Africa!

Africa is a beautiful example of what tourism can do for a place. With Safaris of all kinds and the most luxurious of tents, it's truly an experience of a lifetime!

Travel Trends and The Younger Generation

The hottest new trends in travel revolve around the youngest age group with disposable income, the melinnials! 

What does that mean? It means a few things. First, it means melinnials are spending more money on traveling than on the things generations before them didn't. They aren't buying homes, cars and appliances. They're buying vacations. 

Second, they're not buying bare bones budget trips. They're buying tours. And the generation that's the most tech savvy is not purchasing online, they're using travel agents.

Third, they like the perks! Tours with meals and all the excitement you can order. They want as inclusive as they can get. They want to see it all! It's no wonder, chances are threat they may never get to do it again.

Fourth, they're having fun!  Who doesn't want that carefree vacation with English speaking cheuffers, tour guides and top rated accommodations.

I think everyone could take a tip fromthe mellinnials and see their travel agent and spend a little more on vacations and a little less on all the other of life's wants.

However you do it, do it your way, because you may never get the opportunity to do it again.  Life is too short, live it your way!

2016 Travel Trends

With TV tourism on the rise, people are looking for road trips and destinations they've never seen before other than on TV! They grab the essentials and they go off on their journey.

That being said people are also spending more on vacationing than ever before! We are looking at an additional 69% increase over what people were spending on vacationing just a few years ago. People are realizing feelings they've never had before by traveling to new places and seeing unfamiliar things. It's a very addictive and excitingfeeling that people have never had before and they crave it more and more and more.

Millennial's are the highest spenders in years. They're seeking thrills and pushing limits that have never had before. It's not just a basic or inclusive Caribbean vacation, they're going to places like Australia, Singapore, Europe, Africa, Malaysia, you name it they're going!

Aside from destinations and age groups, people are going solo!  It doesn't matter what the age, but 17% of people are planning to travel solo for the first time this year. This is a large swing on solo travelers.

And then there's cruising. It continues to be a trend for an easy holiday to take people on a perfect stress free family vacation that they can collapse by the pool and everything is taken care of for them.

Accommodations. This is the biggest change in a long time. People are paying more for Wi-Fi. They're working for reliable, fast, free. And while Prostrations have sure the people didn't care as much about Wi-Fi, more people are working well taking longer vacation. It's kind of a thing in trouble now work for two hours in the morning, take a excursion, hit the pool after lunch, and enjoy a lot of things that people were never able to do for such a long period of time before.

Air-conditioning. 69% of people will purchase a place with air-conditioning over a place with out when visiting hot or tropical climate. They want comfort. The kind of comfort they find a home and the kind of comfort that they expect when they pay good money to stay at an expensive place.

Motion Sickness

I was 31 years old when I first got motion sickness.  It was a whirlwind trip to Washington D.C. in the summertime.  It was a cocktail of planes, trains and automobiles and it left me a bit queezy!  I never wanted to feel like that again.  Then on a plane from Puerto Vallarta, MX to Houston, TX it happened.   I puked on an airplane!  I puked and I puked......you get the point.  Dramamine!  I always keep it in my "emergeny medical" bag in my carry-on.  As soon as we landed and I could see straight, I hit up Taco Bell and the Dramamine!  It was quite possibly the best taco on the planet at that moment.  By the time I landed in St. Louis I was sure I'd never fly again!

Fast forward 3 weeks, my lovely wants to take me to the Dominican Republic for a long weekend.  So, a quick call to the clinic and my motion sickness patches were ready for pick-up just in time to head to St. Louis for our early flight the next morning.  I put it on before bed since I wouldn't have 3 hours between waking and take-off.  I woke up high as a kite!  I would call it the best recreational drug I've ever had....but, it wasn't for recreation.  I was getting on a plane in 2 hours.  I felt great....until the patch fell off later that day!  Then it started, the withdrawl.  It was worse than the motion sickness! It was a solid 24 hours before I felt better.  Then we had a day excursion, then time to go home.  I enjoyed the sunshine and sand on Bavaro Beach, but it was way too short. 

So, in talk to traveling to Hawaii with my kids on a 10 hour flight, plus a 30 minute flight, plus a 13 hour flight, off to the clinic I trekked.  Now a drug cocktail to go with the motion cocktail.  One for queeziness, one for vomiting.  Anyone who gets motion sickness knows the amount of dehydration you experience.  And anyone who has taken long flights knows that dehydration.  Double bad!

I'll give you an update on the motion sickness cocktail after I travel.

More Destinations for Less Dinero

Lake Tahoe

When traveling, do you ever have a problem deciding between destinations?  Did you ever consider splitting your time between two or more?  You get more bang for your buck when you travel to more destinations in one trip.  For instance, if you fly out of Chicago and you can't decide between San Diego and Las Vegas in March, why not split your time between the two?  You get the best of both worlds, less the airfare of two trips and a change of scenery half way through and you can have the fun and excitement of the Las Vegas strip and some days at the beach, surfing and sunshine and some of the best amenities of two.

10 Tips for Flying with Kids

NEVER expect to ignore your child's misbehavior on a flight, or in an airport for that matter.  Once I had a small child (no, I'm not an anti-kid nazi, I have 2 lovely ones of my own) knock over a HUGE sign at the airport on top of me.  It's a wonder I wasn't injured or worse, the small child wasn't injured.  What was worse, he was on my flight home from Nicaragua.  He was equally misbehaved on the flight.  I love well behaved children while traveling.  And, not to avoid every major melt-down during travel, it's unavoidable.  But, good parenting goes a long way while traveling.

1. Kill Germs. Airports and planes are dirty. Bring disinfectant wipes and wipe down everything around your child on the plane; arm rests, tray tables, wall, window shade – everything.  You don't want sick kids on vacation, or even right when you get back home.
2. Bring extra supplies. The diaper bag has to be filled, complete with any supply that might ever be needed for any possible reason.  Extra diapers and supplies (30% more than you think you need – just in case of delays), paper towels, a cloth towel just in case you have to mop up a spill, plastic bags and ziplock baggies and an infinite supply of wipes. Bring a little air-freshener too. Trust me, you may be used to your little-one’s spit-up smell, but everyone around you won’t appreciate it.  And, don't forget to take the stroller if your kid still fits in one.
3. Keep ‘em busy. Children’s attention spans are short at a young age.  I plan the 15-minute activity list.  You should have one activity per 15 minutes. Keep them busy and they’re less likely to aggravate you and the other people on the plane. Activities can be repeated, but only once an hour.  For us, these include: crayons on coloring books, regular hard picture book, sticker book, etch-a-sketch mini and one of those books with the special marker that reveals hidden pictures as you color, snacks and iPad (or insert your choice of electronic) for emergencies.
4. Go ahead, watch TV. Here, television IS your friend. For longer flights, get a portable DVD player or something where you can play Barney, the Wiggles or whatever else you child likes.  And, do yourself and everyone else around you a favor and buy your kids child size headphones.
5. Popping Ears. Infants cry during take-off and landing because their ears hurt.  So, make sure they’re drinking a bottle during those times to alleviate their ear-popping pain. It has worked like a charm for both of my kids.  For toddlers, it's time to learn to chew gum and it's the best environment for supervision with it.  Some water or juice won't hurt either.
6. Extra clothes. Bring extra clothes for the kids…and for you. Sometimes, children get sick, so plan for it. Sometimes children get sick on you which my wife learned on one flight when my son threw up on her. From then on, we’ve each carried an extra t-shirt with us, just in case.
7. Thou shall not kick. If your child is a fan of kicking the seat in front of them (why do they do this?), take off their shoes. One kick and it will hurt and they’ll stop doing it.
8. Hear no evil. No matter how well-behaved you think your kids are, they may cry. So, as soon as the flight attendant comes around offering earphones, offer to buy a set for each of your seat-mates. 
9. Thank you and Sorry! Sometimes your children are going to misbehave. It happens.  Yes, they are just kids (Okay? There, I said it.)  Or, they’ll be sick or something just won’t go as planned on the plane. You’ll make a few people miserable. This is where some Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts gift cards come in really handy.
10. Dads – this one is for you. Your wife has enough to deal with so help her. I'm lucky enough to have the best dad on earth for a husband.  He really should be the one staying home with our kids instead of me.  He's a way better dad than I am a mom.

Iceland: A Hidden Gem in The North

I would have never guessed Iceland to be so amazingly beautiful!  My brother, Chris was stationed in Keflavik and my grandma and I went to visit.....for 10 days!  Now, first, if you've never seen a glacier, you should go.  Second, if you've never seen a waterfall, you should also go.  And third, realize it's nothing like anything you would or could ever imagine.

What did I discover about Iceland?

1. It's cold, but pretty.  I'm talking not just pretty, but beautiful!  Glaciers, waterfalls, shipyards, lighthouses, Icelandic Ponies and cute little cottages make this great little country something really cool to look at.

2. They heat their homes with geothermal and there are hot water pipes running all over.

3. The Blue Lagoon - the world's top spa is located in this wonderful country and located in Grindavik.  It's a beautiful and amazing.  I would go back to Iceland just to visit The Blue Lagoon.

4. It gets light out for almost 24 hours a day in the summer.  Although it gets light for so many hours, it's surprisingly cold and windy!  And, on the contrary, gets dark out for almost 24 hours a day during the winter.  If you want to see the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis, head to Iceland.  The lights are truly a sight to be seen (so I hear).

5.  The people are unique.  Very unique.  Education isn't so much valued in the country.  It was almost like stepping back into the 50's when interacting the people in Iceland.  And, the Icelandic language sounds very different from what I thought it would.

6. The food is not a cuisine I would brag about having tried.  I'll try anything once, but when I was told "don't eat that" for some reason I listened.  Sheep brains, dried fish and eyeballs are NOT on my to eat list.  I highly recommend sticking to a good Chinese restaurant and the Hard Rock Cafe.