Travel Tips (Monday)

Category Archives for Travel Tips (Monday).

United’s Very handy US Airports App

If you travel through major US airports, United Airlines have unveiled a feature which makes their iphone app well worth downloading. Under the “Travel Tools” section on their app, the airline has added interactive maps for their seven mainland U.S. hubs airports: Chicago O’Hare Denver Houston Bush Intercontinental Los Angeles Newark Liberty San Francisco  Washington Dulles. The maps include all parts of those airports, however, not just the terminals and spaces used by United. They include searchable information about retail stores and available service options at each airport. eg restrooms, restaurant, Burger King etc etc. I discovered for…

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Call Centre Bingo- tips for better outcomes

Moved house this week. This means lots of call centre experiences. How to have better ones… Investigate complaints boards, frequent flyer forums and Tripadvisor to see if other people have had the same issue. Sometimes, you can get a quick tip or have information for the operator on how to solve the problem or be told who the best contact is. If it is clear that no one else has had success using a particular route, then do not waste your time duplicating fruitless efforts Learn how that company works.     ContactHelp can GetHuman have…

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All about Visas

Just had yet another discussion with an international traveller who was amazed that  they needed to get a visa in advance for several of the countries they are planning to visit. “I have a passport“, they said. A passport is a document issued by your home country that identifies you as a citizen of that country. A visa is essentially a permission note from the country you are visiting indicating you can enter and stay there temporally. There are many types of visa including: a tourist visa (the most common type of visa) a work visa (this means…

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Cheap tips for any city you visit

While guidebooks, websites and concierges may be useful places to find markets, meals and amusements, there is one place that I find really useful for finding cheap tips – even if you are not staying there and thats the youth hostel or backpackers. They are used to giving tips to bargain markets, less pricier meals, discount deals for amusements. Most usually have boards up with information and deals. Even if you are not staying with them, they are very helpful. I am a Youth hostel member, even though I would stay at one a year-…

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Pack Good Attitude

Travel is rarely “perfect”. The careful plans one makes at the start of a trip can easily go awry. Whether its a delayed flight, a less than perfect meal, a rude hotel clerk, a stomach upset or a storm, your holiday or business travels can be quickly impacted. Best-selling author H. Jackson Brown, Jr. in a book titled “Live and Learn and Pass It On: People ages 5 to 95 share what they’ve discovered about life, love, and other good stuff” printed a quote by an unknown 52 year old who said: I’ve learned that you…

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Learn Some History

I cringe on tours when people say the stupidest things or ask the most embarrassing questions that show the traveller has not taken one minute to learn about their destination. As an Australian, one gets tired of the jibes “all of Australia came from convicts” which ignores the 60 000 years of human settlement followed by the waves of migration from Europe and Asia in the last 230 years. Standing in the Forum in Rome listening to people confuse Greece and Rome or ask if the Colosseum was built in the Middle Ages is enlightening…

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Trip Advisor is my friend!

I am a huge fan of Trip advisor.  I read Trip advisor reviews for pleasure either as a way of armchair travelling or to see what weird and wonderful things people add. I also glean vital information when making decisions about hotels. Trip Advisor reviews have given me great advice on the best services, hotels and restaurants from New York to Seattle to Myanmar,to Sydney. I was interested that at my last hotel in Rangoon, Myanmar, every staff member implored me to leave a positive review on Tripadvisor about the hotel. There seem to me there are five types of reviews on…

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2015 Handy Tipping Guide

Tipping is confusing across the globe but nowhere is it more confusing than the USA. I discovered recently that the American Hotel and Lodging Association has an official guide to tipping. It can be easily printed out and carried with one or downloaded as a photo or bookmark on my phone. Related Posts Know Your Tipping Treat People with Respect

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