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Mexico City on the Map with a low Peso
Now is Mexico our new safe haven? Mexico has always been safer than news media wants to paint it. As writers confide quietly, they don’t get headlines by writing positives. They get headlines with fright and fear. Count the number of times scary words appear on google then count pleasant words, the scary ones have many more millions of mentions.
We will shortly be going to Mexico City, a global capital that spans pre Colombian times to 21 century art and architecture.…
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How to assess danger in travel
Our group of 19 women returned from Istanbul 3 days ago- see photo at left. The Women’s Travel Group looks at the US, UK and Canadian State Department notices for ongoing news. There had been an incident in Ankara; 1 or 2 women called nervously. What has now happened in Paris is sad and ironic for those who worried about Turkey! We found Istanbul not only safe but so welcoming to us as women and Americans.
After problems, security is tightest combined with the local population being on alert.…
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Can You Travel if You are Overweight?
Since most American women are larger today, the issue of travel and overweight is important. Specifically, can you travel and be comfortable if you are very overweight? Some tips from The Women’s Travel Group:
Here are the Yes’s and No’s:
Can you fit into the seat? United, for instance, will require you to purchase a second seat if they determine you need it. If you buy 2 seats together, you should buy them at the same time. If you do this at check-in, you will pay whatever fare is then available and might have to fly on another flight if 2 adjacent seats are not free.…
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Drinking Dangers when Traveling
Admit it most of us drink alcohol, wine, at least, when we travel. Wine is part of the meal experience and on some trips like Paris for the Holidays we include it. Drinking alcohol when you are traveling, comes with some serious cautions!!!!!
Some Do’s and some dangerous Don’ts.
Do enjoy a drink on the plane if it helps you relax. Secure important items like money, passport, docs, ipad so no one can intrude if you fall asleep. That might mean actually pushing your money container inside your pants and locking up your ipad in your overhead bag. …
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Quick Efficient Way to find out if a Place is Safe
This question came up today from a woman who is thinking of going to Iran with The Women’s Travel Group in August 2015. So here are a few quick ways to self-comfort and hush your family/friends about travel to unusual places:
Will our general travel insurance cover you? If the insurance company will cover you, then breathe easily. (Iran by the way, is covered by major travel insurance companies including ours, Travel Insured).
Is the place on a DO NOT GO actual warning from major Western governments?…
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Craziest Airline Meals
Some years ago, a Women’s Travel Group member ordered a vegetarian meal for her flight. Here is what she got: a snickers bar and an apple! Well the trip was to our favorite spa, Ixtapan Spa, and she joked the entire time about ‘selling her snickers’ bar to us dieters’. Joking aside, how to make the most of lousy airline food is not impossible.
Lets start with what NOT to eat. Airplanes make you gassy so avoid any foods like broccoli,onions,beans, carbonated drinks that already do that effectively.…
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Ten Unusual 'Don't take on Vacation" things
Credit cards for stores. We once had a woman show her Loehmann’s credit card as proof of identity- it worked but leave store/gasoline cards home.
Passwords on a piece of paper. If you must bring passwords, code them first. Take a photo of your list, and hide somewhere in your email account. A photo cannot be hacked.
Good costume jewelry; it might look real enough to get you robbed. And it will probably set off the TSA machinery if you wear it.…
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Snowed in
Well not exactly, but we thought we would be while listening to the news.If you were a solo traveler yesterday, you would have been nervous and thinking about cancelling your wonderful trip,right?
What do you do when you are abruptly cancelled from a trip departure? First have a list of all your reservations from the taxi, to pre-tour rooms, aiport lounges through the trip. Then speak with your tour operator and make sure they know you have an issue and ask for their imput.…
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When is a threat real? Or a real headline?
Rosemarie T., a close friend, shared this fact yesterday. Rosemarie just came back from her annual scientific trip to S. Africa and Namibia. As a curiosity, she measured the distance between Johannesburg and the closest ebola area (a tip of Nigeria where ebola is already eradicated). The distance is the same as that from Jo’burg to Central Canada and or Denver.
Why repeat her calculation? To show again that perceived threats from news media do not always have ‘meat’.
The best proof is the revolving door of headlines about danger. …
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Changing Money Overseas
The Euro is at a low (that is since it was created). But when you as a tourist try to change money it is not 1.15 but 1.40! What are the best ways to change money if you go to France with us end March?
The more you change the better the rate as a service charge amortizes better. Most of us do not carry enough cash to make a difference this way.
Change Bureaux in town are generally better than banks or airport venues.…
