When traveling, don’t dine out at a fancy restaurant. Instead, head to a street vendor, especially if you’re in a foreign country.
I promise it’s delicious and safe to eat. Furthermore, you’ll probably get a better feel for the local culture and cuisine dining alongside locals. Plus, you’ll save big bucks, as street food is notoriously inexpensive.
My favorite places for street food? Mexico and France!
Most vacation spots sport all kinds of souvenirs at shops aimed at tourists. Many of these items were manufactured in other countries and have nothing to do with the location you came to visit. Take home a memory and support local creativity everywhere you go. Visit a club or an area with street performers and buy a CD from a musician.
Choose someone whose music you enjoy and strike up a conversation. Get the CD signed, and you’ve succeeded at supporting someone’s music and acquiring a personalized souvenir and a story to go with it.
On your next cruise, avoid the (crowded, expensive) exotic location.
Many travelers opt for cruises heading for islands and other hot spots. Why not try another type of cruise?
Cruises to locations such as Alaska are not only less expensive, but offer diverse scenery and a chance to explore something different. Preferable pricing and smaller crowds can allow the traveler to have a more fulfilling cruise experience.
Have you ever wanted to travel to an exotic, tropical locale, while taking part in an important study that could end a scourge that has plagued travelers for centuries? If you answered yes to that run-on question, then we have a travel tip for you.
TrekStudy.com is currently seeking travelers to take part in a clinical research study to test an experimental new patch designed to prevent Travelers’ Diarrhea. In fact, they’re even willing to pay for all travel expenses for the men and women who join the study, provided they are willing to go to one of nine different destinations in Mexico or Guatemala and stay for at least seven days. The destination cities in Mexico include Guadalajara, Oaxaca, San Miguel de Allende, and Mexico City. Those interested in visiting Guatemala instead, are asked to visit Antigua, Quetzaltenango, Panajachel, or Guatemala City instead.
Eligible travelers must be between the ages of 18-64, in good overall health, and be willing to maintain a diary of their usage of the new patch for up to 17 days. To remain eligible, you must also meet some other criteria, such as not having received a diarrhea or cholera vaccine before you travel. To view the complete list of requirements, click here. You can also find answers to many other questions on the research studies’ FAQ which is found here.
Unfortunately, this study, and therefore the travel deal, are not open to just everyone. There are also a list of departure cities with clinics which will be conducting the research, and all participants will have to travel through those cities. That list includes Belfast, Glasgow, London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Reading in the U.K., and Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, and Potsdam in Germany.
Interested travelers who meet the requirements and would like to join the study are encouraged to apply online.
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Over the past 15 years or so, the Internet has managed to pervade every part of our lives. These days we use it to stay in touch with friends and family, pay bills, watch television, and a whole lot more. Of course, travelers were amongst the first to see benefits from the Internet, and now days it has become common practice to track, compare, and purchase airfares online. But the benefits to travelers have gone well beyond that, as it’s now simple to book hotels or even entire vacations, without ever speaking to an actual person.
But is this approach the best way to make your travel plans? According to CNN Travel, not always. In fact, they’ve come up with a list of 7 trips you should never book online, suggesting instead that, at least in these cases, you should consult with a travel agent rather than making the plans yourself. They argue that it is too easy to get duped on the web and hidden fees can end up costing you more in the long run anyway. A cautionary tale of a couple’s disastrous honeymoon, completely booked online, is used to illustrate these points.
And what are these seven trips you should avoid using the Internet to book? The list includes cruises, around-the-world trips, international travel, exotic journeys, like a safari or trekking expedition, or when you’re traveling for a special occasion, such as an anniversary or honeymoon. They also say that you should avoid using the Internet when you lack the time to do the proper planning yourself or if you are uncomfortable with using technology or navigating online in general.
So, what do you think? Are there times when it’s still not prudent to use the Internet to plan your travels? Ever had any horror stories from booking online? Personally, I’ve had very good luck with using the Internet as a tool to not only research destinations, but also make all my plans, connect with fellow travelers, and purchase airfares and hire guide services. At this point, I can’t imagine doing it any other way. That said, I can still see the benefit of using a travel agent under certain circumstances.%Gallery-67351%