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Festival Trips: What Never to Do!
This article was written for The Three Tomatoes site with interesting info and events for women in the NY and LA areas. Subscribe for great fun and good information.
If you choose to go on a tour that includes a festival, there are positives and negatives. Positives are you will see local people in their most colorful and joyous. In Pushkar in India, you witness weddings, dances, tribal clothes and jewelry, camel and other races. In Sicily in December, you will join a procession with lighted candles, brass bands and clergy to walk to the Basilica in Palermo.…
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Travel Safety Clothing: A Big Fraud
The word, ‘safety’, gets the most attention in travel media. The word, ‘clothing’, gets the most attention in travel media from women readers. So it is all too frequent that article themes are ‘new travel clothing for women’! Today a google alert about women and travel, had another promo about a travel shirt for women. DON’T SPEND YOUR MONEY ON THINGS LIKE THIS.
The best safety tool you have is your common sense and your ability to go on a trip as rested as possible.…
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Is travel for Octogenarians??
Arthur Frommer is back at the helm of his travel book empire which inspired many of us to travel to “Europe on $5 a day”. Yes, I did and (except for inevitable shopping) did Madrid on $5 a day and lodged and ate pretty well.
Frommer, long ‘a friend’ of The Women’s Travel Group and supporter of women travelers, is the owner once again of 340 excellent guides and other travel books. With Pauline, his charming and delightfully smart daughter, Frommer offers books that enhance your experience while being honest about safety, value, and trends.…
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Tipping and Women's Angst
Today in the New Yorker there is a cartoon of two people checking into their hotel room. One says to the other: “How much are we supposed to tip the guy who followed us to our room and flicked on the light switch?”. Ironically it is the man asking the woman of the couple.
Women angst over tipping: amounts? when? and how? I am not sure why this is, but suffer from it myself. I think somewhere as accomplished and professional as we are, tipping still brings out our insecurity.…
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Tuscany Cooking Trip: A Week Away Preparations
Yes a week away, one can get ready for a trip like our Tuscan Cooking Journey.
Here is my 7 day alert:
Cut down on hard to digest food especially sugary things, so I sleep better and feel fresher for an overnight flight.
Stretch an extra 10 minutes each morning or at least before the end of the day. That helps when you have to sit forever on planes, airport chairs, taxis etc.
Unsubscribe from all new spam to lower the amount of data to paid for overseas.… -
Trip Waitlists; Are they for Real?
Waitlists are used by all kinds of companies to generate interest in their products. In travel, they are used for 4 reasons mainly
The obvious one is that the trip is full or at least the desired number of people have booked. This might be like our discount at Canyon Ranch, where we are only allotted a specific number if places at a special price. PS we have a waitlist on this one, so send us your name if you want to be on it.…
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White Sneakers & Other Travel Do Not's
We used to say: Do not wear white sneakers as it labels you as an American tourist not good for bargaining in markets). Now we say: Can you even buy white sneakers anymore? A shopping excursion for new sneakers for our December 2014 Sicily trip and its walking on Greco-Roman ruins, unveils that sneakers today are neon colored, often psychodelic wild. However many are ultra light in ounces, making them easily packable.
We usually suggest comfy walking shoes, and packing lightly so guess we’ll go with the hot pink Nikes.…
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Hotel Bars and Do Not's for Women Travelers
After a long day working, don’t you wish the hotel bar were less intimidating and less noisy? Tips to find the right hotel with the right amenities for women:
Living Lobbies: these are lobbies that incorporate the bar into a larger living space. So you can sit away privately from the bar and have your glass of wine.
Magazine and newspaper racks: these say, come relax and read without being bothered.
Armchairs in bar areas: armchairs let you sit alone and enjoy your drink; they insinuate you wish to be left alone.… -
Comments about Women Travelers from the "Experts"???
Just back from speaking at The Times Travel Show where we had a chance to chat with many of you.
We thought you might want to hear these comments. Here are some of the outrageous misconceptions about women’s travel I heard during the panel discussions. It is 2014 folks!
One operator said they see a large increase in women booking their luxury package tours. This was evidenced in more requests for triples and quad rooms. What woman pays for a luxury tour and then asks for a quad room?…
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Five Unusual Travel Tips for Women
Top Travel Tips from The Women’s Travel Group Members
If the hotel is too cold, reverse the sheet and blanket so the blanket is next to your body.Solo traveling but going out with strangers you have met on a trip? Require them to leave their national identity card or a photocopy of their passport picture page with the concierge.
If you expect to shop ’til you drop, fill your empty suitcase with bubble wrap.
To make friends on the road, bring along a globe beach ball to show where you live and perhaps start an informal game with local children.…
