Tag Archives: travel

Safe Travels: 7 Tips for Staying Safe while Traveling

“Safe Travels.”

You probably heard or said that phrase dozens of times. Usually the meaning behind it is simple – we hope your car won’t break, your flight will be uneventful, and nothing bad happens while you’re on your way. However, the phrase could also mean – I hope won’t encounter any natural or man-made disasters while you travel, be it a tsunami, an earthquake, or, recently, a terrorist attack.

Wherever and however you travel, you can make your travels safer with a few precautions.

I assume that you have already researched the destination where you’re going, whether on U.S. Department of State’s Country Information pages, or an equivalent site.

Here are a few other tips from me and my fellow travel bloggers on how to stay safe while traveling:

#1. Register Your Itinerary with a Government Agency

Susan from Gen X Traveler says: “I register my travels with the U.S. Department of State Smart Traveller Enrollment Program (STEP) program. That way our government know where to look for me if they need to evacuate Americans.”

Sally from Our 3 Kids v The World adds: “Australia has the same, it’s called Smarttraveller website. You fill in your itinerary & if anything thing happens our government will know where we are. The onus is on yourself to register your movements on the site.”

Canadian traveler Alouise from Take Me To The World, registers with Registration of Canadians Abroad.

Do a bit of research to see if your country offers such registration service. Continue reading Safe Travels: 7 Tips for Staying Safe while Traveling

Looking back at 2015 and forward to 2016

I’d been thinking that 2015 was not the greatest year for me, travel and otherwise.

I didn’t get to do a long weekend trip to Montreal in 2015, as I was hoping to.

My husband and kids went on vacation to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina without me, because I was crazy busy at work during the April school break.

Peter and the kids having a great time in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, while I worked
Peter and the kids having a great time in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, while I worked

Continue reading Looking back at 2015 and forward to 2016

It sounds corny, but I can’t imagine traveling without TripAdvisor

This blog post is an assignment for a Social Media and Analytics class I’m taking (“write about an influencer in your industry”). Feel free to skip it, unless you do want to learn a little bit about the history of TripAdvisor, which is interesting, actually.

I feel like Dudley Dursley telling Mr. Mason, “We had to write an essay about our hero at school, Mr. Mason, and I wrote about you.” when I say I can’t imagine traveling without TripAdvisor, but it’s true – we consult TripAdvisor every time we are planning a trip.

I remember stumbling upon the TripAdvisor site years ago, when it was still in its infancy. There wasn’t much to it, and I think it was even before they had text ads.

Back then TripAdvisor was still just a travel search engine that Stephen Kaufer and Langley Steinert  built after Kaufer “could not find any place on the internet to get the real story about places he wanted to visit with his wife.”

“Reviews of hotels and attractions?” I thought after looking at the site, “What a brilliant idea! But… what is their business model? How are they going to make money on that?”

Continue reading It sounds corny, but I can’t imagine traveling without TripAdvisor