noel – Page 21 – Transfercar Blog

The World’s Top 10 Most Dangerous Roads

We’ve traversed the earth to bring you ten of the most scary, interesting, beautiful and down right dangerous roads on the planet. Thanks to our research and the awesome powers of the internet you can relax and explore these places from the safety of your own couch. Enjoy the ride.

Zojila Pass, India

zojila Pass, India

If you can make this pass through the blustering winds and heavy snowfalls, we salute you. But watch out for the sheep! Even when the sun is shining on your curry-stuffed belly, the roads are ridiculously narrow with barrier-free steep drops. Consider some hard-core meditation (or medication) to keep you relaxed for this ride.

Source: http://bit.ly/1c6QLGB

Atlanterhavsveien (Atlantic Ocean Road), Norway

atlanterhavsveien

In Norway, known for its pickled Herring, this particular drive will have you rethinking dining before hitting the road. While it looks rather treacherous in bad weather conditions, Atlanterhavsveien is one of the most beautiful roads to travel in the world, with epic curves that can rival those of the top Scandinavian models.

Source: http://bit.ly/1zT4Txn

Podgorica–Kolašin, Montenegro

Podgorica–Kolašin, Montenegro

Say hello to Montenegro and to a white-knuckle ride of a lifetime while driving along the Podgorica–Kolašin road through the Morača Canyon! Riddled with countless cliff-side bends and tunnels, this road is basically out to get you, but if you survive you’ll be blown away by the beauty of the landscape that surrounds you. Good luck (you’ll need it)!

Source: http://bit.ly/1wBdrI5

Halsema Highway, Philippines

Halsema Highway, Philippines

Known as the highest of all highways in the Philippines, the Halsema Highway takes a whopping six hours to traverse so bring some light reading or some serious sleeping pills. Its bark is worse than its bite: it’s got a relatively low number of deaths considering its extreme altitude and zigzag design.

Source: http://bit.ly/1rbu6kO

Guoliang Tunnel, China

Guoliang Tunnel, China

Fancy a ride through a tunnel that looks like it was handmade?! Well we’ve got one for you. This beaute is a mere 16 feet tall and 13 feet wide, and was built by villagers in 1972. Many of the Guoliangers died during its five-year construction, and judging by the incline, can you guess how?

Source: http://bit.ly/1GLEXWm

Passo dello Stelvio, Italy

Passo dello Stelvio, Italy

We bet you’ll be saying a massive “Grazie” once you’ve made it to the other side of Italy’s Stelvio Pass! At 9045 feet, this road is the second highest paved mountain pass in the Alps, but it’s the most dangerous.

Source: http://bit.ly/1x12uhE

Dades Gorge Road, Morocco

Dades Gorge Road, Morocco

This snake-like road can be found up in the High Atlas Mountains at the edge of the Sahara Desert. You may be able to beat the heat of the Sahara but can you handle driving along the 1600 ft cliffs and weaving through 30 ft fissures?

Source: http://bit.ly/1ClIISG

Skippers Canyon, New Zealand

Said to be as scary as it is beautiful, this 22km long scenic gorge, just a short drive north of Queenstown is a mostly one-way, narrow route featuring epic vistas as well as neck-breaking drops of several hundred meters. Known as one of New Zealand’s most scenic roads, some rental car insurance companies don’t feel the same love as the Kiwis do and won’t cover you on this trip! If you have problems you can find a Public liability insurance online by clicking the link.

Source: http://bit.ly/1wcIjcK

James Dalton Highway, Alaska

James Dalton Highway, Alaska

This 414-mile gravel road heads straight through arctic tundra to the farthest north reaches of Alaska. It may look like a Winter Wonderland, but it’s not a road for the faint of heart, or those of you who cherish your car! As it’s the main supply route for the Prudhoe Bay oilfields,you’ll be sharing the road with mammoth tractor-trailers kicking up rocks. Kiss your windshields and headlights goodbye!

Source: http://bit.ly/1JFK3pw

The Highway of Death, Bolivia

The Highway of Death, Bolivia

Remember that song ‘Life is Highway’? Well, it really is when we’re talking about the La Paz ‘Highway of Death’ that leads from Bolivia into the Amazon. Formerly known as the ‘World’s Most Dangerous Road’, this death-defying 38 mile long trip comes with no misnomer: an estimated 200-300 unlucky travelers die annually attempting this infamous route.

Source: http://bit.ly/1E0pOTa

Need a rental car this summer, check out our home page to see our available vehicles – just promise us you wont take any of these routes!

Discvoer the Abel Tasman National Park

One of the most incredible spots in New Zealand is the Abel Tasman National Park which is located at the top of the South Island near Motueka and Takaka. Conveniently accessible by road, the Tasman Coast Track is just waiting for you to turn up in your Transfercar rental! Once you’ve got your free rental car from us, just grab your hiking boots and get ready to get amongst some of the most beautiful scenery in New Zealand!

The Abel Tasman National Park is New Zealand’s only coastal national park – and with its golden sandy beaches and clear turquoise water, it’s obvious why it’s one of the most popular Great Walks of New Zealand.

Walk this Way

The Abel Tasman Coast Track follows the coastline through lush native bush, over limestone cliffs and along golden sandy beaches. This is one of the Department of Conservation’s “Great Walks”. The 53km track can be walked in its entirety over three to five days, but smaller walks are on offer too! The Inland Track through the hilly centre of the park is most difficult, but if you’re fit enough then we recommend the challenge!

The Sea of Love

While most people come for the walk, there are plenty of water sports available for travellers. Sailing, boating and sea kayaking allow you to access some of the sheltered coves that the track bypasses. Tours and rentals can be arranged locally, or if you’re super keen, you can portage in your own canoes and kayaks. The golden sand beaches will call you to the shores to jump in the warm water and to lie back and relax. Listen to the beaches! They know what they’re talking about…

Love Shack, Baby

If you’re thinking about going whole hog and doing the 5 day trek, you can stay in one of the 8 huts in the park. Each hut comes with bunks, tables, benches, and heating but you’ll need to bring your own bedding and food. Ablution blocks have flush toilets and washbasins with cold water only and there aren’t any cooking facilities so make sure you bring food that’s easy to prepare. Pack some candles too as there’s no electricity! If you’d rather camp there are numerous campsites in the park. For more information you might want to check out the DOC website to book your walk and to check out the small fees that apply.

Safety Tips

When planning a big hike in New Zealand you’ve got to be prepared. There may not be any wild animals looking to make a meal out of you, but the weather is changeable.

Be sure to check out the high and low tide times as this will affect your travels.
Book accommodation before starting out on your hike.
Be sure to bring all the necessary gear for both dry and wet weather.

Now that you know what’s out there waiting for you, grab your free Transfercar rental and get acquainted with Mother Nature!

Hostels: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Fun Fact: Good hostels can be hard to come by. Places can be very hit or miss and often the reason a hostel is great has more to do with the location than anything else. When trying to pick a good hostel there are a few things to consider

Price

Budget travellers have a natural preference to go for the cheapest accommodation but that can sometimes bite back. Many cheap hostels are unclean, the showers are filthy and the pressure is terrible, and the place could be rife with bed bugs! The lower the price usually means the lower the cleanliness.

Check Out Time

The best hostels have 11 A.M. check out times and the excellent ones let you checkout at noon. Sleep is priceless on the road because you’ll rarely get enough of it, if you’re travelling correctly!

Safety

A good hostel comes with good lockers. Lockers in rooms are an absolute must and a safe at reception is a major draw-card. Building security has got to be taken seriously, so make sure you check out the level of security before you book.

Common Area

If your hostel doesn’t have a bar, leave. Kidding. But it should have a big common area. The best hostels have a place where travellers can hang out and socialize with each other. Common areas facilitate interaction and help solo-travellers have an easier time meeting people. They’re almost as important as…

..Staff

Oh man, is there anything worse than bad service at a hostel? The staff at a great hostel must be friendly, helpful and welcoming as well as knowledgeable about the city and its surroundings. The best hostels have natural people pleasers as staff, often fellow travellers themselves, or at least former ones, who can give good advice.

Fun Times

Even if the hostel you choose is clean and safe, you’re going to leave unsatisfied if it doesn’t provide a range of activities for guests. Tours and trips around the city, and special events at the hostel are great activities for fostering relationships between travellers. Parties and barbecues are an even better way for travellers to meet and greet each other, swapping stories of brews and burgers. Many good hostels have a games room for rainy days, ranging from the best free solitaire competitions they could come up with, to board games to pool tables.

If you’re pressed for time and can’t bother going through the multitude of hostel websites out there to check out individual facilities, you can just hop online at TripAdvisor where heaps of travellers leave honest, sometimes too honest, reviews of hostels from around the world. If you’re travelling in your free Transfercar rental, you might want to check if the hostel has secure parking. If you’re looking for a way to save money, check out our deals on free RVs and campervans, where the room is clean and comfortable! Just check out our routes and with a few simple clicks you’ve got yourself accommodation on wheels for free! You can’t beat that!

Editor’s Pick for Best Travel Blogs

Ok. There are literally tens of thousands, no, possibly millions of travel blogs out there in the World Wide Web that cater to every, and any, traveller’s tastes. Over the year, we’re going to publish our picks of the most popular travel blogs and the ones we believe are the most inspiring, too. If you come across some that you think we should have a look at then get in touch as we’d love to see them!

Young Adventuress is a darling blog geared toward adventure and slow travel. Liz Carlson began travelling at the age of 16 and 40 countries later she’s not showing any signs of slowing down! She starts her blog while trekking through the Andes before moving to Spain for two years, where she was teaching English and living the expat life before kinda getting sent packing by the government for over-staying on her visa! Yikes! She’s so hard-core! With over 25 countries under her belt, Liz is living in New Zealand and you can follow her (mis)adventures as she wanders, eats, and photographs with double exposure photography around the North and South Islands. Her posts on how to talk the talk with kiwi slang are well, sweet as, bro.

Bridges and Balloons Victoria and Steve, a writer and filmmaker from London packed up their home in 2012 and took their careers on the road with Outdoor Empire for as long as they can. They were recently in South America, but right now they could be just about anywhere! They happen to be serious vegetarians and their posts do a great job highlighting how to continue that lifestyle choice while travelling the globe. Their blog is composed of travel stories, photos, personal tales, interviews, curated content, and practical guides that are written in a way to inspire you to explore, dream, discover.

The Polar Route is a travel photography blog geared towards anyone with a hunger for seeing this incredible world through pictures. The best thing about this site is the daily photo which could be taken from anywhere in the world. No country seems too far for Ed Graham who has travelled almost everywhere and manages to produce professional style travel photography. This site is a great inspiration if you’re looking to travel but you’re not quite sure where you want to go yet.

Four Jandals: Cole and Adela, an adventurous traveling couple from New Zealand, started this blog when they began travelling together in 2009. They have great posts on how to travel as a couple and not break-up! Ha! Trust me, it happens! Their posts have an interesting take on locations, pushing you to experience all that there is available in certain locations. The idea for their blog began during an 18,000km road trip across Canada. Man, I bet if Transfercar had been there they would have saved some sweeeeet cash! Clearly they managed because the adventure continues! FYI: “Jandals” is kiwi slang for flip-flops or sandals.

Anywhere But Home is the creation of Naomi, a 20-something wanderer pursuing her travel dreams on a backpacker’s budget. In 2010, she left home in search of unique experiences and hasn’t looked back since, which is I guess why her blog is so aptly titled. She gets up to all kinds of no-good: she’s been shot at with live fireworks in Taiwan, tracked wild orang-utans and pygmy elephants in Borneo, worked with mummies in Peru and dropped plans to impulsively move to Georgia, the country. Her posts on Australia will have you packing faster than you can say “koala” so maybe book your Transfercar now for that epic Aussie road trip?!

Emma’s Travel Tales is a blog aimed at the under-30 traveller, but not necessarily a backpacker. Emma is a 22-year-old Scottish lass who has already been on over 10 cruises. Girl likes boats! Her quest is to see the world and to work wherever she can to satiate her wanderlust! She’s an inspiration for travellers who want to keep going and who work travel into their life plans.

Our Tasty Travels Brett Domue, a lifelong gypsy who has been traveling the world since 2004 created this blog to inspire everyone to quit their jobs and work overseas! He started in the Netherlands and Taiwan and then paired up with the lovely Erin De Santiago, an avid foodie and wine-lover, and together they search the world for tasty dishes. Yum! Erin just happens to be “Best of” Food and Drinks writer for CBS Sacramento and she regularly contributes to Examiner: Belize Travel Examiner, Luxury Hotels Examiner, International Travel Examiner, Culinary Travel Examiner, Islands Travel Examiner, and Worldwide Disney Theme Parks Examiner. She was previously the Topic Editor of Asian Cuisine and Old World Wine for Suite 101. I think she knows her food inside and out! Consider yourself warned: do not look at this blog while hungry. You will eat your computer.

Flora the Explorer is one cool chick who is out in the world looking for the wonderful weird and wacky! Over the years, adventurous Flora has studied Italian in Florence, literature in San Francisco, volunteered with villagers in Kenya and orphans in Lithuania, and worked with musicians in Iceland and celebrities in India. There is no stopping her! She’s eaten crickets in Thailand, slept in the deserts of Jordan, read nursery rhymes to numerous classes of Nepali children and navigated her way around America’s East Coast via the notorious Chinatown bus system. Oopf! If you’re looking to do the same, maybe grab a free rental car from us first?!

And there you have it, some of the finest blogs on the Web to date. Dirty secret: I wanted to put the Transfercar blog on there too, because we have posts on everything from budget travel tips to how to party in some of the great places in America, Australia and New Zealand. If you’re looking to explore any of those three countries sometime soon, have a look at our free rental car system. And then book!

Travel Apps: Making Travel Easy-Peasy

With Smart Phones and iPhones basically running the world, they make everything seem easier, even the complications of planning and booking a trip. While travel agents and DIY travel sites are still excellent and aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, we think it’s time to turn to our phones to check out what travel apps can do for you and your holiday. Have a look at some of the trending travel apps available. You just might find one that catches your eye. And if we’ve missed any get in touch and let us know which ones you prefer to use and we’ll add them to our next list. Promise!

FlightTrack
This sneaky app helps you check out the paths of heaps of international flights with detailed info on departure gates, delays and even pesky cancellations. If you’re looking forward to someone’s impending arrival, and you want to be there on time, this is the app for you.

WeatherPro
You know how weathermen always get it wrong? Well, with this intuitive app offering weather reports for over two million geographical locations, you’ll never be underprepared again! This app is so accurate that it can basically tell the future of weather. Get it and get it now.

JetLag Genie
How many remedies do you have up your sleeve for jetlag? Well guess what, smarty-pants? They don’t work! What does work is gradually altering your sleeping habits before your trip and this app will help you do that. Simply input your destination, dates and sleep schedule and it will create personalized alarm clocks to set your internal clock straight.

XE CurrencyIt’s all about the bling bling. This free app is the user friendly and it uses live currency rates making it super accurate. FYI: it’s been downloaded over 5 MILLION TIMES, so everyone you know already has it! Get it together!

Packing Pro
Yes, some people need packing help to this extent, and yes, there is an app for to help them. Just tell the app where you’re going and for how long and who with and it tells you what you need to bring in list form that you can tick off as you pack. Amazing.

Onavo
Ugh. Data roaming charges can be a kill buzz for any trip, and I know this first hand. With Onavo the amount of data required to perform everyday tasks is drastically decreased, so it won’t cost you an arm or a leg retrieving emails and posting selfies to Facebook. Can I tell you how it does this? No, no I can’t, but does it matter when it’s saving you money and doesn’t cost anything?!

Perfect World Clock
In a perfect world this clock would run it, but because the world is flawed, we turn to this app to access the time in hundreds of different cities the world over. Is it revolutionary? Not really, but you won’t be calling your mom and dad at 3am anymore so there’s that. Keep time zones at the touch of a screen by adding several clocks as home-screen savers.

TravelSafe Pro
This app is basically your lifesaver. A database of emergency service numbers for every country you’d want to visit, and a few you wouldn’t! And if you’re prone to losing stuff, and your mind in the process, there are embassy details if you “misplace” your passport.

WorldMate
If you have a personal assistant, then I hate you, I mean, fire them this instant because all you need is this app, and this app is all you need. Just forward your various confirmation emails for flights/hotels/hire cars/restaurant bookings etc. to [email protected] and the app generates an itemized itinerary. And it’s free. FREE.

Waze
This is where GPS navigation meets social networking. Just tap in your destination, or use the nifty speech recognition option if you’ve got busy hands, and other users submit traffic reports ensuring you the quickest route!

HopStop
This free app gives you the public transport information of over 68 of the world’s biggest, busiest metropolitan centres. So if you’re looking for the best Metro routes in Paris or you’re just looking to catch a bus in downtown Montreal, this app will give you a stop-by-stop itinerary making it less likely to get lost.

Pin Drop
There are two kinds of travellers: the psycho over-planners who devour all the guidebooks and those who just off and enjoy the spontaneity of travel on the fly. If you subscribe to the latter, this app is for you. It allows you to drop GPS pins onto a map when you come across something interesting, or browse user-made lists recommending the best places for shopping, dining and sleeping in town.

Foodspotting
Foodies rejoice! This app responds to your every gastronomic whim by giving you user-generated recommendations for the local area you’re travelling in. So if you’re in downtown Kiev looking for the best pierogies, have a scroll through Foodspotting and you’ll be on your way to cheesey-potatoey heaven in no time. And it’s free!

Better Translator Pro
Say hello to the highest rated translation app on Android. This app has more than 50 languages in text-to-text mode, and an impressive 11 that operate with the voice recognition feature. Who needs phrasebooks with apps like this?! Don’t expect immediate fluency, and learning a language while travelling is always a better choice, but this app is at least a start in finding your feet in countries where English isn’t centre stage.

I could go on and on as there are so many great travel apps out there these days, but you’ve got work to do exploring the list we have here. When you’re travelling in the States, Australia or New Zealand with your free Transfercar rental, these apps can give you a head-start on the trip of your dreams. With most of the best ones available for nothing, it just goes to show that the best things in life truly are free. Register with us today.

Milford Sound: The Eighth Wonder of the World

One of the best places to visit in New Zealand is the iconic Milford Sound. Located in the south west of New Zealand’s South Island, is Milford Sound, or Piopiotahi in Māori. Piopiotahi, is a fiord in the Fiordland National Park, which just happens to be a World Heritage site. In 2008 it was judged as the world’s top travel destination in an international survey hosted by TripAdvisor. New Zealand’s most popular tourist destination is has even been referred to as the “eighth Wonder of the World”! Thanks Mr Kipling, you’re not so bad yourself!

I’ve got to be honest with you; Milford Sound isn’t really a fiord. In fact, it’s a large ocean inlet which is wider than a fjord and bigger than a bay. Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s talk about the weather. Did you know that Milford Sound is the wettest place in New Zealand and one of the wettest places in the world? The annual rainfall is 6,813 mm on 182 days a year and has even been known to reach 250 mm during a single day, so pack an umbrella, or two! This amount of rain creates lots of temporary waterfalls and some major permanent ones too, and they’re quite the site to behold.

The beauty of this incredible landscape draws thousands of visitors every day, resulting in close to 1 million visitors in a year. Even with its faraway location and the long journey from the nearest cities like Queenstown and Te Anau, nothing deters the adventure-seeking tourists who travel to New Zealand to see majestic Milford. In fact, the Milford Road is one of the best parts of heading to Milford, and it’s often overlooked. Can’t you picture yourself in your free Transfercar rental car or campervan, travelling independently along this stunning alpine drive? The road is long and winding, so you’ve got be careful, even if we are covering you through Insurance Hero, mate! Along the way you can stop at various viewing points that offer spectacular scenery and short walks. The trip from Te Anau will take you roughly 2 hours, so fuel up before you hit the road.

The main reason why so many tourists flock to Milford Sound is for the Milford Track. The track can only be walked in one direction, and while it’s very well signposted and marked, some sections are steep and difficult to climb because of the mud. If you’re looking for a walk that’s not too challenging, the 4-day easy hike starts at the head of Lake Te Anau and ends at Sandfly point in the Sound. You’ll need to grab a boat from the Te Anau Downs – this should take an hour or so, but the view is incredible so no need to bring a book!

The best time for walking the track is between 28 October to 29 April and you’ve got to book in advance. Here’s a taster of what you can expect:

Day 1: The Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut Walk is a 5km walk that can be completed in under two hours. After a sweet cruise from Te Anau Downs, the walk takes you through a stunning beech forest along the banks of the Clinton River to the Clinton Hut where you and your friends, and many other travellers will spend the night.

Day 2: The Clinton Hut to Mintaro Hut walk ups the ante with a whopping 6 hour 16.5 km hike! Needless to say Day 1 was just a warm up! This gradual climb follows the river to Lake Mintaro at the base of Mackinnon Pass where you’ll spot the renowned Pompolona ice field. Take note of the shocking scale of the rock walls towering above.

Day 3: The Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut walk is another bigger where you’ll find yourself hiking 14km for roughly 7 hours. The climb takes you to Mackinnon Pass where you’ll get incredible views of Lake Mintaro and Clinton Canyon. After reaching the highest part at the Pass Shelter (1154 meters) you’ll drop down through a lush alpine garden, passing several waterfalls before arriving at the Quintin Shelter. I’m sorry to inform you that there are no actual dumplings at Dumpling Hut, unless you’re packing some in your bags. Not a bad idea…

Day 4: The Dumpling Hut to Sandfly Point walk is, wait for it, the last lag of your trip and it’s a monster at 18km. During this 6 hour walk you’ll follow the Arthur River to the historic Boatshed, Mackay Falls and Bell Rock. After a short boat ride from Sandfly Point, you’re at the end of your journey with world famous views of Milford Sound burned into your brain and filling up your SIM cards!

Think you’re up for the trip? You’re going to need a good level of fitness as you’re expected to walk up to 7 hours a day, depending on the weather conditions, and whilst carrying a 15kg backpack! There ain’t no Sherpas here! When packing for your trip make sure you bring the right clothing, gear and equipment and most importantly: FOOD. Food and drinks aren’t available for purchase on the walk (nope, no vending machines! It’s not Mount Fuji!), so be prepared and pack high protein, carb fuelling goodies to make it through the trip. Children under 10 aren’t allowed on the trip because the weather is so changeable and the terrain can be risky for young feet.

If I haven’t put you off the trip with a. the lack of dumplings and b. the enormity of the task, or c. the weather, then great! Start packing your bags and maybe hit the gym too to make sure you’re in the shape of your life. Then you need to register your free car through Transfercar, which you’ll be able to pick up in Queenstown, or if you’re looking for an even bigger trip, you can come through Christchurch. Take a look at what cars are available and be sure to book quick as they go fast! See you in Milford!