Top Holiday Travel Tips

By  Jeffrey Meier


Are you ready to get started on the travel journey of a lifetime this holiday season but feel as though you are forgetting something important? Don't fret! All you need are a few holiday travel tips to make sure you stay on the right track. Whether you're going to spend time with your family, or are taking everyone on a fun getaway, it is important that you plan well. So to help you out I am providing some holiday travel tips that will make your vacation time with family and friends a breeze.


Find Out Peak Travel Dates

One of my top holiday travel tips is to find out when the peak travel dates are - then avoid them like a plague! Peak travel dates have two problems associated with them: 1) plane tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals, and more tend to be more expensive, and 2) everyone else will be traveling on those dates, hence the name peak travel dates. If possible, plan your vacation time at work a few days before the peak travel period so that you can avoid the rush. And also try to plan coming back a few days after - that way you can almost always guarantee reductions in prices, reductions in holiday traffic and reductions in headaches.


Do Your Comparison Shopping


It is important to stay abreast of holiday travel tips that help you find the best deals for your money. That starts with finding flight specials and continues with locating vacation destination deals. If you are going to visit family for the holidays and are not in need of a hotel room or transportation when you arrive then flight costs are all you will need to take into consideration. There are plenty of websites that give great holiday deals. Shop around with the major travel search engines such as Expedia and Travelocity, but also look at Cheaptickets.com and others for great rates. Also, you will be surprised to find that many airlines will have great deals if you search their website directly. And if you want the best comparison shopping experience, I recommend using SideStep.com. They use a side-by-side comparison of every flight special, sorted by price. I have found the greatest success using their services.


If you are traveling to a destination that does not include free room and board, then one of my holiday travel tips is for you to comparison shop for great all-inclusive package deals. You can find great places to stay during that holidays that have 3- and 5-night vacation packages with meals and activities included. Also, you will want to try to get a car factored into the price if you need one for your trip. The more specific you are when planning and the earlier you book, the better your results will be.


Plan Your Connecting Flights with Great Care


This is one of the holiday travel tips that will reduce your stress level significantly. I say this because I know the feeling of sitting in the airport waiting to board the first of two connections when you hear the airline attendant politely (and nervously) inform passengers that the flight has been delayed for an hour or more due to a snow storm in "Sock-It-To-Me," Kansas. When you hear the news, your thoughts quickly shift to your connecting flight that is probably scheduled to depart on time - 30 minutes after this flight is supposed to land. You know pre-boarding begins 30 minutes prior to take off to ensure the flight leaves on schedule. And that's when questions like "What will I do if my flight doesn't land before the other flight takes off?" and "Are there additional flights available?" begin to rush through your mind. And of course, the final thought will be, "Why didn't I schedule my connecting flight for a later time?"


This anxiety can be avoided by choosing connecting flights that allow for an hour and a half or more of layover time. I know that when you make the choice to find connecting flights as close as possible to the time your first flight is to land that you are simply trying to get where you're going quickly and want to avoid boredom in the airport. But usually one and a half to two hours isn't that long when you consider that it takes time to exit the plane, find the connecting flights departing gate, which could be in another terminal, then get settled before it is time to board the second plane. Besides, if you allow yourself the extra time, you are almost guaranteed the promise of making your connecting flights - a promise that is more than welcome during the busy holiday season.


Plan Your Packing In Accordance with Current Airport Security Measures


This is one of the holiday travel tips that actually sounds unfair - and trust me; I used to feel the same way too. But after enough hassles at the airport security station, I finally gave in and realized that I couldn't change what I couldn't control. So now, instead of fussing at the ways airports are trying to ensure our safety, I simply plan ahead by packing my belongings in accordance with their security measures.


One way to do this is by making sure to pack all of liquids and gels that are larger than 3 ml in the bags I plan to check. The airport has signs up everywhere that let you know that you cannot carry liquids and gels through the security checkpoint; these items include lotion, toothpaste, baby oil, aerosols (hairspray), perfume bottles, bottled water, and much more. If you carry them through the checkpoint they will find and confiscate them - you cannot stop this from happening. So to avoid the drama, why not simply pack them away and happily greet them at the baggage claim at your destination? You are allowed to carry liquids and gels 3 ml and smaller in a zip-top, clear bag, so you are not completely left out in the cold. And by sticking to the rules, you, your family, everyone in line behind you, and airport security will be much happier.


Remembering this helpful holiday travel tips will definitely help make vacationing during this holiday season a better experience. If you are in need of additional holiday travel tips, remember the last time you traveled and all of the challenges you faced, then apply them to the holiday season. By doing this you can assure yourself that you won't be faced with any unwelcome surprises.
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Top 5 Travel Tips - Eye Opening Vacation and International Travel Tips

By Tyson Hale


Before we jump let me point out that I not going to cover the typical surface travel tips. Instead we are going cover the principle travel tips and discover what mind set is needed to gain the best experience wherever you go.


Some of these travel tips will be hard for you to apply but after 8 years of traveling the world I have found these 5 travel tips to become a motto and guideline for me. I hope that you take them in and really consider them the next time you take off to gain more experiences.

Travel Tips #1 - Be open and don't plan everything out:


"Do it with the locals." This is a huge travel tip to follow when traveling. You can never beat the knowledge of a local and I would highly suggest to avoid sitting at your computer and trying to figure everything out.


The KEY is to get a few travel tips about the area. The next step is to myspace or facebook some locals down there and ask them what's cool and if you could meet up for a day or two to have some local fun with them. Most locals will love this opportunity and the experiences you have from that are priceless. I still remember a time in the Brazil where I did this and ended up in some tribe in the Amazon being taught Capawara by a Capawara Master. I could have never planned that from a desktop.


Travel Tips #2 - Immerse yourself in the culture:


Everyday you should be trying something new but more importantly you should constantly be stepping out of your comfort zone.


One of the best travel tips I can give you is this "Give yourself all the experiences you can h." Experiences are directly relate to your personality and ultimately the quality of life you are going to have.


Here's some interesting information. When you're out of your comfort zone you fall into what's called the state of dissonance. The body and minds goal is to become comfortable again so as it starts to eliminate the state of dissonance and creates comfort again. When this process happens the body mind and expands, personality grows, lessons are learned and you can now handle more situations in life. Next time you travel try not to create a home away from home and instead let whereever you are at impact you.


Travel Tips #3 - Chose your travel companions wisely:


This travel tip is an all encompassing principle in life. It has become apparent in these last few years of traveling that the quality of life and our fulfillment and happiness is greatly effect by the support and relationships around us.


I have seen to many travelers take off on a journey with someone that shares the same dream to travel but completely different lifestyle and it ruining the trip for them. The sad part is you find these people in amazing place completely involved in this drama scene instead of being involved in the beauty and culture.


The moment this became apparent was 3 years ago in Costa Rica. I was sitting on the beach in a surf town named Montezuma. The sun was beginning to set and it was one of those perfect conditions for a beautiful one.


While sitting there a hostel roommate sat down next to me and after a few questions about his travel he began to release all of this built up baggage he was holding in about his travel companion. While sitting there watching this beautiful sun set I realized he had no clue it was happening. The truth is not everyone is a good travel companion for you but when you do travel with the right one your traveling and experiences are going to be 100 times better.


Travel Tips #4 - Tie up any loss ends and disconnect from your life at home:


Technology was supposed to give us freedom and instead it has started to control us. Most people can't go more then three days with out checking email or their personal site, 5 minutes with out responding to a text message and a few days with out checking in with their peeps.


The point to catch here is where ever you are physically at in life is REALITY. Anything that's in not present such as home, old friends, family, old lifestyles is a memory and more importantly only a thought. There is a famous quote I love to reflect on:


"You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present." ~Jan Glidewell


This is a very important principle in life and travel. You have a certain amount of energy a day, you can either place that energy on a thought in your head or you can place it on the experiences in the present. Where you consistently place your energy will determine who you are and how much fulfillment you get out of life.


Travel Tips #5 - Focus more on the experience then a trophy picture to show your friends:


This travel tip ties into travel tip #4. What I always find fascinating is the amount of people that go out traveling just to take pictures and show them off to their friends back home. Pictures are great for reflection and to keep your memory bank full of good moments and they are not good when it turns into competition and distractions from the moment.


Bonus Travel Tip - Don't over pack


This is the simple travel tip but it shocks me how much happier I am when I apply this. Ten pair of shorts, 20 shirts, your favorite 3 pairs of shoes and your massive bag of everything you could possible need is what I call unnecessary and mental hassle to take care of.


I prefer to buy cloths along the way to better immerse my self in the culture and to pack light with one the top 10 necessities. This makes your more mobile and free from lugging that useless crap around. Next time you travel consider writing a list of the 10 thing that are the most important things to have on your travel and let go of the rest.


After 8 years of traveling I found these travel tips to be of up most importance. As I was saying before some of these are going to be hard to apply but if you decided put the effort in an apply these travel tips you are going to find yourself having more experiences and more fulfilling adventures.


Go to http://www.MoneyForTraveling.com to discover more Travel Tips


Author - Tyson Hale - Travel Income Guru - Discover 3 passive income blue prints that you can implement today to give you freedom to spend your time the way you want to - FREE. Go to http://www.MoneyForTraveling.com and start making money and have your Freedom at the same time.





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Going Abroad - Foreign Travel Tips

By Darlene Berkel

Have you ever traveled to a far-away destination for a vacation? If you have been to "the islands" did you enjoy the sun, sea, and sand? Imagine going on a tour of European castles or of archaeological sites of ancient civilizations in Mexico? How fascinating that would be!

It may be hard to believe, but just over a century ago most people did not take regular vacations. The vast majority of people spent their entire life within a mere few hundred miles of the exact spot where they were born. Traveling to far flung corners of the earth, whether for business, education, or pleasure was a luxury only the "rich and famous" could afford.


Fast forward to the 21st century! What a difference 100 years make! Today hundreds of thousands of travelers and vacationers venture off to the most exotic corners of the earth. Business executives zip around the globe in their private jets. Students venture off to foreign lands for study abroad programs, and for vacationers"¦the entire world is their backyard.


Traveling to a new place where people speak a foreign language, spend a fancy currency, travel with different methods of transportation, is a very exciting adventure. There is so much to anticipate, dream about, ponder and prepare for, that for some travelers it might seem a bit overwhelming. However, by following a few foreign travel tips, the journey can be smooth, exciting and everything dreams are made of.


The most important foreign travel tip is to research the country that is being visited on the vacation. It is very important to seek out books, online resources and friends to make sure that not one detail is overlooked. An excellent way to visit a foreign land is to actually mingle with the locals and see what the real culture is all about. Often times people travel is small tour groups or visit resorts; both options provide for great vacations but do not allow the opportunity to really get involved with the local citizens.


A valuable foreign travel tip is to find time to mingle with the citizens of the foreign countries visited it is the only way to truly absorb the true flavor of the land and it's people. This experience will stay in the heart of the traveler forever.


From Dream to Reality, The Value of a Travel Plan Outline


Once it is determined which foreign country is to be visited and the key points of interest have been identified and reviewed, it is now time to create a travel plan outline. The creation of a travel plan outline helps to realistically determine the timeline of the vacation. The travel plan outline is a fundamental foreign travel tip that is priceless. Using a travel plan outline allows for the identification of travel needs, hotel needs, locations to visit, points of interest and financial expenses.


The travel plan outlines the entire vacation and assists in bringing the dream a bit closer to a reality. When discussing foreign travel, it is also important to mention a valuable financial foreign travel tip, which is to visit a local financial establishment to obtain currency for the foreign country that is to be visited while on vacation. Familiarity with the foreign currency will make it a much easier transition from U.S. citizen to foreign traveler as well as it is also a good idea to have a few dollars to pay for a coffee, taxi fare of other incidentals without having to immediately trying to convert from United States currency to a new, unfamiliar currency.


Just about every country in the world has entered the tourism market, and each country has something that a tourist or vacationer would enjoy seeing or experiencing. Just follow the foreign travel tips mentioned above and you are bound to have the vacation of a lifetime.


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