Archive for February 20th, 2009

Things To See When On Your Holidays In Russia

Friday, February 20th, 2009
Russia, which was once a communist country has now discarded that mask and is a country with vast diversities providing an enchanting experience for the tourists. You can explore the imperial St.Petersburg to Siberian villages and understand the true culture prevailing Russia. The ancient cities of Russia namely Moscow, Petersburg and Murmansk are widely popular around the world and attracting more and more tourists every year.

The history and the ancient culture of Russia have encouraged many travel enthusiasts to spend their holiday in Russia. You will find Russia as an amusement for the entire family. There are many sights in Russia that demand the tourists to visit. Russia is a beautiful place that provides everything for everybody.

The hermitage stands as evidence for the western European art taking about the tsars who ruled Russia for more than one and a half centuries. The magnificent construction has five buildings linked together to form the hermitage collections. This is 20 times bigger than any normal museum and you can see all the ancient things in the vault. You must plan ahead properly to visit these buildings on the river side that contain 1057 rooms and 117 staircases.

Lizhi is a pilgrimage site that contains two churches with a bell tower in-between. It is one of the world heritage sites dating back to the 17th and the 18th centuries. The churches depict the exact Russian architecture. The marvellous decorations on the walls stand as a masterpiece of the wooden architecture. The little Church of the Resurrection of Lazarusis the oldest building made of wood in Russia built during the 14th century. Kremlin in Moscow stands as evidence of the various political powers in Russia. Various important political meetings and speeches are made by many ancient Russian rulers.

To fascinate the kids, Russia has Lapland Biosphere Reserve, it is a great natural reserve in Russia. You can find different species of birds and animals in this reserve and you can explore their life style naturally in this reserve. Mamaev Kurgan is the site where a fierce battle took place which lasted for four months. It now stands as a memorial of the battle where the land is blooded with people who died in the battle. You can find memorials, statues and ruins of forts in this place. Lake Baikal is famous for its pure water and the surrounding shores provide a peaceful ambiance.

If you want to spend your holiday in a beautiful place, spending all your time viewing the different scenes of nature you should be visiting Russia. The forts, museums and the park will definitely make your holiday to Russia a memorable one.



By: Andrew Gibson

About the Author:

Andrew Gibson is MD of Direct Holiday Bookings. It is one of the fastest growing on line holiday home rental websites.To see an example of why Direct Holiday Bookings is growing so rapidly have a look at Property for holidays in Russia



Sunny Beach Apartments - Affordable Beach Holidays in Bulgaria

Friday, February 20th, 2009
Sunny Beach is the largest beach resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. It annually attracts hundreds of thousands of holiday seekers from Germany, Ireland, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and a number of other countries. It was one of the most popular beach destinations in Eastern Europe during communism and has enjoyed spectacular growth since the start of economic and political transition. Sunny Beach is located about 30 miles from the Bourgas international airport with access to most major European cities. For independent travelers, getting from the airport to the resort is usually done by taxis or through one of the property management companies that routinely organize transfers. Many hotels and property owners give advice on transport or even provide transport to the airport.

Sunny Beach is located in a bay surrounded by Nessebar and St. Vlas. Nessebar is an ancient Greek town with beautiful cobblestone streets lined with preserved old houses. It has been designated a UNESCO historical destination and is visited by thousands of tourists on a daily basis. St. Vlas used to be a quiet village until a few years ago but has transformed into a resort with dozens of hotels and vacation homes. The entire bay spans about 20 km with 12 km of beaches. Regular and inexpensive public transportation take tourists to various attractions along the bay.

Sunny Beach has been one of Bulgaria’s main holiday destinations for decades but its current state offers only a distant reminder of the socialist era resort that used to feature outdated hotels and a few restaurants. Perhaps the most impressive development has been the construction of numerous apartment buildings along the beach. Whereas hotels used to dominate in terms of accommodation options, it is now the holiday apartments that are leading the way. The real estate boom during the last few years generated thousands of rental properties that have come on the holiday rental markets. These are in new buildings with modern facilities and brand new furnishing.

And they offer a great deal. First of all apartment rentals are often cheaper than comparable hotels in terms of facilities and location. Furthermore, tourists can save on meals utilizing the fully furnished kitchens. They can also rest more comfortably in a home-like environment and can accommodate more people in one rental. One of the main reasons for the affordability of the rental apartments is that property owners don’t have administrative overhead and heavy marketing campaigns. With little or no overhead they can offer good prices. Also, they are eager to generate some revenue to cover the various expenses related to owning a holiday home such as utility bills and property taxes. So what can one expect to pay? For example, based on recent prices obtained from international holiday rental websites, a one bedroom apartment that sleeps four can be rented for about 150 euro per week in the early season. Many apartments and the building are licensed as a three star hotel for comparison. Prices increase in the high season during July and August but are still significantly lower than alternative destinations in Europe. It is therefore well worth looking through a few apartments to decide whether to explore that option as opposed to going through a touroperator or booking a hotel. Chances are that travelers will find something that they like in terms of both quality and price.



By: Stefan Valev

About the Author:
A good place to start is by looking through the following list of apartments for rent in Sunny Beach(or Слънчев Бряг if you want to practice your Cyrillic), selecting a few and contacting their owners with an initial inquiry. Stefan Valev writes regular columns and provides advice on Bulgarian tourism.