Summer Travel Tips For Photographers
Here are some tips for your summer travel.
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Tips For Summer Travel
It's great to get away and visit new places. In this newsletter we'd like to give you some ideas that will help you plan and enjoy your trip.
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Getting There Without The Hassle
Online booking is fine. But, we believe that you can smooth the bumps and save more money by going beyond the online sites. Our approach is to start with online searches. Then, we utilize the talents of qualified, caring travel specialists.
Here are some suggestions that have worked for our Dale Laboratories family:
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Easier Flying In the U.S.
Register For
TSA PreCheck
- By paying just $85 you'll be able to step into the short line for five years.
- Most people in the TSA PreCheck line wait less than five minutes...without taking off their shoes and having to pull out their computers & electronics.
- You're being a patriot; not an elitist. By letting the TSA check you before your travel you're freeing up their agents to do a better job in preventing real threats.
Choose Your Airline Carefully
- Having a bad flight experience can take the joy out of your vacation.
- Here are
10 airlines' ratings from The Points Guy site.
Use this information as a guide when you select which airline you'll be flying.
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Fly Overseas Using Frequent Flyer or Credit Card Points
Here's a Service That Makes Redeeming and Using Your Points For Business Class Travel Easy!
- Reward points are available...in theory. The problem is that most international airlines make it nearly impossible for average folks to use them.
- Traveling in Tourist Class for long distances is very uncomfortable. By using frequent flyer points to upgrade to Business Class you can travel in luxury for
less money than Sardine Class.
- The experts at
PointsPros.com will save you big dollars by converting your points and getting your tickets for you. They charge a fee of $300 per person ($200 p/p if you join their membership program.) But, their cost is more than covered by your savings. Traveling like a VIP instead of scrunched baggage is your bonus!
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Car Rental Tips
- Join Car Rental Companies' Free VIP Programs
- You won't have to stand in the long line at the airport.
- Most rental companies will allow VIP members to change to a different car if they're unhappy with the one assigned to them.
- Don't Pick Up Your Car in the Airport ...
Unless You Have To
- Airport fees and local taxes will add big dollars to your costs.
- Taking a cab to a city rental location will sometimes save you some money. If you can pick up your car at a suburban rental location you'll save even more.
- Dropping your car off at an airport when you complete your trip does not involve any fees.
- Consider booking through
Costco or other membership retailers. You'll probably get a better price on your car than with online sites.
- Shop around online to do car-to-car comparisons and get prices. Then...
- Call a live agent to actually make your reservation.
- If you can establish a rapport with a nice agent you may be able to get good advice and savings.
- Check date ranges and compare prices.
- For example, renting for two weeks rather than 12 days might be less expensive or save you from dropping off your car earlier than you'd like to.
- When You Drop Your Car Off - Consider where you'll be returning your car and how you'll get to your next location.
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Enterprise will pick you up and drop you off. That's a big deal...and potentially a hefty saving...in many cities.
- Airport Drop-Off - If you're handicapped ask the rental car employee where you return your car if one of their people can drop you and your baggage off at your terminal. Both
Hertz and
Avis usually will give you this courtesy service.
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Hotels
- Use
TripAdvisor.com to find the best hotels and compare rates.
- TripAdvisor doesn't block out rooms on hotel properties themselves as other online sites do. So, they have no vested interest in where you stay.
- Reviews are written by other travelers. They are unbiased and accurate.
- Visit Each Hotel's Web Site Once You've Narrowed Your Search
- You'll be able to see actual room photos.
- Check details carefully.
- Is having air conditioning and a private bath, with modern plumbing, important to you?
- How about climbing stairs?
- Is free parking and WiFi available?
- How far are you from points of interest?
- Is breakfast included?
Do you want the friendliness and intimacy of a family run hotel or the consistency & perks of a hotel chain?
- For Family Run Hotels - Don't book on "discount" hotel online sites. Call the hotel directly.
- You'll probably be speaking to a family member or trusted, competent staff person. So, you'll get good advice, one of their better rooms and possibly a lower rate.
- If the room you want isn't open for all of your days consider switching between two rooms during your stay...most likely at the lower rate.
- If you book a chain hotel...
- Loyalty Counts - Try to stick to one chain that you like. It's smart to frequent chains that allow you to collect and apply your points at any of their branded hotels.
- Collect free nights intelligently and use them for the most expensive hotels.
- Remember that you can convert American Express and other credit card points into "gift cards" acceptable at many chain hotels.
- If you use gift cards you can also collect points from the hotel you're staying at for future free nights. (Legal double-dipping!)
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Restaurants
- You'll never go wrong if you search for restaurants on
TripAdvisor.com
- Visiting family-owned places that have good reviews is the best way to experience local cuisine.
- Try to "give back" by writing your own reviews and posting them on TripAdvisor to help other travelers.
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Photo Resources
Here are some links for prints of your vacation pictures:
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iPrints is our easy-to-use consumer site from your PC or Mac. No learning curve; just quality prints.
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ROES is for advanced amateurs & pros who are comfortable with computers.
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iPrints Mobile is an easy-to-use app for ordering pro-quality prints directly from your
Android or
iPhone. Prints can be picked up or mailed to you.
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New - LOCAL PRINTS NOW One-hour printing directly from cell phones. For South Florida customers only. Super-easy: Place orders in under a minute. Pick-up prints at our Hollywood store. M - F 10:30AM - 3:30PM Sat 11AM - 1PM.
Download the app:
iPhone or
Android
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Shooting Film? We still process and print all 35mm & 120 rolls. Mail us your film and we'll return your prints or CDs to your home.
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