Don't have time for the routine processing of a passport or visa? Can't drive to a specific consulate and apply in person? Apply here for assistance with a passport or visa. Whether you need a routine or expedited passport, this company can help you. Their fees are lower than some of their competitors!
Our favorite source for travel clothing, luggage, and accessories is Holloway's Travel Outfitters. Their website is www.packinglight.com This store has been in business since 1978 and has been providing personal service ever since. You can be assured that they will do their best to get you the products you need, whether this means special-ordering them for you, helping you with a refund/replacement, or getting an item repaired. If you order online from them, as a special thank-you from Distinctive Destinations, they will give you a 10% discount on all items ordered. Just follow this link. Once you are ready to pay for your online order, use this coupon code: PL-SALE4U
Or you can create your own travel packing list based upon the number of travelers, your destination, accommodations, weather, and tour activities. Go to this link:
Are you traveling with a Camera? Two Cameras? Backpack? Passport? Purse? Cellphone? Laptop? MP3 player? iPod? DVD player? Keys? Videocamera? Lenses? Your prescription glasses? What if you lost one of these? What if you left it in the airport? On the plane? In a hotel room? In a restroom? In a restaurant? On a bus or taxi? Would the finder know how to get it back to you?
Here is a way to label all your portable items to give you peace-of-mind while you are traveling. It is called StuffBak. Put a special label on your portable items that has an ID code linked to your contact information. The finder only needs to call the listed number and report the loss. Your item is then on its way to you at no charge to the good-samaritan finder, and the finder gets a $20 reward (plus anything you offer!).
Click here or on the image below to make your way and order all the labels you need and the sizes you want. You even get a 10% discount because you found your way through this site (promotional word travel).
If you travel internationally, you may want to consider those labels that display a non-800 number. The compact labels are one of these, as well as the international small label.
Be sure to check out the Premium Service too, which ensures no recovery fees for 5 years for only $20. And, if you sign up for the Premium Service, you get 20% off your label orders, not just 10% off!!
5.Honeymoon Registry
Would you like your wedding guests to help pay for your honeymoon? Here is an easy way to set up your honeymoon registry. We can help you plan your honeymoon, anywhere in the world. We can list all the activities separately, if you want, or put them together as part of a package. You then list the trip and/or activities that you are planning, and send a link to your honeymoon website to your invited guests. This helps them know what you'd like as a wedding gift, especially if you already have household items. You can also plan a nicer honeymoon this way than you might think you can afford. Let us help you with the honeymoon of your dreams. You don't have to be limited by the ideas here.
We'd like to make you aware of a service to store copies of your travel documents online. That way, should you need to retrieve evidence of your documents, you can do so via any internet connection. Go to www.passportsupport.comYou can store your Passport front page, visas, airline tickets, driver's licence, travellers cheques, credit cards and any other documents you wish up to a limit of 20MB. Documents must be stored in .jpg, .bmp or .pdf form. The cost is A$15 per year (about $12 US).
7. Making and Receiving Calls While Traveling Internationally
Cheaper than rental - International cell phones for just $49 For just $49 you get an international cell phone with zero monthly access for life—when you don’t make calls you don’t pay a cent. Plus, it works in over 140 countries. Or, for $99 get a phone that works in over 160 countries, including the U.S.. Click on the link to learn more and purchase the phone.
Here is an excellent CNN article about making calls cell phone calls overseas.
In addition, here is a detailed discussion of all the "ins" and "outs" of international calling. This is the most extensive analysis we know of.
Distinctive Destinations has partnered with Mobal Communications to bring you the $49 Mobal World Phone. This means that you can purchase an international cell phone for the same price as just one week's rental from most other phone companies, but you keep the phone for life.
Europlugshave 5-6 socket power strips. All you do is use the appropriate adapter plug, and you’ll be able to charge up to 5 items simultaneously—only needing one adapter plug!
9. Letting friends/relatives keep track of your trip.
Do you want a website to post information about your journey? Or how about your very own blog? Here are two ideas for you to use while traveling to share your journey with your friends.
You can Create your own travel website with just a few clicks:
- plot your journey on maps with the IntelliMap System
- store & display your photos, stories and experiences
- post internet movie clips
- exchange messages with friends and family
- control who views your ad-free personal travel website
- download a permanent archive at the end of your trip
And, here is a link to Travelpod.com Export your address book into your site here, and each time you post a report on your blog you can have a message be sent to everyone to check in for an update. With Travelpod you get:
• FREE membership • Upload unlimited photos • Unlimited personal travel maps • E-mail notify up to 500 friends and family of updates • Your travelogues will never expire • Upload unlimited MP3s and videos • Use your mobile phone to update your blog • Unlimited travelogues • Allow your guests to comment on your posts • Spell checker • Integration with Rabble mobile •Collect donations from your guests (patent pending) • Go Ad-free and password protect your blog with our enhanced membership.
10. Child Travel IDs
Here is a link to an inexpensive source where you can get ID cards for your children/grandchildren who don't have government-issued IDs. Although not "official", they can be used if you get lost from your children or your child is traveling through airports alone.
You can forward virtually any excess baggage or unaccompanied luggage to more than 200 countries worldwide. You can ship luggage to your hotel, cruise line, golf course, residence or office where it will be awaiting your arrival. Forwarding your luggage is convenient, secure and guaranteed to arrive on time. Shipments may be booked as many as 180 days or as few as two business days prior to your required delivery date. Click here and your forwarding requirements will be processed by Luggage Forward's proprietary Automated Routing Control system. You will choose class of service, pick up times and custom insurance amounts for each item. Based on your selections, a total shipment price will be given before you confirm the shipment. Anything you would normally check, and even some things you couldn’t, can be forwarded directly to your destination in over 200 countries. Typical orders include luggage, sports equipment or family items.
12. Travel Medicine
Travel Med Inc. of Northern California
The
Sacramento area is blessed to have two travel medicine clinics for the public. Travel Med Inc. has two offices: one in Sacramento and one in Folsom. Their website is http://www.passporthealthnca.com/ You can contact them by calling
As a part of your clients' visit with one of their Travel Nurse Specialists, they receive a personalized travel health briefing booklet with all of the information they'll need to have a safe and healthy trip.
What began as a little book to help students studying overseas is growing into a family of guides designed to assist all Americans traveling abroad. The website www.worldcitizensguide.com has a free guide to encourage understanding of some basic, yet important, principles about traveling, working, and living around the globe.
15. Travel Smith
We have an arrangement with Travel Smith. For your purchases, if you give them this "key", you'll get 10% off. Just let them know that you have a catalog that has this key on it: GA9002. Either call 800-950-1600 or go online at http://www.travelsmith.com If the discount isn't reflected in the online price at checkout, just call them (they are having some problems with their software.)
16. Digital Photo Storage
When you are on long international trips, taking many photos, you have choices as to how you retain your photos. If you are traveling with a laptop, you can copy them to the hard drive. You may be able to copy them to CDs if your schedule allows and you have access to locations with that service. You can carry multiple memory cards. Or you can purchase a memory card reader/storage unit. The kind we like to use is made by Wolverine Data. They have a number of products where you insert your memory card, copy it to the data storage unit, and then erase the card for re-use. The cost of the units varies from $100-$300 with the size of storage and whether you want to be able to view the images on a screen. You can read more about them at http://www.wolverinedata.com/index.php/site/quicklinks/C13/ Once you are back home, just attach the unit to your computer and copy the photos to your computer.
17. Currency Exchange Rates
18. Calculating the Cost of Your Trip
In today's economy it's important that you feel comfortable that you can afford the trip you have your eyes on. Here is a link to a trip calculator, that allows you to identify all the related costs of the trip, and get a printout for your review. http://www.independenttraveler.com/travel-budget-calculator/ Most travelers tend to do a quick accounting of the big expenses -- airfare, hotel, car rental, park or attraction admission -- add them up, and call it a budget. However, there are lots of small costs adding up to big expenses in the end, and the less obvious costs incurred while traveling can turn out to be the actual budget breakers. Toward creating a more accurate budget, remember to research and include the following when planning:
Parking at airports or attractions
Attraction entry fees
Activity costs such as bike rentals, scuba lessons, boat rides, etc.
Hotel tips and parking where necessary
Rental car gasoline
Pricey airport and theme park meals
Internet access
Cell phone roaming charges
Travel insurance
Equipment rentals such as child seats, strollers and the like
19. Determining where ATMs can be found
Both the Visa/Plus system and the MasterCard/Cirrus system have websites where you can locate ATMs. It's a good idea to know in advance where an ATM is located. Of course that is no guarantee that the ATM will be working or that it accepts international cards. But at least it's a starting place.
10. Calculating an airline's luggage limits and costs
Airlines today charge fees for checked baggage. These fees change frequently. Use this handy tool to calculate what the costs are for the airline that you are flying, or considering flying.
