When a person hears the phrase “travel guides” two things may come to mind. The first thing may be different types of brochures that outline specific destinations. The other type of travel guide that comes to mind is an actual person who leads a group while on vacation.

The first type of travel guides are brochures, pamphlets, books and other reading material that gives a traveler a very good idea about a certain destination. They will often include such information such as where hotels, restaurants and other facilities used by people traveling are located. They will also give information about these places including their ratings and even prices. Along with prices, travel guides can also be helpful for people who need or want to travel on a budget as they can recommend the best places to go to get the best deals. For people who know where they want or need to go, but have no idea what to do once there, travel guides are perfect for listing the attractions and sites available in that location. There are many types available, which are geared for certain types of travel. Some travel guides may focus on one aspect of a location such as information for families, where other travel guides may focus on information that a person going on business would find most useful. These travel guides can be found in many different places.

For people that have ample time to prepare for their trip, two good sources are the travel and tourism office for the desired destination. By contacting this office, they can give you a package of information all relating to their location. They may even include some coupons. For those that are on the internet frequently, the phone numbers and even email and website address can all be found online with a simple search. Another good source for those who are online is by simply searching using the words “travel guides.” There are many sites available to choose from that offer online travel guides which can be printed up, or there are many guides which can also be ordered and usually for free.

The other type of travel guide is actual people hired to take either individuals or groups of people once at the destination and show them around, taking them to the most popular sites and attractions. While those traveling within their own country do not generally need this service, it may be a valuable service to those traveling outside of their country. It can be reassuring to know there is someone with you who knows about the country and the best places to visit.

Travel guides, whether paper or a person is a great source of information when planning a trip. However, along with these guides a person should also consider having available a map. While most travel guides do include some type of map, having other sources of maps such as a road map will make the trip even more enjoyable since the more maps are used, the less likely a person will find himself or herself lost, which can make an enjoyable trip turn bad. Using the combination of travel guides and maps is the best way to make a good trip great!

Image via WikipediaAbout the Country

Cyprus is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea. It is inhabited with mountains on the north and south and the south coast is covered with plains. The temperatures are really hot indicating Mediterranean climate. Winters are cooler. Nicosia is the capital city of Cyprus. The currency used here is Cypriot Pound.

Culture

Greek, English and Turkish are the languages spoken here. There is a mixed culture of Greek and Middle East. The locals are very friendly and welcome outsiders with an open heart and make them feel at home by offering them with something to drink. To greet someone a handshake will do. It is customary to offer the guest a small gift when invited for dinner. One can dress casually, but the swimsuits must be confined to the beaches only. Social functions call for formal dressing.

Site Seeing

The country is full of vineyards, 12th century buildings, orchards and monasteries. Be careful when photographing outside. It is forbidden in military areas and special permission must be taken for taking pictures in places like museums and art galleries. Most of them do not allow flash photography. Taxis can be hired to move around the big towns in Cyprus, which charge according the government regulated meters. Tipping the drivers is customary.

Electricity

240 V, 50 Hz

Getting There

Port of Famagusta at Ammochostos and Port of Kyrenia, and airport of Ercan, have been declared as illegal ‘ports of entry’, so check it out while planning to get there.

The national airline is Cyprus Airways. It connects most of the major cities of Europe. Other forty airlines, too, serve at the airport of Larnaca, which are 5 km away from Larnaka and 50km away from Nicosia. Taxis can be hired to reach any destination from there as there is lack of buses and trains services at the airport. The other services that are offered at this airport is duty-free shops, bank, tourism and hotels information, restaurants, car hire, post office and reservation office. The other airport, Pafos, is 15km away from the city and it takes about 35 minutes to reach the city from the airport. It provides the same facilities like the Larnaca airport.

The major ports of Cyprus are the Limassol port and Larnaca port which connect other ports of Middle East and Greek. Not only ferry services are provided here, even cruise services are provided here.

Cyprus Island is not connected by roads to other countries, but roads run across Cyprus connecting all the cities and villages. Buses run on roads except on Sunday but they run late in the mid-night during summers. Tourists can get on to rural buses to surf through the remote villages, but they are very slow. If planning to hire car, advanced booking is recommended, especially in summer as the booking is full most of the times. Do remember to carry a National driving license or International driving permit.

Duty Free Items

1. 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco
2. 1l of spirits (over 22 per cent volume) or 2l of fortified wine or sparkling wine
3. 2l of still wine; 50g of perfume and 250ml of eau de toilette
4. 800 cigarettes or 200 cigars or 1kg of tobacco
5. 10l of spirits, 20l of fortified wine, 90l wine, 110l beer

Most of the food items and items relating to agriculture are prohibited. Explosives and fire arms are a strict no-no.

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It is no surprise; tourism has become an extremely popular industry. There are more people traveling then ever before, more often, and they are traveling further and further away from home. As tourism becomes more popular, more and more companies are associated with tourism. To prove this, all one has to do is type in the word “tourism” while on the internet to see how popular it really is.

There are several fairly new types of businesses that help people with their travel needs. These can be found online as people try to search for the cheapest way to travel. This way of making travel plans has gained in popularity over several years, but is still relatively new compared with how long tourism has been around.

Another industry within tourism is travel agencies, which help people to plan their trips, either for business or for pleasure. While these agencies are not new, their capabilities and information may be, as they continue to change with the new additions in the business.

Then there are those businesses that are not new, in fact they are as old as travel itself. These businesses produce maps. While maps have certainly changed over the years, in order to keep up with new technology, they have always been a constant with the travel and tourism industry.

People love to travel, they love to experience new places, and now that it has become more affordable compared to decades earlier, and it is more popular then ever. No matter how popular it gets, and no matter how many things change in the tourism industry, travel maps will always be in the center.

Every business that deals with travel and tourism will have maps available to their clients. Each map may be very different from one another and vary greatly in the information they provide, but they are all forms of maps intended to help the person who is traveling.

Tourism is exciting and can be educational. The best way to make the most of any type of travel is to become familiar with maps, and when they are given, it is always a good idea to study them.

Many people will collect maps and then later decide to travel to a particular destination based on the information contained on the map.
As the travel and tourism industry has grown, so have the variety and means available for obtaining maps. Where as just a short time ago internet maps were unheard of, now they are a very popular resource for travelers. There is also new technology with maps that allow people to use satellite type maps, eliminating the need for more traditional paper maps.

Tourism is exciting as well as educational, depending on the places traveled. The best way to make the most of any type of travel is to become familiar with maps, and when they are given, it is always a good idea to study them, mark them, and know where you want to go and what you will do upon arrival. These things will make the difference between an enjoyable or stressful trip.

Children going to school are usually introduced to an atlas when studying geography. They find out much about the world through the use of these types of maps. As the children become adults and start to travel, they may rely more on road maps and city maps to give them the information they need while traveling.

There are several differences between a road map and an Atlas, and each one serves their own purposes. A road map is a detailed map that shows most roads available to travel on in any particular location. Along with the roads, they often show items that would be of use to people traveling by automobile, such as rest stops and scenic locations. They can also tell a person traveling how far it is from one point to the next. These road maps either can be found for individual places, such as a state, or can be found in a book that includes maps of all fifty states.

An Atlas, like a road map is a book of maps. However, an atlas usually contains maps for many parts of the world, not just the United States. They are meant to give a person a broader understanding and perception of the world, not just the roads within certain destinations. An atlas also gives detail about locations such as the population and climate for a particular area. An atlas will usually also tell the time zone of a particular location. This information may not be of interest to some people planning a trip, but for others it is very useful to know, especially those traveling to more then one location, the time zone information would be particularly useful to know. By looking at an atlas, a person can also find out information about cities and towns, not just where they are located.

For those interested in owning an atlas, either in preparation for an upcoming trip, or just for the educational benefits of studying one, there are several places to consider looking. The first place, which may be the most convenient for people is online. There are hundreds of websites that sell a wide variety of atlases. They can be purchased both used and new and there is a large price range depending on the type of atlas bought. Another good place to find and purchase is at an office supply store. There a person can find an atlas similar to those used in schools and other varieties as well.

While an atlas is generally in paper form, there are also forms available on CD Rom, perfect for those who spend a lot of time on the internet or computer.

Travel maps come in a wide variety of styles. It is up to any person planning a trip, or just wanting to know more about places in general, to decide which information they are seeking and the best source for finding their answers. While road maps and atlases may contain some of the same information, it is clear that they are also unique and a wise person would want to search out the information contained on both of these types of maps.

About the city

The crowd is attracted to sparkling ski slopes of the Alps, sunlit vineyards and sun-baked beaches of this beautiful country. France is a country which draws more tourists than any other country. It is easy to see why this is the case given France’s great reputation for fine wines, good food, high fashion and relaxed lifestyle. But while France is undoubtedly a place to eat and drink till your heart is content, there’s much more to this fascinating country than only cutting-edge cuisines. Spring is the best time to be here, and those interested in winter sports can drop at the Alps and Pyrenees with some polar gear. The summers are very hot and winters are moderate. An all-weather coat and pair of comfortable shoes are a must. Women, especially, should carry cocktail dresses as some of the restaurants ask for it. When visiting any religious site, refrain from wearing sleeveless shirt and shorts, as they are disliked at such places.

Culture

English is widely spoken here, although French is the official language. Handshaking is customary greeting and women should be kissed on both cheeks and should be addressed as Monsieur or Madame. French people are popularly known for their like for stylish sportswear and of course perfumes. Nudism is allowed on some beaches only. Social functions, fine restaurants, and clubs call for more formal dressing. When at a formal dinner, wait till the host gestures to start the dinner. Smoking is banned in public places.

Site Seeing

Paris, the city of love, is a massive city with many attractions in reachable distance thanks to thehighly efficient public transport system. It boasts of more than 80 museums and 200 arts galleries. A trip to Disney land and the magnificent Eiffel tower will make the trip worthwhile.

The attractive tourists spots are the Arc de triomphe which spans over the tomb of an unknown soldier, the forbidding gothic architecture of the Notre Dame cathedral, the picturesque Sacre Coeur, to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the Moulin Rouge and boat tours along the Seine. Get the Carte Musees-Monuments pass, which gives access to 70 monuments and museums.

Shopping

Although service tax is included in the bill, a humble tip won’t cost much. An extra dollar can be given as tip to the waiter. A tip of $2 can be left for the bus drivers.

Electricity

220-volt, 50-cycle AC current.

Getting There

The national airline that operates here is Air France. Many low-cost airlines, too, provide services from UK. Paris-Charles de Gaulle also known as Roissy-Charles de Gaulle is the major airport of France, which is 23km away from the city. Coaches, taxis, limousines services are provided at the airport. The railway facility provided by the airport, claims to reach all the terminals within eight minutes. These trains run 24 hours. The other airports that offer flight services are Paris-Orly, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice, Lyon and Toulouse.

Ferry and cruise trips can be made from ports such as Atlantic, North Sea, Mediterranean, and Havre.

Duty Free Items

1. 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 100 cigarillos or 250g of tobacco
2. 1liter of spirits over 22 per cent or 2liter of alcoholic beverage up to 22 per cent
3. 2liter of wine
4. 50g of perfume and 250ml of eau de toilette
5. 500g of coffee or 200g of coffee extract
6. 100g of tea or 40g of tea extract

Food and agricultural products should be avoided.