Posts Tagged ‘advice’

A Travel Checklist is a great thing to use for your vacation travels.

Written by MichaelZ on September 3, 2009 – 7:42 am -

I have put together
a detailed research list that I have gathered through shool of hardknocks and research. They don’t only apply to
packing lists. You Pick and choose your priorities according to your destination and the length of your stay. I have considered safety issues,self reliance,and total flexibility issues. Do you want to save money on your vacation planning?Click here for more

Gear Essentials
·’”The Pack”
· mini-flashlight
· Compact Binoculars
· First Aid Kit
· Sunglasses
· Multi-tool
· Watch
· Sunscreen
· Water bottle (with built-in filter)
· Hat
· Whistle
· Map or Travel Guide
· Compass or GPS receiver

Pre-Departure
· travel documents
· Visa if needed
· health papers
·Up to date Transportation Tickets
· Frequent Flyer Cards
· Emergency Information
· Insurance
·Updated Hotel Reservations
· Traveler’s Checks
· Currency (both local and American)
· prepaid international credit card
·Guide Books and Maps
· Trip Cancellation/ Medical

Information
·Current Copies of Passport, ID and Documents
· Special Event Reservations

Functional Travel Gear
· Main Travel Bag (Duffle/Luggage, etc.)
· Packing Accessories (clothes, small stuff and toiletries)
· Security (Passport carrier, luggage locks/ tags)
·Document Organizer
·Everyday Bag

Everyday Basics
· Travel Clothing
·Raincoat/ Umbrella
·Travel Footwear
· Visor or Brimmed Hat
· Camera.Lenses and Films that you have used before
·Take your time and find the right Radiation Shield for Film
· Video Camera, Tapes
· CD/ Cassette Player
·Quality Electric/ Phone Converters
· travel alarm clocks
·language translation books
·Reading Materials
·Address Padde
·Travel Notebook
·Spare Pencil/ Pen that
· Scarf/ Bandana
·Special stash of Games/ Playing Cards
· Snacks
·Hand Sanitizer/ Towlettes
·Travel Neck Pillow
·Affordable but reliable Eye Shade and Ear Plugs
·Reliable Door Lock
·Biodegradable Tissues/ Toilet Paper
· Keys

Personal Maintenance Items
· battery flashlights
· Matches or Lighter
· rechargeable batteries
· Sewing/ Repair Kit
· Duct Tape
· Travel Iron or Steamer
· bathroom sink stopper
· Zip-Close Plastic Bags

Travel Health Guide
· Travel Health Booklet
· Pain Reliever/ Aspirin
· Airborne Medicine
· Contact Lens Items
·Off the counter Diarrhea Medicine
· Motion Sickness Medications
· Laxative
· Insect Protection
· sun protection lotion
· Antibiotic Cream
· chloroquine
· personal hygiene checklist
· doctor’s prescriptions

To conclude,travelling may not only be for vacation. As I speak, my wife had to spend the whole day to travel out of state to go get her sister and take her to the passport office to renew her travel documents because her husband lost his mother and they need to travel to Ghana next week to bury her.

Things would have been smoother if she had, done this renewal long ago because the Embassies can not guarantee a quick nor instant renewal.

There is naturally always a waiting list and these covetted documents are served on a first come first serve basis.

 

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Travel Ideas That Will Save the Stress

Written by MichaelZ on May 2, 2009 – 12:02 am -

I regularly travel to Europe for business and try to take at least one foreign holiday each year. Our favoured destination for family holidays is the United States and I recently decided to take a leaf out of my business travelling book and use the same facilities and resources to make my holiday travel less stressful.

Our flights to the U.S. from Gatwick often leave really early in the morning. When travelling on business, if I have an early morning flight I always have a hotel room booked for the night before. We took two adjoining rooms, for us and the children, in an excellent Gatwick hotel and started our holiday even before we’d embarked on our flight. The children loved it and I think we managed to use almost every facility the hotel had to offer.

Another service I always use is parking. I sometimes need to hop on a flight to Europe at very short notice. And I often find myself returning late at night. Parking at the airport means I can jump straight in my car and be on my way home without having to worry about trains and taxis. When time is likely to be really tight I always get my P.A. to book meet and greet parking as this is a great way to save loads of time, avoiding the need to transfer by bus to and from the airport car parks. And when I return from Frankfurt, Rome or Madrid the chauffeur has my car is clean and ready for my drive home as soon as I’ve cleared customs.

The last time I went on holiday I was able to combine our Gatwick parking requirements with our hotel. Comparing services and then pre-booking online gave me some fantastic savings of over 50% on the normal prices.

And the internet is not only good for getting the best deal, it can also save you lots of time and hassle. When travelling on business I often don’t take much baggage and like to use the online check in facility which saves me loads of time queuing at the airport. I just turn up with my briefcase and boarding pass.

One service that i regularly use when travelling on business is from a baggage handling company who take responsibility for transporting my bags. This avoids the need for me to lug heavy baggage through the airport and worry about checking it in etc. And you avoid the need to stand waiting at the baggage carousel, wondering if your suitcase has made it. The baggage handling firm takes reponsibility for ensuring that your bags are waiting at your final destination.

Another service that I routinely use when travelling on business is I will have my personal assistant book space in a Gatwick airport lounge. Airport lounges are a great place to meet colleagues before taking to the plane and maybe have a little pre-trip planning meet-up or simply relax with a nice coffee and newspaper, in comfort. Although I didn’t use this service on my last family holiday I think I will for the next one.

These are just a few suggestions that I am confident will result in reducing the stress of travelling anywhere by air.

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A Travel Distance Calculator Are They Any Good?

Written by MichaelZ on April 27, 2009 – 5:03 am -

The introduction of the online travel distance calculator has made things a lot easier for journey planning. Before the introduction of this online facility, people relied only on map support to learn distances and appreciate fuel consume for instance. Nowadays, you can access a huge number of sites that have a travel distance calculator incorporated, but the most popular of variants are Google Maps and MapQuest. The usage mode of the travel distance calculator is basic, fundamental and almost identical in concept and function; what sets these competitors apart is the diversity of extra options adjacent to mapping systems. But there is more to it than the simple distance indication!

What can one expect from the Google travel distance calculator? There are lots of hotel reservation links as well as info that a traveler finds relevant. The formats of the travel distance calculators vary too; thus, some are designed to indicate the distances only for a specific country, while others have additional features to show distances between cities abroad. A relevant example is Map Crow, that functions as a tool to calculate distances between cities outside of the United States: from Paris to Rome for instance, but you can also learn the distance between less specific points, like countries.

The huge advantage of a travel distance calculator is that it provides results within seconds, enhancing work efficiency and making the access to information a lot easier. There are people who by the nature of their job need the travel distance calculator, therefore, they find it a most helpful tool in a variety of applications. Thus, transporters and logistic companies that operate goods transport worldwide use the travel distance calculator to determine the specific and non-specific fuel consume, as well as to approximate other variables.

Drivers benefit most from the use of the travel distance calculator and they also rely on the tool extensively. The level of applicability of the distance calculator for international itineraries and flight routes is pretty reduced. You will surely not consult a travel distance calculator for flying from Phoenix to Washington. Yet, there are specialized travel distance calculator models that indicate distances in air miles for instance, but such equipment is normally purchased by professional air lines as part of their integrated software.

One vacation you may use a travel distance calculator for is a Jamaica Sailing Vacation…

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