8 Tips to Snare the Best Travel Deals

Planning a trip? Here are few tips from USA Today that can help you get the best deal. Read More...

After you buy your airline tickets, make your hotel reservations and pay your trip deposits, consider protecting your travel investment by purchasing one our affordable travel insurance policies which reimburses you for trip cancellation or if your journey is interrupted due to a family emergency or if you are quarantined due to H1N1. Get a free Travel Insurance Quote.

Silver Lining

The recent airline fees for checked luggage and ancillary services have increased the cost of travel and the reduction in capacity has reduced the number of available flights and limited routes. Increased longer transit times are "the likely cause of a 17% increase in involuntary denied boardings or passengers being "bumped" off flights over the past two years.

The Silver Lining:

1. With less air traffic nearly 80% of all domestic flights arrive on-time over the past two years.
2. Flight cancellations have decreased by over 10% which is benefit of having more planes available on standby
3. Costumer complaints for mishandled bags have dropped over 25% and the actual reported number of mishandled bags declined by 40% over the past two years

To read more visit USA Today.

Are You Traveling with Children?

Lonely Planet founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler have traveled with their children ever since they were infants and have published a book with tips and advice on traveling with babies, children and teens. Check out Travel with Children: Your Complete Resource at your local bookstore or on Amazon.com

When both parents are traveling and purchase the Atlas International travel medical insurance, then the first two children up to age 9 are covered at no additional charge. If only one parent is traveling, then the first child up to age 9 is covered at no additional charge.

Do you have any tips for families, single parents or family friendly destinations? If so, then please leave a comment and share your advice.

Easy and Accurate Currency Converter

Currency Converter
from www.GoCurrency.com. This converter allows you to know today's exchange rate between more than 120 international currencies. The rates are provided by Reuters and are updated at the end of every day, at approximately 5:00 pm Eastern Time (US).

Minimum Connection Times for International Flights

Most airlines recommend arriving at the airport 3 hours prior to an international flight; however, there is not an airline industry rule for a minimum amount of time between connecting international flights. Here are a few observations from my experiences.

1. Get familiar with the airports your are flying in and out of. You can fly from Phoenix to Chicago O'Hare and have the change terminals if you are flying most international airlines i.e. Turkish Airlines, British Airways, Air France, etc... so you need to allow yourself plenty of time to change terminals, get your boarding pass and go through security. However if your flying Phoenix to Dallas to London on American Airlines, then there is no need to switch terminals.

2. Get familiar with your airline. Most U.S. based airlines allow you to check-in 1 - 5 hours before your flight which reduces check-in lines. Many foreign airlines don't open their ticket counters until 2 hours before departure time which results in the majority of travelers standing in line with less than 2 hours before take off. Picture 250 people with carts of luggage and three ticketing agents! Yikes!

3. Allow time for customs and immigration. When you arrive into a foreign country you will go through customs and immigration. If you have not obtained a entrance visa before you arrive, then you will have to go through immigration. From my experience this is a slow process. Don't be impatient but just allow plenty of time, especially if you are connecting to a local in-country flight. When you are returning to the U.S. I usually recommend a minimum of 1 hour for immigration and customs control and then another hour to recheck your luggage and go to your gate.

Personally I allow myself enough time to check-in, find my gate and grab a bottle of water. I'd rather be waiting for my next flight instead of stressing that I might miss my connection.

Great Blog for Missionaries

If you travel on international short-term mission or volunteer trips, then I recommend checking out www.MissionaryHealth.net/blog. Today there is a practical article on finding great seats when sitting in coach.

IRS "Turning Over Every Rock" to Raise Revenue: Obama Targeting Overseas Assets

Staying Healthy on Long Flights

If you have traveled abroad, then you have probably read about exercises you can perform during your flight. Some of you might have chuckled at the poor illustrations and doubt there is a need to roll your neck, shoulders or ankles or flex your feet and toes. Why is exercising 35,000 feet in the air so important?

Doctors, medical researchers and the airline industry are all warning of the potential fatality of Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) or deep vein thrombosis, which is the formation of a blood clot in the deep veins of the leg or pelvis that can cause death within hours if a piece of the clot breaks loose and travels to the lungs or heart and causes a pulmonary embolism. I had a family relative who frequently traveled to Europe and Asia and became severely ill. She was hospitalized, misdiagnosed and she suffered permanent damage to her lungs due to the blood clot. Unfortunately since then she has not been able to make a transatlantic flight.

This happened about 10 years ago but deep vein thrombosis is not a new medical condition and has affected thousands of travelers. Although we are not doctors, we highly recommend speaking with your doctor prior to long trips. On Monday the Annals of Internal Medicine published an article warning travelers about the importance of knowing the symptoms and staying hydrated and mobile to help prevent the condition from developing during long trips. Travelers with cardiovascular or pulmonary conditions should take additional precautions. "It's been conventional wisdom that there is a risk associated with long-distance travel, but this is the first research to support the theory," says researcher Dariush Mozaffarian, an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard Medical School.

Drinking water helps dilute your blood and exercises improves the circulation of the blood. Stay hydrated and at a minimum, take a stroll up and down the isle a couple times each hour.

Travel Safe,

Adam Bates
http://www.globalcitizeninsurance.com/