Murphy’s law states that “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”. We travel thousands of miles in complex machines and most of the time it actually doesn’t go wrong. I am amazed over the distances and hours I have spent travelling, how lucky I have been. But sometimes it does. Weather, mechanics, people and electronics can all conspire to derail your travel plans. 1. Do your research-some flights, some airlines and some airports can have a notorious reputation for delays. Choose a better option 2. Check the airline’s website or Twitter feed before leaving…
Travel Tips (Monday)
Category Archives for Travel Tips (Monday).
Greener Travel Tips
There are fairly simple things ways we can help reduce carbon emissions, pollution and degradation: 1. Select a destination with good rankings in terms of environmental protection. The online site Ethical Travel rates countries based on an environmental performance, social welfare and human rights The ten best ethical destinations for 2013 ( in alphabetical order ): Barbados Cape Verde -striving to reach 300% renewable energy- moving away from fossil fuels Costa Rica -signed a ban on shark finning Ghana- announced new taxes to establish appropriate prices for natural and environmental capital to provide incentives for reducing…
All about Renting a Car
Booking My two favourite car rental sites are Priceline and vroomvroomvroom.com. With Priceline you bid for a price and when it is accepted you are “locked into that deal”. Only choose Priceline if your plans are certain and you have ascertained what the cheapest deal is already. The other disadvantage with Priceline, is that if prices drop, you are locked in.Having said that, I have used Priceline to get cars at almost half the price. vroomvroomvroom.com compares all available deals from a location allowing you to choose the price, car type and company that you…
Driving on the wrong side of the road
An endless source of discussion with international friends is the division of the world into countries that drive on the left and countries that drive on the right. Which side is “wrong”? For my US friends, Australia drives on the “wrong side”. We feel the opposite. My understanding is that up to the 17th century, all rode on the left. In fact, in 1300AD, Pope Boniface VIII stated that all pilgrims heading to Rome should keep left. Napoleon reversed this. Some say because he could. Others say because he was left-handed and others so he…
What floor am I on?
At a shopping centre in Bangkok, I asked for directions to the lavatory “second floor sir” For a moment, I paused, as my brain processed the information: “when she said ‘second floor’ what does she mean?” The world is divided into different types of conventions regarding how to count the levels of buildings: 1. The Ground floor is numbered 1 and all subsequent floors follow. In this case my lavatory would be a short escalator ride up one floor. 2. The ground floor is labelled G, the floor above is 1 so my lavatory would be…
Saving money and finding my way with “For Less” Guides
When travelling, I like to collect as many discount coupons or deals as I can. I like getting my two for one deal and 20 percent off. As long as they are genuine discounts, I am happy! I don’t think I am alone?! The For Less Guides gather discounts for restaurants, tours and attractions onto one free Iphone or Ipad app for Amsterdam, London, New York and San Francisco (and soon Paris). There are claims that American users save on average 50 Euros per day in Amsterdam. As usual with any discount scheme, some of the discounts are more useful than…
Protect your Bags!
Something to strike fear into the hearts of passengers who check bags in. Italian authorities 18 months ago, installed hidden cameras at several airports across Italy. Police then viewed over 2,000 hours of footage taken by these cameras. The footage showed Alitalia baggage handlers deliberately picking luggage locks, cutting open suitcases and stealing money, electronics, jewellery and other items. One employee was taped while attempting to break into a suitcase by stabbing it multiple times. Take a look: The Italian National Police arrested 86 Alitalia employees as a result of the footage. The thefts occurred on board Alitalia planes and in areas…
Keeping track of exchange rates
Look up the monetary conversion rates before you go. Finding out that your dollars won’t go as far as they do back home is a nasty shock. I use currency xe online – its also a downloadable app If you prefer a paper based tool, gocurrency has a tool that allows you to perform a currency calculation and print it on paper tuck into your wallet or handbag.
Airport Life Travel app
Last year, I travelled to 59 airports in 15 countries! One day, stuck in Charlotte, North Carolina I called a friend for advice on where to get some good food. There have been many airports where I have wandered aimlessly from terminal to terminal looking for decent food. What I should have been doing is developing an app to help the millions of passengers annually who do the same thing. Dan Stratman, an airline Captain with 23 years of experience has done just that declaring: “I’m all too aware of how frustrating air travel has become. I wanted…
iDotto Audio Guides
The idea of wandering around a city listening to an audio tour does not excite me. Until now. iDotto is an intriguing app for the future of travel guiding. It is an audio guide that “accompanies” its users around a city and gives them a personalised guided tour. With a guide book, you usually have to follow a set route, or turn to a particular page. With IDotto, you download, whack in your headphones, walk where you want to and listen.”iDotto doesn’t give you orders, or impose an itinerary. It goes with you and tells you about what you are looking at. After all, it…
Recent Comments