Los Angeles, California is not just a fantasy but also a physical city. It is considered as a Mecca for film noir, beach bodies, face lifts, mind-numbing traffic, and shopping. It is attracting thousands of local and international tourists each year. Are you planning to visit the city soon? You need not allocate a huge budget to do so.

You can still possibly go to and enjoy Los Angeles even on a tight budget. For a start, you may book for a cheap airline ticket.  Ask travel agencies like FlyForLess.ca for any flight and even accommodation that will not directly hurt your pocket. Once you get to the city, you can observe the following tips.

* Try to obtain a hotel deal if you have not booked yet before flying to the city. You can find ideal weekend rates particularly from hotels located south of the city, which cater more to weekday business travellers.

* Know the city’s geography. The metropolitan area is a really huge place. It encompasses five counties. It may take you an entire day just to drive across the area from its north to its south. Thus, to save on time, effort, and money, it is advisable to carefully plan the trip to the city. Have a timetable and set dates and times before visiting any landmark or area.

* There are many other alternative airports in the city.  LAX - Los Angeles International Airport is the most popular and busiest. But it is also prone to more possible delays. Flights to the airport can be costly. Try booking flights going to other airports like John Wayne Airport in Orange County or local airports in Long Beach and Burbank.

* Know what Beverly Hills and Hollywood offer. Skip buying movie stars’ homes tours, which are usually overpriced. Do not instantly buy maps that are sold along the roadside. Be reminded that most of the interesting and trivial information about those are fictional. If you intend to see some stars, you may instead buy tickets as a member of a studio audience.

* Enjoy the beach. There is no denying that beaches simply typify the city in the minds of most people. If you do not like to go skinny dipping, you may just watch beach volleyball games as you stroll down the beach sidewalks along Hermosa Beach, Rendondo Beach, and Manhattan Beach. You don't need not buy tickets just to go there.

* Save on admissions. Are you going to attractions with hefty admission fees? You may first check out businesses that offer multiple attraction discount packages. Check such offers online if you need to save not just money but also time and effort.

* Lastly, know the weather. You have to be certain about what to expect before going out in the city. If it will rain, you might have to re-schedule an activity to check out other alternative options. This way, you can save time, effort, and of course money.

The human body works through a normal, regular body clock, but travelling can wreak havoc on this steady rhythm. This may cause general feelings of exhaustion, disorientation and irregular sleeping patterns, better known as jet lag. When your internal clock is unable to keep up with the changes of your external environment as you travel, your body will produce warning signs of a jet lag. Although the symptoms of a jet lag will clear up after a few days – and also as your body begins to adapt to your new surroundings – there are many effective ways for you to deal with an existing jet lag or lighten the occurrence of one before you take flight. Medications and therapy can help, but there are a few natural and proven-effective remedies that will get your internal bearings back in no time at all.

The Symptoms of Jet Lag

Since jet lag is a physical condition, its telltale signs are mostly physical-related. The most common symptoms are fatigue and weakness. Insomnia is also another clear sign of a full-blown jet lag. This is mainly due to your body’s inability to adjust to time zone changes, as you travel from one geographical location to another. Other symptoms of a jet lag include disrupted concentration, stomach complaints and urination and bowel movement problems. People with generally poor health may become more susceptible to illness during a jet lag.

How to Cope with Jet Lag – 5 Helpful Tips

These helpful tips can help you deal with an impending or existing jet lag better. Ample preparation also helps to mitigate the physical and emotional effects of jet lag. This will help you get the most out of your trip, whether you’re flying to Paris for the first time or have booked a cheap ticket from Fly for Less to Mexico.

Tip # 1 - Make some changes in your sleeping pattern.

This will help you become accustomed to the time zone of your travel destination faster, so you don’t have to suffer from disrupted sleep once you’re there. You can change your bedtime hour by sleeping an hour or two earlier or later, depending on where you are headed to. Also, adopt the new time zone hour in your watch the minute you step on the plane. Once you arrive at your destination, expose yourself to external environmental factors as soon as possible. The urge to while away in bed the entire day may overwhelm you, but the sooner you acclimatize yourself to the new time zone, the better it will be for your internal clock.

Tip # 2 - Load up on water.

Hydration can help speed up your body’s coping mechanism for jet lag. Drinking water is not only recommended before your flight; it is also best to keep yourself hydrated during the flight and right after you get off the plane. Also, don’t consume beverages that slow down hydration, like coffee, alcohol or tea. These caffeinated drinks also alter sleeping patterns, so load up only on water while travelling.

Tip # 3 - Go easy on sleeping meds.

Sleeping medications can help, but this synthetic way of forcing your body to rest cannot be helpful for the long-term. If you must take a sedative, make sure that you are capable of getting yourself off it before it becomes a habit.

Tip # 4 - Consider a stopover.

Long flights tend to produce the worst jet lag symptoms. A long flight without a stopover makes it almost impossible to adjust to a new time zone easily. You will also tend to feel more tired afterwards. Plan a stopover on flights that cover various time zones so you don’t feel as frazzled, even before you get to the travelling part of your trip.

Tip # 5 - Travel in comfortable wear.

Comfortable clothing help you rest better. Invest in the right clothes for your trip and make sure you dress according to the climate of your destination. Since it’s best to expose yourself to your new environment after arriving, make sure you have gotten enough rest during your flight – and you can’t possibly do this while wearing ill-fitting, uncomfortable clothes.

Dealing with the effects of a prolonged jet lag just when you’ve just arrived at your destination is definitely not fun. Get the best flight deals from Fly For Less and enjoy the rest of your trip by fighting off jet lag. With a few changes and lots of water, you don’t even have to rely on medications to cope effectively from jet lag!

by Pam Stellini

My recent visit to Orlando was intended to learn a little more about what the area had to offer Canadians and when our WestJet flight landed early on a Tuesday morning, it was the beginning of five days of unexpected pleasures in a city known more for its thematic treasures.

I didn’t need to be sold on Orlando. It was a destination I had shared enthusiastically with my children when they were young, and then again when they were teens. I had visited on an incentive trip and I had also hosted a team of Canadian travel agents. I once did a secret handshake with Pumba. I was familiar.

Relaxing at The Peabody Hotel

As guests of the Peabody Hotel we were privy to the volume of conference business this city hosts in the adjacent convention facility. With 1,641 rooms the hotel is the largest non-gaming four-star in the nation and it serves the business guest with flawless consideration.

Our evening started with a drink at the Rocks Lounge. If there is an example of this bar catering to a professional clientele it would be with the beverage menu. Rocks offers an expansive wine list and creative cocktails with ingredients that are more savoury than syrupy, including Serrano ham, peppers, cucumbers, watermelon, sage and dill.

Our dinner at Napa ,was described as ‘farm to fork freshness.’ Ingredients are grown locally by a number of farms in central Florida exclusively for the restaurant. Produce, such as kale is delivered within four hours of harvesting and served with distinction by staff as proud as if they had planted the gardens themselves.

Outdoor Adventure: Forever Florida

For past investors of “swampland in Florida” we checked out your real estate. It looks fine. In fact it is all part of the 4,700 acres of conservation area of Forever Florida where we partook in the Zipline and Coach safaris.

I opted not to take the Zipline, but regretted it once I saw the calibre of the facility, the training, and the guides. The brave ones who made aerial visits across the wetlands got to zip past the iconic resident who was apparently purring in anticipation of mating season. George is a 13’ gator and his bellowing sound caused ripples in his pond that could be seen from the height of the zipliners.

Once George was distracted by his view in the sky, the rest of us boarded the coach that travelled across nine ecosystems hoping to not be greeted as ‘meals on wheels.’ We came across stunning fauna, herds of cattle and sunning gators.

Outdoor Adventure: Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour

Winter Park feels like good manners, argyle sweaters and classic novels, and makes so much sense when you know that it is the location of the summer home of the late children’s television personality Mr. Rogers.

Our capable skipper navigated us through the calm waters and canals with compelling stories of the town’s origin. For a peaceful hour we passed manicured estates and historical properties sharing the tranquility on the lake with sailboats and students among palm trees and cypress and an unexpected garden of bamboo.

Outdoor Adventure: Boggy Creek Airboat Rides

Boggy Creek Airboat Rides began as the original airboat company in Central Florida with just one six-passenger airboat in 1994. At that time, it was unheard of to stay in the Orlando area and take an airboat ride.

The Florida Everglades in south Florida are known worldwide as the location to go out on an airboat tour. It took years, according to Boggy Creek’s Airboat Rides, to make visitors aware that the headwaters to the Florida Everglades actually start right in Orlando, and the chance to visit the "Real Florida" is only minutes from Orlando's attractions.

We boarded boats propelled by large fans that skim over inches of water to see the natural habitat of many bird species as well as the famed Florida ‘gators.

Culture: The Morse Museum

The most comprehensive collection of work by Louis Comfort Tiffany is housed in the Morse Museum.

The Tiffany collection includes the leaded glass windows and lamps the artist is known for, as well as jewellery, pottery, paintings and art glass all displayed in a building as captivating as its collection.

The Laurelton Hall exhibition includes many architectural features rescued from Tiffany’s Long Island home including his original marble terrace that looks out to the garden.

Entertainment: The Blue Man Group

If I told you that the evening ended with giggling people in the audience passing along toilet paper in long unbroken sheets over our heads to the people in front of us you might think our evening was silly.

Image the competence of the Blue Man Group whose performance before the TP came out made it feel okay for us to pass toilet paper. And we didn’t just pass it, we owned it.

Entertainment: Cirque du Soleil, La Nouba

It was my first Cirque du Soleil. I will have to be forgiven the chronic gasps I emitted throughout the performance. I marvelled at all the harmonies: the human forms linking and unlinking and the energy powered by the music; gravity being defied in juggling, inertia defied in cycling. Rope skipping was a momentous event.

After the show, another joy as we met ex-Montrealer Benoît Jutras, the Musical Director since 1998 responsible for composing the music and insuring its harmonious delivery technically in sync with movement from all levels of the stage.

Theme Park: Universal Studios, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

The place is magic; from imposing historical buildings; the steam engine train, the flying car wedged in a field with a simulated engine running you are captivated by the Harry Potter aura.

At the end of a long day of magic I highly recommend the refreshing supplement of a Butterbeer or pumpkin juice, both non alcoholic. Though after my first one I thought the people in the paintings of the Portrait Gallery were talking. It may have been my imagination.

Indoor Pleasure: The Spa at The Peabody

I had the purifying facial. I didn’t want to leave. My skin was so soft and I smelled so good and the treatment room was lovely and tranquil and my towels were heated. In a sophisticated place like the Peabody, they are too refined to ask you to leave. Of course I did leave, but only after I followed a woman who prepared me a delightful beverage infused with lemon.

Shopping: Premium Outlet Shopping

There are 150 stores at this outdoor shopping centre. I highly recommend a map and a plan. I would also encourage a zigzag pattern and a speed of increasing intensity, because just when you think you have hit all of the stores you have wanted to, you will come across a new desire.

Getting there

And remember folks, WestJet, Air Canada, Sunwing and Air Transat all fly to Orlando from various Canadian gateways. Be sure to check out the cheap flights to Orlando that make amazing vacations possible!

Reprinted with permission from Travel Industry Today

Frequent travelling and staying in hotels may possibly lead to unwanted weight gain. That is because a traveller seldom gets a good workout when travelling. The hotel may not offer access to a gym for its visitors. It does not help that sumptuous meals and refreshing beverages are constantly offered.

You don’t need to worry! If you are really determined to sweat out those extra calories you took in, you can easily perform simple exercise routines that you can even do inside your room. Hotel rooms may not be spacious enough but you can still be creative and resourceful to work up a sweat and at the same time burn off the added calories.

Even if you travel frequently and stay longer in hotels, you can still maintain your fitness. Getting in shape can be possible if you can allocate only about 20 minutes each day for working out. Here is a simple hotel room workout for busy travellers like you.

Warming up

A warm up is necessary because it raises the heart rate up. Muscles will loosen up by doing so. Your training instructor may have already warned you not to immediately proceed to your workout routines because you may possibly incur muscle injury. Here is a simple warm up activity to prepare your muscles for the quick hotel room workout.

• Do jumping jacks for a minute. Do several sets, each taking at least 30 seconds of rest in between.
  
  
• To make this simple activity more challenging, put pillows under your bare feet.
  
  
• For a more difficult burn, do jumping jacks just for 10 seconds and double pace in another 10 seconds then go to slower regular pace. Perform this for about 60 seconds.

Whole-body workout

When travelling and within your hotel room, you may not have enough time to work out your entire body. This routine may take about 5 minutes to 10 minutes to perform. It is very simple. Just do several sets of pushups. You may be surprised how that exercise can utilize numerous muscles in your body.

• Do three sets of pushups with 10 repetitions. Take 30 seconds just between a set of eight. After a minute, do a final set consisting of six repetitions. Modify the intensity if you need more challenge.
  
  
• Try doing more repetitions (15, 12, 8). You may do additional based on your strength.
  
  
• If you want a real workout, try to do up to 300 pushups within the time frame.
  

Squats and cardio

Do not forget to exercise your lower body. Squats can be effective in balancing and building resistance for the entire body. Just about several minutes of the activity can do wonders. By increasing frequency and speed, the task can also be an effective cardiovascular routine.

• Do single leg lunges. You may opt for 12, 10, and 8 repetitions each set.
  
  
• Increase workload by performing the sets for 30 seconds straight.
  
  
• If you are watching TV while working out, do squats only in between commercial breaks.
  
  

Do not forget to tone down and relax after completing the 20-minute workout. Stretching is very important as it can help relax and bring back normal blood flow to your muscles. Just as the warm up is important, final stretching is also necessary.