A Day At Olympic National Park: Making The Most Of The UNESCO World Heritage Site

BY  sagnika May 8, 2024

Are you a beach person? Do you want to visit beaches in Melbourne? Some of the beaches not only offer beautiful views but also help you have an amazing holiday. You can perform different activities such as swimming and surfing, organize picnics, enjoy a beach bonfire, and build a sandcastle! There are other activities, some of which are my favourites, such as kayaking, snorkeling, parasailing, and scuba diving! With unending fun times, you can also enjoy delicious food, especially if you are a foodie. Remember that when planning a beach trip, we must carry essentials such as sunscreen, sunglasses, hats, towels, water bottles, and others. Let me share with you eight of the coolest beaches in Australia, more specifically in Melbourne! You will not only enjoy it but make memories for a lifetime. 8 Beaches Of Melbourne, Australia, Where You Can Cool Off! Several Melbourne beaches are renowned for their beautiful visuals and numerous opportunities. I will list eight beaches where you can cool off and relax on your holiday. You will love the article if you love surfing, swimming, fishing, and other activities. There are several things to do in Australia, and I will help you decide on them! It would be best if you explored everything from sandy beaches to the delicious food joints across the foreshore of these beaches. In Australia, there are several opportunities that you can explore when planning your holiday. South Melbourne Beach Port Melbourne Beach, also known as South Melbourne Beach, is charming and offers a beautiful view. There is the tiny Prince's Pier, which is the perfect place for photography during sunset! You will get complete privacy if you visit this beach with your partner. People can go out on casual strolls along the stretch of sand! If you are a pet parent, this is a perfect place to take your pet out on a walk; even the locals do that. You can see people playing beach tennis or taking a cruise ship to visit other places! Visiting this beach is easier if you have less time. If you are a foodie, you can visit South Melbourne Beach to sample the delicious food there. Oceanside Pizza, Ocean 302 Bar and Grill, Sunnyside Cafe, and Billie's on the Beach are some of the restaurants in Australia you must visit. St. Kilda Beach Even the locals cannot avoid this beach, so if you are a tourist, how can you prevent it? You must visit St. Kilda Beach, which has the vibe of Bondi Beach. However, the camera and the crowds still need to be included. If you are a surfer, you must visit this beach because it is wave-free. One of the coolest places for water sports, paddle-boarders wobble across the ocean while the kite surfers enjoy to the best of their ability. You will see several palm trees surrounding the boardwalk where you can cycle with your partner, spending a romantic evening! On Acland Street, there are several trendy restaurants and cafes, which you must check out if visiting St. Kilda Beach. Also, please do not forget Luna Park, another significant attraction. Elwood Beach If you love a relaxed vibe when traveling to the beach, you can go to Elwood Beach! It is just around the corner from St. Kilda Beach, so if you want to avoid all the hustle and bustle, you can escape to this beautiful, classic sandy beach! The beach is not very far from the city; however, what is more beautiful? The CBD skyline looks mesmerizing, especially with that stunning view from the beach. Whether you are a vegetarian, vegan, or non-vegetarian, you will have all kinds of options, from cheesy empanadas to seafood such as oysters and kingfish!  You cannot miss the porterhouse steak; the service and deliciousness of the restaurant will transport you to heaven! Brighton Beach If you plan to visit Brighton Beach, let me tell you it is an ideal spot for surfers, sunbathers, and swimmers. One of the best beaches in Melbourne, Brighton Beach is a long stretch of beaches, and the boardwalk scenario is quite popular.  This area is also one of best places to live in Australia because it is a vibrant neighborhood. You can stay with your family or partner in residential areas on their sun-splashed streets and sandy beaches. On the foreshore of the beach, there is a line of eighty-two little brightly colored charming bathing boxes! You will fall in love with these multicolored boxes, which also ensure the beauty of the beach. The wave on this beach is quite decent, and there are several places for fishing. You can also not miss the restaurants, cafes, and galleries that are just a walk away from the beach. Even the market near the beach is quite popular! Gunnamatta On this beach, Gunnamatta, you can experience the full force of the Southern Ocean; hence, the ocean is harsh. However, with experienced surfers, this place can be a slice of heaven! You can also visit the Mornington Peninsula National Park near the beach. The beach is clearly dramatic, but thrill seekers will love the gigantic waves! Some food joints allow you to take consistent breaks based on your preferences. Dromana Beach With its clear turquoise waters, Dromana Beach is a perfect fit for places in Australia that will take your breath away. The best time to visit Australia is mostly during the summer months, and the swimming conditions at the beach are perfect here! You can go to different barbeque spots across the foreshore to hang out with your friends or partner. There is also a small fishing pier where you can perform a lot of fun activities! Several hiking trails surround this beach, which makes your visit more exciting and adventurous. Apparently, there is a stamina test which you can take especially with the nearby Arthurs Seat State Park! You can also take the Arthurs Seat Eagle gondola, which offers beautiful and incredible views of Melbourne's skyline across Port Phillip Bay. Williamstown Beach For the locals there, you must ask where" Willy Beach" is. This beach is just a few steps from the city. A popular beach, it provides some of the most spectacular views of the water and the horizon. From sailors and sunbakers to swimmers, this beach is a spot for many. If you are traveling from the train station, the closest beach to this is Gem Pier. This station offers some of the coolest unobscured views of the skyline. It is spectacular during the night, with teeming lights across Williamstown city! If you plan to visit during New Year's Eve, you can check out the beautiful fireworks across the town! Traveling from Sydney to this beach will take about 17 km (about 10.56 mi) by car. Mordialloc Beach The beach is not just a combination of water and sand but also a beautiful southeast suburb that offers resources and beauty. It is a charming seaside pocket with access to delicious food such as Tommy Ruff Fish Bar, Manow Thai, Doyle's Deck & Bistro, Braeside Brewing Co., and others. Sunny Boy Beach Club, a restaurant, is a combination picnic area, BBQ, and playground! A bike path runs directly to the restaurant from the beach. There is also a sturdy pier about 300 meters (about 984.25 ft) across the beach. A family beach, it is quite popular for huge families and groups of friends to hang out and enjoy themselves. So, if you are someone who does not like crowds, you should avoid this beach because, during the week, there is always a huge crowd here. Finishing Off... In short, these beaches are cool to hang out with and offer beautiful locales and visuals! These beaches in Melbourne fit the bill when it comes to hanging around the water on a sunny and warm day. After reading the blog, I am sure you are dying to visit these places when creating an itinerary. Check out our picks of the beaches in Melbourne, one of Australia's coolest places. An amazing experience is dedicated to you, especially when traveling to these places. Comment on which of the best beaches in Melbourne are already on your bucket list! Learn More Also: Top 10 Beaches In Sydney You MUST VISIT The Holiday Planning Trip: 4-Days Itinerary Of Queensland The Top Things To Do When Visiting The Great City Of Sydney Top Restaurants In Maitland Australia That Give You Culinary Delights

BY  Sibashree Aug 27, 2025

Have you decided to relocate to Cyprus for career purposes? That would be a wise decision as this island nation follows one of the EU’s most simplified tax regimes for expats. Beyond the economic aspects, you also get to enjoy year-round sunshine and its rich cultural tapestry.  Yet, the core question that you must be clear about before living this coastal life is, at the end of the day, what your real take-home pay will be? Relocation can be costly since it involves several factors, one of which is your net income. This is why it is necessary to validate your take-home pay; rent, healthcare, school fees, and day-to-day expenses can quickly accumulate if your financial estimates are off. Fortunately, Cyprus mandates a transparent and predictable taxation system, which is rather easy to navigate with the help of a Cyprus salary calculator. This guide explains how Cyprus’s 2025 tax rules work, demonstrating salary breakdown interpretation and offering a step-by-step case study example for clarity.  Decoding the Cypriot Tax System: The Core Components As per the Cypriot tax system, your net salary isn’t just your gross salary after deducting “a flat tax.” Instead, it’s the final value of a progressive income tax system, and a few compulsory, specific deductions. When you understand all these core pillars, you can proceed toward accurate financial planning. The Progressive Income Tax Brackets (2025) For the 2025 tax year, typically running on a calendar-year basis, Cyprus applies a progressive structure: Annual income tax (€)Tax rate 0-19,5000%19,501-28,00020%28,001-36,30025%36,301-60,00030%Over 60,00035% Optimizing Around the €19,500 Tax-free Threshold A unique feature of Cyprus’s progressive income tax system is the €19,500 tax-free threshold. This threshold is indeed advantageous for those moderate and higher earners, protecting a significant portion of their income from taxation by lowering their effective tax rate.  That is why it is often suggested to optimize financial planning, such as contributing to approved pensions, life insurance, or charitable donations (within the 1/5 cap), to further reduce taxable income. Structuring income and deductions strategically around this threshold is one of the simplest ways to optimize your relocation budget. Social Insurance Contributions (Sic) Everyone, including you and your employer, is liable to contribute towards the national Social Insurance Fund, which supports pensions, sickness benefits, and unemployment protection.  However, the limit of contribution varies by party: Employee contribution: 8.8% of gross salary Employer contribution: 8.8% of gross salary Annual cap: €66,612 (as per 2025 figure) Now, this annual cap highlights that even if your yearly income crosses €66,612, you aren't liable to pay Social Insurance on the portion above that limit. For high earners, this annual cap significantly lowers the effective contribution rate. The General Healthcare System (Ghs / Gesy) The healthcare sector in Cyprus is funded by the General Healthcare System (GHS), the amount of which is contributed by everyone living and working in the country through the comprehensive GeSY healthcare system. They provide all-inclusive medical coverage to residents, including GP visits, specialists, and hospital services. Employee contribution: 2.65% of gross salary Employer contribution: 2.90% Cap: €180,000 annual earnings Unlike Social Insurance, the GHS cap is high, where most employees have to pay the full 2.65% on their entire income. Employer vs. Employee Contributions If you are an employee negotiating your salary, be clear about your gross salary (the basis for your tax obligations and deductions) and the cost to the company (gross salary plus employer-side contributions). For employees, the compulsory deductions include: 8.8% Social Insurance (capped) 2.65% GHS Income tax per progressive brackets For employers, the mandatory obligations are higher and include: 8.8% Social Insurance 2.90% GHS 2.0% Social Cohesion Fund (no cap) 1.2% Redundancy Fund 0.5% Human Resource Development Fund Up to 8.0% Central Holiday Fund (unless exempt) Now, assuming that you are an employee structuring your budget, prioritize employee deductions. However, do not ignore the employer’s additional costs; understanding them would be beneficial during salary package negotiations, provided that benefits are negotiable. Case Study Example: Net Pay on a €50,000 Gross Salary This hypothetical example of €50,000 annual gross salary would help understand what the final take-home pay looks like in 2025 for an employee with no special expat exemptions or extra allowances. Step 1: Calculate Deductions Social Insurance: 8.8% of €50,000 = €4,400 GHS: 2.65% of €50,000 = €1,325 Step 2: Apply Progressive Income Tax €0-€19,500 @ 0% = €0 €19,501-€28,000 (€8,500 @ 20%) = €1,700 €28,001-€36,300 (€8,300 @ 25%) = €2,075 €36,301-€50,000 (€13,700 @ 30%) = €4,110 Total income tax = €7,885 Step 3: Net Pay €50,000 − €4,400 − €1,325 − €7,885 = €36,390 per year≈ €3,033 per month (assuming 12 equal payments). However, if your employer pays a 13th salary, a common practice in Cyprus companies, your monthly net pay will be even lower but spread across 13 payments. For that, you can use a Cyprus salary calculator to model these variations instantly. How Employer Costs Compare Using the same case study example of €50,000 gross salary, here’s what the employer’s total annual outlay would look like: Social Insurance: €4,400 GHS: €1,450 Social Cohesion Fund: €1,000 Redundancy Fund: €600 HR Development Fund: €250 Holiday Fund (if not exempt): €4,000 Total Cost: With holiday fund exemption → €57,700 Without exemption → €61,700 This difference is the reason to negotiate your salary package as much as possible. Moreover, some employers even offset holiday fund obligations by allowing extra paid leave instead. Final Words Relocating to an entirely new place with a new environment and legal systems is an adventure. But by taking control of your financial details upfront, and using the progressive tax brackets, understanding obligated deductions, and leveraging a precise Cyprus salary calculator, you can overturn uncertainty into confidence.

BY  Sibashree Jul 31, 2025

I truly believe that there's something holy about travel. Something beyond sightseeing and geotags.  Have you wondered what it can be? Well, it's the stories. Additionally, it's also the sensations, the little moments that sear themselves into memory.  Each trip leaves footprints on dusty roads or sandy beaches. However, travelers are ever more seeking ways to take these moments with them beyond postcards and selfies. Therefore, the screen-printed t-shirts for travel are one such way. Moreover, it's a very fun way to remind ourselves what a particular trip resembled.  Travel Is Temporary, But Screen-Printed T-shirts For Travel Is A Souvenir As we think about souvenirs, we tend to think about magnets, key rings, or wooden dolls bought at jam-packed street stalls.  They're meaningful, maybe—but they don't do anything. On the other hand, a well-screen-printed t-shirt, designed with the thought of a trip in mind, lasts.  It's a conversation piece, a garment worn with the memory of where you've been, and sometimes even where you're going. Think about it: your Pacific Coast Highway road trip. The winding cliffs, sun-baked vistas, the salt on your lips.  Now imagine that etched onto cloth—splashed waves crashing beneath harsh lettering of "PCH '24 – Road Born & Shore Bound." It's no longer just a shirt. It's an heirloom. The Transition From Branded To Belonging In the past, travel shirts were all about commerce—"I ❤️ NY" or "Been There, Done That" in Comic Sans. Nowadays, traveler craves more reflective design.  They're seeking shirts that convey personal experience over mass production. Screen-printed t-shirts give them that perfect balance, where creativity and originality meet. Small tour groups, travel writers, and even lone backpackers are now collaborating with neighborhood screen printers or bespoke online websites to create limited edition travel tees.  A team that summited Kilimanjaro as a team might get shirts printed, along with basic drawings of the summit route.  A pair that asked each other to marry under the Northern Lights might capture that moment—auroras swirling above silhouettes—on cloth. These shirts don't merely remember. They bond. They proclaim: "I was there, with these folks, experiencing something unforgettable." Why Are Screen-printed T-shirts For Travel  Gaining Hype? Well, travelling is fun. But you know what’s more fun? Something that reminds you of the good times.  The Screen-printed t-shirts for travel are gaining hype for this one, and many more reasons. Let’s look at what makes them so special: 1. Group Travel's Secret Weapon: Custom Tees Structured vacations—student trips, yoga retreats, or volunteer expeditions—are discovering that custom Screen-printed t-shirts for travel foster instant esprit de corps. Before one suitcase is opened or a plane touches down, distributing coordinating tees with a common logo or joke creates a tribe vibe.  Moreover, it's team-building in cotton form. And while traveling, they behave like cushy, visual beacons—you see your people readily at airports, festivals, and busy bazaars. After the trip's done, you don’t banish those shirts to the back of a drawer. They're worn on lazy Sunday afternoons, gym days, and coffee stops—initiating spontaneous conversations and wistfulness wherever they appear. 2. Printing Stories, Not Just Graphics It is what makes screen printing magical: intentionality. The manufacturers don't produce these t-shirts in large quantities.  Rather, they make them with care, each color layer a piece of the journey.  You choose the shade that reflected the desert at sunset. The font that embodies the gritty, strong spirit of Berlin. The words of a local guide who said something wise that stuck with you. And there's the fun of community collaboration. The majority of travelers today seek out screen print shops in destinations they visit. Therefore, this is creating wearable memorabilia there, on location. Imagine visiting a co-op in Guatemala or an art district in Lisbon, and creating your shirt with local artists. It's sustainable, it's creative, and it's for the local economy—a far cry from plastic Eiffel Tower souvenir shops. 3. The Conscious Travel Movement & Ethical Fashion Another reason screen-printed tees are picking up with seasoned travelers? They neatly slot into the rules of conscious travel. Light packing, capsule wardrobe, ethical fashion design—all the way to purposeful shirts that do the jpb.  The screen-printed t-shirts for travel, made from the spirit of a journey, are not only a fashion—it's function, story, identity, and even activism. Want to raise the issue of deforestation after visiting the Amazon? Design a tee that ties that story together.  Want to celebrate the kindness of strangers in Hanoi? Depict it. The t-shirt is a means to reflection and storytelling well beyond the moment when you toss the boarding pass away.  From Solo Wanderers To Travel Brands: Everyone's Printing Meaning Even larger travel businesses and celebrities are jumping on the bandwagon. They're releasing merch based on places—capsule collections that visually reflect a city's vibe.  Hand-drawn ramen bowls on a Tokyo tee, or split color gradations of Iceland's fire and ice duality. For solo travelers, Screen-printed tees can be an expression and social connection. Wearing a tee that hints at your most recent trek or unorthodox destination invites questions and conversation.  It's a way of saying hello to fellow travelers en route, so to speak, without saying: "I travel deeply. I collect moments." With Screen-printed T-shirts For Travel, Travel Isn't Just Seen—It's Worn I think all the travellers will agree with me, travelling changes us as people. At the heart of travel is the desire to have an experience intensely and remember it vividly.  In a time of digital photographs and ephemeral Instagram posts, Screen-printed t-shirts for travel offer something solid, lasting, and emotionally resonant. They're not what you wear on your holiday—they are the holiday. Each stain, each wrinkle, each worn-out print tells a story.  And the best part? You don't have to hang it on the wall or store it in the cloud. You wear it on your back, across borders, across generations.So the next time you travel, leave space for something unexpected: an experience you've not yet had. You are still waiting to read it, wear it, and remember it.