Weekend Word to the Wise (Rest & Relaxation)

Sometimes when we travel, we are in such a hurry to make our arrangements, we do a quick search, find what we think we're looking for and go. It's not uncommon. We're busy people and just squeezing in a few days away is a task in itself. Some of us have children, some of us have pets, weekends are busy and filled with all the things we can't manage to get done during the week. So when we finally make the decision to get away somewhere for a few days, we find the quickest solution and go with it.

But what if we were able to stop, take a breath, and take a minute to think about what our needs might be when we're traveling. Sometimes a hotel is our best option, but what if we could find something for the same price or less that helps us feel more "at home" than a standard hotel room?

I recently took a couple of days off work and my partner and I went to Port Aransas, Texas to spend some time on the beach. I found some very decently priced hotels very close to the beach but none of them accepted pets. (Our dogs don't like kennels and we don't blame them.) I did a search for cabins & bungalows and found some cottages two blocks from the beach. The price range for these cabins in the off season ranged from $69-$120 a night. We chose the medium sized cabin for $89 a night. Our cabin had a queen-sized bed, a small living area, a full kitchen and bathroom. The complex was clean and well lit at night. There were barbecue pits and picnic tables outside for guest use. Pets were welcome with no extra fees. And we were easy blocks to the beach.

Directly across the street from where we stayed was a chain hotel offering a standard room for $99 a night. They accepted pets also but with an extra $10 a night fee and did offer complimentary continental breakfast.

So, for less than the price of a standard room, we found a nice, homey place to spend a few days with our dogs in a cabin that was one of first beach cabins to be built in Port Aransas.

I suppose my whole point is that sometimes in the middle of our hectic attempts to make time for some well deserved rest & relaxation, it's good to take a deep breath, count to 10 and rethink your options. You might find you have more of them than you thought you did!

Budget for Your Vacation--Pt. 3 (What Kind of Traveler Are YOU?)

So now we've discussed some ways to save for your trip and how to budget for it but there are some other factors you need to take into account before you go much further.

We need to figure out: "What kind of traveler are you?"

In my opinion, it is important to know what kind of traveler you are because how travel defines you and how you define travel will ultimately affect your budget.

There are many different types of travelers and I don't believe that we are all one distinctive type of traveler, rather we are a combination of several types; however, I do believe that there is one defining type that stands out in us more than the others.

Types of travelers? Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you travel for enjoyment or is it something you feel compelled to do?
• Do you travel for extended periods of time or are you satisfied with quick weekend getaways?
• Do you like domestic travel or international travel?
• Do you make a budget and stick to it or are you a free spender when you travel?
• Do you enjoy solo travel or are you inclined to travel with a partner or travel buddy?
• Do you like to make your own itinerary or do you prefer to buy a tour package that takes care of all the details for you?
• Are you a history buff who has to see all the historical sites of the place you're visiting, do you prefer art and museums or maybe none of these?
• What about eco-traveling and adventure traveling?
• Are you mixing business and pleasure?
• Will you be taking some courses during your travel or perhaps making a pilgrimage to a religious site?

All of these things will have an overall impact on your budget and they should all be considered as you sit down to decide how much money you will need to make the trip of a lifetime. Personally, I am a mix of all of the above. I prefer traveling for extended periods of time but I also enjoy a long weekend getaway every now and then. I enjoy travel of all types, whether it's domestic or international, but I prefer international travel. I like to stick to a budget but I may decide to spend freely in one particular location. I enjoy traveling both solo and with company. I prefer to create my own personal itinerary when I travel but I am not opposed to purchasing a tour package if it meets my needs. I'm not a history or art buff but I do enjoy learning about what makes each city I visit unique and most of the time, that does involve history and art.

Do some broad research about the places you want to travel to and don't limit yourself to one location. Read about several places and pay attention to what grabs you the most. Is it the chance to see some long standing historical monument? Is it the idea of roughing it in a bare-bones eco-lodge on the beach? Is your favorite sports team going to be having several home games while you're visiting the area? Is there a particular religious monument you've read about since you were a child that stands out in your vacation dream?

If you started doing broad research into several cities across different countries, you probably have a good idea of which one of them stands out in your mind more than the others. Begin picturing yourself there and think about all the things you want to see and the places you'd want to visit while you're there. Find your dream location on google maps and go to the street view; do you see yourself walking down that street on your way to class or to dinner?

Once you're able to determine what type of traveler you are, you will be able to plan travel much more quickly and will have a much better idea of how to budget for your trip, even if you find yourself purchasing a last minute flight for an awesome price that you weren't anticipating.

Here are some fun little quizzes to try to help you figure out what type of traveler you are:

http://www.bootsnall.com/quiz/traveler/

http://www.nicolewilliams.com/connect/quiz-what-type-of-traveler-are-you

http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/awtqclF/What-Type-of-Traveler-are-You

http://www.davestravelcorner.com/backpackers/quizzes/quiz.php


And lastly, don't forget that no matter what type of traveler we believe we are, in the country to which we are traveling, we're probably just considered "tourists". Be kind. Be generous with yourself. Learn a bit of the language and enjoy yourself!

Budgeting for Your Dream Vacation

For those of you who don't know me personally, let me put this right out front for everyone to know. I am not rich. As a matter of fact, I made my very first trip to Europe while I was in the middle of bankruptcy (the kind you repay, not the kind where all your bills are written off).

I share this information with everyone because the most common statements I hear from people when they begin talking about their dream vacation is "I don't make enough money" or "I can't afford that kind of trip right now" or "Maybe when I'm retired".

So I'm asking you...if you can't travel right now, when will you be able to travel? If you can't afford to travel right now, when will you be able to afford to travel? If you aren't making enough money right now, in this economy, what are the chances you will be making a lot more in the years to come?

I ask you all this because I know from experience that for most of us living in the mid to low end of the middle class, these opportunities will probably never materialize. We will probably never get that fantastic paying job making a six-figure salary and as we grow older, our time will probably never be as free as we envision it being in the future. So I ask you, WHY WAIT?

Why wait until you have that job paying 100K a year? Why wait until you retire to take the trip of a lifetime?

I've learned a few things from personal experience that finally sunk in after it seemed everything was falling down around me and I'd like to share these things with you in the spirit of travel and adventure.

• There is no time like the present. You hear this saying all the time but do you ever really stop to think about it? My mom and dad had so many dreams for their retirement. They were going to travel throughout the U.S. My mom loves New Mexico and they really wanted to spend a good deal of time there. My dad retired a few years before my mom did so he had some time to bum around and live the carefree life for a bit while mom finished up her last few years of work. In the middle of waiting, my dad suffered a couple of strokes that incapacitated him and eventually led to his death. All their dreams gone in less than 2 years. I learned several things from my parents and from this experience: First, my parents instilled love of travel into me. We always took summer vacations to where ever my aunt happened to be stationed so I got to see a lot of the U.S. and Mexico this way and we always had a free place to stay. Second, life isn't going to stop just because we think we're finally ready to do what we've always wanted to do. If we don't do it now, we may never get to do it.

• If you think you'll never have the money to travel, you will never have the money to travel! As I said above at the opening of this post, I'm not rich. I don't have a rich mom or dad or grandmother or aunt or uncle to hand me money whenever I need it. What I make is what I live off of and if I need more, I take on more jobs. A few years ago, I bought a house. Owning a home when you're single isn't always easy but I felt I was up for the challenge. A few years after buying my home, all hell seemed to break loose at one time. The sewer line broke, my roof was leaking torrentially into my home, and all of a sudden, my tightly wrapped budget was coming apart faster than I could pick up the loose ends. I didn't have a contingency savings plan for emergencies. The only way I could do the major repairs on my home was to get behind on my house payments. The bank was about to foreclose so I filed for bankruptcy and went for the option that allowed me to pay my creditors back. The only problem was that the courts, in all their wisdom, garnished OVER HALF of my paycheck. With what was left, I had to make a house payment of over $1,000.00 plus my utilities, food, and gas. There was no way I could make that work so I began seeking part-time employment. The Lord blessed me with a second job and I began working evenings and weekends in addition to the occasional consulting I'd been doing for the last 15 years and my full-time job. It was not easy. I worked anywhere from 80-100 hours a week and was so tired I wasn't sure how I would continue to do it but I pushed myself to work day in and day out. It was in the middle of all of this that I would re-visit my old dream of traveling to Italy. I wasn't sure when I would make it there, my bankruptcy was a 5 year ball & chain and I could barely see myself making it out of my financial predicament anytime soon. But the more I worked, the more I wondered what I was doing all of this work for with nothing to show for it but a house, a car, and some material objects. It was about this time, my thinking began to change. If I was already making some changes in my spending habits, why not make more changes. The time was ripe for it and if I didn't do it now, then when???

These two times in my life were the impetus I needed to push me forward and propel me where I wanted to go...and where I wanted to was ITALIA!

Now that you know a little bit more about me and how I gave myself the opportunity to travel, in my next post, I will share with you some hints and tips that worked for me and helped me move in the direction of my dream vacation.

Make the Most of Your Time...Even While Traveling

Before I continue with my re-posts, I am going to make an intermediary note here.

Prior to finding out that my cousin would be spending time in Spain, I had made a decision to pursue my certification in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL).

I had done some research previously, trying to find a good school, but was vacillating on whether to do the course online or perhaps find a class that would allow me to do something both online and on-site. I couldn't do the entire course on-site (which was really my preference) because I couldn't take 4-5 full weeks away from work.

When I found out my cousin was going to be in Spain, I decided the time was right to pursue the certification and do the combo class. I found that one of the schools I had researched had responded favorably to my questions and gave me several references from students that had graduated from their program that felt the class was worth the money and some students that had gone on to find full-time work in various other countries.

The school had a class that fell in directly after the week I was going to be in Spain so the timing was perfect! The price I paid for the class would pay for my online portion with one on one tutoring and the two weeks of on-site classes, AND accommodation, while in Rome.

My biggest worry was that accommodations were supposed to be a 45 minute train ride outside the city then another 15 minute metro ride to the school. Normally, I wouldn't mind the idea of staying out of city. I love the smaller villages and towns of Italy. They are so peaceful and have such a wonderful feeling of community, my biggest worry was that classes would begin at 9:00 am and end as late as 9:00 pm. With the commute, my days would be tremendously long and I wasn't too sure about taking the train at night.

Financially speaking, it made perfect sense to mix vacation with school. I was already flying to Europe anyway so a large part of my budget would already be going to the flight. One of the bonuses was that this particular program's price paid for the classes PLUS the accommodations for not much more than I might have paid for accommodations alone for a two week stay in Rome.

If you're looking to mix your vacation with business or school on your travels to Europe, that is the perfect combination to save some money and get more accomplished than you thought you could!

Well...serendipity stepped in at just the right moment!! About two weeks before I was to leave to Spain, I received word from the school that I was the only student doing the combination course so I had the option to stay in the apartment in the village outside Rome by myself (with a long commute to school) or to rent a room from someone who was contracted with the school and who lived in the city center. The only catch was that I would need to pay an extra hundred euros. In my head, that was a no-brainer! I would be staying in city center about 8 stops away from the school with no need to change metros...great news as far as I was concerned!

My tip here is to do your research and to think outside the box when traveling. If you can mix cooking classes or a foreign language class with your vacation, consider it. It might be a great opportunity to ge to know the inner workings of the city you're visiting.

~ Lesson Learned From First Day in Madrid

For the first two trips I took to Europe, I only took one carry-on bag and another bag that I carried my computer and other travel essential items in, I didn't worry about losing any luggage because nothing was checked. For this trip, because I would be going to school for two weeks in Rome and I wasn't sure exactly what text books I would need, I packed two bags and checked them. I did not follow my own rule and pack extra clothes and toiletry items in each bag and as a result, had to buy some extra stuff I really didn't need for that first night. Lesson--Always pack at least one change of clothes and a toothbrush in your second bag in case your main bag gets lost.

I could have packed less. It's so hard to really predict the weather for the area you'll be traveling to and I thought I packed as light as I possibly could at the time but I probably could have left some of my long sleeved shirts out of the mix and lightened my load a bit. I did use my warmer clothes later while I was in Rome. I was glad I packed my light jacket because I used it quite a bit in Rome also, but I never once had to pull out the jacket or long-sleeves in Madrid. I could have purchased a cheap hoodie in Rome that would have doubled as a souvenir and worked as another layer to keep me warm if the weather turned colder. Lesson--Pack less and consider purchasing a less expensive equivalent to some of the clothing you might need, such as a hooded jacket or long-sleeved t-shirts.

~ Women Traveling the World! (Originally Posted 4/10/09)

In a recent survey of 500 women, 68% of the women in the survey said they had traveled alone at least once in the last 3 years.

Luckily for us, there are resources now that make traveling for women safer and more convenient. While most of us knowingly travel alone, it doesn’t mean we don’t want someone to chat with or meet up with during our journey. There are tons of resources for women who travel.

One of my favorite ones is Journey Woman. This website is chock full of resources for women travelers! They even offer a free monthly newsletter if you’re interested in one. One of the great links they have is to Hermail.net. Hermail is a safe way to find at least 2 contacts in the city to which you are traveling and anonymously exchange email with them.

This is a wonderful, FREE service available to any woman that might be traveling to somewhere she’s never been and would like to know more from someone who is in the know. In my case, I exchanged e-mails with Ann who offered some wonderful suggestions about where to eat and some things to do. In the course of our email exchange, we agreed to meet for lunch.

It is a great thing to meet new people and to know that during your travels you will encounter a friendly face that can also direct you to see things and visit places in a way no guidebook can match. Thanks to Hermail.net and thank you Ann for your insight and advice.

~ Transportation--The Final Word (Originally Posted 3/2/08)

Ok...I suppose by now you think I’ve beat a dead horse but I haven’t really. Aside from the money for your lodging, the money you spend on transportation will probably be your next largest expense so you need to make sure that your spending it wisely, no? I suppose if you aren’t a budget traveler like I am it might not be that big a deal but if you travel on a tight budget like I do, you’ll want to know exactly where your money is going and what you can do to save a bit if you can.

If you go back a couple of entries and read my first blog about transportation, you’ll see I mentioned that I traveled exclusively by rail when I went to Italy (minus the one coach trip). I basically tallied ahead of time the number of trips I would have to take using Rick Steve’s rail-friendly map and determined it would probably be cheaper to purchase my tickets for travel while I was in Italy and on the day of travel.

For the England trip, though, I’ve used the actual website for train travel in the UK (National Rail) and using it, determined that it would probably save me more money to purchase my rail pass now rather than wait.

You can purchase your rail passes through several websites as I pointed out in one of my earlier blogs, I used Rick Steves’ website and got 20% off some travel gear I wanted to order as well.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you do your research, (or hire me to do it for you) plan in advance and you’ll be fine.

Packing for Enland (Originally Posted in February 2008)