Jim’s Travel Tips

Visiting Europe and want to see some of those wonderful castles? Friends of ours recently took a three year assignment in Europe and went on a driving trip in France visiting a number of castles. Thanks Doug & Julie. TIP: go to this web site http://www.french-at-a-touch.com/Chateaux/chateaux.htm

While many of the big name hotel chains have gone smoke free, frequent business travelers can’t always stay in these chains and, internationally, are hard to find. Here is a web site to help you find those smoke free hotels. TIP: go to http://www.smoke-freehotels.com/

Traveling over seas and want a site that specializes in International flight planning? I found as much as a $2000 saving on a Business Class ticket to Rome. They also have a 3D seating chart. TIP: go to www.vayama.com

When this next site provides you with a fare quote, it gives you a forecast indicator arrow. Green means the fare will likely be going up, so buy it now. A red arrow means to wait as it will likely be going down. My son tried out this page for a recent trip, but found that both airports he was using (Grand Rapids, MI and Tampa, FL) were not part of the system, so he couldn’t get any rate forecast information.  So, I’m guessing this will only forecast for very large airports.  However, there is a feature to request future forecasting for your airport if it isn’t already supported.  Again, I haven’t tried it personally, but just thought I’d pass it along. TIP: Try www.farecast.live.com

Here is an airline booking site that finds you the best flights and tracks the price and notifies you when the price drops. They claim you can get refunds if the fare drops even after you buy the ticket. I haven’t tried it so if someone out there can post a comment we would appreciate it. TIP: Try www.yapta.com

What time is it, anyways? Traveling often involves different time zones. On a trip this spring my wife and I went to the Phoenix area just after the spring time change. Arizona is normally in the mountain time zone, but they do not follow daylight savings time, so when we arrived they were the same as west coast time - I was confused for a while, I had assumed they would be in Mountain Daylight Time. Traveling over the ocean can be just as confusing, especially right around our daylight and standard time changes. TIP: go to this website for all world time checks: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock

Standard packing lists always aid in assuring proper items are packed. We personally have lists in different categories like standard trip packing, condo trip, and camping trips. Here are two websites that can assist in list making. TIP: utilize sites like: www.onebag.com and www.dontforgetyourtoothbrush.com to at least get you started.

Here’s a quick, fun tip: Want a preview of travel destinations? The web site here is kind of like the Youtube of travel. www.travelistic.com

Traveling to foreign countries can bring up health concerns. Here is a web site that provides information and guidance for the individual traveler. It provides a “search by country section” and a health topic search for information. As with all health issues your personal physician should be consulted. TIP: go to: www.tripprep.com/scripts/main/default.asp

The cruising industry has taken a page from the Las Vegas Hotel book – bigger and better is the key to success. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines has a new mega ship coming next year (2009) – check it out: www.oasisoftheseas.com

Also check out Norwegian Cruise Line’s new F3 class: www.f3.ncl.com/main.html