I am not sure you would call travel an addiction, but it certainly gets into your blood. Because Mary Ann and I usually go to locations outside of the United States, people who know us have an expectation that we are off to somewhere exotic in the near future. When we do not have something planned, I think it is a disappointment for the questioner that we have not planned the next trip. I must admit that I find myself anxious, and somewhat at a loss, when no trip is in the works! It is only in the last ten years that we have been traveling frequently, and I have learned a lot about travel and planning for a successful trip.
• I receive several free travel newsletters by e-mail each week, and one of them arrives three or four times during the week. This newsletter is the Frommers newsletter. Their format includes a section on “deals and news” and then a section of “Reader’s Voices” asking questions, stating problems, or making suggestions. This “Reader’s” section allows for answers or responses. The newsletter is a great resource and I print many items that might be fun, helpful, or educational in the future. You can subscribe to the newsletter by going to the website at www.frommers.com.
• The most unusual newsletter I receive is The Travel Insider written by David M. Rowell. It arrives on Friday and is mostly informational and editorial about interesting developments in the travel industry, alerting readers about travel problems, and lambasting the big air carriers. His weekly column is a fascinating read. You can subscribe to the newsletter by signing up at the website which is www.travelinsider.info.
• The third newsletter is Smarter Living deal alert. It sets out the top travel deals of the week, travel advice with references to articles by Smarter Living travel writers (and others by hyperlink), and sponsor deals. All of these newsletters are free, other than being subjected to their ads. Subscription to Smarter Living can be found at www.smarterliving.com.
• The fourth newsletter I receive is the Independent Traveler. Each week it provides information on destination communities, travel articles, the editor’s picks, travel resources, bargain box deals, and interactive opportunities on message boards. Sign up for the newsletter is at www.independenttraveler.com.
• I also receive the monthly National Geographic Travel newsletter. This newsletter has been substantially upgraded and is now very helpful with interesting destination articles, travel tips, and great photography. You can subscribe (for free) to the newsletter at www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/.
• If you have been following my travel articles, you know that I am a frequent user of go-today.com. This is a website travel packager that can be accessed only by the internet (or by phone for an extra fee). I have purchased foreign trips from them on the internet to Vienna, Tuscany, Paris, London, Brussels, and Bangkok and everything they have promised has been delivered. Check out their new website and you will see the wide array of one week trips offered to Europe, South and Central America, and Asia. The package usually will include air travel, hotel, breakfast, sometimes pickup and return to the destination airport, and a half day city tour the day after arrival. It is well worth your looking at their website at www.go-today.com. A competitor to Go-Today is Gate1 Travel. I have their website on my favorites. Their similar packages (and escorted trips) are found at www.gate1travel.com.
• Finally, for those of you who enjoy travel writing literature (like I do), please look at www.worldhum.com. This site reviews recent travel books and interviews travel writers. It is also a very helpful site for hyperlinks to travel journals, travel magazines, travel blogs, newspaper travel sections, book stores, and a myriad of interesting travel websites. The title of the site is World Hum – Travel dispatches from a shrinking planet. Take a look at it.
This article was published in the Winter 2004 issue of the ABA
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