Taking off Travel blog

Hurricane season is still with us, so these tips from Chris Hoole will come in handy.

You may wonder why anyone would want to go on a cruise during hurricane season, but nevertheless many of us do. Cruise holidays can be as much as 50% cheaper during this season and not surprisingly they tend to be emptier too but the chance of actually encountering any problems is minimal. Hurricane season runs from:

• 15^th May – 30th November in the Eastern Pacific.
• 1^st June – 30^th November in the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
• Peak Hurricane Season (when you will find the cheapest cruises) starts in the middle of August and ends at the beginning of November.

So what can you expect if you opt to cruise during the hurricane season? Read on and I’ll tell you more!

The Risks

Before I start talking about what could happen to you if you decide to take a cruise holiday during hurricane season, let me first point out that the chances of a hurricane disrupting your holiday are minimal and most cruises taken during this time are in beautiful weather. However if bad weather is expected your captain will divert your ship away from the danger. Here are some of the disruptions that could occur:

• Your ship may have to leave earlier than you expect – make sure you check the weather so that if this is the case you still manage to board in time.
• Your cruise could end later than you had initially planned – it is a good idea to plan to stay in your destination location for a few nights before and after your cruise leaves and departs just in case this happens.
• You could be sailing in stormy weather and rough seas – if you suffer from sea sickness, cruising during hurricane season may not be such a good idea.
• Your cruise itinerary may be disrupted.
• The city you return to could have been hit by a storm. If this is the case you may return to a city with floods and a loss of power – it is a good idea to make sure you have some cash handy just in case this does happen.

Handy Tips

Most trips do go as planned but just in case your cruise does get interrupted you may want to have prepared for a few things. Below are a few handy tips that may come in useful.

• Buy Travel Insurance – trip protection is not good enough, you need to make sure you buy a complete travel insurance package. If your trip is interrupted you may have to rebook flights or in the worst case, pay for medical issues. Your travel insurance policy should cover both.
• Book any shore excursions through the cruise company – Although it is often cheaper to book these independently, if something does happen leaving your ship unable to dock at a certain port, it is down to the discretion of the excursion company as to whether you will get your money back. If you book through the cruise company and this happens you WILL get your money back.
• Pack some extra supplies of prescription medicine just in case the cruise does take longer to return to port. You might also want to pack a raincoat, some extra warm clothes, an extra battery for your mobile phone and important telephone numbers, including that of your travel agent.
• Plan to arrive at your cruise destination city early and leave late so that if there are disruptions to the cruise schedule you can still board the ship/catch your flights.
• Pack some ginger candy – it is great for sea sickness although no-one seems to know why!

Hurricane season can be an extremely cheap time to take that cruise holiday that you have always dreamed of. Be prepared for the unexpected though, and understand that if there are disruptions to the schedule they are happening to keep you safe. I’m sure you will have a fantastic adventure either way!

If you want to book a cheap Caribbean cruise during hurricane season, you can compare the prices of a number of different cruise companies with Major Cruise. They do all the hard work so you can spend more time planning for your adventure!

Image: born1945

If you have wanted to take a vacation that is entirely different from one you’ve ever taken before, you have a lot of choices.

Some of them may require you to do a little work, but even that can open your eyes to circumstances different from your home.

Here are some ideas:

Go on a Mission or Humanitarian Trip

Depending on what you are doing, the chances are you will stay at a central location and take all meals there. You will also most likely have transportation to the “field” or “site” if you are not within easy walking distance.

Local churches and other houses of worship are good places to find out about these types of trips. You can also check with national and international charities, such as the Red Cross or others.

Join a Working Farm

Some foreign countries, such as Mexico, have these. You work on the farm a few hours a day or only on weekends, which gives you plenty of free time to sightsee. Your host family provides meals and lodging when you’re on the farm and in the city, lodging may have been arranged for, or you might be able to find reasonable accommodations on your own.

You may have to stay a certain amount of time, say a month, and you may have to travel with members of the same sex, but still, even with these limitations, you should enjoy yourself.

Teach English

Teach English as a second or alternate language in a foreign country or offer to teach summer school at a school outside your home state.

Summer school classes usually only last a few hours a day, leaving you free time in the afternoon and at night to sightsee. For ESL classes, you may be able to set your own schedule, especially if you are teaching only a few people. You may need a teaching certificate or college degree in order to do this.

If you go through an educational organization to do this, your room and meals will be provided, or you will at least be given information on where to stay and eat for reasonable prices.

Build Hiking Trails

If you like to hike and camp, and don’t mind getting a little dirty, consider helping maintain or even build a new hiking trail. Accommodations will most likely be camping ones – possibly even relatively primitive tent camping – but generally you won’t work all day. Some of these assignments are located in the U.S. Virgin Islands, so you can actually choose a tropical locale to do this at.

If you do decide to do something like this, make sure your passport is in order if you will be leaving the country, and check with your local health department to see if you need any vaccines. Also, check the U.S. Government travel website to see if any countries have recently been added to the list of those where travel is prohibited or advised against.

These types of trips are a great way to broaden your horizon, experience a new culture, help others, and save money. Having international experience is very appealing on college applications and resumes.

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Jessy Troy is a frugal and eco-conscious blogger for Credit Card Finder, the free-for-all tool platinum cards online. Read our details guide on comparing travel cards.

Guest post by Tony Patterson

Hotel rates can be quite varied. The exact room type on the same date can go for wildly different prices depending on the time of booking and many other factors. To be able to get the best deal possible, the savvy traveler can utilize a number of tips and industry secrets that are generally not known by the public.

Book Directly

Whenever someone is searching for a good deal, the first inclination would be to look online. This is helpful when it comes to comparing rates, but it is always best to call the hotel directly.

With a hotel that is part of a larger chain, calling the reservation number will not always reach the hotel. In most cases, the phone call goes to a Central Reservation System. The reservation agents at this call center generally operate under very specific guidelines and will not be able to work with the customer when it comes to negotiation of rates. If unsure, it is perfectly acceptable to ask if you have actually reached the hotel. If not, find the local phone number for the hotel online and call direct.

The reservation department or front desk staff at the actual hotel should be able to work directly with a customer on the room rate. In many cases, the front desk staff is allowed or empowered to negotiate rates within a certain set limit. If the staff member is not savvy or does not offer a discount that is agreeable, there is no harm in speaking with a supervisor. This person should have the appropriate authority and knowledge to be able to offer a great rate.

Variable Rates

Hotel rates are incredibly liquid. These can vary depending on the season and can sometimes change on an hourly basis. In the hotel industry, rates are often changed due to supply and demand. If going to an area for a major event, the hotel rates in town can be significantly increased. When there is an incredibly high demand for hotel rooms, don’t be surprised to see rates that are doubled.

In these circumstances, it is wise to book far in advance. If this is done before a hotel can increase rates, you should consider yourself lucky. General rates for a hotel are set at least one to two years in advance, but when there are major conventions or conferences, these increased rates do not always get adjusted until closer to the date.

Look at The Competition

Depending on the hotel, there will be other options in the area. A hotel will usually price itself similarly to the competition. This information can be used as a bargaining tool. Be certain to review all of the amenities and features of the competition. For example, a competing hotel may offer a lower rate but the breakfast is an additional charge. When negotiating with the hotel, you may be able to get additional services such as the breakfast included for free.

The Extra Perks

Many times, a hotel guest will not take advantage of special perks and discounts that a hotel or other providers may offer. Before arriving at the hotel, checking with the local Visitors Bureau—it is a great way to gather information about the area and receive special coupons and discounts to area restaurants and attractions.

The hotel itself may offer a number of things to guests at no additional charge. These vary from one hotel to the next but can include wireless Internet, dining vouchers, shuttle service and more. The key is to ask about these amenities upon arrival. The front desk staff will not always go out of their way to tell offer the information unless asked.

To get the best value and most out of a hotel stay, the most important things would be to investigate and ask. Great deals can be had by any traveler. If you don’t ask or negotiate, you could be missing out and end up paying too much for a lower grade hotel room.

Photo credits courtesy of flickr: Fairmont Hotel Lobby in San Francisco by Pargon; Luxor Hotel Lobby in Las Vegas by Rob Young; Tokyo Bay Hotel by Masakazu Matsumoto.

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A former hotel administrator, Tony Patterson is a personal finance consultant, and content contributor for companies offering consumers a credit card for bad credit situations they may have temporarily experienced.

by Dan Clarke

For holidays in Brazil, Rio is almost everyone’s first choice, with its riotous Carnival, picture-postcard views, and famous city beaches. For business, however, Sao Paulo is the undisputed capital, with almost all of Brazil’s major companies headquartered there, so it’s a city that many people visit on business. Although it’s usually seen as less glamorous than Rio, anyone in the know will tell you that in many ways Sao Paulo is more interesting and more exciting, and there’s certainly more than enough to fill any free time you might have between meetings…

Formula 1 Grand Prix

One of the real highlights of the Sao Paulo calendar is the annual Formula 1 Grand Prix meeting, held at the huge Interlagos circuit. Brazilians have been crazy for Formula 1 since the days of the great Ayrton Senna, and the crowd at Interlagos is famously passionate, particularly if Brazilian drivers are doing well. The Sao Paulo Grand Prix is also one of the great schmoozing dates for South American businesses, so if you can get an invite to one of the corporate pavilions you can definitely mix some business with pleasure!

Ibirapuera Park

Obviously the Grand Prix is only on once a year, but most of Sao Paulo’s attractions are available year-round. Perhaps chief among these is the lovely Ibirapuera Park. Sao Paulo’s answer to Central Park in New York, or to the great parks of London, Ibirapuera is just under a square mile in size but packs in two lakes, a Japanese garden and some quirky buildings as well as the lawns and woods that make it a real green lung in the heart of Sao Paulo. The park is also home to the Sao Paulo Museum of Modern Art, which houses works by artists such as Picasso and Chagall.

Sao Paulo Museum of Art

As well as business, Sao Paulo is the undisputed cultural capital of Brazil, and one of the jewels in the crown of the city is the Sao Paulo Museum of Art (better known as MASP from its initials in Portuguese). It is by far the largest collection of art not just in Latin America, but in the entire Southern hemisphere, and its iconic building on Sao Paulo’s central Paulista Avenue is home to over 8,000 pieces of art. There is a particular focus on European painting, with artists such as Titian, Van Gogh, Tintoretto and Degas well-represented, but MASP also has smaller collections of South American, African and Asian art. Entrance is good value and you can easily spend an entire day here.

Japanese Food

If a stroll in the park and all this art has made you hungry, then you’ll be pleased to hear that Sao Paulo has some of the best restaurants in South America! You are spoiled for choice in terms of world cuisines, but one thing you really should try here is the superb Japanese food. Sao Paulo is home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan anywhere in the world, and this means that the Japanese food is some of the best on the planet. The Liberdade district is the place to head to, so hop in a cab and you’ll soon be surrounded by enough noodle joints, sushi bars and upmarket ryotei for you to be glad your hotel has a gym to work it all off…

The City that Never Sleeps

If you’re not feeling too well-fed after your meal, then you might like to sample some of Sao Paulo’s nightlife. Forget New York – this is the city that really never sleeps, or at least can feel like it if you’re not used to it! Most Paulistas don’t even leave the house before 11pm, and the younger crowd at least will be up until sunrise. Dress codes are a little smarter in Sao Paulo than most of Brazil – smart casual rather than jeans – but the atmosphere is just as relaxed. There are several different areas but for business travellers, Vila Olimpia is probably the best. Lots of restaurants and classy bars rather than dance clubs make it a perfect place for a couple of drinks after dinner, whether with clients or not!

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Dan Clarke works for Real Brazil Holidays – the UK specialist for tailormade travel in Brazil, whether that’s packages for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix or trips to the Rio Carnival.

By the time I was four years old I was already living in my second country and that was only the beginning of a nomadic life. And by the time I was 21,  after a couple of decades of moving home and country, I’d already learned plenty about going to new places, and I’m happy to share those lessons with you now.

1. Making Friends is Easy – And Difficult

When you travel, it’s easy to find others doing the same thing to hang out with. Casual friends who will check out local attractions with you and commiserate over bad travel experiences are easy to come by. I’ve hung out with a rock band in Barcelona, matadors in Madrid and a singing group in Venezuela and have traveled round Europe with people I’d only known for a couple of weeks. And I had a blast! Making friends for the long haul can be more difficult, but I find you meet like minded people wherever you go, which is why I have friends across the globe.

2. You Take Your Culture With You – But Don’t Let It Get In The Way

Even while you are busy experiencing new places, you take your own culture with you. It’s a part of who you are and you never really leave it behind. In fact, you filter all your travel experiences through this lens, and that has positive and negative aspects. With my roots in a culture that enjoys carnival celebrations, I had no problem participating in the Nimes summer street festival. Sometimes your cultural prejudices can get in the way. Let’s face it, I was never in a million years going to enjoy eating snails. Overall, though, I figure, what’s the point of going to new places if you’re not going to try new things? I’ve had some of the best times of my life when I stepped out of my comfort zone.

3. Even Negative Experiences Can Have A Positive Side

Sometimes things go wrong when you travel – that’s life. On one of my early trips to Venezuela (well before the advent of TripAdvisor), one of our group inadvertently booked us into the red light district in Caracas. That meant that until we moved to a safer area, we didn’t want to go out at night. On the plus side, that area had some of the best street food I’ve ever tasted, plus a local shop with a variety of unknown but delicious juices.

On another trip, when we had to spend our money on an emergency car repair, we ended up taking a scenic trip through the mountains from France to Germany and enjoying some great (if very cheap) pizza.

4. Homesickness Is Survivable

The first time I spent a year away from home, I was very homesick for the first couple of months. It didn’t kill me, though. In fact, once I accepted that I was going to miss the old faces and routines, I was able to evolve new ones – and those became a part of my daily life. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and friends, but it’s also good to know that I can be self-sufficient for a while if need be. It’s a question of learning to live with and work around the gaps, without letting them paralyze you.

Your Turn

What lessons did you learn from your early trips that still guide you when you travel today?

Image: Tina Phillips / FreeDigitalPhotos.net