Do Not Use 800 Numbers When Booking Trips

September 24, 2008 at 11:01 am · Filed under Travel_Trip

The theme of modern society seems to be give me convenience or give me death. In the case of booking trips, this convenience will really cost you.

Do Not Use 800 Numbers When Booking Trips

Toll free numbers are touted as a service offered to make our life easier. If I need to call a business, the toll free number allows me to do so without spending a dime. The real question, however, is just how much money are we saving? In fact, are we saving any when it comes to vacations?

When booking a trip, there is an inherent desire to get everything done as easily as possible. This makes sense since who wants to call airlines, car rentals, hotels and so on? In each instance, however, using the toll free number can really cost you.

Here is some breaking news. When you call a toll free number, you are getting a national call center who more or less has a set list of prices. In many instances, these prices are actually higher than if you just walked into the business at your destination. In exchange for the convenience of a toll free number, you are paying a premium! Let’s take a closer look.

Car rentals are the most obvious area where you get killed using the national toll free line. They may give you a slight upgrade, but nothing compared to the local office. The best approach is to contact the lot the morning you are flying in to simply see if they expect to have extra cars. Don’t reserve one unless they are going to be tight. Upon arrival, just stroll over and ask for a deal. They will always give you upgrades and tremendous pricing. Even better, take a cab into town to a local car rental. You will save anywhere from thirty to fifty percent on the pricing.

Hotels and toll free numbers are also a bad mix. The call centers are concerned about overall sales across the entire chain. The desk clerk of a hotel, however, is only concerned about his bookings. This gives you an opportunity to score a deal. Instead of calling the toll free national number, find the local number and see what you can score. Unless there is a convention in town, you can usually do very well.

Face the facts. Using a toll free number doesn’t save you much on calls. It can, however, cost you a bundle in your travels.

Rick Chapo is with NomadJournals.com - makers of travel accessories.

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Fun Limousine Trip in Texas

September 23, 2008 at 3:03 am · Filed under Travel_Trip

Are you looking for some great fun things to do in Texas, but are not sure if you will be able to find all the places that you would like to go? Well, forget about driving there yourself, book a limousine and have the driver do all the driving work for you and your pals.

One of the best choices that you will make when planning your trip to Texas would be to charter a limousine and travel around the places of your choice in Texas in style in the limousine. With a limousine that you have booked, you do not have to worry about the designated driver among your pals, getting lost and turning up at some strange area, looking for a parking space so that you do not have to walk a distance to the place of visit and so on. Anything and everything that has to do with driving and traveling is taken care of by the limousine driver.

Once you get into the limousine, ask your limousine driver to bring you and your pals to Orange’s Super Gator Tours to enjoy a cruise through the beautiful, serene southern swampland. This unique environment is the home of alligators, nutria, turtles, raccoons, egrets and many other waterfowl. A ride in the airboat will take you gently across the boggy waters to give you some real hands-on lesson in the natural sciences.

After that, have your limousine driver take you and your pals for lunch at Beaumont and also for some museum-hopping time. Some of the great choices of museums to visit are the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, showing works by Texas artists, the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum that immortalizes the world’s greatest female athlete. If you and your limousine pals decide to just visit one museum, get your limousine driver to bring you to the Spindleton/Gladys City Boomtown Museum and see for yourselves how they have re-created Gladys City, the the world’s first oil boomtown, which appeared virtually overnight in January, 1901, after the Spindletop oil well blew in.

When you are through with historical facts, you and your limousine pals may choose to wind down at Port Arthur and try some of the local cuisine at one of the pubs or restaurants at Pleasure Island, which happens to be a recreational area that was said to be once a favorite hideout of pirates. Finally, when the day is over, you and your pals can now return home in the limousine that you have booked for this wonderful trip.

UsCoachwaysLimousine is a leading US-based limousine service provider with an impressive list of limousine service clients. Check out http://www.uscoachwayslimousine.com

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Trip Report Lamu, The Pearl of the Kenyan Coast

September 22, 2008 at 4:12 pm · Filed under Travel_Trip

My first thought upon arriving in Lamu, the pearl of the Kenyan coast, was where have I taken my 7-year-old kid? Dusty, dirty and it smelled, horribly.

Lamu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its cultural significance, is steeped in the Swahili culture that once dominated the East African coast from Somalia to Mozambique. And despite my first impression, it doesn’t take long for this backwater town to get under your skin.

Narrow streets, storied buildings, and elaborately carved wooden doors set the backdrop. Donkeys, the town’s sole means of transports, provide local charm. But what sets Lamu apart from the beach resorts further south are the people: courteous, welcoming and warm. While one should be aware of small tricks, as of yet, there are few ‘beach boys’ here.

We spent the first afternoon wandering the settlement’s bustling streets, stopping each time something intrigued. Watching locals play Mancala, a board game, was fascinating; their skill only wholly appreciated after we had our first go at Count and Capture, as the game is often referred to in the West. Shopping also proved hard to resist. Kikoi, the striped and plaid fabric worn by men, line shops throughout the ‘old town’. And while you may be able to buy the material and get a beach cover made for less than the

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