garden.

This special offer is valid until next year, and starts travel period on the 15th of December. So if you happen to be looking for a new city to explore with your special someone (like me) or with the family, this Singapore travel deal is ideal for you.

Bohol: Why Travel Now?

How was your long weekend? I hope you had fun as much as I have had. Well, I finally got to use my splash island voucher last Saturday during the long weekend. By the way, this blog is not about my water park adventure (I'm still waiting for the photos from my friend), this is about promoting tourism of Bohol.

You may recall my previous post when I was sad-blogging about the earthquake that hit Cebu and Bohol and the damages in their historical sites. But a recent battle cry from Boholanos gave me a new perspective and hope in this tragedy. Most profit from local businesses and the government of Bohol came from tourism. After news broke out about the quake, numerous tourists (both local and foreign) cancelled their bookings and demanded for refunds from travel agencies on their trip. I even noticed some deal sites in the Philippines who had their Bohol travel packages taken down that week.

But now the Department of Tourism and Bohol government have found a solution to this tourism trouble. DOT is teaming up with the local tourism board in finding better routes for Bohol tours where tourists can pass through safe roads and visit hazard-free sites. Locals even suggested to change the church sites tour into ruin sites. This way people can contribute their help restoring highly damaged structures like the Churches Baclayon, Loboc, and Loon. 

Tourism will help generate money needed to fund restorations for historical sites, road repairs, and nature rehabilitation. So if we partake to this, we can all make a difference. 

If you want to travel now, daily deal site GrantonWorld Philippines has an affordable Loboc travel package. This includes airfare, accommodation, and tour.

Splash Island for the Long Weekend

 

When was the last time you visited Splash Island? Well, my suggestion is that you take your family out this coming weekend for a short road trip to Binan, Laguna. Daily deal site, GrantonWorld Philippines, is offering a discounted entrance fee to Splash Island. This voucher is an all-day access with unlimited use of kayak and the water park’s latest attractions—mini golfing, wall climbing, and zip lining.

All these in just one price of only 499 pesos. Yet, another excuse for all of to go back to Splash Island.We're coming here on the weekend after paying homage to our dead relatives at the cemetery on All Soul's Day.

Great Getaway for October Holidays

Trying to put the smile back on for travel and adventure, especially with the long weekend coming our way; here's my pick for a great getaway for October holidays.

It's hard to say if there's an upside for our recent tragedy in Bohol and Cebu. But one thing that I have noticed about traveling and vacation is that daily deal sites have lowered (even more) their travel deals. For at least 15% for each destinations located in Visayas.

Who knew you could fly your way in to the famous island of Boracay for only about 4k?! A Boracay travel deal posted on GrantonWorld Philippines is only priced at 4,888 pesos. Inclusions are round trip airfare, hotel accommodation for 3 days and 2 nights, and Boracay guided tour. If you haven't tried shopping online deals, well I'm telling you this one is a steal of a deal.

A Traveller's Sentiment for Bohol and Cebu

I believe that we were all deeply scarred of the tragic events in the provinces of Bohol and Cebu. Families suffered, lives were taken, and a part of heritage has been tattered away from us.

The 7.2 earthquake intensity that hit Visayas destroyed an unimaginable amount of properties, landscapes, and historical sites. Photos and videos of the natural disaster surfaced all over the internet, and as a traveler who has fallen in love with this major island I just couldn’t help but to mourn over what we have lost.  My heart broke upon seeing churches crumble down in a matter of minutes, and the most recent photos of Chocolate Hills after the quake is just painful to look at.

 

 Disturbing photos of the now "erupted"  Chocolate Hills, tweeted by a foreign tourist.

I could still remember my Bohol trip. (And yes, of course I got this with the help of a cheap travel deal I found at a daily deal site.) I cruised the Loboc River, visited Tarsiers, trekked to look at the Chocolate Hills, and visited century-old churches. It was beautiful and breathtaking, I wish someone would think the same after we have risen from this calamity.

 

Loboc Church, taken on May 2012 

  

Loboc Church after the quake, photo from inquirer.net 

Our country’s pride and our heritage—two things that we value most in our Filipino culture, both destroyed in an instant. Obviously, this tragedy would affect our tourism industry. Yet news about tourists trying to cancel bookings of their Visayan vacation broke out. How ironic will it be when we say, “It’s more fun in the Philippines?”   

Now how do we cope with this aftershock? Where do we start in rebuilding our famous cities? Can we still brag about the hills in Carmen? What about the historical churches in Cebu and Bohol? I just hope that we could truly rise up from this. Like our resistance from floods and typhoons, grounds may shake in the Philippines but the Filipino spirit is unbreakable. Let's continue to pray for our country.

Bali's Buzz: Why We Should All Go Now

Bali, Indonesia is so in right now. Ever since Julia Roberts' character in Eat Pray Love fleeted to a romantic escape with Bali as a backdrop, this paradise seduced soul-searchers to aspire that one day they too will wake up to a beautiful island. 

 

This Indonesian tourist attraction made a bigger buzz when this place accommodated a battalion gorgeous women from every corner of the world in competing for the title of Miss World 2013. This pageant also receive a lot of criticisms but the adoration for the prestige of Bali and the beauties overshadowed protests.

America's Next Top Model Cycle 20 also brought their hot male and female modelling finalists to the nearing finale. ANTM producer and host, Tyra Banks said that Bali is one of her favorite places in the world, and that it has changed her life.

Upon seeing these picturesque views, this have given me a desire to go to Bali. Though Indonesia is just a few islands away from Manila, I know that this will cost a lot. Good thing there are cheap travel deals online available at daily deal site. Now, I have a better chance to visit Bali before the year ends.

Buying Online Travel Deals

 As promised from my last post, here are my guide lines and tips on how to be smart on buying online travel deals.

Before buying any deal online, you should ensure that the daily deal site you're considering to buy from has a legitimate operation. Anyone can make a website today (even kids!), so you have to be very careful that the e-commerce site is not bogus. Try to Google the name of the site and look for some blog posts or threads about them. Bad reviews are already a red flag, but then again if it's only just a biased customer rant perhaps there are good reviews too.

Read travel details, fine print, terms and conditions. Remember, most travel deals found online have tricky terms and conditions. If you don't fully understand the measures of the offer, you might not be able to use it all. There's a reason why these travel packages are on sale. Maybe you have to buy at least 4 vouchers to start the deal and go on a trip as group. Just read first. Please.

Know the travel period. Peak season traveling could be expensive, but finding a post of a cheap vacation package would be like hitting a gold rush. Again, there's a reason why travel deals are at a low price.Usually, these deals are only good for the low seasons. Most of the vouchers I bought are not valid on peak seasons and holidays. But it's okay. I just set a few days for relaxation, and most of the time my vacations are on weekdays. Oh, the perks of exclusivity!

Call the travel agency. Deal sites don't usually take responsibility of the booking. They just post the travel offers on their site as a medium of various travel agencies to reach out buyers. So before you hit that 'buy' button, it would be smart to call the travel agency or merchant first; ask if they still have availability to accommodate your vacation.

Lastly, don't expect that much. Most travel packages are cheap because they book you to budget hotels and economy airfares. However there are also deals on luxury vacations at a lesser price. As for me, I am always up for anything. If my budget Bahamas vacation would only accommodate me to sleep under a coconut tree--well, why not?!

Why Online Deals?

Yes, I am an advocate of Online Deals for traveling. (Note: to those who are unfamiliar with online deals, these are coupons or products that are on huge marked down prices sold exclusively at websites.) Though some are skeptic about it and wouldn’t believe its value. Thus, these deals are left unnoticed or eluded. 

A few months ago DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) were communicating advisories to the consumers with regards to these travel deals found online. They warned the public to be cautious with what they could buy from e-commerce sites, and even reasoned that the low price is valid enough to send buyers a red flag. But these warnings didn’t hinder online deals fanatics to buy. Well, at least not me.

As of today I have bought a total of 8 travel deals I found online. And so far I have never regretted any of my purchases. Traveling could be expensive, but not with these online deal sites.  

What's my advice to not get ripped of? Read the fine print or offer details, communicate and inquire about the deal. Basically, you just have to smart.

Next week I'll be posting some guidelines on safe buying of online deals. Bye!