Year: 2016

Travel to Bethlehem from Jerusalem and What to See

When you arrive in Israel, one of the questions you will be asked at customs is “will you be visiting any Palestinian territories?” Your obvious answer would have to be “no”, if you plan on visiting Bethlehem.

Why would you even want to go to Bethlehem? Whether you are religious or not, you probably have heard of Jesus Christ at some point in your life. Regardless of your beliefs, you have to admit he definitely has one of the biggest religious significance in the world.

According to many historical sources, the Church of Nativity is the exact birthplace of Jesus Christ. It is also a popular pilgrimage spot for many tourists across the globe. Many individuals would follow the exact journey that Mary and Joseph took from Damascus gate in Old Jerusalem, all the way to the Church of Nativity.

So how do you reach this world famous UNESCO site if the Israeli government doesn’t want you entering Palestinian territory?

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When Considering Niche Ideas, Don’t Forget the SEO!

There is a lot of talk in the blogging circuit on finding the right niche idea, and there are any number of analyses out there as to why niche building is important.

We thoroughly agree with this point, and rather than rewrite the same article a thousand times over (a huge pet peeve of mine), we want to look at niche building a different way.

You see, everyone looks at niche website building as a way to stand out from the crowd and capture an audience- which is true. But we also look at it from a completely different perspective. We look at it as our ability to create content that is 100% relevant to our niche, such that users (and Google) can quickly understand how all of our posts are connected.

If you pick your niche appropriately, a wealth of traffic is available. Today we're going to visually show why we think that is while using our travel blogs as an example.

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Onsen Experience – Bathing With 20 Japanese Men

The Japanese onsen is something reported by many travel sites as a cant miss experience.  Many of the more popular spas, powered by incredibly hot spring water, are located in the mountainous regions of the country.  Because of this they are highly regarded not just for their therapeutic values, but for the beauty which the onsen is built around.

To me, this sounded like a great experience and something I absolutely had to try.  So when I made the trip north to check out the Nikko temple shortly after my arrival to the country, I knew I had to check one out.

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Iceland Ring Road – Tips and Advice for Your Driving Itinerary

When it comes to an Iceland road trip, you would think that driving around the Ring Road would be a simple thing to plan. The country is an island, the Ring Road is the only road that goes around it in its entirety, and generally speaking everyone goes on the same tried-and-true path around the country.

All of these things are true, except for that last point.

While it is true that all Ring Road travelers do circle the country, the amount of time you spend on the Ring Road will vary. You could blast through it all in about five days without leaving the Ring Road at all. You could add on one detour (perhaps our favorite detour to Borgarfjordur Eystri to see the puffins) if you have limited time. Or you could spend up to a month exploring all the back roads and highlands- all while only barely touching the Ring Road at all!

As such, planning your dream itinerary will end up being a lot more difficult than you might have previously thought and we have three important tips to keep in mind when planning a visit based on our recent experience in Iceland.

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