One thing you might not think about is that you should shape up for travel if you want to really enjoy your trip and stay healthy.

Your doctor probably tells you all the time that you should exercise more… but some people find it hard to stay motivated to exercise just because they should.  Decide to shape up for travel, and hopefully you’ll stay motivated.

Exercise, do some serious walking, some physical training or practice…. Once you get on the road, you’ll be glad you made the effort to shape up for travel whether you’ll be hiking or biking or kayaking… or just walking around cities.

There are lots of active travel destinations where you know you should do some training before you leave home… hiking the Grand Canyon, hiking the Inca Trail… hiking anywhere. (more…)

So we’ve been encouraging you to make lists… lists like a travel preparation checklist and a packing list.  You do it for groceries and for projects around the house.  Make a list for your travel preparations too.

We thought that it would be a good idea to show you our list.  We actually have a file in the computer for each list so we can print them out before each trip.  These are items we think you need to think about in the last week or two before departure… a travel preparation checklist.

You could always start a list as soon as you begin planning your trip.  We’ve discussed that in the past too… the early things you need to do like research visa requirements, talk to your travel agent for complicated itineraries, make airline reservations. (more…)

You might think that with all the travel we do, we would have no travel trepidation.  I can see where you might be justified to assume that, but you’d be wrong.  We just got back from a wonderful trip that makes for a good example.

We had some vacation time in November… but at that time of year, weather has to play a role in where you’re going to go.  We talked about going wine tasting in South America or maybe going to Tunisia in North Africa… but we settled on Israel.

Or should I say, my hubby really wanted to go to Israel.  I slowly let myself be talked into the trip, but I have to tell you, I had more than a little travel trepidation about the goings on in the Middle East.

Counties that routinely end up in the news with stories about violence tend to set many travelers on edge, and you have to admit, Israel has had it’s share of unrest.  I was so ambivalent about this trip, that I didn’t do much of the planning at all… actually I didn’t do any!

When you start telling friends about a destination like this, you’re apt to get a lot of negative feedback.  We got that when we went to Jordan and later when we went to Dubai and Oman, but we didn’t let that stop us.  We definitely got some negative feedback when we started telling people we were going to Israel… things like, “Aren’t you scared going there?” …or… “Keep your head down.”

We both kept saying that things had been pretty quiet recently, and that if anything flared up, we’d just go to Pismo Beach, California!  But nothing flared up, and there we were on the plane.

We practiced what we preach.  We stayed in a local hotel… not a big name glitzy one that could be a target.  We left all of our jewelry at home.  We dressed conservatively so as not to offend anyone, and we tried not to stand out.

Just like we’ve found on most trips that make you stretch a little, my travel trepidations were pretty much unfounded on this trip.  We arrived in Jerusalem without any reservations.  The Israeli Tourist Information desk in the airport was able to get us reservations at a nice little local hotel about a five minute walk from the Jaffa Gate to the Old City.

People had warned us about walking in the Old City at night.  But it gets dark early in November, so once we got to our hotel, what did we do but walk into the old city to find a great little Armenian Tavern for dinner.

The whole time we were there, we walked in the Old City at night and had no problems.  There was all the usual hub-bub in the bazaars, but the “step-into-my-shop”, “you’re-my-lucky-customer” merchants were polite and friendly when we said no.

We took the local blue bus 21 to Bethlehem and had lots of help from locals once we got there.  When we looked lost catching city buses in Jerusalem, we also had help.

Each day that went by with more fantastic experiences, I felt sillier and sillier about the travel trepidation I had had.  The point is, if you have travel trepidations, but you really want to go someplace, do your research.

If it’s really unsafe, stay away… but most places are safe to travel to, even places that are often in the news.  Face down your fears.  Once you’re there, you’ll be glad you did!

We think lists are good to help you remember everything… a travel preparation list, grocery lists, honey-do lists.  Notice the order we put those in?  Might make you think that travel is more important to us than eating… and you might be right!  …But then you would expect that, wouldn’t you, since you know how much we love travel.

Our travel preparation list is a little different from our pre-departure checklist.  Actually, this one is kind of a combination.  There are just some times you want to make a couple of lists and check things twice….  You don’t want to be half way around the world and have an anxiety attack because you can’t remember if you turned the water off off somewhere.

We actually have our travel preparation list (or should I say our lists) in the computer so we can print it out before each trip and check things off as we’ve done them or packed them.  Even as much as we travel, and as routine as packing is, we want to make sure we don’t leave something at home.

I actually don’t like packing.  It’s probably the part of travel I like least…. but my list gives me a starting point.  I print it out, and it helps get me motivated.

I try to get going a couple of days before we leave.  I know some people who say, “I always just throw some things in the night before.”  If that works for them, fine.  I’ve done that too, but I prefer having a day or two in case I need to do a last load of laundry or pick something up at the store that we’ll need for the trip.

You know we love telling stories on ourselves to illustrate our points, so here’s another…  We were going to Brazil a couple of years ago… to see Rio de Janeiro and Iguazu Falls, but the focus of the trip was the Pantanal.  We were going to see birds, and if we were lucky, jaguars.  So we packed our “safari clothes”, our bug repellant, and our Pepto-Bismol, and off we went to the airport.  As we were boarding the plane, we looked at each other and said, “Did you pack the binoculars?”

Neither of us had!  Can you believe it?  We were on a birdwatching trip without binoculars.

Good thing there was a duty free shop upon entry into Brazil.  That saved us some embarrassment…. but the whole incident shows you that anyone can forget something they’ll need on a trip.  It also proves the point we often make… that if you forget something, you can always get it there.

Now that DOES NOT mean you should pack everything you might need “just in case”.  We advocate packing light… and that means packing smart.

A travel preparation list, a packing list, a documents list, a pre-departure checklist…. any or all of those will help you keep your packing light, and give you peace of mind once you’re on the road that you haven’t forgotten something.

Here’s a different travel idea for you… take a pilgrimage.

“Whoa,” you say, “A pilgrimage?”

Does that sound a little heavy?  It doesn’t need to.

You’re right in one sense… a pilgrimage is, most often, to go on a journey to visit a place that is religious or has historic significance… and more often than not, it is a journey to a sacred place.

Whether you go for strictly religious reasons or for personal satisfaction, a pilgrimage can be a moving experience… it’s a journey inward as well as outward.

This theme came to mind because of our recent trip to Jerusalem.  Our trip was just for fun; we didn’t intend to take a pilgrimage.  Most people would say we didn’t, but when we were there, we went to all of the most holy sites of all three major religions represented there.  It was a moving experience.

Remember that if you want to take a pilgrimage, there are no hard and fast rules… it’s YOUR pilgrimage.  If it is a long pilgrimage trail like the route through Spain to Santiago De Compostela, you might want to take it in stages.

Do a section this year, another section another year.  Many people don’t have time to take a whole long pilgrimage all at once, vacation time being what it is.

Or you could do a one week pilgrimage in Jerusalem.  We felt we saw all the sights well in that time.  There, of course, we stayed in one hotel the entire time and ventured out each day to explore the sites. On other pilgrimages, you will be moving day to day.

Pilgrims in the middle ages made long difficult journeys to earn favor, or do penance, or hope for a cure.  Your pilgrimage doesn’t have to be long and hard, but part of the satisfaction for taking a pilgrimage comes from challenging yourself or learning something.

Pilgrims do go to specific places for a deeper, more significant experience than the casual tourist might.  Although pilgrimages may be spiritual experiences, they all don’t have to be “churchy”.  People even go on pilgrimages for somewhat less reverent reasons… a pilgrimage to Elvis’ birthplace for instance.

Whether you go to the Potala in Tibet, the Vatican in Rome, or the Western Wall or the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, you really feel like you’re some place special.

A visit to ancient caves like the Font de Gaume in France… connecting with the 25,000 year old art can feel like a pilgrimage.  You get that connected feeling in places like Stonehenge and Avebury too.

You can choose to just visit a site and stay in a hotel.  You can make the long walk like the Way of Saint James to Santiago de Compostela.  You can go with a group or by yourself.

However you choose to do it, take a pilgrimage for personal satisfaction to someplace that means a lot to you.  It’s a great way to give travel more meaning.

The Grand Canyon is one of those places that you have to see in person.  Pictures will never do it justice.

Descriptions will tell you that it is a great chasm carved over millennia… the Colorado River slicing away at the Colorado Plateau.

People will tell you that it has awe-inspiring views.  Vacationers and holiday makers will tell you it’s a great place to hike or ride the rapids.

All of that is true… but you have to see it.  An amazing fact we heard from a ranger once is that a typical stay in the park lasts five to seven hours, and most visitors stay at the rim of the Grand Canyon for less than an hour.  (We’ve even heard less than 20 minutes!)  How can you do that? (more…)

Hike into the Grand Canyon to really experience it.  It’s an unfortunate fact that most visitor see the canyon from the rim and for an hour or less.

Even if you stay on the South Rim and watch the light play on the canyon and see the colors change, you will miss the extra dimension you get when you venture down into the Grand Canyon.

If your time is short, you can take a day hike part way down either the Bright Angel Trail or the South Kaibab trail.  Even getting 3 or 4 hours down one of these trails will take you on a geologic safari back in time.

Information along the sides of the trails tells you how old the rocks are that you are hiking through.  And looking back up at the rim, you get a whole different feel for the canyon.

If you have more time to get into the Grand Canyon, plan to hike to the floor of the canyon.  If you get reservations to stay at Phantom Ranch, you can make the hike without a back country permit. (more…)

If you’re a student of history, ancient or modern, a drive through Normandy makes for a great holiday.

If you want to start with some of the older history, it was from Normandy that William the Conqueror set out to take over the throne of England in 1066.  If you are into 20th century history, there are the D-Day Invasion Beaches to explore.

You’ll probably start by driving to Rouen.  Though it is a big city, there are plenty of historical sites to see in its center.  You can find a car park near the Place du Vieux Marche (the old Market Square).  It was here that Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431.

Wander up the street and under the large old clock that is in a tower that straddles the street – the Gros-Horloge.  Make your way up to the Cathedrale Notre-Dame.  This gothic cathedral was the subject of several of Claude Monet’s paintings. (more…)

Mont Saint-Michel.  As you approach it, the abbey seems to float on the horizon… its spire glinting gold in the sun.  It has attracted pilgrims for hundreds of years.  Today it still attracts visitors… over three million tourists a year.

The legend is that a bishop in the 8th century heard the voice of the Archangel Michael tell him to build the abbey.  There had been churches on the site before, but the striking abbey of Mont Saint-Michel was what started drawing pilgrims.

The land around the island is a flood plain, and it is often surrounded by water at high tide.  There is a causeway that leads to the island.  It is no longer as isolated as it once was because the causeway itself has stopped the flow of tides around the island and much of the bay has silted up.

The Abbey church is only the top most building on this little island.  It is surrounded high on the hill by monastic buildings. (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…)