Smart Family Travel Tips

Many have said that vacationing is never going to be the same as it was pre-children, for instance, what we needed pre-children traveling to those places of interest was a book, a margarita, a mobile computer, and perhaps a bikini...

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Keep Our Laptop Travel-safe

Need to prevent thief making off with your laptop while on the go or worries about forgetting your computer at a restaurant or taxi? I believe you have heard countless stories about this, right?

The following travel-safe strategies might help to certain extent:

Use a nondescript bag
Corey Sandler, author of Laptop For Dummies suggests removing any computer logos from our bag as it only advertises its expensive contents.

Know our numbers
It is advisable to write down our laptop's serial and model numbers (can usually be found at the bottom of our laptop). They'll come in handy if we need to report a loss.

Keep our password separate
Do you have an inclination to write down your passwords on a piece of paper and leave it in your laptop bag? Please “Never” as it will only make it easier for the thief to access our information.

Don’t lose sight of our laptop
For example, when at the airport, try to place our laptop together with our coat and shoes through the airport X-ray machine. Remember to pass through the metal detector at the same time as our computer passes the scanning machine. Who knows someone unwanted can keep track of the items behind us.

Encrypt the data
I believe with Windows XP and Windows Vista, it is easier for us to encrypt important files and folders. That is to say that even if someone gains access to our files, encryption gives us another layer of protection.

Display our contact information
Always make sure our bag has tags bearing our name and phone number but for safety reason we should never include our home and office addresses or even the name of our company.

Avoid leaving our laptop in the hotel room
It is good to know that the hotel room may not be completely secure. In this case, by putting the "do not disturb" sign on the door might help.

Smooth Vacation Specials and Travel Specials

Want to have a smooth vacation? Or want to look and feel at home on your next holiday?

Then it may worth the effort to take a look at the following two books:

Culture Smart! Guides on customs and etiquette – is a book with smart travel tips to help us defuse unwanted sticky situations. For example, did you know that we should never give or receive anything with our left hand in Indonesia? (Reason being it is perceived as well as onsidered by many as dirty over there!)

Frommer's New York City: Day By Day – this book features a tear-resistant foldout map as well as venues and pictures of the secret destinations that tour guides used to keep to themselves.

Well, if you are interested I think these two books are available either online or at your local bookstores.

How about travel in style? Such as stride through the arrival hall with chic luggage. Perhaps you may want to condider the following items too:

• The new Sensu range from Samsonite – collapse easily for easy storage purpose.
  
  
• The Work Glam range from Mandarina Duck – attractive and striking as it has floral designs for an ultra feminine touch.
  
  
• Werks Traveller 2.0 series from Victorinox – can easily face the side of our body as we roll it, which makes it easier for us to navigate through some busy airports while traveling to interesting places around the world.
  
  

Eight Travel Tips - Travel Safe and Smart

I believe you have heard countless stories of holidays gone wrong due to pickpockets and lost of documents.

To ensure our holiday trip to places of interest is memorable, here are some safe and smart travel tips to protect our valuables:

1. Split up our valuables and keep cash pinned on an inside pocket and credit cards inside another pocket or money belt.
   
   
2. Carry as little cash as possible and never pull out a wad of cash from our purse or wallet to pay for anything.
   
   
3. Leave our jewelry at home unless we can bear to lose it, else don't bring it.
   
   
4. Try to blend in as a local. Do you know that the less we look like a tourist, the less likely we will be a target?
   
   
5. Make copies of important documents before we leave home. Leave one copy at home with someone we trust, and bring the other copy. Bring a couple of passport photos so we can easily replace stolen documents too. Also note down all the emergency contact
   numbers as we might need it, including the number for credit card replacement.
   
   
6. Watch out for "tag team" distraction tactics where one member of a team spills something on us or asks for directions, while the other steals our wallet or bag.
   
   
7. Beware of sob stories at train stations and airports. This is where scam artists hang out in locker areas asking for money, or wait to see which locker we use with the intention to break into it later.
   
   
8. Stay in well-populated and well-lit areas. Try to ask the locals which areas they usually avoid and which areas will become dangerous after dark.

Hope the above helps and do enjoy your holiday to places of interest around the world!

Planning a Winter Vacation for a Snowy Holiday

Year end is approaching, do you think is it good for a winter vacation? Who knows you may already have some ideas where are those interesting places that you wanted to visit for a thrilling slide down frosty slopes, right?

Perhaps, we would like our traveling buddy Richer Choo to share with us some handy traveling tips to make our winter vacation more enjoyable, at least not fall sick right back after the winter vacation!

Think you are ready for a ride on the snow, right? If so, bring your own skis, snowshoes or split board if you have them, unless you want to rent those snow equipment and gear at the service counter. For our own travel safety, it is good to bring a mini portable first aid kit filled with blister care and analgesic though.

What about clothing? I believe whether we are snowshoeing, going cross country or telemark skiing, winter winds can quickly lower our body temperature when we stop moving. Therefore, choosing and packing proper clothing should be something we really have to care about to maintain a constant body temperature. For our purpose, it is advisable to choose clothing with three basic layers. The base layer which is next to our skin should be made of lightweight moisture wicking thermal material or Capilene that keeps us warm and helps take moisture away from our skin. As for middle layer, it should include a down vest or fleece jacket and pants for us to put on when we stop moving. Not to forget a wool hat, neck gaiter and fleece-lined glove are also something essential here. As to the outer layer it ought to consist of a good breathable, wind and rainproof jacket and pants to protect us against winds and snow that often cut through other layers.

What else? Think we should also include dark sunglasses and lip balm in our carry-on, an insulated water bottle by our side to kill our thirst, ear plugs, extra gloves mittens and some cheese to munch on, right?

But I believe the most important thing is to first check the weather. As we may not know, winter weather can be extreme, varying from snow storms with strong winds to clear and cold with sub-zero temperatures. As I know, December, January and February are the coolest, with temperature dropping below freezing point. Well, if you think you are not able to take this, you may want to plan your winter vacation to your places of interest in March and April, when the snowpack becomes more stable and high peaks are more accessible.

Till we talk next time and cheers to enjoy our coming snowy holiday to interesting places!

Traveling Tips and Ideas on Honeymoon Getaways

Like other couples, I believe you will not treat your honeymoon just like another holiday, right? In fact, with a little bit of careful planning, a couple would be in for a time for them to recollect, rekindle and reaffirm the whirlwind of the wedding that has just passed, in short a...read more

Money Saving Traveling Tips to Interesting Places of The Caribbean

Believe you will agree with me that The Caribbean is one of those places of interest to relax and unwind yourself, especially so on its tropical shores, right?

However, high trip prices and the large number of luxury hotels may make you put off or confronted with...


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Car Rental Saving Traveling Tips, Promotions and Coupons to Interesting Places

Good news, here I have come across a promotions and coupons from a car rental company that could assist you in keeping your travel plans to interesting places within your budget, i.e. Dollar Rent A Car.

Do take note of their car rental travel partner program featuring convenient online airline and hotel reservations from major companies such as Southwest, Hawaiian, Delta, Aloha, Continental, Northwest and others when planning your next family vacation or business trip.

However, to save money on rental cars, the following may be worth to consider:

Know your car rental contract. Never assume that bringing the car back early can save you money. For example, in the case of a weeklong car rental contract, the weekly rate may revert to a much higher daily rate. Whether you want to keep the car for an extra day or two or should your travel plans change, it is always good to contact the car rental company for details to get a better rate to our places of interest.

Rent weekly. Do consider rent weekly if the weekly rate is cheaper than the daily rate.

Travel Package deals. Sometimes we may find that by adding a car rental onto our hotel or air vacation package is better than renting a car separately.

Wholesalers’ car rental prices. Since the wholesalers rent in bulk from those car rental companies who own the fleets, it is no surprised that they may frequently offer better rates, this is especially true during off-peak season and for traveling in Europe. For info, top European car rental wholesalers include Kemwel, Auto Europe, to name a few.

Research car rental rates on the web. Again, this applies even if you consider renting in less popular locations. To your surprised, my travel buddy Richer Choo share with me a secret that we rarely save money calling a car rental company’s toll free lines for rates rather than searching on the Web. Well, which sites allow for comparison shopping for car rental rates? Perhaps you want to take a look at Expedia or a bidding site like Priceline.

Join as a club member. Consider this money saving traveling option if you rent a car often, as it will definitely save you bucks. For a low one time fee, as a member, you will often get valuable car rental discounts, earn free rental days and upgrade.

Fees and surcharges. Do take into account this for returning car to a different location from where you pick it up. Also try to avoid renting at the airport, as airports often add surcharges.

Rental car sizes and prices. Sometimes logic may prove wrong as in here, as smaller cars can be more expensive, due to that it is more popular with renters, thanks to my travel buddy Richer Choo for sharing this tip.

Try to help yourself by helping the car rental companies too. It may be worth to fill up the car tank ourselves, say at a station away from the drop off point to get a better car rental offer rate from the car rental company. Do you know that car rental companies often need to move their fleet to specific locations to meet seasonal needs, since this deals are rarely advertised, you may want to inquire this kind of discounted one way car rental which often give you a rate lower than $15 a day and with unlimited mileage though.

Get all your travel discount. Again, try to find out whether the credit card you carry or the frequent flyer program or association or organization that you belong to has a special car rental program, if so, you will often do better with this rates than elsewhere.

Here are the details of the car rental promotions and coupons deals from our Dollar Rent A Car:

Enjoy a mid-size SUV or a standard-size SUV at Denver location for only $39.00/DY. Exp: 12/13/08

Save 10% on any vehicle when you purchase a car rental 24-hours in advance and use an American Express.Use Code AX10. Offer ends: 12/31/08

5% off any vehicle. Use Code: CJ05. Expires: 12-31-08 Some Restrictions apply.

Dollar -mid-size SUV $44.00/DY, $249.00/WK When you use your American Express Card at participating locations. Coupon AX44. Exp: 12/15/08

Dollar 10% Off plus free 12-Month Magazine Subscription for AMEX Members CODE: AXMG. Terms and Conditions apply. Exp:12/15/2008

Till we talk next time for traveling interesting places around the world!

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Thoughts on Choosing Cruise Ships for a Better Travel Itinerary

I believe most of us especially those new to travel by ship or cruise ship will likely face the same issues like I experienced before. When I first started out, I am not sure on the following:

How to do my homework to choose my ideal cruise ship
What are dining options being available?
Should I choose a larger cruise ship, midsize or a smaller cruise ship?
Should I choose a cruise ship based on destination, cruise line, itinerary or the cruise ship?
Should I avoid an older cruise ship?

Well, what follows are what I have learned and perhaps you may find it useful for your reference too.

How to do my homework to choose my ideal cruise ship
This part is important as it will help you to choose a voyage that is right for you. Don’t worry, it may not be that difficult as you think. You may not know that there is a wealth of information out there for you. First off, check out the cruise-lines web sites and brochures, as well as read the travel articles about the cruise ships you are considering, if you can find any. Also not to forget to find out what other cruisers say about the ships and lines in reader forums such as the ones in Fodors.

What are the dining options being available?
Feel uneasy about the ideas of seated at the same dinner table with the same guest every time you dine? Well no more, almost every cruise ship these days has one or more specialty restaurant which offer made to order meals just like in a shore side restaurant. In fact many cruise lines now offer much less structured dining, i.e. allow you to dine whenever and wherever you wish. Sound great, right?

Should I choose a larger cruise ship, midsize or a smaller cruise ship?
I would say that depend on what you want. Generally, larger cruise ships have more people on boards and more activities, have the best amenities and will let you feel less crowded, and to enjoy the pulsing discos, over the top Las Vegas style shows and Casinos, and other after-dark diversions. However, larger cruise ships are also prone to long waiting lines to disembark.

As for midsize cruise ships which usually carry 1,000 or less people, they are cozier even though they are lack of facilities, while a smaller ship cruise line may sail to a more remote and exclusive island, hence no surprised that champagne parties can be held in the surf. But be aware that seasickness is more likely to happen on smaller ship cruises.

Well, if you are a single and want to meet more people during your cruise vacations, then choose a larger cruise ship. Nowadays, one can even find charter ships for gay and lesbian themed cruises for singles hoping to meet others of the same sex!

Should I choose a cruise ship based on destination, cruise line, itinerary or the cruise ship?
I don’t know about you, but for me I will book my cruise based on the cruise ship that suits me, as I believe that this is the most important element that will determine the comfort of my sleeping quarters, my food and entertainment and others.

Should I avoid an older cruise ship?
I would think that for those with mobility problem, i.e. disabilities, by all means try to avoid on older cruise ship. Why? As older cruise ships used to be smaller, and have more lips between the door ways and fewer flat to level entrances to go on decks!

Till we talk next time to our places of interest!

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Interesting Places - World’s Cities

Which interesting places or a city should I visit and what are the things to take note of?

Well, what I can say is don’t go and expect the same attitudes, the same accommodation, the same food, the same treatment from your favorite hotel, the same grids of streets, and others that you would find at home. Do your research and go with an open mind, but of course be sensible to the local culture and etiquette.

Despite many cities are packed with all types of restaurants and hotels and with entertainment of every description, yet you may find some with few obvious sights to attract visitors. For example, if you decide to visit the legendary Timbuktu in Mali or the entrancing Ethiopian city of Harar, you should not expect to find night-clubs or five-star hotels, instead you should go with the flow only then you could fully appreciate them. In fact, the experience or the enjoyment that we gained from visiting cities in different countries is very different, or perhaps challenging!

One of the travel tips that I learn is to gain some knowledge of the customs, culture and history and if got the time try to learn some of the language. My travel friend, Richer Choo and myself feel that even with just knowing how to say ‘Thank you’, ‘Good morning’ or ‘How are you’ in the local language is suffice to get you off on the right footing.

However, it is always good to consult your tourism’s official for advice and precautions to take. You may not aware or do not agree with many that Algiers is one of the worst cities due to its poor infrastructure, instability as well as its known for crime!

What are the world’s largest cities, you may ask? Well, Tokyo, Mumbai, New York, Mexico City…. In terms of the cities population, there is a lot of difference from city to city, some even with a population of less than 2,500, which I guess you may think it is more of a village than a city, right? That is St David’s, Britain’s smallest city that lies in the wild and beautiful Pembrokeshire Coast National Park!

Whatever it is just make sure you have the required travel insurance, the appropriate vaccination, the visas, and not to forget to pack the right clothes for the time of the year!

Have fun and enjoy travel to the world's interesting places!

Money Saving Traveling Tips on Hotels to your Places of Interest

Well, a place to stay is inevitable when come to traveling, more so on a long journey to your places of interest. Is there a way to be smarter for spending to stay in a hotel?

Depending on where you go, for instance for visitors to Hawaii, there is a concept called condo Hotel. I believe this is a new concept to many of us; however, you need to seriously consider this if you are visiting Hawaii. You may ask why? Simply because there are more condo hotels than standard hotel and resorts over there and if you want to save some money, you simply can’t afford to miss this. The main thing to keep in mind is that those condo hotels offer several great amenities that you can’t find in standard hotels and resorts, these included items like laundry facilities, kitchens, living rooms, etc.

My friend Rich Choo, someone who likes to travel even told me that he managed to get great deal (as much as 60%) on his hotel room just by using his entertainment book discount. He told me that we have to identify ourselves as an entertainment member and by calling the hotel directly and not through the reservation lines as listed in the entertainment book! So, it is sometimes wise to call directly as reservation may not be aware or simply don't have the time to entertain much!

As far as money saving traveling tips on accommodation is concerned, one of the options that are available is to look into rentals and home exchanges. Usually rental properties including houses, apartments or condos and villas can often be rented by the week. If we do the math, you will notice that the nightly rates may often be better than at a hotel, more so if you are traveling in group. Also look for home exchanges or home swaps, as it often save you big bucks, if that suit you.

If you have joined those “frequent guest” programs, you may also get preferential treatment in room rates as well as the choice to upgrade in your favorite chains. So take a look of your program before making your reservations.

Don’t be surprise that some high-end hotel chains rates are lower on weekends than on weekdays, these are the hotels that cater to business travelers that are often busy on weekdays. That is the reason why the rates are dramatically lower on weekends as they need to urgently fill up the rooms. Also not to forget that hotels may have special package deals or corporate rates available. In short, try to ask for packages and special rates if it is available.

Another way is to look for guaranteed hotel rates, this is useful especially for an overseas trips, as you need not worry to pay more if the price goes up due to currency exchange rate fluctuation. Frankly, I often feel the pinch when my home currency rate is weaken when traveling abroad!

If you like the stay at hostels concept, you may want to join Hostelling International. A membership with them allows you to stay in their affiliated hostels at member rates, this include discounts for bus and rail travel in some countries too. As far as I know, room rates are well under $100 a night.

Do you know that if you are newly married and you are on your honeymoon trip, you may get a modest upgrade if you mention this when making your reservations? Hotels are known to furnish honeymooners with free breakfast or champagne. However, you may need to convince the hotelier as they are becoming hip to the practice of fake honeymooning. This again testifies that married and honeymooning are something that is not up for debate, right?

Happy traveling!

How to get the Best Deals to Your Places of Interest?

Does the thought of getting the best deals for your traveling occur in your mind? I think so, right?

While the ideas of shop around seem the best way, but there are things that you need to take note of in order to get it. Well, you need to know that online prices can be dramatically different from site to site, room cost alone may vary by as much as 100% or more, what is more not all chains or carriers are represented on all sites, especially for those discount or smaller airlines like Southwest. Another thing is you may be surprise to know that you may find the cheapest fare on a hotel-chain web site.

Based on experience, the following may help:

1. Your travel agent may still be able to get you better deals, simply because it is their business to know their way around.
   
   
2. Check out online travel companies’ international web sites. It is good to know that many airlines, car rental, online travel agents like Expedia, Travelocity have foreign web sites. If you can purchase directly from it or through friends or family living abroad, you might be able to get a better deals. How to find out whether they have international sites? Just scroll down to the bottom of the Home page, or alternatively changing the “.com” suffix to “.ca” (Canada), or to “.fr” (France), for example.
   
   
3. Try to compare prices. Web sites like Expedia and Travelocity is a good place to compare prices for airfares, hotels, cruise and rental cars from many places. Likewise, Fare Buzz has wholesale contract with more than 60 airlines, while Wegolo is well known as a source for cheapest fares for budget airlines and so on.
   
   
4. Credit card privileges. If possible, visit your credit card company’s web site to check on hotel deals or promotions. You may think that what for since your credit card does not give you frequent-flier miles for purchases, but you should not overlook the eligibility of those attractive discounts on travel products or services that you could get which may end up help you save a lot!
   
   
5. Book on an auction site. If you are flexible and don’t particularly care which airline you fly, and can forgo those frequent-flier miles in a particular program and if you bid wisely, there are deals to be on auction sites such as the one “name-your-own-price” site like Priceline and LuxuryLink. Always pay attention to those details like hotel ratings and locations as what you defined of a hotel near airport may differ from what defined in the auction sites and be careful of what you are committing as changes are not allowed once a bid has been accepted.
   
   
6. Membership with an organization. Well, it sound strange but if you are a member of the American Dental Association or some others, you can take advantage of low rates that they have negotiated with hotels, cruises, car rental companies and others. So don’t miss this and always check with your membership organization before your journey to your places of interest!
   
   
7. Airline affinity credit card. If you are using this to rack up miles, it will be good to charge everything you can and pay your balance in full each and every month. Know why? Because if you don’t pay in full, the interest or finance charges will quickly add up to more than any savings you would get from obtaining a free airline ticket.
   

Whatever it is, as far as money savings traveling tips is concerned, I would say that it is no harm to negotiate as it really pays to haggle for a price below the published rates. For example, some hotel would consider giving you a discount if you pay by check rather than by credit card and some would even give you a bonus such as an extra night’s stay or so, but play on your strength.

Some Thoughts about Using Credit Cards to Places of Interest Abroad

I believe that the convenient of using credit cards while traveling cannot be denied, but rather a necessity.

Basically cards that are worth using for traveling purpose are credit cards, debit cards as well as rewards cards. The important point to note is cards are not the same, even among credit cards themselves. For example, some credit card companies charge a foreign transaction fee of 2 to 5% on any charge made internationally while some issuing bank might also tact on similar fees. Luckily for Malaysian, we are exempted from this that is at least for the credit cards that I hold! Know why? Like a faithful (or should I use loyal?) husband to his wife, period!

Some of the things that worth considering when using credit cards are:

1. Check with your credit cards companies before your journey abroad to avoid being charged with hefty usage fees.
   
   
2. Notify your card issuing company before you travel, especially abroad. Reason being that the card issuer might put a hold on your card due to unrecognizable spending pattern or activities, like a charge in a restaurant in China while you are a Malaysian. This is a common practice for fraud prevention by the card issuers.
   
   
3. Record all your credit card numbers as well as its related contact numbers in a safe place should something unwanted such as lost or stolen of card happen.
   
   
4. You might experience difficulty when making purchases if you have a traditional card or a chip card that requires a signature as many European countries have adopted “smart” or “chip and pin” systems that confirmed purchases with a pin and not a signature. Anyhow not to worries too much, as you may still request for the purchases to be made by a signature though.
   
   
5. Before you start to use for your purchases ask to find out is there any dynamic currency conversion (DCC) charges imposed by the merchants, i.e. shop, restaurant, hotel, etc (not Visa or Master). As you may be not aware, this is the fee that you will pay to the merchant for goods or services that you received from them, usually is around 3%. Please note that this is in addition to those credit cards companies or issuing bank foreign transaction surcharges. As a traveler, you should not take this lightly as this may add up to quite a substantial sum considering all the hotel stays, meals, museum entrance fees, etc.
   
   

Smart saving traveling tips:

• Speak up to avoid DCC charge. To worries less about DCC, you might consider using an American Express Card, as it does not allow merchants to perform DCC.
  
  
• Consider using debit cards or rewards cards where appropriate or a combination of your credit cards, debit cards and rewards cards.

Enjoy!

Timing Interesting Places Traveling Trips to Get More

Do you believe that planning plays its role to ensure a better traveling trip and to help you spend less for your places of interest?

Well, based on experience, travel in autumn, fares and accommodations are generally cheaper and with the advantage of no or less crowds.

One of the elements that is often overlooked by people is the “weather”. If you plan to travel to places of interest in Southeast Asia, then you probably want to know that the Monsoon season is from December through early March while for Caribbean the Hurricane season is around June through November with greater risk of storm from August through October. One of the web sites that I find useful for weather information is The World Weather Information Service that has weather updates as well as it tracks severe weather events for more than 1,000 cities.

Another element that you might want to factor in is to consider the travel patterns. For example, it is good to avoid on Italian beach in August, reason being that you will hardly find a scrap of sand on which to lay your towel, and you will pay more for your resorts too! For your info, Italian beach vacation is best to be taken in June and September.


Another thing to know is to pick the best flight time and airports to avoid get caught in the congestion and disrupted travel schedules. For this purpose, National Association of Air Traffic Controllers will be a handy tool to use, as it not only allows you to research the most delayed departure airports, the worst times to fly, and the most delayed flights, you can also report complaints too.

What you should do is try to avoid the busiest travel days. Many are not aware that Christmas Eve is actually a great time to travel, as most people are already holed up with their loved ones.
Money saving traveling tips to places of interest:

• Traveling at the end of your destination’s peak season might help you save hundreds of dollars, i.e. travel in the shoulder season. Your accommodation room rate chart will give you a good idea of when is the peak and off peak season. One thing I love about traveling off peak is that it let me avoid crowds and high prices with only a few trade-offs, if any.

• If you are OK with the drop and run lifestyle, then you will find those last minute e-saver deals rewarding. If so, Site 59 / Lastminute might appeal to you! Site 59 / Lastminute is perfect for last-minute getaways, especially if you are looking for something on the weekend. You can book deals as late as three hours before your departure time!
  

International Travel Permission to World's Interesting Places

Do you want to avoid being turn away at the airport or feel frustrated to be deported after your arrival in the concerned country?

If so, one very basic document that you need to look at is your “Travel Visa”. Visa is a formal permission from the concerned authority to allow you to enter a country, as it helps the country to keep track of visitors besides generating revenue from the application fees.

However, we need to take note that some countries do participate in the Visa waiver program, under which a US citizen will be able to enter a country without a Visa, say for a stay of 90 days or less, be it for leisure or business travel purpose.

Usually, we will have to pay a small fee to get it stamp at the airport on arrival or arrange for a Visa in advance of our international travel trip. The fee involved can be ranged from less than $10 to $100 or more.

Most Visas will limit you to a single trip, i.e. the actual dates of your vacation while some Visas allow us to visit as many times as we wish for a specific period of time.

The important thing is always check it out before you travel to your places of interest, as Visa requirements always change! As a traveller, you should always uphold to this travelling tip.