Join Gary Bembridge from Tips For Travellers as he takes you to Florida and visits some of the highlights of the state.

In this podcast you will hear his daily thoughts, comments and tips that he recorded as he toured around the "Sunshine State". He was on an escorted tour run by Titan Travel from the United Kingdom, an experience that he had not undertaken before - as usually self plans, arranges and explores.

He takes a look at the pros, cons and observes what it is like to be on an escorted tour versus self exploring as well as talking about the highlights of Florida beyond the well-known theme parks in Orlando. On the trip he visited and speaks about:

• St Augustine (oldest town in the United States and major tourist centre).
• Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.
• Miami South Beach.
• Key West and the Florida Keys.
• Everglades, to go on an Air Boat looking for alligators.
• Cape Coral and the winter estates of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.
• Clearwater.

If you want to find out more about the tour, places visited and other content from the trip visit tipsfortravellers.com/titan-travel-florida

After listening to the podcast and have any thoughts please leave a comment on Tipsfortravellers.com/podcast, email me or leave a review on iTunes.

Subscribe (and leave a review) to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn Radio.

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Join me, Gary Bembridge from TipsForTravellers.com, as I take you to Tokyo in Japan. In the podcast I share observations, need-to-know about the city, history, overall advice and then tips on must-see and must-do sights and attractions.

In the show I cover the following must-see sights:

• Senso-Ji Temple in Asakusa.
• Tokyo SkyTree and Tokyo Tower.
• Shibuya.
• Ueno Park, including Tokyo National Museum.
• Ginza, including Sony Showroom, key department stores (Wako, Matsuya and Mitsukoshi and Yodobashi Akiba which is the largest electronics store.
• Imperial Palace Grounds.
• Kabuki-za.

Resources:

• SkyBus Tokyo Hop Bus.
• Official Tokyo Visitor Site: http://www.gotokyo.org/en/.
• Tokyo Metro: http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/
• DK Eyewitness Tokyo Top 10 Guide (USA Listeners: http://amzn.to/1ZCk5JM) (UK Listeners: http://amzn.to/1NpKiu5).

After listening to the podcast:

• Please leave a comment on Tipsfortravellers.com/podcast, email me or leave a review on iTunes.
• Subscribe (and leave a review) to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn Radio.
• Consider becoming a Podcast Patron and visit tipsfortravellers.com/patron.

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In this episode Gary Bembridge of TipsForTravellers.com, provides a historical overview, need-to-know facts as well as inspiration, advice and tips for visiting Nagasaki in Japan.

Nagasaki is best known for being the last city that was subject to a nuclear bomb. It happened on 9 August 1945 during WWII when the Americans dropped it, destroying most of the city and killing and injuring over 100,000 people. What fewer people know is that Pucci's famous opera "Madame Butterfly" was set in the city.

There is more to the city than just memorials and reminders of that event. It is a city that welcomed, and had long links, with the West even when Japan followed an isolation policy. I found it to be a pretty, welcoming city that has gorgeous parks, historical buildings and great museums. The podcast explores all of this. Must-see and Must-Do covered in the podcast:

• Atomic Bomb Museum.
• Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall.
• Atomic Bomb Hypocentre.
• Nagasaki Peace Park.
• One-legged Torii Gate.
• Mount Inasa Lookout.
• Glover Garden.
• Oura Catholic Church.
• Deijima.
• Kofukuji Temple.
• 25 Matyrs Memorial.

Resources:

• DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Japan (USA Listeners) (UK Listeners)
• Official Nagasaki Tourist site: http://travel.at-nagasaki.jp
• Discounts with Traveller Card: http://travel.at-nagasaki.jp/resources/2016/DiscountCard.pdf
• Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum: http://nagasakipeace.jp/index_e.html
• Nagasaki Peace Memorial Hall: http://www.peace-nagasaki.go.jp/english/index.html
• Mount Inasa: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4412.html
• Glover Garden: http://www.glover-garden.jp/foreign/english.html

This episode was supported by DK Eyewitness Travel Guides (USA listeners) (UK listeners)

• After listening to the podcast and have any thoughts please leave a comment on Tipsfortravellers.com/podcast, email me or leave a review on iTunes.
• Please subscribe (and leave a review) to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn Radio.
• Want to support the podcast? Consider becoming a Patron. Find out more at tipsfortravellers.com/patron

In this episode Gary Bembridge of TipsForTravellers.com, provides a historical overview, need-to-know facts as well as inspiration, advice and tips for visiting Hiroshima in Japan.

The city is best known as the city that the first atomic bomb was dropped on by the United States at 8:15 on 6 August 1945. While this is a focus for tourists visiting there is much more to see in this pretty city. The podcast covers the following must-see and must-do sights:

• Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, including the damaged Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall (closest surviving building to the epicentre) known as the "Atomic Dome" and Museum.
• Hiroshima-jo Castle.
• Museums including:
  • Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum (1968)
  • Hiroshima Museum of Art opened (1978)
  • Hiroshima City Museum of Modern Art (1989)
  • Mazda Museum
  • Hiroshima City Transport Museum
  • JMSDF (Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force) Kure Museum
  • The Kure Maritime Museum (The Yamato Museum)
• Shukkei-en Gardens.
• Miyajima.
• Bullet train to Kintai Bridge at Shin Iwakuni.

Resources:

• DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Japan (USA Listeners) (UK Listeners)
• Official Visit Hiroshima Visitor Site: http://visithiroshima.net
• Visit Miyajima Site: http://visit-miyajima-japan.com/en/
• Hiroshima Electric Railway: http://www.hiroden.co.jp/en/index.html

This episode was supported by DK Eyewitness Travel Guides (USA listeners) (UK listeners)

• After listening to the podcast and have any thoughts please leave a comment on Tipsfortravellers.com/podcast, email me or leave a review on iTunes.
• Please subscribe (and leave a review) to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn Radio.
• Want to support the podcast? Consider becoming a Patron. Find out more at tipsfortravellers.com/patron

In this episode Gary Bembridge of TipsForTravellers.com, provides a historical overview, need-to-know facts as well as inspiration, advice and tips for visiting Taipei Taiwan. This is a revisit to Taipei and has all new information and suggestions.

On my recent visit I came to appreciate the city more and found new and exciting areas and sights to explore. I was struck by its modernity and energy. Although there are not many western tourists, it is a big tourist destination for Asian visitors, but was welcoming and easy for English-speakers to explore. It has a fascinating and dramatic history when the government of China fled here with around 2 million refugees after losing the fight against the Communist uprising in 1949.

In the podcast hear about the must-see sights including:

• Taipei 101.
• Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, with the National Concert Hall and National Theatre in same park complex.
• Presidential Office Building.
• National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.
• Longshan Temple, Xingtian Temple and Dalongdong Baoan Temple.
• National Palace Museum.
• Taipei Zoo.
• Shinlin Night Market.
• Din Tai Fung Restaurant (my notes)

Resources:

• Taipei City Government site: http://english.gov.taipei
• Taipei Metro: http://english.metro.taipei
• You Bikes: https://taipei.youbike.com.tw/en/index.php

This episode was supported by DK Eyewitness Travel Guides (USA listeners) (UK listeners):

After listening to the podcast and have any thoughts please leave a comment on Tipsfortravellers.com/podcast, email me or leave a review on iTunes.

Subscribe (and leave a review) to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn Radio.

Want to support the podcast? Consider becoming a Patron. Find out more at tipsfortravellers.com/patron

In this episode Gary Bembridge of TipsForTravellers.com, provides a historical overview, need-to-know facts as well as inspiration, advice and tips for visiting La Antigua Guatemala.

Surrounded by three vast volcanos thousands of metres above sea level, is the remarkable city of La Antigua. It was the capital of Guatemala until a series of  earthquakes in the 1700s convinced the Spanish, who controlled the country, to abandon it and create a new one called Guatemala City. The huge partly-ruined Cathedrals and grand buildings lay exposed being reclaimed by nature until people started repopulating it. Today these magnificent structures are dotted around a quaint, colourful and fascinating city. Its significance led to it becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In the podcast hear about the must-see sights including:

• Town Square which includes old key governmental buildings like the Palace of the Captain's General (Palacios de Los Capitanes) and City Hall with the Antique Books and Weapons Museum.
• San Jose Cathedral dating back to 1680.
• Colonial Art Museum.
• The temple and convent of Santo Domingo which hosts the Pre-Columbian Art Museum, Archeology Museum, Silverware Museum, Modern Glass Museum, as well as Arts and Popular Crafts of Sacatepequez Museum.
• Capuchinas Convent.
• Santa Catalina's Arch.
• La Merced Church and Convent with gorgeous baroque facade.
• San Jeronimo and Antique Costume House with displays of indigenous Guatemalan costumes.
• The viewpoint at Hill of the Cross (or Cerro de la Cruz).
• Archbishop Palace Museum, San Juan deal Obispo.
• La Azotea Cultural Centre which houses three museums: K'ojourn House with Mayan instruments, Coffee Museum and a museum of regional costume and crafts.

Resources:

• Official Guatemala visitor site: http://www.visitguatemala.com
• Official Government travel advice for Guatemala: UK http://www.fco.gov.uk and USA http://www.travel.state.gov

This episode was supported by DK Eyewitness Travel Top 10 Guides

After listening to the podcast and have any thoughts please leave a comment on Tipsfortravellers.com/podcast, email me or leave a review on iTunes.

Subscribe (and leave a review) to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn Radio.

Want to support the podcast? Consider becoming a Patron. Find out more at tipsfortravellers.com/patron

In this episode of the Tips For Travellers podcast Gary Bembridge visits the historic city of Kyoto in Japan.

Kyoto is packed with 1,000s of temples and historic sites, many of which are UNESCO World Heritage sites. It is one of the few key cities in Japan spared major damage and destruction during World War II that wiped out much of Japan’s historical sites. As you will hear, it is an amazing experience and Gary highly recommends you visit it. However, unless you have days (or weeks) you cannot hope to scratch even the surface of what is available to see - and so making informed choices is key - hopefully this episode will help you.

In this podcast you will hear an overview of the history and must-know facts as well as general tips for travellers and the must-see and do things while there. Finally Gary will recommend and discuss the follow must-see things in Kyoto:

• Review the UNESCO lists and decide which of the 17  you really want to see. But Gary suggests:
  • Visit at least one Buddhist Temple like the spectacular Kinkaku-ji Temple (The Golden Pavilion).
  • Visit at least one Shinto Shrine like the Heian Shrine as it has spectacular gardens behind, even though not on the UNESCO list. For more http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3904.html. Alternatively, visit the more famous Shimogamo-jinja Shrine (family shrine of the Kamo clan, who inhabited this area before the transfer of the capital to Kyoto) or Kamigamo-jinja Shrine (One of the oldest shrines in Kyoto, dating back to the 7th century).
• Visit Nijo Castle. Built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo Period. After the Tokugawa Shogunate fell it was used as an imperial palace for a while before being donated to the city and opened up to the public as a historic site.
• Visit the old Imperial Palace area. The Kyoto Imperial Palace used to be the residence of Japan's Imperial Family until 1868, when the emperor and capital were moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. The palace grounds can be entered only on guided tours (in English or Japanese) and the podcast explains how to get on one of these.For more: http://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/english/index.html
• Dress up in a kimono. Lots of hire shops around the city.
• Explore the Geisha culture by going to an event, although it can be very expensive and so the podcast suggests some more affordable options. Kyoto is the heart of Japan’s geisha world. They are highly skilled entertainers who appear at high-end dinners, private parties and special events to add a special touch to the proceedings. They are not prostitutes but have trained for years in the traditional Japanese arts to become the perfect entertainers.

Resources and links referred to in the podcast:

• Official Tourist Site
• DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Japan (USA Listeners) (UK Listeners)
• The Art of the Geisha: Private Dinner in Kyoto by Viator
• Maiko Performance with Kaiseki Dinner in Kyoto

This episode was supported by DK Eyewitness Travel Top 10 Guides

After listening to the podcast and have any thoughts please leave a comment on Tipsfortravellers.com/podcast, email me or leave a review on iTunes.

Subscribe (and leave a review) to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn Radio.

Want to support the podcast? Consider becoming a Patron. Find out more at tipsfortravellers.com/patron

In this episode of the Tips For Travellers podcast Gary Bembridge visits Macau, close to Hong Kong, and the world's biggest gambling centre (having taken over from Las Vegas)>

In this podcast you will hear an overview of the history and must-know facts as well as general tips for travellers and the must-see and do things while there, including:

• Explore the Historic Centre of Macau, doing the self-guided “Footsteps into the Historic Centre”, “Crossroads of China and Portugal” and “Marriage of East and West in St Anthony’s Parish” walking tours.
• Visit the Macau Tower.
• Strolling around Old Taipa Village, doing the self-guided “Bygone days of Taipa Village” walking tour.
• Explore Coloane with the self-guided “Nostalgia in Coloane” tour.
• Visit Macau’s museums, including some unusual ones!
• Visit the Casino mega resorts. Some of the biggest in the world are here and see the City of Dreams “House of Dancing Water” show.
• Try Macanese cuisine, especially the famous Lord Stow’s egg tarts (based on the Portuguese “pasteis de nata”.

Resources and links referred to in the podcast:

• Official Macau Visitor site
• Step Out Self-guided walks
• TurboJet fast ferry site
• DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide Hong Kong USA Listeners UK Listeners

This episode was supported by DK Eyewitness Travel Top 10 Guides

After listening to the podcast and have any thoughts please leave a comment on Tipsfortravellers.com/podcast, email me or leave a review on iTunes.

Subscribe (and leave a review) to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn Radio.

Want to support the podcast? Consider becoming a Patron. Find out more at tipsfortravellers.com/patron

In this episode of the Tips For Travellers podcast Gary Bembridge visits Kennedy Space Center in Florida, close to Cape Canaveral.

In this podcast you will hear an overview of the history and must-know facts as well as general tips for travellers and the must-see and do things while there, including:

• Rocket Garden.
• IMAX show "A Journey into Space".
• "Up Close and Personal Tour".
• Apollo / Saturn V Center.
• Space Shuttle Atlantis.
• Astronaut Memorial.
• Heroes and Legends.
• The Space Shop.
• IMAX show on the Hubble Telescope.
• Mission to Mars.
• Astronaut Briefing.

Resources and links referred to in the podcast:

• DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Florida (UK listeners: http://amzn.to/1SFuPbx)
• KennedySpaceCenter.com
• International Space Station Information

This episode was supported by DK Eyewitness Travel Top 10 Guides

After listening to the podcast and have any thoughts please leave a comment on Tipsfortravellers.com/podcast, email me or leave a review on iTunes.

Subscribe (and leave a review) to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn Radio.

Want to support the podcast? Consider becoming a Patron. Find out more at tipsfortravellers.com/patron

In this episode of the Tips For Travellers podcast Gary

In this podcast you will hear an overview of the history,

Resources and links referred to in the

This episode was supported by DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: New Zealand

After listening to the podcast and have any thoughts please

Subscribe (and leave a review) to the podcast

Want to support the podcast? Consider becoming