Taking The Hassle Out Of Your Travel
I have traveled a lot in the last five years and have learned a lot of the ins-and-outs of making for a successful journey. Quite honestly, much of what I have learned has been learned the hard way. I didn’t do my homework and ended up paying for the oversight in one way or another.
Living here in David in a downtown hotel, I come in contact with a lot of tourist of all ages and from all over the world. I am constantly amazed by people who have done no research on Panama or for the next stops in their journey. For instance there was a couple last week (seniors from Oklahoma) who asked me if there was any way they could get an ATM machine in David to accept their Bank of America debit card. I wanted to say, “Didn’t you check with your bank before you left,” but didn’t. Another man told me last year he was headed for Venezuela and had not even heard about the horrible crime statistics of that country, or that Chavez was pushing an anti-American agenda. Duh! The best one though is the retired school teacher who wanted to know where to go to exchange U.S. dollars into the local currency. She refused to believe me as I tried to explain that the dollar is the Panamanian currency.
So here are some travel ideas and tips for you. Some may be obvious but some may be things you haven’t confronted before. But the central theme of all of this is you need to do some planning. Particularly if you are going overseas in your travels, it is not as simple as grabbing your passport and jumping on an airplane. And do not rely on the fact that you have visited your intended destination in the past. Things change – sometimes fast. For example, the Costa Rica of today is not the Costa Rica I visited about five years ago (crime and prices have soared while the ‘love of tourists’ has declined).
What Is It You Want To Do On Your Vacation?
Important step #1 sounds simplistic doesn’t it? What is it you really want to do? Well, if you call this shot wrong you will spend the entire vacation trying to ‘make do’. Let me give you a couple of recent examples:
* Friends of mine are real go-getters when they go on vacation (they would wear me out in one day). Where ever they are it is up at sunup, pack a back pack and zoom around all day. They usually come crawling in after sundown beaming smiles and wanting to tell you about every taco stand and rose garden they saw.
Recently these folks suddenly decided to try something new – an all-inclusive in the Dominican Republic. I said, “What? You guys like to run around the countryside. Even taking a couple of sponsored tours, you guys are going to feel cooped up” They suggested that they could always just grab a cab and go.
I had to explain that most, if not all, of the all-inclusives in the D.R. are out in the boondocks, they bring a satellite signal in by ox cart. It appears to me that the whole concept of the all-inclusive was a matter of necessity in many of the countries down here. The local tourist environment was/is non-existent either due to infrastructure limitations or safety and security concerns.
* Another couple selected the all-inclusive route for all the right reasons (their reasons), but did not do their homework. They selected the specific resort based on the recommendations of a friend who raved about the resort food and the broad range of cuisines available. They were totally disappointed in almost all of the ‘fancy’ restaurants at the resort. Only later did they find out that the fellow recommending the food ate breakfast and lunch at the buffet and his dinners in the steak house. Do your homework!
Before You Leave
Check Your Passport
If you are going overseas, check the expiration date of your passport. This could ruin a vacation before it even gets started. When you enter Panama you are authorized to stay here, in tourist status, for six months. Even if you are only planning to stay here for a week, if when you arrive your passport expiration date is less than six months away, you will probably be denied entry and turned around. In fact, most of the airlines work so closely with immigration departments that you will probably not be allowed to board the flight in the U.S.
Dangers Of The Passport Card
The passport card is the wallet-size travel document that can only be used to re-enter the United States at land border-crossings and sea ports-of-entry from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. Some Americans opt for the card if they are going on a cruise or driving to Canada because it is quicker and cheaper than getting a regular passport book. But keep in mind, the passport card was designed for the specific needs of northern and southern U.S. border communities with residents that cross the border frequently by land. The passport book is the only document approved for international travel by air. So if your car breaks down in Toronto, and is going to take a while to get fixed, can you fly back home? No! And if you get sick on the cruise, can you get off at the next stop in the Caribbean and fly home to see your doctor? No!
Guard Against the Unexpected.
Many vacation packages (including tours, cruises and all-inclusive packages), offer significant savings if booked well in advance. However, many of them have cancellation charges that often escalate as your departure date approaches. Travel insurance protects your trip against forces beyond your control, such as an illness, a death in the family or even canceled connecting flights. So protect your dollars and your trip if you're unable to go for any reason.
Don't Advertise Your Absence.
Excited about vacations, some people are eager to tell the whole world about it. Thanks to social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter, doing that is easier — and more perilous — than ever. There is growing evidence that unscrupulous characters are mining that information and breaking in to unattended residences. That's why it's best to wait until the vacation is over to do your bragging. If you can't resist, revise your privacy settings to narrow the audience.
Check Your Health Coverage.
An illness or an injury could be devastatingly expensive if it happens overseas, especially if you need medical transport back to the United States. Many plans won't cover such costs — including Medicare, though some Medicare supplement plans do. So know what your coverage does include and if necessary fill the gap with travel health insurance coverage.
Keep an Eye on Your Money.
When you're on the road, you may think it's too much of a hassle to monitor your bank balances, and ATMs in certain countries will not give you balances. So if you haven’t already, now may be the time to setup your bank accounts for on-line banking. Through either email or cell phone apps you can monitor changes in your accounts — a large transaction or a dip in your balance, for example. Set up the alerts before you go and your accounts will keep you posted.
Make the Right Rental Car Move.
You may have reserved a car weeks in advance, but once you reach the counter, you'll face a decision: whether to purchase the optional insurance coverage.
Check with your insurer, before you leave, to learn what your policy covers in rental cars. Typically, if you live and are renting your car in the United States, your rental will be covered by your personal auto insurance. And specifically check for ‘loss of use’ — the payment to the rental company while a damaged rental car is in the shop. If you're renting overseas, you'll generally need to buy protection from the rental car company. Whether home or abroad, your credit card may provide additional protection. You need to know these things before you travel.
Guard Your Mail.
An overflowing mailbox telegraphs your absence and gives identity thieves ample material to do mischief, like filling in one of those pre-approved credit card offers and changing the address. Have the post office or a trusted friend hold your mail.
One more reason to consider receiving your bills, statements and other important documents on-line. Not only does it cut down the clutter, that gives thieves one less way to get your information.
Alert your Credit Card Company.
A foreign charge on your credit card may arouse your bank's suspicion, which could prompt it to freeze the account. To avoid that scenario, let your bank know if you're heading overseas.
Position Yourself for That ‘Ultimate Getaway’.
While we may just as easily perish at home on the way to the grocery store, your death while traveling could create problems for survivors that might take years to straighten out. So, if, like so many Americans, you haven't quite gotten around to updating your will, appointing a guardian for your children and securing the right amount of life insurance, use your vacation planning as the extra nudge to take care of those things.
At Your Vacation Destination
Don’t Be Naive!
When you get to a new city, pick up a free map from at the tourist office and ask the person on duty to circle which parts of the city you probably shouldn't venture into after dark -- and which parts you shouldn't head to during the day either.
Carry Less
A single backpack (worn on your front in crowded areas) makes you much more agile, keeps your hands free and shows you have less stuff to steal. Remember: You don't need to make yourself thief-proof, just less of a target than those around you.
Cell Phones
For starters, check with your provider to see if it will work at your destination. And be sure and ask about associated roaming charges. They may be exorbitant. If you bring it, take precautions – in a lot of locations they are a high theft item. And don’t get a false sense of security just because you have your phone with you and can call for help. In many countries coverage is limited and/or sporadic. And do you know what number to call? (It probably is not 911). Will the person who answers speak English? For that matter, will anyone answer? (That is not a given in many places outside the U.S.)
Try To Stay ‘Low Profile’
Don't flaunt wealth, including jewelry or shiny watches. (Even fake Rolexes will draw attention.) The watch you are wearing may be worth a year’s salary to those around you. If you have a fancy camera, don't carry it in a bag that says "Nikon" or "Canon" on the side. And it's a good idea to have second credit cards and IDs and some emergency cash stashed in a secret belt compartment or in the safe at your hotel just in case.
Going Out In The Boondocks?
If you're going off the grid for a while -- hiking Chile or driving across in the outback -- let your trusted friend or family member back home know where you're headed (be as specific as possible), when you plan to be back and when they should call search and rescue if they don't hear from you. Without this, a search group might start looking for your weeks later and in the completely wrong places.
Civil Disturbances
If there is some kind of demonstration stay away from it regardless of how harmless and peaceful it may appear. And if you're in a city during a major riot or coup d'état, stay inside, follow the news on TV, radio and Twitter and phone your embassy -- they may be evacuating citizens.
Using ATM Cards
Much like credit cards, using debit cards abroad can cause you to incur hefty international ATM surcharges and foreign transaction fees that can add quite a bit to the cost of your trip. However, a few banks have reduced or eliminated these fees, so it pays to check before you go to avoid surprises and save money. If your bank charges a flat fee, make few ATM withdrawals. Instead of taking out $40 a dozen times, you might want to take out $400 once.
Credit Card Use
Consider switching to a credit card for purchases. I use a debit card here only at ATM machines. The negative of using a debit card at a store, restaurant or for purchases is you may have none of the security or safeguards you have with a credit card. And you can also tell your credit card provided not to process a charge that would result in an ‘over limit’ balance, usually meaning a hefty fee. Most banks that is not an option with an ATM card.
Keep Your Credit/Debit Cards In Sight
In many places that you may travel, the card processors may not be very sophisticated and/or bulky. They may be placed in a back room, around a corner in an alcove or behind a partition. When I go in a restaurant or store I watch them process other people’s cards. If the card goes out of view to be processed, I use cash. It is too easy to have the card information lifted (including the security code on the back) when it is processed out of sight and can be written down. Few people are capable of memorizing all that information right in front of you and then write it down correctly later.
Know You Hotel
In addition to the fire and emergency exits, pay particular attention to access to your hotel – the first security step. In most of the hotels in David, for instance, people can not just walk in the hotel and go upstairs - only hotel guests have access. And at night do NOT answer if someone is knocking on your hotel room door. Call the front desk and explain that someone is knocking and let them investigate it as a disturbance.
Happy Travels
I hope that at least some of these observations will be of benefit to you. But, keep in mind that the only thing that is a sure thing in the modern travel environment is change. Never assume based on ‘how it worked last year’!
Larry Matthews
My Book – ‘Angels in Panama’
My book is still available at a reasonable price paperback from the publisher.
The book is also now (finally!) available in e-book form as well from both Amazon (for the Kindle) and Barnes & Noble (the Nook).
The links below are for the various formats of my book. I have also included a link to my website where you can read excerpts of ‘Angels in Panama’ if you want.
Paperback from Publisher $9.95
Till Next Time. Pura Vida
Till Next Time. Pura Vida
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