Category: Travel Tips

Using Cellphones Overseas
Yes on Spectacular Scenery, No on Cellphone Service

Using Cell Phones Overseas: Phoning It In, Part I

Posted on by Michael

Using cell phones overseas is much more complicated than it seems. The production itinerary for our current documentary

calls for us to be shooting in a total of six countries outside the United States. This is, by far, the most ambitious schedule I’ve ever put together. As of this writing, we’ve completed production in two of those countries – Australia and New Zealand – and I can tell you the most volatile line item on our budget was the cost of using cell phones overseas. However, I can also tell you this volatility did not have to be the case. Two  examples immediately spring to mind when it came to mistakes I made.

Using cell phones overseas
Choosing whether or not you will be using cell phones overseas, especially if it will be your own phone, is a big decision.

 

The first stumbling block hit us in the Australian outback at our hotel near King’s Canyon. If you’re heading into this part of the Northern Territory, you should be aware that Continue reading “Using Cell Phones Overseas: Phoning It In, Part I” →

Choosing a Hostel

Hostel Intentions: Tips for Staying in a Hostel

Posted on by Michael

There are so few certainties in life. The house always wins. Australians will try to put beets on everything. No matter how many or how few beds there are in your hostel quarters, one of them will always be occupied by the loudest snorer you have ever heard, and it will last all… night… long.

So let’s get you up to speed on hostels.

Privacy goes out the window via the hostel route, but it can lead to some of your most memorable travel experiences.
Privacy goes out the window via the hostel route, but it can lead to some of your most memorable travel experiences.

You don’t need much to be a hosteler. Just being a traveler with an aversion to spending large sums of money qualifies. However, like so many aspects of travel life, there is quite Continue reading “Hostel Intentions: Tips for Staying in a Hostel” →

Avoiding Hotel Fees

Hotel Fees: Avoiding Costly And Unexpected Charges

Posted on by Michael

“If your mother says she loves you, get confirmation.” This piece of advice, which can only be the sign of someone who has spent too many Thanksgivings, Christmases and Saint Swivens Days (that last one always hurt the most) in a newsroom rather than grandmother’s dining room, was actually a literal sign on the desk of one of my newsroom ex-pats in the early days of my career. I’m not sure I ever bought in to that level of skepticism, even in my days as an investigative reporter, but when it comes to traveling in general, and avoiding costly hotel fees in particular, skepticism should be the order of the day when it comes to whether you’re seeing the whole picture..

So let’s talk a little more about hotel fees.

Avoiding hotel fees
You can avoid paying some hotel fees if you do your homework before you travel.

I’ve written about steps you can take to make the actual process of traveling to a hotel, booking a hotel and staying in a hotel easier. However, avoiding hotel fees can have a big impact on your wallet. As always, the goal when it comes to travel Continue reading “Hotel Fees: Avoiding Costly And Unexpected Charges” →

Picton, New Zealand
Auckland, New Zealand

Get a Room – Hotel Reservation Tips

Posted on by Michael

I’ve had the good fortune to have worked a number of different jobs in my life. They all come with their share of learning curves and you’re just going to have to believe me when I tell you ice cream jockey at the local Baskin-Robbins next to Big Al’s video arcade had the steepest one of all, but the jobs I’ve had that really taught me about customer service were the ones that required me to get out from behind the counter/desk/Muppet costume (another story for another day) and experience my job from the vantage point of the customers I was serving. Buy something from your store. Order your own pizza. Ride your own ride (that was at Walt Disney World, so it may be a little job-specific). Try to understand what the people you’re serving are experiencing.

As we plowed through a driving rainstorm the dimly lit streets of Napier, New Zealand were doing very little to make the night on Hawke’s Bay magical in any way. The travel fates seemed Continue reading “Get a Room – Hotel Reservation Tips” →

using credit cards when traveling

Vegan Hamburgers and Grape Nuts (oh, and using credit cards overseas)

Posted on by Michael

Using credit cards overseas. You almost certainly will, but how you use credit cards overseas is not a decision to be taken lightly.

Traveling can be very counterintuitive. Habits and behaviors that work perfectly well in everyday life don’t always work when you’re on the road, especially if that road is not in your native country. At the very top of the list is how you should be using credit cards overseas, and how you should balance the use of your credit cards when traveling. I’ve written about using cash and using debit cards overseas, so it’s time to complete the trilogy by talking about using credit cards overseas.

using credit cards overseas
There are precautions you should take while using credit cards overseas, but it may be a good option for you

I want to start with the following assumption, which is a biggie, but it has to be the starting point. I’m assuming you have good credit, are not already maxed out or even close to it, and that you’re not further putting Continue reading “Vegan Hamburgers and Grape Nuts (oh, and using credit cards overseas)” →