Top Five Travel Tips for Spring Break 2014

Making plans to travel this Spring Break?  Be sure to read this press release, released by the United States State Department.

Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
February 26, 2014
For some college students, Spring Break is a time to bask in the Caribbean sun. Some use their respite from classes to volunteer in a foreign country. Others venture across the Atlantic to embark upon a European adventure or to visit friends studying abroad. Regardless of the destination, the U.S. Department of State encourages students to follow our tips for traveling abroad:

1. Avoid underage and excessive alcohol consumption. “Overdoing it” can lead to an arrest, accident, violent crime, or death.
2. Obey all local laws, and remember they might be different from our own. Don’t carry or use drugs, as this can result in severe penalties. Don’t carry weapons either—some countries have strict laws, and even possessing something as small as a pocketknife or a single bullet can get you into legal trouble.
3. Before you leave for your trip, learn as much as possible about your destination at our website dedicated to student travelers: studentsabroad.state.gov. Here, you can find out about entry requirements, crime, health precautions, and road conditions.
4. Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). This program keeps students up-to-date with important safety and security announcements, such as Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and security messages.
5. Keep in touch with your parents. If you will be without Internet or phone service for a few days, let them know. We receive many calls from parents who fear the worst when they have not heard from their children. In most cases, their child is fine, but has been too busy to check in.

Of course, even well-prepared travelers may face an emergency, like a lost passport or an injury. In those cases, our embassies and consulates are available to help 24/7. Be sure to write down the contact information for the U.S. embassy or consulate in your destination country.

Top 5 Travel Resolutions You Should Start Doing This 2014

In Traveler's Today magazine, author Althea Serad discusses the changes you should make this year to your travel habits.

Many people want to travel better and even more. It's easier today because of the advancement of technology, airline tickets are cheaper than they used to be, travel blogs websites and books are readily available and more affordable, so what's your excuse for not being able to travel?

If you really want to travel, set some goals. Whatever it is your reason for wanting to travel, whether you just want to get with the fad, or you want to fill stamps on your passport, or the classic reason of seeing the culture and surroundings each new country has to offer, set your goals, and set them with quality.

If you want quality travel tips, here is the Top 5 we've gathered from www.wheretraveler.com.

Resolution 1: Stop overlooking nearby destinations

Traveling doesn't mean you have to have a passport, hop on a plane and get far away. You never know, but the next amazing place might be even in your own backyard (pun intended). There could be a nice zoo inside your city, a college campus or church with amazing architecture, and of course maybe a new restaurant down the block. It could also be another city that's next to yours, never considered by anyone as "travel-worthy" just because people are so used to seeing it. You must resolve to never again disregard the fact that any place, even the nearest one could be a destination for quality travel.

Resolution 2: Do one thing that scares you.

This doesn't mean that 'one thing' has to be life-threatening. How could you travel then if you're dead? This just means taking a step forward in conquering your fears a.k.a. a culture's tradition like getting inked by a tribal elder in the Philippines or eating balut, a scrumptious delicacy also in the Philippines which isn't for the liking of everyone. Besides, travel really is about new experiences and becoming more open to what the world has to offer and just understanding our amazing planet. Travelling isn't really about moving from one place to another.

Resolution 3: Turn every trip into travel.

We don't usually travel when we're on vacation, especially family trips. You don't usually explore because you're simply there because of the family. However, these overly familiar family trips can turn into travel if we just open ourselves up to new experiences and see the road ahead a little differently. Stick in an extra hour or two ahead or in between your trip and just...explore. Pull off the highway, gas up and check any local attraction that you haven't been to before that's along the way to your final destination. You can also try looking at any local flora or fauna and you'll be surprised at how diverse and blessed your country is.

Resolution 4: Try something new on each and every trip.

Not everything you try has to be something that you like. In line with Resolution 2, doing something that scares you, this will be less scary as it will just take you a little bit out of your comfort zone. This is part of travel - doing something new that you may or you may not like. Just make the most out of every destination and try everything new that you can. You will be bringing back less regrets and just new travel experiences. Hey, even something as mundane as saying "good morning" to the person next to you at the bus can be considered something new. Just try it!

Resolution 5: Go on at least one solo trip.

This resolution has been mentioned in countless blogs and articles for 20-somethings. It is maybe considered a universal goal already. This is because something changes within you when you're flying solo, whether you're travelling or not. Of course, the change is more intense when travelling.  You have to depend on nobody but yourself. You literally have to be a friend to yourself. You will experience and learn new things with and about yourself that you've never thought possible. It will be a life-changer and an eye-opener in all sorts of ways. This can also be freeing. You can literally try ANY thing that you want because who's there to stop you but yourself? But of course, to do this right, you have to be open to the world, respect people and each place's culture and just limit digital connections. Do it the old-fashioned way, ask strangers. You'll realize it can be more fun than it actually sounds.

Travel Sites Now Offering Layway Plans for Getaways

Have you been wanting to take a vacation, but can't afford to pay the huge payment when you book it?  Have no fear, fellow travelers.  The following article from CBS Minnesota offers options for the monetarily challenged.

After last week’s deep freeze, Dori Schlampp is doing something many of us have been dreaming about: Escaping the cold for a week in beautiful Belize.

“We’re really excited,” Schlampp said. “Especially with the weather, the way it’s been outside.”

Schlampp is taking a luxury trip to an exotic location, but even a modest family vacation can quickly add up to $4,000 or more, which is why some travel sites are now promoting layaway plans.

Sears Vacations, Gate 1 Travel, and eLayaway Travel all offer ways to book now, pay later.

But is it a good deal?

“Travel agents have always been able to do the payments plans,” said Nora Blum of Travel Leaders. “We just haven’t necessarily advertised it like layaway.”



“A lot of people find that it’s a lot easier to make those small payments of, you know, $300 or $400,” she said, “rather than a big lump sum.”
eLayaway charges 3.9 percent for its service and Sears charges $9 per month, while Gate 1 asks for a deposit and a final payment 45 days before departure, just like traditional travel agents.

“We’ve been doing it for years, for many years, and we don’t call it anything,” said Jenny Mikkelson, the vice president of Travel Beyond, which booked Schlampp’s trip to Belize.

They’re known for luxury vacations and safaris, but they still split up the payments for some clients, and view the new layaway plans as more of the same.

“It’s marketing. A different marketing ploy to get people interested in what they might think is a different way of booking travel,” she said. “But, essentially, any travel agency can do that.”

Paying over time is available on vacation packages, but not “air only” deals. Because the final payment is due six weeks out, it works for trips you book well in advance, like your summer vacation or next winter’s getaway. You’re too late to do it for spring break.
Blum said she’s been booking trips for 20 years and paying over time is always an option. Most vacation packages require up-front despots, followed by a final payment 45 to 60 days in advance. So, she often breaks up the balance into smaller payments, running customers’ credit cards on a monthly basis, for no additional charge.

Tips for Travel Savings in 2014

A new year means new destinations and experiences.  This article from the New York Times will get your year started off right.

Break a resolution yet? If any were travel-related, here’s some good news: In 2014, you can save while staying the traveler that you are.

In other words, set your nonnegotiable standards, then minimize costs and maximize value. For example: Let’s say you refuse to sleep in the same room with a stranger. That means you won’t be staying in hostels, so concentrate on lowering costs on hotel stays or short-term rentals.

Here are four issues about which budget travelers of good faith can differ, and some tips on cutting costs no matter which side of the debate you’re on.

A Room of One’s Own?

This is no longer just a hostel versus hotel debate. Private rentals through Airbnb have long been in the mainstream, and hospitality exchange sites like Couchsurfing and BeWelcome are thriving — two visitors from Lyon, France, who found me through Couchsurfing, are staying in my living room even as I write this.

Hostels, however, will still be the mainstay for backpacker types. Many use the big booking sites Hostelbookers.com or Hostelworld.com, but it’s also worth getting to know Hostelz.com, a search aggregator not unlike Kayak. You’ll get to compare prices for Hostelbookers and Hostelworld (as well as the Eurocentric site HostelsClub). But even better, the site also shows ratings from all the sites, as well as lengthier reviews Hostelz pays travelers to write. That’s especially important, because hostels vary as widely as hotels in comfort and cleanliness.

For those who need their privacy, don’t write off Airbnb; you can set filters to show you only private rooms or even entire houses. And despite the name, I’ve found that many Couchsurfing hosts (though not me) offer spare bedrooms.

If you really want to stick with just hotels, there are ever more ways to save. Two new sites monitor hotel prices after you reserve in case prices go down: TripRebel simply refunds you the difference, and TripBAM alerts you if the price drops in the same or nearby hotels and offers to rebook your reservation. For the truly picky, TheSuitest uses hotel features and amenities to calculate a room’s value relative to its price, so you can find the best deal on a place with, say, a gym or great views.

And finally, a compromise of sorts: the growing Britain-based Camp in My Garden (campinmygarden.com), on which users can offer their backyards to potential campers. It’s dirt cheap, and tents are, after all, completely private.

Connecting the Stops

On a flight from New York to São Paulo last year, I sat next to a young guy headed to Buenos Aires quite indirectly. He had long layovers in São Paulo and Montevideo, lengthening a 10-hour trip to more than 24 hours. But to him it was a no-brainer — he’d save a few hundred bucks.

If that sounds familiar, you probably already know how to list flights by price and set filters to allow multiple layovers on sites like Kayak and Bing Travel. And here’s another tip for flights in Europe: The WhichAirline app and site (whichairline.com) can help you find inconvenient but very cheap connections that other engines don’t. For example, it found me a $119 flight from Paris to Budapest on the budget carrier Ryanair, with a layover of about five hours in Milan each way. (The cheapest option on the usually dependable Vayama.com was $280.)

If you’re anti-layover, consider making your dates more flexible. It’s far easier than it used to be. About a year ago, Google introduced Flight Explorer (google.com/flights/explore), which displays a bar graph for the best prices to a specific destination over any specified time range. Even better, be flexible about your destination: Pick a region (“Western Europe”) and it will show you those same bar graphs for multiple destinations, starting with the cheapest options. You can also set the maximum length of the trip.

Miles Mania

 There are two kinds of fliers: miles obsessives who pay more upfront for airlines in a specific alliance and shuffle miles-accruing credit cards to reap free flights at the end; and others who can’t be bothered, who just look to save on each individual flight, car rental and hotel, regardless of the brand.

Being a miles maniac requires a steep learning curve in a world that seems to be both endlessly complicated and constantly shifting. Navigating this world requires a lot of help, and many turn to smart sites like ThePointsGuy.com. Two new ones are also worth a look: Altimetr.com debuted in June, and though it often takes a higher-end approach, evaluating business class service and private jets, it includes plenty of articles for the rest of us, like comparisons of frequent-flier programs and a useful intro to the whole points game.

If it’s all about frugality for you, try RichmondSavers.com, courtesy of a husband and wife team of C.P.A.s in Virginia, which focuses more closely on how to save big. Their step-by-step guide to a free family trip to Disney World is a good test of whether miles mania is right for you.

The Grid: On or Off?

I post to Twitter and Instagram wherever I go, but not without feeling conflicted: It’s fun, but it’s also part of my job. I’m not sure I would do it if I were traveling for pure pleasure.

But for fans of social media — and other sorts of data usage — it’s undeniably getting cheaper to stay connected. Last year, T-Mobile became the first major carrier to include international data in its regular domestic plans; customers can now check their email in Mongolia or post to Facebook from Frankfurt with no additional charge. (There is one catch: the free data comes with a promise of only 2G coverage, though you can pay for 3G and 4G, as with other carriers.) And there’s no reason anymore to pay for international text messages; that’s what What’s App and its ever-growing list of competitors are for. (Of course, you can also use local or international SIM cards.)

Those who do pay for data now can use it to save money more easily than before. Last year saw Google’s Field Trip (fieldtripper.com) make the jump from Android to iPhone. The app alerts you when you are near attractions, restaurants, sales and the like, using information from an ever-growing list of sources. It’s customizable, and I’ve been teaching mine to stick to the cheap stuff. Now, among other things, it alerts me when I’m near a restaurant reviewed by master hole-in-the-wall-finder Robert Sietsema for Eater.com.

Of course, those who prefer to stay out of touch and find things the old-fashioned way don’t require any fancy technology tips to help them save. In 2014, as in 1914, they’ll get their budget travel advice from handy analog devices called human beings.

10 Travel Resolutions for a New Year

A new year is upon us and that means new opportunities for travel and vacations.  Here's an article courtesy of the Huffington Post:

Every year we make resolutions. Every year most of us break them.

Travelers are a different breed, however. We usually follow through. Even when we have more will than wallet, we figure it out and get to where ever it is we really want to go.

In fact, for serious travelers, New Year resolutions are even kind of fun to think about -- not just additional demoralizing, self-improvement tasks threatening our self-esteem. Travelers have dream destinations, bucket lists and more ideally, living lists to compile. They are fun, positive and hopeful lists.

So, thinking in that vein, I polled a gaggle of great travel buddies last week, and assembled the following 10 Travel Resolutions that would make us all better travelers in 2014:

-We resolve to be more patient dealing with the trials and tribulations of traveling -- be they TSA lines, surly customer service airline reps, over-packed tardy flights, noisy hotel rooms, boorish fellow travelers or screaming babies. No more whining and kvetching. None of them are personal vendettas against us, and we know how lucky we are to be traveling. We will be more patient this year.

-We resolve to go someplace new in 2014, instead of returning to the old tried and true go-to vacation destinations we normally visit. We will spread our wings, expand our horizons to new experiences, sights, cultures and unique cuisines.

-We resolve to put our money where our mouths are (and beliefs too!) in 2014, and not patronize travel services that, well, patronize us. "No" and, "That's not right," are mighty powerful words that many in the travel business need to hear -- a lot more often!

-We resolve to take authentic, challenging and participatory adventures; less like the reality show, The Amazing Race, and more like the real-life event The Global Scavenger Hunt.

-We resolve to not let technology get in the way of us meeting fellow travelers and indigenous people when traveling (some of us will actually resolve to completely unplug when we travel in 2014).

-We resolve to start speaking up for our vacation and travel rights: 1. Our right to have and take annual time off work (America needs a vacation mandate), and 2. Our rights as traveling consumers (a.k.a. a real Passenger Bill of Rights).

-We resolve to leave our expectations packed, hidden and deep in the back of a closet at home alone, and travel fearlessly without preconceived ideas or prospects. To be free and open to the great serendipity of travel.

-We resolve to integrate travel into our lives more, as we have with a good diet, exercising regularly and sleeping right. Travel is good for us in so many ways, be it physically, mentally and spiritually.

-We resolve to never again bring up the over-intellectualizing, self-aggrandizing, ego-gratifying vapid distinction between so-called travelers and tourists. Anyone who travels is both -- tourist and traveler -- no matter what they think.

-We resolve to not flaunt our travel exploits and long-winded adventure stories to others -- nor to shamelessly show off our travel selfies to others.

Airlines on Track for One of Safest Years

Good news for frequent travelers.  2013 was the second safest year for airline travel, coming in behind 2012.  Read the article below for more information.

From the Wall Street Journal:

GENEVA—Airlines world-wide are on track to complete one of their safest years on record, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Through Nov. 30, this was the second safest year after 2012 in terms of crashes of Western-built airliners. In the 11-month period, there were 11 crashes, or a rate of 0.41 crashes per million flights. One year earlier, there were five crashes, for a rate of 0.21 crashes per million flights.

In terms of fatalities, this year is even safer than last, with 210 deaths, versus 403 in the first 11 months of last year.

Given the small number of accidents, shifts from one year to the next can look big in percentage terms. Safety specialists say that the generally downward trend from a few years ago is significant. Between 2004 and 2008, the world-wide accident rate hovered around 0.75 crashes per million flights, according to IATA.

The lower fatality rate this year, set against the higher accident rate, also "shows the survivability of accidents is improving," said Giancarlo Buono, European director of safety and operations at IATA. "This makes us think that manufacturers and the industry in general are doing a good job in ensuring not only safety but also survivability."

By region, Europe and north Asia were safest, with no crashes. The rate in the Americas was below 0.5 crashes per million flights, while Africa and the former Soviet Union both had accident rates above 2.3 crashes per million flights.

Mr. Buono said Africa has shown "great improvement" in safety despite its high rate, while former Soviet countries are "an area of concern." He said IATA and other organizations are working to help countries with the highest accident rates.

Another area of concern for the industry is pilots' reliance on airplane automation, which has been identified as a factor in accidents including the crash this summer of an Asiana Airlines Inc.  Boeing Co. 777 while landing at San Francisco International Airport in July.

As jetliners have become more computerized over recent years, pilots have come to rely increasingly on the systems. When forced to understand the systems or fly manually, some pilots have struggled.

"In aviation, you always have new threats emerging, and our goal is to manage those threats," Mr. Buono said. Handling automation "is one of those risks."

He said the industry is working to mitigate that risk by modernizing pilot training.

Holiday travel tips: How to keep your data safe and accessible while traveling

The holidays may be a time for reconnecting with family, but long flights and the promise of plenty of unscheduled time make the temptation to bring work along irresistible. But the parade of planes, trains, and taxis—along with the highly coveted nature of laptops and mobile devices—put your data at immense risk. Lose your laptop during a layover or leave your phone in a cab, and you may be looking for a new job come New Year’s. Follow these tips to secure your data while traveling this season and avoid a holiday horror story.

Use the cloud

The best way to make sure your data isn’t compromised if your laptop or mobile device is lost, stolen, or damaged is to not store your data on it in the first place. Instead, use cloud storage. You’ll be able to access your files from anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection (and, if the service offers offline access, even when you don’t).



In the event you do get separated from your device, at least you'll know your sensitive work files are safe.

Create your own cloud
Box, DropBox, Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive, and Apple iCloud, all offer free cloud storage just for setting up an account. The last three also offer online productivity tools so you can create or edit content directly from the Web. And there are several alternative cloud services for specific needs like heightened security.

For all the convenience of the cloud, there are potential security and compliance concerns with trusting sensitive company or customer data to a third-party. Consumer-grade services typically encrypt the data, but the cloud service provider has the encryption key, and the IT personnel that manage the servers may have access to it.

To get the anywhere access of the cloud but with a tighter rein on your data, consider creating your own cloud with an external hard drive that can be accessed over the Web, like the Western Digital (WD) My Cloud. You’ll be able to get to your files from Grandma’s house in Poughkeepsie, but the data itself will remain safe back home.

Keep your Kodak moments

That quarterly report likely isn’t the only precious data you’ll be toting around on your device this season. The holidays are rife with photo opportunities. How bad would you feel if you captured that once-in-a-lifetime shot of four generations of family gathered together, only to have your Uncle Al spill a mug of mulled cider on your phone in his holiday revelry?

The cloud—a public service or your own—is the best protection for your photos and videos as well. You can manually upload your photos to a cloud service, but who has time for that between the feasting and the football? Fortunately, Android, iOS and Windows Phone can automatically sync photos to Google Drive, iCloud and SkyDrive, respectively. (SkyDrive also recently added the ability to auto-upload photos from iOS devices.) Dropbox, also has a feature to automatically upload and sync photos from your mobile device. And the apps for Facebook and Google+ will sync images to those social networks, giving you the option to share your holiday memories at the same time.

Holiday travel is stressful enough without having to worry about the security of your data. Use these tips and you'll be able stay productive and enjoy the season with peace of mind.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2065604/holiday-travel-tips-how-to-keep-your-data-safe-and-accessible-while-traveling.html