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“Are we there yet?” comes the tired refrain from the backseat which makes you think that you’re stuck in a bad family movie. Family vacations can be a terrific way to see new things and get some great bonding time in but they can also cause a number of headaches and hassles. Long car trips are a source of many of those headaches as kids get restless and parents get impatient. Here are some tips for keeping the kids entertained during long car trips so that everyone can enjoy the opportunity that you’re getting to spend some quality time together: (more…)

Taking a family vacation is the perfect time to work together with your children on a special vacation-related project. Depending on the age of your children, and the technology available on the journey, you could write a journal together, make a scrapbook, or even make a web page or blog. (more…)

I’ve always known Rick Steves had a million guide books to his name but I discovered recently that he also has a line of luggage. The line has recently expanded from backpacks to include rolling suitcases that the company claims are every bit as practical as the backpack.

The 21-inch Roll-Aboard bag is a big departure away from packs that can be carried on your back. This is a really light bag with a lot of space. The compartments can be expanded, although it is only suitable for carrying as hand luggage when it’s in the unexpanded state.

If you’re traveling independently and will need to get around on public transportation or do quite a bit of walking, I still think a backpack is the only way to go. But perhaps if you’ve got transfers to hotels arranged and aren’t moving around too much between destinations, something like this Rick Steves bag might also do the trick.

Couch surfing is a new trend for penny pinchers who still want to explore the world around them without paying a high price. (more…)

Whether you are traveling on vacation or business, it can be annoying to find all your clothes wrinkled when you arrive at your destination. Though you can’t avoid wrinkles completely, here are some tips to help you reduce wrinkles. (more…)

The new WHTI initiative requires all US citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean via air to have a valid passport. Those traveling by sea or land will be required to have a passport beginning in January 2008. That means it’s time to apply for a new passport or renew your expired one. (more…)

Many countries, such as those in the Caribbean and Western Europe, allow U.S. and Canadian citizens to enter with just a valid passport. But, if you’re traveling to countries that require a visa, you won’t be allowed to board your plane or ship without it.

What is a visa?
A visa gives you government permission to enter a country for a specified period of time. There are different kinds of visas—ones for vacation travelers, business travelers, and diplomats. Specific requirements vary from country to country, but there are a few common things to remember when applying for a visa.

How to get a visa
Since a visa is stamped directly into your passport, you must first obtain a passport. For those with a current passport, most governments require that it be valid for at least six months after the end of your proposed trip.

To apply for a visa, you’ll need to contact the country’s embassy or consulate. Requirements vary. Most countries require a completed form that asks contact information and the purpose of your trip. In addition, you’ll sometimes be asked to provide a passport size photo, proof of adequate funds, and occasionally a letter from a citizen of that country vouching for you. Business visas generally have additional requirements.

Turn-around time for visas also varies by country. A few countries will issue visas to in-person applicants on the same day. Most require from one to six weeks for processing.

A few caveats
Generally, applying for a visa is easy and stress-free. Keep in mind a few points, however.

• Allow adequate time for processing.
• If applying by mail, be sure to send your passport and paperwork via a secure carrier (one that requires the recipient’s signature).
• A very few countries, Yemen, for example, will not issue a travel visa to someone that has an Israeli visa stamped in their passport. In these cases, you may request the visa be stamped on a piece of paper not attached to your passport.

Your passport identifies you as a US citizen and is required to enter and leave most foreign countries. This includes travel to Mexico, Bermuda, and any other country in the Caribbean. Age is irrelevant, and all citizens traveling abroad, including infants and children, are required to have one. Passports are issued by the State Department, which is the only US agency that can grant passports. (more…)

If you haven’t taken your family to a cornfield maze in the last few years, this fall is the time to do it. The variety and number of corn mazes across the United States has never been bigger and they make a great family day out. Most mazes offer a small, easy one for young children and a more complicated one for adults and older children, often designed to make an intricate picture when viewed from above, but to provide only boggling confusion when you’re walking around inside it!

To find a good cornfield maze near you, try the MAiZE website. They advertise as being the largest cornfield maze company in the world, and over the last decade they’ve been joining together farmers across the US (and in Canada and Europe too) to create fall maze outings for families and at last count over 1,200 mazes have been grown and used by the MAiZE group. This year alone they’re responsible for over 190 maze locations in the US, spread across the country, so you should be able to find one in a location that suits you.

MAiZE was founded by a farmer, Bob Herbst, and it was probably always meant to be that he’d be involved with such a popular fall activity: his surname, Herbst, is also the German word for fall. He started out by creating a record with the largest corn maze in the western United States in 1996 and soon became a professional maze designer! He’s married with four children who surely must be experts at solving cornfield mazes by now.

If you want to become a maze expert yourself, or just have a fun fall day out, check the site list to find a maze in your area, or plan your fall holiday to include one (or more!). Individual maze opening seasons and times, activities and costs vary across the country, but the website gives you access to all of this information along with a calendar of special events for each maze. Some members of MAiZE are large farms that also provide hay rides, apple picking, pumpkins and even special Halloween events.

As the MAiZE motto goes: a maze is where getting lost means finding fun. You can really enjoy a fine fall day by getting out and rushing past the high maize plants trying to find your way to the maze goal, or trying to beat your kids on the way out. So go and get lost!

Heys is a Canadian luggage manufacturer that claims to sell some of the most lightweight luggage sets in the world. They’re actually only about twenty years old, so have made a pretty big impact on the market for their short history.

Some of their lightest luggage is produced from a special polycarbonate composite, which apparently keeps the cases not only light but also very robust. The idea is that this material is strong and hard but can also be flexible, so if it takes a dent it can return to its original shape without sustaining any damage.

As well as being lightweight, it even looks pretty stylish, and isn’t extraordinarily expensive. I’m big on being able to recognize my case when it’s coming round on the airport conveyor belt, so I’d go for one of the brighter colors (they even have a very girly bright pink), but they also produce more easily camouflaged cases in practical dark or khaki colors.

And finally, if you are like me and tend to come home with about twice the amount of luggage that you set off with, then Heys luggage is again quite handy. Even some of the hard sided cases are produced in forms which are able to expand (just remember to start your journey with the cases unexpanded, or you’ll just pack more than you need to).

A travel alarm is an essential part of any traveler’s kit. Although most hotels have in-room clock/radios and many offer wake-up calls, neither is extremely reliable. Best to bring your own alarm with you. The good news is that travel alarms are more compact than ever and offer a range of special features. No more wind-up, folding clocks. Today’s alarms offer everything from atomic time-seting to small, but powerful speakers for the built-in radio. There are scores of travel alarms on the market today, but these are a couple of our favorites: (more…)

World travelers all seem to have the same dream: if we had the resources, we’d quit our jobs and head to every state, island, country, and continent on the globe. We want to see it all, taste everything, and experience every last tidbit of culture that the world has to offer. Unfortunately, only very, very few of us are lucky enough to even begin to realize this dream. The rest of us scrimp and save, always looking forward to our next adventure.

Lonely Planet, publisher to some of the best budget guide books out there, has really delivered this time: in June 2007, they released the first edition of Volunteer: A Traveler’s Guide to Making a Difference Around the World.

Volunteer travel is one of the best ways for budget travelers to see the world while actually making a difference in the countries and regions of their choice. Imagine hopping aboard a plane to Costa Rica and, instead of spending two weeks on a beach full of tourists, helping with sea turtle conservation for a life-changing fourteen days.

Lonely Planet’s Volunteer lists over 190 world volunteer organizations and dozens of first-hand experiences from previous volunteers. Believe it or not, some of these volunteer programs have daily costs of less than you’d spend on dinner. Think single digit dollars a day, if you can believe it! And included in these costs are not only your room and board, but wonderful people with similar interests and varied experiences to share. Truly, what could be better than changing the world, and yourself, for only dollars a day?

The advent of affordable digital cameras has made vacation photography so much easier. No longer do you have to lug dozens of rolls of films back and forth from your trip, but you can actually see whether your picture turned out the way you intended while there’s still time to fix it.

Digital techology can’t, however, help with those age-old vacation photography problems, such as bad lighting, cutting off the subject’s head, or bad focus. The good news is that with just a few tips, you can avoid those problems. Good advice abounds on the Web. Among the best of these are:

1. From Shutterbug.com, tips on how to create vacation photos that will interest your friends and family back home.
2. From DT&G Photographic, ideas on composition, using flash, and “telling a story” with your vacation photos.
3. From CNN.com, tips on lighting and composition, written by a seasoned, professional travel photographer.
4. From Microsoft, ideas about buying the right camera equipment and perfecting your photos in the computer with an image program.
5. From About.com, ideas on creating memorable beach photographs, ones that you’ll want to frame when you get home.

So, do some reading before you head off on vacation, but remember: the best way to learn is by taking lots of pictures.

(photo credit: istockphoto)

If your child is thinking about taking a trip overseas you’re probably feeling a bit anxious about their vacation. You are excited that they are getting the chance to explore the world but a little worried about their safety. There are several steps you can take to make sure that you’re always apprised of their situation and to ease the minds of everyone involved. The first thing you should do is register with the State Department. This may feel a little extreme but it’s actually the responsible thing to do. Registration is free and by using the official website https://travelregistration.state.gov it’s really no problem at all. Once you’ve listed your itinerary then it is easier for your friends and family members to find you in case there is an emergency in the United States or if there is a crisis on our vacation route it’s easier for you to be found and contacted. You should also leave copies of your itinerary and photocopies of your passport with friends and family so they can contact you directly. Remember that your passport needs to be signed and the emergency portion should be filled out. In addition to the above steps, you should make a list of the U.S. Embassy information for the region you’re visiting. The personnel here are on staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and are available to all U.S. citizens in an emergency situation. Embassy contact information can be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs website at http://travel.state.gov. And finally, check with your cell phone company to see what your overseas options are. Many offer some overseas services but expect to pay much higher rates. Keeping in touch regularly can ease everyone’s fears about traveling abroad and, in turn, make the entire experience more enjoyable.

You’ve heard the story before: boy and girl meet, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl go on vacation, boy and girl have first fight. It’s the exact opposite of what should happen, since vacations are meant to be relaxing and enjoyable. But sometimes the stress of planning and the weight of our expectations get the better of us, sullying what is meant to be a fun and romantic getaway. (more…)

Town and Country is the oldest continually published magazine in the history of the United States and is something that a social climber wouldn’t dare leave home without. To become more of an all-encompassing publication for its subscribers; T & C launched Town & Country Travel on a quarterly basis in September of 2003. The intention of the magazine is to highlight destinations that are not the run of the mill American vacation spot and are quite simply put, just fabulous. Writers tune in to the world’s hottest cities, splendid beaches, tranquil country- sides to highlight the luxury hotels and 5 star restaurants. Besides destination information, T & C Travel offers expert advice on travel dilemmas that the rich and famous encounter. It’s taken a few years for T & C to break into the online community, but they are revamping not only the website for T & C, but T & C Travel is going through a transformation of sorts. One exciting change is that they will feature a blog where the editors and writers will post items on their journeys and the latest in vacation trends. Each week, they will highlight an “Escape of the Week” and present tips on the best lodging, restaurants, and activities that the area has to offer. Additionally, the updated website will feature a treasure trove of travel agents that can assist you in creating the vacation of your dreams. Town and Country Travel is sold in all of the major bookstore chains and tune into the updated website at www.townandcountrytravelmag.com.

Family vacation. That’s one of those phrases that can cause one of two reactions in parents: excitement or dread. That’s because family vacations are terrific opportunities to spend time with each other in new locations, having new experiences and getting a break from your normal routine. But that break in routine can also cause chaos for the kids which can make parents go a little crazy and return home needing a vacation of their own.

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Long before there were jumbo jets, before there were superhighways, people vacationed by train. Today, this largely forgotten mode of transportation is still a great way to see the American countryside, while letting someone else do the driving. Even better, most train stations are easy to navigate and relaxes compared to the typical airport. In addition, many popular train stations, such as Washington DC’s Union Station, are historic landmarks.

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Anyone who spends any amount of time on the internet has probably heard of Google’s new 411 service. You dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) say the location and business name or service and Google reads you back a list of possible matches. Hear the one you want, say the number you get connected. The new twist is when you hear the listing you want you can also say ‘map it’ and a link to a map will be sent to you via SMS.

Depending on your combination of carrier/phone/data service you could end up with anything from a completely useless unclickable link in an SMS message to a link that opens up in your mobile browser giving you door to door directions (hey they do say it’s an experimental service so cut them some slack). We suggest giving it a try from your house to your local restaurant first, before using this on the road.

Oh and a word of warning sometimes those directions you get from internet mapping services are a little peculiar. They leave out details like bridges if the toll isn’t collected in the direction you happen to be traveling, and can direct you to cross over highways where no overpass exists, so use a little common sense when following them.