American Airlines to Charge $8 For Blankets

As the travel industry becomes become more ala carte, you’re going to see more things like this.

Which feels worse? Getting charged $8 charged to your credit card (because many flight attendants don’t take cash) or just having another fee added to your ticket?

They cost the same but the $8 in air feels more like robbery. Just add all the fees you want to the ticket the first time so I don’t have to reminded of it afterward. Why don’t the airlines understand this?

Redefining Hostels: Not Just for Young Travelers

Families, couples, everyone is welcome at hostels. Some people have asked about the age requirement and there are some hostels that won’t take anyone over 30 years old. The great thing is that there are very few of those and there are plenty of options if you’re an ‘old fogey’ at 31 years old.

Check out my previous posts on hostels – the cost of hostels and what hostels are really like.

The backpacker’s secrets for travelling Australia on a shoestring

Australia is a long way off from where ever you are in the world and getting there and being able to save is of top concern for travelers.

Travel Video of the Week
Interview with a Pickpocket at the Running of the Bulls Festival in Pamplona – from www.consumertraveler.com

What I find so interesting is the justification of the ‘former’ pickpocket. He says the only entity hurt is the bank because everything else is insured. Do you ask someone as you lift their wallet if their cash and valuables are insured?

Note – he says the easiest targets are drunk men, and the best pickpockets are women. So if a woman approaches you after you’ve had a few drinks, you should be at red alert.

Full-body scanners already in use at Heathrow airport, says BAA

If you don’t go through the scanners, you can’t get on the flight. I’m waiting for the report of the person who refuses and then is not let on a flight. It will happen, or maybe it has already and we just haven’t heard about it already.

Many U.S. adults skip routine vaccinations

Why I mention this? Especially when you go overseas, we assume that we’ve had required shots. Sometimes shots fall through the cracks, especially when it isn’t required by school or work. Get your yellow card that lists all of your vaccinations and keep it with your passport.

FindACrew

I mentioned FindACrew before and wanted to list it again as an alternate to one-way flights or cruises or even a way to work, make money and travel. Love of the open water is a must.

Hotel fees that must die — and how to kill them

If you thought the airlines were the only one guilty of this, you haven’t looked at your last hotel bill closely enough. Classic bait and switch by hotels. Charge low fees and then add on a whole bunch of smaller fees. The one that used to always kill me was the Internet access fee. I remember seeing $11.95 PER DAY for Internet access. I can do without it.

But recently the other fees started to get piled on. Fees for housekeeping and bellhop service? Wasn’t that suppose to be part of the hotel fee?

Look over the bill and challenge these fees if you see them.

Best Travel News and Deals – February 9, 2010 – $8 For Blankets on Flights, Pickpockets in Spain, Stop Hotel Fees, Full Body Scans, Get Travel Shots is a post from: NoDebtWorldTravel

Ship comes in for solo travelers, industry says

I think that all travel related companies, not just cruise lines, have to look at single/solo travelers as a source of revenue going forward. Penalizing them because they don’t have a significant other or family will drive people to independent travel. That means booking accommodations themselves over the Internet and avoiding the single supplement fees altogether.

You want to make things easier for someone to book with you, not harder.

Cold sheets? Hire a HUMAN ‘bed-warmer’

Really? How long does it take you to warm up a cold bed when you jump into it? Paying someone to ‘pre-heat’ the bed for you? Can I get a job like that?

Royal Caribbean makes a tough, difficult decision

Initially I was against this, but after seeing that the Haitian government wanted them to return I was more at ease about it. But I would feel queasy about playing on a beach with an alcoholic beverage in my hand while bodies are still being pulled the ruins of a country’s capital 100 miles away. You can’t feel good about that.

Travel Video of the Week
Nice video on what to do when you first arrive in a hotel room. More important, the telltale signs of bedbugs. Important, get a sleep sack, whether you are staying in a hostel or hotel. You don’t want to leave with bite marks or rashes.

Also disinfectant wipes for the TV remote control, telephone, alarm clock and other surfaces neglected by hotel cleaning staff. The TV remote was one of the ‘germy’ things in the room. (‘germy’ is not a word, but you know what I mean)

One thing I always remembered: Don’t use the water glasses in the bathroom without throughly cleaning them yourself. Those routinely get ignored by hotel cleaning staff.

“Fleshmob” against virtual strip-search machines at Berlin airport

The first video is of protesters against the full body imaging scanners. The second video shows what you see with the machines. This will give a fair idea of what screeners will be able to see when you walk through the machines. Not great, but not horrible either.

Frequent fliers might ask what kind of radiation is used and what dosage? If you don’t want to go through the machine, is that an option? What kind of full body pat down/groping/fondling will you be subjected to?

TSA lies again about what the strip-search machines see

More on the scanners and what they can see. What are the alternatives? I think at least the United States, a nation of dog and cat lovers, we could get a mass of drug and explosive sniffing dogs for the airports. Both for baggage (which is neglected) and passengers.

For Travelers in Danger, Someone to Swoop In

I talk a lot about travel insurance, and these are first hand stories of travelers in trouble getting pulled from the fire by paid services that can go anywhere in the world. The crisis in Haiti is the most recent example of private citizens, corporate employees and non-profit organizations paying for on-demand evacuation.

The gulf between the haves and the have nots is even more defined by the people who can afford a service like this and those who are left behind with injury or have no way of leaving an affected area.

Best Travel News and Deals – January 26, 2009 – Better Deals for Solo Travel, Vacation in Haiti?, Finding Bedbugs, Avoid Travel Hassles, Amazing Race is a post from: NoDebtWorldTravel

Best Travel News and Deals – December 29, 2009 – Discount Tokyo, Free Tours, Airline Blunders, 100 Reasons to Travel Around the World is a post from: NoDebtWorldTravel

American Airlines to Offer Paperless Boarding Using Mobile

From loyal reader Karen, American is starting to use cell phones and other mobile devices that display the bar code for your ticket. Paperless tickets. Soon I think they are going to have some way to slap the bar code to your forehead so you don’t even need the cell phone.

In fact at a party the other night, I saw someone with a new Google Android phone that allows you to scan in the bar code from the supermarket discount card and have it on the phone. The cashier will scan YOUR PHONE as opposed to the separate card. Nice! Maybe the iPhone and other phones have it, but that’s the first time I’ve seen it in person.

How To Impress Your Host: 10 Steps to a Perfect Couchsurfing Profile

Couchsurfing is the hot way to see more of the world and this article talks about how to show yourself to potential hosts with the best foot forward. The point here is NOT to lie or deceive but to put a little polish on your profile to get the best match for you and your potential host.

How You Can Help Travelers Imprisoned Abroad

I talked previously about how to avoid getting locked up when traveling. I remember being in Amnesty International in high school and writing letters on behalf of poliitcal prisoners and others unlawfully detained. Amnesty is here on this list, as well as other ways we can help others imprisoned.

Power Mats: One-Stop Charging for Portable Electronic Devices

As a prelude to the upcoming Black Friday Travel Gift post, here is a high tech charger that just has you to lay the device on a special pad to get charged. Very interesting.

The 2010 World Nomads Travel Writing Scholarship

The 2010 World Nomads Travel Writing Scholarship contest will have you travel to Japan, experience the country for a few weeks and then edit a guide from Rough Guides. For the aspiring travel writer, this is a plum opportunity. Applications accepted until December 21, 2009.

10 Things to Ask Yourself Before Picking a Travel Partner

Don’t want to be on the trip from hell of your own doing? Ask some things, honestly, about yourself and the other person. Snorer? Loud? Introvert? Chronic bad breath? Cheapskate? Free spender? Can you deal with it for a weekend? A week? 6 months???

Travel for Two: The Pregnant Traveler

Just because you have a bun in the oven doesn’t mean you should curtail your travels needlessly. Always check your travel insurance and the policies of the airline if you fly. Solid list here to think about if you are with child.

Are “Lap Children” Safe on Planes?

After you’ve had your baby, and now want to get back to traveling, can you carry your child on your lap? There seems to be no consensus, as the money issue of paying for a second seat with a car seat seems to have taken precedence of the safety of the child.

Businessman spends £350k to visit every country on earth in record time (just don’t ask to see his snaps)

There is something to be said for traveling slow. The amount this gentleman from the UK paid is what most people think a round the world trip will cost. Far from it. Most of the people on these RTW trips (myself included) do not have HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars to spend. Remember there are ways to do it.

How to Avoid Boredom On a Long Plane Ride

Many in this list are straightforward, but always good to rememeber. Personally I’m usually conked out, trying to avoid hitting my head on the seat in front of me!

Best Travel News and Deals – November 24, 2009 – Paperless Boarding, The Perfect Couchsurfing Profile, Picking a Travel Partner, Pregnant Traveler is a post from: NoDebtWorldTravel