Factors that Make Cruising Real Travel

I have a friend that owns a business in Texas that goes by MT Gutters San Antonio and we always seem to meet up at his corporate office located near the airport. We recently had a long discussion on whether cruising is real travel and we reached a conclusion that cruising is actually authentic travel. Here are some of the reasons that made us reach this conclusion.

Sea and land

When cruising, you don’t spend time on water only. You make pre- and post-cruise tours on land. In some cases, you stay in hotels and go sightseeing on land. You also get an opportunity to explore coastal cities. Thus, cruising gives you a chance to blend sea and land excursions. Clearly, this is the best travel experience.

Off-the-beaten-path Itineraries

While cruising, you see different places that you may not have a chance to see while traveling on land. You make stops at islands that may be difficult to land by plane. Basically, you to travel to places that many people don’t go when they use planes, cars, and trains while cruising.

Overnight Travels

Cruising, gives you a chance to stop at some of the grandest cities. It gives you an opportunity to tour some of the best cities at night and cruise during the day. Essentially, cruising enables you to enjoy nighttime travel activities on the basis of the local culture.

Destination Immersion

Whether you opt to cruise or travel on land, you get an opportunity to immerse in the new culture of your destination. You get authentic experiences that are characterized by participating in the cultural performances of your hosts. In some cases, cruise directors hold briefs on the highlights and history of the next port. This makes passengers aware of what to expect from their next destination.   

Seeing the World

Cruising gives you a chance to see the world without facing logistical challenges that are associated with land transportation. That’s because you don’t have to move from one ship to another like you would move from one bus to another while traveling on land. Onboard atmosphere becomes your home. You know crewmembers and make overland tours thereby having an opportunity to see inland places. Typically, a world cruise itinerary can span up to four months. During this period, you make stops to ports, cities, and islands. Thus, you end up seeing more places than you would when traveling on land.

Basically, cruising is real traveling. Nevertheless, you should compare the benefits of cruising to those of traveling on land to make a more informed travel decision.


Things to Do During a Long Flight

Things to Do During a Long Flight

Many people dread long flights when traveling for leisure or business. Generally, long flights can be boring especially when the in-flight movies are not appealing and the Wi-Fi is down. In any of these cases, many people opt to listen to music, sleep, or read. However, these things get old very fast when the flight is long. Nevertheless, there are productive things that you can do during a long flight.

Organize Your Mobile Phone

Use this time to organize your cell phone. For instance, free up memory in your phone by getting rid of the apps that you no longer use. You can also delete embarrassing photos or organize apps on the basis of their categories. You may categorize apps into fitness apps, travel apps, and music apps.

Listen to Great Podcasts

Podcasts provide great entertainment. And, you can download podcasts and listen to them any time you want. So, if you have already downloaded podcasts into your phone, listen to them during the long flight.

Create Several Music Playlists

Perhaps, you have disorganized music in your phone. Use apps that allow you to create playlists to organize and listen to music. You can create playlists on the basis of your activities or interest. For instance, create a workout playlist, travel playlist, road trip playlist, and party playlist among others.

Create a Diet or Exercise Plan

To be successful, your diet or exercise plan requires careful planning. Start by writing down the goals of your plan. For a workout plan, decide on the exercises that you will do on specific days. Include reps, duration, and sets. For a diet plan, create a list of the foods that you like and don’t like. Decide on the foods that you will eat for dinner, breakfast and lunch. Remember to include snacks in your diet plan.


There are many things that you can learn during a long flight. One of them is a new language. The internet has many apps and websites where you can learn different languages. And learning new languages will definitely boost your career.

You can also learn how to draw during a long flight. You just need a pencil and a sketchbook to sharpen your drawing skills. You can also use a tablet and a stylus. Save the photos that you draw in your phone and use them as a reference.

Another thing that you can learn during a long flight is coding. Coding is an important skill and there are numerous programming languages to explore. There are also many free references including Code Academy and W3Schools that you can use to learn. For most coding languages like CSS and HTML, you just need a text editor like Sublime or Notepad.

Basically, these are some of the things that you can do during a long flight. If you intend to travel in a plane for several hours, it’s important that you pack the necessary items to do them. This will make a long flight seem shorter and interesting.  

Steps for Planning a Trip Itinerary

Steps for Planning a Trip Itinerary

Planning a trip itinerary enables you to narrow down your choices and enjoy your trip more. When it comes to traveling, there are endless options. In fact, there are many things to do and sights to see that can easily overwhelm you. That’s why you need to know the steps to follow when planning an itinerary for your next trip.

Step 1: Decide on the tour destinations to visit

Come up with a wish list. Make sure that the wish list includes reasons why you would like to visit every destination in the list.

Step 2: Establish a timeline and route

Circle your preferred destinations and consider their geographical order. Determine a logical time that you are likely to take when moving from one destination to another. Mark places that you wish to visit at certain dates and time. After settling on your list of destinations, come up with a timeline and a route that makes your travel plan efficient. If necessary, conduct an extensive research of the places to make the timeline and route more accurate.

Step 3: Decide on the cities to visit

Flying from one city to another is efficient that taking a round-trip flight. Therefore, think about the cities that you intend to visit carefully. Consider cities that make more sense as your first or final stops. When renting a vehicle, remember that one-way drop-off fee will add the cost.

Step 4: Determine the transportation methods to use

This decision should depend on cost and the best way to move from one place to another. Consider flying, driving, and rails. Essentially, don’t depend on cost alone when selecting the transportation method to use.

Step 5: Come up with a rough itinerary

Sketch out your itinerary. Write the number of hours or days you wish to stay in a specific place. To minimize losses during the work days, sketch the itinerary during the weekends. Consider your travel time carefully. You can use online resources to estimate the time that your journey to different destinations is likely to take by car, rail, or plane. Consider overnight boats and night trains to save money and time.

Step 6: Adjust by streamlining, cutting, or adding depending on your budget and timeline

If the rough itinerary exceeds the available money or time, try to minimize redundancy. For instance, if you have two, equally important destinations and you do not have adequate time to visit both, cut a place that takes a lot of hassle or time to reach. Also streamline time for every stop. For instance, you can take five days to tour Paris. However, you can minimize this to three days and visit all high points in the city.

Step 7: Fine-tune the itinerary

Use online travel apps and tools to fine-tune your trip itinerary. Browse map itineraries and destinations or get tips from fellow travelers and friends. Make sure that crucial sights will be open when you travel to your destination.

Step 8: Share your final itinerary

Let friends or family members know where you plan to travel to. This will enable them to find you with ease if the unexpected happens.

Basically, these steps make planning a trip itinerary easier. Follow them to make planning an itinerary for your next trip easier.

Reasons to Hire a Travel Agent

Modern travel agents work differently. Instead of booking transactions and acting like order-takers, modern agents function like travel advisers. Essentially, they collaborate with clients in sorting information and guiding them to make informed decisions. Perhaps, what’s more is the fact that even travelers want hands-on involvement in the research of their trips. Nevertheless, they still use travel agents for varied reasons.

Here are some of the reasons to hire a travel agent:


Travel agents have undergone professional training. They have also traveled and acquired experience that makes them great travel advisers. Some of them are generalists while others specialize in niches like multigenerational group travel, cruises, and geographical destinations. As such, the right travel agent is an expert that provides the information that clients need to make wise decisions.

Making wise moves

Some trips are simply complex. For instance, foreign travels are complex than next-state travels. No traveler wants to make mistakes when planning a major trip such as when celebrating an anniversary or birthday. Travels that involve itineraries coordination with family members and friends are generally complex. Travel agents provide knowledge and experience that is required to organize such travels.

Money-saving connections

A travel agent has established a network with airlines, hotels, and tour guides. That means working with a travel agent makes getting a better travel deal easier than when operating alone. Additionally, you don’t have to struggle to find reasonably priced accommodation at your destination. The agent takes care of that. And, considering the network of the travel agent, you are guaranteed an excellent treatment at a reasonable price.

Saving time

You need time, perseverance, and patience to research and organize a trip. However, when you use a travel agent, you get all this taken care of by experts. If you are planning a trip away from the airline, you don’t have to struggle with online bookings or making phone calls. You simply have all this taken care of by the travel agent.

Bespoke trip

What makes many travelers hire travel agents is the quality of the trip. With a travel agent, you are assured that every aspect of the trip is taken care of. That means you just have to enjoy a VIP treatment while traveling. Basically, you get a personalized treatment throughout the trip when you work with a travel agent.  

It’s however important that travelers conduct some research to identify the best travel agents. That’s because some travel agents provide better services and experiences than others.

Important Winter Travel Tips

Winter presents a time of the year when storms hinder the travel plans of many people. But, it is still possible to travel during winter. The following tips will enable you to avoid being caught up in winter storms or get your flight cancelled or delayed.

Before you travel

  • Invest in travel insurance and signup for notifications from the airline. Visit the website of the airline that you book with frequently to know the status of your flight.
  • If you plan to use your car to travel, take it for winter maintenance check-up. Check the tires of your car and ensure that it has fitting chains before winter storm. Check the tire pressure in advance because mechanics and tire shops are generally busy before and during winter storms. Also check the battery, hoses, belts, brakes, lights, wipers, and defroster/heater.
  • Keep the fuel tank full. Never let the fuel tank fall below half while going on a winter trip.
  • Program the radio for emergency messages and traffic reports.

Carry all necessities

There are things that you should never leave behind when traveling during winter.

They include:

  • A survival kit- Make sure that you have a survival kit that has a flashlight, blanket, batteries, snacks, boots, water, first-aid kit, and gloves.
  • Winter travel gear- Make sure that your car has things like tire chains, jumper cables, snowbrush or ice scrapper, and road flares.

Stay safe

Focus on ensuring your safety while traveling during winter. If you get stuck somewhere you don’t know, don’t get out of the vehicle. Instead, stay in the car, put flashes on, and call for assistance. Stay there until someone comes to your rescue. Additionally, avoid traveling at night during winter. If possible, avoid driving alone especially when traveling to a place you have never visited before.

Follow these winter travel tips and you will be a happier and smarter traveler.

Important Things to Know Before You Start Traveling

There are many things that change whenever you travel to a place that is different from your home country or location. That means you must adapt or learn to do so. Here are some of the things that you should know before you start traveling.


There are healthcare issues that you are likely to face in different countries that you visit. For instance, when traveling to Africa, you are likely to encounter malaria. That means before you travel, you should stock up anti-malaria drugs. Additionally, there are countries that have better healthcare than your country. That’s why medical tourism is a common practice among seasoned travelers.


You need to carry cash whenever you travel even if you have credit cards. That’s because you can find the banking system with a problem in your destination. And, whenever you exchange money, keep the receipt because you might be asked to provide evidence of your foreign exchanges.


If you must use a taxi, hire one away from the airport. That will be cheaper because the taxi man will not pay any entrance fee. Also agree on the price before you set off. However, make sure that the taxi is from a reputable company to ensure your safety. Additionally, make sure that the taxi driver knows your destination.


Don’t trust anybody just because they are in police uniform. Essentially, deal with police with care. And, when a person follows you and pressures you, be polite but firm. Just let them know that their help is not required. In terms of immigration issues and visas, there are varying rules. Therefore, your experience will differ.


Plane tickets are generally changeable and round-the-world tickets provide the best bargains. Additionally, many people that fly business class do not pay full-fare. Premium cabins provide a better experience because you can change tickets or get a refund without penalty. When traveling overland, there are places where buses offer a better experience than trains. Therefore, check out these options to make more informed decisions.


You should respect other people’s culture even if it seems completely different from yours. Be tolerant and don’t take photos of other people without their permission. Avoid touching people of the opposite sex or act like a colonialist.


People of the country that you visit expect you to know about the politics of your country better. Therefore, be ready to represent your home country. Additionally, do not say negative things regarding the government of your host country.

Finally, there are numerous undiscovered sites that await you in the world. So, focus on finding them here with this site I use often and start having fun.

Alaska: What you should not miss

There are many parts of the world that are cold and snowing most of the year. This doesn’t mean that these countries aren’t countries that people want to visit. One of these countries that is cold, but still popular is Alaska. This is a country, where you can experience a lot of different things. No matter if you are going there during the winter or summer. These are some of the things that you should not miss out on, when planning a trip to Alaska:

Enjoying nature and the different mountains in the area

If you are going to Alaska, this might mean that you are looking for a place where you can go and just relax at. A place where you can find peace and quiet. This is one of the main reasons why tourists are going to this great country.

When you are just sitting there and enjoying the quietness, you should enjoy the nature and the different mountains in the area. Especially, if this is snow season and the mountains are white with snow.

Be able to do some of the activities that you can only do in snowing countries

With a bit of research, you will find that there are some activities that you will only be able to find in countries where it is snowing. Skiing and dog sledging are just to mention two of these activities.

This is just a must to be able to experience this type of activity that you will not be able to do at home. Making the experience of Alaska so much better and more interesting.

The Northern lights is a must see

When you are still planning your holiday to Alaska, you need to make sure that you are planning your trip between September and April. This is then when you can see the Northern Lights. This is spectacular and something that you will not be able to see anywhere else in the world.

The only thing that you need to remember is that you should make sure that you are watching the Northern Lights when the sky is clear. Otherwise, this will not be possible to see the lights, and you might be disappointed.

Talking to an Alaskan and eating their cultural food

You will be surprised about how friendly the Alaskan people are. You will not have to worry that you are going to get hurt or have any danger in Alaska. Their people are friendly and they have some really interested cultural food that you should try. It might be strange for you, but to get the full experience, this is something that you should consider.

Alaska might be a cold holiday destination, but this is worth getting cold, when you are traveling to Alaska. There are so many great things that you should see and do, that it is making it worth the while to go to a country where the weather is cold. This can be the experience of a lifetime for you and your family.