Rejoice, all: It’s spring break season

We’re inching closer to everyone’s favorite time of the year: Spring vacation season. And while we’re as keen as the next person to take advantage of the seasonal break and pile out of Cairo for a few days, don’t expect our thoughts to automatically drift to a villa on the Red Sea when we talk about vacation time (charming though those undoubtedly are). Instead, we’re casting our nets wide and taking a look at vacation destinations and spring festivities both familiar and obscure (some really, really obscure), as well as taking the chance to ask a few of life’s big questions, like why we travel in the first place.

With this talk of summer and travel, is it a good idea to opt for an “unmissable” destination? If it seems a wee bit sadistic to talk about the evils of tourism when our own beleaguered tourist economy is just starting to reemerge, bear with us — we have a point. The Guardian reports that must-see cities like Venice, Florence, and Paris are starting to groan under the weight of ‘city break’ tourism: Short trips that hit the highlights with ever-growing hordes of sheepy tourists which strain infrastructure and bombard residential space through apps like Airbnb. Adding insult to injury, the World Economic Forum found that “as little as 5-10% of the money tourists spend remains in the destinations they visit.” The result is that residents no longer find the pros of tourism to outweigh the cons.

Cue the rise of sustainable tourism: Dissatisfaction puts local authorities in a tight spot as they struggle to grow a profitable industry without alienating residents. So they are working to encourage repeat visitors by diversifying tourism offerings, a hugely important pivot. While sustainable tourism has been slow to gather steam, efforts to broaden the market are apparent. Specialist travel such as women’s group tours are starting to take off according to the NYT, journeying to destinations as far-flung as Norway (for polar bear cruises) and Hawaii (for meditation).

Our planet is full of weird, wonderful, and generally crazy stuff. Take the above image for example. This isn’t the product of some psilocybin-addled sci-fi graphic designer, but a bird’s-eye view of Icelandic glacial pools. Such psychedelic and otherworldly vistas can still seem foreign to us, despite the fact that they exist right here on Earth.

So get out there and explore it: Traveling more makes us all more self-aware, creative and culturally-conscious, Jonah Lehrer writes in this fairly-ancient-but-still-relevant article in The Guardian. The piece admittedly presents an idealized view of travel. People do not book flights to Benidorm in search of the transcendental, and those headed to the bars of Bangkok are unlikely to be going for the cuisine. However, evidence of our drive to explore new frontiers, from the sea, to the skies, to outer space, is woven through human history.

Bill Nye the science dude makes this point in the YouTube web series Big Think. Admittedly, he veers off into explaining why discovering extraterrestrial species would be GDP-positive (because who cares about intergalactic warfare when we need to shrink that damn budget deficit.) His initial point remains valid though: It’s good to explore.

So maybe the answer is to cast our nets a little wider. Have you ever heard of Plovdiv? Well, neither had we, but apparently this Bulgarian city cannot fail to charm with its history and culture. Street food indulgences and hiking trips alone would make a visit worth your while, according to the New York Times, which has also compiled a comprehensive list of 52 unusual spots around the world that would be great for a visit. We’re all aware of Marseille in France, and New York City isn’t exactly an off-the-wall recommendation for a visit, but what about Vestlandet in Norway or Chongli in China? For even more travel suggestions, Business Insider also has a list of 100 trips everyone should take in their lifetime.

Let’s not forget that we also have an abundance of beautiful places to visit right here at our doorstep. From North Coast beaches to Nile cruises that take in the ancient temples of Luxor and the Nubian villages of Aswan. From the eerie mountain landscape of South Sinai to salt lakes and the wide expanse of desert surrounding Siwa. From sandboarding in Fayoum to drifting down the river in a felucca, it’s no exaggeration that the breadth of landscapes and experiences available to anyone traveling in Egypt is difficult to match.

Your top 5 pieces of business and economic news in Egypt in March:

• Foreign holdings in Egyptian treasuries were up to USD 15.8 bn towards the end of February, signaling foreign investors’ rebounding appetite for Egyptian debt.
• Egypt is once again an exporter of natural gas, for the first time since 2015.
• The EGP continued its seven week rally against the USD, hitting a high of EGP 17.35 per USD 1 in mid-March.
• But the Central Bank reveals an unexpected surge in inflation took place in February.
• Uber confirms it is acquiring Careem in a USD 3.1 bn transaction, making Careem the MENA region’s most valuable ‘unicorn’ ever.

Museum-wise, Cairo can be exhausted quickly (no, we’re not saying you can ‘finish’ the Cairo Museum, but it tends to finish you at a certain point). So what better excuse for a getaway than the gazillions of art-related anniversaries happening this year? London and Paris are hosting massive retrospectives of the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s death, while the Netherlands celebrates Rembrand’s 350th with the single biggest exhibition of his works in one place. Germany hosts the Bauhaus’ centennial and Spain fêtes the Prado’s 200th birthday. Our personal favorite, though, is Liechtenstein, that tiny little principality, throwing its own 300th birthday with a yearlong jubilee featuring famous art collections and a street party. The Guardian has a full list of upcoming and noteworthy artiversaries.

There’s a whole cohort of travelers that pride themselves on taking a long detour off the beaten track to places often deemed unsafe — and where there’s demand, the market will always step in to supply. Take, for example, French travel agency Clio which is promising “safe” cultural excursions to war-ravaged Syria, set to encompass Damascus, Latakia, Palmyra, and Krak des Chevaliers. Or British tour operator Regent Holidays, which has been taking visitors out to North Korea since 1985, for fascinating but undeniably prescriptive experiences.

The question of safety is paramount, but the ethics also give pause for thought. Myanmar, languishing in isolation for decades, boasts Buddhist temples, untouched architecture, a magnificent river, and delicious food, but it is run by a government accused of committing ethnic cleansing on its minority Rohingya citizens. Somalia was renowned in the 1960s for its wide boulevards, beautiful parks, white sand and waterfalls, but having for years been embroiled in armed conflict and instability between its government and militant terrorist groups, its aim of reviving its tourist industry is challenging to say the least. In such precarious situations, there are thorny issues to consider, and questions not easily answered.

So you’ve picked a destination, booked your tickets and you’re good to go. We spend a lot to travel, and to say it’s a shame if we don’t end up enjoying ourselves would be an understatement. Every person has his or her special list of must-dos or must-haves for a good vacation. Here’s a list of six things that can essentially ensure a great holiday:

• Book your trip early to prolong the anticipation;
• Plan vacations that suit your personality and not based on how Instagrammable the pictures will be. Staying at home with a loved one might result in a better vacation than if you spend thousands on a trip neither one of you enjoys;
• Schedule activities: According to research, time management and quality of life go hand in hand;
• Savor your time. Put your phone away, unshackle yourself from everyday anxiety and make a real effort to live in the present;
• Make sure your trip includes a “positive emotional high point” and that it ends well. Apparently, everything in between matters very little;
• We cannot stress this enough: Take your time when it comes to getting back to work.

What’s a spring vacation without a little something extra? Maybe you want to treat yourself to your favorite food, maybe you’re falling prey to the allure of a “must-have” new outfit, or maybe you’re looking for something to keep you entertained on a long car or train journey. Whatever the case, there’s no question that shopping and vacations go hand-in-hand.

Now CIB’s BONUS program is offering the chance for you to redeem CIB BONUS points for an instant e-voucher which will then let you shop from over 120 companies, including top brands in clothing, electronics and grocery shopping. The service is available at any merchant or store participating in the CIB BONUS program — including Seoudi, Tradeline, Mazaya and many more — so you’ll have a tempting selection of products right at your fingertips. So how does it work? Just log in to bonus.cibeg.com and redeem your points to receive the e-voucher instantly via SMS. Then all you have to think about is having fun shopping at your favorite stores in Egypt, showing the e-voucher SMS to the cashier when it’s time to pay.

Logistically speaking, just like with flights, visas, and accommodation, planning ahead and being realistic can go a long way when you pack for a vacation. Part of the reason packing seems like the most tedious chore when preparing for travel is because of the concerted effort we feel is required to pack everything we need. The most common method of packing — gathering the necessary items for each trip individually — is actually counterintuitive, since we always end up packing the standard items we always need, regardless of the destination or duration of our trips. It’s therefore far more efficient to have a perpetual “travel drawer” in which you can place all the things you’ll always need, Abigail King writes for Travel Hack. Chargers, toiletries, mosquito spray, your passport and other travel documents… if it’s always on your “to pack” list, your permanent travel drawer should have it.

We all know, though, that the smartest way to pack is light. Though we understand the urge to pack clothes you haven’t worn in months in the hopes that your three-day trip to the beach will encourage you to wear them, let your practical side take the wheel here. Self-improvement guru James Clear has three rules to help you: Carry less (self-explanatory), opt for the lightest or best-designed products but never sacrifice utility, and don’t go too crazy trying to be a “minimalist traveler.” Although he suggests specific products that are particularly space- and weight-efficient, the basic principles are the real takeaways here.

When it comes to attracting tourists, the World (with a capital ‘W’), a mega project announced in 2003, is grandiose, even for Dubai. It’s a recreation of the globe with 300 islands (CGI design pictured above) two miles off the coast, just northeast of The Palm Jumeirah, and built using 321 mn cbm of sand. The islands’ combined size is around 6,000 feddans, and they were estimated to have cost c. USD 13 bn to build. Ironically enough, the final batch of sand was unloaded in January 2008, just as the financial crisis was being triggered. The fallout of the crisis proved the final nail in the coffin of a vision that very few had really been on board with in the first place.

If you’re curious to check it out this spring but are wary of nuking your finances, you could spend a day on Lebanon island for just AED 200 (c. USD 54). However, the limited number of TripAdvisor reviews, most of which give it a rating of either poor or terrible, suggests it may not be the most sought-after experience. Lebanon is currently the only built-up island. Besides Lebanon, there are a few steel frames hanging over the Heart of Europe — the only other ongoing development by Austrian real estate investor and Dubai-based Josef Kleindienst, who later plans to develop the islands of Germany, Venice, Sweden, Switzerland, St Petersburg and the EU mainland.

‘Skiplagging’ can save you money while traveling…though it comes with a risk: What is skiplagging, you ask?It is an increasingly popular tactic used by travelers that basically entails booking an airline ticket to a fake destination that includes a transit at your real destination at a price lower than if you’d booked a direct flight to your destination. You then leave the airport at the transit stop (your destination). Airlines are doing all they can to bring an end to this practice, the BBC reports, from putting escorts with transit flyers to make sure they don’t leave the airport, to monitoring travelers’ records with travel agents and even filing lawsuits against travelers. Germany’s Lufthansa, for one, filed charges against a traveler who skipped a leg of a round-trip ticket. However, the practice has become so popular that a dedicated website, skiplagged.com, has emerged to serve travelers seeking to use this hack. Just be aware that if you get caught at the airport, besides facing the threat of a lawsuit, you may have to buy another last-minute ticket at a higher price.

The cheapest street food around the world (it’s still yummy though): A lot of us here at Enterprise are partial to a really nice steak dinner, so we understand the value in spending significant sums on truly worthwhile gastronomic experiences. But life is about balance, so we are also fans of grabbing food on the go — especially while traveling, and even more so when we’re trying to be economical. And spending USD 1 or less on a meal? Sign us up. This short video, courtesy of Buzzfeed, takes you on a virtual tour around the world to scope out some of the cheapest street eats (watch, runtime: 5:32).

Unique spring traditions (beyond Egypt’s immortal love for smelly feseekh): We know nothing beats the Sham El Nessim traditions we still embrace, but this list of the eight best spring traditions around the world lists the gatherings that dare to come close. High on the list is the Songkran water festival, celebrating the Thai new year. The annual event combines going to a Buddhist monastery and visiting elders with a tradition of throwing water at anyone you meet (think truckloads of people engaging in giant water fights).

We also love the sound of the spring equinox of Teotihuacán, Mexico, where thousands gather at the Aztec Pyramid of the Sun, some 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, dressed in white to observe the spring equinox on 20 or 21 March. They spend the day “raising their arms towards the sky” to “soak up energy for the year.”

The takeaway: While decorated eggs and the Easter Bunny have become universal spring symbols, diverse ways of welcoming sunnier days and regeneration are something to be celebrated in their own right too.

Children’s books were the first introduction to travel for many of us — whether it was Eloise tearing through New York City’s Plaza Hotel or Madeline in the old house in Paris, these adventures inspired the spirit of discovery and exploration that was once alive and well in all of us. So if you want to keep feeding the imagination and curiosity of the children in your life, you could do a lot worse than checking out this list from Conde Nast Traveler of the best children’s travel books. From daring adventures to wacky characters to far-off places, all the key ingredients to foster a child’s impulses to explore are there. We also love The Guardian’s killer compilation of maps for kids.

It’s become a cultural trope the world over: Sun, sea and sand as a remedy for the ailments of body and soul. So it might surprise you to learn from The Washington Post that the concept of a beach holiday actually originated in late 18th century England, a place not exactly renowned for its sunshine. In fact, the very idea of a trip to the seaside was more about enduring, rather than enjoying, the elements — all in the name of good health.

What was it all about? Doctors believed that submersion in cold, salty water would toughen up the sickly, and fresh sea air would help to prevent conditions such as “melancholy,” believed to be a sickness of the soul and body caused by an excess of black bile. Their directives were based upon medical theories dating back to the time of the ancient Greeks, including that of the four humors, which posited that a person’s vital bodily fluids needed to be kept in balance for them to remain healthy.

So it’s perhaps no surprise that around the world a great many more people prefer to soak or steam their health problems away. But fancy spas are a comparatively new phenomenon. As the BBC reports, the practice of bathing in natural hot springs or releasing impurities in a sweat lodge dates back thousands of years, is rooted in traditions all over the world, and almost always has a social (and in many cases, a spiritual) dimension.

We seldom think of what effect the seasons have on us, other than in terms of whether we’re dressed in winter clothes or rushing to the beach. But, in fact, the seasons actually affect us in core ways…and we’re talking about an impact that can go right down to our DNA, according to a fascinating study cited by Wired.Daylight affects our bodies and minds more than we could possibly imagine, LiveScience reports. “There is evidence of seasonal peaks in suicides, which occur more frequently in summer, and birth rates, which also tend to peak in spring and summer.”

But the sun is supposed to make us feel better, isn’t it? Well, yes. There’s compelling evidence that seasonal affective disorder (aptly acronymed SAD), where people experience severe mood swings due to a lack of natural light, is a very real phenomenon. But at the same time, sometimes sunlight can actually lead to a higher risk of suicide, a JAMA Psychiatry study suggests. "The authors speculate that sunlight could boost energy and motivation, thus giving people who are depressed the ability to take action and make a suicide attempt," Harvard professor of psychology Matthew Nock explains.

So at the end of all of this, we’re supposed to avoid the change of season? Of course not. Variety is essential. Homogeneity is boring. That’s essentially what vacations, and travel, are all about.