Tips for Traveling Frugally After Retirement

English: Bora Bora (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many people dream about traveling after they retire. They often have a hard time affording to take trips when they don’t have a regular paycheck anymore. Fortunately, you can still achieve your dreams if you know how to travel frugally. Here are some tips that you will want to consider.

Avoid Popular Travel Seasons

Travel expenses vary considerably throughout the year. You can save nearly 40% off your travel costs by traveling in the offseason. This may mean that you won’t get to swim on the beaches or partake in some of the other activities that are typically available in the summer months, but you can still have a nice time. You may even enjoy traveling offseason more because you will avoid most of the crowds.

As a retiree, you will have a lot more flexibility to set your schedule. You can plan your vacation when you can get the best rates.

Become an AARP Member

One of the perks of getting older is that you qualify for a number of great discounts. One of the best ways to get discounts is by joining AARP. AARP members often save between 20-60% off their airline tickets and can save over 15% off other travel costs.

Many popular tourist destinations give senior discounts as well. You should always ask about them if you are over 55.

Time Your Decisions Carefully

You can save a lot of money by timing your purchases. You can usually save money by making your decisions ahead of time. Most airlines start selling tickets for flights 60-90 days in advance. You can usually get a great discount by buying early.

However, there are also times when it is smart to make your decisions at the last minute. You can often save a lot of money by booking hotels in cities like Bora Bora at the last minute. These establishments don’t want to lose money when they haven’t found people to fill their rooms. You can often negotiate a great discount if the rooms aren’t booked. You probably don’t want to try this during peak travel seasons though, because you may have a very difficult time finding a room at all and they may charge a lot more when vacancy rates are very low. According to Terrance Zepke the author of a on cheap traveling, hotels are much more likely to give deals when they are at 45% capacity than if they are have booked 95% of their rooms.

Contact the Companies Directly

There are a number of great travel sites that can help you find deals and make the right purchases. These sites are great starting points for your travel plans, but you should try to look beyond them.

You should try to contact the companies and verify their rates. You will often find that many hotels and airlines are willing to give you better deals if you talk to them in person and specify what you are looking for. Many businesses also don’t advertise on these sites so you will need to do some additional research to find the best deals.

5 Innovative Tips That Will Drive Your Tourism Business to Success

Tourism as an industry has changed greatly over the years. Once upon a time, individuals interested in travel consulted agencies that would guide them in the best direction for their desires and budgets. The internet has turned many of these would-be customers into amateur travel agents. Now that the novelty of budget travel sites has declined, vacationers are once again looking for tourism businesses to guide their way. However, getting these customers to find you is a struggle faced by every tourism business.

1. Targeted Tourism

One of the best ways to stand out in the tourism industry is to become an expert in a specific field. Focus on a narrow region of the United States, an individual city, or even a specific theme park. Dozens of agencies have found massive success by centering their businesses on DisneyWorld. Another route to choose is helping U.S. citizens travel abroad. Whichever sector of the industry you choose, make sure you have the best tips and the most knowledge, and get as specific as possible within the of your specialization.

2. Promotional Products

Customers will not contact you if they don't know your name. Use local San Antonio bulk promotional products to advertise your tourism business. These promotional products can be imprinted with your company’s logo and contact details so every time they are used by current and potential customers, you gain marketing exposure. Something as simple as a logo pen will literally keep your name at your customers' fingertips. Promotional products like these act as walking billboards, ensuring that you gain repeated marketing exposure every time they are used by recipients. Other great promotional choices for tourism agencies include custom travel bags, personalized coffee mugs, and toiletry kits imprinted with your company logo. Giving your customers small items that they can carry with them could take your name around the world.

3. Court New Clientele

A new tourism business may have high-flying dreams of helping average families attain the vacation they have always wanted. If this is your goal, focus directly on it. However, there are many other groups that are willing and able to spend tourism dollars with you. Think about focusing on seniors, for example. Some have been saving for years in order to travel, but they need someone to help them find the locations that are comfortable, exciting, and safe all at the same time. Other groups to consider are spring-breakers, honeymooners, or business travelers, who arguably have the most disposable money for travel expenses. In fact, even trying to network with business leaders through your might open up a profitable relationship where you can plan business trips and outings.

4. Data Development

Regardless of your focus, offering a travel app to all customers is an excellent service that will keep them returning for all of their future needs. You can develop an app in-house or hire an expert to create it for you. All you need is an idea of what you would like to offer. Will you offer maps, local restaurant guides, packing lists, or all of the above? Look at some of the best travel apps for some ideas of what you should include.

5. Easy Access

Who would have thought that one of the most innovative ideas is also one of the easiest? Allow customers to reach out to you throughout their planning and their vacation. They will feel at ease knowing they can contact you with questions even when they are far from home. This will give you an edge on the competition, many of whom forget about their customers before their plane has left the ground.

A tourism business takes a great deal of care. However, with time, effort, and imagination, your tourism business may be the country's next success story.

5 Traveling Tips for the Retired

We should all agree that your retirement should be planned accordingly. And most importantly, it signifies the beginning of a new chapter in our lives, therefore we must do something memorable. And what better way to celebrate your retirement than to plan a vacation and enjoy it to the fullest? We are not talking here about family vacations though, but a more daring approach: travelling alone or with a group of strangers seeking the same adrenaline. Here is a small guide for a unique traveling experience to celebrate your retirement. 

Tip#1: Helpful Online Visual Tools and Options

The first thing to do is to search for online resources and tools that can help you in planning your vacation just the way you want. From accommodation, to city tours, exhibitions and even outdoor activities according to age. Use tools such as Google Earth, Pinterest, Google Street view to get an idea about what a city or country is like, visually speaking. If you love what you see, then dare to experience it. This means applying the next tip. 

Tip #2: Don’t Be Afraid to Research Your Location

This means taking time to search and read reviews, be it TripAdvisor or local online travel reviews sites. The main idea is to document your travel plans in the way that you get a solid base on which you can build new experiences. Nobody says to research every small detail, you can leave space for unforeseeable great experiences, just remember that a plan needs a solid form. So do your best in creating the form, then open yourself to new, exciting things. 

Tip #3: Online Interaction Before Offline

Think of this as the new millennial approach: you have the chance to socialize with people all over the world, and most of the times, you get to socialize in the online environment. The aim is to get in touch with local communities and groups on Meet Up, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and even forums. If you are a blogger, you might get the chance to find other bloggers and get in touch with them. Never start your travel plan with limitations, just be open to anything. Retirement is after all about being open to a whole new perspective and life chapter. It doesn't hurt to know someone in a city you plan traveling to, even if you travel in a group. It’s that route to escape boredom. Nothing is better than a genuine local guide, showing you the good stuff (coffee shops, pubs and bars, the local history, architecture, art, music, theater etc.). 

Tip #4: Don’t Be Afraid to Go Tech

Age should not be a limitation of any kind. And well, being a tech grandpa for e.g. is really cool for the kids. Dare to try out the new gadgets, don’t be afraid, and always motivate yourself in staying connected to the “today” – the present. When you travel, having a gadget and traveling apps can be a life savior. At least you don’t get to stress yourself with booking and planning, yet you can stay up to date with weather, flights, transportation means, hotels, best deals, restaurants, recommendations and actually get to enjoy a great vacation or getaway. Plus, it is easier to connect with people through gadgets and actually keep in touch after you return home. Nowadays, nobody has enough time to talk for 1 hour over the phone, but instead spend 2 hours on social media platforms. 

Tip #5: Stay in Touch with People at Home

When the kids grow and become adults, build families of their own and have children of their own, they start to panic and get worried. So make sure you give them a call at least once a day and talk for at least 10 minutes, to prevent unnecessary worries and problems. And if you travel to a foreign country and worry about phone costs, then worry not. Companies all over the world offer prepaid sim cards which have the same fees applied as if you were calling from the same country. This is also the case of Aussie Sim, a company that offers prepaid cards for Australians who venture outside the country for holidays and vacations. They also suggest fancy travel vacations on their blog at aussiesim.com.au. 

Word of advice: take as many pictures as you can. Because it is a great therapy to take a look at enjoyable happy memories. although we were discussing earlier about a daring approach, we don’t necessarily advise you to buy the first plane ticket to destination Nowhere. 

Rather, we advise you to search for group traveling options for the retired and adhere to a nice mixed group age, even if you plan your own vacation schedule. Reasons: it is fun; you get to communicate with different people; you can choose according to your preferences; you don’t have to worry, just “enjoy the ride”.

Five Tips To Saving Money On Your Next Holiday

When people want to go on holiday, the last thing they imagine that they want to experience is stress. Paying out some of the current high prices for travel packages would certainly push the old blood pressure up the charts! But how can someone save money on their next holiday, and still have a decent vacation?

Time To Hit The Internet

When searching for deals on holiday packages, the best place to begin your is the internet. Pick a location, and warm up your favorite search engine, and see what comes up. While looking, try to avoid limiting your choices to those offered by travel agencies, or even airlines. These days, you can find travel deals on all kinds of websites: coupon sites, discount deals, social networking sites, hotels, banks and even credit cards will often have unadvertised specials from time to time.

Book Early Save More

Some travel package deals will have some very specific requirements you will have to meet before you can reap the full benefits. One of the most common of these requirements is that you book within a certain period of time, usually between three to six months of your intended departure date. Even if you do not take advantage of a particular deal, it is just common sense to book a trip as early as you can. Not only will it save you money, it guarantees the booking, and may even allow you a change or refund should something happen.

Think About Getting The Band Back Together

Have some friends that you haven’t seen in awhile, but used to travel with in the past? Some of the best holiday deals are actually geared more towards groups these days, as opposed to individuals. This can be especially true for international packages, like those for countries like Portugal, China and Australia, just to name a few. Could mean the difference between saving a few hundred or a few thousand.

Plan Ahead On Packing

One of the fastest ways to create unexpected expenses while on holiday is to omit needed items from the packing. By doing this, you will wind up spending needed money unnecessarily, not to mention raising the aggravation level. Plan ahead, make a complete list, and check doublecheck it against what you packed before leaving. You will be glad you did.

Squirrel Away For That Next rainy Day

You never know when even the best planning can break down, due to circumstances beyond your control. Should you get trapped in one spot due to bad weather or missed connections, you don’t want to go broke having to pay for extra items that were not planned for, like additional meals or extra nights’ stays. To discount this, plan ahead by squirreling away a few dollars into a ‘just in case’ fund, that will be kept separate, and safe while you travel about. Just keep in mind that if you blow it, you will hate the results.

3 Strategies for Affordable Travel in Your Golden Years

After decades of the long grind, you’ve retired and finally have the time to travel the world and do things you’ve always dreamed about but couldn’t do on a working schedule. As liberating as this realization may feel, it can come as both a shock and disappointment when we have the time but lack the finances to start marking off our bucket lists. 

However, keeping a few tips in mind, one shouldn’t need to sacrifice all of their retirement plans due to limited finances by keeping a few bits of advice in mind when planning their retirement travels:

1. Plan early and plan now

Nobody is too old to start planning for a better retirement. In order to be able to afford everything you need and desire in retirement, it’s first important to address how much you’ll need to survive. 

Folk who want to project their needs in the United States can use this retirement calculator, and others from New Zealand or Australia can find helpful financial tools at Suncorp Superannuation. These estimates can help those approaching retirement to gauge their assets and learn how much they’ll need to save to comfortably retire.

As with any sort of planning, the sooner you begin – the better. Retirement can be extremely difficult to accommodate without funds in old age, but it is possible. Many retired individuals continue to hold part-time jobs for additional income and employee benefits, which can help as health insurance premiums begin to rise drastically with age. 

It’s also important to consider the most cost-effective living situations in order to stretch your retirement fund as well as possible.

2. Book in advance (but not too far)

Life can be unpredictable, but your travels shouldn’t ever rely on chance or spontaneous decisions. Booking any flights you require and hotels that you’ll need to stay at least a month in advance is necessary. 

This can give you time to account for the costs of dining, travel, and other expenses you might incur while abroad. Those who scope out tickets during slumps of airline traffic can end up paying half or less for their travel fare.



However, take care to not plan too far in advance, since the personal illness, inclement weather, delayed flights, events in the family, and other issues can punch a hole through an otherwise immaculate travel plan and cause you to waste money. Tickets are almost always nonrefundable except for limited circumstances. 

When you finally have your destination chosen you should start a checklist of what you need to pack. Get out your luggage and check for damage and proper function of the latch components. Also important is your carryons, you want to have the best carryon luggage, you don't want to find out your luggage should have been updated when your already many miles from home.

When browsing, seek times between holiday seasons since travel prices go down drastically all around during periods of low traffic. Last-minute plane tickets alone can waste hundreds of dollars, and scoping these prices far in advance can reduce the likelihood of being gouged.

3. Choose thriftier destinations

While choosing destinations like Paris, London, Tokyo or Sydney might be on the top of your list for travel destinations, these options are frequently far more expensive than other options. 

Even worse, they’re often littered with tourist traps and opportunistic crooks. Choosing the road less oft traveled when choosing your travel destination can make a trip cheaper, safer, and more culturally authentic.

It’s worthwhile keeping up with current events to determine when the right time to start buying tickets. Depending on how a country’s currency is holding up, conversion rates may favor your dollar much more strongly than usual. 

This means that your dollar will hold stronger when buying tickets and on any other expenses while abroad. According to CNN Travel in 2012, tourists enjoyed vacations to Mexico, Egypt, and Greece at record low prices due to the fluctuating value of their currencies.

While affording your dream vacation might be difficult when your retirement fund needs to be stretched, managing your expectations and being smart with fiscal planning can result in your golden years is the most adventurous of your life.

Traveling in Times of Crisis

Travel Guides (Photo credit: Vanessa (EY))

During the period of financial crisis traveling is not easy and that is not good for many countries in which the tourism sector, is one of the most important. People still want to travel but are more reluctant to do so because of the current crisis hitting Europe in general and more particularly countries like Portugal, Italy and of course Spain. Of course this crisis causes problems to all over the world or it will in the near future.

Due to the current situation there have been many questions tourists have made, such as whether to save rather than traveling or is it better not to travel at all as this usually involves excessive spending on many occasions.

There are many deals on offer in travel agencies and wrapped packages made to consume, but this is not to everyone's liking, since more and more tourists like to choose what type of accommodation, flights, dates or days will travel. So there have been many alternatives to travel in order to save more. One could point out a way to move between neighboring countries or within the same country, for those who like to travel by car but not wishing to have the option to share car. This medium is unknown for many but very effective and very safe also, you pay a price per trip, depending on the length of it and there is no concern.

For trips where the destination is not so close, we all know the famous company Ryanair which is cheap and with a multitude of destinations. Make you sure you have an international travel insurance that covers all your needs and pocket. What is left to do is choosing accommodation and for that there are many deals if you are looking for an alternative to standard hotels and usually the price does not reference quality. To find a property to the desired extent you can do your research online where you can find different types of accommodation such as a room in a shared flat, an apartment or an entire house, as well as Bed and Breakfast, hotel-like accommodation with basic facilities for sleeping and breakfast.

With all the alternative media that exist today is hard to resist making a vacation or a trip without having to spend a large portion of the payroll. Thanks to these new ideas materialized in companies, we can save enjoying the pleasure of traveling.

Travel Insurance – Your Best Companion Abroad

A large number of people forget to take a very important item when formulating plans for the holidays and that is travel insurance. It is a holiday essential that safeguards the individuals and their families from the unexpected events that they might face in their trip. Without the proper travel insurance, there is every possibility that the individuals might expose themselves to some kind of financial risk and lose out considerable amount of money. This could really lead to the disaster vacations devoid of any fun and enjoyment. Here are a few prominent reasons why an individual planning a tour with their invaluable family members must consider taking travel insurance:

Illness and Injury

Anything may happen to you or the members of the family while on the holidays. Especially when you are travelling in a foreign country, there are chances that your immune system might not be very strong and you may catch cold or flu immediately. If you or a prominent family member happen to meet with an accident, then in such a situation, best medical attention is required. In some of the cases, hospitals do not provide care to the patients unless they have a travel insurance or significant amount of cash up front. It is imperative that you must stay protected by taking travel insurance for families and have a stress-free trip. 

Lost and Delayed Luggage

It cannot be denied that travelling is very stressful as it takes long hours to reach a particular destination. The problem becomes all the more worse when the luggage gets lost or delayed due to the negligence of the airlines. It is certainly a worrying situation as you are not able to start your tour because the precious personal belongings have been lost and there is nothing to wear. However, having an international travel insurance means you can claim a reimbursement for the invaluable items that have been mishandled.

Weather Delay and Natural Disasters

After boarding a airline plane, you find out that the flight has been cancelled in between because of the bad weather and you will be required to stay overnight at the airport hotel. What is worse that you figure out that the airline does not provide a cover for your accommodation and your luggage is in transit. In some of the extreme cases, the airlines do not reimburse the expenses arising due to the weather delay or natural disaster as it is not within their control. It is true that the bad weather conditions occur frequently all over the world and due to this many vacations are affected because of flight cancellation. Having an excellent travel insurance means you get an optimum coverage for the delayed or the cancelled flights due to the bad weather.

A very important point that should be noted here is that you should always focus on getting best travel insurance for a renowned company. There is no point of all getting this particular kind of insurance without undertaking a proper research work and suffering inconvenience during the trip. For making sure that you get a right insurance you can either devote some time towards researching online or take the help of an experienced agent to make sure you grab the right insurance according to your needs and requirements. If you are too pre-occupied with your work and do not get leisure time to do the research work, then you also have the option of taking the services of the travel concierge company. A travel concierge besides getting you a perfect insurance can also help you a lot in variety of things such as the arranging flight tickets, booking accommodation and completing other important formalities.

Having travel insurance provides a great peace of mind and lets you and your family members enjoy the worry-free holidays.

Things to Consider for Housing When Moving Overseas

English: Punta Cana beach, Dominicana (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The recession has made it tough on many folks to make a comfortable living. These people are now looking at countries abroad that can offer better living standards without raising the cost of living. Some of the Caribbean Islands qualify and come on top in such searches. Not only is the area very beautiful and scenic, but it also offers a good lifestyle for less. The governments has simple immigration laws that allow people to come into the country and start working without having to wait for citizenship. This also allows immigrants to get started with their new life instantly. 

The millions of tourists and visitors coming to the island shores ensure that all businesses work regardless of whether it is a small shop selling goods or a large business rendering a service. The islands are developing fast in terms of infrastructure and facilities, with great connectivity to other countries around the globe, good educational institutes for lower as well as higher studies, ample healthcare facilities and renowned hospitals, and so on.

When you are moving to a foreign country such as the Dominican Republic, one of your biggest priorities is to find a perfect home to move into. This being said, you first need to decide where you want to move and whether you want to buy or rent a home. For example, you can easily find Punta Cana apartments for rent through a real estate agency, but you need to first decide whether you want to move to this fairly small tourist town in DR. Once you decide on a country, do your research about the place in reference to your profession and needs. This means that unless you have already found a job and know where you need to move, find out where the demand lies for your profession. For instance, if you are a chef or working in the hospitality industry, or want to work as a taxi driver, you may want to check out the various tourist destinations in the country. These are where you might be paid the best, and get better job satisfaction.

You must also take into consideration your whole family and their needs before making your final decision about which town to move to. Take a good look at your family. Ask questions like how many people are moving? This question will tell you how big your future house needs to be. A family of four will at least need a three bedrooms, living and kitchen space to be comfortable. What about education for the kids? If you have young children, it is imperative that you first pick a good school and find a home that is close to it. After all, you don’t want to be a hop away from your work while your children have to travel 30 minutes just to get to school? Do you like peace and quiet or want to be close to the city center  This will help you to zero in on several areas that can be considered for a house to buy or rent. Also, keep in mind that if you have an elderly person in your family it may be wise to choose a locality that is in close proximity to a hospital.

Whether you want a humble apartment for rent or are buying a lavish villa, you can be sure to get nowhere without the help of a real estate agency. This is the precise reason why the first thing you need to do once you have decided on a place, is contact a good local real estate agency.

Bio

Bryan is a freelance writer for the http://www.gopuntacanarealestate.com/. He has lived in the Dominican Republic for a short period and recommends Punta Cana apartments for rent to vacationers as well as anyone who wish to move to this beautiful country. Being a avid traveler with an adventurous spirit, he is always hopping from one country to another and hope to do it until he dies.