America's National Parks

"Who will gainsay that the parks contain the highest potentialities of national pride, national contentment, and national health? A visit inspires love of country; begets contentment; engenders pride of possession; contains the antidote for national restlessness. It teaches love of nature, of trees and flowers, the rippling brooks, the crystal lakes, the snow-clad mountains peaks, the wild life encountered everywhere amid native surroundings. He is a better citizen with a keener appreciation of the privilege of living here who has toured the national parks."

Stephen Tyng Mather
First Director of the National Park Service
 1917 to 1929

Over the years, I have enjoyed visiting some of our national parks.  We have 8 of them here in California, and I have visited 5 of those.  I have also visited both of the national parks in Hawaii.  My favorite of the parks I have visited is probably Yellowstone, just because it is so different.  But I also love the Grand Canyon and the parks in Utah that we visited.  The national parks are a great way to get away from the city, and to enjoy nature.  Yes, they are sometimes crowded, especially in the summer months.  But even then, there are still areas of the parks where you can get away from the crowds and explore nature.  Besides national parks, there are also national memorials (such as Mt. Rushmore), National Historic Parks (Jean Lafitte in Louisiana), National Cemeteries (Arlington), National Military Parks (Gettysburg), and national monuments (such as Pt. Loma and Cabrillo here in San Diego).  They are all protected and maintained by the US government.

Sequoia National Park, California

The United States has 58 protected areas known as national parks, which are operated by the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior. National parks must be established by an act of Congress. The first national park, Yellowstone, was signed into law by President Grant in 1872, followed by Sequoia and Yosemite in 1890. The National Park Service’s duty is "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."  National parks usually have a variety of natural resources over large areas.  Many of them had been previously protected as National Monuments by the President, before becoming upgraded by Congress.

Twenty-seven states have national parks.  There are also national parks in American Samoa and the United States Virgin Islands.  Alaska and California have the most, each with eight, followed by Utah with five and Colorado with four. The largest national park is Wrangell–St. Elias in Alaska and the smallest is Hot Springs, Arkansas.  The total area protected by national parks is approximately 51.9 million acres.  The most-visited national park is Great Smoky Mountains, with over nine million visitors in 2011, followed by the Grand Canyon, with over four million.   The least visited is the remote Lake Clark in Alaska.   Fourteen national parks are designated World Heritage Sites.  The complete list of national parks can be found at the following website:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_parks_of_the_United_States


In 1986 the national parks started its passport program.  You can get a passport book at any of the national parks or by ordering it online.  The passport book is also a guidebook and it is an easy way to learn about and explore all of our national park sites.  It also includes maps, illustrations and photographs.  Spaces in each region are designated for you to collect rubber stamp cancellations at each national park site you visit. The cancellations, similar to those received in an international passport, record the name of the park and the date you visited.   There is also a commemorative stamp series which can be purchased and placed in the booklet.  The photos used on the stamps are taken by park employees and volunteers and are selected through an annual photo contest.

Denali National Park, Alaska

There are fees to enter our national parks, of course.  The fees vary from park to park.  If you plan on visiting several parks in one year then I suggest you purchase an annual pass.  It will save you money.  A pass is your ticket to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites. Each pass covers entrance fees at national parks and national wildlife refuges as well as standard amenity fees at national forests and grasslands, and at lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation. A pass covers entrance and standard amenity fees for a driver and all passengers in a personal vehicle at per vehicle fee areas (or up to four adults at sites that charge per person). Children age 15 or under are admitted free.
The following passes make up the series:

Annual Pass -  $80 annual pass - Available to everyone.  Non-transferable.

Free Annual Pass for U.S. Military -  Available to U.S. military members and dependents in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard and also, Reserve and National Guard members.
Must be obtained in person at a Federal recreation site by showing a Common Access Card

Falls in Yellowstone NP, Wyoming

Senior Pass -  $10 Lifetime pass - For U.S. citizens or permanent residents age 62 or over.  May be obtained in person at a federal recreation site or through the mail.  The cost of obtaining a Senior Pass through the mail is twenty dollars ($20). Ten ($10) for the Senior Pass and ten ($10) for processing the application. Applicants must provide documentation of age and residency or citizenship.

Access Pass - There are also free passes available for U.S. citizens with permanent disabilities.  Documentation of disability is required.

Pets are permitted in most national parks, however, they have limited access to the parks.  In general they are not allowed on most trails.  So, if you are taking your pet with you, be aware that you will be limited on what you can do in the park.  You never want to leave your animals alone in a car, that is dangerous for the animal, especially in warm weather.  But also, because most of our national parks are in areas where there are wild animals, and a dog is considered food to those animals.  Bears will tear cars apart to get food from a car, they would probably do the same if they saw a dog in a car.  You can drive around most parks with an animal in the car, and stop at lookout points with them, but in some parks you can't really see anything until you hike a trail.  We took our dog to Yellowstone and we had to take turns staying with the dog while the other one walked out to where the geysers were.
 

Yosemite National Park, California

So now that you know a little about the national park system, why not go out and explore America’s national parks.  Experience your America, get away from the city and into the wilderness, or learn about our history.  My husband and I visited several of our national parks just this year, and they were beautiful and a great way to get away from our everyday lives.

In future posts I plan to highlight different national parks and talk about them and what there is to see.  It will be a new destination series - Destination - America's National Parks, and I will have a link to those parks on the side column, similiar to my regular Destination Series Link.

Destination – French Polynesia

“French Polynesia embraces a vast ocean area strewn with faraway outer islands, each with a mystique of its own. The 118 islands and atolls are scattered over an expanse of water 18 times the size of California, though in dry land terms the territory is only slightly bigger than Rhode Island. The distance from one end of the island groups to another is four times further than from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Every oceanic island type is represented in these sprawling archipelagoes positioned midway between California and New Zealand. The coral atolls of the Tuamotus are so low they’re threatened by rising sea levels, while volcanic Tahiti soars to 2,241 meters. Bora Bora and Maupiti, also high volcanic islands, rise from the lagoons of what would otherwise be atolls."

David Stanley, Moon Tahiti

The pool at our hotel on the Island of Tahiti
Moorea is across the water in the background

 

Looking from the Island of Tahiti across to the Island of Moorea

My husband and I went to French Polynesia in 2008.  As a travel agent, I knew a little about Tahiti and the other islands, since I had booked them for clients, and had heard from them about their vacations.  But I had never actually experienced it myself.  I didn’t realize until we got there, just how very romantic, and beautiful the place was.  It was Hawaii, before Hawaii became so commercial, only more remote and beautiful.  The water was bluer and clearer than any I had ever seen.  And because the islands are all surrounded by coral atolls, the water was smooth as glass, perfect for snorkeling or swimming.

French Polynesia is made up of 118 islands.  There are five main island groups - the Society Islands, the Tuamotus, the Marquesas, the Australs and the Gambier Archipelago. For this posting I am only going to talk about the 3 islands we visited on our trip, all of which were in the Society Islands.

 

The downtown harbor area
of Papeete

The island of Tahiti is the main island in this grouping.  Tahiti’s capital city is Papeete, which is where your plane will land.  If you are going on to another island, you may then change to another flight and go directly to that island, but if you have the time, spending a few days on the main island is worth it.  It is the most commercial of the islands, but still very Polynesian, and the city itself is small.  There are some wonderful resorts to stay in.  And plenty to do.

Tahiti is sometimes called the Island of Love.  Many people refer to the word “Tahiti” to represent all of the islands of French Polynesia, and this is incorrect  It is the largest and most populated island of the 118 islands and atolls that make up French Polynesia, and of course the most famous.

George riding in Le'Truck
 

It is easy to get around while on Tahiti.  You can rent a car, or you can book a Circle Island Tour which will take you to all the main tourist sights, all of which are on the main road and easy to see.  They are: Faarumai Waterfalls, Botanical Gardens, The Blowhole, Fern Grotto, Lookout Point, Point Venus and the Lighthouse, and Kings Tomb.  If you just want to get from your hotel to the downtown area, then hop on Le’Truck.  It stops at most hotels and picks up passengers and goes to the downtown area.  For that matter, you can wave it down from any wide spot on the road and it will stop and pick you up.  Riding the Le’Truck should be part of your Tahitian experience.



Le Marche or Daily Market in Papeete

 

The downtown area of Tahiti has quite a few good shops, and of course the thing they will be selling the most, is the famous Tahitian black pearls.  They are for sell everywhere.  There is even a museum dedicated to them.  The main attraction for many visitors to Papeete is the Le Marche or Daily Market.  This market is in a sense, the heart of the city. It has become a tourist and traveler's sightseeing favorite due to its brightly colored vendors and attractive Tahitian products. Wander among the many stands and displays to find such products as luscious ripe fruits and vegetables, monoi oils and scented soaps, vanilla beans, cakes and pies, fruit preserves, dancing costumes and clothing, woven hats and bags and shell necklaces. 2 floors worth of vendors, including the finest display of floral arrangements of orchids, and anthuriums, marigolds and daisys and other flowers you will ever see.   Located in the heart of Papeete, just one block inland from the center of the waterfront, it's not hard to find.

George on our beach in Moorea

The island closest to Tahiti is Moorea, which is where Tahitians go to vacation.  The large majority of travelers arriving to Moorea come by ferry from Tahiti.  If you’ve pre-arranged for a pickup with your hotel, be on the lookout for someone looking for you.  If you haven’t made arrangements, then your best bet is take Le’Truck to your hotel.  They will be at the ferry whenever it comes in, and they will take you to your hotel, anywhere on the island.  You can also rent a car, and I recommend at some point that you do this for at least one day, and drive around the whole island, stopping to see some of the sights.

 

Upon arrival to Moorea Island in the heart of French Polynesia, you will immediately be awestruck by it's natural beauty.  Its jagged peaks, cloaked by lush greenery and encircled by the deep blue of the ocean and sky are everyone's dream of Polynesia.  Moorea is a triangular shaped island encircled by a lagoon of translucent green, fringed by an azure blue Polynesian sea. 

Cook's Bay, Moorea

Moorea is unique among the Society Islands in having magnificent expanses of both white and black sand beaches, and they are some of the best beaches in the world.

Filled with Polynesian history and lore, Moorea is one of the most fascinating and completely relaxing places you could dream of vacationing.  We spent a week on the island, in a timeshare condo on Cook’s Bay.  We were lucky to have a small kitchen and a wonderful balcony with a table, where we had breakfast every morning, overlooking the bay.  We found that after 7PM there was nothing open anywhere near us, no TV and nothing to do but relax and read.  Even during the day, there are not a lot of things around, the island is a place to go and relax. 

View of Opunohu Bay from above

We did rent a car one day and drove around the island, stopping at different beaches to snorkel, and then on to the hilltop lookout high in the interior or the island.  There is a view there that was once reserved only for the gods – on one side lies exquisite Cook’s Bay, and the other a deep and equally entrancing Opunohu Bay. Their waiting arms reach up to embrace you.

Our drive around the island took all day, partly because we did stop to swim and snorkel, and have lunch at a cute little restaurand, where I had the best salad of my entire life.  We also stopped at a place where they made pineapple liquor.  They gave some samples and I ended up buying some to take back to the condo for later.  They also sold regular juice there and other souvenirs.  And in the  small towns around the island we stopped and looked around, and had ice cream cones at one stop.  By the time we got back to the condo and turned in our car, it was dark, so we ordered a pizza from down the road.  I will go into food, and the cost of it later in this posting. 

 

 

Our boat docked on the motu

There are all sorts of activities you can book, if the relaxing is just too much for you.  One of the more popular things to do is to take a boat around the island and have a Motu Picnic.  Relaxing on a motu is one of the most wonderful things you can do. The island of Moorea has 2 motus that you can enjoy. The larger one is called Motu Fareone and the smaller one Motu Tiahura. They are both beautiful little islets with white sandy beaches and are located on the Northwestern part of the island, within the lagoon.


Our motu picnic lunch

After you arrive at the motu, a picnic lunch will be prepared for you.  We were also given a demonstation of how to properly crack a coconut, and then given a very good coconut drink.  A typical motu picnic will consist of local fruits and juices, bread, and polynesian lunch style foods such as fish, rice, chicken, or other gourmet items. The menu will depend on your host.  Usually, these motu picnics are combined on a lagoon excursion or circle island tour of some kind, and will last anywhere from 1-4 hours, but 1/2 day or even full day motu hangouts are available on your request  The one we went on was all day and included several stops to snorkel, including one stop that was full of sting rays, which we got into the water with and were able to touch them and feed them.


My spot on the beach each day

 But for me, spending the days on the beach, in the water, snorkeling or kayaking, or just swimming, is what going to the islands is all about.  We got up each morning and with our lunch packed, headed for the water.  It was one of the most relaxing vacations we had had in years.  Unlike so many places we go, where there are so many sights not to be missed, where you are gone from morning to night, this one was laid back and casual.  Not that we didn’t do things other than the beach, we did a little bit of shopping.  I even bought myself the requisite black pearl necklace, and one for my mom as well.  And we did the drive the one day and the all-day motu picnic the other day, and one evening we went to the crab races, which were amusing.  We went to a Tahitian Dance Show which was put on by the timeshare we were at, and listened to one of the old-time residents talk about the Tahiti of his past.  But mostly we spent our days in our swimsuits or shorts, and just took life as it came.

Our condo on Moorea, we were on the upper floor by the red flowers

After our week in Moorea, we took an inter-island flight to Bora Bora for a 3 day stay there.  The flight took under one hour from the island of Moorea. Below us as we came in was the island of Bora Bora, with a lagoon resembling an artist's palette of blues and greens.  It was love at first sight. There is a motu that circles the lagoon like a delicate necklace and there are perfect white-sand beaches.


Flying into Bora Bora

Our hotel sent a boat to pick us up and take us to the hotel, and we were given a flower lei greeting.  We had booked an over-water bungalow there.  It was the typical thatched roof bungalow, with our own porch and ladder down to the water.  I could get up in the morning and step right into the water and go for a swim.  The room itself had a canopy bed, which kept the thatching from blowing down on you at night, but no kitchen. But being over the water made up for that. There was still no TV, which was fine with us.

Our over-water bungalow on Bora Bora

Bora Bora has even less population, less night-life, and less shopping opportunities than the other 2 islands.  If we were relaxed before, we had even more reason to relax there.  And if anything, the water was even more inviting and beautiful than on Moorea, although it would hardly seem that was possible.  We had the same activities available to us here.  We opted to again go on the motu picnic, which also gave us an island tour from the boat and some snorkeling time.  The rest of the time there, we just swam and snorkeled right from the porch of our bungalow. 



George and I having dinner at Bloody Mary's

 We did have to go out for food there, and one of the nights we went to Bloody Mary's. If you have seen the movie or play "South Pacific", then you should me familiar with Bloody Mary.  She was a character in the movie, and parts of the movie were filmed in the islands.  Bloody Mary's is a famous restaurant, and just about everyone who goes to Bora Bora has to go their for dinner one night.  It may be touristy, but the food is good and fresh, the atmosphere is fun, and the prices are as good as anywhere else on the islands.

 

Where we had the motu picnic
on Bora Bora

As for the price of food, I did say that I would write about that in this posting.  It is worth mentioning that one of the most expensive things about a trip to the French Polynesian islands, is the food.  I knew this before we went, but until I got there I didn't really believe that it would be that bad.  We were a little shocked on some things.  I can understand that things have to be shipped from the mainland, so it could be more expensive, but even fresh fish that was caught there, was expensive. 



Me enjoying a drink

 As an example, the first night we were in Moorea, the timeshare restaurant was having a special fish dinner.  We were told it was a special night, and we couldn't pass it up as the prices were very low.  However, a plate of mahi mahi, some fries and a small salad cost us $40 each, and this was a special price.  We did also get a watered-down mai tai with it.  One afternoon we decided to go to the pool in Bora Bora and have lunch at the cafe there.  The cheapest thing on the menu was a hamburger, which was also $40, and that did not come with fries or a drink.  We ended up walking down the street to a little bar along the road, where we got a hamburger, fries and a beer, for $26 each.  The small pizza we ordered in Moorea was over $20.  I think one of the best deals on the islands is the motu picnics.  I would have paid for the snorkeling trip anyway, and it came with a really good lunch, which filled us up.  On those nights we ate a very light dinner.

 



This is the salad I had on the drive around Moorea
It was the best salad I have ever had, even if
it was a splurge

Knowing ahead of time that the cost of food would be high, I did take some things with me.  Before leaving home I bought some canned tuna, a small jar of mayonnaise, some breakfast bars,and  some snack items.  I have a small collapsible cooler which I also packed.  All of those things fit down inside my snorkle bag and came with us.  We had a kitchen at the condo in Moorea.  When we first arrived we went to a small grocery store where I purchased bread, juice, beer, soda, cheese and salami, yogurt and some fresh fruit.  The best buy on the island was 3 pineapples for about $1.  We had fruit, yogurt and breakfast bars each morning on our balcony.  We had sandwiches for lunch.  So then we only had to buy dinner.  We did find a few bargains there.  A local told us about a truck that pulled into the nearby town each evening and sold chicken and potatoes from the truck.  We went down one evening and bought a whole chicken and some really good potates.  The total cost was around $15, and we got 2 meals out of it.  We did try several of the local restaurants, and yes, it was expensive.  Usually dinner for 2 at most of the places we tried, ran us around $100, including Bloody Mary's.  The food was good though, the fish especially fresh.  And since we had saved on breakfast and lunch, I didn't feel it was that much of a splurge.

 

We spent 10 nights total between the 3 islands, and they were some of the most relaxing, restful, days, with the most beautiful days on the water, wonderful sunsets, warm weather and the best snorkeling of any place on earth.  If you are looking for a place to just get away and do nothing, this is the best place to do that. 

Having a relaxing time on Bora Bora

 

Value Added Tax and How to Get a Refund

“V + A + T = Vulture added tax.”

 Steve Fowler

"The impulse to travel is one of the hopeful symptoms of life."

Agnes Repplier

Shopping in Budapest, Hungary

Value added tax or VAT is a tax that most European countries have on items that you purchase when visiting their country.  The residents of that country are required to pay that tax, but if you are not a resident of any European country, then you are entitled to a refund of that VAT.  Every year travelers leaving Europe leave behind millions of dollars of refundable sales tax.  For some, the headache of collecting the refund is not worth the few dollars they will get back.  For others, it is simply that they are not aware that they can get a refund.  If you do any serious shopping, it can certainly be worth your time. 

Shopping is an essential and certainly an enjoyable part of any trip to Europe.  One of the best things about shopping in Europe for non-EU visitors, is that purchases can be tax-free.  It does take a little effort on your part, it is not automatic, but can certainly be worth it.  Here are some tips on how to get your VAT refunds. 

My husband purchased this hat in Galway, Scotland

First of all the VAT varies from country to country – from a rate of 15% all the way to 25%.  Some countries require a minimum purchase amount before you can get a refund, some do not.  If you are in a country that has a minimum purchase in order to get a refund, then you benefit from buying most of your purchases from a single retailer, since you cannot add up your purchases from various shops to reach the require amount.  You cannot get a refund on the tax you spend on hotels and meals, just merchandise – those souvenirs, clothes, etc. 

How to get your refund varies from country to country, but generally you’ll need to follow these basic steps:



Shopping in Istanbul, Turkey

1.      Bring your passport along when shopping.  You will likely be asked to produce it in order to get the refund process started.

2.      Make sure the store participates in the VAT refund, not all stores do, but most tourist-oriented stores do.  It would be a shame to spend a large amount of money and then find out they do not participate.

3.      Get the documents you need from the store at the time of purchase.  The merchant will have to fill out the necessary refund document.  Make sure they have filled it out, and if there are any blanks for you to fill out, make sure you understand what they are before you leave the store.  Keep your receipt and attach it to the form.  Keep this in a safe place until you are ready to depart the country.

4.      Bring your paperwork and unused goods to the airport or border crossing and arrive a little early.  You need to get the refund processed before going home.  If you’ve traveled to several different countries within the European Union, you can do the refund process at your last stop.  So if you have made purchases in France, Belgium and Greece and are departing from Greece, you can do the refund process there.  However, if you have purchased items in non-EU countries, such as Switzerland, Norway, Croatia or Turkey then you will need to get your documents stamped in those countries, before you cross their border.

5.      Get your documents stamped at customs.  Before checking in for your flight, find the customs office and have an export officer stamp your documents.  He may ask you to present your unused goods to verify that you are indeed, exporting your purchases.  If you do not get this stamp, then you will probably be out of luck at getting a refund.

Shoppers in Mykonos, Greece

6.      Collect your refund.  If you made your purchases from a merchant who works with a refund service such as Global Blue or Premier Tax Free, you can find their offices inside the airport (after check-in and security – usually near a duty-free shop).  They will give you a refund on the spot, but they usually take a fee of about 4%,.  It does save you waiting for it, so it may be worth it.  The other choice is to use the envelope that hopefully the retailer has provided you and mail the form directly to the merchant.  Then you have to wait, and wait.  It could take months.  Look for the refund on your credit card statement, or for a check in the mail.

Shoppers in Dublin

You need to decide for yourself if this whole process is worth it to you.  Myself, I seldom spend that much in one place, so for the most part I have not bothered.  However, on my last vacation, which was to Scotland and Ireland, I did purchase a few more expensive items, and in one place in Ireland the clerk asked if I would like the new VAT refund card.  It is like a credit card and she rang it up and handed me the card.  She said I could use it at other stores and they would also put their VAT on it, and I could go online and register the card.  Once you register it, a form comes up, which you still have to get stamped as you leave the country.  And when I got home I mailed it in the envelope she gave me.  The refund appeared on my credit card in just a few weeks.  So it did work.  This is a new process, and may be the way things are processed in the future.  I did have to get the form notarized here in the states, which I can do easily at my local AAA office.



George, carrying my bags in
 Dubrovnik, Croatia

Something else that happened to me for the first time on my trip to Ireland.  A clerk asked me if I wanted to charge the purchase on my credit card in Euros or US dollars.  When you use your credit card on purchases, you will get a good exchange rate – since credit card companies make large transactions all at once, and you benefit in the process. However, When the sales clerk asked me if I wanted to charge my purchases in euros or in dollars, my first reaction was to say “dollars,” but this is not correct. Always say: “charge in euros” because you will get a much better rate of exchange in the end.

Keeping in Touch While Traveling

“The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
  George Bernard Shaw

 "Self-consciousness kills communication.” 
 Rick Steves

So, off you go on another trip.  It’s always fun to get away and see a new place, or even re-explore a place you’ve been to before.  While you are gone you will want to occasionally keep in touch with the people who are important to you.  You may even want to check to make sure things are okay at home.  Especially if you have left children at home or in our case, we quite often leave our 4-legged children at home, with a sitter.  We always like to check in to make sure the dogs are well and behaving themselves, and to see if the sitter needs anything.

So how do you stay in touch while traveling?  If you are in the United States or Canada, you can probably use your cell phone.  Even so, we all know there are places where you can't get service, even here at home.  If you are traveling internationally you may not be able to use your cell phone at all, it depends on what kind of service you have with your cell phone.  You may have to arrange to have your phone set up for international calls, before you leave on your trip, and making those calls can sometimes be expensive.

Most major U.S. cell phone companies give you the option of choosing a plan that allows you to make international calls. These plans may be offered on an ongoing basis or as a temporary service that you can set up for a single month when you know you'll be leaving the country. Each company offers different plans for various prices that work for a number of phone models and in designated countries. Major cell phone providers have coverage maps that show in which countries your network works. Per-minute calling rates vary for different countries.  So if you want to use your own phone, then you need to contact your service provider.

A man talking on his phone
in China

Some cell phone companies have calling plans for specific regions, other providers let you specify the nations where you need your phone to work (the more countries you choose, the higher the monthly rate). Although you can probably find a broad international phone plan from your current cell phone service provider, you will not be able to make calls from every country on earth; be sure to check that your plan covers the destination in which you plan to travel.

The advantage to using your own phone is that you have all your phone numbers already programmed in, and all the important people in your life have that phone number, in case they need to get ahold of you while traveling.  The disadvantage, at least in my opinion, is that while your are out enjoying seeing a new place, you may be getting phone calls from people who forget you are traveling and who just want to chat, and I am not neccessarily inclined to want to do that while vacationing. 

Another option, if you don’t want to add an international plan to your phone, you can rent a phone for the short period you will be traveling.  You can usually do that through the internet.  They will mail you the phone, and when you return you drop it in the mailbox back to them.  You can rent the phone for the number of days you are going to need it, and for a single country or multiple countries, the price will vary depending on how much service you want.  I have never used a rented phone but have friends who have.  The following links will take you to some of the internet providers I found online:   www.mobal.com         www.cellularabroad.com
                 www.travelcell.com        www.planetphone.com
 

When we travel we have never worried about having a cell phone that works internationally.  We carry our regular cell phone with us, but once we leave the states we turn it off so that it stays charged.  We don’t turn it back on till we get to our home airport, and we then use it to call our daughter to pick us up.  She will be waiting in the cell phone lot of the airport.

Starbucks and other businesses
offer free Wi-Fi

We carry our laptop computer with us when we travel, and we send emails home, telling our family what we have been doing, and checking in with everyone to make sure all is okay.  We find that in most cases, this works well for us.  Our laptop does have Skype on it, and if we wanted to, we could always Skype (which is free) to those who also have the service, including our home and our house-sitter   We like having the laptop with us for several reasons, including the fact that we can down-load our pictures onto it as we travel.  The pictures are saved, and it frees up the space on the camera.  My reader, which is a Nook color, also has web availablity, and I quite often use it for just checking emails from home while on the road.  As long as you can get Wi-Fi, using a computer to communicate home is easy, and there is no cost involved.  And most hotels now have Wi-Fi, all over the world.  And if the hotel doesn’t, there are many companies now providing free Wi-Fi hotspots to their customers.  We use Starbucks regularly, even though I am not a coffee drinker, their Chai tea and hot chocolate are worth stopping for.

Wherever you are in the world,
you will find internet cafes

The downside to using email to communicate is that the response is not instantaneous.  You have to wait for a reply, so if you are really in a hurry to find out how things are, you won't have that response, sometimes for days. 

There are times when emails just aren’t good enough.  If an emergency of any kind comes up and you need to reach someone immediately, a phone is your best option.  When we travel internationally and don’t have a cell phone with us that will work, then I know that if an emergency does come up, I will have to get to a land phone and use it, no matter what the cost.  That is always an option in those cases.  Over the many years that we have travelled I have only had to do that once, and that was in September of 2001.  We were in the Costa del Sol area of Spain and after we heard about what happened on 9/11 we had to call home.  Not that any of our family was anywhere near New York, we weren’t worried about that, but it was a traumatic event for everyone, and we felt a need to touch base and see how everyone was dealing.  We also needed to talk to our house-sitter, because we were not sure we would get home when scheduled and we wanted to make sure he would be able to stay till we got back, which he assured us he would.  So for those emergency situations, there is still always the old-fashioned land lines available, and during those situations you don’t always care what the cost is.

 
So, how do you keep in touch when you travel?

How to Research a Trip

"Make your choice, adventurous stranger.

 Strike the bell and bide the danger.

 Or wonder 'til it drives you mad,

 What would have followed, if you had."

The Magicians Nephew - C. S. Lewis

So you are getting ready to take a trip, to somewhere you have never been.   You are excited about going to wherever it is you have planned.  But once you get there, what are you going to do?  What things do you want to see?  And how do you find out what there is to see and do.

I have always loved the planning part of a vacation.  I guess that is why I liked being a travel agent.  It didn’t have to be my own trip, I liked to help other people plan their trips too.  When someone would come in and tell me they were going somewhere, I got excited with them.  If I had been to the place myself, then I would tell them what we did on our trip.  If it was someplace I’d never been, then it was fun helping them research the area, and help them plan what they wanted to do and see.

Christmas Market on the Palace grounds
Regensburg, Germany

Now, of course, if you are going on a tour or a cruise, the itinerary is pretty much planned out for you.  You have some flexibility, but not a lot.  Even for those types of trips, I suggest reading about the areas you will be visiting.  You will have some free time and you may discover there is something that you just have to see that is not listed in the brochures. 

 As an example:  My   husband, myself and another couple took a Christmas Markets river cruise several years ago.  One of the stops was in the town of Regensburg, Germany.  I loved Regensburg, it was such a pretty town, with a a very nice but ordinary Christmas Market in the town center.  Most of the people on the cruise only saw that Christmas Market, along with a walking tour of the town, but we spent our free time at the other Christmas Market, one that was not as well known to tourists.  

Chirstmas Market on  the grounds of the
 Thurn & Taxis Palace

This Christmas Market was in the courtyard of the Thurn & Taxis Palace, where the royal family still lives.  The market is different from other Christmas Markets because it is done in a medieval style.  The market stands sold Christmas things with a medieval style to them, everything was homemade, and the stands were spread out along the pathways of the palace grounds as well as the courtyard.  They sold the same gingerbread, spiced nuts and hot gluhwein as the other markets, but somehow it seemed more festive.  If I had not researched that area and the Christmas Markets before leaving home, we never would have known about it.  It wasn’t advertised in town, and we may have been the only outsiders there that day.  They say the royal family quite often mingle with the crowds there, so who knows, we may have been rubbing elbows with royalty.

  

Dubrovnik, Croatia

If you are going to a destination on your own, then you should definitely do some research before you go.  There are many ways to do this.  And with the internet, it is easier than it has ever been.  Just type in the names of the places you will be going, and there is lots of information at your fingertips.  Travel books are still a great resource.  I actually collect them.  Even though older books may not be up to date as to prices, the things to see are pretty much the same forever.  And another research tool is the tour brochure for the area you are going to.  Even though you do not plan on taking a tour, looking at the brochure can give you an idea of what things are considered the top things to do, and it will also how give you an idea of how much you can do in the time you have.  You can go to any travel agency and request brochures.  They are free, although an agent may try to talk you into booking with them.

Driving through the countryside
of Slovenia

One thing to think about if you are traveling to a destination on your own, is how you are going to travel about.  If you are just going to a city, and pretty much staying there, then you can probably get about with the transportation in the city, such as subways and buses.  But if you want to travel to multiple destinations, then you need to plan your mode of transportation, how many stops you plan to make and what you are going to see in each place, keeping in mind that you want to be flexible enough to see the things that just happen along the way.  Cars give you the most flexibility, and also can sometimes be the most stressful.  Trains can be great, in Europe they usually run on time and to anyplace you want to go. 

One of the monasteries at Meteora

Something else to consider is day tours by some of the local companies. When in Greece we booked a 3 day tour that took us from Athens to Delphi and then over to Meteora.  I actually booked this from home before we went on the trip.  On the day of the trip we met at their office and they took us by van to Delphi, with 5 other people.  We toured the ruins of Delphi and then they dropped George and I at our hotel.  The other 5 were going on to Olympus.  We spent the night at our hotel and explored the town there the next day.  In the afternoon another van picked us up and took us to Meteora.  We had 4 others with us on that trip.  We spent a night in the nearby town and then the next day we explored the monasteries of Meteora.  They then took us back to Athens, where we were again on our own.  This was an excellent way to see two places that would have been difficult to get to on our own, and which I had decided I had to see, after researching Greece.

Delphi, Greece

So now that you know your destination, start researching.  The research will get you excited about the trip, and you will learn so much about your destination before you even arrive.  It can be fun planning and dreaming about what you want to see and do.  The trip will come alive for you, before you even go, and it will make the experience so much more enjoyable when you get there.

Selecting a Place to Stay in Europe

"I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad."
George Bernard Shaw

"When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable.  It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” 
Clifton Fadiman 

Best Western Hotel
Montemarte, Paris, France

When you go to a foreign country, keep an open mind.  Things will be different than at home.  For one thing, a hotel in Europe that lists itself as a 5 star hotel, will most likely be closer to what we would consider a 3 star hotel.  Their rating system is completely different.  You will find many of the same hotel chains that you are familiar with in the USA, however their standards may be slightly lower.  We have found, that when booking a hotel in another country that we should read the descriptions carefully.  Most rooms will be smaller than rooms in the US, and not all rooms come with bathrooms, so make sure you check to see if the bathroom is included, or is down the hall and shared by all.

Hotel Aressana, Santorini, Greece

I quite often will book hotels myself for trips to Europe, as we like to travel to Europe independently and not on a tour.  The website I have found to be most helpful is Trip Advisor.  http://www.tripadvisor.com.  What I like about this website is the reviews by people who have stayed at the hotel.  You will seldom find any hotel that has all positive reviews, unless it’s the Ritz, but if you read through the reviews you will get a feel for whether the place is acceptable or not. 

One of my favorite hotels that we stayed at in 2007, was the Hotel Aressana in Santorini, Greece.  I booked it myself, looking at reviews on Trip Advisor.  It was in the perfect area for seeing the sights and the room was very nice, it had a beautiful pool which I enjoyed one afternoon, and a great breakfast.  It was a delightful place.  I did my homework online to find it.

An important consideration when looking for a hotel is location.  The closer you are to the tourist locations, the more expensive.  But you also have to take into consideration what the transportation is like.  If you are in a city, such as Paris, you can stay in any of the districts and it is easy enough to get around.  The subway system in Paris will take you wherever you want to go.  Not all cities are as easy to navigate, and it might be better to stay closer to the areas you want to see, even if it is a little more expensive.

Abbey Lodge B&B in Galway, Ireland

When booking in Europe, remember a nice option is the Bed & Breakfast inns.  Sometimes these are actual homes with spare rooms, other times they are homes that have been converted to a lodge for guests, but they are quite often in more residential areas.  Sometimes the rooms have bathrooms, but quite often you share a bathroom.  The nice thing about these is that you actually meet locals, and you stay in their homes, so you see how they live.  They serve you breakfast in the morning, which is usually typical of the types of breakfast they would eat.

Lochbay Inn on the Isle of Skye

My husband and I recently traveled around Scotland and Ireland with another couple.  We stayed at Bed & Breakfast places throughout our trip.  Most of them were quite nice, and the breakfasts were enough that we usually did not stop for lunch, as we were still full.  Some of them had shared bathrooms, but the majority had bathrooms in the room.  We had more of a home feeling staying in these places then staying in a large hotel.

Sunset on the Isle of Skye

The Bed & Breakfast inn that we stayed at on the Isle of Skye even came with a resident dog named Dude, who was still a puppy and while we were there managed to destroy the owners credit card processing machine, among other things.  Dude was wonderful, and we enjoyed having a dog greeter as we came and went.  The place was very small, he only had 4 rooms available and we shared a bathroom.  There were cows and sheep across the road, and we were in a rural area.  But we had the most beautiful sunsets at night, and we could see the water from our bedroom window.  And there was Dude, what more could we have asked for?

The town of Penzance, England

My daughter and I took a trip through England, Scotland and Ireland back in 1989.  My favorite place that we stayed was a B&B in Penzance, England.  We arrived there by train in mid April, which is before the tourist season.  I had a book listing some B&B’s and called one to see if they were available.  The owner was surprised because they seldom got calls that time of the year.  She asked about us and when I told her it was my daughter and myself she told me she did have a room if we didn’t mind that her 2 daughters would be on the same floor with us.  During the summer months the kids moved downstairs and they all shared a smaller area down there, but during the winter when they didn’t have guests, the girls slept upstairs.  I doubt if she would have rented to us if we had been men, or if she had, she would have moved the girls.  We had no problem sharing the upstairs and we moved in.  We had a sink and toilet in our room, but had to share a shower down the hall.  She also told me that during the summer they put the dog outside to sleep, but it was too cold for her to sleep outside in the winter, so hopefully we wouldn’t mind her being in the house.  We stayed there for 3 nights.  We had breakfast with the family in the mornings, and they gave us a key to the front door so we could come and go as we pleased at night.  Their dog, a Doberman, was there to greet us when we came in – with a wag of her tail, and we loved petting her.  The kids were quiet and we enjoyed meeting the whole family.  I liked staying there better than some of the hotels we stayed in.

A villa that can be rented in Provence, France

Another option would be to rent an apartment, house or villa.  There are many companies that specialize in renting, and if you are staying in one area for any length of time, this is a very good option.  Usually you have more room, and you have cooking facilities, which can save you money.  It’s fun to go to the local markets and check out their produce and food options.  You can still go to local restaurants, but you can also try your hand at cooking the local foods.  And you are usually in a neighborhood with the local people, so you get more of a feel for the country then you would if you were in a hotel in a tourist area.  A good travel agent can help you find a place to rent.  Some villas are very luxurious and in very upscale areas.

Wherever you decide to stay while traveling, remember you are in another country, with different customs.  Things will be different than home, but isn't that why we travel?

Room in our B&B in Belfast

Room in B&B in Belfast