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RV Camping in Mexico

I have written about the need for extra protection when traveling/driving in Mexico and the importance of having all you ducks in a row when crossing the border in your car. Or when renting a car in Mexico, since they will NOT accept US insurance policies there as states do here in the continental U.S.

But I had never thought about renting or driving an RV into Mexico and lo and behold here is a great article from Suite 101 about RVing in Mexico. The article, titled appropriately "How to Plan an RV Camping Trip in Mexico" has great information about insurance, documents needed and what to expect from military checkpoints among other topics.

For anyone who isn't familiar with the aspects of driving in Mexico, it is a must read.

Summer Travel

In 2009, I published/offered a newsletter regarding the landscape for travel in the upcoming year. As I wrote one for this year however, I realized that 1) not many people read the first one and 2) information that is 6 months old does little good.

So I never published the 2010 Outlook but I did decide to write more frequent updates on the environment for travel in the upcoming year. Here is another post along those lines, only I 'lifted' it off the internet (not that I am offering it as my own writing) because it pretty much validated what I wrote last December anyway.

From U.S. News and World Report, this article 8 Travel Tips for the Summer gives clear and concise advice on what to expect this summer when booking travel. Like them, I have known that airfares were rising and hotel rates were still low (excepting in some areas) so it is good to know that I pegged the outlook correctly, even if no one read it!

I think the attached article/post will benefit anyone wondering about how travel will look this summer and especially whether they should book now or later.

Travel to Europe During Protests

Normally I do not post about travel and vacation spots where political protests are currently ensuing because 1) I assume everyone impacted already read the news and knows what to do or 2) they are spontaneous protests and not likely to last too long. So for those traveling to a certain country several months out won't have to necessarily change plans yet.

In the case of the protests in Greece recently, I am posting this article because more than one country seems to be impacted by this global unrest. Also, the site I found this post on also offers several other articles related to Greece and travel in Europe, so I knew anyone visiting this link may well benefit from the other posts as well. Lastly, Peter Greenberg is well known in the travel arena, so I know this information is top notch.

What I found was a post on his Worldwide blog that has a link to the U.S. Embassy's citizens service page so travelers can monitor day to day happenings. The post; Athens, Greece: Protests, Strikes Continue Amid Travel Warnings notes that there has been no travel alert posted about travel to Athens but that tourists should most certainly avoid the violent areas. Dodging a strike may be more difficult so their extra links provide great help for tourists already there or those planning to leave soon.

No one of course knows how long these 'strikes' and protests may last so if this post seems out of date, it is because (in my opinion) there may be more to come. 

Summer Travel Outlook

Most economic analysts were projecting an economic recovery in 2010 (albeit late 2010) and into 2011. Most travel experts knew the airlines would increase what they considered pathetically low airfares as soon as they saw ANY recovery begin. In the yearly outlook report that I started back in November 2009 (but never published), I also predicted increased airfares in summer of 2010, if not by Spring.

According to the Wall St. Journal, that is exactly what has happened. In an article titled "Travel Watch", they warned that airfares had risen 22% over 2009 levels and 4% higher than 2008, when fares and capacity had not been reduced as yet. Not so surprisingly, airfares to Europe have risen almost 30%. (Well, at least I'M not surprised. I predicted a pent up demand for travel - both to Hawaii and overseas coming in 2010). And the end is not nearly in sight. Next year forecasts to being a blockbuster year in travel - only held in check by a balky economy. But that very economy is strengthening daily so I see fares rising another 25% next year to boot!

Which means it is actually a BARGAIN to travel this year. (At least compared to what is coming over the next few years). You may well have seen the lowest fares you may see in your lifetimes over the last few years and now it will be time to pay the piper. The airlines will make sure of that!

How to Handle Overseas Exchange Rates

My personal view about exchange rates applies mostly to infrequent overseas visitors. Along with everything else that costs a lot of money about flying to Europe or Asia (airline fares, hotels, meals) it does NOT seem to me that worrying about exchange rates tops the list of things to worry about.

However, if you travel 3-4 times per year (like people i see in the hotel quite often), the exchange rate game MIGHT be something worth understanding.

Because I am no expert on this matter, I am deferring to a podcast I located recently that is titled Talking Travel: Watching those Exchange Rates. It is about a half hour in length but you can download the MP3 and listen to it at your leisure. If you have ever been flummoxed by returning from overseas and seeing outrageous exchange rate 'fees' from using your credit cards or ATM, this might be just for you.

More Flights Doesn't Always Mean Cheaper Fares

In a recent post, I noted that there were soon to be increased flights to Hawaii, especially from the West Coast. Usually, LOTS of increase in capacity involves lower fares (at least initially) but I guess when the destination is Hawaii, that doesn't apply.

In an ensuing article I found, it appears fares to Hawaii are NOT going down this summer - at least as anticipated. Of course, they ARE still cheaper than 2-3 years ago but that is small consolation to the parents of 2 kids who thought a vacation to Maui after school let out might be just the ticket to saving some money on a vacation this year. Prices shown in the article indicate that flying from certain cities (San Jose) are cheaper than from the big dog (S.F.) but are still in the $600 range while Oakland and SFO come in over $700.

This particular article indicates bookings should be done PRIOR to when you read this but do not be alarmed - you can find seats anyway and I suspect that since the 'discounts' are fairly dismal, you will find flights you can afford anyway.

Keep in mind the fine print - some 'sale' fares require check in at the Hawaii airport you are leaving from at near midnight with arrival in Oakland at 5am. This is the trade off for 'large' discounts so if you are like me and don't want to leave San Jose at 7 am (requiring a 3 am wake up and drive to airport in the dark) or arrive home exhausted after an all night flight just in time to watch the sun rise, paying more means getting more. And more means better flight times.

Current Trends in Travel to Europe

Given that Arthur Frommer is about the most premier voice in travel today, I could not help but pass along his thoughts about travel to Europe this summer.

Not only does he comment on fares and currency fluctuations but he offers some great advice about the usage of debit or credit cards.

You can find this recent entry here. If you are heading over the Pond this summer, his advice is very welcome indeed.

Haunted Castles of Ireland

When I saw this story I was intrigued not by the supernatural aspect but because I had written about renting castles in Europe in my honeymoon book. Naturally, I did not include haunted castles, since it is less than likely a new bride (or groom for that matter) would want to set out on their honeymoon with a ghost sighting. So I mentioned some castles in England and Ireland and Scotland that one could rent for a lovely adventure and was done with that topic.

But now, the category of 'haunted' castles can be explored and I offer this article only for those who have that sense of adventure about them and have already been to plenty of places and done plenty of things. While staying in a castle is not cheap, neither is staying in downtown Paris, so all things being semi-equal, it might not cost as much as you think to spend the night in a haunted castle. And at the least, you can tour them as well and not stay overnight.

You can find the article here. What you won't find here is the wherewithall to go through with it. Just like the dollars you will have to spend to go there, you'll have to summon up your own courage as well.

Fun and Games: Travel Quizzes To Boost Your Travel Knowledge

Here's a topic I have never written about - travel quizzes. If you are like me, travel quizzes used to be guessing the capitals of states or keeping a tally of out of state license plates. (Obviously we did not have in-car movies, iPods or cellphones when I was a kid. Even more obvious: we were easily amused.)

Well, lets say you were about to embark upon a once in a lifetime trip to the Middle East or Orient. One quick way to bone up on local trivia is to take a travel IQ quiz. If you can ignore the final score and not be interested in how 'smart' you are, you can simply examine the answers and gain valuable local knowledge.

I came across a listing of travel quizzes you can take either before or during a trip. I caution you will have to cut and paste the URL's as this source did not imbed them in the blog post, titled "Online Games and Quizzes to Test Your Travel IQ". I have not checked them all out so I cannot give you any insider pointers of which quiz is better than another quiz but I suspect you can figure it out yourself without much trouble.

Ever Wonder Which Airline Flights Are the Most Canceled?

You probably should.

Veteran travelers know that flying out early in the morning is less likely to be affected by planes not showing up from other points, since they generally are on the ground overnight. Vice-verse, taking a Southwest 8pm flight is MUCH more likely to be delayed or canceled since your particular plane could have flown 4-5 short routes that day and could have gotten stuck in any number of cities before it arrives at your particular airport.

Well, here some advice on how to determine which flights are MORE LIKELY to be late or have historically been canceled. I found it in this great blog post titled "Travel Maze: Playing Airline Russian Roulette". If you click on the link it provides, you can access data from the Dept./Bureau of Transportation concerning any specific flight or airport. In the article itself, you will discover a certain flight out of La Guardia to Boston's Logan was canceled over 1/6th of the time. And that Delta cancels flights out of La Guardia almost one percent more often than all other airlines.

This kind of information can make the difference to you choosing an individual airline, certain flight or even an airport stopover point. What's the old axiom - Knowledge is Power?