Ask the Experts Part 1

The Wishing Well's Terrie Dean and Harry Reif discuss this week's travel news and answer your travel questions!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is a Lifeless Ordinary to travel show and podcasts
from your friends at the wishing Well, two forty three
ft Avenue in Harsmert and online at the wishing Well
dot biz. The wishing Well is your ultimate luxury concierge
travel agency and A Lifeless Ordinary is a travel show
and podcasts hosted by Terry Dean, bringing her over forty
years of experience in the travel industry to help guide

(00:21):
you to great experiences in your travel, whether it be
around the block, around the country, or around the world.
Let's bring in Terry Dean and say.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hello, Chris, how in the world are you this wonderful
Saturday morning?

Speaker 1 (00:32):
Doing pretty good?

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Lots of exciting things happening around here.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
Yeah, I'm not sure what you're referring to, but yes,
there I've been a lot of exciting things going on
around here.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
James Madison University, you wish.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
Been having graduations for the past couple.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Of days, and there's proms and all kinds of things
going on. So we got a lot of happy people around,
and might I say a lot of people period around
and then in about.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
Three or four days this place will be it goes down.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah, and you know, we'll be back to being able
to shop actually and get a cart at the grocery store.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
No, my wife always makes this joke. She's like, we
can finally get across town without traffic. And I'm like,
you know, all of those people that have just left
town are what keep our economy roaring here.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
So they say, so, they say, and we're grateful for you.
So if you're listening to us today and you are
one of our visitors, welcome, We love you, We're glad
to have you here, glad to have you.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
Take a look around me if you want to stay
with right and let's say, hoy to Harry.

Speaker 3 (01:28):
Hey, I was going to say, if you want to
come visit Harrisonburg, you listen to us on the radio,
it's a good time to come visit next week.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
I thought you were going to offer up a room
or something at the house.

Speaker 3 (01:39):
They're rooms not at the house, but there are plenty
of rooms available in town.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
So we've got a lot of travel news that's happened.
We haven't talked in a couple of weeks now, so
we need to get called.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, And I did pull a couple of
pieces of news Chris that I'm happy to share today.
Always when something comes across for sustainability, I like to
share this because our industry is returning its focus to
a lot of that. So the World Travel and Tourism Council,
otherwise known by the acronym WTTC, they've partnered with a

(02:14):
consulting firm whose acronym is ICF, and they're creating a
blueprint for how the travel and the tourism sector can
adopt sustainable aviation fuel and other renewable fuels. The Scaling
Up Sustainable Fuel Report outlines how travel businesses of all

(02:35):
sizes can address transport related emissions and accelerate the shift
to cleaner fuels. They say sustainable fuel is the single
busy biggest game changer for travel and tourism, but right
now supply falls dangerously short of demand. If we don't
act together, we risk rising costs, limited availability and climate progress,

(03:02):
says Julius Simpson, President, This framework gives them the blueprint.
Sustainable fuel is the single biggest game changer for travel
and tourism, but right now supply falls dangerously short of demand.
If we don't act together, we risk rising costs, limited availability,

(03:22):
and stalled climate progress. This is what Julius Simpson, President
and CEO of WTTC said, Every hotel, tour operator, travel agency,
cruise line and airline has a role to play. This
framework gives them the blueprint. Sustainable fuel is not just
an environmental necessity, it's a business imperative, and governments must

(03:45):
incentivize the production of sustainable aviation fuel, not just set
targets for the sector. So I think this is something
that's going to be interesting to watch as our industry
begins to evolve and we see airlines start to embrace
these new fuel models. I think this is going to

(04:08):
possibly change the way that we look at and have
Sustainability within our industry certainly is a big topic. The
next thing I want to talk about is some news
from our cruise line friends. Carnival Cruise Line has been
praised for finally returning to a popular port, and that's
going to happen this June. Carnival Cruise Line continues to

(04:31):
expand with some new and exciting destinations, and in twenty
twenty seven, the cruise line announced an exciting return to
an underrated US destination. That destination Mobile Alabama, for the
first time since the pandemic. The Port is going to
serve once again year round trips, So good for Carnival.

(04:53):
The next one also from our Royal Caribbean friends. They
just dropped a look inside their newest nation in Mexico
and it's got white sand beaches, the tallest water slide
in the Americas, and the world's longest lazy river. Following
the success of Perfect Day at Cococae, Royal Caribbean's private

(05:15):
Bahamian island, the cruise company announced its plans to expand
that collection. Perfect Day Mexico is going to open in
fall of twenty twenty seven on Mexico's Caribbean coast, and
the first official look at the adventure packed deck destination
is finally here. Spanning two hundred acres, Perfect Day Mexico

(05:37):
is taking the Royal Caribbean guest experience to a whole
other level with dozens of water slides, including the tallest
one across North and South America, the longest lazy river
in the world, miles of white sand beaches, and twelve
unique dining outlets. So I think as we start to

(05:58):
look at vacation season and all that it has to offer,
you know, Memorial Day weekend is right around the corner.
This is going to be something pretty exciting for people
to take a look at.

Speaker 1 (06:08):
You say, as we approach travel season, what's the best
time to head to Mexico? It is so hot and
humid down there in the summertime.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
You know, anytime, I mean really, anytime is a good time.
The time you probably want to avoid the most, though,
is hurricane season. I always say that to people. That's
going to be like first of July until the first
of November, So those would be the most risky times
probably to be there. But I got to tell you,
anytime's a good time to be in Mexico. You know

(06:37):
what they say, it's five o'clock somewhere. Yeah. Now, another
piece of news that I wanted to share with you
involves our friends at Waldorf Astoria. Now this is especially
interesting news because the island of Turks and Caicos actually is,
you know, an island that pretty much focuses on villa
only type accommodations. But Hilton has signed on a new

(07:01):
waldorfor story of property in Turks and Cacos as the
luxury brand continues to make their expansions in the Caribbean.
Waldorf Astoria Turks and Caicos will feature sixty two guest
rooms in suites as well as some branded residences. It's
expected to open in twenty twenty eight, and the hotel
is part of Hilton's plan to nearly double the company's

(07:24):
footprint in the region, adding thirty five hotels in its
existing forty five. So Waldorf for Story in Turks and
Caicos will also feature a thirteen thousand square foot spa
I could deal with that right now, a sixteen hundred
square foot fitness center, high end retail, a library area,

(07:46):
and both adult and family pools. There's going to be
event spaces including ballrooms and boardrooms as well, so it
could be a nice little corporate retreat. And that's going
to be coming around in twenty twenty eight. So that's
some great news that's come across my desk. I think,
if I'm not mistaken here, you came with a little

(08:07):
tool box of sales for us today.

Speaker 3 (08:09):
Oh I've got a whole box full of sales, okay, Terry.
So I want to start with something for families because
we're getting into school end of the school year now.
So our friends at Princess Cruises has a summer offer
out there. It's a great offer about four hundred dollars savings.

Speaker 4 (08:27):
It's running through the middle of July.

Speaker 3 (08:30):
This sale is on and this sale includes special credits,
air credits based on family voyages, state room upgrades, third
and fourth guests, all the kids are sailing for free
on certain voyages, and deposits are beginning at only ninety

(08:51):
nine dollars. So if you're thinking of something to do
this summer and you're looking for that thing, I think
our friends that Princess may have the right offer. It
applies to a number of cruises, it's not just one
or two terrries, so that's great. I can think your
credit matters too.

Speaker 2 (09:06):
I think it's worth saying, Harry, as you mentioned these sales,
if you hear something you're interested in, do not tarry
in making a decision. What we're seeing at the wishing
Well is a lot of sold out capacities. I can
tell you this travel is nowhere near slowing down. We

(09:26):
were looking actually on Princess and Celebrity and some of
the other cruise lines for a Greek getaway for some
folks for June. It's not It's really tight, yeah, very scarce,
So have.

Speaker 3 (09:41):
Another idea family also, and this is one of our
both Terry and my favorite destinations, and that's Pluntacana. Club
Med is in Pluntacana. Club Med is just a very
very nice product, very upscale, all inclusive. We're talking about
all kinds of extra things there. You've got specialty dining,

(10:01):
you've got kids and teen clubs, you've got water activities,
all sorts of water activities, unlimited.

Speaker 4 (10:08):
Bars, water parks.

Speaker 3 (10:13):
And what's really interesting at this one and the Club Medpundakana,
they have just created a brand new water park. So
this is a great opportunity. I was doing a little
looking around at pricing. You're talking about pricing that includes
all of these amenities, all the food, and you're talking
at about one hundred and sixty six dollars a night

(10:35):
per person. That's for all the activities, all the food,
and a place to stay.

Speaker 2 (10:40):
So and Club Med was really the pioneer of all
inclusive resorts. They were the first ones to ever try that.
At the time, I remember the time at which they
began that, it was said that it'll never make it.
People will never want to eat at just one location.
And boy were they wrong.

Speaker 4 (11:00):
They were definitely wrong.

Speaker 3 (11:02):
So you've got lots of activities there for an active family.
The kids clubs there stage they have multiple kids clubs,
so depending on how old your kids are, they might
be in the teen club or they might be in
the young club. Definitely something to consider and we like
Club med very much. I want to get back to
some of the cruising out there. Seaborn another one of

(11:23):
our favorite cruise lines. They have a tremendous offer out
there right now. They are offering one thousand dollars credit
per suite on board and Seaborn is a very nice experience.
This is out there for a number of cruises everywhere
that they go, Southeast Asia, South Pacific, you want to
go to the Amazon, Seaborn is somebody that you definitely

(11:47):
want to consider.

Speaker 2 (11:48):
Can you call that a cruise, Harriet, It's really more
of a luxury yachts, small yacht type cruising. So not
to be confused with megaship cruising or even river crew us.
This is a whole other category of cruise line.

Speaker 4 (12:03):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (12:03):
These are I'm gonna call them intimate experiences where the
ratio of crew members to passengers is a really really,
you know, fantastic number. You have so many people around.
On some of these luxury cruises, you almost have one
staff member on board for every guest, so that's really fantastic.

(12:24):
Another one of our friends also up in the same category,
Regent has got a tremendous deal. Also if you've been
thinking about Alaska, Regent this summer, Chris, two for one sale,
all right, sign me up. Okay, Well, there's one less
room on this one that I'm going to talk about.
Then we're going to Alaska. We've got on Regent, We've

(12:47):
we've got these cruises.

Speaker 4 (12:49):
Alaska's one.

Speaker 3 (12:51):
Another one that I saw out there was a place
that I want to go, Rakovic.

Speaker 4 (12:55):
How about Rakovic to Paris. You're talking about.

Speaker 3 (12:58):
Two for one cruiser for two people. You're starting in
the mid five thousand range, and you talk about the
rooms on these ship. You don't have to worry very
much because everything on a Regent cruise is a balcony room.

Speaker 4 (13:12):
So they start with balconies.

Speaker 3 (13:15):
So for fifty five hundred dollars, two people can cruise
to Alaska. A little bit more, you can go from
Raykovic to Paris. Two great opportunities. I have one last one?
Do I have time for one more time?

Speaker 2 (13:25):
I think you do.

Speaker 3 (13:26):
One of my favorites, also, both of our favorites, I
should say, is our friends at Rocky Mountaineer. They've renamed
themselves to Armstrong Cooperative, but they'll always be Rocky.

Speaker 4 (13:37):
Mountaineer as well. In my mind.

Speaker 3 (13:39):
They have reduced their prices on their Canadian routes across
the Canadian Rockies by seven hundred dollars per couple for
a bunch of dates in twenty twenty five. If you're
more interested in the United States routes, they've reduced those
as well, and those are reduced up to a and

(14:00):
dollars per couple. And we're talking about Memorial Day. Our
friends at Rocky Mountaineer, if you are active or retired
US military service members, they're going to give you another
one hundred dollars off per person on their tremendous train experiences.
And if you've listened to our show, you know a
lot about them. It's back there in the archives that

(14:22):
we have online and you can go watch the videos.
This is not a train ride. This is a luxury
train ride.

Speaker 2 (14:30):
And I think it's worth mentioning as we approach the
Memorial Day holiday weekend and it's vacation really the unofficial
beginning of vacation season. There are multiple cruise lines, airlines,
hotels that will also recognize our veterans. And so if

(14:51):
you are interested in any type of vacation and you've
served in any branch of our military, first of all,
we thank you sincerely for your service. Also, that's worth
something to you when you travel, and we would love
to be the ones to extend it to you.

Speaker 3 (15:05):
Always let us know that some of these discounts also
apply to emergency responders as well, So let us know
if you fall into that classification emergency responder, police and military.
We'll look for those applicable discounts and we're happy, well,
actually we're delighted to apply those.

Speaker 1 (15:23):
So one of the things we love most about doing
this show is when our listeners reach out to us
and ask questions, and we get some great questions, and
we've compiled some of those questions for today's show. The
show is called Ask the Experts. I'm assuming that's the
two of you. I thought that was you and Terry.
I'll look down the.

Speaker 2 (15:43):
Hallway, but I don't see anybody else, so I think
we're it.

Speaker 1 (15:47):
I would assume that if you allowed me to answer
questions I'd been making up answers to them. So our
show is called Ask the Experts, and we're going to
dive into some of these frequently asked questions. Coming up
next here on a life lest ordinary.

Speaker 3 (15:59):
Who would think of off to a new destination without
guidance from Google or Syria? At the wishing Well guide
your next travel experience. Travel the world as you enjoy
the very best destinations and all they offer at the
best prices. Our mobile travel app keeps your vacation on
track and keeps you connected with our team of experts.

Speaker 4 (16:16):
For help, if you need.

Speaker 3 (16:17):
It, call us at five four zero nine zero eight
two three three three stop buy two forty threef Avenue,
or visit us at the Wishingwell dot biz.

Speaker 1 (16:27):
Hey, welcome back to a Lifeless Ordinary. Every Saturday morning,
we sit down with a cup of coffee and we
get together and we talk travel. And it's with our
friends from the wishing Well. They're on f Avenue in Harrisonburg.
You can find them online at the wishing Well dot
biz or give them a call at five four ho
nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. Now, Jerry, I

(16:47):
mentioned before the break, we get questions. We have lots
of questions. People ask about destination safety. They want to
know about visa requirements, vaccinations, power adapters. I mean, pretty
much anything you can think of.

Speaker 2 (16:58):
It's true.

Speaker 1 (16:59):
And they also want to know about like what to
pack when they travel.

Speaker 2 (17:03):
They do.

Speaker 1 (17:03):
So I have compiled all these questions that we've received
as right, Chris, I'm gonna throw them at both of
you and we'll see what we can come up with. Okay,
so ready, So we want to start off with terry safety.
Is it safe to travel to my destination?

Speaker 2 (17:17):
That is a question that I get a lot anymore,
regardless of where people are going, they just want to
know is it safe? And you know, that's kind of
a broad brush question across a big globe, you know.
But to find out, Chris, if it's safe to travel
to your destination, you can actually take some of these steps,

(17:40):
and I think these are important. This is usually what
I tell clients who ask that question, and that is
to check official travel advisories US Department of State Travel advisories.
They provide something for every country, which that's the best
place to start. They're gonna actually give you sort of

(18:01):
a level. There's four different levels when you're talking about
where to travel to as to whether or not it's
safe or not. Level one to three and four. Now
what is level one, Well, that's exercise normal precautions. That
indicates that's the lowest level of risk. So you're looking
for countries like that. Level two is exercise increased caution,

(18:22):
but be aware of heightened risks. And then if you
see a level three that's reconsider travel. Serious risks are
probably involved to wherever that destination is. And level four
is a do not travel that indicates a very high
chance of encountering what we would consider life threatening risks. Now,

(18:43):
other government travel advisories are out there. Some examples are
of the Canadian and UK government advisories. They might provide
a different perspective on that. Other things that you can
do is actually look into local news for wherever it
is you're going, and consider some health risk indicators like

(19:04):
with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and be
aware of your local laws and customs when you're traveling.
Those are some very important things that you can do.
Another thing I suggest to folks that are going is
to enroll in the Smart Traveler program. We call that
the step step. If you're a US citizen, you're going

(19:27):
to want to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment program.
That way you can receive important information and updates and
alerts about your destination while you're traveling, and then just
you know, take personal safety precautions based on your research
and your personal circumstances. Chris, you're going to want to
take those necessary safety precautions because avoiding certain areas, not

(19:51):
displaying expensive items, being aware of your surroundings, those are
all important things you can do to protect your own safety.

Speaker 1 (19:59):
To our next the question is for Harry. Okay, Harry,
do I need a visa and our vaccinations necessary?

Speaker 3 (20:05):
That's a great question, Chris. And as you know, with
visas and traveling, there's all kinds of rules. Different countries
have different rules, and much like our real idea that
kind of went on and off for it's been over
five years, countries have different thoughts on visas and implementations
on what they're doing, and some countries are announcing things

(20:27):
ahead of time and pulling them back. It's really important
for you to figure out what the current rules are
and when it comes to visas, a Department of State
has a great site out there. It says learn about
your destination and you'll find out by country what you
need for entry and exit and visa requirements. So you

(20:48):
can look at that. Department of State keeps that up
to date. Great resource for us to use. As far
as vaccinations, again, they vary. I always check centers for
Disease Control to see what they're recommendations are. They change
and get updated as well. You can see that, but
they what they are recommending for certain countries, and they'll

(21:09):
give you a couple pieces of information.

Speaker 4 (21:10):
They'll tell you what you.

Speaker 3 (21:11):
Have to have and they'll also recommend what you might
want to consider having. Both good resources for that. One
of my other great resources is the airlines have a
travel ready site. And so if you go to United
American Delta, the major airlines.

Speaker 4 (21:30):
They have a travel ready site.

Speaker 3 (21:31):
You put in the name of the country, you put
in your dates of travel, they'll tell you what you
should have to enter that country. So great resources. And
then of course you know ask your travel agent. That's
up to us to be able to share that information
with you too.

Speaker 1 (21:47):
And I would assume don't wait until the last minute.

Speaker 3 (21:49):
It's really a terrible idea to wait until the last minute,
because in particular, if you need a vaccination and you're
going to some of these exotic destinations, that vaccine may
have to be ordered for you by your medical profession.
It's not something they just have, you know.

Speaker 4 (22:06):
On hand.

Speaker 2 (22:07):
I wanted to also add, Harry, you mentioned the airlines
have resources. I want to mention one in particular because
I've used it before, as you mentioned the wishing Well
and even any other professional travel advisor. We have tools
loaded in our own professional toolboxes that we can check
all of those things for you. This is information we're

(22:29):
talking about today, primarily if you are shopping your travel
by yourself. Yes, we just don't want you to do
it haphazardly, so we want to make sure that you
have some tools too. We have some that are not
available to the general public, so do use your professional
travel advisors as resources. However, I will tell you one
that is available to the general public. It's called Traumatic

(22:52):
TI m ATC. That is the official location that airlines
will go to to check also visa and document requirements
for individuals.

Speaker 3 (23:05):
Yeah, and it's important also to note, Chris, on this question,
it is entirely possible for you to purchase airline tickets
to go to a destination and not have all the
things you need to be allowed to use those airline
ticket tickets to get to that destination, And that's incumbent
upon you, the traveler to do this checking. So just

(23:26):
having a ticket doesn't mean you're ready to go to
a destination.

Speaker 1 (23:29):
And I would think that's why it's really important to
use a travel professional who's going to be able to
go down that list with you to make sure they yeah,
ready for it.

Speaker 2 (23:37):
And you're obviously going to want to probably check in
with your general practitioner if you do have some health concerns. Anyway,
they are also and can be a resource for you.

Speaker 4 (23:45):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (23:46):
So our next question has to do with currency terry.
What's the currency and what are estimated expenses?

Speaker 2 (23:53):
Kiah. That's a great question, Chris so, And you know
it's so funny we get that question just like that
sometimes you know, how much money do I need? What
kind of money do I have to have with me?
And actually to determine the currency used in your destination
and estimate your expenses, you can use online currency converters
and budget calculators as well. Now that's not exactly the

(24:16):
way we do it, as I said, as travel professionals,
we have some professional tools in our toolbox that general
public doesn't have access to. But you can do that
on your own. Specifically, search for your destination's currency online.
You can use a search engine like Google, and you
can also check websites like whys for current exchange rates.

(24:38):
You can also use budget calculators or online tools that
provide estimates of daily expenses based on location and travel style,
like those offered on a site called town bank. Now,
to just elaborate on this a little bit, to determine
the currency of the destination that you're going, your online

(25:01):
search in Google can simply be currency in Rome and
that will return to you in your results exactly what
they use currency conversion websites. Like Wise, they're going to
provide that currency exchange rate. Google maps actually is also
a good tool that can display the local currency when

(25:22):
you search for particular location for your destination. And if
you want to estimate your expenses, you're going to want
to research some local costs, look up some average costs,
for example for accommodations and food and transportation activities, other
expenses in your destination. And if you plan to eat
at expensive restaurants and stay in luxury hotels. Obviously, your

(25:45):
expenses are going to be a lot higher than if
you chose budget friendly options. You're going to want to
remember to convert all of those local prices that you
see to your local currency to know how much in
US dollars that you're actually going to spend. One of
the things that I will say to you is this,
once you start and we're talking about some real time

(26:06):
concerns for travel, That's why the people have asked these questions,
you're gonna know by the time we get done with
today's session exactly the value that your travel advisor plays
in the role of your travel, because these are the
real questions that you're going to have. If you didn't
use US, didn't use travel professionals, you would have to

(26:29):
do all this yourself.

Speaker 3 (26:30):
Right, And as we talk about currency and exchange rates,
one important thing to remember is people are so used
to know Apple pay and credit card and all those things.
When you are traveling, it's always a great idea to
have some.

Speaker 1 (26:43):
Real cash with you.

Speaker 2 (26:46):
Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (26:46):
The great news for US, Chris, is that as we're
traveling as Americans, we use the US dollar, the US
dollar is pretty much universally accepted anywhere in the world.
It won't be accepted for everything, but if you have
to tip somebody, if you need something and it's small,
I always advise my travelers to go out with some

(27:07):
small bills, ones, fives, tens, not a lot of hundreds,
but ones and fives and tens, because that way you
can do what you need to do real quickly and
take care of what you need to take care of,
even if they don't have Apple pay or take a
credit card.

Speaker 2 (27:24):
Another really good rule of thumb is to never travel,
especially to an international destination, with only one good working
credit card with you. Anything can happen, that card can
become compromised. You're going to need at least two good
working cards and have a cushion of about five hundred
dollars of emergency money that you can get your hands

(27:46):
on pretty readily.

Speaker 1 (27:48):
Can I use an ATM machine overseas?

Speaker 3 (27:50):
You can, actually, but one of the cautions on ATM machines,
it's true here and it's true overseas too, Chris ATM
machines are watched by criminals. ATM machines have skimmers on them,
just like gas pumps. Do, so I don't get excited
about using an ATM machine. I'd much rather visit a
currency exchange office where I'm dealing with somebody or going.

Speaker 4 (28:14):
To a bank.

Speaker 3 (28:15):
Hotels will exchange currency too, but that's probably your worst
option in terms of getting good exchange rates.

Speaker 1 (28:22):
How you staying out? I'm thinking about when I went
to Cancun years ago, and the first thing I did
when we walked up to the counter at the hotel
is they traded my money in for me. Yeah. They
probably looked at me and went stupid American. All right,
So I just watched a video on this, so I'm
excited to get your answer. Harry. On power adapters, what
type of power outlets should I expect when I'm traveling?

Speaker 3 (28:44):
Yeah, the news on that is that a lot of
travelers don't need to worry about power adapters because a
lot of hotels, a lot of cruise ships will have
that one ten adapters that we need. And most of
the things that people need power for will they're traveling
are things like laptops, you know, iPads, cell phones, things

(29:05):
like that. But there are travelers that travel with their
own hair dryers and blow dryers and curlers.

Speaker 4 (29:14):
Seepap machines. If it's a low powerful, low power.

Speaker 3 (29:19):
Consumption unit, generally you're going to be in great shape.
If it's a high power consumption unit, you want to
be concerned. As far as carrying adapters with you. My
advice is, get a good medium or high quality power adapter.
Don't go to you know whatever, your Amazon, eBay, whatever,
and find the cheapest one you can find, because it's

(29:41):
probably the cheapest one that's made. And if that fails
and you're dependent upon it, you're in trouble. So get
a medium quality adapter. The great news is that if
you get one. Mine has been around for I think
somewhere about ten or fifteen years now. Once you buy it,
it's something that you can carry with you and use,
and most of them will supply the little adapters to

(30:02):
go to all different parts of the world.

Speaker 1 (30:04):
And that's what I was just going to ask exactly.

Speaker 2 (30:07):
Yeah, something with multiple heads are really really good, and
you have to really investigate wherever you're going, what kind
of voltage do they have?

Speaker 3 (30:18):
Yeah, and when I travel, because as I was talking
about the small consumption devices like your cell phone, like
your laptop, I carry a real small extension cord. Also
that I can plug into my power adapter, because if
you're powering two or three devices and they're all low
power consumption, that one extension cord and one power adapter

(30:40):
is sufficient.

Speaker 1 (30:42):
Terry, I already know the answer of this one. Do
I need travel insurance? What do you think?

Speaker 2 (30:46):
Chris? Absolutely, yes, yeah, I'll tell you it is in
the world that we live in today where just about
anything can happen. And we have you know, we talked
about this. We have aging society. People are getting older
and their parents are living right along with them. We
love that. But anything can happen. So whether deciding to

(31:07):
purchase travel insurance, it really depends on your individual circumstances.
And you might be surprised about some of my answers
on this, Chris. Here's the breakdown to help you kind
of decide reasons why you might actually need travel insurance.
And that's if you've got a lot of non refundable
trip costs, if you've booked flights, you've booked accommodation, tours,

(31:31):
or other activities that are non refundable. Travel insurance can
really protect your investment if you need to cancel or
interrupt your trip because of a covered reason. Other indicators
that might mean that you need travel insurance you would
check the yes box to that is if you have
medical emergency, if you're traveling internationally, or your domestic health

(31:54):
insurance doesn't cover you out of network, out of the
country travel medical insurance can be crucial to cover any
kind of medical expenses and emergency evacuation costs. The other
reason might be be if you have high value items.
You're traveling with expensive electronics and jewelry or other valuables,

(32:14):
you're going to want to consider baggage insurance as an
add on or a rider to protect against lost or
theft of those things. Many times, when people quiz me
about what they can take along with them on a
trip and I see that they are, you know, heavily
saturated with a lot of expensive jewelry, I will sometimes

(32:37):
have to say, better not take that, because if you
expect to see it when you come home, don't take it.
Some of those things can be and it doesn't matter
what kind of insurance you have at that point. If
it's in family heirloom and you don't see it again,
insurance really isn't the cushion you're looking for, and.

Speaker 3 (32:55):
It's not just loss you know that you worry about,
or theft that you worry about, but it's also lost.
People forget things, leave things in rooms, in cars, on
planes and trains.

Speaker 2 (33:06):
And we've talked about adventure travel here in the Not
too Long Ago episodes, and so if you're engaging in
risky activities or high adventure sports or other activities, you're
going to want to make sure that you do have insurance.
Now this is the part where you might raise your eyebrows, Chris.
There are some instances where you might not need travel insurance.

(33:29):
I want to talk about those. If you have a
fully refundable trip, I mean fully refundable, get your money back,
you might not need trip cancelation or interruption coverage. If
you have adequate existing health insurance and you're traveling domestically
that covers you while you're traveling, you might not need
additional medical coverage. If you're on a low cost trip

(33:52):
for very short, inexpensive trip, the cost of travel insurance
might outweigh the potential benefits. If you have a animal
risk activity trip, the chance of needing medical or other
coverage might be minimal. You might want to forego it.
Factors to consider when you are deciding, so that you
might need to know do I need it or not.

(34:16):
Be sure to look at your trip costs. The higher
the trip costs, the more you stand to lose if
something goes wrong. Look at insurance your trip length. Longer
trips increase the chances of something unexpected happening your destination.
Medical care might be very expensive in some countries or
nonexistent to some degree. Travel medical insurance might be a must.

(34:40):
Then your own health. If you've got some pre existing
conditions or your prone to illness, travel insurance can provide
that peace of mind and again your activities. If you're
doing something that is a little more higher risk, injury
or incidence could occur and you're going to want to
make sure you have that insurance.

Speaker 1 (35:00):
Today's called ask the Experts. We are getting the answers
to your questions that you've asked us, and we're going
to take a quick break and we come back. Harry,
you're going to be up next and we're going to
talk about what I need to put in my suitcase.
That's a big one. It's next year on a lifeless ordinary.

Speaker 3 (35:16):
Who would think of driving off to a new destination
without guidance from Google or Syria. At the wishing Well
guide your next travel experience. Travel the world as you
enjoy the very best destinations and all they offer at
the best prices. Our mobile travel app keeps your vacation
on track and keeps you connected with our team of
experts for help. If you need it, call us at
five four zero nine zero eight two three three three,

(35:39):
stop buy two forty three Nap Avenue, or visit us
at the Wishingwell dot biz.

Speaker 1 (35:44):
Hey, welcome back to a Life lest Ordinary, the travel
show on podcast from your friends at the wishing Well.
Those friends today are the experts and we are asking
them lots of your questions. If you have questions or
you just want to talk to Harry or Terry at
the wishing Well and call them at five four oh
nine eight twenty three thirty three. You can stop by
on ne f Avenue and Harrisonburg or check out their

(36:06):
website It's the wishing Well dot biz. Now, Harry, I
mentioned right before we went to break. Our question has
to do with what do we put in our suitcase?
So what are the essential items that I should pack?

Speaker 2 (36:18):
Mine's bigger?

Speaker 3 (36:21):
Terry seldom travels with a suitcase. Chris, So, I have
two lists here on steamercase.

Speaker 1 (36:27):
I have the regular.

Speaker 4 (36:28):
People list on Terry list.

Speaker 3 (36:31):
Okay, I think she's the reason that they made those
second baggage charges so high to try and discourage her.
But it didn't work. Okay, sadly it didn't work, all right.
If you've got a paper and pencil, these are a
couple of things you might want to write down. But
don't worry if you don't, because at the end of
my answer, I'll give you a little clue to get

(36:52):
these lists too. If you're traveling, think about essential items.
If you're traveling internationally, don't even leave the.

Speaker 4 (36:59):
House without your passport.

Speaker 3 (37:02):
I always tell people to tape their passport to the
outside of their suitcase, or check with your partner to
make sure.

Speaker 1 (37:10):
You ask each other before you get in that.

Speaker 3 (37:12):
Car and leave for the airport. Do you have your passport?
Let me see it. You want your travel documents at
the wishing well. We always provide you with travel documents.
We provide you with paper copies. We provide you with
a electronic copy. You want to make sure you have
both of those with you. One of the things I
recommend especially nowadays, is a reusable water bottle, so you

(37:34):
can't carry liquids through security. There is not a rule
that says you can't carry an empty water bottle through security.
And every airport has water fountains on the other side
of security. Once you've cleared, you can fill that so
you have water to stay hydrated on your trip. So
if you have a great water bottle, take it with you.

(37:55):
Obvious things toilet trees, phone chargers. I tell people to
take their phone charger and then take a second one
because that's one of the most forgotten items in hotel rooms.

Speaker 1 (38:07):
And your watch charger if you have a smart watch.

Speaker 3 (38:09):
If you have a smart watch, my watch is still
that old fashioned analog.

Speaker 4 (38:12):
I don't have to worry about that.

Speaker 2 (38:14):
And if you're my daughter, take a power bank in case, a.

Speaker 4 (38:17):
Power bank for when you forget to plug it in
at night.

Speaker 3 (38:20):
For phone chargers, if you have the portable power bank,
really good. We already talked about adapters. If you have
to worry about voltage. I carry a small first aid.
Get just some band aids, you know, little lea spoorn,
some aspirin, things like that, And a lot of people
like packing cubes I know Terry's a big fan of

(38:42):
packing cubes. She packs her days outfits in these old
packing cubes and she squishes them down and puts them
in her two or three suitcases.

Speaker 4 (38:54):
Shoes shoes are so important.

Speaker 3 (38:56):
Most people wear a pair of shoes, maybe two pair
of shoes. My recommendation is pack at least two pair
of shoes with you.

Speaker 2 (39:04):
You know, there's a reason for that. And it was
very interesting. I actually had a podiatrist that I had
as a client once upon a time, and he said
to me, you know, most people will only take their
most comfortable pair of shoes when they go on a trip.
He said, I always take two. And here's why. Your
feet very naturally will become tired after a day of walking.

(39:26):
And the last thing you should do is put your
feet back in those same shoes for a second day.
You should give your shoes a new bed to lay
on the next day and switch those shoes off because
it'll keep your feet from becoming overtired.

Speaker 3 (39:44):
It makes it makes you much more pleasant to be
around too, if you change your shoes. But I'm not
going to go on that way any more than that.
I want to talk about medications for just a moment.
People always ask about medications, Chris, and my answer to
that is, if you have medications, it's okay to take
them out of the bottle, put them in those little
daily pilled the dispensers. That's fine. You can carry all

(40:07):
of those things with you. You got to make sure
those stay in your carry on items, along with your
phone charger and a lot of things I've just listed,
But your medications always stay in your immediate possession. If
you are a traveler and you have medications that are
what they call scheduled drugs, they're the ones you have
to sign for at the pharmacy. They're the restricted narcotics

(40:30):
things like that. Those drugs should remain in their original
bottle with your name on it, the name of the drug,
and the prescribing doctor. That way, if you're entering a
country with those narcotics, you have information to let the
folks know you are authorized to have those. Those are
for personal use. As far as how many to bring,

(40:51):
you want to bring enough to last for your trip,
plus then at least half again more if something should
happen to you on your trip. Want to have your
medications available because most people depend upon those medications, so
medication is really important. Snicky snacks always could to have
little snacks, little little navs or crackers or things like that.

(41:14):
Which you shouldn't bring is a lot of uh, unprocessed
or unpackaged food. If you've you've got beef jerky that
you've been making, or you buy at the at the
farmer's market, don't bring a lot of that because those
items are subject to confiscation in a lot of countries.
They want to make sure that that you know, those

(41:34):
foods entering the country are you know, in fact packaged
and safe and don't present any hazard. Two other items,
I like to bring a travel pillow, especially in a
long flight, especially if you've opted to go coach. You
may not get pillows from the flight attendant staff, so
bring your own little travel pillow.

Speaker 4 (41:54):
The neck pillows are great.

Speaker 3 (41:56):
I also have sometimes had the unfortunate experience of traveling
next to young children who are not comfortable on the airplane.
So I carry ear plugs. Ear plugs very easy, don't
take much space. They will incredibly enhance that travel experience,
particularly if it's an overnight experience.

Speaker 4 (42:15):
So number one, passport number two.

Speaker 3 (42:19):
Those chargers and adapters the power pack, medications and travel
pillow and.

Speaker 4 (42:28):
The ear plugs are especially important.

Speaker 2 (42:31):
I wanted to add something harry on the passport issue,
and that is absolutely take it. I would also encourage
you to make a photocopy of it and carry that
in a different place than you have your passport. The
reasons for that are because passports are the number one
most highly thefted item there is right now for travelers.

(42:52):
And the reason for that is because the US passport
is considered a rich passport. If someone nefarious takes your
passport and alters it, they can literally travel anywhere in
the world they want to go. The other good tip
that I would give for the ladies out there when
you're traveling anywhere and to discourage pickpockets, is please do

(43:14):
not take purses that have a zipper across the top
or that are open like a tote. That just encourages
people who mean you harm or want to take your items.
It gives them an easy entry into all of your
goods and belongings. So do take a purse that has
a flap over the top. The wishing Well always gifts

(43:37):
our client with a fabulous flight bag. That is I
always say almost pickpocket proof. It has the lobster claw
clasps on it. Those are the best for deterring pickpockets.

Speaker 3 (43:49):
And zippers inside, so you have to open the clasp
and open the zipper and get into the right compartment inside.
The idea is we want to make it very difficult
for you to lose those es central things that are
necessary in Losing a passport is not just a way
to spoil a vacation, It turns it into a catastroph.

Speaker 1 (44:09):
Right here, I got another one for you. How do
I book flights and accommodations?

Speaker 4 (44:14):
Is this a trick question?

Speaker 1 (44:17):
You call the wishing well?

Speaker 4 (44:18):
It's a duh you call the wishing well. Yeah, the
best way to book flights.

Speaker 3 (44:22):
And accommodations is to use somebody, hopefully the wishing well,
but somebody who's experienced. There's so many ways you can
make easy errors. If you misspell your name while you're
buying your ticket online, Chris, you know it's gonna cost
you one hundred dollars?

Speaker 4 (44:36):
Really?

Speaker 1 (44:37):
Yeah I didn't know that.

Speaker 4 (44:38):
Yeah, that's quite difficulty. Airline will charge you.

Speaker 3 (44:41):
To change that ticket. So a bad passport number, a
misspelled name, your date of birth incorrect when you come in,
we'll ask you those things, and we'll probably ask you
those same questions more than one time, and we might
even ask you, in the case of international travel, to
see your passport. We want to make sure you get

(45:02):
it right, because if you show up at at the
airport and something is wrong, your travel is going to
be delayed and you may have to use some of
that cash you expected to spend on your vacation.

Speaker 1 (45:15):
All right, how do I stay connected while we're traveling?

Speaker 3 (45:18):
That's another tough one, not so easy. Everyone likes cell phones,
and cell phones are pervasive in the United States. Anywhere
you work, anywhere you walk, pretty much your cell phone
is going to work. That's not true when you're traveling,
when you're on a cruise ship, when you're in a
foreign country, your cell phone is roaming. And for those
people who you know have been around for a while,

(45:40):
you might remember what roaming is. Young people don't know
what roaming is anymore. That means you're outside of your
cell phone's home area. And so our advice on that is,
either you don't use your cell phone when you're overseas,
and most people don't like that idea, or you can
use it exclusively with trusted Wi Fi.

Speaker 4 (46:00):
That's a great idea.

Speaker 3 (46:02):
But before you leave, what you want to do is
you want to call your cell phone carrier. And you
can get that no matter who your carrier is, by
dialing six to one one on your cell phone. And
there's not a universal answer because everybody has different cell
phone carriers, and cell phone carriers have such a multitude
of different plans. So you want to talk to your carrier,
ask them about your plan and what happens when you're

(46:24):
roaming to this particular country. They'll tell you what you
have to do. Many of them have passes or things
that you can buy on a daily basis that will
let your phone work. They may recommend that you buy
a SIM card and put in your phone. And the
two questions that you have to ask when you're talking
to them about that are the two things that you

(46:46):
do with your phone. We talk on our phones, but
also we use a lot of data on our phones,
So ask your carrier to make sure you know what
you've got on your plan and what your choices are.
Hot spots I mentioned just a minute ago. Hotspots are great.
They're convenient in most cases, they're free, but in some cases.

Speaker 4 (47:08):
They're also probably.

Speaker 3 (47:09):
The most dangerous thing you can do, and when you're overseas,
especially if you're doing banking and things like that, and
we have those apps on our phone, Holy smokes, you
can get into a lot of trouble real quickly, Chris,
by somebody intercepting your you know, call, your transactions on
that hotspot.

Speaker 4 (47:29):
I like Skype.

Speaker 3 (47:30):
I like, well, Skype is gone, I shouldn't use Skype anymore.
But I like FaceTime, I like WhatsApp. All of those
are good trusted apps as long as you are on
a secure network, and they do a lot even if
you're on a not so secure network to secure your calls.
But think about what you're doing and be very careful

(47:50):
about doing any banking and those kinds of transactions of
when you are when you are overseas.

Speaker 1 (47:58):
All right, So I just realized all the questions that
we've asked have led us up to actually getting ready
for the trip. Terry, let's talk about what to do
during the trip.

Speaker 2 (48:08):
Well, yeah, there's a lot of things that you can
do and see, and a lot of people just book
an airline ticket, they book a hotel and they go.
Now what, so to find the best things to do
and see in your destination. Once again, you're going to
want to rely on a travel advisor. That's probably the
best resource that you're going to have because we have

(48:29):
tentacles all around the globe. That's the whole point of
the Virtuoso network. That's what we do, that's how we connect.
But you can also if you're doing this on your own,
you can use online resources. You can ask some locals,
get involved in some chats maybe on Facebook for some
destinations that you're interested in. Explore some diverse options like

(48:50):
guided tours and even some event calendars. Explore those neighborhoods
a little bit that you want to go on. You
can do a lot on the internet and so far
as researching, and you can find some of those little
hidden gem reviews. Utilize resources again like tourist bureaus. Those
are a great resource. Even the Wishing Well has great

(49:12):
friends inside international tourist boards that we connect with all
over the globe. So we're always happy to do that.

Speaker 1 (49:20):
How about the best ways to get around while we're
on our trip.

Speaker 2 (49:23):
Yeah, well that's not kind of a one size fits
all sort of answer, Chris. But to find the best
ways to get around in your destinations. Again, research your
trip online beforehand, especially using tools like Google Maps. That's
going to help you a lot. A great one that
I even use for myself sometimes is one called Rome
to Rio. That's a great tool. They tell you what

(49:48):
is offered in the way of public transportation options and
routing plans. You can consider using some public transportation like
buses and trains. Those can always be efficient for local
travel in long distances. Now for your shorter trips or
areas with limited public transport, you want to consider maybe

(50:08):
things like rod sharing, taxis uber or just walking. A
lot of European destinations, walking is the number one most
highly coveted transportation.

Speaker 3 (50:18):
And one of the things also that again value tips
from a travel agent when I had clients going over
to London. A lot of people may not be aware
of this. There's something called the Oyster card. People don't
know about that. You've heard of your rail passes for travelers.
There's an Oyster card in London that's available for travelers.
You can preload this card with funds and you can

(50:40):
use that for public transportation around London. You can use
it to get into places in London, and it's just
a very, very valuable asset, but it's a little bit
hard to find if you don't know about it.

Speaker 1 (50:51):
All right, we've got time for just one last question,
and this one is my favorite of all of them.
How do I communicate if I don't speak the local language?

Speaker 2 (51:00):
Well, that can be challenging for sure, But if you
don't speak the language, there are a lot of tools
again that you can use. Gesturing sometimes can help you.
But Google Translate is probably one of the best pieces
of technology I think that we have come to embrace.
It's interesting. We actually have some employees at the Wishing

(51:23):
Well who have some challenges with the English language. They're
getting much much better. But we have some European designers
that we're so proud to have on our staff, and
we sometimes lovingly use Google Translate in the office to
communicate a lot of times. And I said, you know,
gesturing sometimes just sign language that's universal the world over.

(51:47):
And also just try to learn some basic phrases and
words for where you're going. Learn how to say hello
and thank you and excuse me and where's the bathroom?
You know, those are all some really good things. Thanks
to do. And you can also buy god books that
will help you through that process to some Chris.

Speaker 1 (52:05):
I learned un master basis port for four.

Speaker 5 (52:07):
Okay, good for you. That's a very important one, especially
if you're thirsty. Right, it served me well. Actually, when
I was in Camcun, I ended up having to hail
a cab because I was out in the middle of
nowhere well, and the cabby didn't speak a word of English.
And I'm going back to my high school Spanish class,

(52:28):
going Yo, maaamo is crystal Ball. He kind of chuckled
and he told me his name, and somehow we had
a conversation about you remembered that, Oh my gosh, it
was was scary.

Speaker 4 (52:41):
So did we put a dent in your list of questions?

Speaker 1 (52:44):
I think we have enough that we could do an
entire another show of listener questions.

Speaker 2 (52:48):
You know what, I have an idea. Why don't we
just continue this series in the next couple of weeks.
We're going to be visiting some more of these questions
and coming back to you right here in all life
less ordinary with those answers.

Speaker 3 (52:59):
Love it well, if you have some questions, you're going
to give the contact information send questions in that way too.

Speaker 2 (53:05):
And you can reach us very easily. We are at
two forty three f Avenue in Harsonburg, Virginia in the
Valley Center. You can call us at five four oh
nine zero eight two three three three, or look us
up on the web. We are at the Wishingwell dot biz.

Speaker 1 (53:22):
This has been a life Less Ordinary, the travel show
from your friends at the wishing Well at two forty
three nef Avenue in Harrisonburg. If you have any questions
on topics discussed today, please reach out to the wishing
Well online at the Wishingwell dot biz or five four
oh nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. Past episodes
are available on the iHeartRadio app. And we'll see again
next Saturday morning at ten for a life Less Ordinary

(53:45):
from the wishing Well