Travel Tips Blog and Statistics
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Tour Operator Bankruptcy
What an awful thing to happen to people: they are booked and paid up and the tour company goes bankrupt. If paid by credit card, and not stranded overseas, most people get their $$ back.
I have just booked a trip with my husband’s college and the college requires payment by personal check. So how do I protect my money?
Some travel insurance policies do protect against bankruptcy. But here is what consumers do not know: they do not cover all tour companies and airlines.…
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How to Measure Weather Below the Equator
As many have asked, the weather is not the same in Buenos Aires or Capetown as in NY or Boston, which have reverse seasons, being North of the Equator. As much as BA or Capetown look equidistant from the Equator as NY or Boston, they are not.
Buenos Aires and Capetown have weather more like that in Los Angeles, even though they appear on the map to mirror NY or Boston. Rainy seasons are also different. Buenos Aires has rain spread out all year.…
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How to Save $1500 on Our Argentina Journey
Here are the best things that can happen with a room share:
-new friend
-shared the savings on the single supplement
-great gossip about everyone elseHere are the worst things that can happen with a room share:
-one of you loses the key
-both of you like to keep the hotel amenities
-both of you forgot the safe combinationSeriously, everyone saves money, and traveling with our group of women means from breakfast through dinner, we are together. A room share does not mean you are tied by the hip.…
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Airline Prices Have Fallen: it is Taxes which are the Culprit
Many travelers do not know that airline prices have fallen over the years. It is taxes which are the culprit for high prices. Today I got an email from a airline ticket consolidaror, giving out deals from Los Angeles.
Here is the shocker:
LAX to Europe was around $265, taxes were $650. So it is the taxes which are the big piece. Sites selling airline tickets are now required to add the taxes to the amount you see before you click.… -
What Travel Insurers Do Not Tell You About Terrorism
They do not necessarily fly you home if there is a terrorist act in your destination, if your itinerary can skip the one area. Read the small print please!
They do not tell you what to do if the act is before you leave and the US State Dept has not issued a warning yet. Learn the difference between a warning and an advisory and the other vague language used by officials.
So how do you decide if you should go ahead with your trip?…
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Why is a Compliment from Arthur Frommer Important?
What does it mean when a travel icon like Arthur Frommer compliments your company?
It means literally The World, especially if unsolicited and permanently on the web. Those of us who have been in the travel business for eons, need a way to differentiate ourselves from the upstart internet tour companies. The ways to show we are for real are to include a compliment from an authority like Mr. Frommer. It is also significant to be accepted into a selective industry membership like IATAN and to have the right to sell travel insurance.…
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The Angst of Tipping for Women
Tipping is always angst for women. We have trouble putting a monetary amount on a service and worry about under or over doing it. Before you travel, check what is included or not included in your tour package. Usually guides and drivers gratuities are extra. Usually porterage is included.
So how do you handle it when the luggage porter stands outside your hotel door , heavy bags in hand waiting for the second tip?
I give in, dig deeply and tip again usually a dollar if in a non European area!…
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Shopping Nightmares Overseas
Today I saw an ad for the great discount shopping outside of Disney World in Orlando. Fl. This ad reminded me, that the good old shopping we used to do overseas,might not be there anymore. Some countries still offer deals but even China with its inflation and artificially high Yuan is creeping out of bargain territory. Before you travel, do your research.
Look at sites about shopping in your target area. Check Ebay and use the actual terms: ie search for Argentine leather jacket not just leather jacket.…
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Why Your Credit Card Overseas Might be Rejected
Most of the articles are written about fees for foreign credit card transactions. Few mention that a PIN is required for many credit card expenditures in Europe. If you plan on spending using plastic, bring Amex which does not require a pin. Amex is not accepted everywhere as merchants say it is more expensive, that is a forewarning. If you have to pay cash and use the ATM, try to avoid Fridays as the dollar/foreign currency rate is highest before a weekend.…
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Warning on International Cruises as Carnival Goes to Asia
The news that Carnival Cruise is going to leave from Singapore brings up another pitfall with choosing a cruise. Will you feel isolated when other guests are speaking Chinese? Ask us here.
Last year I took a river cruise on which 85% of the passengers were German ( it was marketed as ‘an international departure’). This mix meant announcements in 2 languages, only 10-15% of the passengers spoke English and we were segregated at all meals. We found out we paid much more than the Germans.…
