What are we doing?

Dear Friends and Acquaintences --

As many of you know, we have a tendency to travel a bit. Our motto has been "jetset lifestyle on a pedestrian budget." Friends have suggested we pass some of our experiences along. So this is what this blog is about. Each post will cover either a generic topic or a specific travel destination. Look at the header to identify the subject ... if you would like to add your thoughts to what we post, please do. Remember you are getting words of wisdom based on our experience. You may not always agree with these words or your tastes may differ from ours. In any case, we hope you find this spot helpful.

Here's to adventure and having fun!

Slug and Snail

Airline Tickets: Cheap Deals, Around the World Tickets

These days finding a good airfare is hard (especially if you are traveling in Canada). We will provide a few tidbits. We usually find the best deals by going directly to an airline’s website. BUT this is not always true (we recommend your looking at several places for airfares).

Basics About Fares
It used to be that the cheapest ticket was obtained by either booking through a seat sale or well in advance. The climate, however, has changed. Sometimes the fares change on a daily basis – and not by always going up. We have see a high fare on day one, a lower fare on day two, and then a higher fare on day three (and then a week later seen the same pattern). In general, it seems that lower fares can be found if you are looking mid-week – the higher fares are seen at the end of the week.

How To Start Looking for a Low Fare
When looking for a fare, we start by going to http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/ This website will tell you what airlines fly to your destination and the current low fares available on each airline (as well as the number of connections). You can conduct a search for specific dates or you can look for a given period (e.g. over a month). After getting this information, we then look at other websites (the airline’s website and/or other travel websites) to see if we can find the low fare (or even a lower fare)

Booking the Deal
You should look at fares at general travel websites – e.g. www.expedia.com … if you are originating from the U.S. you may want to try to get a deal at www.priceline.com – this website now gives you two options – first you can take a deal (much like expedia and other travel websites) – or you can try your luck at making a bid for an airfare. If you are going to bid, you have to be flexible with respect to your time of travel. Priceline seems to operate in a fashion where it will go to the airlines and see what they are willing to take in terms of an airfare – most likely the better deals are received by customers willing to wait until the last minute to book their ticket. When dealing with any travel agent (via website or otherwise) do not forget to make sure you have done your homework to verify the agent is reputable. Also, make sure you understand the nature of the ticket – e.g. what happens if your flight is canceled? – what happens if you need to cancel your trip? If you are into collecting points (which we recommend) for your flights, will you receive points for the ticket and at what rate?

Secrets on Fare Classes
If you book on line directly with the airline, it is very difficult to figure out the "booking code" of your flights. American Airlines (www.aa.com ) recently added the booking code on the page that summarizes the flights just before you add in your payment information. But even with this information, it is difficult to figure out how to change your booking code if you are not using a travel agent. Why might you care? It turns out that (surprise, surprise) that fares do change based on booking code (for example not all business fares are the same). Also, if you like to collect airline miles or gain elite status with the airlines, the booking code can affect the number of qualifying points you receive. We did a bit of research on this and will refer you to three websites that will contain more information on this topic. www.flyertalk.com has forums and and bits of information on frequent flyer programs and airline ticket issues. http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/ will allow you to search for "seat availability" (look for the little button on the opening webpage titled "more options") -- it gives a bit more information but not as much as you would probably like. And the ITA website is a bit clunky -- you have to click on a particular flight and then click on the "booking details" to get the information on the booking code. It seems the best option is www.expertflyer.com -- this site has everything. BUT, you have to pay to use it (about $9.99 U.S. per month, less if you buy a yearly subscription). And if you want to see how many miles are you flying, go to tp://gc.kls2.com.

Seat Assignments
There are two ways to think about seat assignments -- first, how to avoid the middle seat; second, how to get the best seats given your fare class. Avoiding the middle seat is best done by getting a seat assigned as soon as you purchase your ticket. If you book on line you can usually do this as part of your booking. If you cannot, then call the airline directly and ask for a seat assignment. Getting the best seat can be tricky. Generally, bulk head and exit rows are the best. For longer flights, bulk heads are usually saved for families with babies. Exit rows usually (but not always) are assigned at the airport on the day of the flight. Be wary, however, of the first exit row if there are two exit rows (one in front of the other) and be wary of the row in front of an exit row -- often these seats do not recline -- which can be very annoying if you are on a long flight (or what happened to us, on a red-eye flight). The best source we have found for seeing the configuration of a plane is www.seatguru.com. The website tries to display a plane's configuration based on the airline and type of plane.

A Word of Caution
One of the current pitfalls to booking online (even through an airline’s website) is that if an airline closes shop before you take your flight, you could lose the money you paid for the now worthless ticket. If you go through a travel agent, you usually can get your money back. But do not rely on us for the legalities of this stuff. Ask the airline, the travel agency, etc. about this.

Around the World Tickets – Buying one
Given we recently spent some time in Australia, we decided to get there and back by getting an around the world ticket. One of us purchased the ticket. The other got one on points (next paragraph). An Around the World ticket means one travels in one direction (east or west), making stops in several countries/continents. Usually, there is a limit to the number of stops one can make on a given continent. The One World Network (www.oneworld.com, American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, and others) offer an around the world ticket as does the Star Alliance Network (www.staralliance.com, Air Canada, United, Air New Zealand, and others). Each network prices the ticket differently – usually it is a function of time of year and distance or number of continents. There are also ways to purchase an around the world ticket through a broker (who uses different combinations of airlines). We used the One World option. Under this option all we really had to do was commit to the date and location of the first leg of the trip – all other legs were flexible and could be changed at any time – there is a restriction on the number of continents (but this is based on the price you pay). Note, if you book well in advanced (for example we booked in December for a ticket that began in January but whose most legs would occur in June) a given flight may not be available. But if you keep checking back, usually a seat that can be used with an around the world ticket opens up. Also, if you like to collect airline points -- each leg of the trip may end up being on a different class of fare and so you may not get full mileage for your trip.

Around the World Ticket – Using Airline Points
We also got an around the world ticket using points (from American Airlines). The points ticket pretty much works like a purchased ticket with one BIG exception. When you book the first leg, you must book all remaining legs. Once ticketed you can change the date and time of a flight of any given leg (without charge usually) but you CANNOT change the destination (e.g. if you are booked on a flight to Madrid – you can fly on a different flight but it has to be on the same airline and it has to land in Madrid). This is important to know because it limits flexibility and it can create some problems. If you book your flight in advance (e.g. 6 months in advance), the flights are chosen based on current schedules – if the schedule changes (which can happen if one is booking in winter but flying in summer, for example) you could end up with (a) a canceled flight or (b) a flight with a really tight connection if you have a layover. The airlines will try to accommodate such changes but you can end up with some very wacky layovers as a result. Note, even in this instance an airline would not be willing to switch a destination. For example, we were flying from Capetown to Seville with a layover in London. Because the flight from London changed we had to be put on another flight. This resulted in our having an 8 hour layover in London (before the change we were going to have a 2 hour layover).

Should you consider an around the world ticket using points? Most certainly. For many airlines the extra points needed for an around the world ticket is not significantly greater than getting a round trip ticket. For example an economy seat award between North America and Australia is 75,000 points on American Airlines. To get an around the world ticket was 100,000 points – with this type of ticket we visited Australia, South Arica, Spain, and Greece.

Around the World Ticket – helpful hints when dealing with the airline
Most airlines require you to talk to their “around the world” desk to book and ticket flights. The quality of the agents with whom you speak can very quite dramatically. Also, some are more or less creative than others. Before speaking to the agents, we suggest you go on line and figure out the various ways (and partner airlines) to get you from one destination to the next. It is good to know such things as flight numbers and times of departures and arrivals. This way you can assist a less informed or less creative agent when booking your flights.

Hotels and Special Deals, In General

In each destination we will try to tell you how we find hotels for that destination. There are, however, a few rules. First, it is usually not too difficult to find a discounted rate or a special deal. Although they have a great business, we rarely use websites like www.expedia.com . We do scour for deals. In some cities, countries, etc. you can find a discount broker that seems to offer good deals and is running a reputable website.

Second, regardless of how you find a hotel, we think you should try to investigate the hotel. Try to find some objective reviews of the hotel. Do not rely on the pictures on the hotel’s website or the booking website. But remember – not all reviewers will reflect your tastes and you have to put the reviews into context. In a small town in New Zealand we stayed at a hostel that had a room with a private bath for a very low price. The “customer” reviews were unbelievably great (literally). We enjoyed our stay, but in retrospect, the review was of a very low budget lodging option – and taking this into account what we got was a good deal. But did the room meet up to the raves in the review? – not really.

We use the following websites to get a feel for a hotel (and sometimes as ways to find out about other hotels in the area) … www.fodors.com – for many (not all) destinations Fodor’s will give you online its reviews of hotels as well as customer reviews of the hotels. www.tripadvisor.com has the most extensive website we have found for reviewing hotels. All of the reviews, however, are customer based. For specific destinations we will try to find a website of a local monthly magazine or paper that gives reviews. And in the last case, we will do a web search on the hotel name – and will just cruise the web for tidbits of information.

For U.S. cities, we do use www.priceline.com … if you do your homework, you can get a really good deal on a very nice hotel. But you need a U.S. credit card to use priceline. By homework – find out before you bid how many neighborhoods are in the city in which you are looking. And for each neighbhorhood, figure out what is the highest ranked hotel. Why? If you want a particular neighborhood and you are willing to just go after the best hotels in that neighborhood put in a lowball bid. If you fail, the only way to get a second chance is to add a second neighborhood. If you add in a neighborhood that only has hotels that are ranked lower, by default your next bid, if successful, will put you in your preferred neighborhood.

Hotel Chains
We prefer to find the interesting boutique hotels. We still do. But if you travel a lot (e.g. for business), there is a benefit to joining a hotel’s affinity program. Figure out which chain has the most number of hotels in the most number of places to which you travel for business and would like to travel for pleasure. If you start to get status through the chain, often you will get upgrades to nicer rooms and will build points towards free rooms. Through affinity programs we have ended up in five-star resorts staying for free. The affinity program we like the best is the one offered through Starwood at www.spg.com. This covers the Sheratons, Westins, W, Four Points, St. Regis, and Luxury Collection. If you do not travel very much, the Fairmont chain treats entry level president’s club guests quite well.

Luxury Hotels
Sometimes you just want to stay somewhere quite special. But, you may not be that interested spending a lot of money. We have gotten great deals by using www.luxurylink.com. This website offers many special deals at upscale resorts (but do you homework to make sure it is a good deal) by way of an auction. So you have to be willing to bid and pre-commit to a trip. But the deals can be great. If you know you are going somewhere for a specific period and so would have to use the lodging from a winning auction for that period, contact the hotel/resort before bidding and ask about availability. While the hotel cannot guarantee availability, you can certainly find out if it is possible. The website offered by Andrew Harper also offers deals through auctions.

Car Rentals

There is not a whole lot to say about car rentals. If you want to book online you have three options: book directly with the car rental company, book through a travel website that offers hotel deals, airline deals, etc., or book through a place like www.priceline.com. Generally we look at both the car rental company and the generic travel websites. Usually we get good deals going directly with the car rental company, especially when traveling in North America. When traveling outside of North America, however, we sometimes can find a better deal by looking around for a local travel site. For example, when in Austalia, we got better deals by using a site such as www.frogandtoad.com.au or www.lastminute.com.au than we did from using the car rental agency’s website. Also, sometimes you can get a better deal by calling a car rental company directly – other times the better deal is had by using the company’s website. In North America we have found priceline is really good. One option is to go for the cheapest car possible. Another option is to bid on a bigger car (or a convertible, etc) using the going posted rate for an economy car. If you use www.priceline.com, you usually only get one bidding opportunity per class of car. So limit each bid to one class of car. Also, you can get around the one bidding opportunity (we think) by using more than one credit card. We occasionally will fly into an airport without a car rental reservation. Sometimes this can result in getting a good rate (especially in big cities) – but it also can result in your not getting a car (this almost happened to us in St. John, New Brunswick – a very small airport with few cars).

Do You Really Need A Car?
Especially if you have never traveled to your destination or you are in a foreign country, you may not need a car. Inquire about the accessibility of public transportation at your destination. If you need a car just to reach your destination and to return to the airport, find out how much it would cost to hire a driver to take you to/from your destination (or maybe there is a shuttle van that operates to your location). When you add in the cost of the rental, the cost of gas, and the cost of parking as well as potential hair-raising experiences (e.g. if you are going into an area with narrow roads, inclement weather, etc.), hiring a driver may be well worth the money.

Insurance Coverage
Find this out before you pick up your car. Does your own auto insurance cover you for anything? Does your credit card cover you for “collision damage” or for “theft” (if your credit card covers insurance make sure you keep a copy of what is covered with your travel documents)? If so, you can usually decline coverage by the car rental company. If not, find out if there are ways other than using the car rental agency – in some locations it is possible to purchase insurance at a lower rate form a third party vendor.

Tricks Some Agencies May Try
We do not know if this is legal, but some car rental agencies will claim that even if you have liability coverage through your own auto insurance policy, they must charge you for the coverage if you do not have proof of such coverage with you. To deal with this issue, we carry a copy of our insurance card when we travel.

We have also had a few instances (not often) where a car rental company tries to charge a higher daily rate than the quoted rate. As a precaution, make sure you carry a copy of your reservation with you – and check the rate on the form you are signing.

Pre-paid tanks of gasoline
It used to be that if you did not bring the car back with a full tank you would pay through the nose for re-fueling. Some agencies in some countries/states have figured out that they can make more money by offering you the option before you leave the agency of committing to paying a fixed amount for a full tank of gas. Often, the rates are quite good and can be less than the current price of gasoline at your destination (but not always). If it is a good deal and you know you will be doing a lot of driving, think about the convenience of being able to return the car on empty. The catch, of course, is to make sure you return the car on empty without running out of gas beforehand …

Car Rentals in Foreign Countries
Pre-internet bookings, it used to be the case that you often would get a better rate if you arranged for your car rental before you traveled. This was especially true in many European countries. Post-internet – so long as you have access to the internet, it may be that location of renting does not matter. But keep in mind that it may be the case that pre-booking will get you a better deal.

Safety Issues

Remember that whenever you are in a new location (even if it is in the same country in which you live), you do know the local customs, nor is it always easy to identify the safe from the unsafe areas. Always be aware of your surroundings. Having been pick-pocketed and having been with others when they were pick-pocketed , you kind of have to accept that it could happen to you – and if it does you want to minimize any damage … these may seem like common sense suggestions but we figure we should make them in case you have not thought of them. We will tell some stories of things that have happened (we are not making them up).

What to keep in your wallet/purse
Only what is essential while traveling – that library card, your social security card (or social insurance number), the local store’s credit card, etc. does not need to travel with you. Also, try to keep your credit cards, passports, other identification separated. That way if one thing gets stolen, you will not be without another source of identification and/or funds. Only carry as much cash as you need for the day. If you have taken out money to cover several days, store the money you do not need immediately.

Protecting valuables
If you are traveling and are in between hotels/destinations – invest in an undergarment holder – some go around your neck, some go around your waist. Put the stuff you do not want to disappear into it.

If you are in a particular destination – see if your hotel has a safe where you can store your valuables. The hotel staff usually is quite helpful in providing a safe place for you to keep these things.

Common ways to get pick-pocketed or to have something stolen
While sitting at a restaurant you sling your purse behind you on your chair – or you put the purse besides you on the ground
While talking on a pay phone you put your purse or briefcase down on the ground
While reading a book in a public area you put your things down in the chair besides you or on the ground
You board a crowded subway, bus, etc. and as you are getting on, someone is picking your pocket, backpack, purse and then jumping off – so when you get on the bus/subway, etc. move as quickly as possible to the middle of the car (away from doors)
As you go through a turn stile, the person behind you is picking your pocket, etc.
You are driving through a crowded city with the windows rolled down and your purse, backpack, briefcase is on the seat beside an open window or unlocked door
You walk down the street with a backpack on, or your purse hanging behind you or your wallet in your back pocket
In a city with mopeds you are walking down the street with your purse, etc. on the side of your body that is closest to the road – a person on a moped grabs the purse, etc. and then zooms away
In a crowded location, there are swarms of little kids who come up to you and grab anything you have in your pockets, fanny pack (even if it is in front of you)

Be Aware
Use your common sense – if something does not feel right, act on your instinct. A few examples – Snail was traveling with her dad and was in line to purchase some subway tokens after a long train trip. She noticed a young fellow jump the line in front of her and buy some tokens – on the platforms this young fellow and a friend were hanging close to Snail and her dad – so Snail moved down the platform. But the two blokes followed – when the subway came, Snail immediately moved to the center of the car and called out to her dad to do the same thing – by this point it was too late, her dad had been pick-pocketed and the blokes were able to jump off the train before the doors closed. In retrospect, although she was trying to save some money, Snail should have sensed that something was not right and then taken a taxi instead of the subway.

On another trip, Snail and her friend were traveling by bus to a restaurant. Initially the bus was empty. Snail noticed some odd looking men jumped onto the bus at the last minute (using the rear doors). Snail and her friend were situated in a good spot (although standing) near the door. Snail suggested they move and her friend resisted initially. After moving, nothing happened. On their return trip, when they got off, Snail and her friend noticed the two men hanging out by the bus stop – Snail’s friend admitted that these men were probably crooks and was thankful they moved away from the bus door.

If you are walking down a street and it is quiet you should try to get off the quiet street and onto a busy street. If you see a stranger walking near you, cross the street – make it difficult for the stranger to do anything that would be bad. On another trip, Snail and a friend were walking to the subway from a restaurant and felt as though some men were following them. They crossed the street, got onto a busy street. When they got closer to the subway station they noticed the men still looked as though they were following them but the men were on the opposite side of the street. Not wanting anything to happen, Snail and her friend wisely decided it would be better to take a taxi back to their hotel.

What do you do if something happens
The moment something happens your instinct will be to run after the predator. DO NOT DO EVER ATTEMPT TO GO AFTER THE PREDATOR!!! – accept that what has happened has happened and be thankful that the only thing the predator got was your purse, wallet, etc. If you run after the predator you could end up getting hurt. A friend’s father ran after a predator and ended up in a coma … do not try to be a hero, it is not worth it.

What you should do is go to the local police station and file a report. Do this for two reasons. First, so the police finds out what is going on. Second, with the report as proof that you had something stolen, your house insurance policy may allow you to get reimbursed for some of your lost belongings.

Do not forget to contact your credit card companies, etc. Most of the major credit card companies will issue you a temporary/emergency credit card within 24 hours of being notified. Also, contact the airlines if your airline ticket was stolen to find out what can be done. And if your passport or travel visa was stolen, contact the local embassy or consulate.

Train Travel/Watch your Drinks
Finally, there are some special instances where you should be more vigilant in being aware of your surroundings. We do not know if this remains true, but in the past when taking a long/overnight train trip, there have been stories of being drugged by a fellow passenger, being robbed while one was asleep, etc. If you can afford a higher class ticket, buy one. But even in first class, be aware of your surroundings!

Regardless of train travel, there are drugs that can be easily slipped into your drink. Watch your drink – make sure nothing goes into the drink that should not be there.

Remember to have fun on your trip. Be aware, try to minimize any risk of something bad happening – but do not let this talk of safety prevent you from traveling. Traveling can be enjoyable and a ton of fun – just be careful, wherever you are!

Miscellaneous: Currency and Internet Access

Currency
It used to be that if you were going to a foreign country, you would have to get (a) traveler’s checks and (b) some of the foreign currency at a bad exchange rate in your home country. Today, however, you are likely to get better exchange rates by using either your bank card to withdraw cash from an automated banking machine or from using your credit card to pay for a transaction. Usually you will get a better exchange rate under these options. For both the bank and the credit cards, a surcharge can be assessed for any transaction that involves a different currency. Check with your bank/credit card company to find out when (if ever) a surcharge will be imposed. Getting some traveler’s checks is not a bad idea, even with ATMs. You could end up in a small town that does not have an ATM or the local ATM may not take your card. Also, if the traveler’s check is stolen, you will get your money back. Generally, most people like to carry traveler’s checks that are in a U.S. dollar denomination.

When you get into the foreign country for the first time on your trip (e.g. airport or train station), look for an ATM. Most airports and train stations (at least the ones to which we have traveled) have ATMs today. We usually get a better exchange rate using the ATM machine than we do if we go to the foreign exchange counter at the airport.

Internet Access
There are basically three ways to get internet access while traveling. Option 1: do not carry a computer and rely on an internet café or the business center of your hotel. If they exist, usually the internet cafes are the cheaper option. In some places, internet cafes can be difficult to find. While we had no problem finding them in Australia, Paris, etc. We did have a difficult time finding a café in Athens (but not in smaller towns in Greece).

Option 2: Carry a computer and rely on the internet accessibility from your hotel (via Ethernet or modem). Some hotels are wired for Ethernet and provide the service at a reasonable price.

Option 3: Carry a computer and rely on your computer’s wireless access card. These days you can get wireless access through a card or though a usb port. If you have wireless access you usually have to purchase your time through a local carrier. Often you will have the option of purchasing by the minute/hour or pre-paying for a fixed amount of time. Some countries (e.g. Australia) are quite good at offering wireless access in cafes and other public places. Others are not so good. You have to be careful when deciding which option you use for your wireless access. Some cafes will offer access under only one company – if you purchased time from another company you are out of luck.

Sometimes you can buy time from a “reseller” of a company’s wireless access service. The best reseller we have come across is Boingo, www.boingo.com. You can purchase daily access ($9.95 U.S.) or monthly access ($21.95 U.S.) – this gives you unlimited access for the period of your purchase (day or month). Boingo has teamed up with a number of providers across the world. There are lots of Boingo hotspots as a result. So if you are traveling a lot, this is a pretty good option. The website has a good search engine that allows you to see the number of hotspots in a given locale.