Look for complimentary homemade pie at Rockland Maine’s Berry Manor Inn 24-7-365. Photo by Jumping Rocks. a guest blog by B&B expert, Marti Mayne
Mark Orwoll, trusted travel journalist, recently published a story about the exorbitant $12 hotel minibar fee for a can of nuts (which also resulted in a $12 stomach ache). This confirmed my contention that B&Bs are simply the better way to stay. In his story about the world’s most outrageous hotel fees, Orwoll unveils how hotels stand to gain $12.5 billion in add-on fees that you simply do not find at a bed and breakfast. I know I beat my “B&Bs are more affordable” drum over and over, but Orwoll’s insight into the ever-increasing hotel add-on fees proves my contention.
Read on and you may never stay at a hotel again.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
The worst part of travel isn’t the security checkpoints with prison-issue wands, puffs of air blowing in your face or gloved agents pawing through your belongings. It’s not the airline seats with their lumbar supports that spear your spine or the $2.25 you pay for a small bottle of filtered tap water at airport restaurants. It’s not the jetlag—which can be so brutal that your left foot doesn’t know where your right foot is walking—or the suitcase that vanished with the travel clothes, gadgets and gear you have spent half a decade assembling.
The worst part of travel is actually coming home. One day you are in Peru, gaping at Machu Picchu or in the Canadian Rockies, heli-hiking amid the granite spires of the Bugaboos. Maybe you’ve been cycling in Italy, trekking in Nepal, cruising down the Nile in Egypt, or sauna hopping in Finland. The next day, you open the door to your digs and…chaos.
The answering machine is blinking, there are hundreds or thousands of emails, the snail mail spills over the edge of a huge tub and stares at you from the floor. There are bills to be paid, deadlines to be met, appointments to be kept. Your hair needs new highlights, your car is due for servicing, there’s a leak in your office, you forgot to send your sister-in-law a birthday gift. The exotic fades as you slip into the quotidian and start trouble-shooting, catching up, returning calls, and squirming in the dentist’s chair. Hooray! You are home.
I have not yet figured out how to make homecoming a celebration. But I have a few tips if you are as overwhelmed as I am when you step over your own welcome mat.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
a guest blog by Sandy Salle of Hills Africa Travel
One of the greatest concerns travelers have when it comes to international family travel is safety. We often hear from families who would love to travel to Africa but who also have some safety concerns: “Is a safari safe for our family?” “Are health conditions in Africa safe for my family?” “Is traveling to and through Africa safe for my family?”
The answer to all of those questions is yes, Africa is a safe and wonderful place to bring your family. But, as with all destinations outside of your own country, there are obvious safety precautions that should be addressed and looked into prior to departure.
Some of these universal travel concerns include health precautions, language barriers, differing cultures, and unfamiliar governments. With these concerns lingering, it’s important to be educated, and have the right tools to prevent any unexpected emergencies when traveling outside your native country. The enriching and rewarding family experiences far outweigh any of these concerning factors, as all safety precautions are addressed prior to departure.
But two of the most popular safety concerns we receive from clients are in regards to family safari tours and children on safari.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it” ~John Steinbeck
Sure, you vowed to love each other “for better and for worse,” but who said anything about trekking Machu Picchu, tackling a via ferrata in the Canadian Rockies or a culinary bike tour through Tuscany, for that matter? For many, adventure travel wasn’t what they had in mind when they promised ‘til death do us part’.
In nearly two decades of marital globetrotting, I’ve learned a thing or two about traveling with the one you love. In fact, my married life started when my now-husband, Hank, and I eloped during a 3-month vacation. Two years later, we packed up the Subaru and didn’t return home for more than a year. And for the past decade we’ve divided our time between homes in Old and New Mexico.
But, I hadn’t really thought about what works - and what doesn’t - until recently when the adventure travel company Canadian Mountain Holidays asked me to write about the topic for their Adventure Blog.
In addition, I put the word out to my, facebook friends and twitter followers, asking for their best strategies for how to travel together AND save the marriage.
So, what’s the the secret? You may be surprised! For a collection of our best advice READ MORE
What about you? How do you keep things cozy when traveling with the one you love? Share a comment below, on my Facebook page, or tag me on twitter to continue the conversation. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
About Ellen Barone: Consumer travel expert Ellen Barone is the founder and publisher of TravelUpdatesbyEllenBarone.com and YourLifeIsATrip.com. She’s currently at work on her first book - I COULD LIVE HERE. Click here to learn more or stay connected on Twitter at,Facebook, Google+, Pinterest and LinkedIn.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
I asked my globetrotting facebook friends and twitter followers to share their favorite travel tips for planning the perfect trip. From hard-won wisdom to practical advice, here’s what they had to say…
1. Air travel in US - Dress for security screening; no belts, buckles or bows! Seriously, undressing in public is a pain for all! Via @BronaCos
2. Don’t overschedule! Leave lots of time for wandering, I like to make just one real plan a day and leave the rest to serendipity! Via @SophiaDembling
3. Kathy Dragon Travel light. Feeling weighed down by luggage, packing and repacking, especially if you are moving about, can take the fun out. Carry on is the only way to go. Samsonite Spinner can carry everything, really.
4. Sheri Anderson Wallace For families, I recommend avoiding DVDs and video games as much as possible. It’s counter-intuitive but they really are long-term losers because they teach a short attention span. Nothing with an on/off switch.
5. I pack an empty water bottle in my carry on so I can fill up at a water fountain past security. Via @jesstagirl
6. Serendipity Traveler Spontaneity and Serendipity are two essentials for traveling well.
7. Margalit Sturm Francus Plan ahead, close your eyes and envision a plan A and B to every day/stop to eliminate surprises!
8. Lauren Hefferon Reaching perfection in travel, as in life, can prove frustrating and futile. How about setting overall goals for one’s travel like: learning, cultural exchange, absolutely doing nothing or completing an new adventure. Recently for me it’s been to blend a visit to the world’s great cycling cities into my travels. So far we have been to Copenhagen, Portland and this year Barcelona. Welcoming Serendipity is always one of my general rules. Ask me more if you like!
9. Anne Dimon For anyone heading to Italy, especially the Tuscany region, I highly recommend Adler Thermae Spa Resort. Plan to spend at least a couple of days. It’s fabulous!
10. Serendipity Traveler Start your travels well rested , spend enough time to immerse yourself and talk to locals everywhere.
11. Lauren Hefferon Reaching perfection in travel, as in life, can prove frustrating and futile. How about setting overall goals for one’s travel like: learning, cultural exchange, absolutely doing nothing or completing an new adventure. Recently for me it’s been to blend a visit to the world’s great cycling cities into my travels. So far we have been to Copenhagen, Portland and this year Barcelona. Welcoming Serendipity is always one of my general rules. Ask me more if you like!
12. Allie Avernie Almario Learn to laugh at yourself on the road, wherever you are. Laughter is a free and universal currency that everyone understands, whether you’re in Madagascar or Malaysia. Except possibly in North Korea. I don’t think they laugh much there.
Join the conversation, post a comment below and share your own tips with other travelers.
About Ellen Barone: Consumer travel expert Ellen Barone is the founder and publisher of TravelUpdatesbyEllenBarone.com and YourLifeIsATrip.com. She’s currently at work on her first book - I COULD LIVE HERE. Click here to learn more or stay connected on Twitter at,Facebook, Google+, Pinterest and LinkedIn.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
The Inn at Westwynd Farm was the sweetest part of my recent trip to Hershey, PA. Photo by Jumping Rocks.
a guest blog by Marti Mayne
My recent trip to the Inn at Westwynd Farm was combined with a “kidcation” to Hershey Park, and while the roller coasters were the high point for my girls, the highlight for me was the chance to stay at this fabulous farm and inn. The Inn at Westwynd Farm had been on my “B&B Bucket List” for awhile, so when planning our end-of-school trip, there was some method to my madness in taking the kids to Hershey Park, just three miles from the inn.
Take a big dose of romance, combine it with a gorgeous horse farm, add a kid-friendly attitude, and you begin to understand the Inn at Westwynd Farm. Now imagine huge helpings of extra amenities like a guest fridge filled with wine, beer, soft drinks, juice, popcorn, Pennsylvania Dutch pretzels, plus four or five different offerings for afternoon refreshments, and you’ll begin to understand the haute hospitality and extra value here. Gorgeous rolling hills with horses grazing, manicured gardens and lilies popping open everywhere complete the picture. Click here for more.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".