San Antonio is one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. Perhaps best known for The Alamo, the city is also home to one of the least known big events in the country.

Each April, downtown San Antonio is overrun with all sorts of festivities. I am not using the term “all sorts” lightly here. There are nearly 100 separate events held between April 18th and 28th. At least 3 million people will take part in at least one of these parties. Texans like to brag about how big everything in their state is. Well, for once, they can back up their boasts.

Fiesta, as the event is called, started more than one hundred years ago. It began as a celebration to remember the Battle of The Alamo, but quickly became something bigger. Parades, food shows, and concerts have snowballed over the years, leading to the amazing array of events now held.

Should you visit during Fiesta? For sheer atmosphere and options, Fiesta is a good time to visit San Antonio. There will be crowds, but standing shoulder to shoulder and getting the occasional elbow (unintentional, mostly) is all part of the experience. People quite literally dance in the street as part of various parades, cultural shows, or as audience members of one of the many outdoor concerts. Some events are free, though many have a reasonable entrance fee.

San Antonio’s nightlife gets a little more festive during Fiesta. When people say that the party lasts for ten days, they mean 10 24-hour cycles, not simply 10 afternoons. Bars and restaurants try to keep the good times going indefinitely.

San Antonio has an especially wide selection of bed-and-breakfasts and cheap accommodation, even near downtown. Things fill up quickly during Fiesta, so visitors might have to search outside the city center to find a place to lay their heads. There are even some campground for those who really want to make this a budget experience.
Fiesta is not as well known as Mardi Gras. It’s a little tamer by comparison, but offers 10 times more variety.

A list of events can be found here.

This is a paid post for Domegos.com, but honestly, I wouldn’t mind giving this site praises without compensation. Domegos dot com is a web 2.0ish travel related site looking to turn the vacation rental industry upside down by allowing vacation home owners list their vacation rentals free in a feature rich, highly intuitive layout. Really, the concept isn’t too complicated, but it is very groud breaking for this industry because the leading vacation home rental websites thrive off the fees charged to listing owners.

Even with free vacation rentals listings, users of the site still get to utilize the norm features, like photos, maps, descriptions, etc. The interface gives off a great web 2.0 vibe, so all of the features of the site are easy to use, intuitive, and easy on the eyes/aesthetic. But not only are all the standard features included, they’re improved with the new web design practices that have become [mostly] common the past few years.

The most obvious advantage Domegos has over its competition is its interactive maps, which are a staple among 2.0 travel sites. The maps make it easy to find the ideal location for prospective renters, and will definitely benefit vacation home owners as well as there will be more transparency in the listings since prospective renters can see the true location of homes and their proximities to landmarks.

For comparison to the so called “market leader” of the online vacation rental industry, Domegos has a great chart comparing its features with those of the market leader.

I don’t mean to force my opinions down your throat..ideally anyways, but I think Domegos makes a great argument for itself as an online vacation home listing portal. With features that benefit renters (easy to use) and owners (FREE!), I’d have a hard time believing otherwise. But if Domegos gains some traction and doesn’t run out of funding, I think they’ll be a major player for years to come in the travel booking agency. So check out this budding, elite, free vacation rentals directory.

Amsterdam and get to stay in some of the most gorgeous Amsterdam hotels or the hotels in Rome but with finding good hotels in Amsterdam online you’re able to see the many places throughout Amsterdam.

As you may have noticed, I barely getting around to posting. I always seem to be swamped with school work and other little tasks, so naturally, my little side projects have suffered. I was in denial for this quite awhile, but recently decided neglecting this blog is terrible. Hence, I fortunately found a very good travel writer who will begin posting atleast once a week here.

The new writer, who we will refer to as “Josh” (because it’s his name), is an experienced traveler and travel blogger who will be able to offer great insights into budget travel and backpacking internationally. More specifically, he is an Asian travel tycoon with loads of travel experience in that hemisphere.

I think he’s going to do a great job. I will still post once and awhile, but I’m looking forward to operating in the background for Budget Globetrotting for awhile. I have some ideas and dreams of turning this blog into more of a portal/magazine type online property that would be easier for prospective travelers to navigate. My ideas are all over the place right now, but I will keep you up to date when I make a real plan.

In the meantime, stay tuned into this travel site as I turn a new page, and look forward to new and better travel blog posts when Josh starts blogging next week.

People who haven’t been to Amsterdam and other places in Europe are missing out on the Amsterdam hotels and Rome hotels and the great stay they offer. You can book hotels in Amsterdam online find many places Amsterdam to visit also.

I just discovered the best travel game since my old favorite Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. Carmen Sandiego is still quite possibly the best travel game ever created, but the TravelPod Traveler IQ challenge comes pretty close as far as I’m concerned.

The Travel IQ game gives players a picture of a destination, building, or monument at various levels, and participants must mark their location on the world map. Using a nifty scoring system that takes both time and your flag’s proximity to the actual location, players level up with various score points.

It’s really an easy, addicting, and entertaining online travel IQ / trivia game. Like almost everything nowadays, this game also comes with a Facebook application that would earn one of the top spots on my previous Best Travel Facebook Applications post.

On August 6th I’ll be hosting the Carnival of Cities, a blog carnival created by Home Turf Media. So if you have a travel related blog, write a post about a city you live in or are very familiar with. Then, simply, just submit it to me through BlogCarnival.com here and if it meets the guidelines I’ll include it in the carnival.

So basically, this blog carnival is a great way to gain exposure and links for your blog, and it’s a great community building activity. I look forward to receiving and reading your posts. If you’re interested, just read more about the guidelines and instructions that I linked to above.

I had an “Aha!” the other day, and I’ve been working feverishly on the new idea. Actually, the initial idea has actually grown into a possible plan that I am committed to. So what is this wonderful, travel related plan I have in mind?

(more…)