Let’s Plan Our Holiday

Although Mexico is absolutely breathtaking, let’s go ahead and talk about somewhere overseas now and a destination that is going to be extremely hot in 2010.  Nairn, Scotland is the destination and I can tell you for sure that this small, seaside town is going to be filled with tons of tourists.

Nairn, Scotland is one of the sunniest climates in Scotland and is the perfect base when you are looking to explore the Highlands.  I can tell you for sure that when you are looking to go some place magical, some place beautiful and some place that breeds beautiful people, Nairn, Scotland is the place.

It is charming, small and all around one of those places that is almost right out of a really good fairytale book.

In 2009, a lot of things happened and a lot of companies had cut down their spending … as well as individuals.  Well people, 2010 is here and the economy is already getting better and better.  The prediction for 2010 is that traveling for American’s will go up about 80% from 2009 and I am here to report on some of the hottest destinations for 2010.

One destination that I am very, very excited about reporting on is Troncones, Mexico.  This particular destination is miles from any of the white sand beaches but it is a very, very safe haven that is nestled between the jungle foothills and the warm tropical waters.

If you want to be by yourself or with your lover and are looking for a beautiful destination — Troncones, Mexico is definitely the place for you to go!

It seems that right around the holiday time, people are constantly looking for a way that they can save a little cash.  What better way to save on some cash than to do some research?

That is what saving on airfare is all about, research.  In this blog, we have gone over a lot of different travel tips and now, let’s go over some money saving tips for you.  One of the first things that you want to do is make sure that you shop around a lot.

You never want to settle for just any old price, you want to make sure that you find the very best one.

If you are going to be flying in one of the many – well, 33 airports that SuperShuttle services, then you are in luck!  January through March, this particular shuttle service is going to give you a break and going to become a lot cheaper than you remember; the dates are January 1st through March 15th.

Through those dates, SuperShuttle is offering up a 15 percent discount on transportation to residential customers who book roundtrip transportation to and from the airport.  Pricing is obviously going to vary according to the airport number of passengers in your party and the type of transportation, but you still get the discount.

For example, with the discount, you will pay just about $28.90 per trip, which is a heck of a lot cheaper than a cab!

Recently, I have been doing a heck of a lot of business traveling and if you are anything like me – you have probably wanted to tell the TSA off more than one.  Well – if you have ever felt like that, there is actually an iPhone application that lets you do just that.

After you have replaced your laptop to its case, slipped your shoes back on and finally belt back up, you can go to the Survey on the Spot app and it will actually allow you to reveal your true thoughts about the TSA.

When you open up the app, it will automatically identify the airport by the GPS and the feedback is collected in a survey format.  While there is no room to spout off exactly what you are thinking, this is still a start.

The key to traveling well during any time of the year but especially during the holidays involves packing.

Specifically, you want to pack smartly; you want to pack wisely. This is not the time of year when you are apt to be able to fit everything you need into a simple carry on bag. The rest of the year you might be able to get away with not checking any baggage, but that really is not likely during the holiday season.

Ah, and you now have the liquid and gel rules put into place by the TSA.

Well, you get can away with that — somewhat. You can, of course, bring three ounces worth of liquids or gels, as long as they are in a clear zip up plastic bag — quart sized. Or you can buy liquids and gels after you have gone through the security checkpoint.

But anyway, remember that the majority of airlines charge if you have to check bags — sometimes for more than one, sometimes for just one.

Know the rules at your airline, and try to pack as smartly as possible.

Wherever you are going and however you plan to get there, here is a tip that will always serve you well: leave early.

If you are taking a plane, naturally you have to arrive at the airport early — but this is not one of those times when you really have any give. Make sure you get to the airport as early as you can.

The same thing goes for taking the train. Just in case anything happens, you want to be there early. Trust me, when those trains are ready to leave, they go.

If you are driving, well, come on. You never know what traffic is going to do. Accidents happen, the highway gets backed up all to heck — you need to give yourself plenty of time, and it wouldn’t hurt to map out some alternate routes, too.

Thanksgiving; Hanukkah; Kwanzaa; Christmas; the winter solstice: it’s that time of year again, folks. A beautiful time of the year, full of giving, thanks, love, generosity, togetherness, faith, and magic … and holiday travel, which can make it difficult to fully appreciate all of those things due to all the frustration you have to endure to get to where you are going.

It’s a peak time of year to travel, which means expensive fares if you decide to fly or take the train, and mad traffic and crazy gas prices if you decide to drive.

It is all enough to drive you crazy; I’m not even going to go into details about stale cabin air, screaming babies, and insane drivers — we all know how bad it can get. But I am going to provide you with some advice to ease your holiday traveling woes.

Ski vacations, spa vacations and now we come to the coveted beach vacations.  These are the vacations for those who are absolutely sick of the cold and bitter snow and want to just lie on the beach and relax for a while.  If this describes you, there is a ton of different places that you can visit and do just that.

Beach vacations are fun because there are so many destinations that you can visit.  You can go down to places like Florida all the way to places overseas.  You could even take a cruise vacation that will lead you to all sorts of different beaches if you want that.

For all of your vacation needs – make sure that you check back, I can promise that I will update you on any destinations that are hot!

Now that we have talked about skiing, let’s go ahead and touch base on another form of vacations for Christmas.  To be honest, I think that this one is the best; however I am a huge, huge fan of the spa.  Spa vacations are fantastic when you are trying to get away for Christmas by yourself.  Sometimes, you just need that time off and that time to yourself and taking a spa vacation is fantastic for that.

There are a ton of different places that you can go to take a spa vacation and you do not have to go overseas.  However, if you do want to go overseas for your spa vacation, I think that Italy as well as England has some of the best spas in the world.

More Christmas vacation destinations in the next blog – so make sure that you stay tuned, it is going to be good!