Jul/090
The trip of a lifetime can take a lifetime to
The trip of a lifetime can take a lifetime to plan unless you know how to pick a travel agency.
A common misconception is that travel agencies add to the cost of your trip. In truth, finding and using a good travel agency to plan your trip usually saves you time, money, and frustration. So how do you pick a travel agency?
Ask around!
The best way to find a good travel agency is through word of mouth. Ask your family and friends who theyve used and then ask them about their trip. How did they travel? Where did they stay? Was their trip enjoyable? Getting a few referrals from friends helps you to know in ahead of time what to expect from a particular travel agent and helps you weed out the good from the not-so-good as well.
Are you a member?
Many clubs and organizations offer travel services for their members and many corporations have established relationships with travel agencies that their employees can use. Members only travel plans frequently offer the best values.
Compare
Shop a couple of experienced firms. Travel agencies come and go like any other businesses. The ones that stay in business add experience and know-how to each trip they plan. Make your first inquiry with a travel agency a listening experience; judge how well the agent listens to you and how comfortable they make you feel.
A good travel agent will ask you to outline your trip. Theyll ask where youre going and why, how youd prefer to travel, how long you plan to stay, and what your travel budget is. Be open and honest with your answers. A good agent will readily put together a sample itinerary that describes availabilities in transportation, accommodations, and estimated costs.
If you feel like youre getting the hard sell or the travel agency tells you theres only package available, keep shopping. You can always go back if you find that theyre right!
In addition to finding the best rates in lodgings and transportation, an experienced travel agent can also give you some helpful tips about your destination and heres the bonus generally it costs nothing to use a travel agency! Because they can buy in volume, travel agencies get discounts on prices for both tickets and lodgings!
For travel made easy, use the services of a travel agency to make your outing a time to remember well!
Nathan Lynch is an avid travel writer and the author of South Beach Uncovered. “The Ultimate, Indispensable, Insiders Guide To Saving Money and Having a BLAST in South Beach, Miami”.
http://www.southbeachuncovered.com
Jul/090
GENERAL INFORMATION: The Philippines has 7,107 islands. It stretches from
GENERAL INFORMATION: The Philippines has 7,107 islands. It stretches from the south of China to the Northern tip of Borneo. The unique Filipino culture was molded by several mixtures of foreign influences like Spanish, Americans and Japanese. The country has over a hundred ethnic groups.
In the Philippines, a tourist can find a lot of international golf courses, luxury beach resorts, 5 star hotels, many large and modern shopping malls especially in Manila, Casinos, disco’s and bars with live bands and karaoke.
Filipinos are fun loving people. Fun and laughter come naturally no matter what there station in life. Music and dancing are part of the Filipino culture.
SPECIFIC INFORMATION:
Passport/Visa Information
A visa is required for some nationals except by transit passengers. For stays of less than 21 days, no visas are required, provided travelers have a valid passport, good for at least one year and onward tickets departing the Philippines.
For inquiries, contact the Visa Division, Department of Foreign Affairs (Telephone numbers 834-4854 to 53, 834-4961).
Currency:
Peso (Php); Exchange: Large commercial and central bank dealers in Manila. Always use authorized money changers or banks in Manila Metro area. Credit cards are accepted in larger cities. US dollar checks are the preferred currency at over 800 ATM locations.
Language:
The Philippines is considered the third largest ENGLISH SPEAKING country in the world. Filipino and English are the two official languages. Close to 100 other languages, not just dialects are spoken. Indeed, most of the major languages like Tagalog, Ilocano, Cebuano, Ilongo, Bicolano and Waray have their own dialects. Still, travelers will not find it difficult as many Filipinos still retain a handy comprehension of English.
Transportation:
Manila is connected to the rest of the country by regular flights of Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Air Philippines and Asian Spirit and Southeast Asian Airlines (SEAIR).
Public transportation like buses, taxis, jeepneys and tricycle are available throughout the country. Car rentals are also available and its cheaper to rent it with a driver than without.
Communication:
Mobile phones are widely used throughout the country. Filipinos love text messaging. Pay phones are available especially in the malls and public places. Internet caf can be found throughout the country.
Food and Drinks:
Fast foods are found along most major road intersection.
Weather:
Tropical climate. Jun-Sept is the rainy season, Oct-Feb is the cool dry season. Mar-May is usually hot and dry. Some typhoons between June and Sept.
Michael Ray Johnson
http://hastravel.com/
Michael Johnson is a professional consultant and HAS TRAVEL pioneer. He began at MCI Communications, where he worked in the Western Region Control Center as a technical network troubleshooter. When the wireless revolution began, he moved to LA Cellular Telephone (now ATT Wireless), and developed one of the first ever, automated Network Management Systems. Later he accepted consulting positions in both Hong Kong and the Philippines, where he worked for 9 years as Project Consultant, managing the build out of two highly successful, wireless telephone networks. Mikes responsibilities include Service Development, Technical Integration and Project Management. He is a licensed helicopter pilot, who studied Business Management and Information Technology at the University of Phoenix, Arizona and TJ College, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Jul/090
International travel is an expensive and time-consuming exercise. Many of
International travel is an expensive and time-consuming exercise. Many of us go on international trips either for business or work related trips, to visit families, for studies in foreign countries or just for a vacation. Here are some tips to make this travel pleasant and easy on you and your pockets.
Planning your trip:
Plan your trip well in advance, if possible. This presents you an opportunity to get better air ticket deals. Airfares for international travels are seasonal. There are three main seasons: Low, Shoulder and Peak. Traveling in peak season is always the most expensive. If your trip is not time bound, plan to travel in the low season to get cheapest and low airfares. For travel in peak season, shop for deals well in advance. This assures you good price, your choice of airlines and your choice of dates. If possible, keep the travel dates flexible, as that would help you in getting lower fares. There is a notion that you can get cheap air tickets if you wait till the last minute. This is not necessarily true and during the peak season, you may run the risk of not getting a seat on any airlines at all.
There are many ways on how you can save money. Many airlines have different fares for weekday and weekend travel. If you are planning to break your journey midway, some airlines offer free stopovers while others charge a fee. Sometimes, direct / non-stop flights are expensive than the ones with one or more stops. Less known airlines can offer hard to resist deals. You can either call individual airlines to get their air fares and then compare or search on travel websites, which offer online booking facilities. While calling individual airlines can be a time consuming and tedious process, online booking sites may not be the right option if you have a few twists in your trip. And both these options may not give you access to the promotional and discount fares. The best bet will be to call a travel agent and let them do the job for you.
Travel agents are a good source to get great deals. They can help you in finding deals with more than one airline and can offer tickets for discounted prices. They have access to almost all airlines and have the expertise to search for the cheapest tickets in the market. Travel agents are a great source of information. Do not hesitate to ask them questions. They can provide valuable tips on how you can save money. Travel agents deal with more than one traveler at a time and hence may not be able to give you the details in the first call. Give them your trip details and give them some time and they can come up with really good deals for you. Travel agents are easy to spot as many of them have websites. A travel agency with excellent customer service is an asset. Some travel sites like http://www.TravelWorldServices, http://www.LowfareAlways.com, etc. offer personalized over-the-phone services on travel to various destinations across the world.
There are several travel agencies around the world. However, it is important that you choose the right travel agency, which offers the best customer service at the cost of a few additional dollars. This is better than booking the ticket online or offline through a travel agency who may offer really cheap deal but may end up not delivering you the ticket or not confirming your seats.
So the first step to planning your next international trip is to get yourself a really good travel agent.
Priya K is an independent travel consultant based in US.