Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour London

The Making of Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour it's an amazing tourist atraction where the young wizard fans can loose themselves in a magical world, in the same sets where the scenes of the life of Harry Potter were shot.

These studios are located very close to London, just about 30km and made their opening in 2012.

If you are either a big fan or you just like the books and movies of Harry Potter, than you cannot miss this experience, magical without any doubt, where you can explore all the corners of Hogwarts and relive the adventures of the young wizzard. You will be certainly amazed with all the techniques and all the tricks used by the movie producers as well as certain "magics" that were done during production.

There are severall possibilities to access the tour, however, the most used by tourists (and also by me) is the Harry Potter bus that leaves Victoria Station direct to the Studios. It is a doble decker bus all decorated with Harry Potter theme. Trust me, if you are a big Harry Potter fan, by the time you see the bus and start thinking about tour visit to the studios, a great feeling will come to you and you«ll be nervous and anxious at the same time, waiting for the magical journey to begin. 

This is the easiest way to  get to the Studios, however, you have limited time in there as the bus tickets are booked for specific hours. When you are planing your visit, be advised that you need a minimum of 3 hours (more for the really enthusiastic fans) to do the visit just inside the studios. If you are "crazy" about Harry Potter, for sure you will need much more than 3 hours inside so the Bus is not the best way as it only gives you a 4h/4h30 window to visit the place. You can allways rent a car and drive there, as i said, it is not that far from the city, and indeed it is closer to Luton Airport just 20km away.

The prices of the tickets are around 45 euros per person, it may seem a little expensive but take in consideration the coin conversion from English Pounds to Euro and also the fact that you can spend the entire day in the Studios exploring at your own rythm.

Between the exhibitions there is also a small restaurant that serves fast food and the famous butterbeers, the ones used in the movie.

All the scenarios and props were used in the production of the movies and in severall places you can see images and videos of the shooting scenes being made.

You can also bring some interesting souvenirs such as a video of you flying a nimbus2000 or the every flavour beens which are indeed every flavour, good and bad.

The most interesting points of this tour are definetly the marvelous Diagon Alley with all the shops and the Gringots Bank, and the Hogwarts Castle. Now that is a sight to be seen. An entire room is needed for the castle, it is huge and so detailed. During Christmas time they even cover it in "snow" like in the movies. It is an empressive piece of art.

The tour is huge you can visit Snape potions room, Hagrids hut or the dorms where Harry and Ron rested after their adventures.

It is indeed an absorving and very interesting experience, great for all ages from the younglings to the elder. And if you are not a Harry Potter fan you will become one that's for sure.

Leave you a few photos.

See you next time!!! 

Vlog Port Aventura, Salou

10 Travel tips

When you plan to travel, it is always good to know some basic tips which will help you a lot saving both time and money. However, every time you travel, you are going to find new ways to plan your trips the way you like and enjoy them your own way. Myself, after several years of traveling, love to know some opinions and facts of the places i travel before going or even about travel in general and so i'll leave you's here some tips of my own that i use every time i go traveling. Hope you'll enjoy it and hopefully put them into good use on future travels.

1. Book in advance

• Before every trip, one of the most important things that the travelers are concerned is to find the best prices and for that, the best is to book in advance. Let yourself a lot of time before hand to search for good offers as the closer it gets to the date of the travel, the most expensive it will get.
• You can always go for the last minute offers, which are not so bad, although in my opinion it is safer and it brings much more advantages to book things in advance as you'll have more options and prices.

2. Plan your trip

• Try to inform yourself about the destination before you go. Today with the internet it is quite easy to find all the information needed about what to see, where to go and what you can expect to spend. This is a great advantage as you'll be able to know where to go according to your preferences.
• Give yourself a little bit of planning time to decide what to do in order to loose as less time possible (especially if it is a short break) wandering around lost.
• Define a budget and try to keep inside it.

3. Enjoy as much as you can of the day

• In a trip, with exception of beach and relax, the best is really to enjoy the maximum of the day.
• Wake up early, have a good breakfast and start the journey. Same thing about evenings, most of the times the tourist reaches the end of the day a little bit tired and wants to go to the hotel to sleep and relax, however, most of the places transform themselves during the evening/night and it is always nice to see the differences.

4. Take note of the expenses

• In my opinion, this is one of the best advice's i can give you. It is a rather important point to the traveler as it gives you the chance to know all your costs during the trip, if it was any unnecessary costs and also to make a better planning of future trips.

5. Spend in knowledge

• Staying in good hotels and fly with fancy companies is always nice, and in my opinion you can get good offers without having to go to 12 bed dorms or so (did it before but didn't like it), however, try to find the best offers without going for the luxury excess as the money you can save in accommodation and flights, it will be well spent in activities on site. 
• You don't need to fly in a fancy airline just to get an extra comfort for 2, 3 or 4 hrs flights. Once again that money could be much better used in an extra tour on the destination, a good local meal instead of fast food or an entry to some attractions. 

6. Try

• Try the typical, try the traditional. From food to shows or activities.Try to get all the knowledge you can get from the culture and way of life of the places you visit, surely you'll leave with a much more satisfying experience.

7. Wear comfortable clothes

• It is always good to feel comfortable, and for some people comfort is to wear fancy clothes, for others, shorts and slippers. Everyone has it's own style and my advice is to dress as you feel best, either physical or mentally. However, pay attention that in some trips you have to walk miles and miles so the shoe choice is always very important.

8. Walk and discover

• During the first days of the trips i always advise to do the city tours just for you to get to know the place, where are the locations of the places of interest, even some that you were not aware of their existence. However, on the following days, avoid the use of public transports (unless you are in London). 
• Let yourself be lost in the streets and alleys and discover the true spirit of the place.It is a truly inspiring experience and much different from the usual touristic places.

9. Take as many pictures as you can

• Later on, you will love to see and remember all the moments of your journey, show to family and friends all your adventures.
• Even the tiniest details will make you remember your travels with a smile so take as many photos as you can because one day later you will enjoy them a lot.

10. Buy in the local shops

• It may seem a little cliche, but one of the best moments of a trip is when you enter in a souvenir shop and buy something for your family and friends or even for yourself.
• Try to buy in the local commerce, they sell things that are more authentic and you will be helping in the maintenance of the local spirit as well as helping to stop the globalization that the major brands have and it's destroying the small businesses and the small shops which are more traditional and friendly.
• It's even on this shops that you will find a little bit of the culture of the place and probably discover some "secrets" about the place that only the locals can pass to you.  

I could be here all day telling you about travel tips, but it is up to everyone to choose their methods when planning trips. This is just a simple help to make you start your own! I hope you find it helpful and that it'll develop the traveler spirit within you!

See you later.