Important Information
Everyone should know before booking a vacation or traveling
- Before booking any vacation a person should make sure they have their travel ID handy. NEVER book a vacation without having this information available when booking. For international flights this is a valid passport. Make sure your passport does not expire within in year from the date of travel to avoid any problems traveling to certain countries. For domestic travel this in a state issued photo ID such as a drivers license.
- If you do not have a passport and you want to book an international vacation package make sure you book using the information you listed on your passport application. This means always make a copy of your application before before applying at your post office.
- Always apply for a passport booklet and NOT a passport card. Passport cards cannot be used to fly internationally even in the case of an emergency. Passport card use is very limited.
- All children regardless of age need a passport to travel internationally.
- When traveling always check the latest rules for traveling to the country or countries you are visiting. While a country make not require a visa now they may when it comes time for you to travel.
- Also if you are a single parent traveling with children most countries will require a notarized letter from the absent parent. For instance, earlier this year, Customs and Border Protection (CPB) posted a recommendation on their website stating that minors aged 17 and under traveling to Mexico with only one parent, or with someone who is not parent or legal guardian, carry a notarized letter of consent from the non-traveling parent(s). Written consent should be in the form of
- A notarized letter of consent signed by the non-traveling parent(preferably in English and dated within one year of travel. ;
- A death certificate for the non-traveling parent or;
- Proof that the parent traveling has sole custody of the minor (s). The parental consent letter should include: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and contact information for the absent parent(s). Any air carrier can ask for this documentation and deny boarding if you do not have it.
- All islands have different rules and regulations when it comes to single parents traveling with a child or any other guardian traveling with the child. Aruba for example requires a notarized like Mexico only they want it in TRIPLICATE. It is the responsibility of the passenger to make sure they have the proper documentation for traveling to what ever country/island they are traveling to or cruise ship they are traveling on and the countries it is visiting.
- ALSO, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT that the single parent or even parents traveling with the child can provide proof of parentage if their surname differs from that of the child.
- It you want us to price match any vacation make sure you send the exact flight information, hotel, and room category you are pricing along with add ons you are pricing such transfers, travel insurance and type of insurance (is it cancel any reason, cancel medical reason, etc), and any excursions.
- We strongly recommend that a person always gets travel insurance. There are basically two kinds of travel insurance we sell as an add one to a particular vacation package. We always recommend insurance that allows you to cancel for ANY reason if available. With cancel for any reason insurance there are two option. There is often a voucher back for cancel for any reason plan and a cash back cancel for any reason plan. If you rarely travel or you don't want to end up paying for someone else's vacation (vouchers are issued in travelers name, not who paid) always go with the cash back option. Always make sure your insurance also covers trip delay and trip interruption coverage.
- People often call and ask for a deal or cheap resort. To us a deal is not just cheap. Paying $699 for cheap resort when it is only worth $649 to us is not a deal. Actually you are just over paying. $999 for a $1200 resort is a deal. The same applies to a $2500 resort for a $2000 resort. We ask all clients for a per person budget for this reason. To often people do not want to give a budget and just say they want cheap. In this case more often than not they just get what they paid for, a cheap resort. When we have a budget to work with what we try to do is find you the most resort for your money. This means you are getting good value and a good deal.
- Knowing where you want to go and when you want to travel will always get you the best discount for that particular travel date as we can focus our search and find promo codes, sales, and make sure you get the maximum discount.
- If you want good value (the most for your money) never request a quote for travel during any holiday weeks. Holiday weeks and spring break weeks are the most expensive travel weeks of the year.
- If you want to use a debit card to pay for a vacation think of the card like you were taking money from an ATM. Debit cards all have daily debit limits when paying for a vacation. There is not credit/debit choice. A debit card will always be a debit transaction when using it for travel. If you are planning to use a debit card call your bank before you call us to find out your daily limit or transaction limit.
- All packages on a hold at no obligation require payment by a certain day and time. When we say payment is due by a certain time it is due by that time. If a held package cancels out 9 times out of 10 it will price higher when we rehold as sales end, promo codes expire and the cheap seat classes sell out.
- Watch out for resort ratings. Some companies own and rate their own resorts! ! They are always over rated by at least 2 stars or more. Some resorts do not let themselves be rated by anyone except their own company. The quality of the beach is never figured into a resort review. Some very nice resorts are very under rated as they just have one pool or one less restaurant than a higher rated resort. Also watch out for resort review sites. Many resort post phony reviews or have employees post reviews to just drive up a rating on their resort or drive down a rating on another resort.
- ONE LAST TIP? Never drink the water!! This old adage is true. In most countries if the locals all drink bottled water that is a good sign you should do the same. To be honest there are many US cities where one should probably only drink bottled water! If you want to not get sick in many countries just eat at times when the food is fresh, do not over eat, do not over drink, and if you see something on a breakfast buffet and a dinner buffet do not eat it!
These are just a few good tips and recommendations. We have plenty of other tips! Be a fan of our facebook site to learn more good tips and find out about good deals, and get real honest resort reviews.