Taking off Travel blog

A recent post by Ken McGuire wondered whether airport parking online was a bit too easy. He discussed his experience of travelling through Dublin airport and avoiding the old hassles of having to pay for your space before getting on the bus to get you back to the car. He commented favorably on the rate offered for a weekend’s airport parking. For our money, this is the way it should always be. What’s the point of looking airport parking online if it doesn’t save you hassle?

Choosing Off Airport Parking

When I travel I always arrange airport parking in advance. It’s usually offsite and I usually get an excellent deal. There’s no big secret to this — it just involves looking around to see who has an off airport parking lot close to the airport I will be flying from. That usually narrows it down to just a couple of options. My next step is to see how else I can save. For example, if I’m collecting air miles or have loyalty cards from hotels or car rental firms, then I see if they have a deal with the off airport parking lot I plan to use. Depending on the length of my stay, this can save me quite a bit. Read more »

I’ve never been mugged on vacation. That doesn’t mean that everywhere I’ve travelled to has been a walk in the park. Caracas is no picnic but I managed to spend a month in the city without getting into serious difficulty (unless you count the scary night I’ve already told you about). Staying out of trouble is often a matter of common sense. Here are some travel safety tips that will make your vacation more enjoyable.

Safety At Home

First of all, give yourself less to think about taking care of safety and security at home. Get someone you trust to look after your house keys and emergency information and to swing by your home every so often to make sure that everything is okay. Put delivery of mail and publications on hold and use timers to program your lights, TV and radio to give the illusion that your home is occupied. Let your neighbors know that you will be gone so that if they see someone in your home who shouldn’t be there they will alert the police. Read more »

If you’re taking a trip abroad, whether for business or leisure, then there are certain things you need to be able to say. Years ago, I was visiting Germany and faced a language barrier. My German was rudimentary and although most Germans I met speak excellent English, I happened upon someone who could only say ‘hello’. That was a good start but it didn’t really help me with what I needed to know. Since, then I’ve always tried to be better prepared.

Key Phrases

When I’m traveling to a new country, there are a few key phrases that I try always to learn. By far the most important is being able to say “I don’t speak (insert name of language). Do you speak English?” By the way, I am not a linguaphobe. I speak French and Spanish and now a bit of German but there are some countries where even those languages won’t get me very far. Read more »

The treasure hunt is alive and well. Remember how much fun it was to bury items and then hunt for them, either on your own or with groups of friends? Some people have never tired of that thrill and there are a number of ways you can still enjoy finding buried treasure.

Letterboxing

With letterboxing small boxes are hidden various locations. They contain a unique stamp (which is often handmade) and a logbook. Those are the basics but they may include other things as well. The idea is that when you find a letterbox you use the stamp inside it to stamp your own personal logbook whilst using your own signature stamp to mark the logbook contained in the letterbox. In order to find the letterboxes all you need to do is follow the clues which are left on letterboxing community sites.

Hitchhikers

A twist on letterboxing is that sometimes a letterbox contains another letterbox which the finder must remove and take to another location, placing it inside a third letterbox. Read more »

We’re all looking to save money on business trips and vacations. With travel budgets slashed and family finances often in disarray, it’s more important than ever to cut the cost of vacation travel.

Flexibility Is Key

Being wedded to the idea of traveling on certain dates can be a problem, as the best fares might not be available then. Instead, be flexible about the dates for your trip. If you’re attending a business conference, you might have to be in a particular place on a particular date, but consider tying that in with other meetings so you can travel at a reduced rate. Taking your trip mid week is often cheaper and including a weekend night hotel stay can also help you save. Find out more in How To Cut The Cost Of Your Next Business Trip. Read more »