Research, Compare, and Select the Best Tour Operator by Knowing the Right Questions To Ask.
It is summer vacation planning time again and knowing how to find and vet the best options is an important step. Following are Ten Tips to take you from research to R&R as you strategize when and where to spend precious vacation time and dollars.
A little time and energy spent on the front end helps ensure the vacation of your dreams. “The planning process should be a fun part of the overall experience,” says Dan Austin, owner of Austin-Lehman Adventures (ALA), named the World’s Best Tour Operator by the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine for the past two consecutive years.
To help guide you through the maze of vacation options, the tour experts at Austin-Lehman Adventures offer these useful tips when starting the trip planning process:
#1 Build Files Organize brochures, maps, notes from conversations to website links.
#2 Google is Your Friend! 96% of all travel research is now done online. Use long tail search terms to hone in on your questions such as: Best family adventure vacation to Yellowstone. Bookmark the better sites you visit.
#3 Shop for Information off-line Pick up travel magazines and regional guides reflecting your interests. Talk to friends and co-workers. Visit your local travel counselor for input.
#4 Create a bucket list Create a list of dream destinations and activities; cut it to a short list. Use logic. Is Mexico too hot in summer? Maybe. Then consider fall travel. Keep track of your thinking and why.
#5 Who Gets Your Business? Seek tour operators specializing in the kinds of vacations on your short list. Again, Google is your friend. For example, search for best bike tour operator in Italy and note results. Pour through travel magazines that often list the best of the best in special annual editions. Look for them online. In the end you will have created a list of operators that best match your short list of destinations and activities.
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".
Thousands of protesters continue to gather in Cairo, Suez, Alexandria and Luxor, in an uprising against Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
The protests have now put the country into a state of civil unrest. Foreign Offices around the world have urged travellers to avoid visiting Egypt due to its level of instability. High incidences of looting, vigilantism, prison escapes and “open revolt” have now enveloped the country and as the world looks on, Egypt’s future is uncertain.
© W.M. Wiggins via YourLifeIsATrip.comAt our sister site, YourLifeIsATrip.com, our ‘Ask the Captain’ columnist, W.M. Wiggins, just evacuated Cairo via Rome and reports on his experiences.
READ his FIRST-PERSON REPORT FROM EGYPT confirming that the situation is extremely volatile and due to demonstrations and vigilante-style community protection actions, making the streets unsafe for travelers.
If you, or any travelers you know, are currently in Egypt, you might find this Evacuation Guide from our partners at WorldNomads.com helpful.
To travel safely and stay up to date on what’s happening in Egypt, what to do, and what the government is saying, READ MORE.
And to our Egyptian friends, please know that you are in our thoughts and that we’re hoping for a positive and speedy resolution.
Ellen
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".
Most of us with a taste for wanderlust already know we want to travel far, travel thoughtfully and travel often. We know we should be more open minded and spontaneous, more courageous, playful and appreciative. It’s just that we sometimes need reminding. Or, I do anyway. Here’s a shortlist of ways to help make your adventures more meaningful.
1. Open yourself to possibility
When someone suggests something that at first feels outrageous, or outside your comfort zone, open your heart and mind to the possibility that it might contribute to better understanding or experiences.
2. Embrace wildness
Give yourself opportunities to experience the restorative power of wilderness and wild places. It’s impossible to feel disconnected or alone in the natural world.
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".
It seems every adventure travel company promises the best guides, the best food, the best service, but do they provide a safety net for the unexpected? Here are a few suggested questions from Jim Sano, president of Geographic Expeditions, to ask to help make sure your backside is covered.
1. Do you provide around-the-clock logistical and air support services? (this is especially important in the event of cancelled, delayed or changed flights?)
2. Do you include medical evacuation, expense, and assistance coverage, with access to a board certified emergency physician?
3. What assurances do you provide to protect my travel investment?
4. Do you accept major credit cards?
5. Are my deposits and payments placed in a U.S.-based financial institution or an offshore entity?
6. How will you protect me from currency rate fluctuations? (Some international currencies have fluctuated by as much as 40% over the past 12 months) How to do mitigate the fuel surcharge risk?
7. What are your payment/cancellation terms and conditions? What are your cancellation policies in the event of a U.S. State Department, Centers for Disease Control, or World Health Organization travel warning?
8. Do you offer optional trip cancellation/interruption insurance, including cancel for work reasons?
9. Does your company participate in a U.S.-based seller of travel/consumer protection program?
10. Does your company possess current liability insurance with an A-rated company?
Source: Choosing the Right Adventure Travel Company; Canadian Mountain Holidays, The Adventure Blog.
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".
So you’re thinking about starting a travel blog and you want someone other than your mother to read it, right? With so many travel blogs out there, adding a fresh one into the mix can be a bit daunting; ‘Who’s going to read it?’, ‘What kind of stuff should I be writing?’, ‘How can I make my blog get noticed?’ There’s a lot to consider! Here are a few tips to help get you started and on the road to writing your brand spanking, killer blog.
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".
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the most adventurous of us all?
photo by Alena_Chris via photobucket image sharingDoes the unknown freak you out? Do you see commonality where others see differences? How do you feel about taking risks? Do you leave the BlackBerry at home? What about travel planning. How much is too much?
Take this fun Adventure Travel IQ test I created for Canadian Mountain Holidays and find out.
Tell me your score and I’ll tell you mine. :)
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".