Travel Tips Blog and Statistics
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Clues to not Overpack
How not to Overpack from experts at The Women’s Travel Group.
A few of our group in the Yucatan. Women overpack. Real reasons: weather in your destination is iffy? Your trip is during ‘shoulder season’? Temperatures seem to be higher this year? Rain is always unpredictable?. What if you drip coffee on the one ‘dress up’ shirt?
Upfront questions? Are dinners included and are they dressy or casual- our group is casual. Do guests dress in finery while staying at your hotel?…
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Are You Afraid of Immigration?
Has the press convinced you to be afraid of Border Crossings? The Women’s Travel Group received 2 calls about border worry. Should you be afraid of immigration personnel here or in
Europe or in Mexico or of TSA? USA Today reports that people are increasingly anxious crossing borders, especially if they have unusual visas or complicated paperwork issues. Since 911 border officials have been more vigilant and that continues to today. …
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Perfect Cool Summer Trip
Who Joins Women’s Travel Group to Ixtapan?
What is Ixtapan? This is our favorite COOL SUMMER mountain getaway. 1/4 the cost of the Rockies. Ixtapan Resort is an all suite, all balcony resort rebuilt in 2019 to a high standard. A one week package in August includes spa treatments- literally head to toe. Hair treatments, facials, daily massages, body scrub, volcanic mud wrap, foot reflexology, mineral water baths. A full service salon is included, with mani, pedi, hair styling etc.…
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Smart Phone, Basic Travel Uses.
Today I read that the iPhone is 18 years old. Many senior women own new or newish iPhones but still cannot use them for basic travel needs. Five baby skills to learn today are:
Where to store travel documents. Too many women tell us they cannot find documents they received by email? Most smart phones allow you to put a star next to an important email, say the 24/7 number for our Paris Cruise in May. Do it. Better and quicker, if you need the document: download the attachments. …
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True or False: Airfares Drop
The Admin and Flight Costs-from The Women’s Travel Group
The press reports that flights are dropping in costs, especially international flights. This drop is due to fewer overseas visitors and other factors. Major airlines like American and Delta have non US partners. Examples: American has British Air and Delta has Air France, KLM. Therefore incoming tourists chose both US and non US carriers for their travels.
Recent price history is, as you know: Pandemic: few flights anywhere.…
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Spa Does not Mean Hungry
Spa does not mean hungry. Fitness does not mean exhaustion. Yoga does not mean cramps. Our most popular Summer cool weather trip is to Ixtapan Spa Fitness and Yoga Resort, In the majestic Sierra Madre Mts. This famous resort benefits from Cool Summer weather breezes over stunning scenery.
One of our Summer Groups to Ixtapan Who goes? Mainly but not all women, mainly guests coming alone in our discounted group, and mainly women coming alone from all 50 states and Canada who like our group.…
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I was Scammed
How to Protect Yourself by The Women’s Travel Group.
More than ever, we women travelers, need to protect our hard earned funds, set aside for travel. Here are some common scams/errors. I was caught in a few of these.
New documents for travel to the UK and EU. I applied on line for the UK Electronic Travel Authorization. One website says Official Site ETA but it is a visa service, another says Visa Application, also a private service. I hunted down the one that says gov.uk…
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Are You a River Rat?
Viva River Cruise A Primer about River Cruises from The Women’s Travel Group
Rivers flow in one direction; from higher elevations downstream. The direction of the river is your compass to identify the right bank and the left bank. Now you know what the Right and Left Banks of Paris are and what it means.
VIVA River Cruise 
Our balcony cabins on VIVA Cruise River cruises dock, changing from one side of the river to the other, usually every other day, so all cabins have equal views.…
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Senior Flyers on Airplanes
Traveling with us on our Festival Celebration India Trip? To Greece with us? OR on our Seine and Paris River Cruise? Or other tours in 2025? Here is how to survive inside and out. After flights, you will feel dried out from your head to your toes. Nails might crack. Hair feels dusty. Your face has difficulty smiling. Arms and legs are tight and dehydrated. These effects are worst for senior women. Why? Planes are usually at 20% humidity vs normal of 50% for most other us.…
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Mirror on the Wall: Passport Photos
Who likes their passport photo? Who likes their facial recognition photo? Im guessing no one likes their passport photo or the facial recognition photo that stares at you in the airport departure line. You are in synch with 9 out of 10 people who also did not like their passport photos. Worse they deemed themselves un-photogenic.
India with The Women’s Travel Group TSA officers use biometric cameras to assist with identity verification. Your photo and personal data are deleted after your identity is verified.…
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Food: Hot or Not?
I love to eat but am not what you might call a “Foodie”. Foodie usually means someone who has a strong interest in food, as in creating a hobby around food.There are some foods which drive me directly to book a trip. There are others I must bring home. There is a third category of affordable food gifts.
Start with India: some women are concerned about spiciness or about raw foods.
Here are the surprises: Up front breakfast at the quality hotels we stay in has European, often Japanese, Indian and American breakfast.…
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Bargains Overseas
The Women’s Travel Group does not include shopping on our trips. You will have some time to do it on your own. Kitchenware is the go -to for shoppers. European kitchenware is of the best made. Items are usually better designed, cheaper, and serve uses you did not know existed. Since European decor is different, colors of kitchenware are also different. And, of course, there are special items for special foods. You can shop budget wise at what we recognize as Woolworth type stores.…
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This article is from ‘The Three Tomatoes’
Written by Phyllis Stoller for the great newsletter above. This version is slightly edited.
WTGroup in Oman. The first group in this town after borders opened in 2021 I have traveled a great deal, lived abroad and after returning to the US. This article is a ‘look back at travel experiences during ‘uncomfortable’ or ‘new’ political climates. How will a “change of government” effect our enjoyment as tourists?
Walking down the street in Paris or Berlin, Americans are pretty obvious; we are tall and large.…
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Airport Insanity
True facts and tips from tour operator, The Women’s Travel Group. As you enter an airport, you will likely lose your mind. Your grey matter stays stuck on undone chores for your home life. You are still unsure of efficiency for the new trip. You drag a suitcase, with cash squeezed in a pouch against your ribcage. Your forgot to put on lipstick or comb your hair? Where did you put house keys? Where is the boarding pass you printed at home? …
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Travel with a new Adminstration
The Women’s Travel Group summarizes what the experts expect for the next 4 years. Are they right? Optimistic or Pessimistic? Do they all agree? A broad brush of the Administration’s general policies: less regulation? more monopolies? privatization? tight immigration rules?
Womens Travel Group in the Yucatan Industry experts like the newsletter Skift write that restrictive visa and immigration policies might reduce in bound tourism. For us traveling Americans, fewer seasonal laborers damage travel services in airports and train stations, in restaurants and related services.…
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India a Must Trip
When I graduated from Business School, I opted for a special gift: not an attache case or fancy pen. I opted for a trip to India. Films like “Gandhi” by David Attenborough and A Passage to India by David Lean displayed uniquely Indian scenery of hills and palaces, camels and cows, colors of silk and spices. Backgrounds included the tempting markets of bangles and semi precious stones, textiles, pottery and gold jewelry. There were unusual characters and wandering animals. Uniforms both simple and regal.…
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Special Solo River Cruises
Be a cruiser not a bruiser, tips and special solo priced river cruises from The Women’s Travel Group.
Hotel check in, packing/unpacking, foreign bathrooms and signs? Love to travel but want to avoid the double whammy of jet lag and touring? River cruises are your answer. Did you drool over Parisian scenes during the July Olympics? Join our group and enjoy stress free travel to Paris and Normandy from our special solo river cruise. Toss in Norman countryside, shore line villages and ‘voila’ you have a French experience.…
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Travelers: Say NO
The Women’s Travel Group teaches you to say NO.Air travel is not as disruptive as hyped by press, or, as home made videos record. There are times when you have to tolerate bad behavior; there are times when you need to say NO.
Once your boarding pass and/or face are scanned, is there a check that you sit in your assigned seat? Here is a new word: seat squatting. Seat squatting is defined as taking an airplane seat that is not assigned to you.…
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Guide to Dining Overseas
How not to be a Dining Dufus.
The most awkward meal ever. The dinner was in Munich Germany; I could not read German but did know the word for ‘dumpling’: knodel (with accent marks). Who doesn’t love dumplings? I ordered knodel. Time passed, the waiter brought 2 grapefruit sized beige balls. I started uncontrollably laughing; German diners looked at me with shock. Clearly I did not know German knodel.
We were 3 ladies on a Women’s Travel Group tour. In the Tokyo Airport, we noticed a couple enjoying what looked like delicious pasta.…
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Success; approval to enter the UK
Success for one from The Women’s Travel Group. !!! I applied for the new UK ETA ‘Electronic Travel Authorisation’ needed to enter the UK after January 8 2025. A similar application will be used for entering the European Union after January 8 2025. Consider applying before the crush….
Here is what to know about the UK one only:
Have ready:
Passport
Credit Card or Apple Pay
Smart phone
One other electronic device (my opinion).
Make up— so you look decent (I started the process in pajamas; vanity prevailed).…
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2025 Wishes- Senior Women Travelers
There is bad news for senior women travelers. Worse news for senior women who travel solo. Lets hope 2025 brings travel industry improvements for the 77 million women over 65, who FYI hold most of the discretionary $$. (Source: AARP). Here are suggestions for the industry who might be anxious for the $7000 we each spend on travel annually. These are cheap solutions.
Women’s Travel Group meal in Italy Let’s start with the subtle theme called “who pays for the wine”, aka “couples on tour do not want to eat with solos”. …
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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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Solo Christmas Travel
Holidays are around the corner. The Women’s Travel Group offers both Thanksgiving and Christmas trips. Thanksgiving is waitlisted this year. Christmas Rhine cruise might have space. Contact us asap. Holidays create emotional unwrapping of memories and of loneliness. Many of us especially, women who are single, miss families and friends.
There are some terrific surprises for you, ladies, with overseas travel during Christmas.
Flights are not that crowded if you do not leave on school/college semester end days.…
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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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Travel Quiz-Women
Can you take the first solo trip? A test from award winning, The Women’s Travel Group.
Can you do the trip physically? Try walking a mile, which is 20 times the length of Saks Fifth Avenue’s famous 6th Floor shoe department. We are not talking run or rush, just walk.
Can you drag your suitcase from the taxi/car to airline check in? Next time you load up on Tide pods at your supermarket, push the wagon with one hand?…
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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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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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“Why did I buy it”?
Visiting Vineyards in Italy with The Women’s Travel Group Women like to scratch their shopping itch when traveling abroad. Here are a few items to reconsider.
Shoes. Shoes in Western Europe, especially Portugal, Spain and Italy are mouth-wateringly attractive and cheap. Bear in mind the following: the ‘last’ used in European shoes can be different from the ‘last’ used in shoes made for the American market. European shoes can be narrower, with sizing based on centimeters not inches. The difference in measurement can alter the shoe fit.…
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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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Female Travel Insomnia
Why do women suffer from insomnia before a trip? Even experienced travelers have trouble sleeping the night before departure.
The Women’s Travel Group Some women experience travel anxiety because of bad experiences. A cancelled flight, going to the flight with an expired passport (full disclosure it was me in August 2024). Experts say most worry is not connected to specific experiences; worry rests somewhere in our grey matter.
The Sleep Foundation lists reasons for sleeplessness: fear of flying, anxiety about problems during the trip, packing, arrival time worries, motion sickness, long flights, chance of delays or interruptions, inability to sleep sitting up, dryness and germs on planes.…
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Airline App Lesson 101
How likely are senior women to load electronic travel apps on smart phones? I say: highly unlikely. Most of us are half in the modern and half in the non-electronic world. We love sending photos with phones; we hesitate to manage flights on the smart phone airline app.
Our Group in India. Save $150 on India now. Here is why it is best to learn the airline app and get on with it.
You have control over your reservation. You have easy access to the record locator or id number of your flight and its departure times.…
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What Traveling Women Fear
Travel advertising is a turn off to us senior women. Brochure photos show clothing often associated with hiking, and the outdoors. Jackets by Patagonia? Shirts by Columbia? Parachute pants by LL Bean? Women travelers often analyze clothing especially shoes to assess the group. Women travelers do not relate to groups wearing fly fishing outfits. In sum, travel clothing in industry brochures is a turn off to senior women. We are retired or still working professionals; we need to be a teeny bit of a slob on the road. …
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Seeing the World High Up
What the Paris Olympics told me…
Some European cities are magical. From high up they are fantastical. I hate heights, but panoramas tell a story like no other. Watching the Paris Olympics made me reconsider climbing or riding to heights to catch the best views. From the air, wow’s are wow er.
Source Official Guide to Eiffel Tower. In Paris you can climb up to the basilica of Sacre Coeur for views from the highest natural point on a hill. You can climb the Arc de Triomphe for a panorama of the ladder like boulevards.…
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1st trip since Covid?
What to expect since Covid?
The Women’s Travel Group hears from women who have not traveled since Covid. They are worried, unsure of new regulations or documents, masking or not, health insurance and more. So if you have not traveled since Covid, here are some changes, some improvements, and some warnings.
Source DOT Changes
No vaccination card needed anymore. However we always recommend you bring a list of your own prescriptions in the generic and vaccinations. Generic can be read overseas; US brands sometimes cannot be read.…
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Travel: Nervous Breakdown Part 1
There is a pre-travel disease called panic. It might be worse for women travelers. Here is how to travel panic free from The Women’s Travel Group, an award winning tour company.
Lunch on our Italy trip. www.thewomenstravelgroup.com Step 1 is plenty of extra time for every stage. Have with too much time at the airport. Airports can be crowded, stand on line and ignore the line crashers. Airports have amenities: restaurants, bathrooms, ample seating, electrical outlets, USB ports. Most have free public wifi.…
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Danger in Street Markets
Fake goods can get you in trouble. Source: US Customs https://www.thewomenstravelgroup.com Is the fun of buying fakes in street markets gone? The Women’s Travel Group says Yes. Customs might confiscate your Hermes-ish bag. Two days ago it was announced US Customs seized $2.98 billion of fake goods, entering this country, way up from$1.5 billion in 2019.
There were 31,030 handbags and wallets, 28,910 pieces of clothing, 14,098 watches and jewelry, thousands of shoes, electronics, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. There were dangerous toys, even sketchy candy. …
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Travel Apps, bribe your grandchildren
Thanksgiving is around the corner. So you are not electronically savvy but need to learn if you are going on our single special river cruise in July? Bribe your grandchildren at turkey time, and upgrade your travel app skills.
There are a few bits to learn, that is if you intend to travel and have a smart phone.
1—-Go to your airline site via google on your phone. Do not click a site other than the official one. Example, delta.com is the official site for Delta.…
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Making a Coach Seat Comfy
The Women’s Travel Group, an award winning tour company, has top suggestions for upgrading your seat, when you cannot upgrade it. To make a coach seat more comfy, do the following.
Fiesta at Ixtapan Spa, August still booking. Book an aisle seat if you can.
Stress free yoga class at Ixtapan Resort Inflatable pillows are not that comfortable. Experiment with the seat head rest to incline your head in different directions.
Incline your seat. Even if the person behind you doesn’t want you to, wait until after a meal, then gently push back. …
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First fitness/spa trip Packing List
You are probably concerned about clothes. Joining The Women’s Travel Group in August to Ixtapan Resort, below is what to pack. Ixtapan Resort is in magnificent mountain scenery at 6100 ft. August is cool. Daytime occasionally reaches 80 in full sun. Morning and night are 50ish. No fancy clothes needed.
Welcome Party for The Women’s Travel Group at Ixtapan Laundry is cheap.
Below are clothing suggestions for each activity.
6:30AM coffee 7AM walk: a fleece or sweatshirt, sweater, leggings or workout pants.…
