Showing posts with label Traveling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Traveling. Show all posts

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Several Traveling Tips With Children

Traveling with children surely makes you dizzy. Along the trip, you have to be ready and patient. That is why, most people do not like traveling with children.

However, if you have known the traveling tips with a family, including with children, you can create unforgettable memory and experiences. If you want to do traveling with your children, the following are several tips for you.

Before you leave your home, let your children pack their own luggage. You can decide what clothes they should bring, but let them choose their own favorite clothes. Also, do not forget to pack their special toys, sweets, bubble gums, small towels, tissue papers, books, papers, and seal plastic bags.

Before leaving your home, you should also fix over immunization like vaccine of hepatitis B, rabies, typhus, and hepatitis A to all family members. If you go abroad, you should look for additional vaccines to your destination.

Meanwhile, when you are in airport, you should provide sufficient time to check in, and also time between connecting flights. Make sure to arrive in airport earlier to prevent the delay time in last minutes or if you are confused in flight security rule. You should also plan safety planning if one of your family members is accidentally separated in airport.

Also, tell your children about the screening procedures before entering safety checkup door, so they are not afraid of it. They should know that the procedures must be followed seriously.

In flight, give your children some seats that fulfill the new security standard. Even, The Federal Aviation Administration (USA) recommends children that have weight less than 40 pounds to sit in special seats for children or baby. The best seat for them in a flight is the first rear of economic class or you can seat them between two adults. Also, do not let them walk alone without your control. Thus, you should stay wake up or often take a walk with them.

To keep your children sitting close to you, you can order the seats before. If you cannot do that, you can ask air crew in airport. So, he or she can ask another passenger to change of his or her seat.

You should also bring mineral water in bottle to drink and moisturizer to prevent your skin from dryness while you are in flight. Bring also bubble gum and nipples to reduce air pressure to their ears, and various toys in your bag to attract them.

However, if you travel by car, you can make the trip exciting by bringing some blankets and pillows. Stop regularly in the rest place and make sure that you have brought papers, pencils, toys, song CDs, and their favorite books. The most important thing is engaging them in this holiday.

For the safety of your trip, you should have some information about transportation and call numbers for urgent condition. You may provide every member of your family with mobile phone or walkie-talkie to facilitate you and your family to communicate every time.

If your holiday includes the trip to swimming pool, sea, or water park, you should not let your children explore by themselves. Even though they can swim, they should use thrower. Also, you should make sure the contents of water because you should avoid them from the chemical substances, jelly fish, and cold temperature.

Bring the wide hat and moisturizer to protect them from sunlight. Bring also the medicines you need like diarrhea medicine, analgesic, insecticide, antihistamine, and band aid. For the use of them, consult it to your doctor.

Meanwhile, to prevent you from contaminated water, just drink mineral water or use boiled water to mix milk and juice.

Overall, any problem can happen, but afford to create exciting nuance along the trip to give your children impressive and unforgettable holiday.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Where to Go When Traveling at Home

It was hard to find a list online of Top ten places to go as there are so many categories, top ten outdoor locations, top ten National Parks, Cities, Places of Interest, beaches, colleges, sports, amusement parks, adventure, shopping, skiing, history and culture, casinos, the list is endless before we even begin. I did find a top ten list of States to visit, starting with number one, of course, Hawaii, followed by Las Vegas, Florida, California, Texas, Georgia, Virginia, New York, North Carolina and number ten Colorado. My personal list would be much different with Las Vegas not even making it. I love a little outdoor beauty followed by something historical, cultural or artsy. New York and California would be the top two with Boston, Chicago following directly behind. I love to visit big cities and feel the energy that is contained there. I love big art museums; the J. Paul Getty, Huntington Library in California, The Met in New York, the Institute of Art in Chicago with over 300,000 pieces of art and the National Gallery in Washington D.C. has a stunning collection also. Add to that that they are all in fabulous cities with fantastic restaurants, city live, street entertainment, beautiful parks and lovely architecture and that makes for fun travel.

When Planning a vacation don't forget the National Parks with Zions, Bryce and Canyon lands in Utah, The Grand Canyon in Arizona, Yellowstone, The Redwood Forest and Everglades just to name a few. This land is amazing, beautiful and diverse, there really is "No place like home" for fun, romantic of scenic travel and you never have to leave US borders.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

8 Tips For Traveling Abroad

1. Pack light- Nothing is worse then having to lug your stuff all over the country. I've seen people traveling with a giant back pack on their back, a smaller one in front, a fanny pack, and dragging a suit case. Trust me. You DO NOT need to bring that much on your trip. I use to pack heavy and realized that I didn't use half the stuff or could have easily bought it anywhere. Ask yourself, Do I really need this?

2.Make sure you documents are in order- Your documents will be your life line.

a) Make sure your passport is not about to expire- Obvious isn't it? Still you'd be surprised by the number of people who forget to do this. One time my friend and I were going to travel to China and what do you know? His passport had already expired. When did we find out about this? AT THE AIRPORT! Needless to say I wasn't a happy camper.

Some countries check if your passport is about to expire in 30-60 days. Make sure you do not fall in this category. If you do,make sure to apply for a passport as soon as possible prior to your departure.

b) Look into the visa for your country - Different places require different visas. Sometimes a visa can take months to get. You don't want your travel plans interrupted because of this. Call the local embassy for more information.

c) Scan and email to yourself all important documents - It's smart to make copies of your passport, insurance, dipolma, drivers license, etc. It's even smarter to scan them and then e-mail them to yourself. So even if you lose everything, as long as you can access the internet,you'll have access to all your relevant documents.

Now you may ask why you should scan your college diploma? Well, you never know if you'll fall in love with a country and want to live there for an extended period of time. Having a copy of your diploma saves you the hassle of having to get someone email it to you. This goes double for any and all documents that you may need on your travels.

3. Research where you are going- If you plan to do a lot of traveling, research the areas you will be traveling to. Make sure to have a good bit of information on where you are going. If they speak a different language and customs, try to learn as much about them prior to
departure.

Recently, a friend traveled to Venezuela without doing his research. Turns out the current president, Hugo Chavez had changed the official currency exchange rate, meaning that my friend got ripped off every time he drew money out of an ATM. If he had done his research, he would have known to take US dollars with him and to exchange it in the black market.

a) Making calls - Can you take the cell phone you already have and just buy a SIM card? Or do you have to buy a new phone? You may consider getting a phone that works in many countries then make calls using Wifi.

b) Electric outlets - Make sure you have the right plug for electrical outlets. Also, look into the voltages. I blew up a $200 electric tooth brush because I'm a moron. Turns out that Korea uses 220 volts instead of 110.

c) Do you need a return ticket? - some countries will not allow you to enter without a return ticket.Make sure to have a return ticket. Google is your friend for finding out this information.

d) Also, Lonely Planet travel guides will help you. I'm the type who likes to go to a new destination with no real plan and just play it by ear. Regardless, travel guides will save you alot of headaches by telling you where to stay and what to do.

4. Budget your trip- Budget your expenses and how much you will be spending on your trip. It is good to do a budget so you don't over extend yourself. Be careful when traveling with others. Getting into arguments about money leads to everyone being pissed. Be sure to discuss how you will share the expenses. Keep track of the money split and write it down.

5. Speak the language- Even a couple of phrases will help. Some places you'll find an abundant amount of English speakers, usually the younger people around universities. Other times, you'll be completely screwed.

6. Renew all your cards- If you plan to travel for an extended period of time, then try to renew all your credit cards, licenses, etc. Most credit card companies won't deliver your card internationally. So you'll have to get a friend to mail your new credit card to your new address (if you're there long enough) . That means you'll be dealing with other countries mail service. And believe me, this can be a real pain.

7. Travel Insurance- This one is going to be a personal choice. I've heard nightmare stories about travelers getting into accidents and having no way to pay for it. Personally, I've never traveled with insurance and have had no problems...so far...Make your own decision. There are lots of plans to choose from. Use Google and figure out what plan is best for you.

8. Be safe- It pays to be secure. Invest in money belts, mini locks, travelers checks, and exomesh.

a) Money belts - When I first arrived in Colombia, one of the locals told me not to take out my wallet. Smart idea. Another smart idea is to buy a money belt, then put your important documents and the majority of your money into it. If someone robs you at gun point then you can just hand them whatever is in your pockets. Hopefully they won't tell you to get buck nekkid.

b) Mini locks - Use these to lock your zippers shut. If you're traveling on a budget then chances are you'll be sharing rooms with other travelers. Most travelers you meet will be cool. Others you'll want to kick in the junk. And then there's the SOBs who will take your stuff. The mini lock is the first line of defense against this. This way you'll know no one rooted through your bags.

c) Exomesh - Your back pack ain't going nowhere with the exomesh deployed. Exomesh is basically a wire net that you wrap around your luggage and secure it to something that does move. If someone wants to steel my back pack then they gotta saw through the radiator first.

Pacsafe is a company that sells exomesh and secure travel gear in general.

d) Travelers checks - Travelers check can be your emergency back up if you should happen to lose all your money and credit cards. If you're staying in one place for some time, then keep your travelers checks stashed there. The beauty about travelers checks is even if you lose them, you can call up the bank that issued them and get them replaced.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Find Out If You Need a Passport When Traveling to Mexico

Because of its fantastic culture, food, beaches, and its proximity to the United States, Mexico is one of the most popular foreign destinations among Americans. If you're into pre-Hispanic civilizations such as the Olmec and the Maya, Mexican cuisine, and Acapulco and Cancun, then it's no surprise you're reading this article. Let us show you everything you need to go to Mexico, including information on what the passport requirements are when traveling to our Southern neighbor.

Because Mexico is a part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), you can travel to this destination by presenting US documents that are accepted for your visit. Some of the documents you may use include your passport book and passport card. These documents help establish proof of your identity and citizenship.

But what's the difference between the two types of passports? You are probably familiar now with the passport book. It's the conventional booklet that is used to travel to the foreign destinations that need one. One benefit of a passport book is that you'll have greater flexibility when traveling because you can travel anywhere with your passport. Use of this document is mandatory for all international air travel, even to WHTI destinations.

Meanwhile, the passport card provides you with several benefits over the passport book. For one, it easily fits into your wallet, making it easier to keep than the passport book that's bulky. Also, applying for a passport card is cheaper than the passport book. But on the down side, you can only use this card when traveling to WHTI destinations by sea or land.

You can also apply for both passports and let them complement each other depending on the type of travel you're going to make. Use your card for land or sea travel to WHTI territories, while using your book for air travel. If you can, apply for both passports at the same time to get a huge discount in your application fees.

Although Mexico is part of the WHTI, you need to check if you can use other types of documents that prove your identity and citizenship. Such documents include your birth certificate and your State-issued enhanced driver's license. Make sure you ask the Mexican Embassy about this before you travel to keep you free from hassle and delays on your way there.

Keep in mind that there are certain additional passport requirements for minors and business people traveling to Mexico. Minors have to bring a notarized copy of the parental consent. This document should also include the child's travel details including the airlines he/she will be taking, as well as the minor's travel schedule. Filling in Form FM-N is required of business people to authorize them to conduct business in the country. If you have more questions regarding the requirements of the two, check with the Mexican Embassy.