Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Travel Column with D.G. Kaye – Part Three – Preparing for a Safe Trip. | Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life
Welcome to Part 3 of my Travel Tips in my Travel Column I’m writing for Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord Invitation.
Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Travel Column with D.G. Kaye – Part Three – Preparing for a Safe Trip.
Welcome to part three of the Travel Column with D.G. Kaye.. Debby Giesand this week Debby shares some great tips to get the best value and maximum enjoyment from your holiday. There is much to prepare for to ensure a safe and enjoyable holiday including insurance, luggage security, extra fees for exclusive holidays. Debby has all that covered and more.
Part Three of Travel Tips – Preparing for a Safe Trip
For today’s edition of Travel Talk, I’ve prepared a list of important things to do to prepare yourselves for a snag-free travel experience.
Important Tips to Consider When Booking a Trip
Travel Insurance – Don’t leave home without it! Always make sure to purchase travel insurance before leaving your country (or province for fellow Canadians). We don’t plan on mishaps, but they surely do happen. In many countries, particularly the U.S., if you need medical care and don’t have travel insurance it can easily cost you six-digit figures for medical aid. A few hundred dollars for insurance is worth the peace of mind.
Price Checking – Do your homework when booking a trip. Compare prices on various sites and with airline packages.
Check for Discounted Rates – Most hotels worldwide and car rental companies offer further discounted rates for seniors, members of CAA or AAA (Canadian Automobile Association and American Automobile Association). Remember to ask for those discounts when booking!
Keep on Price Checking – Once you’ve booked a trip in advance, do an occasional price change check. Many companies will honor a price drop if you spot it and will re-adjust your price. Before I went on my last cruise I went on their site to check some packages and noticed a sale on cruises. I saw my same cruise and cabin category listed for $500 cheaper, months after I booked it. I called my cruise rep and got the $500 deducted off the price of my cruise!
Resort Fees – Always inquire at time of booking a hotel if they charge resort fees on top of the initial price. Don’t get caught by surprise! Many U.S. hotels, in particular, are now charging approximately $33 per night extra just for bogus resort fees. Some companies hide them or make no mention of them until you get to the hotel. A one week’s stay in a hotel can run you an extra $230 just for fees, based on a one week stay. I found this out twice by surprise – once while I visited a hotel in Vegas where I was comped with a free 5-night stay, but still got snagged with daily resort fees. And once when I booked an all-inclusive air/hotel trip to Arizona with Air Canada, only to find out that the secret resort fees weren’t part of the all-inclusive. After I booked the trip, I called the hotel in Arizona to inquire about their facilities and that’s where I found out about the additional fees. You can read the article I wrote about this incident HERE and how I rectified it with the airlines.
What are Resort Fees? – Once upon a time when you booked a hotel . . .Please continue reading
Follow Me on Social Media!
dgkaye
D.G. Kaye is a nonfiction/memoir writer, who writes from her own life experiences and self-medicates with a daily dose of humor.
24 Comments
John Maberry
More great tips! Thanks. 🙂
dgkaye
Enjoy! 🙂
Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.
Thanks again Debby for all the research and effort that goes into preparing such an informative post.. hugs ♥
dgkaye
My pleasure Sal. Thank you so much for inviting me to write. I’m really enjoying it. <3 xxx
Olga Núñez Miret
Fantastic tips, Debby!
dgkaye
Thanks so much Olga. <3
D. Wallace Peach
These are great articles, Debby. I’m heading over to read the rest. My traveling days are ahead of me, so this is very handy!
dgkaye
Oh fabulous Diana. I’m thrilled you find them helpful <3
Kate Johnston
I just got back from a vacation to WDW in Florida. The only quibble I had was that the airline charged for checking in luggage. What a joke. All of these hidden fees can be really depressing. I also find that traveling is horribly stressful. But I usually am satisfied and happy once I reach my destination!
dgkaye
Hi Kate. Thanks for sharing. Wow, you must not have flown for awhile as they’ve been charging on all airlines extra to bring a damned suitcase! Just another money grab. Yes, traveling is soooooooooooo not fun anymore. I’d prefer to click my heels and just be wherever I’m going, lol. 🙂
Carol Balawyder
These are wonderful travel tips, Debby. 🙂
dgkaye
Thanks Carol. So glad you found them helpful. 🙂 <3
Vashti Q
Hi Debby! I’m headed over to Sally to read the rest of this. This is valuable info., my friend! Thank you!
dgkaye
Oh wonderful Vashti. Thank you. I’ll see you there. <3
EsmeSalon
Thanks, Debby for sharing such an informative traveling tips post. I do not do a lot of traveling, but always useful to keep your tips in mind.
dgkaye
Thanks for popping over Esme. You never know when it will come in handy. 🙂 x
EsmeSalon
Sorry, missed to add, thanks for sharing your first link at #seniorsalon
dgkaye
Thanks for the invite Esme 🙂 x
Miriam Hurdle
Thank you for more tips, Debbie. Our next trip is to Hong Kong, going to my nephew’s wedding. All the other trip must wait. I’ve been traveling for 20 years and never bought travel insurance. Perhaps it’s time to reconsider. Thank you again, Debbie.
dgkaye
So glad to be helpful Miriam. Oh yes, please do yourself a favor and take travel insurance. Just like home and car insurance, we pray we never have to use it, but if only that one time, it pays for itself.
And how lovely, a trip to Hong Kong! Travel safe! 🙂 <3
Deborah Jay
Wow, Deb – and I thought I was organised!
Off to buy some of those RFID covers immediately – thanks for yet more great tips!
dgkaye
Lol Deb, we are both well organized it seems. But glad I could suggest a few new tricks for you. I keep all my credit cards in RFID jackets for years now, at home and abroad. And they also have RFID for passports! 🙂
Norah Colvin
Thanks, Debby. That’s all great advice. I’m not aware of any ‘hidden’ resort fees here in Australia. Parking is generally included in the accommodation package and wi-fi is too, mostly. Sometimes there is an additional charge, but usually not much.
dgkaye
Ahh, good to know you guys aren’t there yet with such fees. It’s really getting more and more expensive to travel anywhere! 🙂 x