Search Results for Category: Travel Tips

Summer will be here before we know it, and families will be planning their vacations. To some, this can be a frightening experience; the hassle of booking trips, reservations, renting a car or making flight plans. Don’t let all of the things you have seen in the movies scare you and your family out of your dream vacation.

There are a few things you can do to make that trip on the road or in the air a little more bearable. Here are a few ideas to keep your sanity while you are traveling to your dream destination.

If you have children, whether they are toddlers or teen-agers, there are a few necessities that you must bring to make the trip pleasant for everyone.

If you are traveling with a teen, you know how important it is for them to have their cell phones. A cell phone is a teen’s life line. Make sure to pack the wall charger and the car charger.

You may want to slip a pair of ear buds into your bag, just incase your teen’s phone is capable of playing music, this way you don’t have to listen to their music.

If you are going to be traveling with toddlers, be sure to pack their favorite blanket. If you have a pre-teen, don’t forget their favorite hand held game, like a game boy or play station. Long road trips get boring and these awesome little devices will keep them busy and occupied while you are concentrating on the road.

If your trip is going to take several hours, plan a road side park picnic. Pack your families favorite sandwich meat, chips and some bread. Throw some snacks in the front seat for snacking on while driving. This will keep everyone happy until you reach your destination.

If you are going to be staying in a hotel, be sure you pick a place that is “kid friendly.” Many hotels are more kid friendly than others.

Research your choices before booking. Don’t be afraid to ask if they have programs available for kids.

After you have decided on your destination, let your children be involved in some planning. Ask them what they would like to do. You can also let them choose a place to eat or even give them a choice of which room they prefer. This keeps your family happy and lets the kiddo’s know that this vacation is for them too.

If your destination involves a state park, be sure to check the calendar. Many state parks are booked months in advance. Make sure there will be a place for your family.

Don’t be afraid to use a travel agent to plan your family’s vacation. A travel agent can save a lot of stress and time. They will know which airlines are kid friendly, what seats would be comfortable for your family and they will know whether or not you and your family will need vaccinations and passports for your destination.

Being Pregnant and travelling is not tough if you follow some simple tips to go for travelling. Let us look at some of the Tips for pregnant travellers that will help you in understanding how you can go for travelling while you are pregnant,

While you are pregnant the tendency for morning sickness is very common so having a proper food for this is obvious. So carry a packet for snacks always with you and take small bits while you are travelling. Do not take a single heavy meal obviously.
While travelling carries enough of fluids like fruit juices, water or packet drinks so that you can stay away from vomiting tendencies.
Make sure that you are carrying all the important numbers with you so that if you face any emergency doctors can be called in easily.
The next Tips for pregnant travellers is that one should know the complications she may come up while travelling so that she can understand it as soon as it is coming. Having talks with your doctors regarding this is also needed to stay healthy and make sure that you get the drinks in the right time.
If you are having plans for air travel do not forget to have talks with your doctor immediately as some ladies are not allowed to have air travels for sure.
Pregnancy is a phase of your life which is needed to be taken with utmost care for sure. This is the time when you must know that you need to sit properly have someone with you and while going for a long car drive taking a rest in between is a must for safety and security for sure.
Those who are going for a air travel and that too long are suggested to take the help of the hostess and walk after a period of time.

Tips for pregnant travellers are many but following them in the right way is the need for you.

You need to be careful about dealing with them. Make sure not to forget that you are carrying a baby and you need to be utmost careful about the same. Carrying essential medicines are also must for sure. Do not forget to discuss with your medical consultant about the travelling plans as also while you come to know about pregnancy talking about the fact that you have an wish to travel or if emergency comes you may travel is better obviously.

So you have decided that it is time for you to hang your boots for a couple of weeks and take the plunge. I mean take a trip somewhere with your family. Rather, take a trip to some other exotic country and cool your heels off. What are the preparations you need to make such a travel or trip successful? Here are some quick tips:

1. Geo political basics of your destination:

Location and Demographics: The first thing you have to do for any international travel is to know more and more about the place you are scheduled to visit. Where is it located.? Which are the major states/provinces?
Political : What kind of a government does it have. Does it have a monarchy ( Brunei) or a democratic (India) or communist government (Cuba).Does it recognize human rights? Is the country part of UN? Is it a religious state especially an Islamic country (Saudi Arabia)? Does the country have political instability (Pakistan or Iran)?

Society : is it socially safe? Does it have ethnic/religious discord amongst its people like Iraq or Myanmar or Indonesia? Is it safe for tourists where Afghanistan is not? And if you are a westerner, check it twice.

2.

Climatic conditions:

Try to learn about the climatic conditions prevailing during the time of visit. Colder climates would mean packing your luggage with more woolen and warm clothing. Warmer or seaside climate means mostly Tees and light coloured clothing. In case you are travelling to the middle east , pack some sun screen lotion too. So it is imperative that you know the expected climate and temperatures for that location.

3. Culture and Society :

Some countries have very orthodox cultures and expects to impose the same to all citizens and residents or even travelers who come to their country.

The best example of this would be Saudi Arabia. They do not tolerate any deterrence from the rules and cultures they have and would like you to observe while on their soil. Women must be fully covered from top of their heads to toes. No movies or liquor anywhere in their country. Violation brings strict punishment even leading to public beheading. Some other countries which though they have orthodox cultures are not of an imposing nature. An example is Japan which has very conservative and strict way of life but they do not impose it upon foreigner or travelers. So before you embark on your trip it is very essential to know the cultures and the practices of the society of the country that you would be visiting.

4. Language :

Try to know the main language or languages that are spoken and the areas where they are spoken. In many countries it is usually one or two languages which are spoken and a little idea of one of them would sail you through. You would find that in almost all British colonies English would be fine, so would be French for French colonies. In most south American countries Latin or Spanish would do the trick. But in some countries, there are a lot of languages spoken and it changes with every sate province you travel A fine example is India which has about 17 popular languages along with Hindi which is their national language and about 53 dialects. So for most countries, you can keep a language /translation book handy and it is better to know the basic questions and the basic cordialities.

5. Food habits :

Learn the basic food habits of your destination country. In most countries sandwiches and juice/milk/cereals are available for your basic nourishment. Learn about the cooking techniques used. Countries in the far east would predominantly be light cooked food with steamed food being more popular. China has a history of serving snakes and scorpions as delicacies. The orientals are also heard of serving monkey brains too. India serves one of the regions most spicy food of the world, and so does Mexico. Middle east serves grilled and smoked food.Russia serves vodka during daytime. Italians serves wine for lunches. So it is always better to know the local food habits. Identify some local food which might be fine with you or you would like to taste while in your visit. Keep some basic digestive pills handy before you do so. And always drink safe bottled water when you are a foreigner.

6. Logistics:

Zooming on to the location of travel , it is always better to know the common modes of travel available in the region. Can you rent a car there? Is the driving licence you have recognized in that particular country? How far would you need to travel for sight seeing? Where is the closest airport terminal or the local rail station? Does it have public transport? Is it safe for tourists to avail them? What are the chances of getting mugged or pick pocketed in the streets? My advice is don’t take your chances when a foreign country and play it safe.

Thanks for reading this post. Comments are highly appreciated.
Will soon have an article on what to pack in your travelbags !!!

While many cruise passengers buy trip insurance in case of emergencies, that insurance doesn’t always offer the protection they need. For instance, some cruise ship companies may not be liable for injuries suffered during offshore excursions that are not affiliated with the cruise. This is one of the major reasons why you should buy travel insurance from a third party and not from the tour operator itself.

Compare the cost of the trip versus the cost of the policy. If you just bought a 0 airline ticket, is that worth covering? If you paid for it with a credit card and the airline ceases to operate before your flight, you’re already covered under federal credit laws by your own credit card company, since you bought or contracted for a service that you didn’t get.

Look for a policy with a travel insurer that is not only independent from your tour operator but also licensed by your state.

Many cruise lines and tour operators offer insurance, often at lower premiums than those charged by outside insurers. But if the cruise line or tour company goes out of business, there may not be money to cover your claim.

If flight or cruise delays make you want to cancel, you may be out of luck. Read the fine print; with some policies, more than half of your vacation has also to be delayed before you can cancel and be covered.

And last but not least, remember full disclosure. If you have a preexisting medical condition and don’t list it on your policy application, your entire claim could be denied, even if your medical condition wasn’t factor in the cancellation.

As a travel professional every now and then I hear a horror story, one that makes your hair on the back of your neck stand on end and it’s always about getting ripped off. Somebody’s wallet, somebody’s purse, somebody’s camera, somebody’s luggage; usually the stories don’t involve any violence or drama but more simple sneaky ways that today’s thieves are finding to steal your stuff; ways that can easily be prevented with some countermeasures.

When I began traveling many years ago I carried with me 00 Nikon camera, a 00 laptop, 00 camera lens, 00 video camera, microphones cables, batteries and the lot; all part of my toolkit to operate and develop a successful tour operation. I was completely paranoid about getting ripped off, so being the industrious type I came up with a solution; one that anyone can try.

The biggest way that people get items stolen is what I like to call a “snatch and grab” this is where a thief will break a window on a rental car and steal whatever luggage he can find, break into a hotel room or while you’re taking a nap on the train snatch luggage from the luggage bin.

I came up with this idea when one time my mother and I were scouting out sightseeing places in Rome and happen to go out to the catacombs. A car pulled in front of us to park; it was a family who obviously had driven down from a northern European country and they had all of their travel belongings in their Volvo. When we came back to the car before the family had gotten back themselves we saw one window broken out and every single belonging of the family had been stolen. This was the single event that got me to think about ways to protect your items when you travel that easy, inexpensive and actually works.

I came up with this idea after that incident; here’s what you do.

Go down to your local hardware store and go into the chain and cable department, usually they have chains of various sizes and cables of various sizes on reels and you can cut whatever length you need. Get the thinnest bike cable that you can find; this is usually three fourths of an inch. Have the person in the department chop off 10 feet for you; also have them crimp the ends of the cable so that you have two secure loops at each end.

This single item has protected me and my valuables for many years; it’s easy to carry, it rolls up nice and tight, doesn’t weigh a thing and actually works. Here is how you use it; if you’re in a car, loop one end of the cable around the sliding seat post of the front or passenger side seat and then the other end loops through all the handles of the luggage in the trunk or hatchback. If you don’t know, most cars in Europe don’t have trunks, they have hatchbacks which you can see everything in the back. After you loop the one end through the handles of your bag, secure it on top to itself with a padlock. I like a combination lock and not a key lock just because there’s nothing to lose (like a key); make sure the lock and the cable are well visible.

What you’ve done, is created a deterrent. Just one extra layer that all the other cars in the same parking lot don’t have; if the thief actually wants your particular luggage he can easily break the window cut through the handles of your luggage and take it, but he doesn’t want just your luggage, he wants anybody’s luggage that’s easy to take and if you look at all the cars around that have luggage in them, none of them will have a cable lock. You’ve just created a deterrent that has worked for me for many years.

On a train, it’s the same concept. You’re not allowed to take your luggage to your seat but you have to store it at the end of each car or every other car in luggage bins; anyone getting on or off the train can easily take any bag from bin. Tie one end of the cable around the bars of the luggage bin and tie the other through the handle of your luggage. Chances are most thieves don’t keep cable cutters with them so they would steal someone else’s bag that doesn’t have this device; so go back to your seat, relax and take a nap.

Same concept in a hotel, just wrap the cable through the handles of your luggage and around something fixed in the room like a sink pipe or bed frame. There you go, these simple deterrents are only that; a deterrent, making another level the thief must go through to get your stuff.

I hope this helps and I hope it keeps you and your valuables happy for many journeys to come.