A home pre-departure checklist is just as important as a checklist for your packing.  You’ve made all the plans for your holiday, but while you’re gone, you want your home to be safe too.

If you have pets, you will have to make arrangements for a pet sitter or find a place to board your furry friends.

Did you arrange for someone to water the house plants?  Will someone mow the lawn and take care of outdoor plants?  If you’re lawn grows long and shaggy, it could be a give away that you’re not home.

Did you stop the mail and the newspaper or arrange for a neighbor to pick them up?  How about any flyers or packages left at the door.  Again, a pile of newspapers weathering in the driveway signals the house is empty. (more…)

Avebury is an impressive stone circle.  It is a true henge with a huge circular bank and ditch.  Huge as in the bank is a mile around… and even though the ditch is impressive, it is only half its original depth.

It is the largest stone circle in Europe.  We’ve read that it is approximately 14 times larger and 500 years older than the more famous Stonehenge.  More stats if you want them… there are about 650 massive stones arranged in circles and avenues.

It’s one of our favorites not because of its great size, but because we felt like we discovered it all by ourselves the first time we went.  It doesn’t get the publicity that Stonehenge does.

Its stones are not as finely sculpted and finished, but you can wander among the stones and somehow feel the ancient power of the place. (more…)

OK, you’ve made your holiday plans.  You’re ready to pack.  Let’s look at a pre-departure checklist for things other than clothes.

The very first thing to check is your passport.  If you’re traveling out of your home country, is it current?  Did you get any visas that are necessary?  This is your responsibility whether you are on your own or on a tour.  Make copies of your passport to take with you and to leave with relatives or friends.

It never hurts to check to see if there are any travel advisories for the countries you will be visiting.  (Many governments issue travel advisories… check with your own government and another one or two for a rounded view.) (more…)

Should you drink only bottled water when you’re traveling?  Is it safe to drink tap water?  Is it safe to brush your teeth with it?

These questions come up no matter where you’re traveling.  In most developed countries, you don’t need to drink bottled water all the time.  Tap water will be safe to drink.  The water you need to be most concerned about is water that might contain microorganisms that will make you sick.

Some people have a problem no matter where they go.  If you have a particularly sensitive stomach, even small changes in mineral content might upset you for a few days.  U.S. citizens traveling to Mexico often complain of getting “tourista” or “Montezuma’s Revenge”, but sometimes Mexican citizens traveling to the U.S. get tourista too…  In most of these cases, it’s just the change in the water that causes minor problems, and it goes away in just a day or so. (more…)

Why would you want to holiday at home? We’re into travel… adventure! But with the world economy the way it’s been lately, you might find that your budget just won’t take a big international trip.

In the U.S., the press has even come up with a new word for this… “staycation” instead of vacation.

You still need a break from work, so…. you can find fun and adventure close to home. Plan something a little less ambitious this year and save money to get back out into the world next year.

I don’t know about you, but there really are quite a few fun things to do close to where we live; we just don’t take the time to do them.

At the same time, when we visit friends in other states or countries, we find that they take us to fun and interesting spots, but they say they never go because it’s so close to home. (more…)

Hostels are probably the very cheapest place you can stay during your travels.  You may think… whoa, dormitory style bunk beds, backpacks, bathrooms down the hall… and starving students, but that’s not necessarily true anymore.

It is true that the average age for guests is 18-26, and you’ll run into some places that do enforce an age limit, but people of all ages and budgets stay in them these days.

Their buildings are often in good locations in towns.  They’re easily accessible by public transportation, though there are some in rural areas too.

Some provide private rooms for couples or families as well as the dormitory style rooms.  Still you have to decide if this kind of traveling is for you. (more…)

Travel Advisories and Travel Warnings are issued by several governments to tell their citizens which countries or parts of countries might be of concern.

It sounds pretty scary to say that there is an advisory or warning about going somewhere, but just because a government issues one of these, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a bad idea to plan a trip to that country.

With terrorism all in the news today, many people get nervous, but if you want to be a traveler you need to learn to weigh the warnings and the news.

You may decide that it’s worth it to travel anyway.  Terrorism is nothing new; different areas have had unrest in the past.  Read those advisories and decide if what they are talking about will affect you and your trip.  Don’t trust them blindly.

Travel advisories are issued for a number of reasons.  Terrorism is only one of them.  They can be issued because of natural disasters, political unrest, disease outbreaks or high crime areas.  You need to read to see if these are long term warnings or short term travel advisories.

We think it’s a good idea to check with several different sources… as English speakers, we check to see what the governments of Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the U.S are saying.  They don’t always agree.  So if there are differing points of view, what should you do? (more…)

London is expensive, so how can you save money?  Look for things to enjoy in London for free!  Those ticket prices add up in a hurry when you have to pay admission.

Remember whenever it costs you 10 Pounds, that’s really about 14.00 US Dollars and 11 Euros — give or take — with today’s exchange rate…. And you’ll find plenty of admissions that are 10 or 15 Pounds and more.

You will want to see the Tower of London… and you should, but the admission fee is 17 Pounds… that’s $25.00 or 20 Euros!

So what can you see in London for free?  Lots of things.  First of all think museums.  Almost all of the museums in London are free. (more…)

You’re finally on your way; you get to the airport, and OH NO…. you’re getting bumped.  How did that happen?  You have a reservation.

How could they not have enough room for you?  Well, now we’re into a whole new category of flight problem.  Not getting on the flight you wanted.

The problem comes from the way airlines book their flights.  They routinely overbook their flights.  They do this because there is an amazingly large “no-show factor” even in this day and age of “non-refundable tickets”. (more…)

What about a camping family vacation this year?  If you’re American and you leave it to the kids to decide on your family vacation, chances are you’ll be heading to Disneyland or Disney World.

There’s nothing wrong with that…  those magical lands on both coasts of the U.S. are great fun for kids of all ages.

And there are plenty of things to do nearby to both, but what about something different….maybe getting back to basics and a camping family vacation?  Ah-oh.  Camping?  Where do you go?  What do you do?

If you’ve never camped before, you might want to start close to home… so you can bail out if you have to!  You can save the beautiful park far from home for another time, once you know you’re all going to like the camping experience. (more…)