Travel Tips Blog and Statistics
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Can You Diet on Vacation?
Food is an essential part of travel and The Women’s Travel Group likes to eat on our trips. But can you refrain from a feeding frenzy when traveling?
Try to eat a hearty meal before you go to the airport so you don’t blow your diet on terra firma. That means, you do not empty all the good food from your pre-trip refrigerator-you might even plan a nice going away meal for yourself. Airplane meals are loaded with salt and sugar, so here you can eliminate some of this by pre-ordering a low salt low sugar meal.…
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What You Won't Get in a China Trip
All trips to China are NOT the same. Here is what you will not see with other groups, but do enjoy with us The Women’s Travel Group to China Oct 10-20. $2590+ air.
The Great Wall at Mutianyu: with fortified towers and, uncrowded vistas. Here the Wall is Mongol, not ‘Disney’.
Art only Chinese Afford Don’t you want to see the largest Art Museum in Asia? Only with The Women’s Travel Group.
Mao and Propaganda: No other trip includes Propaganda.…
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Volunteer Trips: Help or Hurt?
Here we are on our award winning India trip, this year Dec 4-16.A new book, ‘The Promises and Pitfalls of Global Health Volunteering’ by Dr. Judith Lasker is a good read for women travelers. Dr. Lasker’s book is informative yet disturbing.
Dr. Lasker examines dozens of small volunteer travel organizations and finds that some cause unintended disturbance, some are choppy with poor continuity, and some are not followed through. Some sap local confidence in doing the same job but differently, and many do not analyze long term results. …
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Do Newspapers Think we are all Millionaires?
Comment from The Women’s Travel Group Articles about travel gear inevitably list ultra luxury items. The NYTimes just wrote about Beauty Picks for Summer Travel:
Simple Micellar Makeup Removers: $799
Charcoal Eye Mask $23
Clay Volumizing Brow and Hair Powder $25
Dior Addict Lip Glow $33
Chanel Parfum Spray $98
Sephora Vacation Lipstick $42Here are The Women’s Travel Group’s Best Picks for Summer Travel:
Ziplock Bags 25c and bring lots of them
Trader Joe’s Moisturizer with SPF15 $3.99
Shampoo from any hotel $0 You can repair hair in 2 shampoos when you get home
Vaseline $2
Small duct tape $4
Ricki’s Beauty Supply root crayon and other cover ups $7-15
cosmetics.…
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US Airlines Block Discounters
Norwegian Airlines,one of the largest in Europe, is being blocked from new routes US-Europe by lobbying from our BIG Airlines. We recently wrote about Airline Safety. Apparently Norwegian meets the standards listed in that article.
So guys, if you want us consumers to book higher airfares rather than fly on Norwegian, then give us a bone:
Better ff benefits that you just snatched from us.
A nibble? A peanut? A chip or two?
Don’t charge for a tissue.
Add some decency to your approach.…
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Middle Seat War
Airlines are already charging for preferred seats. Some only give good seats to those with status. When you initially look at a flight’s seating chart, you cannot tell which seats are actually available until you log in or book.
Many women end up with that hated middle seat; make the best of it. Do not be shy about doing the following:
Request to share the armrest and keep requesting each time your seat mate takes it.
Ask for a lower Ipod volume.…
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How to Go to Battle with Airplane Problems
I just saw a video of a crowd going nuts at LaGuardia when their American Airlines flight was delayed/cancelled. It is not clear what happened. So what do you do?
Don’t get crazy. Get smart.
1- Start taking notes with names/times. Take photographs of the departure screen (with a date/time set on your phone/camera). Example: the screen says delayed but the representative says cancelled. You will need to show in facts to complain.
2- Talk smart. Yelling is not the way.…
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Is Your Airline Safe?
Several weeks ago, I took connecting flights. On the first intra-Europe, the door to the pilot’s cockpit was open. At the second check in, I was grilled about why I was traveling,who I worked for,how long, what was the job description and more. So which airline was safer?
Stats are that they both were!
Here are a few items to investigate:
Charters? NO Most insurance companies will not cover you on either a charter or private plane.
Code Shares: YES Code sharing airlines with US carriers are vetted by the FAA and the US carrier can be liable for its partners’ standards and safety.…
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Why Solos feel less Solo with River Cruises
If you are traveling solo, and want to experiment with a cruise. We recommend a river cruise.
Based on reality not fancy brochures, here are reasons:
River cruises dock in towns not sea ports thus enabling independent walking/shopping/snacking. Ports are often in swarmy neighborhoods and getting into town will require round trip taxis. Compare downtown Budapest on a river cruise vs. the port of Marseilles on a Mediterranean cruise?
River cruises offer walking/biking tours directly off the ship. This means immediate interaction with other passengers.…
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Safe, Sane and Smart Travel
Here are a few of us in India we are booking this trip now.My wonderful friend died of breast cancer years ago. I still miss her and her travel lust. Why mention this? Because more of my friends have died of breast cancer than of terrorism. The stats are something like 50 to cancer/ 0 to terrorism.
Why do we freak at the current Belgian headlines? Unexpected events have a greater impact on us than do everyday losses. Next time you are worried, think of how many friends you have lost to illness, drug addiction and suicide.…
