Travel Vacations tips

Archive for September, 2011

Learning More About International Airports

When scheduling a flight whether that flight be domestic or international all passengers are advised to familiarize themselves with the airport that they will be flying out of as well as the airline that they will be flying with. Unfortunately not all air travelers know how to go about doing this. If you are looking to familiarize yourself with international airlines or airports namely the ones that you will be using you will find that you have a number of different options.

Perhaps the best way to learn more about an international airport is to use the internet to your advantage. You can do this by performing a standard internet search. You will want to search with the name of the international airport that you would like more information on. For instance if you are looking for more information on Des Moines International Airport you will want to search with the words Des Moines Airport or International Airport. Whichever international airport you search for it is likely that your search will return a number of results. One of those results should be the online website run by the airport in question.

Once at the online website for an international airport you will find that you now have access to an unlimited amount of information; information that you were likely looking to obtain. Although all online websites will vary you will find that most airline websites display the same information. This information may include but should not be limited to information on incoming and outgoing flights air travel rules shops and other dining establishments parking airport directions and terminal locations. You are advised to examine all of the information on the site regardless of whether or not you feel that you need to know it.

As previously mentioned it is likely that your internet search will return a number of different results. In addition to the airports online website you will also find sites that discuss the airport in question. Many times these websites are operated by travelers who frequently use the international airport being discussed. You may be able to find detailed information on lowcost dining or information on quick and easy ways to maneuver around the airport. While this information may be useful to you it is important to remember that it is not guaranteed. For the best information you are advised to examine the online website operated and monitored by airport staff.

In addition to using the internet you should also be able to obtain information on the airport in question by directly contacting them. If you are researching a local international airport you should be able to find the contact information for that airport in your local phone book. When contacting an international airport for general information on their services and features you will want to try and reach the customer service department. Customer service representatives should be willing to answer your question where as the maintenance department will likely be unable to assist you.

Although not all international airports recommend it you could also learn more about the international airport that you will be using by visiting it. If you live within a reasonable driving distance to the airport or if you are in the area for another reason you may want to quickly stop by. While this is a great way to familiarize yourself with the airport you will not have access to all areas. All airports have restrictions when it comes to security checkpoints passengers without boarding passes are not allowed past them. Stopping by the airport may enable you to scope out the parking situations as well as obtain informational brochures on the airport if they are available.

When it comes to international airport shopping parking or dining you may also be able to receive recommendations or tips from those that you know especially those that have flown out of the international airport in question before. Regardless of where you get your information from you will find that are an unlimited number of benefits to knowing everything that you can know about the international airport that you will be using.

About the writer:  Scott James writes about all sorts of travel issues on the Internet and Check out the following for more information about the above: International Travel Medical Insurance ; Smoky Mountain Cabins and Amsterdam City Breaks

Searching For Dinner In Tulum Mexico

I recently visited Tulum Mexico with my family and in search of a good restaurant came across several situated on the beach. While one looked to be spectacular they did not allow children so we went in search of a babysitter for our little one Ricardo.

Back when my brother and I were both less than ten years old a big mistake was made and our parents left for vacation to Italy. The mistake was not so much that they chose not to take us with them but rather the person they chose to leave us witha young woman we’ll call Marylyn who for all we knew had been hand picked from the bottom of a Corn Flakes box.

Marylyn attended a community college and majored in education which looking back on it was a red flag. She wore a mulletlike hairdo and from what I can remember her eyes resembled those of Beelzebub. She spoke with a white trash accent that referred to people as “you’s guys” and soda as “them cans of pop.

One the first day of what I like to call her reign seeing as though the woman was dictatorlike Marylyn walked into the kitchen while I was making myself a snack of Lays potato chips and Minute Rice. She told me that Lays were not appropriate for nine in the morning and snatched the bag out of my hands. I cried mercilessly and then my brother began to cry in that mimicking way little kids do that says “I have no idea why I’m upset but for the love of God this is the worst thing that’s ever happen to us.

We would eventually retell the story to our parents hundreds of times and with each repetition Marylyn became more and more violent. “She practically smacked him” my brother would say. I would then follow up. “Yeah I thought my fingers were going to break at one point! In fact feel this. I think they are broken.

One of the basic requirements of her job besides supposedly taking care of my brother and me was to do the laundry. Normally my father was responsible for the laundry in our family: a chore most households defer to the female. But my father claimed to enjoy doing the laundry believing not unlike some people and knitting the process to be therapeutic and restorative. It was his interest and dedication to the laundry that manifested itself in an extremely high caliber washandfold product that spoiled us as kids.

So it was not without disgust that upon seeing the way Marylyn did the laundry my brother and I searched ravenously for the slip of paper that contained the phone number of our parents’ hotel in Venice. “You’re not going to believe this” I anticipated saying. “She doesn’t even separate the whites from darks! And the socks! She just rolls all the socks into balls and tell us we have to fold them ourselves!” My memory is somewhat skewed but I vaguely remember my brother suggesting that consider poisoning her evening glass of Franzia.

It was the last day of our time with Marylyn and simultaneously the day before my mother’s birthday. “So its mom’s birthday ain’t it boys?” I remember her saying a question that had fallen on deaf ears. “C’mmon get off the couch. We gonna get her somethin special. How’s bout we go to the store and look for a present. How’s’bout PetSmart? You’s wanna go to PetSmart and get mom a real nice birthday present?

We welcomed our mother home from Italy with a warm dose of distrust and a large crate filled with a variety of tropical birds for her birthday. We set the chirping crate down on the dining room table and allowed her to soak up the irony of the whole situation. My mother would have appreciated anything for her birthday that year: jewels clothing even a handmade collage. But birds were probably the worst possible things we could have bought and for that we were blissful.

It was at this exact moment that my brother and I while maybe not realizing it at the time learned the true meaning of revenge. What we meaning us and Marylyn thought was a cute and thoughtful gift a sane adult considered idiotic and in poor taste. It was the look on my mom’s face that evening that brought the whole scenario into perspective. And after the bird incident we never saw Marylyn again: in hindsight it’s a shame because I was just starting to like her.

We eventually found our babysitter via the recommendation of a Tulum hotel staffer. Upon returning Ricardo was so excited with the new friend he’d made. Granted this young girl probably wasn’t in the same league as Marylyn and for that reason I feel remorse that Ricardo may never know just what it feels like to loathe.

About the writer:  Tulum Hotels

5 Discount Travel Secrets Orbitz Travelocity And Expedia Dont Want You To Know

Don’t make any travel plans until you read this!

Especially when we’re experiencing one of the worst global recessions that we’ve seen in decades every dollar counts. And because travel is so expensive many of us turn to wellknown discount travel Web sites like Orbitz Travelocity and Expedia.

When you book on these sites you think you’re getting the lowest prices available right?

Wrong!

Why You Might Not Get the Best Deal When Booking Your Trip with Most Discount Travel Websites

In reality you may actually be getting higher priced offers from airlines and hotels that are affiliated with the discount travel website you use to book your trip. Additionally you’re doing all the work to research flights and hotels yet the travel sites are still earning their full agency commissions.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Here Are 5 Travel Secrets Orbitz Travelocity amp; Expedia Don’t Want You to Know

1. They charge service fees on every booking. Sometimes that fee is disclosed in the “final price” listed online. Sometimes it’s buried in the Terms amp; Conditions. Need to change your plans? Be prepared to pay service fees of up to 30 on every phone call for a change or reissue. This does NOT count the 75 150 airline penalty. These travel websites actually hope for bad weather because bad weather means altered plans which means extra revenue for them.

2. The rate you see may not be the lowest rate available. That’s because large travel websites deal in bulk volume. As a result they concentrate on “national” and “public” rates. They don’t publish “private” fares consolidator fares or belowmarket fares because it’s not in their interest to do so. You can only get those fares from an experienced travel professional who knows the system and where to find them.

3. Their definition of lowest price may not match yours. Have you ever entered the exact same search on 3 different travel websites and gotten wideranging results? That’s because travel websites have special arrangements with certain “partners” and may give these partners preferential treatment or placement bias. That’s how they make money. Consumers however are catching on. According to Travel Weekly bookings on the “Big 3″ have fallen over 10 this year. People are turning to airline and hotel websites directly because that’s where they’re finding the lowest fares.

4. A confused customer is their best customer. In the last 12 months we’ve seen a spate of new surcharges assessed by airlines to offset rising costsfrom 5 for some aisle seats to 15 for the first piece of checked luggage. Unfortunately these costs are not reflected in the search results of most airfare comparison sites. Consumers are left to do the research and the math on their own. As a result they’re confused. What looks to be the lowest price may not actually be the lowest “total” price when all applicable fees are factored in.

5. Once you hit that SEND button you’re on your own. What happens when you book online and your flight is delayed or cancelled or if you miss a connection? Ever tried to get a human being on the phone? You may be on hold for a long long time. Or when you do finally get someone on the line you find out he’s in Bangalore and English isn’t his first language. Meanwhile the last seat on the last flight out has just taken off. Travel has become more unpredictable than ever. Sadly it’s not a question of if something will go wrong but when. And when it does do you want your fate to rest in the hands of the guy whose job it is to get you off the phone as fast as possible?

This article may seem harsh. But Travelocity Orbitz and Expedia are keeping these secrets from you. And you have to know these dirty little travel secrets if you want to hold onto more of your cash.

About the writer:  Discount Travel Expert Don Buynack has seen the industry evolve toward tricking travelers into thinking that they’re saving money instead of actually giving them the best travel deals. That’s why he started his new online travel agency FreeSpendingMoney.com which guarantees you the lowest online fares PLUS gives you 200 300 500 or more in spending money. To learn how get his free newsletter Best Travel Bargains at: http://www.freespendingmoney.com