Tag: travel discounts

Do you have to travel by air in the near future?  If you do, are you a pet owner who needs to bring your pet along with you?  Although most of us leave our pets at home, you may not want to do so or your purpose for travel may be to move, as opposed to taking a fun filled vacation.  Regardless of your reasons for wanting or needing to travel with your pet or pets, there are a number of important points that you will need to keep in mind.

The first step in traveling with a pet is to make sure that you can do so.  Although a good number of airlines will allow pets on their planes, not all will. You may be in a predicament if you plan to depart from a small airport with only one or two airlines.  If they do not accept pets or if their rules and restrictions are too much for you to handle, you will want to examine other nearby airports, especially those that are larger in size.

When traveling by air with your pet or pets, it is important to remember that you will be charged an additional fee.  Unfortunately, many first time pet travelers believe that they can use their pets and their pet carriers to count towards as a carry-on bag or a checked bag.  This isn’t how it works though.  You will, almost always, be charged an extra fee for traveling with a pet.  This extra fee will likely depend on the airline in question and well as your pet’s location, such as in the cabin or in the baggage compartment.  

That leads to another important point.  Even with some of the airlines that allow pets, like cats and dogs, aboard their flights, not all allow pets to be in the cabin with other passengers.  This is particularly common on small planes where allergies may be a big concern.  If you cannot part with your pet, be sure to search for an airline that will allow you to keep him or her in the cabin with you.  With that said, remember that the size of your pet will also play a huge factor in your options.

Regardless of where your pet is stored for the plane ride, you will need to have a pet carrier or crate for them.  Many airlines have specific rules and restrictions on what type can be used.  Resections often include materials used, as well as size.  Most will provide you with that information when asked.  Speaking of pet crates and carriers, it is important to make sure that you give your pet enough room to stand and move around a little bit.  In fact, most airlines will refuse to transport pets that they feel are unsafe from small pet crates and carriers.

It is also important to make sure that you get your pet checked by their vet.  You will want to make sure that your pet has all required vaccinations and that they are fit for travel.  Also, all airlines require that you receive a health certificate, which will state that your pet is healthy and safe for travel.  

The above mentioned points are just a few of the many that you will want to take into consideration when traveling with a pet.  Added tips include booking direct flights, making sure your pet’s collar is marked with the proper identification, as well as their pet carrier.

Do you do a lot of traveling?  If you do, you may be concerned about the air that you are breathing inside your hotel room.  This may especially be the case if you suffer from asthma or allergies.  If you do, you may be curious about air purifiers and air filters that are designed for travelers.  As nice as a concept as they do sound, you may be curious as to whether or not they work or if they are worth the money.

When it comes to determining if travel sized air purifiers are worth the money, you will find that it depends.  With that said, typically, most are encouraged to save their money.  For more information on why, please continue reading on.

When examining air purifiers, especially those that are considered high end home air purifiers, you will find that most are relatively large in size.  Although air purifiers and filters are becoming more compact, you will find that most are still a decent size.  For example, tower shaped air purifiers are thin, but they are still somewhat small. Desktop air purifiers are the same way, unless flat, so they do still take up a considerable amount of space. On the other hand, travel size air purifiers are extremely small in size.  This impacts the size filter that can be used.  Smaller filters can easily become clogged or not capture all particles in the air.

Despite the fact that air purifiers are on average a decent size, that hasn’t stopped some companies from selling small travel sized purifiers.  As for what you will find, it will vary.  For example, some are much smaller versions of desktop air purifiers that are lightweight and easy to transport.  Also, did you know that you can actually wear some travel sized air purifiers like a necklace?  You can, as there are some versions available for sale.

As for travel sized air purifiers that can be worn like a necklace, it does should like a pretty neat idea, although some say that there are dangers associated with certain brands, especially when they are worn too close.  You can see this by reading reviews of these necklace-like air purifiers online.  There are cases where some consumers felt ill after wearing them for extend periods of time.  This is something that should cause you to be concerned.

Smaller, travel sized air purifiers that resemble desktop air purifiers are nice, but most cannot be considered high end.  Typically, it depends on the brand and whether or not HEPA air filters are used.  In all honesty, if you truly need to have cleaner air, it may be best to bring a high end compact air purifier from home with you.  Of course, be cautious when doing so; be sure to pack well.  Since high end home air purifiers are expensive, you will not want damage yours.

A great alternative to investing in travel sized air purifiers that may not work is by carefully choosing your hotel.  First, ask if air purifiers are used in the hotel rooms.  Some hotels do now use them, especially after being wished for by guest.  If you cannot find a hotel that uses an air purifier, be sure to choose a room where pets and smoking are not allowed, as this often means that the room’s air is much more cleaner.

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.