Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Advice for Traveling Abroad - What Would You Do?


What will you do if situations not in your favor should arise while you are traveling? You may not have the convenience of your cell phone nor computer to check on details for awhile during your trip. And, who do you call?  Many tourism centers now are closed for the holidays or taking extended holiday vacations.   

With Thanksgiving week as one of the most active travel weeks, I thought it would be great to share some advice from another traveler.  After listening to this travel tale from one of my colleagues, I invited her to share with us here as my guest writer today. I am very delighted to have Brandi-Ann, Writer, to stop by and share some inspiring traveler tips from her own recent European holiday trip which didn't go very well for her this year.  I have honestly enjoyed following Brandi-Ann's inspiring advice for writers on her website this year. 

Sometimes it really does help to learn through other people's experiences about what to do when you get to the destination. These are some real experiences to remember on your trips, whether local or afar. Thanks Brandi-Ann! ~~


Brandi-Ann Uyemura is a Associate Editor for Psych Central and a freelance writer with a penchant for all things inspiring. With a MA in Counseling Psychology and a BA in English, she's made a career out of following her dreams and helping others to do so. You can visit her at her freelance writing website at (http://Brandi-AnnUyemura.com) and her blog to inspire others to take the leap and find and follow their own dreams (http://TheInspiringBee.com).
 
 

3 Things to Do If You’re Traveling Abroad

I went to Paris and London this past fall. But it wasn’t the dream vacation I expected. Far from it, actually. If I were going to be dramatic, I might say it was a nightmare. In between the awestruck and excitement over being in these two amazing cities, there were some major lessons I learned about traveling to a foreign country. Tips that I will share with you here.

1.    Consider booking directly with the hotel. This is the second time that I’ve traveled to Europe, but the first time that I ever got bumped off of my reservation on the day that I tried to check in. Can you picture getting off a 10-hour flight, with an expensive taxi ride to your hotel, only to be told that your reservation with a reputable online travel agency cancelled your booking at the very last minute? This was the beginning of my trip. You can imagine how upsetting the rest of the time was. A word of caution: Don’t mess with a woman with jet lag and no sleep. I was in no condition to be looking for a hotel at 7 p.m. at night. Would you be? Better to book directly with a hotel where last minute un-notified cancellations are less likely to happen.

I’m actually not sure why that company was so unreliable. But I do know after talking with other people that this was not the first time they made this same mistake. When I spoke to a customer service representative there he admitted that it does in fact happen. So be wary!

2.    If it sounds too good to be true… There will be package deals that will amaze you and prices that seem too good to be true. Like anything else in life, they probably are. My husband and I found that sometimes it was worth it to spend the extra money for a quality tour group than to go on a free one. We discovered with some of the free tours, we almost always ended up paying more for them through undisclosed charges and tips in the end. The worst situations occur when you think you’re saving money, but you get ripped off instead. Be careful out there!

3.    Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. We worried about the most unnecessary things like which museums to see and which order to see them. What we didn’t worry about was getting sick. And guess what ended up happening? Yep, the two of us were coughing through some of Paris and all of London. It was not fun and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Here’s what I would do, if I could have done it all over again: 1) get a flu shot 2) pack tissue and vitamins 3) bring cold medicine and throat lozenges 4) use hand sanitizers. Then, hope for the best!

It may not guarantee the best trip you ever had, but at least it’ll prevent you from having the worst one! Good luck and Bon Voyage!

 *  *  *

*Thank you so very much, Brandi-Ann, for sharing your story today!  To our readers, don't forget to create that action plan during your trip. 

What do you do when things happen like this?

Happy Thanksgiving for USA travelers ~ and others, remember to be safe! The Fun Tour Guru

Visit our new website for news, book your hotels, tours, and cruises, Lighthouse Travel & Tours.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you with your interest!