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Travel Innoculations: Why bother?
When you go to a travel medicine doctor, your wallet will be shocked at the cost. But what is smart and what is excess? We, non-medical people, are usually scared into getting every shot possible, but first, be aware of the following:
Inoculations should be based on the climate of your destination: dry season does not require some shots which are critical in the wet season.
Exactly where you are going versus large swathes of the country. For instance, India where our group is going in October: this is a huge country and what is needed for Delhi is not the same for the Himalayan plateau or the agrarian south.…
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Trouble in Africa: Kenya Tourists Evacuated
For some time now, Kenya has been experiencing an uptick in crime. The UK government today evacuated tourists from the popular beach resort, Mombasa. At The Women’s Travel Group we monitor our destinations carefully and when you look at our list, you will not see Kenya this year. We follow potential areas using several tools:
US State Dept. website of course is our first go to, but the US is sometimes delayed in updating serious information. An example is the warning on the Ukraine which was updated after days of unrest.…
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What to do when Your seatmate is Unruly
Today a SWAir jet had to stop in Omaha to get a crazed passenger off the plane (he tried to open the read hatch). What can you do if someone near you is difficult, odd or actually talking scary? The answer is not really much. My experience was with a man who refused to let me lower my seat back on an 8 hour flight. He was aggressive towards me and then towards the crew.
The answer is here: first ask crew for help.…
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Travel Safety Warnings and What to do about Cancelling
Q: Are Travel Advisories and State Department Warnings Covered?
This information is from TravelInsured our travel insurance company. The question on their newsletter was: does travel insurance cover you if an area is under a State Dept warning or caution. Do note: we do not go to areas under State Dept warnings. Only once did we cancel a trip for 25 going to Egypt; they were all refunded promptly and well before we were paid.Answer from TravelInsured: No, these types of events are not covered under any travel insurance policy unless you purchase the Optional Cancel For Any Reason.…
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Travel Medicine: Too Much? Not Enough?
We are getting questions about what shots and precautions for our upcoming India trip, Oct. 25-Nov 4 and for other trips to more exotic places. These questions bring up several themes:
The obvious one for us as tour operators is we are NOT medical advisers and are not equipped professionally to give out medical advice. We can tell you what one of us does for our personal health, but this is not a guideline for yours.
The second comment is that what you will need depends on what season you are visiting a country.…
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What to Wear When You Complain at a Hotel
When you need to complain about your hotel situation, how you look can be as important as how you talk. Assuming you are traveling with minimal clothes, here is how to dress for this encounter. (We already printed a blog on How To Complain). Here is how to dress:
Pick out the most conservative shirt and or / jacket you have. Swirl around a scarf to make you look less formal but ‘dressed’. If you only have a tee shirt, then cover it nicely with the scarf.…
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Is your Guide Book Author Honest?
Before you buy a guidebook for your next trip, consider the author / authors!
Who wrote it? Man or woman? US or non US? How old is the author? Where do they live?
—Women will be more conscious of our needs and might include more informal information about lifestyles and markets.
—If a different generation than you, are you happy with their choices of must see’s and must eats? (exception Lets Go Guides from Harvard, written by juniors and seniors but full of deals and interesting sidelights).…
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Travel Don'ts with Special Needs
Today I had a nice call from a woman who is planning on going to Morocco with us for Thanksgiving. She studied the itinerary and asked if she could sit in front of the bus for the one longer drive over the Atlas Mts. The answer was of course, yes.
Here are typical and atypical special needs we have been asked before:
1. Car sickness, yes sit in front.
2. Hearing impaired, yes sit near the guide so you can hear him.…
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How to Complain about Airline Crew
As we are not allowed to carry liquids on planes we suggest you, at least bring an empty bottle. You can then be more vigilant about staying hydrated during the trip. Crew serve water/juice etc in those tiny cups and even two at a time is not enough. Drinking more for the 48 hours before your trip is also a smart idea. We have heard that some travelers have carried on frozen water as a non liquid; truly do not. Each time travelers play around with the rules, we put the airline in jeopardy of fines.…
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Exploding Cosmetics: Warning for Women Travelers
Recently I was on a plane and decided to reapply lip gloss before we landed. The pressure of the plane made the gloss explode and worst the metallic sheen of the gloss penetrated my clothes and leather bag. This can happen with any cosmetic, so how will you know ahead of time?
1- Tubes are culprits: so squeeze out all the air before you get on the plane, close quickly.
2- You may also tap containers of all kinds, it to get the air to the top before you open them.…
