If some travelers ever set foot in Switzerland, I think the first thing that they'd like to shop for (aside from Swiss Chocolates), are Swiss watches. They think that automatically, watches such as Rolex, Tissot, etc, would be cheaper in Switzerland. Well, since I'm always visiting forums, it turns out that watches in Switzerland might be more expensive with VAT, and other retail overhead that sellers are adding. Of course, there are some models that might actually be cheaper but I suggest you do your homework first and then try to stop by a Bucherer store which they say have the most retail stores and nice prices in Switzerland.

However, if you can't set foot in Switzerland, there are a lot of fine watches available online for decent prices compared with retail stores. Bluedial.com for example, has a variety of cheap watches available. I've been looking at their selection of Citizen watches and taking note of their prices since I plan on going to Hong Kong or Singapore to shop. Like I said, any of my travel plans which I put on hold because of the H1N1 has now become moot since my country has more cases than the countries I'd like to visit.

Anyways, the watch is for my father since his birthday will be coming up soon. Come to think of it, I haven't actually bought a watch for my father for some time now. Birthdays, Christmases, and Father's Day have gone by and all I've ever given to him were ties and shirts. Well, he'll get a good surprise once I'm done shopping.

As we all know, the World Health Organization has already declared a pandenemic on the A (H1N1) virus. This has made me wary about traveling to other places--until my country recently had an outbreak of the dreaded swine flu virus. Which actually made me think that it would probably be safer if I traveled to other countries with lesser cases of the swine flu.

Anyways, the World Health Organization has a list of countries with the corresponding number of H1N1 cases and the number of deaths related to this virus per country. It's a very useful information especially for travelers. They have an updated count as of July 3. So far, the most number of cases can be found in the United States followed by Mexico. You can find the lists here

There are a lot of websites wherein you can begin searching for cheap flights, or cheap travel packages. There's Travelocity, Orbitz, Kayak, Priceline, Expedia, etc. However, searching through these sites one by one can be time consuming and most often than not, you'll only end up searching through two to three sites to compare the deals on cheap airline tickets so you might be missing out on lower rates offered by competing websites.

Thankfully there are now price comparison websites that would allow you to only search using one website but get results from a variety of different websites offering cheap airline tickets. Airline tickets comparison websites that come to mind include: Farecompare.com, lowfares.com, and cheapflights.com.

Most of these price comparison websites have common websites that they search through such as Travelocity and Orbitz but the key is instead of going through individual travel websites, you can just use these price comparison websites since even though you only go through two to three of these price comparison websites, chances are, they'll be able to search more thoroughly than you, guaranteeing you the best deals on the Internet.

I've previously blogged about the Horizon resort at Myrtle Beach. Well, I thought I might make another blog post about the different Myrtle Beach resorts.

Like I've previously mentioned, Myrtle Beach is home to hundreds of resorts, hotels and condos. Finding one won't be a problem but finding the "best" one may take some time. For one, most of the Myrtle Beach resort are upscale. There's the Marriott and the Prince but of course, not all of us can afford fancy living.

Myrtle Beach hotels are synonymous with resorts and the most popular one according to trip advisor is the Sea Watch Resort. Avista resort is also fast becoming popular. Royale Palms condominiums by the Hilton has also garnered good reviews but if you really want bang for your buck, Sea Watch resort offers the lowest rates at an average of $75.

No visit to South Carolina is complete if you don't stop by Myrtle Beach. Myrtle Beach is a coastal city in South Carolina which has recently become a popular tourist destination.

Myrtle Beach is part of Grand Strand and there are a lot of attractions in the area for the whole family. From golf courses, night clubs, to waterparks, there are a variety of things to do here. Since Myrtle Beach is a tourist hub, Myrtle Beach accomodation is not hard to find. There are hotels, motels, condominiums, resorts, that would suit anyone's budget.

The latest of the Myrtle Beach accomodations is the Horizon at the 77th which is a huge building of modern, ocean-view condominiums. Unlike other Myrtle Beach hotels, the Horizon is already a resort and near the beach so you don't have to go that far to find some things to do. There's already a golf course, a lazy river, indoor and outdoor pools, spa, etc.

Of course, if that's a bit above your budget, like I said, Myrtle Beach is a tourist destination and there are a variety of accomodations that would certainly fit anyone's budget.

Still don't have plans this Summer? Well, if money is an issue, then just try out some of these cheap travel package deals I've found on the Internet.

Viator Promotional Code - Check out some of Viator.com's promo packages. My personal recommendation is the Venice Grand Canal Boat Tour which starts at $56.69. The tour includes a 70 minute afternoon motor boat ride of Venice, Sparkling Prosecco wine is served while you cruise, a local english speaking driver will guide you through the canals and you will learn the history of the buildings as you pass.

Rail Europe Promo Code - If you're in Europe and you want to travel using Eurostar, you can buy a rail pass now and receive a 25% credit on your next purchase. You can save up to 75% on your tickets. Your pass should be purchased between May 8th to June 30 to qualify for your next purchase which should be booked by December 20, 2009.

Hotels.com Coupon Code - I'm not sure if this is still available but you can get a 10% off on hotels.com (valid on your next booking) for bookings made between June 6th to June 8th. Coupon Code is: SDHOTEL6

So there. Hope you enjoy these travel deals.

Another Australian cruise ship was refused entry in New Celedonia after the crew reported that there were four to five people onboard who had flu-like symptoms. The Dawn Princess is nearing the end of its 13 day cruise and was on its final destination when New Celedonia authorities refused the almost 2000 passengers entry since there were reports that some of them had flu-like symptoms.

It seems authorities are being careful since the outbreak of the Swine Flu in Australia jumped because of cases of infection from people in a cruise ship. Swabs from the passengers were flown out of New Celedonia for testing and if they were confirmed cases, all of the crew and passengers will have to be quarantined.

The earlier outbreaks have dealt a blow on Australia's cruise industry.

Via: Yahoo News

Ah, Summer is upon us once again. For those who are not affected by the recession, they probably planned their Summer vacation months ago. However, for those of us who are affected by the recession and is thinking twice about our travels, I have one word for you: Coupons. Thanks to the Internet, coupons are no longer limited to clippings from newspapers. The World Wide Web has paved the way for online coupons as more and more establishments find their way online.

Travel websites such as Travelocity, Orbitz, etc, have thousands of promos and coupons on the Internet. In fact, just booking your hotel online could save you a lot since most hotels offer online only rates. So where to start? Well there's always Google. If you plan on booking your vacation with Travelocity, you can just type in "travelocity coupons" and you'll have instant results. Of course you may have to weed through a lot of junk but persistence is the key. You can also try Easy Coupon Search, and browse through their travel category. As I'm writing this, I've seen a $100 off a 3 night vacation in Canada from Travelocity. You can also get coupons for your car rentals on this website.

Of course, you can also use coupons on your day to day online shopping, not just to book your vacations. If you've finished your vacation and you want to send out a hardcopy of your pictures to your friends, you can use Easy Coupon Search's VistaPrint Promo Code to print out those pictures (maybe print them out as postcards).

Ah, coupons. A frugal person's best friend.

Okay, so life is totally unfair. First, the EU Parliament has decided to cut roaming charges for the benefit of the citizens of all EU member nations and now, UK customers are even more blessed as Vodafone decided to offer their roaming for free for Vodafone Passport users. Of course, not all good things last. The free roaming is only available all throughout Summer. But still getting free roaming for 3 months is WAAYY lot better especially since this is the season when most people are out of the country for their vacations.

Again, I wish other countries would follow Vodafone's example.

It's only a few weeks to go before summer. If you're affected by the Credit Crunch and don't have much money tucked away to plan a family vacation then why not try your luck and join family vacation hotel contest or promotions. A lot of hotels and travel agencies are offering promos which you can join and maybe you can even get a free family vacation. Here are some promos as well as travel coupons which you might enjoy. 

Free Hawaiin Trip - Just cast your vote on this site: ob.promo.eprize.com/onesmallvote/

Free $50 cash card - This is one of comfort inn hotel promotions. In case you're planning a business trip within the next 3 months, all you have to do is book 3 times and you get a $50 gift card so you can use it on your next vacation.

Travelocity coupon code - Use the coupon code: VENZA100 (valid until June 2) to get $100 off 7 or more nights booking.

Orbitz Coupon Code - Use the coupon code em7day to get 15% off selected hotels. You should book by May 24th and travel through August 13, 2009.

So I guess that's it--for now. If you have any more travel deals to add, feel free to leave a comment.