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TRAVEL RESOURCES

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Want to find out which airline has the worst seats in coach, or the disappointing ones in business class?  Go to seatguru.com.  Another great site is travelmavens.net which is filled with interesting reviews and sharp writing.  We find Rick Steves’ books insightful and easy to read.  Fodor’s Citypack series is very helpful, as well.

General Budgettravel.com has good information on house exchanges and hostels and columns by Ellliott Hester about his $60-a-day trip around the world. Sidestep.com shows discount leaders JetBlue and Southwest’s flights among others. For some more practical info click Spend Wisely. Lodging Exchangehomes.com is for those who are willing to swap time in their homes for time in yours. Most options are non-pay straight swaps. Seniorhomeexchange.com is restricted to house-swappers over 50 years old. Advantages include flexible schedules, and knowing you won’t get the Spring Breakers crashing in your home. Hostelworld.com locates private rooms in hostels which are usually cheaper than hotel rooms. Their “Tours Search” includes booking deals on trips like weeklong excursions or hourlong bus tours. Lodging.com finds discounted weekly rentals near amenities such as beaches, golf courses, and ski resorts. Also hotels near famous landmarks.http://www.budgettravel.comhttp://www.sidestep.comhttp://www.exchangehomes.comhttp://www.seniorhomeexchange.comhttp://www.hostelworld.comhttp://www.lodging.comshapeimage_4_link_0shapeimage_4_link_1shapeimage_4_link_2shapeimage_4_link_3shapeimage_4_link_4shapeimage_4_link_5

Liz Dahl, 59, baby boomer and avid traveler has created a Web site that caters to...her. “I was getting ads for medication and hearing aids and no one was appealing to my fun side.”  So she created Boomeropia.com as an information site, listing interesting trips and tours in 30 categories, from adventure to pet travel to beaches and bed-and-breakfasts.


Other categories include cruises, culinary travel, golf, fishing and camping trips where the tour operator does all the hard work for you, with comfortable tents and catered meals. Click on “botanical tours” and you’ll read about a trip to Kazakhstan in search of alpine plants; click on “volunteer” for details on an American Hiking Society trip to work in a park in the Chilean Patagonia.  There is also a forum section where readers can post photos and share their thoughts.


Source: St. Petersburg Times Travel Side Trip March, 2008

Tom Recommends getting one of these:


The Golden Age Passport is an entrance and discount pass to Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Corps of Engineers (Corps), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Forest Service (FS), National Park Service (NPS), and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) sites with entrance fees.


Citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. who are age 62 or older, pay a $10 Fee to purchase the Golden Age Passport card.


This card admits the pass owner and any accompanying passengers in a private vehicle. In those areas where a per person fee is charged, the pass admits the pass owner, spouse, and children.


Purchase the Golden Age Passport in person at most BLM Corps, FWS, FS, NPS sites or TVA Watershed Team offices. Proof of age must be shown.


For more information contact the Federal Recreation Office Headquarters for National Park Service at nps.gov.


Source: Federal Recreation Pass Programs Brochure, June, 2003

Book Helps Plan The Best Times

To Go Everywhere


A new coffee table book from Eyewitness Travel, Where to Go When: The Best Destinations All Year Round ($40), is being promoted as the ultimate trip-planner. Whether you’re an armchair traveler or a globetrotter, the book offers inspiration for a travel wish list.  It’s loaded with beautiful, colorful photographs, descriptions, advice and other tidbits.


Thirty destinations are presented for each month, with 11 covered in depth.  Tuscany, Italy, is recommended for October, when the grape and olive harvests take place.  The listing includes a six-day itinerary on the “Chianti Trail, “ from Florence to Sienna.


Sydney, Australia, is the place to be for New Year’s Eve, while May is a good time to visit La Paz, Bolivia.  February is the time of year when penguin chicks can be observed in Antarctica.


Source:  St. Petersburg Times Travel Side Trip, September 2, 2007

 

Best Times To Go