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New Bali Infographic & Destination Page

Bali rice field terraces

Bali Infographic

Great news! We have our new Bali and surrounding islands page up an running. But before we get into the details, let’s have a look at our homemade Bali infographic.

Bali travel guide and infographic with tourism stats to Bali, price index, top beaches, travel seasons, and unique selling points for Bali and surrounding islands. Made by Beachmeter.com.

The Iconic Island of Bali

Bali ranks among the absolute top beach destinations in the world. The beaches and the thriving surfing culture is part of the reason, but equally important is Bali’s atmosphere, spiritualism, her welcoming residents, the awe inspiring rice fields and natural parks, and top notch tourism infrastructure.

On our new Bali travel guide page, you can find useful information about Bali and the surrounding islands such as Lombok and the Gili Islands. Among other things, we touch on Balinese regional cuisine, Balinese beaches, and accommodation options in the area. Don’t forget to check back on the page, as we continue to add details and helpful information.

Check out our new Bali Page

Good Resources for your trip to Bali, Lombok, and Gili Islands

If you want to learn more about the region and its beaches, here are some handpicked links for you that will give you a realistic picture of what you will find:

 Bookmundi’s Top 12 Best Beaches in Bali
 Bugbog’s Best Bali Beaches
 Not Without My Passport’s Where Are the Dream Beaches in Bali?
Honeycombers´15 Best Beaches in Bali
 All about Gili Islands from Ingili
Your Guide to Lombok and the Gili’s from LombokIndonesia

New Cambodia Infographic & Destination Page

Cambodian sunset with Cambodian-style beach chair in the foreground. By Beachmeter.com.

Cambodia Infographic

We are happy to present the brand new Cambodia destination guide on Beachmeter.com. But first, check out our homemade Cambodia infographic, giving you a quick overview of traveling to the country and exploring the islands and beaches.

Cambodia infographic. Infographic of Cambodia's Islands and beaches including tourism information, price index, best beaches, travel seasons, and Unique Selling Points for Cambodia. Made by Beachmeter.com.

The Cambodia infographic gives you a quick idea of when to go, how much you can expect to spend, which beach to go to, and much more.

More information on Cambodia

Included on the page is also a look at Cambodia’s tourism potential, the beautiful beaches, Khmer food, when to go, and the what type of accommodation you can find. We will continue to update the page with more information, so stay tuned.

Check out our new Cambodia Page

Good Resources for Your Cambodia Trip

Lastly, here are some valuable links if you want more recommendations and do’s and don’ts about travel to Cambodia:

Cambodian Islands
Nomadic Matt’s Cambodia Travel Guide
Travelfish’ Cambodia Guide
 Responsible Travel’s Cambodia Guide
Travelling Jezebel’s Cambodia section

New Malaysia Infographic and Destination Page

Malaysian couple sitting on a wooden pier looking at the clear turquoise sea and fantastic horizon.

All You Need to Know About Traveling to Malaysia

We are slowly but surely adding details and information to our Malaysia and Borneo travel and destination page. To start with, have a look at our infographic which will give you a quick overview of the travel universe in Malaysia and Borneo.

Malaysia Infographic

Infographic of Malaysia's Islands and beaches including tourism information, price index, best beaches, travel seasons, and Unique Selling Points for Malaysia and Borneo.

Go to the destination page to see explanations for this Borneo and Malaysia infographic. We will continue to add information to the page about travel seasons, the different beach destinations of Malaysia and Borneo, and some unique selling points. Malaysia offers a truly diverse mix of cultures, beaches, grand old rainforests, indigenous peoples, rich histories, and bustling cities.

Comparison between Malaysia and Thailand

Comparison of Malaysia vs. Thailand with images of a Malaysian boat and a Thai boat both with flags.Also coming up will be a comparison between Thailand and Malaysia as travel countries and beach holiday destinations. Since these neighbouring countries are often measured against each other, we figured we would compare the countries on different travel parameters to help you decide, whether your next holiday should be about island hopping in southern Thailand, drinking tea in Peninsular Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands, or chasing proboscis monkeys in Sabah, Borneo.

Cover photo credits: Tourism Malaysia

New Thailand Infographic and Destination Page

Similan Islands in Thailand with stunningly clear water and beautiful landscabes

Did you see our new Thailand infographic and destination page?

We have been working behind the scenes, and can now present our destination page for Thailand. The page will continuously be updated with more useful material. This page is meant to inspire you and to give you a quick overview of what the country has to offer for travellers and beach lovers.

The Thailand Infographic

Our brand new infographic has five separate sections; Numbers, Price Index, Top Beach Picks, Travel Seasons, and Why Thailand. For your convenience (and because we are delighted to show you again), here is the Thailand infographic:

Infographic on Thailand's Islands and beaches including tourism information, price index, top beaches, travel seasons, and Unique Selling Points for Thailand.You are welcome to embed this infographic on your website. Just go to the Thailand destination page and copy the code provided below the image.

A few notes on the infographic

In the “Numbers” section, you can see that China, Malaysia, and Russia provide the most international visitors to Thailand on a yearly basis. We wanted to stretch this data further to see which foreign countries have the per capita highest visitor rate. The results are shown in “Most Popular Among”-section. We omitted countries directly neighbouring to Thailand.

While the “Top Arrivals by Nationality” will show you which foreign countrymen and -women you are likely to meet on your holiday in Thailand because of their total number of arrivals, the “Most Popular Among” results will inform you of the countries in which the likelihood of any one person from that country will visit Thailand is highest – i.e. where Thailand is the most popular travel destination per capita.

Thailand’s High, Low, and Peak Travel Seasons

Thailand can be visited all year round, but when and where to go essentially depends on your preferences. Do you want to do surfing in Thailand? Then head off to the west facing coastlines of Thailand during summer (April to November). But if you want to dive or snorkel in these areas, the rest of the year is more suitable.

You may want the most pleasant weather conditions (coolest, lowest humidity, less rain) which are generally from November to March. If you prefer better deals and less crowdedness, you should avoid the high and peak seasons.

To help you decide, we included three weather charts on our Thailand page. They essentially show the three main weather areas that are relevant for your beach stay in Thailand. In the rainy season of the respective areas, the snorkeling and diving conditions will not be ideal. It may rain all day or it may rain only for an hour or two. To help you decide your Thailand destination, though, we have included sunshine hours per day and rainy days per month in our annual weather charts. Here is an example:

Annual weather chart for Southwest Thailand on the Andaman Sea side (Phuket, Krabi, Koh Phi Phi, Khao Lak, Koh Lanta and more) including temperature, daily sun hours, rainfall, rainy days, and sea temperature.

Southwest (Andaman)

More to come

We will continue to add useful information on the page, and we will provide links to individual pages for Thailand’s islands and beaches as they go online. In these sections, you will find more detailed information about the specific beach destinations.

Until then, please enjoy our Thailand destination guide and help us spread our beachilicious infographic!

Cover image credit: Tourism Authority of Thailand

Practical Tips for Sustainable Travel

Homestay experience in Malaysia with tourists eating local Malaysian cuisine with their local homestay hosts. Homestay accommodation is one of many simple tips for sustainable travel.

Have you ever wondered what you can do to travel like a sustainability champion?

Some people mistakingly think that the very act of traveling is incompatible with sustainability because of the carbon footprint from transportation. But sustainability is not some kind of polarized either / or action. There are a great many things you can do (and not do) in order to make your travel more socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable. Most of them are rather simple, even common sense.

Here is an overview of things you can easily incorporate in your travels. By following these tips you will both limit the negative impacts of traveling and award yourself a more meaningful travel experience.

Practical Tips for Sustainable Travel

Photo of Routeburn Flats, on the Routeburn Track in New Zealand.
Image credits: unuk

These simple sustainability tips apply to all kinds of travels whether it be a city break, a 6-months backpacking trip, or a beach holiday.

Common sense should not be left at home

In various forms, travel can be a relief from all the worries and responsibilities at home. Sometimes, tourists take their traveling freedom a bit too far though. Just like at home, there are rules and cultural norms to respect, and there are natural environments to consider. Why would that be any different a thousand miles from home?

It is not uncommon for hotel guests to leave the air-condition on for hours while they are exploring the area. In this way they don’t have to endure the 2 minutes of slightly too warm or too cold a room. Would you do that at home? Hopefully not.

Would you point your camera in a strangers face and snap away without seeking acceptance first? This is as intrusive in other countries as our own. Instead ask politely, strike up a conversation, and you will find that most people will gladly award you with their picture. These are common sense behaviours, but still some travelers seem to leave their brain at home when they travel.

Eat, stay, and buy local

Why not eat locally? You treat yourself to new tastes, new ways of eating, and important cultural insights when you eat locally. Why not stay at a family-run hotel instead of an international chain hotel? Why not buy locally made art, food, and fashion instead of visiting the very same stores you can find in a hundred other countries?

You will minimize tourism leakage by supporting the local community directly. You will interact with your local host or seller, and you will do what traveling should first and foremost be about: Excitement, novelty, surprise, learning new ways, and exploring your own cultural background in comparison.

You might add that travel is mostly about relaxation, pampering, and re-juvenation in today’s world. Even so, it’s simple to inject some sustainability in there. Just follow these simple tips for sustainable travel as presented in the infographic.

Three central resources on sustainable tourism

For more tips on sustainable travel, we suggest you to explore the websites of The International Ecotourism Society (Ties), Sustainable Travel International (STI), and Pacific Asia Travel Association’s (PATA’s) website on tourism sustainability and social responsibility, sustain.pata.org. Here you will find a lot of background information on sustainable tourism along with guides, case studies, and research.

Photo credits (cover photo): Tourism Malaysia