Big Stick

Traveling in a group? You are the holiday packagers dream! Imagine being able to offload bulk airline seats, rail passes and entertainment packages in one booking. A group traveling is a wanted commodity and because of this you can secure great deals for your group. But as always, beware of any hidden ‘extras’ such as cancellation policies and preferred partners when stepping outside the package. Be prepared to shop around for the best deal. 

Here are some tips for the traveling group on a budget:

1. Travel insurance can be bought through some companies where savings can be ten percent or more. A group usually consists of four or more. Contact a number of travel insurance agencies and compare quotes.

2. Pack as many people as you can into your hotel room (keeping it legal). The more heads in the room, the higher the number to divide the cost by.

3. Renting a car when traveling in a group of four is usually cheaper than buying travel passes – and more convenient.

4. Food, guidebooks, taxi fares can all be split between the group bringing costs down.

5. Rail passes for groups or pairs may find discount offers in some countries.

6. Some airlines offer discount rates to groups of ten or more traveling together.

7. Group package bookings that have everything included in the price will have all expenses covered so you won’t be surprised by any extra costs, apart from shopping!

8. Discount holiday packages for large groups of travelers are offered through a number of travel agencies. Sports fans may be able to travel to big events using one of these travel packages for much cheaper than organizing it on their own.

If you want to join a group tour so you don’t have to travel alone consider all the pros and cons. Will there be like-minded people? Is there any flexibility to the travel arrangements? If not, will this outweigh the savings you’ll make on joining the tour? Some travelers like the convenience of all the travel arrangements being made for them. Group tour operators will find the best fares and reputable places to stay in. This saves you the hassle but it may mean that some of the cultural experiences you want will have to be put aside for the relatively cheaper ride.

Music has become an integral part of our lives. Whatever the occasion, music can add a different dimension to it. Whether you are driving alone on a long stretch, or partying or even simply relaxing, music can be your perfect partner. Music videos go one step ahead of the conventional CDs in that they also play to our optical senses. This gives us a much more complete experience since you now have a person who is performing in front of you rather than just a voice playing back.

There are plenty of options available in music videos. You can choose from your titles available as VCDs and DVDs. However, thanks to the Internet, you can now access music videos online as well. To top it off, if you love music but don’t like spending a lot of money on CD’s or fee-based music download sites, you also have an option of accessing a music download service that offers you free music videos! These free music videos could be a trailer to a new release or a complete song.

Nowadays, even the record companies are uploading the videos of their artists to promote the CD sales. These include the sites from the Big Five i.e. Sony, EMI, BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. Then there are regular sites like yahoo (http://music.yahoo.com), msn(http://music.msn.com) or http://music.aol.cm etc. that offer free music videos on demand.

Most of these sites are very well organized and make your quest for a particular song easy. You can search by the name of the artist, the name of the album, the genre of the music or even top 100 music videos! The sites also have a ‘help’ section so if you are experiencing any problems with your search or any other technical difficulty, you have all the answers at the click of your mouse.

The sites also let you download of the latest playback software for free. There are also plenty of other sites like http://www.findvideos.com or http://www.artistdirect.com that compile music from various providers and make it accessible on their websites. These sites have titles from almost all the artists, covering all the genres.

So whether you are looking at checking out songs or albums before you actually go ahead and purchase it, or you need to play back some good music while you are surfing, there are plenty of free music video sites for help. So, play on!