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Newest Adventures without Nervousness
Here are some new tourist destinations from The Women’s Travel Group, with novelty but no nerves: good for solo women travelers.
Cuba: long isolated by US laws, Cuba will eventually be a cruise stop. Go now while the island is still unspoiled, yet friendly to Americans–one of the ironies of history. Our trip is not like others: it is not a specialized art, or medical, or music or dance theme. We combine as many experiences as possible in one week: people to people, art, history, colonial buildings, music, dance and just a tad of crafts.…
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Scared Cat Travel
“The trick is not to ride your stomach of butterflies, it is to make them fly in formation”. Cannot remember whose quote this is, but I wrote it down years ago when first traveling. Why? Travel is a learned habit and a glorious one.
New travelers are prone to listening to anxious friends who never go anywhere! They allow friends to color our wonderful world with visions from CNN and Fox TV. The magnificent scenes of golden temples in Bagan or the mountains behind Marrakech can be erased by others’ so easily. …
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Flight Deals within Europe
Most Americans try to use their ff miles to/from Europe and fail. Here is another way to use them: fly to a less popular European gateway and buy an intra-Europe ticket.
Example: if you are joining our Tuscany Private Villa trip end March 2015, try to get your transAtlantic ticket into any of the following: London Heathrow,Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Rome, Milan, Geneva, Vienna, Munich keep trying the big airports. Here is a list of the busiest airports in Europe.
Now try the following European discounters for your flight to Pisa(in our example).…
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What Not to Do on a Plane
Five don’t for long distance travelers:
1-Don’t brush your teeth in the bathroom on planes,nasty water dirty area.
2-Don’t take a sleeping pill. You will still be jet lagged and sleeping through a long flight creates a risk for dehydration and worse: clots.
3-Don’t leave valuables unattended even if you have them on your person-rest on them like the Princess and the Pea.
4-Do not treat yourself to the salted snacks or that second glass of wine.
5-Do not let others bother you; it is better to ask neighbors to lower music or windows or conversation than to suffer for hours.… -
Healthy Travel While Seasons Change
For those traveling this Autumn, here are a few tips to save you from colds, wet feet and or sleep deprivation.
Temperatures change rapidly this season: today it is 65 in New York and Sunday it will be 81- very hot for this time of year. Layering is the answer and sizing is another. Layering is not just about putting one garment on top of another. You also need to consider what sweaters for instance are too tight for undergarments. Same with coats which might pull with too many sweaters beneath the surface. …
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Why a Private Villa is a Perfect Trip
In March 2015 we return to our private farmhouse in Tuscany for another week of sightseeing, cooking, eating and laughing. The villa is 40 minutes from Pisa, has 11 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, 3 living rooms,with tv and comfy furniture, several wonderful farmhouse tables for our meals, wifi, and acres of vineyards and forest. All the rooms are charmingly decorated, and huge for solos--the trip has no single supplements- we all get single rooms.
We never saw a boar, but were assured they were our neighbors.…
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Solo Scares on Large Cruise Ships
Today we have choices of all sizes of ships, from riverboats of 100 guests to cruise ships of 1,000’s. What is best for women who are serious travelers? Why should you avoid the temptation of cheap fares on huge ships?
Large cruise ships need ports for docking. That means you often arrive far from the actual place you wish to see. For example from its port city, Livorno to Florence, the drive is a minimum of 90 minutes each way. You have to get up very early for the tour than when you arrive in Florence, you find yourself surrounded by cruisers blocking the very things you came to experience. …
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Last Minute is Not Tomorrow
Last minute is used by tour companies to wake you up. Most companies call last minute 90 days before arrival. Why? Because if you travel with a big group, hotels and airlines require deposits ahead of time. However if you travel with a smaller group like The Women’s Travel Group, last minute is only 2-4 weeks away. We once booked a woman the day before a trip!
Our last minute trips include:
Canyon Ranch Health Resort, Lenox MASS. October 9 arrival for 4 nights or October 10 arrival for 3 nights. …
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Melatonin from Costco?
We all adore Costco, with its edible tidbits, amazing prices, and little surprises. Today the surprise was Melatonin. Which reminded me to talk about other Costco Travel Stuff. Luggage of course but you might do better at Marshalls or TJ Maxx. Snacks for sure: granolas, dried fruit, candy bagged into small lunch able sizes, basically everything you might crave in between meals. Then there is the giant container of zip lock bags- never enough it seems-even if you throw a few empties into your suitcase.…
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When is a Place Scary or Just Exotic?
Just had a call from a new traveler who is interested in Morocco for Thanksgiving. Her question: is it scary? There is a broad line between scary and exotic and here are some of the guidelines for that frontier.
Scary is being alone is a crowded market where the language and writing are foreign. Exotic is wandering with our guide in a Moroccan souk knowing she is watching out for you.
Scary is finding you are in a political demonstration. Exotic is being in a country when eventful things are happening, like our group in Buenos Aires, Argentina on the anniversary of Evita’s death.…
