Tag: travel club

Iíll be forthright: Iím not a homemaker. I feel more at ease constantly on the move, city after city, mountaintop to seaside surf, living out of my suitcase and fumbling through a foreign language phrase book, than I feel even comfy and cozy, napping on my couch on a Sunday afternoon. Perhaps Iím a little crazy, but I find it thrilling sprinting to make a connecting flight (even if itís the red eye); I believe it convenient when the airline informs me my luggage is a flight behind, leaving unencumbered to begin sightseeing immediately; and I think myself resourceful when I arrive at a booked hotel only to realize I forgot to make reservations but still haggle a room. Of course, while I donít mind any of the perceived headaches of traveling, I do mind the high costs often associated with it. Traveling, for me, is primarily about escapingówhether it be work, commuting, obligations, sometimes even family and friendsóbut how is it an escape if Iím worried about how much Iím spending the entire trip?

I mention cost as something that would potentially worry me were it not for the fact that, in reality, it doesnít worry me at all. At least not since I wised up, did the requisite research and taught myself the agent tricks of the travel trade. Travel agentsí tricks that is, because in addition to being a constant traveler and writer, I am also a licensed travel agent.  Not in the sense that I work for others, booking their hotels, finding their flights, or landing them a deal on an Alaskan cruise. Truth is, I only use my license for personal escapes (well, okay, occasionally for family and friends too, but only when their remarks regarding my debonair good lucks are particularly flattering). 

If youíve never heard of this travel industry loophole before, this may sound somewhat (or completely) preposterous. In fact, however, it is quite common among everyday people, both those who travel often or but once a year, both those whose work relates to travel to those whose work relates only to that which remains stationary. What I mean, plain and simple, is anyoneóyou, me, your second cousin Otto, or my next-door neighbor Ireneócan get their travel agentís license lickety-split, and immediately begin reaping the benefits.

First things first: when making travel arrangements for themselves, every agent knows not to book a single step of their journey through one of their own, i.e. other travel agents. Instead, they use travel consolidators. 

Think about the difference those terms: agent and consolidator. 

An agent, in any industry where theyíre principal players, obviously gets something in return for the services they provide. In sports, agents represent athletes, working off the field to win their clients lucrative contracts and commercial cameos so the athlete can in turn, without financial distractions, concentrate and win on the field. For these services, agents win themselves a percentage of every deal they broker.  The same is true in showbiz, modeling, or corporations where headhunters wheel and deal multi-million dollar salaries and stock incentive plans for their CEO clients. Likewise, then, in the travel industry, agents receive discounts, courtesies and other special benefits, not from the customer for whom they book a hotel or flight, but from the vendor providing that service (i.e. the hotel chain or airline) who profits from the customer. As agents for airlines, etc., they drive customers toward vendors whom offer them the most in return. 

A consolidator, on the other hand, does virtually the opposite. Rather than inflate the costs of travel by collecting fees, they combine, for the sake of efficiency, the expensive and unstable parts of travel into a cheaper, more solid whole. They work to maximize vendorís numbers, ratios and the cost per head. Think about it in terms of magazine publishing: the real cost in printing an issue is not the number of copies made, but merely arranging and setting the plates that will allow the print run in the first place. Once that is set to go, the only added costs are that of extra paper and ink. The travel industry is the same, the more spaces that fill, the cheaper tickets or rooms become per person. As in any industry, consumers (i.e. travelers in this case) benefit from the sheer volume of numbers (i.e. all travelers, yourself included). 

You, as a licensed travel agent would obtain special contact with these consolidators and the deals vendors must offer to maximize their costs per person. But while itís all well and good to make arrangements through a consolidator as opposed to an agent, just because you acquire a license (available online in under an hour) doesnít mean the consolidator will believe youíre as much a travel professional as they are. To avoid common mistakes that expose amateurs from pros, you must learn the proper lingo and travel codes. For that there are volumes of eBooks (with corresponding printed versions) that provide the requisite knowledge, which you can quickly study before contacting a consolidator and easily flip through if put on the spot. Get these references. Some of them are thick, but in reality youíll spend less than a hundred dollars on everything you need to in turn potentially save thousands on the first trip you plan with your travel agentís license in hand. 

Furthermore, instead of turning to the discount fare finders like Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity or Priceline that lay-travelers search, as a travel agent, you additionally gain access to the lesser known, but more lucrative sites travel consolidators utilize.

Together, the benefits will materialize almost immediately. Buy plane tickets the day before the flightís scheduled to depart, but only pay what you would have had you purchased tickets two months in advance. Get a spacious cruise ship cabin beside the captainís quarters for the price of an ocean-level closet. Find yourself lodging in the seaside, honeymoon suite for the price you might have paid for the basement hide-a-bed beside the ice machine. 

Finally, the travel industry is a weird and wonderful creature, in this case, thankfully profit driven as much as other industries we often loathe. To those who present themselves as viable agents, promoting and thus earning money for the industry as a whole, it means endless perks. I get more special offers from airlines, cruise lines, and packaged tour companies than I know what to do with. For me, casinos, theme parks, and luxury resorts are not necessarily what I strive for, but if that is your cup of tea and your hocus pocus agenting appears legitimate, youíll suddenly find yourself choosing between the best of many worlds: free weekends in the Napa Valley, first class seats to Tokyo, an all expense paid safari, a cruise down the Nile... 

So what are you waiting for, get started! Find a comprehensive eBook or alternate guide that takes you through the process of becoming a travel agent, step-by-step. Donít sit on this opportunity, but rather start traveling cheaply, todayÖ 

As for me, Iíve got a flight to catchÖ 

Now, where did I put my passport?

Copyright 2006, Robert K. Blanc. All Rights Reserved. Reprint or reposting of this article permitted only in its entirety with the below resource box included and unchanged.

While traveling abroad can be a rather exciting and pleasurable experience, it can also be potentially dangerous. Not to discourage one from traveling overseas and seeing the world but there are numerous things that one should keep in mind when taking a trip to a foreign country so as to avoid potentially hazardous situations. Obviously having a valid passport is a must and one should be sure to fill out the necessary emergency information in that section of their passport, supposing some unanticipated misfortune happens to arise.

One would not want to visit a foreign country knowing absolutely nothing or next to nothing about the place. Thus becoming familiar with the area you plan to visit is important. One should pay particular attention to the laws and customs of the country as they are very likely to be different from those of your home country. Since your luggage has virtually everything you require for your visit contained therein it is essential that you never leave it unattended. Furthermore accepting packages from strangers is certainly taboo. One can never be too sure when it comes to accepting packages from strangers, even in their home country.

Many of the locals in a foreign country can easily identify a foreigner and as such you may be a target for crime. In order to avoid being heavily targeted, do not wear any striking clothing or expensive jewelry that may bring unwanted attention upon you. It is also suggested that you not carry any unnecessary credit cards or surplus money with you. There are people out there who can easily and deftly steal from you without you even being aware of the fact and as such you should at least limit the amount they steal from you. First and foremost though, you should be respectful of the people there and the culture in which you are present.

Is adventure travel getting expensive for the family? The good news for adventure travel and wilderness hiking trails is that the USA has some of the most unique and incredible places to see on earth. Our National, State Parks, Monuments and Wilderness Areas are awesome, but for years there have been reduced number of visitors. Many citizens have said that a four-year program to increase national parks entrance fees to make them more uniform may discourage some Americans from visiting their national parks such as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Zion and Yellowstone.

The National Parks have been faced with a budget crisis. The parks are struggling to protect the historic, cultural and natural resources that the parks were created for. The parks are short of funds for operating facilities, repairs to roads, bridges, trails and buildings. There was an 814 million dollar shortfall in 2006. There are almost 400 areas of protection covered by the National Parks Service. Almost every park has fewer full time employees now than in 2001, while there were over 273,000,000 visitors to the parks in 2005. The park service needs more funding to provide education, interpretive and for the safety requirements of their visitors. This is a time of controversy about park fees, current plans for oil, gas and mineral exploration in our parks and of course removing the O’Shaughnessy Dam to restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite.

Recently the federal government has moved to replace the National Park Service's $50 annual pass with a new $80 multi-agency pass. Some people think that the fee increases are getting out of line. The park service raised entrance fees at 34 parks over the past two years and plans to raise them at another 124 parks in 2008 and 2009. At Glacier National Park in Montana and Joshua Tree National Park in California, the fees will go up twice, and beginning in 2011, park officials plan to increase fees every three years, based on inflation. There is a proposal to double entrance fees next year at Crater Lake National Park, now $10 per car. Will it drive the local visitors away? In 1997, when the park service began raising fees, the number of national parks visitors has fallen 1% while entrance fee revenue has gone up almost 16%. Many of them are from outside the United States and love to visit the American protected lands. 

Will the National Park Centennial Act to rescue our parks before 2016 – the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service? The acts purpose is to eliminate the annual operating deficit and maintenance backlog in the national parks. If it passed, it was to create a check off box on American tax returns to fund the parks. As H.R. 1124 and S 886 it did not get passed in 2006. In spring of 2006 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report about our National Parks based on research, to the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee that found that funding had not kept pace with need, requiring park managers to reduce services including, reducing visitor center hours, educational programs, basic custodial duties, and law enforcement operations, such as back-country patrolling. Additionally, the park system has been forced to close campgrounds, shorten operating hours, eliminate many interpretive programs, lay off many seasonal rangers, and eliminate many of the parks' scientific studies programs.
 
So where’s the good news about our public lands? Being an outdoor writer and avid traveler to our parks and wilderness areas Bob Therrien, President of TrainingPASS Sales, Inc. has created an outdoor recreation message board, he commented “As I've visited the outdoors, the hardest part over the years, for me has been the research about which parks, hikes, climbs, locations and activities I want to visit with my family and friends. Exploring federal then state website after site, then mapping the distance from each area of interest is inefficient and many times lacking in information. To solve that inefficiency we have collected all the basic information about our parks, wilderness areas and national monuments and put them into one website. I don’t personally have a problem with the new park fees. It costs me more to take my family to the movies. I’d rather enjoy a full day or two at a place like Denali National Park, the Arches or Canyonlands. 

The USA has incredible adventure travel wilderness and hiking trails. To promote these areas AdventureZoneTOURS created a forum for sharing trip reports on National Parks, State Parks, National Monuments and Wilderness Areas. 

The Outdoor Adventure Message Board opens up to reveal a listing of U.S. States, separated into travel regions. Click on any state region and there are sub forums for all the parks, monuments and wilderness areas in that region. Many times there are several interesting choices to pick from of federal or state lands, within a state region. For the activity-specific minded, AdventureZoneTOURS.com encourages users to share trip reports for a variety of outdoor activities from hiking, climbing, canyoneering, geo exploring, photography, ghost towns, mines, and cave to water sports such as boating, fishing, jet and water skiing, tubing, rafting, and scuba. Winter travel sports such as snowmobiling, skiing and snowboarding are featured. Hunting locations, ATV and horseback trails as well as the most scenic areas for outdoor photography are also available as individual topic posts. To research or share your favorite adventure travel location, you're invited to sign up and share today.

When you think of “adventure travel,” what crosses your mind?

• Hiking?
• White water rafting?
• Scuba diving?
• Something as sedentary as a cruise ship or land rover safari?

Those ideas lose their “adventure” status when you compare them to galloping on a horse in Africa with a zebra and wildebeest racing along side you, or quietly observing the elephant and giraffe.

How can a traveler visit the remote parts of the world’s most beautiful and interesting places while...

• Practicing a fascinating sport
• Avoiding polluting
• Keeping in harmony with history and nature
• Being free to explore exotic locations
• Making friends in remote places, and
• Sharing the experience with a willing animal?

Have you ever considered the tremendous advantages of adventure travel on horseback? A horse can take you to beautiful and remote places which are difficult to reach in any other way. At the same time, you can practice a challenging sport which has been a favorite of mankind for millennia.

Destinations like Africa, Asia, Europe and South America offer a wonderful variety of adventure tours on horseback. Though comparatively little known to Americans, the British and particularly the French have highly developed the riding tour concept in many parts of the world. In many locations in the United States rights-of-way for horses have been lost, but many still exist in other countries.

Horses and horseback riding are deeply woven into the culture and history of most cultures from Argentina to Ireland. This is how our ancestors traveled and for those with a sense of history there is no more appropriate way to go. If you arrive in a foreign place on horseback, you will most likely be enthusiastically greeted by locals with waves and smiles which greatly facilitate meaningful contacts. Those who arrive by bus, on foot or on a bicycle are usually ignored. Horses are a great introduction and ice breaker almost anywhere.

If you seek a wilderness adventure, then horses are the way to go unless you want to walk and carry your equipment. Riding tours can take you from inn to inn, castle to castle, palace to palace or from one comfortable camp to another. Costs are very reasonably compared to biking or bus trips.

Horseback riding adventures vary widely in the skill and experience required to handle them safely. Most of these tours move out at all paces and include some good gallops so that one can cover 15 to 35 miles in a day. Beginners need several days of instruction before attempting even an easy trip, but those who are reasonably fit, not too overweight and have open minds can catch on very quickly. A week of intensive riding with good instruction can easily prepare most people for the less demanding adventures.

One of the enormous advantages of travel on horseback is that you are sharing the adventure with a willing animal who is also interested in the sights and sounds and who loves a brisk gallop on a beach or open plain as much as you do. A day in the saddle is also great exercise and riding is an excellent way to keep fit while having fun. It is far more interesting and satisfying than sitting confined in a bus or land rover all day which really isn’t adventure travel at all. Another dividend is the keen appetite you develop after a day in the saddle for the delicious food you will be served.

On an African ride, a good horse can outdistance an irate Cape buffalo or elephant and keep you safe. Comfortable camps are set up for you each night, the food is excellent and the service superb. Or try a horseback tour visiting the castles of the Loire Valley and ride into the courtyards on your horse like a knight of old. You can gallop along forest tracks where the French aristocracy once chased the wild stag. There is a broad spectrum of possibilities available for horseback riding vacations.

If it appeals to you to travel in harmony with nature without using polluting, noisy machines or an unresponsive bicycle, then you should look into horseback riding tours.

Copyright 2005 Bayard Fox and Equitours, Ltd.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.5/

With its majestic Himalayan Mountains and fascinating local culture, Nepal is a favorite destination for adventurous travelers.  Each year thousands embark upon the experience of a lifetime to spend days or weeks in the breathtakingly beautiful country of Nepal.

Most adventure travelers in Nepal will be treated to magnificent views from high in the mountains.  They will wander through pure forests and past clear mountain lakes, rivers and waterfalls.  They'll visit remote Buddhist monasteries and shrines and see tiny mountain villages, full of friendly locals.

Trekking expeditions in Nepal are quite popular.  They typically involve a small group of people who have been given a list of equipment, such as hiking boots, to bring with them to Nepal.  Once they arrive in the country they set off together to explore.   There is usually a trekking staff that comes along on the trip and carries most of the camping equipment and even the travelers' bags.  They set up the camp, cook meals and break camp, leaving the traveler to enjoy the trek without the physical hardship of toting heavy packs.  

Treks are available for people with various abilities. While a person should be in good shape for these treks, one does not need to be a tri-athlete to take part.  There are more strenuous treks for those in great physical condition, as well as easier treks.  Many of the easier treks are appropriate for families and allow children to participate.  Some companies rate the treks they offer by level of difficulty, to help travelers judge which trek would be best for them.  

While trekking is one of the most popular forms of adventure travel in Nepal, it is by no means the only one.  There are many ways to enjoy the great outdoors in beautiful and mysterious Nepal.

- The Himalayas make Nepal a favorite destination for mountain climbers.  There are well over 100 peaks open to mountain climbers in Nepal, including the famed Mount Everest.

- The mountains of Nepal also have trails for mountain bikers of varying skills.

- Nepal offers challenging climbing cliffs for avid rock climbers.

- While rafting and kayaking in Nepal, adventurers can float along picturesque mountain rivers enjoying tranquil views, far from the well-traveled paths.

- Finally, adventure travelers in Nepal can choose to experience a jungle safari from a jeep or the back of an elephant.  Nepal's wildlife reserves and conservation areas boast a variety of unique animals, including the Royal Bengal Tiger and the Greater One Horned Rhinoceros.