I love to travel and I’m not picky—I’ll go pretty much anywhere my credit cards can afford to take me. Once I decide where I’m going, I carefully research the best deals, amp up my excitement with guidebooks and daily internet searches, and so by the day I split town, I’m in a happy tizzy. I carefully pack the night before and make sure I’m at the airport two hours ahead of time so I can get in a quick pre-boarding glass of wine and maybe a little duty-free shopping.

My man has the opposite reaction to going anywhere not reachable by subway. When he’s forced to travel, getting there is a frenzy of profanity, packing and more profanity. He bolts out of bed, throws a bunch of stuff into a suitcase, howls he can’t find his toothbrush and sprints out the door. Once he even landed in Chicago wearing two different shoes. I understand that at 6’ 5”, flying coach is akin to torture, but the pay-off is worth it. He disagrees.

So after six years of togetherness, I tend to either travel by my lonesome or extend the rare trips we take together for a few days after he’s gone. But this year, the radio station I work for surprised me with two tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S. or Caribbean, so I let him choose. He likes the beach, so we’re going to Puerto Rico in a couple weeks. As I feared, the bitching has already begun.

In order to make this trip as painless as possible for the both of us, I called my travel-writer friend, Jeff Koyen. I knew he’d traveled extensively with his new wife and asked him to share some tips on making our trip as harmonious as possible. Jeff had some excellent advice:

Compromise

“I would normally stay in the three-dollar hotel room,” Jeff says about the couple’s recent four-month trip to Central America. His wife Neena had other ideas. She wanted fancy extras like indoor plumbing and, oh, a door. “I refused to do $150 a night, but we found a nice room for $50 so we compromised on that.”

Wow. So far, so good—both Spyro and myself are firmly in the indoor plumbing/mini-bar camp. Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.

Get on the same (calendar) page

“Figure out if you are you booking the itinerary in advance,” Koyen advises. “Are you going to just show up and get a hotel room? Will you arrange ground transportation in advance or just see where the day takes you?” Neena has the same easy-going approach to travel, so they played it by ear without a hitch.

Both Spyro and I are far too uptight to just “show up” anywhere, so we’ll be booked into a hotel with a pool, en-suite bathroom, and a beach out front, long before our plane lands. Yet another argument we won’t be having!

Know your partner’s comfort level

“If you know the person you’re traveling with flips out at a long supermarket line, they’re not going to do well with a days-long bus trip,” Koyen points out. I sort of chuckle along with Jeff at the wacky idea that anyone wouldn’t be comfortable with spending days on a bus, but the truth is, I’m glad Spyro would sooner gnaw his own arm off than embark on such a journey. Saves me from being the bad guy.

Figure out your idea of fun

“I was surprised to find out that Neena was ready for anything,” Koyen told me. “She wanted to go caving, so we were crawling along in this deep, dark scary cave, when the guide pointed out a giant spider hanging right over our head—it was about eight or nine inches wide. It was really creepy, but Neena wasn’t scared or freaked out at all.”

I think I can safely say that I’ve just found another thing my man and I have in common because we’d both be quivering in a corner of that cave, madly trying to dig our way out. Our trip is shaping up to be fun!

How deep is your love?

When Jeff and his now-wife took off on their first epic adventure, they’d only been dating for a little while. “It definitely turned into a solid love during our travels—she was chill and up for anything. For my part, I learned not to travel so independently and stubbornly. She turned out to be the best travel buddy I ever had.”

Aww. I started writing this piece because I was grouchy about my boyfriend’s grumbling. But hearing about all the potential arguments we won’t be having has put a whole new delightful spin on our trip!

¡Buen viaje!

Written by: Judy McGuire originally on www.thefrisky.com  a dating/relationships website.
Friday March 26th 2010

Banff summer adventures bring you face to face with nature. Marvel at majestic wild animals, inspiring wild spaces, jagged mountain peaks, and thickly forested alpine valleys. Enjoy abundant Banff Lake Louise summer activities. Explore scenic driving routes, Take a casual stroll through wildflowers in an alpine meadow or test your extreme limits climbing to the roof of the Rocky Mountains. Backpack across rock ridges formed by undersea oceans over 45 million years ago. Tee off at a five-star golf course. Throw a fish hook in the water, walk on a glacier, or canoe on Lake Louise’s turquoise water. Or take a guided trip outside the park for heli-hiking, whitewater rafting, and ATV fun.

The Bow Valley Parkway is the relaxed scenic route to Lake Louise and a convenient way to get a taste of the wilderness, wildlife, and natural beauty of Banff National Park.

The Icefields Parkway climbs north of Lake Louise 160kms and tours past expansive valleys, snow-capped mountains, roadside waterfalls and right up to the doorstep of a glacier you can actually walk on. This will be far more than just the most sublime and spectacular road trip you’ve ever taken, so be sure to allow extra time for pictures at scenic viewpoints and a few minutes to read interpretive signs that explain the area. You can even take along a tour guide for your vehicle!

If golf is your passion you will find two of the world’s best courses in the area. Renowned for its panoramic beauty, The Fairmont Banff Springs Golf Course in Alberta is a captivating and challenging layout set in the heart of Canada’s Rocky Mountains. Kananaskis Ranch Golf Course is a full 18 Hole public facility open April to October. This Rocky Mountain golf course lies in the shadows of Yamnuska Mountain on the North side of the Brewster family’s 85 year old guest ranch.

Or let one of the many angler guides take you on a fly-fishing excursion of a lifetime. Catch and release wild trout, Bow River Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat and Bull Trout on the smaller mountain streams of southern Alberta.

Experience one of life’s greatest thrills on a whitewater rafting adventure in the unparalleled beauty of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Whether you opt for family fun or wild rapids, friendly, fun-loving professional guides can provide you with a tour that you and your traveling companions will remember for years to come.

And best of all; visiting Banff, Lake Louise, and Jasper National Park in the summer will save you money!!

The latest Mykonos attraction is a Contiki resort, 10km from Mykonos Town.

Their philosophy is that you can’t have too much fun. Check it out if you are between 18 and 35 years of age.

There’s loads to do – swimming, sunbaking, relaxing in a jacuzzi, tennis, water polo, volleyball, surf skiing, meeting new friends in the lounge, sending e-mail home, shopping and enjoying cool drinks.

It was a Saturday night and I figured that what ever parking lot and building this was, no one would be using it on Sunday morning. So, I parked and unhooked the trailer and set up camp. By morning I had all the camping gadgets set up, gas grill, lawn chairs, trash can ect.

However, at about 10.30am, a line of cars started to poor into the parking lot and people dressed up in tuxedos and long dresses began to get out and walk right next to my camp and enter the front door of the building that I was parked right in front of.

Out of all the times and all the places, I happened to set up camp in front of the main entrance for a high school graduation!

As the graduates, family and guest passed by my camp site I remember asking one of them as they passed by if they knew “what day does the trash get picked from here”!

It’s a true story.

Author: E. Kasikantiris
More at: http://www.souldestination.com/id62.html

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A senior at Missouri was overheard saying.. “When the end of the world comes, I hope to be in Missouri.”   When asked why, he replied he’d rather be in Missouri because everything happens in Missouri 20 years later than in the rest of the civilized world.

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The young man from Missouri came running into the store and said to his buddy, “Bubba, somebody just stole your pickup truck from the parking lot!”  Bubba replied, “Did you see who it was?  “The young man answered, “I couldn’t tell, but I got the license number.”

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NEWS FLASH! – Missouri’s worst air disaster occurred when a small two-seater Cessna 150 plane, piloted by two Mizzou students, crashed into a cemetery earlier today. Search and Rescue workers have recovered 300 bodies so far and expect the number to climb as digging continues into the evening.   The pilot and copilot survived and are helping in the recovery efforts.

Despite being in the middle of the desert, the people of Coober Peady haven’t let that get in the way of getting in a round of golf. Coober Peady is home to an 18 hole golf course. What makes it different is the total lack of grass. There isn’t a blade of grass within hundreds of kilometers of Coober Peady. If you look closely you’ll notice under the sign that the ball is orange and there is a small square of artificial turf. The ground rules for the course allow for putting the square of turf under the ball for each stroke not on the “green”, so you don’t hit a rock when taking a swing. The “green”, you can see in the background, is really “black” and is sand.

More at: http://everything-everywhere.com/2008/10/09/daily-travel-photo-coober-peady-south-australia/

Then there are those persistent factoids that can only be classified as Urban Travel Legends. They’re usually not true—or at least they haven’t been true for quite some time—yet they continue to clutter our database of travel knowledge. Here are several of the most enduring legends, along with some clear-eyed facts.

The Airline Secret Code
The hardest-to-kill legend is the claim that you’ll receive special treatment from an airline only if you utter the secret code “Rule 240.” Whenever your flight is canceled or seriously delayed, the story goes, simply ask the gate agent to Rule 240 you, and the airline will magically place you, at no additional cost, on the next available flight of any other carrier flying the route.

The problem? There is no Rule 240, at least not anymore. Rule 240 was shorthand for an old Civil Aeronautics Board regulation that required airlines to immediately place you on another flight, regardless of the fare you originally paid or the carrier you originally booked. But the C.A.B. and its rules disappeared after the airlines were deregulated in 1978.

Today, carriers set their own rules, and they’re laid out in the “contract of carriage” buried in the fine print on airline websites. You agree to the contract when you buy a ticket, and most carriers have terms similar to the jargon imposed by Delta Air Lines. Delta’s contract promises nothing; it even specifically disavows its responsibly to place you on the flight with the date, time, and destination printed on your ticket. As for getting help if your flight is grounded, lots of luck. According to Delta, any assistance is “at our sole discretion.”

Why does the myth of Rule 240—and the chimera of mandated federal travel assistance—persist? Airline legerdemain. At least three carriers—Delta, United, and Northwest—call their proprietary contract terms Rule 240. This must be some sort of inside joke that amuses airline-contract lawyers.

Dress Up and Get Upgraded
Dressing for success, at least for business travelers, is about snaring that elusive upgrade to first or business class. Far too many flyers cling to the belief that airlines give free upgrades to the folks who will look cool in a premium-class seat.

The truth, of course, is altogether different. For starters, airlines don’t give out free upgrades anymore. Thanks to frequent-flyer-program databases, carriers can easily identify their best, most profitable customers, and upgrades are awarded in fairly rigid compliance with the perks promised to that elite group. Plus, airlines have learned that upgrades to remaining premium-class seats can be sold at the gate moments before departure. (Depending on the route, upgrade fees range from $15 to $500 per flight.) So there’s no need for carriers to give seats away to anyone, let alone award them to flossy-looking budget flyers.

That being said, my friend Leonora was bumped up to business class last year because she had the right shoes. Leonora has a bad right hip and needs to fly in a coach seat with an aisle on her right. When she booked a flight to visit family in London, I called a friend at the airline and asked him to flag her request. He did—and also apparently marked her as a V.I.P. When Leonora appeared at the gate, the agent looked at her comfortable shoes and asked, “Do you have a pair of high heels?” Leonora produced a pair from her carry-on, slipped into them, and the gate agent proceeded to put her in the last available seat up front.

The Hacked Key Card

Hotels have switched from traditional metal room keys to computerized plastic key cards, giving rise to a weird urban-travel legend. Paranoid travelers are concerned that hotels encrypt credit-card details on the magnetic stripe of the key cards; then, once a guest checks out and returns the key card to the front desk, unscrupulous hotel clerks hack the credit-card number and go on spending sprees.

Pure fantasy. Although hotels can encrypt your key card with credit-card information, they almost never do. And despite an endless series of “tips” in the last year, I’ve never seen a police report or legal documents that prove a person’s financial details were lifted from a hotel key card.

Not convinced? Then do what I do: Take the key card with you when you leave. No hotel in the world requires you to turn it in when you check out. I’ve never even been asked to do so. If you really want to worry about hotel key cards, consider this: If there’s a power failure, and the hotel doesn’t have back-up power, those electronic locks won’t always work, and you may be locked out of your room for the duration of the blackout. Unlike the key-card scam, this has actually been known to happen over the years.

The Despicably Dirty Hotel

Of course, not every tale is a myth. Sadly, the one that claims hotel maids do terrible things while “cleaning” your room can be all too true. Hygiene standards at hotels are, frankly, in the toilet.

The exact shape of this rumor changes from time to time. One year, horrified guests whisper that maids are using water from the toilet to clean the mugs next to your in-room coffeemaker. Another year, someone will claim that black-light inspections of hotel duvets and bedspreads reveal colonies of germs and parasites. Travelers routinely swap tales of hotels plagued by bedbugs. Eventually some local television station, usually during a ratings period, will send its intrepid “investigative” team to uncover the despicable sanitary conditions at area hotels. (An Atlanta station’s recent exposé of how maids clean glassware is on YouTube.com.

Hotels in every price range underpay and overwork their housecleaning staff, who then take appalling, unsanitary shortcuts in order to get their work done. And that’s no surprise: Noted lodging consultant Michael Matthews once estimated that the average hotel maid “has just four seconds per square foot to clean a guest room and is paid half a cent per square foot for her labors.”

Makes you long for the days when hotels put cheap, disposable plastic glasses in your room, doesn’t it?

The Fine Print…

A followup to my column about the hidden fees on overseas A.T.M. transactions: Effective January 26, Citibank will now charge a 1 or 2 percent fee for using any overseas A.T.M., even those located in Citibank branches…. The British government has lifted the one-carry-on rule that hobbled travelers using London’s Heathrow Airport. The ban has also been lifted at London’s Stansted Airport and many other British airports. However, the one-bag rule remains in force at Gatwick and Luton, two other London-area airports.

Author – Joe Brancatelli; Joe writes Portfolio.com’s business travel column, Seat 2B. Brancatelli is the former executive editor of Frequent Flyer magazine and has written about travel in numerous publications.

The location is very good. Just one block of the Tuleries Garden and subway station. A few meters of the louvre and the Champs Elisee. But the room…My wife and me, enter in the room slowly and not at the same time…because was impossible to move inside the room! They have another record: The smalest elevator in all world! The breakfast is very good. they have a good persons in their staff, but not all the staff is good…
The price is the best thing in this hotel. Not expensive and the location is the best in Paris.

By A Yahoo! Contributor, 11/10/07