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Holiday Travel for the Petrified
Holiday travel overseas is less busy than domestic. Only 3% of flights were cancelled in 2023 vs 28% in 2022, and trends are lower for this week even with higher volume. Statistics show holidays are less insane than the press would have you believe.
Tuscany Winery with The Women’s Travel Group Arrive at your airport 3+ hours before scheduled flight times. Make sure you put your email and cell numbers into the airline app. With those contacts, you get notices of delays, cancellations, gate changes, even baggage movements (Some Airlines provide the latter Delta and SW). …
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Cash? Or Card?
Money when traveling overseas. Should you carry cash? Award winning tour company, The Women’s Travel Group says yes. A qualifier, carry only unmarked and un torn US bills. ( No coins. It is impossible to exchange coins overseas.) This cash is for incidentals, ie airport shops might accept a dollar for bottled water. Or you want to give a small tip to a porter? Or donate to a charity box? For most travels, $50 is the emergency cash you might need. …
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Tourism Danger and Elections
Are countries dangerous during election? This November, European visitors are asking this question about our country. Election disruptions can be a travel issue. 20 European countries had or will have elections in 2024.
Congressional Report from the Library of Congress. Unpredictable for us travelers is that election dates are scheduled differently in each country. Some are predictable, like that of the US, others are unpredictable and can be announced with little advance notice.
Some are peaceful. Some are not peaceful. Some elections come with restrictions on what a visitor can and cannot do on election day.…
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Never done it before?
Many phone calls start with I have never done it before. I want to travel but but but. How do you get over ‘the never done it before’ bit. Think about the other ‘never done it before’ situations you conquered:
First coed dance ( camp? church? school?), you stood in the back, concerned about not getting a partner or worse, having to dance with a partner!
The worst is first appointment with a gynecologist. We all survived that.
First day of college.…
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Water Water but none to drink
Even on an inclusive trip, an extra cost can be water. A liter of bottled water in Europe averages 5 euros in a store and 10+ in a restaurant That means $100 a week to quench your thirst. When should you drink H2O from the hotel sink, when not?
Center for Disease Control Airplanes dehydrate, travel is tiring, water at meals might not appear. Most of us are shy about asking for tap water, especially while watching Europeans order the bottled stuff. …
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Bye Bye Passport, Old Friend
If you are a big traveler, you suffer a stone in your stomach, as you say Good Bye to your passport. You drop your beloved passport into the black hole of the mail box. You feel a lost at sea imbalance.
Source US Passport Agency Another love it or hate electronics. You can now renew your US passport on line. This update/innovation means no mailing of a passport to the State Department and no paper application. Plus no worry that an interloper will masquerade as you on their journey to Rome.…
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Are you a difficult traveler?
Over 32 years we have had 1,000’s of women travel with The Women’s Travel Group. Our company asks you on a Booking Form if you have special needs. Yes, some needs might be dietary vegetarian? vegan? no red meat? no sugar? only fresh food? Others are physical as in hearing or eyesight issues, colostomy bag issues. (We had a blind guest travel with us; she came with a friend.). A third group are allergies: perfume, peanuts, shellfish even on someone else’s plate and gluten. …
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Be Your Own Concierge
Even in a group tour like The Women’s Travel Group, you might want to book an extra goody, with guaranteed transportation. You can use a concierge; but be aware they might get a commission and might only offer expensive suggestions.
Some apps we use in North America can be used overseas. Uber is the best example. When in another country, your Uber app works, debits your credit card with a fair US exchange rate. Not sure Uber is available? Click on the app and it will show asap if it works in say Tokyo or Bangkok.…
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Asia too Far for Senior Women?
The Women’s Travel Visits India The Women’s Travel Group shares information to help you to explore some of the most enthralling places on earth: travel to Asia.
1 Tackling, surviving and even enjoying long distance flights. Travelers are anxious before a major trip. Flying to Europe is usually at night; we know we are in for a restless partially sitting up 7-9 hours. We know we will be tired, hungry at the wrong times, awake with the moon.
There are pleasant surprises when you fly N.…
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Women & Packing Obsessions
I am guilty of being a perfectionist. Similarly many woman are obsessed with minutiae when they travel. Here are simple packing solutions to make you less fraught when you join The Women’s Travel Group.
The Women’s Travel Group in Ethiopia Leave home most make up. Honestly no one cares in Florence, if your skin glows less without your serum.
Wear socks twice, no one will mind; there are no socks’ police in Japan.
Tiny spot on your tee shirt? Enjoying your bistro meal on the Cote D’Azur, no one sees it.…
