More travel resolutions you might be glad you made and kept

by Jamie Rhein on

When I did a search for travel resolutions this handy guide of 12 resolutions came up. Although it was published in Travel and Leisure in 2005, the tips still hold true, particularly as regulations and rules change. Even if you take the steps already, check to see if there is anything you shouldn’t update.

Andrea Bennet presents a through overview of those overlooked items that can make the difference between a smooth, uneventful trip if all goes well, and being prepared if things go awry. She also gives specific suggestions for what to consider when planning your next trip to get the best deal you can.

Check your insurance coverage:

  • Look into travel medical insurance to decide if you need any and how much.
  • Find out what your personal car insurance covers on a rental before you take a trip to decide exactly what you need before you leave home.

Review your Frequent Flier mile programs:

  • See if the regulations have changed
  • Do you need to update the credit card you are using?
  • Plan your next trip and book ahead in order to use frequent flier miles. If you wait, you’ll miss out.

Safety, security and regulations:

  • Duplicate all important documents and designate a person and place to keep them
  • If your passport needs new pages because there isn’t much room for new stamps, get the pages now
  • Get TSA approved locks for your suitcases

Keep in touch with family and friends while on the road:

  • Make a personal Web site to keep in touch with family and friends
  • Let people know how to get in touch with you (I wrote a post about this one)

Bennet gives specific details about each resolution and also offers the suggestion to build a vacation around a skill you’d like to learn. This is a read I recommend.

Steve Fosset, adventure traveler to the max will soon be officially dead

by Jamie Rhein on

Last month, Grant wrote a post about Steve Fosset, the millionaire adventure traveler. Fosset had been missing for weeks already. He’s still missing, and more than likely will not be found. His single engine plane he was flying from Nevada to California has not been found either.

The problem when a person disappears is that without a body, even though people know a person is probably dead, one has to be declared so. That takes a court process. Fosset’s wife has started the proceedure. Without him being declared dead, his financial affairs can not be resolved.

Fosset’s disappearance is certainly a haunting story. The idea that a loved one might go off one day never to return without a trace is alarming. There is also a lesson to learn. No matter how seasoned a traveler one is, take precautions. According to this article, Fosset only had one bottle of water and did not have a parachute or a transponder on a watch that he could have used to signal for help if he had left the plane.

Is this also a cautionary tale to make sure that if a person goes off adventure traveling–and you are financially linked to him or her, that you know something about the bank accounts?

Pickpockets Foiled: Prevention or Luck?

by Jamie Rhein on

A few years back, when my son was a year-and-a-half, we traveled to the United Kingdom on a week-long vacation. The day we went to London for a sightseeing whirlwind was the day we almost lost the diaper bag to a pickpocket. We were heading down the steps of an Underground stop when my husband noticed it floating away from underneath the stroller where it was tucked in the compartment under the seat.

It was a perfect scene for a theft. We were jostling down the steps carrying the stroller between us with our son still strapped in while keeping track of our 10 year-old-daughter in the crowd. The diaper bag was the least of our worries. My husband’s quick reflexes and his loud voice rescued the bag and prevented the thief’s disappointment in finding out that he only landed Pampers.

This was not the first time I experienced an aborted robbery. Twice in Banjul, the capital city of The Gambia, I was rescued from the experience of losing my wallet. The first time, my friend noticed the jostling and shouted, “Check your wallet.” That was enough for the thief to drop it at my feet. I never saw him because we were in a crowd. The second time, I felt a tug on my bag and caught the guy with my wallet in his hand. “Give it back!” I roared and my wallet ended up back in my possession.

Getting pick-pocketed happens most often in crowds in metropolitan areas. Here are some tips about how to protect yourself from theft. Even though the city mentioned is Chicago, the tips are universal. Being aware is number one. There are also suggestions on how to organize what you own so everything valuable can’t get stolen. Keep your belongings in various locations and out of reach. Since the diaper bag only held diapers, it wouldn’t have been the worst thing if it had gone missing. With a peeing toddler though, it wouldn’t have been fun. Here’s another article on how to protect your money. The photo, by serretuaccidente on Flickr is of a sign in London. Go figure.

Exercising Hotel Safety

by Adrienne Wilson on

Having been on the road for about seven weeks now I’ve got more travel tales than the time to tell them and some of which I wouldn’t need to share, but an experience just a few nights back leads me to posting this hotel safety refresher. I’m usually not the type to flip my wig or jump at the sound of squeaky faucets, feet scuffling in the hall or other random noises heard in hotels, but when I received a knock on my hotel door at 10:30 P.M. at night it placed me a little on edge. The door chain had already been in place and one glance out the peephole revealed a face I wasn’t familiar with. Surely I could have retreated to the confines of my room without thinking to question why this person was at my door at such an hour, but I gave them the benefit of a doubt. Perhaps the volume on my TV or music was too loud and they were simply trying to get some sleep next door. This wasn’t the case. Leaving the chain on the door I opened it just a tad and our conversation went something like this:

“Can I help you sir?”

“Sorry to bother you ma’am. Um, my friend and I saw you earlier and we were curious to know if you were getting into anything this evening?”

“Um, no. It’s late and I’m going to bed. Thank you – Goodbye.”

After ending the conversation there, closing the door and weaving in and out of confusion I asked myself a couple of questions:

  • Was I in Cancun?
  • Was it Spring Break?
  • Did I look like some dizzy college chick?
  • Is this type of behavior typical in Fayetteville, AR?
  • Should I phone the front office?
  • Where did these men see me and were there really only two?

I was completely bugged out by this, so I called on one of the folks touring with me to come hang out in my room for awhile. Then at Midnight I received a phone call on the room phone from a man who claims he didn’t send the other one over, wanted to let me know they had been admiring me earlier and if I was getting into anything that night? At this point I was fuming. Who in their right mind calls anyone or comes to their door at late hours to make a first introduction and invite them out? My co-worker was in complete shock as well and offered to change rooms. And to make a long story short I didn’t switch rooms, but I didn’t sleep well that night either. When I woke up that morning some of my co-workers that had gone out to a local piano bar provided me with some information that lead me to believe the front desk man had given the men my room number, but he was not present and they were just as confused as I when I told them my story. Still there wasn’t enough to confront any of the hotel staff, especially those in the morning shift who hadn’t any knowledge of the evening staffs actions.

To conclude my scary hotel tale if you can’t rely on others to protect you then always remember to protect yourself. Forgive me for sounding preachy, but seriously – both women and men should take a look at some of these hotel/travel safety tips from the links below. Even the most seasoned travelers let their guard down, including me. Next time I won’t bother to see if the volume is either too high or low.

  • MetLife – Basic hotel safety and travel safety information we can all use.
  • KevinCoffee.com – Very, very detailed safety information from valuables, elevators, parking lots, etc.
  • Safer Child – More detailed info on how to select rooms safe for children and parents. Even includes notes on hotel rooms used as meth labs.