Holiday Travel: How to Pack Lighter

During the past few years, most airlines have changed their baggage policies. It’s now very common to pay a fee for every checked bag, even the first. And, there are additional fees for overweight or oversized bags.

This can make packing for a holiday season vacation a particular challenge. You want to minimize the number of bags you take, but winter’s cold calls for thicker clothing, which takes more space to pack, which means more bags, which means more fees. Because you’d surely rather spend your money on holiday gifts and fun than on baggage fees, here are some strategic packing tips for winter travel:

 

Don’t pack anything without asking yourself this important question: “Do I really need this?” It may help to make a list of the days you’ll be away and what you’ll do and wear each day. You may discover opportunities to wear the same items more than once – especially if you’ll have access to a laundry.

Select clothes that you can layer. Packing a t-shirt that can be layered with a button-down shirt and/or a light sweater may be better than packing one heavier (and bulkier) sweater.

Shoes are notorious for taking up luggage space. Think about the shoes you’ll really need on your trip and leave any others behind. It may be worth investing in a pair of comfortable shoes that look good with both casual and dressy attire. Another idea is to wear your heaviest pair of shoes on the plane.

If you simply must pack some bigger items (perhaps you’re going on a ski vacation and really do need that fleece jacket, down vest, wool socks and other cold-weather gear), consider shipping some items – including your holiday gifts – ahead to your destination. Ship early enough that the package will arrive before you do.

 

As always, check the Transportation Safety Administration’s list of prohibited items for carry-on and/or checked bags, available at www.tsa.gov. Remember that some sporting goods (such as ski poles) are OK in checked bags, but can’t be in a carry-on bag. Some festive items, such as the fireworks you’d like to set off at midnight on New Year’s Eve, are never allowed in either carry on or checked bags.

For more tips on what to bring on your holiday trip, talk with your travel professional – then, start packing!

Holiday Travel: What to do at the airport

An airport full of cheery holiday travelers can be a festive scene, but check-in and security lines can often get long. Travel professionals have lots of advice for staying merry while dealing with airport crowds and delays, and the most important advice is to arrive early and have patience.

In general, arrive two hours before flight time for a domestic flight, and three hours ahead for an international flight. If you know your airport well, you may decide that you don’t need that much time – but, take care. Don’t run the risk of arriving too late to park, check in, check your bags, pass through security, and make it to your gate before the plane door closes.

If you didn’t check in and print your boarding pass at home or have it on your smartphone, use a self-service check-in kiosk at the airport. Then, have any luggage that you need to check weighed and tagged – or pack lightly enough that you can carry-on your bag with the understanding that you can often gate check it if those bins become full. Remember that most airlines limit passengers to one small carry-on bag and just one other carry-on item, such as a tote bag, purse or laptop computer case.

As you approach the security checkpoint, keep your boarding pass and identification handy. If you have a quart-size bag of toiletries in your carry-on, make sure it’s easy to reach and ready to place in a security tray. Put anything in your pockets or on your person that might set off a metal detector – cell phone, loose change, a belt with a metal buckle, a watch, etc., along with your laptop computer – in the security trays, too. In consideration of others around you, begin the process of having each of these items out of your bag as you approach security.

After you’re cleared by security, be sure to gather all of your belongings before you leave the area.

If you have time, sit down to enjoy a snack or purchase some food to take on your flight. Remember that most domestic flights now have a very limited selection of snacks on board.

Finally, call up reserves of patience when you need them. Children traveling by plane for the first time may be overexcited, passengers who aren’t familiar with security procedures may hold up the line, and busy servers may get your sandwich order wrong. Keep your sense of humor and remember that the reason you’re traveling is to enjoy the holidays. With a little patience, you’ll arrive in the right frame of mind for a joyous holiday celebration.

Holiday Travel: What to do before you leave for the airport

Spending time with family and friends during the winter holidays is wonderful, but the travel required to be with the ones you love can often be challenging. From Thanksgiving through­­­­­ New Year’s Day, the holidays are one of the year’s busiest times for travel. You can’t control the crowds, but you can take steps that will help you move as smoothly as possible through the airport. And, preparation begins at home.

A week or two before you leave, think about the routine around your home and make arrangements accordingly. For example, do you need to stop mail delivery, or can a trusted neighbor collect it for you? Think about plants that may need water, snow that may need shoveling, and putting a light or two on a timer switch so that your home looks occupied.

Inspect your luggage and make sure it’s in good condition for travel. Any seams should be fully closed, latches and buckles should work properly, and zippers and wheels should move smoothly. If not, repair or replace it.

Pack as lightly as possible. Leave some room in your luggage for things you may pick up during your travels. Don’t wrap gifts that you’re bringing with you, as security personnel may open the packages. You may even consider shipping those gifts ahead of time so your bags remain as light as possible.

Follow the Transportation Security Administration’s guidance on liquids, gels and powders: most are OK in checked baggage, but if they are in your carry-on bag they cannot be more than three ounces each and must all fit in a quart-size, transparent plastic bag.

Check in online within 24 hours of your departure and print your boarding pass at home. This will re-confirm your seat (remember that many planes are overbooked during the holidays). Some airlines have mobile applications that will let you store your boarding pass on your mobile phone.

On the day you leave, dress simply – you don’t want to deal with layers of sweaters and jackets, lots of jewelry or complicated shoes at the airport security checkpoint.

Just before you leave home, check your flight’s status to confirm that it’s on time.

Finally, if you’re taking your own car to the airport, investigate parking options. Consider using an off site lot where you can make a reservation so you won’t have to waste time looking for an open parking space.

Knowing that you’ve prepared well, get excited about your trip!

For more pre-flight travel tips, talk with your travel professional.

The Best Holiday Travel Adivice: Book Early

There’s still plenty of time to get your holiday shopping done, unless you’re shopping for holiday-season travel. If you haven’t made travel arrangements for Thanksgiving or the end-of-year holidays yet, act fast. And, if you plan to travel for Spring Break 2013, make those reservations now.

Travel agency owners, managers and agents who responded to the Travel Leaders Group 2012 Fall Travel Trends Survey indicated that there’s little time left to find good value on Thanksgiving travel. When asked to compare 2012 Thanksgiving travel bookings to bookings at this time last year, 72.3 percent of survey respondents said their bookings are equal to or higher than last year.

When is the ideal time to make travel arrangements for Thanksgiving and other peak travel times? Six months in advance, according to a majority of Travel Leaders Group’s travel professionals.

When asked to compare end-of-year holiday travel bookings (the time immediately prior to Christmas through the New Year’s holiday) to 2011 bookings, 76.7 percent of the survey respondents said that 2012 bookings are equal to or higher than last year.

The key reasons for the urgency is that there are fewer domestic airlines than there were just a few years ago, thanks to mergers between many carriers. Additionally, because of continued economic uncertainty, airlines have reduced capacity on their remaining flights, meaning that there are less seats available. Since most of the agents who responded to the survey also indicated that their holiday travel bookings are up over a year ago, that means that the closer you get to the date of travel, the more difficult it could be to find the flight you want.

Looking ahead, the majority of the survey respondents advised that travelers who want to lock in the best airfares and resort pricing for Spring Break should make reservations now. Here are their top three reasons why travelers should not wait until the last minute to book Spring Break flights and accommodations:

·         Reduced airline seating capacity. Airlines continue to cut costs by cutting back on flights, and even cutting some routes completely.

·         Lock in airfare costs. Flights tend to get more expensive as the departure date draws closer; last-minute values are few.

·         Lock in hotel/resort pricing. Like the airlines, hotels and resorts tend to reward vacationers who book early.

However far in advance you make travel arrangements, here are the top ways to get the most value for your dollar, according to Travel Leaders Group travel agents:

·         Be as flexible as possible on your travel dates.

·         Be flexible on the time of day you travel.

·         Book your air travel as part of a tour or cruise package.

For more helpful advice and assistance with your holiday and vacation travel plans, talk with your travel professional.

Top U.S. Destinations for Fall 2012

The glamorous desert oasis of Las Vegas, the lush island beauty of Maui and the theme park capital of Orlando top the list of the most popular vacation destinations in the U.S. for fall 2012.

That’s according to the Travel Leaders Group 2012 Fall Travel Trends survey, which asked its U.S.-based agency owners, managers and agents about the vacations they are booking for clients for the remainder of this year.

 Ever-popular Las Vegas maintains its 2011 position at top of the list. It’s hard to beat this city’s combination of glittering hotels and casinos, shops and clubs, entertainment and dining. On the famed Las Vegas Strip, Caesars Palace just opened the 668-room Octavius Tower, which offers a luxurious hotel-within-a-hotel experience. Downtown, the brand-new Smith Center for the Performing Arts is presenting world–class musical, dance and theater performances near the popular casinos and overhead light show on Fremont Street.

Maui moved up from fifth to second in this year’s survey, overtaking Honolulu as the top destination in Hawaii. Maui’s beautiful beaches, waterfalls, and sunrises viewed from the 10,000-foot Haleakala volcano are timeless pleasures, but the island always offers something new. For example, Wailea’s first Wine and Food Festival will be held December 6-9, on the grounds of a lovely oceanfront resort complex.

Orlando is another perennial favorite: Walt Disney World Resort and a host of other attractions  ensure that there’s always something to do to in the Central Florida sunshine. Disney World recently opened The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow attraction, to the delight of Pirates of the Caribbean fans. On December 6, more new attractions – such as Journey of the Little Mermaid and the Be Our Guest Restaurant – will open in the resort’s Fantasyland area.

The rest of the top ten domestic destinations are also terrific options for a fall vacation – you could accomplish some holiday shopping in these locations, too. They are:

4. New York, NY

5. Honolulu, HI

6. San Francisco, CA

7. Washington, DC

8. Chicago, IL

9. Los Angeles, CA

10. Fort Lauderdale, FL

For help planning your fall getaway, talk with your travel professional.

Celebrate Halloween Where it all Began: Ireland

If you’re past the appropriate age for trick-or-treat, consider giving yourself a treat this Halloween by traveling to the place where Halloween began: the Emerald Isle of Ireland.

Beginning in the fifth or sixth century, the Celtic harvest festival of Samhain marked the end of summer and the beginning of winter in what is now Ireland. As the seasons changed, the Celts believed that the dead were able to briefly return to the mortal world. They lit bonfires to ward off the cold and the darkness of the long nights, as well as the ghosts.

In the eighth century, Christians declared All Saints’ Day/All Hallows’ Day to be November 1 and the Celts began to celebrate Samhain each October 31. The festival became known as All Hallows’ Eve, a name that evolved to Halloween.

As in the U.S., modern Halloween in Ireland is celebrated with costumes, decorations, parties and trick-or-treating. Some parties are city-wide events: the Northern Ireland city of Derry is noted for its Banks of the Foyle Halloween Carnival. As many as 30,000 people congregate inside the historic district’s medieval walls for a grand carnival with live music and fireworks.

Dublin hosts a huge Halloween parade along O’Connell Street. After the parade, travel a few miles north of the city to tour Malahide Castle. The castle was recently refurbished, but according to legend, it is still “home” to five ghosts said to have haunted the historic structure for centuries.

In Dublin or the city of Belfast, you can take a Halloween Ghost Bus Tour, a very comfortable yet awesomely scary ride. You’ll hear gruesomely fascinating tales of jilted brides, prisoners, executioners, plague victims and other unsettled spirits believed to occupy haunted places in the city.

If you’re offered a slice of Bambrack Cake, look at it carefully before you take a bite. According to custom, there is a piece of rag, a coin and a ring in each of these traditional fruitcakes. If your piece has the rag, you might worry a little bit about your financial future. The coin is a sign of a prosperous year to come, and the ring signals a new romance, or continued happiness in your current romance.

Many other cities and towns throughout Ireland hold special Halloween events. To find out more about how you can be part of the fun, talk with your travel professional.

Enjoying the History and Beauty of New Zealand

New Zealand, with its relative isolation in the South Pacific, was settled by humans much later than other lands. Polynesians arrived in New Zealand around 1250 and developed the indigenous Māori culture; the first Europeans – explorer Abel Tasman and his crew – to reach New Zealand arrived in 1642, and James Cook mapped the coastline in 1769.

By 1840, New Zealand became a British colony for protection against other European nations that wanted to claim land there. The Constitution Act of 1852 established New Zealand as a largely-self-governing colony. In 1907, New Zealand became a completely self-governing dominion of the British Empire; and in 1947, 65 years ago, New Zealand became a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations that honor Queen Elizabeth II as their constitutional monarch.

While New Zealand’s governance status has changed through the years, its status as one of the world’s most scenic places has not. The nation’s two main islands, North Island and South Island, offer vistas that are distinctively different and equally worth your time.

The North Island has forests of kauri trees, wonderful beaches and harbors, volcanic landscapes, geothermal features and the center of Māori culture.

The city of Auckland is home to nearly one-third of New Zealand’s population. This multicultural city is united by a love of sailing, evidenced by the approximately 135,000 yachts and launches in its marinas. Another must-see is the city of Rotorua, a center of Māori traditions that is also dotted with geothermal features such as geysers, bubbling mud pools and hot springs. The North Island also has eight major volcanoes, the most beautiful of which is the symmetrical cone of Taranaki.

The South Island is larger, less populated and more mountainous that the North Island. Much of the scenery is dominated by the beautiful Southern Alps, which stretch the length of the island.

Christchurch is the island’s urban center, but some of its major structures were badly damaged in recent earthquakes. Still, there is a lot to do and see in this British-influenced city, including lovely gardens, a variety of museums and art galleries, and striking Gothic Revival architecture.

The South Island also has New Zealand’s largest wine region, Marlborough, where you can sample fabulous Sauvignon Blanc. Visit the Kaikoura Peninsula for excellent whale- and dolphin-watching opportunities. Hiking trails lead up to panoramic views of the town from the Seaward Kaikoura Mountains.

Beaches, ski areas, adventure sports, deep sea fishing – not to mention excellent shopping and dining – are all ready to be enjoyed in New Zealand. To plan your trip, talk with your travel professional.