So we are confident about the number of people it takes to dance the tango, but how many people does it take to Samba? Referring to expert sources on the web, the answer is evidently two. So Samba is a two person dance as well as the Tango. If popular culture had been so inclined, the phrase could have been coined ‘It takes two to samba,’ though it lacks the same ring.

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To learn more about the Samba and the Tango it is recommended that you visit Brazil and Argentina respectively. While the internet can be a great ‘How to’ resource, when it comes to dancing the Samba, you really need to do it for yourself, and what better place to do that Rio de Janeiro, the exciting and lively coastal city in Brazil. Rio claims to have a musical soul and with beautiful beaches bumping up against this vibrant city, the samba is a popular activity day and night, all through the year. Visit Rio during Carnival and you are likely to experience a lifetimes worth of Samba in one week.

The Tango, however can best be explored in Buenos Aires, the vibrant capital of Argentina and home to arguably the best Tango dancers in the world. Buenos Aires has been dancing the Tango for over a hundred years, carefully molding it into the professional and powerful dance it is today. They dance so much Tango they’ve even declared a national “Tango Day” on December 11 where the whole country takes a day to really consider the special meaning and cultural significance behind this dance.

These neighboring countries are separated by the Iguazu River and Iguazu Falls, the most amazing waterfall in the world that is actually a collection of 275 individual falls. The powerful water of the Iguazu River cascading over scaling cliffs and enormous boulders is an immense and spiritual experience. The falls can be visited from both Argentina and Brazil offering very different and equally awesome perspectives.

If you’re like me maybe you are wondering if Samba dancers ever dance the Tango or Tango dancers every dance the Samba. Iguazu Falls would be a good place to go to find out because of it’s location on the border. Rio de Janeiro may be the suggested location for dancing the Samba and Buenos Aires for dancing the Tango, but one can’t help but wonder what people dance at Iguazu Falls. Perhaps some sort of Samba-Tango fusion, likely called the Tangba. Why not a vacation to find out?

I sped it up a little. xD Lyrics: I know a girl Whos obsessed with a guy She talks for hours and still tomorrow Shell call again And when he thinks that this could be the end She calls again At six in the morning She waits at the door He tells her to leave But still tomorrow shell be there again She wont let go (Chorus) Cant you just go somewhere on vacation I could book your flight and pack your bags if you want A one way ticket out of my life Watching you fly away I never liked you She doesnt care if he tries to ignore He runs away but still she follows Shell try again She likes to think shell get him in the end Yeah (Chorus) Cant you just go somewhere on vacation I could book your flight and pack your bags if you want A one way ticket out of my life Watching you fly away I never liked you, I never wanted you, I never liked you, I never wanted you Woah… (Chorus) Cant you just go somewhere on vacation I could book your flight and pack your bags if you want A one way ticket out of my life Watching you fly away I never liked you, I never wanted you, I never liked you, Im not in love with you (Note: I added the lyrics in the song and in the description for those who prefer either one or the other)
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Title: Travel: Pre and Post Internet.

By: The Nomad

Travel Pre Internet:

I’ve been travelling for over 40 years – by thumb in my early days, by boots in the Scouts, a Lambretta came next and then my first old banger followed by newer old bangers to the beaches of the Costa Brava.

My thumb, boots, bikes and bangers took me all over Europe and the UK before finding that a charter flight to Spain on an old ‘Connie’ could get me to the beaches and bars a lot quicker and allow more time to enjoy the local travel opportunities by horse and cart and the occasional bus and train.

‘Go West and Prosper’ seemed to be a good idea so instead of taking an 8 hour flight I took an 8 day transatlantic crossing from Tilbury to Montreal on the Stephan Batory of Polish Ocean Lines ensuring that jet lag did not trouble my travel plans. Some years later I crossed the pond again on a ship but this time it was 5 times bigger and I travelled in style on the QE2 and dined in the Queen’s Grill somewhat removed from my earlier experience. I highly recommend ocean voyages but cannot see myself on one of the modern cruise ships going from port to port with constant line-ups to get on and off to buy t-shirts. However, I have done 10 Windjammers and a Star Clipper cruise in the Caribbean which were all memorable (let’s hope Windjammer Barefoot Cruises recover from their woes). But I digress.

I had read that Canada is a spectacular country, from sea to shining sea, and my entrance into the St. Lawrence River to Montreal and then heading west in an old Econoline van from the Great Lakes, across the Prairies to the Rocky Mountains before ending up whale watching off of the Pacific Coast of Vancouver Island was a trip of wonder to a bloke from London. Today the scenery is still spectacular and the best way to go is still by road so rent or buy a car, motorhome or motorbike, take the train or tour bus but remember the maps, a fly rod, good boots and take your time.

My favorite part of Canada / USA for adventure travel has to be Northern BC / Alaska, to hike the Chilkoot Trail in the steps of the goldseekers of 1898. The Northwest Territories to canoe the Nahannie River and the Yukon to drive from Dawson City to Chicken, Alaska. If you like the outdoors and can put up with a few bugs, cast a fly and scale a few hills or drive on endless dirt roads sharing the space with moose, caribou, elk, bears and eagles, then these are the places to put on your list. The pleasures and experiences in driving to Inuvik on the Dempster Highway or to Prudhoe Bay on the Dalton Highway or even the Canol Road can only be felt by doing them. I would have mentioned the Alaska Highway but now it is an easy drive unlike the aforementioned.

Today the costs of driving these distances may mean that sharing the journey with others is required, but RVing or simply vanning and camping is a great way to see beyond the horizon. Some enroute adventures now need to be booked in advance whereas when I hiked Denali and the Chilkoot Pass it was just a case of turning up, registering with the local ranger office and heading on out. A little more forward planning is needed for today’s traveller and cost considerations of lengthy flights or drives have to somehow be countered with more careful planning. In the days of reasonable gas prices I would not even consider the driving or flying costs and have driven to Key West from the northwest coast, down the west coast to the Baja and to the west coast from New York. I once even flew my 1946 Fleet taildragger from the Pacific to the Atlantic and back using around 5 gallons an hour of avgas. Before the oil and credit crisis I drove from Rio de Janeiro to Lima, down to Tierra del Fuego and back to Rio covering over 15,000 miles of spectacular scenery and with no consideration about the cost of gas. South America should be on your itinerary too! Some other memorable drives that may now require a mortgage with the gas companies include London to The Nordkapp, Norway, Skippers Canyon in New Zealand and the loneliness of the far north of Australia and the amazing coast of Western Australia stopping by at Monkey Mia and Wave Rock.

We tend to forget that the real cost of travelling is often less today than over the 40 years of my travels. In 1977 my round-trip airfare from Canada to Australia cost over 00 in 1977 dollars so today it is far cheaper to fly, even with the airlines gouging for fuel, extra baggage, no service and no pleasure. The ‘Big Mac’ method of price comparison as developed by The Economist newspaper gives us a good gauge for most expenditures of today compared to yesterday but my 00 cost to get a private pilots licence in the 1970′s seems cheap by comparison to today, but obviously not when using this Big Mac principle. Other travel costs are also far cheaper today but this should not mean that travellers should disregard the many methods of saving costs that can then be put to extended or improved travel experiences

Travel Post-Internet:

In my 40 years of travel I have had to use travel agents to make even the simplest of reservations and buy tickets, not even thinking to ask them if they had “been there, done that?” It was just a case of there being no other options to buying travel. Now we have unlimited choices and can seek out better travel agents, better prices, better selections and information about anywhere in the world for our travels – without even leaving home.

The Internet now gives travellers ideas and options of Where to go, When to go, Why to go, What to do, Who to book with and How to save money and offset costs. We can search and find experts for every travel option. If we are comfortable with the Internet we no longer have to go to a travel agent to make reservations and buy tickets except to book with some of the larger travel companies that still produce glossy brochures and offer all inclusive packages or tours that only sell through the agency system. The Internet also allows those of us who are smart enough to know when to seek out a top travel agent with knowledge, experience and expertise (KEE skills) of destinations and activities about where to find them. There is no longer any need to only use our local agents when we can find one somewhere else in the world. When we do not need ‘the knowledge’ and can do it ourselves we simply surf the web so that we can book directly with tour and travel operators wherever we have decided to go.

Some travel agents operate their own tours, some are both wholesale and retail, some limit consumer selection by only selling their ‘preferred’ suppliers and some have professional consultants with years of experience invested in gaining knowledge, experience and expertise and are worth their weight in gold to the savvy traveller. Beware though, as some are also called destination specialists and some of these designations merely require the agent to take a rudimentary test offered by tourism offices, destination marketing groups or even tour operators and in my opinion can harm the reputation of the travel industry. A specialist is not necessarily an expert.

Travel is probably the most used commercial aspect of the Internet and if retail agents want to harness this exciting medium to offer ‘the knowledge’ and their ‘kee’ skills to a global audience, not just their local community, they must embrace the changes that are happening. Travellers now have the ability to seek answers to the 5 W’s of travel and the important ‘How to’ save money and offset costs by having information just a click away.

And then it occurred to me that even internet travel prices often include a commission element even when sold directly to the consumer. If we book directly with operators we should not have to pay full retail prices as we are doing for ourselves what a retail agent would normally do for us. A dilemma for the operator is that to show a both a retail and a cost price option could deter many agents from selling the services as travellers could use an agent for free advice and book directly with the operator to get a ‘net of commission’ price. Obviously this two tier pricing is not often available but travellers who do not need advice should also not be penalized by retail pricing. A new way had to be found and I think I have found it!

The need for fairer fare prices is why I developed the Top Travel Voucher program at The Top Travel Club and I even found a dot com for it. All travel selections on the site are at ‘net of commission’ prices for members who handle there own travel arrangements directly with the operators linked on the club website using our voucher program.

I am inviting travel operators from around the world to join this program, from B&B’s, Motels, Hotels, Luxury Lodges, Eco Resorts, Beach Resorts and Tour and Adventure Operators who want to promote their products and services to travellers who are comfortable with direct bookings and reservations.

I am also inviting Travel Agents with knowledge, experience and expertise of destinations and activities to showcase their skills to a global audience of travellers and to the members of this new travel club. I am leery of ‘specialist agents’ and only want experts to showcase their services.

This opportunity is available to the travel trade at no cost except for them to offer net, wholesale or outlet prices to club members and visitors to the website using top travel vouchers. I believe this program offers fairer fare prices to direct-booking travellers. The operator would normally be paying commission anyway but now travellers get the savings because they make their own arrangements.

The Top Travel Club opened in mid-April 2008 offering thousands of top travel vouchers for travel in over 70 countries with around 150 travel operators onboard. Every week we add more travel operators with more choices for members. Currently you can get savings on accommodations, adventure travel, boat charters, culinary tours, hike, bike and dive tours, auto and RV rentals fishing lodges and guides, safaris, vacation rentals, single travel, women only and dude ranches. Members get the vouchers free of charge by paying an annual membership fee and non-members can buy the vouchers on the internet at Top Travel Sites at deeply discounted prices to the face-value. The future growth will include restaurants, travel clothing, travel insurance and the opportunity to access air ticket consolidators who want to deal directly with consumers.

The way I have travelled and the way I see travel is that consumers should have unlimited access to every travel opportunity with the ability to do their own due diligence or to find a professional who can offer quality advice and services at fair prices, and to find all of this without needing endless hours of searching.

To find out more about the new way of cost offsets for travel please go to The Top Travel Club and my apologies for some of the spelling (traveller / traveler) but that is what I was taught. As long as we all understand the meaning, vive le difference!

Brazil remains as one of TGW’s main destinations and in 2008, the company opened an office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to offer its clients better service as well as have a presence in Brazil. “One of the keys to surviving in the travel industry during these times is offering something unique with excellent service at a good price. We started the company in 2004 with more of a focus on nightlife and a younger demographic, but we have evolved into a full service travel company that caters to everyone. Our focus is to offer a high quality Brazil vacation package and guarantee that our clients have a vacation of a lifetime”, says Arturo Perchemlian, TGW Co-Founder.

Rio de Janeiro is TGW’s most popular Brazil travel destination. Rio de Janeiro Travel Packages include airfare, accommodation, transfers, a half-day city tour and VIP nightlife services. “Our nightlife services are offered in Rio de Janeiro year-round and we customize the VIP Service on the client. We have relationships with the best nightspots in Rio, but if the client is not into the club/bar scene, we will arrange for the guide to take him/her to a nice restaurant, samba show, live music or a nice place with a more relaxed atmosphere”, adds Mr. Perchemlian.

The VIP Service and TGW’s expert advice is what sets TGW apart from any other company offering vacation packages to Brazil. It isn’t difficult to book a Brazil travel package online, but to have someone at the destination to show you a great time and offer you expert advice is key. Once you get to the destination, it also isn’t that difficult to find things to do during the day, but once the sun sets, you are lost and some areas can become a bit sketchy and unsafe.

Brazil has been growing year after year as one of the main travel destinations in Latin America (2nd in incoming tourism to Mexico). With the Brazil World Cup in 2014 and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is on pace to become the world’s top travel destination.  Even though Rio de Janeiro is TGW’s home base in Brazil and its main Brazil Travel Destination, it has expanded its package offering to include Buzios, Iguazu Falls, Amazon & Manaus Region, Salvador, and Florianopolis. The company also offers Brazil Travel Packages for special events, such as Brazilian Carnival, New Years in Rio de Janeiro and the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Sao Paulo.

The service aspect of the travel industry is essential. “In the past 4 years, we have been getting a ton of add-on requests to our Rio de Janeiro trips or even stand alone trips to other Brazil Travel destinations. We have teamed up with the best travel suppliers to offer high quality vacation packages that include hotel accommodations, transfers & tours anywhere in Brazil. Although the VIP nightlife aspect is not included in other destinations, we give nightlife recommendations and can even make restaurant reservations via our Rio de Janeiro office. Florianopolis is actually becoming one of the hottest party and jet-set destinations in the world and we will be expanding our nightlife service to that Brazil Travel destination,” adds Mr. Perchemlian.

Rio de Janeiro or “River of January” in English is Brazil’s 2nd largest and South America’s 3rd largest city. It is situated behind Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo. From the year 1763 up to the year 1822, it stood as Brazil’s capital city while under the Portuguese colony. It became an independent nation from the year 1822 up to the year 1960. Hence, from 1808 up to 1821 it was considered as the Portuguese Empire’s capital. It is also known as “A Cidade Maravilhosa” or “The Marvelous City” as its nickname.

Rio de Janeiro, or just Rio, is popular because of the vast natural settings, Samba and various other music as well as Carnival celebrations. There is also a wide array of tourist beaches like Ipanema and Copacabana paved with cream and black swirl-like pattern mosaic decorations or Pedra Portuguesa as it is most known for.

One of the most popular local attractions in Rio de Janeiro, apart from its unspoiled beaches, is the Christ the Redeemer or Cristo Redentor. It is Jesus Christ’s giant statue that lies on top of the Corcovado Mountain. Just recently, it was considered as part of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Other attractions include Sugarloaf Mountain’s cable cars or the Pao de Acucar, the Sambodromo, a permanent giant parade stand used during Carnivals and the Maracana Stadium deemed as the largest football stadium in the world.

Aside from all of these the Tijuca Forest or Floresta da Tijuca and the White Stone State Park or the Parque Estadual da Pedra Branca both the world’s largest as well as the 2nd largest urban forest also lies here in Rio de Janeiro. Going to other Brazilian cities is also no problem with the Galeao-Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport because it connects various international flights to Rio de Janeiro.

Here are some useful travel tips to Rio de Janeiro:

Money Exchange

When bringing and exchanging money in Rio, you can bring cash, traveler’s checks or credit cards. When bringing some cash, it is wise to put it inside a money belt and keep it there until you reach the hotel. Of course, it is also safer to book in a hotel that provides a safety deposit box inside your room.

Traveler’s checks are good but the exchange rate is always a problem. However, it is good to bring some for emergency purposes. Carrying debit or credit cards is also very convenient in Rio. The most widely accepted are Visa, AmEx, Diner’s and MasterCard. This is best when going on shopping sprees, dining outside and paying your hotel bills. If your credit card falls under the Cirrus system, you can also use it to withdraw some cash.

For visa card holders, you can withdraw from Banco Itau, Banco do Brasil and Brandesco. Thus, if ever you plan to withdraw at any of the ATM machines in Rio, it is in Portuguese so make sure you ask for help from bank personnel only. This means that if you will be exchanging your money, you will lose money because of the exchange rate. This makes the ATM’s Cirrus system as your best option since they use the same rate as the one you use back home.

In Rio, currencies apart from Euros or US dollars are not that good. It is best to just bring either of the two, particularly the US$ which consecutively gets the best rate.

The Portuguese Language

When going to Brazil, it is best to brush up on some Portuguese language. A quick course would do about basic conversation. It is also advisable to buy translations book. It might be handy in your trip.

Brazilian Currency

The currency in Brazil is called Real. They have the R$50, R$100, R$20, R$5, R$10, R$1 and R$2 bills. The exchange rate at current is R$3=US$1. There are also 2 varieties for every coin except for the coin R$1. The real can be divided in 100 centavos. These coins are handy for coffee, bus rides and gums.

Having a Visa

For Europeans, only a valid passport and return ticket is needed in order to enter Brazil. Upon entry, you also need to fill up an entry card, allowing you to stay for about 90 days. This will be attached to your passport. The other half is kept by immigration officials. Losing this will entail a delay in your departure.

For Canadians, Australians, US and New Zealand citizens, a visa is required. You can get this from your home country’s Brazilian embassy. Thus, make sure you also contact them prior to going to Brazil so that you are aware of the full entry requirements.

When you already have a tourist visa, you have the option of extending it for another 90 days. You only need to apply this at least 15 days prior to the expiration of the 1st one. However, you can only do this once. Afterwards, you need to leave the country and just reenter at another time.

Thus, for those who are from Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay as well as other neighboring countries, you only need a photo ID to enter Rio. For countries that require a visa, the requirements for a visa include a copy of your round trip ticket, your passport that should be valid for another 6 months, 1 colored or black and white passport size photo, show money, vaccination certificates and the visa application form from the Brazilian embassy or consulate.

Arriving in Rio at Christmas time may sound like the holiday you have always longed for, but only adequate planning and some key bookings made really early on in the year will ensure you get to truly enjoy those main festive days, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. Whatever your budget, your age or the number in your travel group, your time, money and opportunity will be wasted if you have to spend hours in travel agents or tourism offices once you are in Rio, trying to get from A to B.

If this is your first time in Rio city and you want to spend only 2 or 3 days taking in the “must see” tourists sights before heading off to famed festive resorts outside the city such as Búzios, Petrópolis or south along the Costa Verde to Paraty, then forward booked accommodation in all resorts and pre arranged transport to and from is vital. Pressure is always on accommodation in resort towns at this time of year, some bookings are made a year in advance, for peace of mind; don’t even think about chancing it once you get there. Unless you have driven the motorways in Rio or Sao Paulo like a local, hiring a rental car and driving to your out-of-Rio destination any time from mid December to late January is a crazy idea. Traffic gridlock (for hours, really) in unaccustomed Rio summer heat, getting lost because you can’t read those vital road signs is just so easy to do. Depending on your budget, a tour package with transfers included, with English speaking driver, or a taxi and bus ride with dictionary in hand, will get you there safer and faster.

Dress for the heat, the sun and the crowds appropriately. Carry at least a litre of bottled water with you when out walking locally and when travelling to and from your resort destination in buses or tourist vans. Keep your carry on bags, backpacks and last minute souvenirs to a minimum size and weight. There is never enough space for both you and your bags to be comfortable on board.

Finally, a word to the wise on the state of your stomach. With all that rich festive food and the heat, now is not the time to test the spicy street stalls, those glorious snacks from Bahia or the exotic fish dishes (moquecas) from Espírito Santo. Go easy on those caipirinhas!