Travel Tips: All Pressure on Uncensored Traveler

Going eco-friendly on your trip? Drop by/visit NaturalTravels, the site that offers eco-tourism holidays ranging from …it will even make Bill McKibben, an environmentalist and a founder of 350.org, proud. Check out Green rooms, it does not get any greener than that.

If mainstream hotels of no interest to you and you’d prefer a bit of local sense, culture and comfort, go to LetsGo2, the site that offers packages with stays in boutique hotels like 60 Thompson in Soho, NYC.

60 Thompson is set in the heart of Manhattan's SoHo District, 60 Thompson is a classically understated, luxury-driven lifestyle hotel. The 100-room property, designed by famed SoHo-based designer Thomas O’Brien, has the highly acclaimed Kittichai restaurant, the stylish and cozy Thom Bar, and the breathtaking rooftop “guests- and members-only” lounge bar.

You might not be aware of the new trend that only a few people might “practice,” but it’s getting big and it is taking over the place of some other choices and preferences – the house-swap. Sites like craiglist.com, you might be surprised, can hook you up with a nice swap for a place in Paris or Rome or Barcelona or any other place – just make sure you put all the valuables away when you live your house. (btw, with the inauguration coming up in DC, many residents jumped on and put their apartments/houses on the "market," which could bring the cash flow anywhere from $300 to $6,000 for a few day stay.)

If you are going to visit the Big Apple over the holidays, AmericaAsYouLikeIt offers a “homey” solution to staying in the city – it is a guide into apartments to rent while visiting New York City.

Tired of cold weather already or the rain is starting to get on your nerves, sun seekers should check out audleytravel.com, and cazloyd.com for inspiring ideas on how to spend holidays under the sun.

For the fans of planning road trips in Europe, one should be aware of the tolls. European countries, for example, might be small, but the tolls might add up as much as to 100 Euros on just one road (based on my recent trip to Spain, we were surprised to find more than seven tolls on the way from Barcelona to Valencia. Luckily, we had the cash as most of the American cards are not accepted through a drive-through window.) Our un-preparedness left us with just enough money to have one paella and one potato bravas for dinner on the first night in Valencia. For information on all tolls go to AA.com.