Travel Tips and Guide for Travelers.

How to save cash when booking a hotel room.

salele — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:05:45 +0000

As hotel chains get larger and more global, the availability of rooms to stay in has increased dramatically. The older hotels are being renovated and new hotels are being built everyday. Most people enjoy staying in a clean, comfortable room when they are traveling. If children are part of the family, it is important for a hotel to have other amenities such as swimming pool, restaurant with preferably free breakfast, video game room, exercise room, etc. Some hotels allow pets to stay there too.

Use frequent flyer miles

If you have a lot of frequent flyer miles, then you can use them to get the room completely free. Some large hotel chains have this convenience. As we already know, it is easy to collect frequent flyer miles without ever setting foot in an air plane. If we use credit cards that reward us with miles or use the specified portals on the web that give us extra miles for just buying everyday items via those portals, our frequent flyer accounts will increase considerably. Examples of the portals that allow you to collect miles for shopping online are https://www.aadvantageeshopping.com/login.jsp and http://skymilesshopping.com

Loyalty pays off

If you are a return customer to many hotel chains, you can collect points for free days of stay. As these points build up, you can gather free rooms continuously. If you are able to get reservations at special times of the year when they offer double or triple points per room, you can get free rooms instantly. If you have multiple members in your family, make sure that you add them all as members. Some hotels will give you miles as well as points, while some will give you only one or the other.

Business Discounts

If you are part of a business, it pays to research before you book the room. Most large corporations have discounted rates on the best rooms. So you may be able to relax in a royal suite for much less than you would have to pay on our own. Also, if you are a business traveler, you are entitled to other discounts and amenities such as restaurant, parking, exercise rooms, spa, hot tubs, etc.

Older and Wiser

If you have discounts such as AARP (The American Association of Retired Persons) you can get more discounts just for the asking. Make sure you speak up before you book the hotels and ask for all the discounts you are entitled to get. Many of the hotels refuse to give you more than one discount, but if you are there on site and willing to negotiate, you can get added bonuses that save you money.

Local attractions coupons

Most hotels offer discounts on local attractions. If a hotel room has problems or an angry customer needs appeasing, there are small consolation prizes that are offered by the hotels that can make your stay a little more enjoyable. You can ask for these special discounts on local attractions, free bus passes, free meals, museum tours, movie tickets, etc.

Use the consolidators

Online web sites where the consolidators buy rooms at wholesale and then distribute it at large discounts to customers can get you the best discounts. Visit http://www.hotels.com or http://www.hotelscheap.org to search for hotels in your destination. There are many styles of hotels, many grades of service and quality that you can choose from. The consolidators are in a hurry to sell all of the tickets they bought, so they may offer huge bargains on last minute sales. Make sure you use a credit card to buy these rooms because some of these online deals may not be legitimate. Today, there are two deals on these sites offering 30 – 40% off the rates if the customer books it for three consecutive days.

Are you one of a party?

There may be occasions such as weddings, conventions, retreats, etc when a group gathers in a hotel or in surrounding areas. Sometimes these local hotels may give discounts to the members of these groups. The last time I went for a retreat in Seattle, Washington, the hotel where we stayed gave us 15% off the rack rate just for being part of the group. These discounts are offered to out of town folk so that they will continue to return to these places for such conventions thus boosting the economy of the region.

Weekend Rates

If you can afford to travel any time you choose, then book the tickets for the days when the rooms are normally empty. Off peak seasons and weekend rates combine to get you drastic discounts from normal fares. Usually the hotel management is willing to cut you a deal since business is very slow during these times. You may be in luck if you ask for an upgrade or room with a better view or a non-smoking room. Also add pets to the package.

With Toby in toe, you may not have to worry about leaving him alone and can enjoy the trip to the maximum. Some of the better hotels have amenities for pets such as snacks, pet trails, pet parks, easily accessible doors for not-so-elevator friendly pets, etc.

Off peak months are when the tourists are gone and the town is pretty empty of crowds. This is the best time to get deals everywhere in town, at the museums, stores and other local attractions.

Inventory Rooms

Most of the hotels have a percentage of rooms that are held back due to problems that need to be fixed. Some of these rooms may have serious problems while others may have minor problems such as a dripping faucet or refrigerator breakdown. These rooms are removed from the check-in lists. If you are interested in these rooms, ask for the lowest rate at the hotel and then ask for a discounted rate.

Get those extras

You can also ask for extra services such as free breakfast, free parking, free telephone calls, and free in room movies. Most of the time these are added costs when we pay the bill, but if you can negotiate in advance, you may be able to reduce your total bill by a large amount, especially if you are traveling with family.

Planning ahead and using all your resources to bring down the price of accommodation will allow you to enjoy and relax even more!

See related articles.

June 14, 2010 — Tips for searching and bidding for hotel rooms online. (0)
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March 31, 2009 — How to rent lodging in foreign countries for only a few dollars a day. (0)
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What do to in case of an emergency or crisis when you are traveling abroad.

salele — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:29:06 +0000

While we are busy getting ready for travel and packing for our families, our most pressing thoughts usually linger on buying suitcases and completing last minute shopping chores.

However, there is one important issue that all of us need to consider before leaving our country. What happens if we get sick or injured while traveling?

Many of us may get travel insurance to take care of our investment in tickets by getting insurance that will safeguard our money if we have a reason to cancel the trip. A much more important matter is to know that we are safe and protected even if we are traveling in a remote area of an unknown country.

There are many types of emergencies that can happen when we travel. We can slip and fall down or somehow have an injury, we could have an auto accidents, we could get injured in a fire, avalanche or even a Tsunami like the one many tourists in Thailand and Sri Lanka experienced in the December of 2004.

There are many things you can do to before you leave the country to keep yourself safe while traveling:

Determine what your own health insurance will cover when you are out of the country. Some insurance companies allow you to call them if it’s not an emergency to request the nearest hospital that they can send you to. If it’s an emergency, they may reimburse the expenses up to a certain amount depending on your policy. It’s always better to go to the website of your health insurer and read the policy. If you are confused, call them on the telephone number provided on their websites

Find out what type of incidents your travel insurance covers. Usually they pay up to 75% of the payments and deposits up to 48 hours before departure. They may also give senior discounts, children insured free along with adults and other benefits depending on the amount of “upgrades” you choose. Travel insurance also may include Medical Evacuation services which includes transportation to the hospital of your choice in case you need major surgery or other treatment.

Before you leave, get all the phone numbers that you need to call and a world cell phone that you can use while traveling. Keep the numbers safe and near you at all times.

Check out the website for Centers for Disease Control site and search for any health warnings for each of the countries you are traveling to. Get all the vaccinations and medicines that you recommend.

Check out your government website to see if there are any warnings for the citizens of your country to stay away from traveling to your destinations. KEEP THE PHONE NUMBER OF YOUR EMBASSY at the destination country with you at all times. Find out how to dial that number (area code, etc) as soon as you reach the destination.

If you are traveling alone, taking a self defense course before you leave your country may be a good idea.

Pack a first aid box with some anti-biotic ointment, band-aids, scissors, etc. Also, carry a flash light (torch) with you.

When you have finally reached the destination, keep all your valuables together so that you can get out of the resort or hotel quickly in case of a fire or other emergency. I usually keep my valuables on the night stand all together in a pile along with the room key so that I can just grab them in case of an emergency.

Your first important job when you reach the resort or hotel is to find out from the hotel clerk or customer service person where the nearest hospital is. Its phone number also may be useful if you need to call them in an emergency. Ask if they have emergency services such as ambulance and evacuation. Also find out the police station numbers and try to walk to these places to see how far they are.

Another piece of information that will help is the location of the nearest pharmacy, drug store and grocery store in case you need diarrhea, nausea or burn medication.

Let us go through what we can do in case we face certain dangerous situations:

Remember most countries do not have fire drills or even fire codes and warnings. So you may be on your own if a fire emergency occurs. If you or anyone in your family is hurt, get out of the building immediately and call the local hospital and ask them to send an ambulance. So not try to retrieve any of your baggage etc.

If you or anyone in your family is seriously sick, call an ambulance and go to the hospital to see the conditions there. As soon as you can, contact your insurance companies and communicate the situation with them. If the condition worsens, ask them to evacuate the ill person as soon as they can back to your country.

In the case that anyone in your party gets injured while skiing, or surfboarding or just walking down the road, call your insurance company and ask them for advice. If it’s a simple injury, they may refer you to a hospital. If it’s a serious injury, you may be asked to call an ambulance and to get the patient in as soon as you can. Even if the insurance company does not agree, if you think that the situation warrants immediate action, do so. Just make sure that you have pictures of the accident to show the insurance company of the damages. Also, be prepared for a lengthy insurance nightmare. We had to do that one time and when we returned, the insurance company refused to pay for the emergency. After a few lengthy letters back and forth, they finally gave in.
In the case of a major natural disaster such as volcano eruption or Tsunami, try to remove yourself and your family as far away from the situation as possible before calling your embassy and your insurance companies. If anyone is missing or injured, and it’s impossible to get out of the situation, call your embassy immediately. Also inform the people in your country so that they can get your government to act for your safety. More than the disaster itself, what can hurt you is the chaos in the aftermath.

As a tourist, we always have cameras in our hands. No matter how painful it is, remember to take a picture of the extent of the disaster. This may help to reduce the pain of paying enormous bills when you get back home as they are proof that you can use to convince your insurance company of how devastating the experience was.

Hopefully, with all these precautions in place, you may not have to worry about any of these disasters and have a wonderful, relaxing vacation.

Bon Voyage!

See related articles.

October 24, 2011 — How to save cash when booking a hotel room. (11)
June 14, 2010 — Tips for searching and bidding for hotel rooms online. (0)
March 31, 2009 — How to rent lodging in foreign countries for only a few dollars a day. (0)
June 13, 2009 — Tips on rental car insurance and fueling options. (1)
March 25, 2009 — How to stay in homes in foreign countries for free. (0)

Tips for searching and bidding for hotel rooms online.

salele — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:02:44 +0000

By Salihu Ibrahim.

Most hotels would love to see their hotels fully booked and occupied. Unfortunately, it is the most popular and widely advertised hotels that get all the crowds while the lesser known hotel chains have hundreds of rooms every day that stay empty!

How can we find the hotels that are so desperately in need of people to occupy their rooms that they are willing to give deep discounts? Here are some ways in which smart travelers get quality rooms at big bargains.

Check out the websites to spot a bargain

One of the favorites of the hotel industry is the website http://www.hotels.com. They claim to know hotels “in and out”. Let us try a search on their engine. There are no search fees and they guarantee that they will match any fee that is less than their quote.

On the search page, we can enter specific Hotel chain names, property types (Hotel, Suite, Vacation Room or Condo, Resort or Bed and Breakfast) as well as what hotel amenities we prefer such as Business Center, Fitness Center, Internet Access, Full or partial kitchen, Pets, Pool, Restaurant, etc.

The best days for cheapest hotel rates are on weekends. Friday and Saturday and sometimes Sunday nights are the day you will find hotels most empty in towns which are frequented by business travelers. So weekend rates are usually priced up to 50% lower than normal rates. Decide on the rates that you expect for the days that you are traveling and make sure that the search includes these dates only.

Remember that the same weekend on a holiday season may be charged differently because of the influx of holiday tourists of families on vacation.

When we enter the dates and the town we wish to live in, out comes a long list of hotels in that city, ranging from $62 (Good Night Inn) to $ 500 (Le Meridien). So we can choose any of these hotels and try to get more discounts by calling them on their telephone numbers.

By clicking on the hotel “select” button in the list, you will get the addresses and maps along with the toll-free telephone numbers of each hotel you are interested in.

Narrow down your choices

Choose a few (at least five of them) among the more luxurious hotels than the type of hotels you are used to staying in when you travel. Our goal is to get the more expensive hotels for a bargain.

Search on the internet for coupons or deals on these hotels by going to http://www.google.com and searching for coupon. Even the larger hotels usually have some type of deal or promotion going on. Some may offer free days or larger discounts, tickets for attractions, future discounts or points, etc.

It is usually smart to call each of the chosen hotels on their toll free numbers and ask them for quotes without making any reservations. Mention any frequent flyer miles or hotel points you are planning to use, children or senior citizens traveling with you, how many rooms you will need, any other facilities or discounts they are willing to give you (some hotels may give one day’s stay free if you stay for a three day weekend). Also mention if you have a corporate account or if you are a stockholder of the hotel chain.

Specifically ask for a list of all other taxes and charges and get a really accurate idea of what your total bill will be for each of the hotels. You may pad it up to 10% more because of additional charges such as telephone calls, internet access or video game rentals during the stay.

Now that you have narrowed down the list of hotels to that you would prefer to stay in, let us go to the next step.

Decide your strategy

PriceLine specifies that you can re-bid on hotels only once every twenty four hours. If you change your neighborhood, dates, city or quality (5* etc) then you can re-bid immediately.

The higher the star category of the hotel, the greater discount you can expect to bid. If you are planning to bid on a 4* hotel, and you saw a long list of such hotels in your hotel.com search, then that means there are a lot of available rooms for those dates, so you can bid lower simply because of the lower demand.

Go to http://www.hotwire.com which is a hotel booking website that does not tell you the name of the hotel until you have booked it. You can, however, bid on same quality hotels in the same area of town and see how low Hotwire can take you. You can bid about 15% less from the Hotwire price when you set your PriceLine.com bid

Cast the magical dice

Make sure that your PriceLine bid is at least 30% off the lowest prices you get by searching similar hotels online. If there are conventions going on in that town or it’s a busy season, then you can bid higher than this recommended low price.

Find out all the neighborhoods around the town where you really need to stay. Write down a list of all these alternate neighborhoods where you can stay for this trip. Usually, the airport hotels are the most expensive, and it gets cheaper as we get further away from the airport. Also, mid-town may have the best hotels with the most amenities and they may or may not be busy depending on the days and seasons.

Before you bid, remember that if you bid is accepted, your credit card will be charged immediately. There is absolutely no way to get any refunds!

Go to http://www.priceline.com and make the bid. Use only one neighborhood of your choice, even if you have multiple choices. Use the dates of your choice and review the total bill that includes the taxes and other fees. If you are not happy with the total charges, then bid lower.

What to do when bid is rejected

If the bid is rejected, return to the site and change the neighborhood choice (make sure you go back to the original search engine http://www.hotels.com as well as http://www.hotwire.com to check out the average prices for the hotels you want in that neighborhood as well as the rock bottom price for a nameless hotel in that category.

Again, try the new bid on PriceLine. If it is rejected, then try your luck on http://www.hotwire.com which will give you the absolute best choice on the best quality hotel around.

If your price is accepted on http://www.priceline.com then rejoice! You have won your choice of hotels in the city you wanted so that you and your family can enjoy this vacation with some extra cash in your pocket!

Bon Voyage!

See related articles.

October 24, 2011 — How to save cash when booking a hotel room. (11)
September 9, 2010 — What do to in case of an emergency or crisis when you are traveling abroad. (0)
May 26, 2010 — How to determine whether you need travel and medical insurance. (0)
March 31, 2009 — How to rent lodging in foreign countries for only a few dollars a day. (0)
March 26, 2009 — How to save on airfare, hotels, cruises, rental cars etc (0)

How to determine whether you need travel and medical insurance.

salele — Wed, 26 May 2010 19:38:59 +0000

By Salihu Ibrahim.

Most of us go on vacations with visions of ourselves lazing around on the beach or spending sun filled days hiking in the mountains. Have we ever though of what would happen if we had an accident or if we caught some type of virus or parasite that makes us unable to enjoy the rest of our vacation?

Under such unfortunate situations, it is too late to get insurance. The best time to determine whether we need insurance is when we are planning to go on a trip. Consider the following scenarios:

Is there a chance that your trip may be cancelled?

This usually happens when you book the tickets way ahead of time. Travel insurance is certainly necessary if you book a tour or cruise a year ahead of time. No one can predict what will happen tomorrow if not in a year! So its best to get travel insurance as soon as you book your tickets so that you can get some of the money you spent on tickets back if you have an emergency or accident that prevents you from traveling.

What exactly does your health insurance cover when you are traveling?

Most of us know what our insurance covers when we are in our state or city. How about traveling out of the state? What is covered in international travel? Its best to visit the websites, read all the information provided by your insurance company and then call them or email them with your questions.

Do we have children or senior citizens in our traveling group? Do we have medically handicapped people in our family?

Usually people who are in moderate health situations can take the risk of traveling with less insurance. It is not recommended that you take insurance if you are going to take part in adventurous activities such as skiing or mountain biking etc.

Does the city you will be visiting have an emergency system such as 911 with ambulance services? How to they treat tourists who have accidents?

This is a very important question whether you pay for travel insurance or not. What happens within a few minutes of an accident can make a huge difference depending on how hurt you are. Falling down a cliff or having an auto accident may not be uncommon and seconds count when you are critically injured. You could be paralyzed if the paramedics don’t handle you well or if there are no paramedics at all!

What is the weather like at the holiday sites?

If you are traveling on icy road conditions or heavy rain with chances of mud slides and low visibility, there are tremendous reasons to get yourself covered with medical insurance. Avalanches are common in skiing areas when heavy snow falls. Flash floods are common in heavy downpours. Some of the areas in Asia are known for tsunamis and tidal waves.

What are the types of medical facilities that exist for tourists who may feel sick?

Another consideration for travelers should be the availability of common medicines for fever, diarrhea, etc. Should you need those medications, verify that the insurance will refund the expenses.

How do we pay for any emergencies?

Most insurance companies pay after the fact, especially when it comes to incidents in foreign countries where they cannot confirm that the expense has occurred or that it is a valid reason for reimbursement. So you have to shell out the money at the hospital and later get reimbursed by the insurance company unless it’s a recurring charge and you have to stay in the country for longer periods of time because you are immobile.

Now that we have sifted through some of the reasons why we would need health and travel insurance, lets review what to look for when scouting for travel insurance:

If you or any one in your family group gets seriously ill or injured during the vacation, does the insurance company reimburse you for the unused portion of the vacation for all of you?
If the company you have booked with goes out of business, would you get the money back?
What about personal liability in case of legal problems that happen while traveling? What if you are charged with negligence for causing death or property damage?
What about loss of luggage or flight delays causing more expenses than anticipated? Most companies have a maximum on such claims
If you lost your passport and visa and would it pronto, how early can they get it to you? Some insurance companies specialize in 24 hour services so that we can easily get our important papers back.
Emergency medical evacuation is a big addition to the travel insurance. This is needed for travelers going to remote places such as Antarctica or the North Pole who may be stranded there due to weather conditions or other disadvantages. This is also required for people going to places where the medical care and services are less than what we are used to.
Accidental death insurance can be taken for those individuals who may be visiting high risk areas, war torn countries or scientists traveling to countries grappling with unknown diseases and death.

Travel insurance may be taken annually for those who travel every year. These trips may be taken multiple times in a year, but there may be a cap on the number of days that each trip can last for.

Travel insurance is also given to families and usually is packaged with low premiums when compared to the total amount that they would have had to shell out if each person in the family took individual insurance policies.

The key is to go for an insurance that carries higher deductible because generally these insurance policies have lower premiums. Verify that your insurance covers high risk activities such as winter sports and high risk adventures.

It is very important to find out how the claims will be made and when the money will be reimbursed. Always remember to keep copies of your receipts and the foreign exchange rates at that time. If you have email and can send in the claims as soon as they happen, you may get your money back sooner. There may also be a time limit on how long you can wait to claim the amount owed to you.

With precautions such as proper planning and complete insurance, you can enjoy a peaceful holiday!

Bon Voyage!

See related articles.

June 14, 2010 — Tips for searching and bidding for hotel rooms online. (0)
October 24, 2011 — How to save cash when booking a hotel room. (11)
May 11, 2010 — The three best travel days for price. (0)
July 21, 2009 — What to do when you are stuck in an airport overnight. (0)
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The three best travel days for price.

salele — Tue, 11 May 2010 11:40:39 +0000

By Salihu Ibrahim

Most countries in the world work on their own time tables. Saturday and Sundays may be holiday for some countries, but for many countries they are not holidays. Also, the religious festivals for each country are not the same. They are spread out through out the year.

Depending on the country you are staying in, we can deduce the best travel days for the week or for the year.

Some countries have Friday and Saturday as the weekend. In some Asian countries, only Sunday is a holiday. So the best days for travel may vary accordingly.

In the majority of the countries, however, Saturday and Sunday are holidays. Again, the days that are best travel days for business folk may not be the best travel days for holiday travelers or vacationers.

Do the math

Let us go through the reasons on which day of the weeks are considered the best for travel.

If you can look at the earth from a space station and see the people traveling around the world, you can see that most of the travelers are alone, going from place to place on business. They make up the majority that boosts the economy of most countries. As the world gets more and more linked by telecommunications and satellite equipment, people make split decisions to travel, find a good bargain by searching on the net and in a few hours, can be on a plane traveling at thousands of miles per second!

However, such impromptu flights are rare. It is more conceivable that companies decide on the necessity of business trips ahead of time and the employees leave their cities or countries so that they can be on site for the first day or work in the week, which is usually a MONDAY!

If a business person is traveling to a domestic (in the same country) situation, we can assume that they leave on Sunday morning or evening to reach the destination by Sunday night. After a night of rejuvenating sleep, they can get dressed Monday morning and be at the customer site well dressed and ready for work.

However, the business people who travel to foreign destinations may require some time to get over the jet lag experience. They may leave on Saturday to reach the city on Sunday. This means that Saturdays may also be reasonably busy. And yet, there is a possibility that they may not be as busy as Sundays.

After a few days’ worth of work, the same business traveler will return by Thursday or Friday to be back home on the weekend and ready to get back to work by the next Monday.

In some airports, they actually tax most people passing through the transit on Saturdays and Sundays! This weekend charge is usually added to the tickets as additional airport fees.

To summarize:

As we can see, the weekends matter a lot, whether its Friday-Saturday or Saturday-Sunday combinations, business people tend travel around those two important days. So we can be assured that Sunday is a very busy day indeed for travel.

What about the days between Monday and Friday? As most people want to get to the destination for work related activities, people can still travel on Mondays to get to local cities in domestic areas. Although international flights may not be full, internal flights still have a possibility of happening. So Airlines add more flights on Monday mornings to keep the business travelers and commuters (business travelers who live in one city and work in another) happy.

On Friday, as we have seen, many commuters are returning home and so Friday nights are all knows for bumping incidents and passenger ire! Some passengers return earlier on Thursday, and so that day is also quite busy at airports.

Since airport traffic is defined by the business travelers as we have seen, we can rule the day before the weekend, the two days of the weekend (for the majority of the Western world and the day after the weekend to be too busy for airports to offer any breathtaking bargains to average best-price hunting maniacs like us J

Eureka!

So that leaves us Tuesday and Wednesday as the days when most of the business world is busy doing some work or another in some city or another, working to solve problems, create products or sell something or another!

Have you tried to book a ticket on the websites? If you can go on Tuesday and return on Wednesday, you can get the best deals in the world! They really need travelers on their empty planes and they will treat you royally if you travel on those days. However, recently, I have noticed that airlines are getting smarter! They assign smaller planes on these days so that they can save on fuel, cleaning charges, etc. Darn!

Wait, there is more good news!

What happens when airports are empty? The auto rental agencies that would normally ask us an arm and a leg to drive off an auto, now welcomes us with smiles of kindness and cups of coffee. The car lots are full and they will not see any more reductions until Friday when the families of vacationers may come into town for a weekend of fun!

So on Tuesday and Wednesday, we are almost assured that the airports are empty, car rental charges are appropriately discounted and hotel accommodations are also similarly cut down. What more can we ask for?

So by virtue of our deductive powers (thanks Sherlock Holmes!) we have come to the conclusion that Tuesday and Thursday are the best days to travel for a bargain!

There is one more day that could be okay for traveling. This day may not be as perfect as mid week deals, but it could be better than Friday, Sunday or Monday! Have you guessed it already?

Thursday or Saturday, right? Oops, that gives us two days. Oh well, the jury is still out on those days. Sometimes Thursdays may get you good deals, and at other times, Saturdays may give you better deals. It all depends on when you will return. Hopefully you can return on any of the magic days of Tuesday, Wednesday.

So you can see how this works. Of course, all rules are assumptions are null when you have a three day weekend or a holiday season or even a sports event in the mix. Oh well, I guess this means we should never try to predict what people will do!

Whichever day you decide to start your voyage or return home, Bon Voyage!

See related articles.

April 28, 2009 — The truth about airfare consolidators. (1)
April 16, 2009 — How to save hundreds per year on fast food, restaurants, clothing etc. (0)
March 25, 2009 — How to bid for the best travel deals on Priceline. (2)
September 9, 2010 — What do to in case of an emergency or crisis when you are traveling abroad. (0)
June 14, 2010 — Tips for searching and bidding for hotel rooms online. (0)

The ideal season for last minute travelers.

salele — Mon, 03 May 2010 13:56:47 +0000

Summer season is the best for travel. The skies are blue, the beach is enticing us with its warm waters and all outdoor activities seem to offer so much promise. Most families in the world wait until summer to go on their yearly vacation. And of course that is also the time when schools are out and kids, teenagers, older students, etc. are trying to get away for a relaxing time hoping to erase the memories of crowded, classrooms, teachers and exams from their minds!

As expected, summer is the peak season for travel! Most planes are booked full far ahead of time (some hotels are booked a year ahead!) and even cars may be scarce when we try to rent one.

Most people are out and about in summer season spending like there is no tomorrow and everyone involved with the travel industry rejoice in the jangle of the coins dropping into their coffers. There are waiting lists for airlines, hotel rooms and auto rental places as well as bed and breakfast inns, entertainment places and popular restaurants.

In stark contrast to this happy picture is the other end of the spectrum when the crying of babies, the joyful yells of kids at the beach and the loud blaring music from the teenagers’ boom boxes are eerily silent. The hotels stand empty, planes run half full and cars are waiting in rows at the rental agency for the rare and brave traveler who dares to set out when the weather is not very cooperative!

As we can guess, it’s the off peak season when travelers can get amazing deals just to get to their destinations and utilize the many comforts at fabulous vacation spots that are eagerly waiting for the sight of accidental tourists.

Hunting for last minute deals is almost like winning a lottery when it comes to off peak season. Whether its searching online at http://www.travelocity.com or http://www.ortitz.com or http://www.kayak.com , last minute travelers can find thousands of deals to choose from for any destination they choose so long as its off-peak season for that destination or country.

There are many sites where you can check out these last minute deals. http://www.lastminutedeals.com http://www.lastminutetravel.com http://www.CheapFlights.com http://www.hotwire.com etc are geared to those last minute travelers who are willing to venture into a country in a season when no traveler has gone before! J

http://www.site59.com and http://www.11thhourvacations.com are other sites that cater to procrastinators and people who cannot plan their journey ahead of time because of various restrictions such as job responsibilities, financial restrictions, sick relatives, small children etc.

When you book a vacation for off-peak season, make sure you check out all the airline websites for the airlines in your region. Most of the time, the airlines themselves have awesome package offers at their sites, enticing travelers to try Christmas in Belgium or New Year in the Artic Circle (ok, just kidding).

Seriously, keep a lookout at all sites for the best available package deal to your desired destination. As we all know, package deals give us the MOST discount when booking a vacation.

Remember, the world has two hemispheres. When its off peak in the northern part of the earth, it is usually peak season in the southern hemisphere and vice versa. Isn’t that wonderful? We can always find last minute deals to travel around the world.

So how do we know what the off-peak season is for a country? Here are some of suggestions for off-peak travel:

Asia – Most countries in Asia that are located near the equator has even temperatures around the year. Watch out for the monsoon or rainy season which usually occurs June – November. However, Dec – May is the Peak season in most of these countries, when the tourists flock around water holes.

Australia and New Zealand – The low season in the southern hemisphere begins mid-April when fall season begins until end of August when spring season begins. If you book travel early in the off peak season or towards the end of the summer such as August-September, you may be able to get reasonably good deals.

The Caribbean – Hurricanes are a common occurrence in the Atlantic Ocean in summer. Tourists who have never been in a hurricane, but have seen the vicious effects of the storm as it passes over land, will never want to be around when such an event occurs. However, with the latest technology, it is easier to predict when a hurricane will hit. This helps the authorities evacuate the residents or tourists before the storm hits land.

Travelers who are smart enough to take travel insurance do not have to worry if they are caught by surprise. Usually, Atlantic hurricanes offer enough warning for most tourists to cancel their itineraries well before the deadlines. In August or September when it’s the height of hurricane season, the prices of the hotels and packages with airfare go down considerably.

The USA – This country has a lot to offer in any season. In summer, even the southern states such as Florida and Georgia offer water based activities, hiking etc and in winter, the temperatures in these states as well as in the West Coast states of California, etc do not get below 50 degrees. Ice and Snow are rare in these states and travel is very enjoyable in southern parts of the USA.

Europe – Most of Europe is very reasonable between November – April. The peak season starts in May and continues through fall in Sept – October. There are many activities that you can take part in even during the winter months of December, March and April. Many of the areas in the Mediterranean countries are cooler but still enjoyable in off peak season.

Staying away from the maddening crowds and being on our own may be the best way to see many countries of the world. Not only are the vacation spots relatively less crowded, the ways to get there are also available at deep discounts! So why not enjoy some time off the beaten path?

Bon Voyage! J

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The secret to winning a better price for your cruise

salele — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:09:48 +0000

By Salihu Ibrahim.

Cruising the Caribbean or the Mediterranean is close to the most luxurious or enjoyable vacation that the majority of travelers in the world can think of. To soak up the sun while relaxing on the deck of a humongous ocean liner weighing 150 thousand gross tons or more is nothing short of a fantasy for most people!

There are several ways to find bargains in cruise vacations:

Try your travel agent – The most dependable of all people to help you design your own custom vacation is your neighborhood travel agent. Recently, we searched the entire web for a good deal on cruises and found the best price (70% off the published price) and our travel agent made it even better by telling us which cabin to choose to avoid seasickness, which was better for the price, which was more comfortable for kids, etc.

Many of these tips are on the web, but it may take us two days to find this information while our travel agent can tell you this in two hours. She helped us understand the immigration issues, port fees and insurance we would have to pay for and other details we would never have found out by ourselves. She even arranged the airfare from our town to the sea port for about 70% of its price . It was a package deal with the cruise line which we were never aware of!

Surf the web – Even though there are many sites where they offer you tremendous bargains, you will need to know a lot of details before you make a decision on this. One site I go to first is http://www.vacationstogo.com . Their 90-day ticker gets you up to 75% off on most cruises. Also, by using your AARP or senior discount cards, you can bring the price down further.

Verify that the site is legitimate and also try to find out if others in your circle have used them. Read the reviews for this company by Googling the company name with the word “review”. For the site vacationstogo.com, Google the phrase “vacationstogo reviews”

Register at sites where they offer monthly free cruises. One such site is http://www.geekcruises.com/standard_interface_b/win_a_cruise.html . Here you have a chance to win a free InSight cruise. Although the port fees and taxes are not included, one winner every four months gets a free SEVEN day cruise which will depart within 18 months of the drawing date. To double your chances of wining at this site, as soon as you register, they give you a chance to input your profile at http://www.geekcruises.com/standard_interface_b/future_cruises.html

The information about the previous winner is listed on the site for verification that these contests are legitimate. They also promise not to share our personal information with any outside sources. Beware of scam artists who offer free vacations, tours and cruises. Check this link site to learn more about scams http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/consumer/travelscams.cfm in the travel industry.

Another cruise site that seems legitimate is http://www.ecruises.com/ . They too offer free and extremely discounted cruises. Remember, the cheapest cabin on a Mediterranean cruise can go for $199 at the last minute. So if you really would like to go on a cruise, get a good deal on a last-minute cruise to a destination you want instead of waiting to win a free cruise to a destination you may not be interested in.

PriceLine.com is a website where you can book deeply discounted cruises that come with several bonuses and cash discounts. The PriceLine Cruise outlet store is at http://www.pricelinecruiseoutlet.com/. Let us go through the strategies required to get a good deal on several exciting cruises through the site.

PriceLine guarantees its price 110% which means that if you can prove that there is a price somewhere for the same EXACT cruise itinerary that you could get for less money than what it is offered for at PriceLine’s Cruise Outlet website, then PriceLine will refund you the entire money you were charged on the credit card along with 10% more for your effort. So go ahead and search for the absolute lowest price of the cruise.

Currently, on their site, they are offering up to 75% off on Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Lines etc., along with $300 off in free spending money, $200 off in cash and free bon voyage drinks and stateroom upgrades! What more can we ask for?

Here is a list of important criteria you need to decide on before you book a cruise:

a. Cruise Line – Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess etc

b. Destination and Route – Mediterranean countries, Hawaiian islands, New Zealand delights, etc

c. Number of days for the trip. Seven to Fourteen day trips are the most popular.

d. How many cabins and which levels and types of staterooms (Interior, Ocean view, Balcony, Suite)

e. Any senior citizens in your group

f. Date of Departure

g. Flight included or not

h. Air port to Sea port shuttle included or not.

i. Ship’s Rating – these are similar to hotel star ratings. These ratings are given by former passengers of the ship. After your cruise, remember to update them based on your experiences.

PriceLine’s Cruise outlets do not have bidding policies. You may choose any cruise you like and book it immediately. There are also telephone numbers to call in case you need to talk to a live agent.

Overall, the best way to book a cruise is to search online and then talk to a travel agent to see if she can get you a consolidator price that is lower.

Remember to check out the ships reviews by Googling “ship-name reviews” to get the info on previous traveler’s experiences. Also go to the Cruise Line web site to read up on what they expect you to do, such as packing tips, tipping tips, behavior on the ship, making reservations for the restaurants, booking shore excursions, availability of transportation at the ports, medical facilities, etc.

Wherever you will be cruising in the future, I wish you a Bon Voyage!

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How to receive bargain “e-fares” in your email inbox.

salele — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:36:39 +0000

Many of us would love to surf the web all day looking for fantastic bargains on travel packages. However, most of us do have another more important job, one that we would lose if we surfed around websites all day! J

Many people cannot even get to a computer during the day, let alone surf the web. However, most people have email facilities. How wonderful it would be if someone among us did all the searching and comparisons and send us the information periodically by email? We could even pay for it!

Hold your horses! I was just kidding!

I can find you several sites which will send you email information without you having to spend a penny for them and without asking for information about yourself or your ancestors!

There are many people who have been traveling for a long time. They used to write books on traveling or become travel agents in their towns. Now that the internet is accessible even in the remote regions of the world, most of these people share their experiences in the form of BLOGS or travelogues. Many of the websites of individuals who travel have regular blogs that are updated from the city they are in at that time. Many of these travelers have also become “citizen journalists” when they send in videos or photos or sometimes just audio descriptions about disasters happening in remote areas to CNN or other world news networks.

Many of the travel related sites share information, reviews and other details with would-be travelers and armchair travelers in the world.

Here are some sites where you can register and get emails loaded with lots of goodies that will help you decide on which vacation spot deserves your money next year!

Check out http://www.frommers.com/ . The world famous traveler and journalist Arthur Frommer has decided to find affordable trips for all of us. He regularly checks out sites for discounted airfares, bargain cruises and rock bottom car rental prices and other deals and shares his expertise with us through daily emails, blogs and even podcasts!

On his website, there is information on Lodging in Lighthouses and Checking out apartments in Europe. Sign up for his tips on various destinations all over the globe!

TRAVEL ZOO is another website that checks out bargains and sends email on the top TWENTY bargains on the web. The latest email newsletter is filled with Bargain Las Vegas trip, Orlando hotel bargains, Mexican getaways, Maui Beachfront bargain, Europe and Russia Celebrity Cruise with air and more… If you are interested, sign up at http://www.travelzoo.com/

http://www.smartertravel.com/ is another site where they investigate numerous travel options and will let you now periodically through email newsletters where the smart deals are. Go to the website and sign up for their free smartertravel newsletter filled with Vacation deals, discounted tickets and last minute fares.

How about http://www.budgettravel.com where they find the deepest hotel discounts, last minute airfare deals and offer many tips for cheap travel tactics. Sign up at their website to receive frugal tips from Mark Kahler who regularly write at the About.com site about budget travel opportunities.

http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/ is another site where the founder, George Hobica blends technology with his expertise of the years as a traveler to detect great bargains for his readers. He also includes the lower priced lesser-known air carriers and hotel chains to get tremendous discounts on travel that is of the same category or quality rating as the higher priced well known names in the industry.

How about the consolidator websites that are very well know to travelers already. In addition to email news about bargain e-fares, they also have fare watchers where they keep looking for fares until they match our pre-defined amount and then inform us through an email. The main sites http://www.travelocity.com http://www.orbitz.con and http://www.expedia.com all have some sort of fare watching programs which we can subscribe to and which will email us when the farer reach our goal amounts.

For example, I can have up to five fare watchers at a time. I assign the first destination city as New York and checks out the current lowest fare that Travelocity can offer to New York. Let us say its $500. I set my fare watcher to alert me when the fare becomes $200 less than the current fare or $500. Travelocity compares the “my city” to New York fare everyday and if they can offer a fare of $300 for a flight at any time, I will get an email to inform me that the fare has reached my acceptance level.

The advantage of this fare watching technique is that we would be alerted as soon as the fare hits a low that we are comfortable with so that we can go ahead and purchase the ticket. Another advantage of this method when compared to bidding on PriceLine is that we can ignore the firewatcher email and our credit card will never be charged unlike PriceLine where we are stuck with the package if our bid is accepted.

The disadvantage of these fare watching techniques is that we cannot plan ahead or know when we will be able to travel. If the fare goes low because of a snowstorm or other disaster in the destination, we probably wouldn’t go anyway.

As you can see, instead of spending hours by the computer, we can utilize several methods by which we can share the intelligence and search results of others who have traveled before us and/or are willing to share their information with us.

Remember that when you sign up for these deals, do not given any information other than your name (which can be fictional) and a valid email address. They may ask you for your zip code sometimes. I usually enter that number and have not had any problems. Do not give them your telephone number or address or you will be hounded by telemarketing calls even if you are on the Do-not-call list registry!

Well, at least some of these email newsletters will have good information if you are on the lookout for a good bargain on air-fare, hotel accommodation or auto rentals. Also for cruises, last minute travel bargains are awesome if you have the ability to pack and get away on short notice!

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Learn which airports to avoid when Traveling.

salele — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:59:50 +0000

By Salihu Ibrahim.

The World Airports Customer Satisfaction Survey seems to be the largest of airport surveys conducted so far. It compared the products and services at airports as well as the “experience factor” at over 500 airports all over the world.

The votes for the best airports in the world went to the best in Asia, Honk Kong International, Seoul Incheon and Singapore Changi Airport. Five stars were given to these three airports indicating the “ultimate approval” and highest quality standards.

Two of the airports that received the 2* rating were London Heathrow and Moscow Sheremetyvo . This rating is given for their poor Quality and performance below the industry average.

Overall, the smaller the airport, easier it will be to get through. Flights are not as crowded and the lines will usually be small. However, the airport may have very few facilities for travelers when compared to the bigger, busier airports. Also, the planes will be smaller and we may have to give up our carry-on before climbing up (yes, on makeshift ladders) to the plane. Our carry-on will be held in a special cargo area under the belly of the plane. This will be opened as soon as the plane lands and by the time we disembark, our carry-on will be placed on the ground for us to collect.

It’s a toss-up as to which airports are better or worse. Like the above Customer Satisfaction Survey proves, there are many airports that cannot be compared because if the size, the number of flights, the crowds, etc.

From my own experiences and from the reviews on forums, these are the worst airports in the world:

Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) is probably the worst! Stay away from it since gang killings seem to be quite common! Unfortunately, airports in most countries where lawlessness is common should be first on this list. Remember to read all travel advisories for the country you are traveling to and also any opinions of readers in travel forums about that airport.

New York JFK – New Yorkers are known to be rude, but the gate agents are some of the worst I have seen. They have added a new terminal, but to get to that terminal, you have to take your luggage up the elevator, into the train, down the elevator and then through an open bridge (yes, even in freezing temperatures!) Really inefficient design of the “new terminal” at JFK!. Only one person helped me to through all this and to get to my flight on time. Of course, the wheel of the luggage trolley got caught in the train door rut and I had a pretty rough time getting it out before the doors closed since none of the passengers even bothered to help.

Frankfurt FRA – One of the worst airports in the world. Most airport employees do not know any language besides German. When we ask questions, they just stare back with a blank face. Although the facilities have improved a lot since the 1980s, the overall experience has not improved. European airports are known for their gangs of thieves who are actually operating inside the airports. Be extremely cautious of you bags and important papers. In an instant, they can take it all away by directing your attention to something else. Amsterdam Airport is also known for this modus operandi.

London LHR – Another stuck-up group of folks. Their attitude needs tweaking. Passengers are treated like herds of cattle, prodding and admonishing the ones that don’t understand their stuffed English accents. I have traveled through that airport multiple times in the span of 30 years, and not once have I had a positive experience dealing with any of the employees there. Crowded aisles, Security takes you straight into the shopping malls, planes are late and departure timings are barely viewable on tiny little screens.

Mexico MEX– The largest city in the world seems to have one of the smallest airports! Everything is in Spanish and if you don’t know Spanish, there is nothing much you can do to find your gate or luggage claim. Very crowded with almost all the passengers for all the flight vying for seats in a crowded area where and the gates are mentioned at the last minute. Continuous announcements drive you crazy most of the time. Same monotonous voice, repeating every second, stuff that you cannot understand anyway! !-)

Mumbai – BOM – What a dirty, rat infested airport. The domestic terminal seems to be is far better than the International. If you are a new traveler to India, choose any of the other airports. Mumbai airport is a mess, with its red pan saliva droppings and disgusting smells that greet a passenger who is in need of some rest and relaxation. Also, if you don’t watch out, your luggage may be stolen and if you forget to get a pre-paid taxi, you will be mobbed at the exit with no one to help you. Departure terminals are in slightly better condition than Arrivals.

Paris – CDG – After all the renovation that went on for years, who would’ve thought that the plan comprised of tunnels and escalators going nowhere? If you “donotunderstand” what is being asked by pompous immigration officials, you are in the red. Literally, they stuck a red sticker on my passport. If it wasn’t for a kind official who saw that I was no “zerrorist” , I would still be trying to make some sense of their fringlish! One advantage though– After running for hours to get to the plane, through the maze of tunnels and escalators, dragging my luggage behind me, I slept like a baby, right through the ten hour flight to US!

Note that these airports are not comparable with many of the smaller airports in the world in the number of passengers or flights that go through it every day. Wherever people gather, there is the inevitable customer service lapses which add up when more and more people experience similar situations.

I am sure that there are many passengers who transit through these airport without facing any difficult situations. However, the airports listed above showed up on more than one blog (with LHR being the least popular in all!).

Again, take each of these reviews with a pinch of salt and go through them if you have to, but make sure that you clearly comment on these forums about your positive or negative experiences. As more of us give our inputs, the ratings may finally make some sense.

One thing for sure; all international airports should hire people who are multilingual and eager to serve the traveling public without racist attitudes!

Bon Voyage!

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What to do when you are stuck in an airport overnight.

salele — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:45:18 +0000

BY Salihu Ibrahim.

Many of us have waited at airports for what seems like eons! Sitting for a long time on the same chair is not conducive to good circulation, so most of us try to walk along the pathways along with our luggage but find that difficult due to the constant dodging of people and carts all around us.

First thing you need to do is to get a map of the airport. Seek out the facilities available, the hours they are open and study their locations on the map.

So how do we amuse ourselves for several hours?

Store the luggage – The first thing to do is to get a luggage locker and put all your luggage in it. Even if all you plan to do is fall asleep, you may wake up to see your valuables have gone traveling without you!. To avoid this situation, and make yourself free from tag-a-longs all night, rent a locker so that the weight of all you were carrying until now is reduced to that of a single key.

Sleep like a baby – If your next scheduled flight is during the day, you may not be able to get in a wink during the day flight. When every one else is reading the news paper or talking louder than a jackhammer ( the people who sit behind me always do that!) it may be a good idea to store up on those Zzzzzs before you board the next leg of your journey.

Read a book – Most airports have book stores with hundreds of titles to choose from. One paperback may be the best companion you need for the next six hours. Action packed thrillers can keep us on the edge of our seat, in the airport or on the plane!

Eat – Of course, we all have to do that. You could try to find some place to sit and relax and eat all the same time. Take the time to find a good eatery where they sell healthy, wholesome, hopefully freshly cooked meals. Travel can take a toll on our immune system. Being in close proximity with hundreds of people who probably have been around the world a few times, you can easily contract a virus to take back home with you. So fortify your body with healthy vitamin filled, delicious food!

Walk – Through the terminals and upstairs and downstairs and all over the airport. If I had the guts I would also take pictures of everyone in whatever poses they are sleeping in. It would make a very funny book indeed! Or listen to the rhythmic snoring of a fellow passenger. Since I cannot sleep sitting up, I have seen over 30 years of night time activity inside planes as well as in the airports!

Get out – If you are a more energetic person at night, you could see if there are any museums open at that time or any all-night malls. Make sure you take your papers with you if you are leaving the airport. Do so only if you have enough time to see everything as well as return through long security lines. Don’t lose your luggage key! If this layover was not your choice, you can request the airline to gift you some see-the-city vouchers or taxi fare to make your impromptu trip more enjoyable.

Exercise – Some airports have gym facilities, at least for the Elite group of travelers. If you are bumped or your flight was cancelled, you may ask for a pass to these facilities and use them. Take the time to freshen up, shave, shower, change clothes, etc.

Swim – Yes, some airports have swimming pools. Feel invigorated and refreshed after a nice relaxing swim.

Book into a hotel -Some of these airports have hotel facilities inside the building. They are available for day rates or may be rented by the hour. They are usually worth more for people like me because I can lie down and immediately fall asleep no matter what the “room” looks like!

Work if you feel like it – there are internet lounges in most airports.

Watch TV or rent a movie - some airports have free movie theaters.

Get a massage – Many airports have stations where you can get rejuvenating hour long massages for a small fee.

Pedicure, manicure, the works! – Ok, this one I haven’t seen yet, but there seems to be a lot of airports (mostly in Asia) which really know how to pamper us!

Aromatherapy – If you are tired of the recycled air in the planes and in the airports, try an oxygen-lavender therapy which leaves you very refreshed and full of energy.

SEE – If you are bored, go sightseeing in the airport itself – Most airports love to show off their local art or history.

SHOP – Till you drop! For most of us, an opportunity just to browse the wonderful array of clothes, perfumes, chocolates and other goodies to our hearts content.

PLAY video games – Many airports have video arcades where you can play most of the latest games for a modest fee.

LISTEN to music – If you brought your favorite MP3/iPod along, what better way is there to relax?

SING – I usually hum to myself or sing along with my iPod. Singing or listening to humorous clips or watching funny videos on our iPod is a great way to relax

PEOPLE WATCH – My favorite past-time. Travel is amazing because it opens our minds to new cultures, new looks, new sounds! Nothing more than travel to expand our horizons. Just sit in a seat that faces the pathway and you can see all kinds of people passing by. Families trying to keep everyone together, often dragging inordinate amounts of luggage and strollers and what not; Women carrying crying babies in addition to all the extra bags, rushing to terminals with the constant look of worry on their faces; teenagers, with their typical swaggers, looking careless and confused at the same time. The world passing by!

Bon Voyage

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