Morocco Musings

Hello Travel Coach fans! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I was "busy" experiencing the trip of a lifetime (well, at least in my life so far) to Morocco. I'm happy to report that GAP Adventures/Intrepid Travel did a FANTASTIC job of shuttling nine of us between all the splendors of Morocco. Everyone from Jackie Garrity, the Gap Group Tour supervisor, to Summer Davis, our fearless tour leader in Morocco, did everything they could to make sure our 15-day trip was as memorable as possible. And boy, did Morocco deliver.

It'd be difficult to name a "favorite" part of the trip, but many top experiences stand out in my mind. Like being pounded, scrubbed, and drowned into submission by an old Moroccan man at a local hammam (steam bath). Or riding camels out into the Sahara, climbing 30-story-high dunes as the sun set, and sleeping outside under a full moon (I've never experienced such quiet and peacefulness in my life). Or getting lost in the crazy, narrow alleyways of the souk (marketplace) in Fez, gaping a towering piles of spices, severed camel heads, and salespeople hawking everything you can imagine. Or maybe it was our stunning hotel, Riad Mimouna, we treated ourselves to in Essaouira. From the beaches, to the mountains, to the desert, Morocco constantly surprised and delighted me with its variety of sights, smells, sounds, and experiences. It's a trip I'd recommend to everyone! We'll certainly have trouble topping it next year.

For a photo essay of our trip in Morocco, be sure to visit my online album of the trip.

To and Fro, Hither and Yon

Any trip (at least those involving air travel) begins with a trip away from the airport where you've just landed. But if you're like most travelers, you're not really sure of the best way to get to where you're going. Does it make sense to use public transportation. What's the quickest travel option? The cheapest? How much will a taxi cost? How do I make sure I'm not getting ripped off by some fly-by-night "limo" driver?

Here's where toandfromtheairport can really help.

Despite its less-than-catchy name, this web site is a goldmine of information for airport transporation options around the world. Where else could you find out which public bus can take you from the Marrakech airport to the medina? Or the cost of a taxi from all the airports in the New York City area? Plus toandfromtheairport can help out when it's time to take the trip BACK to the airport to fly home.

All in all, a very handy site that can save you tons of time and money.

The Travel Coach Returns

I don't know WHAT happened, but I've been very bad about updating "The Travel Coach" blog over the last several months. No good excuse, although I did manage to take one vacation during that time and planned a major trip for a group of 10 friends in March.

Anyone who's been a faithful reader of the Travel Coach knows that I've been planning a big Spring getaway for my friends over the past couple of years. It's something I really enjoy doing. In 2004, seven of us went to Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls. By 2005, our group had grown to nine as we went south once again to Costa Rica. For 2006, we decided to step it up a bit and do a 15-day tour of Morocco! Since planning a trip for 10 people to Morocco seemed a bit overwhelming, we decided that a group tour might be best for us. But not one of those package tours that would just put us on a big bus, house us in sterile tourist hotels, and let us just gaze at Morocco as we drove through it. Definitely not our group's style.

So after surveying all the options available, we decided to go with GAP Adventures Colours of Morocco package. GAP has a unique Sustainable Tourism philosophy that promises to put us in touch with the "real" Morocco and the people who call it home. Plus we'll have our own private minibus and tour leader with plenty of time to explore on our own. We'll even be spending a night camping in the Sahara desert. Guess it's time to brush up on my rendition of "Midnight at the Oasis"!

Holiday Travel Made Cheap(er)

Autumn is just a few days away, and in the world of travel, that means it's time to book your holiday flights. As early as you think it might be, it's probably already too late to get the cheapest-of-the-cheap fares for Thanksgiving travel, but you may still have a chance at good Christmas/New Year's fares. The Travel Coach has a few tricks up his sleeve that will help you find the best airfares this holiday season.

Remember, a little flexibility can go a long way when it comes to saving money on airfare. Moving your travel dates by just a day or two can often save you hundreds of dollars.

One of the easiest ways to find the most affordable flying days is to use Travelocity's Flexible Fare Finder feature. Just enter your cities and dates as usual, but be sure to check the "+/- 1 to 3 days" option and select from the pull-down menus showing the number of days to search before/after. Travelocity will then present you with the best fares within your specified time period so you can decide whether it's worth it to change your plans slightly. Or try the "Flexible Dates" option, and Travelocity will show you the available fares for an entire month or more.

Expedia also has a new Flexible Dates feature that works a little differently. Here you select the month you want to travel, and the length of your stay. Expedia then shows you a calendar with the cheapest available fares for each day of that month. Although I like the fact that Expedia gives real-time availability of flights to show you how many tickets remain at a certain price, the Flexible Dates feature only works for a limited selection of U.S. cities. Tough luck if you don't live near one of these airports.

Finally, Orbitz offers a "Bonus Days" feature that lets you modify the search period for your travel from =/-1 - 3 days, similar to Travelocity. The site also has something called "Flexible Stays". Using this option, I had Orbitz search for roundtrip airfare for a 5 to 7 day-long trip from San Francisco to Albuquerque between December 21 and December 28...and got fares ranging from $369 to $405. To find either of these features, click on the "Flexible Dates" link at the bottom of the Search box on the Orbitz home page.

Happy Holidays from the Travel Coach!

20K FREE United Miles

Here's one of the best frequent-flyer-mile deals I've seen in a long time. Right now when you sign up for the United Mileage Plus Visa Card, you'll get 20,000 bonus miles when you make your first purchase with the card. But here's the best part: the usual $60 annual fee is waived for the first year! That's almost like getting a roundtrip domestic ticket (25K miles) absolutely free. Or use those bonus miles to top up your United Mileage Plus account to snag a business class upgrade, or even an international trip. I've got about 30,000 United miles right now, so an extra 20,000 will give me enough miles to fly to Europe...for absolutely nothing! Remember: you've got to cancel the card at the end of the year, or face the $60/year fee. But by then, you'll have socked away those FREE 20K miles!

Bump Your Way to Free Travel

Usually when it's time to fly home from a trip, I just want to get on the plane and get there as soon as possible. But I have friends who actually make it their goal to get bumped from their flights. Some have managed to get bumped up to three times in the same day...paying for their airline travel for the next year. Getting bumped from an oversold plane can earn you some serious cash, a hotel room, airline tickets and more. If you decide you want to try your luck at this game, BumpTracker can help you make sure you don't accept an offer that's too low from an airline that's desperate for your seat. BumpTracker posts details from bumped flyers, revealing what these passengers received in cash, tickets or other compensation from specific airlines. Plus you can submit the details of your recent "deal" and view Tips and Tricks for serious bump addicts. So if you've got some extra time on your hands and don't mind delaying your trip for a bit, be sure to check out BumpTracker before you head for the airport.

The SeatGuru Knows All

It's a sad-yet-inescapable fact of travel: Airline seats are horrendously uncomfortable. But you can improve your chances for getting a SLIGHTLY more comfortable ride when you consult with the SeatGuru. Billed as "your enlightened guide to airline seating," SeatGuru lists the seating configurations for the planes of over 25 different airlines. The site provides insider tips for choosing a seat with a bit more legroom, one that's far away from smelly bathrooms or busy galleys, or even which offer a plug for your laptop computer. Even better, SeatGuru tells you which seats to avoid at all costs. There's even a mobile option that lets you view seating maps right on your cell phone, perfect for all you road (or is that air?) warriors out there.

Become an "Elite" Traveler (on the cheap)

Money may not buy happiness, but now it can at least buy you a little more leg room on United. If you've traveled on United recently, you know the airline offers something called Economy Plus seating to passengers who qualify as Mileage Plus Elite members. In a nutshell, these are people who are VERY frequent flyers on United. Economy Plus seating offers a generous 5 additional inches of legroom, plus allows you to board the plane first. For anyone who's been trapped like a sardine in a plane's economy section, those 5 extra inches can make all the difference between a crappy flight and a fabulous flight.

But United has just introduced a new program called Economy Plus Access that lets you purchase your way into this preferred seating area. For $299/year, both you AND a traveling companion will be upgraded automatically to the Economy Plus section (pending availability) when booking your ticket. And the service is available for both domestic AND international flights! So while the annual fee might seem a bit stiff, it could certainly become worth it if you fly a lot of United domestic flights, or even just one long international flight.

By the way, you can sometimes snag an Economy Plus seat when checking in for your flight at the airport. On a recent trip, I was given the choice to upgrade my ticket for a fee of $49 (I declined).

Happy flying!

Grrrrr...Airfare Watchdog on Alert for Great Deals

My travel bargain hero, George Hobica, is at it again, with his new Airfare Watchdog BLOG. Faithful Travel Coach readers might remember my earlier post about George several months ago. Well it seems George (aka the Airfare Watchdog) has a new name and vastly improved look for his BLOG featuring the best deals in airfares. Be sure to sign up for one of his excellent (and free) Airfare Report newsletters with "unadvertised fare wars you won't find anywhere else." George has garnered a lot of favorable press over the last several month for his dogged (hey, maybe THAT'S why he's called the Airfare Watchdog!?) pursuit of airfare bargains. Do your travel budget a favor and check him out.

Fall Airfare Sales

If you've been waiting to book your fall travel, the wait is over. Most airlines have just announced their VERY brief fall airfare sales for travel through December 15th. But you've got to hurry to take advantage of these fares. Here are just a few of the sales being offered:

Northwest (must book by August 2!)
Delta (must book by August 2!)
American (must book by August 12)
United (must book by August 12)

Check your favorite airline's website as most are matching the sale fares from other carriers.

Happy flying!

Best Mileage-Earning Credit Cards

Just returned from my East Coast getaway and had a fantastic time. Great weather. Great friends. Great memories. I used frequent flyer miles earned through my credit card for my plane trip to Boston...a big cost savings in the expensive summer vacation months. But it got me to thinking: am I getting the best deal from my credit card, or are there better choices out there? Gary Leff, in his excellent
View from the Wing BLOG, offers this very complete answer.

The Travel Coach: On Vacation

With all my talk of travel, I thought it was time to take a little vacation for myself. So I'm off for a little R&R in Provincetown. I'll be back next week with more travel tips. Until then...

Outsmarting "Sneaky" Flight Searches

I came across a question on the Travel Carnival, originally asked on Nathan's Archive blog. But before I give my answer, here's a little background. In case you didn't know it, the "biggie" travel search sites sneak a cookie into your web browser that lets their booking systems know when you've last visited the site, and even details your specific travel search. Why is that such a big deal? Because with that cookie, the site knows if you've been searching for a particular fare and can alter the results it ultimately shows you based on that information. I don't have scientific proof, but my experience has shown that the fare can actually get a bit higher with every search. Or you may not be offered the lower price should a fare go down for some reason. I guess the airlines figure you're a serious shopper and that you'll probably jump at the higher fare as you see it start inexplicably going up and up. So how can you combat this "sneaky" practice? When you're ready to make a final travel purchase, simply delete the cookies from your browser before doing a search so you appear to be a "new" user of the site. Even Frommer's Budget Travel suggests this procedure. Deleting cookies is usually done from the Preferences menu of your browser under the "Privacy" section. Search the Help for your browser for specific cookie deletion instructions. Sneaky, huh?

Ride off into the Sunset

I ran into a friend on the street about a week ago, and we got to talking about our recent vacations (naturally). I really enjoy talking travel with this guy because we seem to be on the same wavelength when it comes to the types of trips we enjoy, and the delight we take in discovering unusual destinations. But when he sheepishly told me one of his favorite resources for travel ideas, I had to admit it was a "secret" resource of mine, too: Sunset Magazine! Yes, THAT Sunset Magazine, the old standby publication that focuses on gardening, craft and home projects for families in the West. It's kind of like admitting you subscribe to Reader's Digest for its great literary content, or get Playboy for the articles. But Sunset actually has a fantastic travel section that's filled with terrific weekend getaway ideas, cool day trips, and oddball sights in California, the Northwest, the Southwest, the Rockies and Hawaii. Even if you don't live in the West (which makes it sound like we all wear cowboy hats, spurs, and carry six-shooters), Sunset will provide you with lots of vacation ideas for years to come. With a year's subscription for just $9, it's a real travel bargain.

Travel with a (Life) Purpose

Sometimes in my online travel meanderings, I discover something so exciting, it brings my web surfing to a dead stop. And that's exactly what happened when I stumbled upon The Big Stretch on i-escape.com. Here's a British-based company that manages to combine all of my passions (traveling, coaching, self improvement, creativity) and background into one incredible travel experience. I have to admit I'm a bit jealous I didn't think of it first.

Held in the Pico Mountains in northern Spain, the Big Stretch is a unique walking holiday that combines the great outdoors with intensive group and individual life coaching. During a 7-day hiking retreat, experienced Big Stretch coaches help participants focus on important issues in their lives, helping them formulate new ideas, make solid plans, and even totally shift life directions.

Sounds like VERY powerful stuff.

I'm looking forward to learning more about Big Stretch and its approach by attending one of the company's intensive 2-day training sessions in London for coaches. Hmmm, maybe my dream of becoming an actual Travel Coach somehow wasn't such a crazy idea after all.

Old Cape Cod

I'm always anxious to visit new places so I can add the proverbial new notch to my travel belt. But there's one place I revisit again and again: Provincetown, Massachusetts. There's just something magical about the place to me. Sure, it's a quaint town with tons of character, art galleries and shopping. Sure, there are gorgeous beaches and secluded dunes. And sure, it's packed with a diverse crowd of gay men and women strolling the streets along with straight families. And I love if for all those reasons. But there's something else about P-town that calls me back again and again. I've given up trying to figure it out. I've given into this love and make a point to visit at least once a year. I'm smitten! This year, I'll be making my annual pilgrimage from July 21-25...just a short trip, but enough to satisfy my Provincetown itch for awhile.

Provincetown is literally at the end of the world (or at least the tip of Cape Cod), but it's relatively easy to reach. After flying into Boston on an overnight flight, it's just a short subway or cab ride to the nearest ferry landing. Two companies, Bay State Cruises and Boston Harbor Cruises, offer fast ferry service from downtown Boston right to the docks of Provincetown. In just 1.5 hours after leaving Beantown, you'll be strolling Commercial Street in Provincetown! It sure beats a 2+ hour car drive (without traffic).

Once you get to Provincetown, there are tons of guesthouses, hotels, condos and houses you can rent. But snagging a space in the height of the summer season can be a bit...challenging...and expensive. Most rentals have a 7-day minimum during July and August, but you might find a flexible owner. Two good rental organizations with lots of inventory are We Need a Vacation, and Cyberrentals. Decide whether you want to stay in the East End (quieter with all the galleries) or the West End (a little more lively, with most of the retail stores, and closer to the beach). There are too many guesthouses to name here, but just do a Google search, and you're sure to find one in your price range. As for the beach, the main gay beach, Herring Cove, is about a mile or so from the center of town. Which is why you'll want to rent a bike while you're there. Plus there's a fantastic bike trail through the dunes of the National Seashore...not to be missed.

I could go on and on and on about all the great things about Provincetown, but it's best if you discover it for yourself. I bet you fall in love, too.

Coast-to-Coast for a Song

Great news for San Francisco travelers: the hip, low-cost spinoff of Delta airlines, Song, has just announced daily nonstop flights from SFO to New York's JFK airport. Finally, we don't have to schlep across the Bay Bridge to Oakland to fly JetBlue. Plus Song will be adding nonstop SFO to Boston flights starting in September! Perfect for those trips back East to visit Provincetown. Fares look great right now: $144 o/w to NYC. Read the entire story from the SF Chronicle.

Leave your heart in San Francisco (without losing your shirt)

I'm lucky enough to live in San Francisco, a city that's frequently named one of the world's top tourist destinations. So while I've got my own cozy home in the City by the Bay, there are hordes of tourists looking for a place to stay. And as you'd expect, hotel prices can be pretty expensive in such a popular place. But over the past few years, I've collected the names of reasonably priced accommodations to share with those interested in visiting my fair city. Mind you, I've never stayed in any of these establishments, but they all get good ratings from travelers at TripAdvisor, one of my favorite travel web sites. Here they are, listed alphabetically:

Andrews Hotel
Carlton Hotel
The Mosser
San Remo Hotel

If you're looking for a little more "cool" factor, the Joie de Vivre hotel group has some great properties. I especially like the Phoenix Hotel (but be warned, it's in a funky part of town).

Hope to see you soon in San Francisco (don't EVER call it Frisco).

Teaching an old dog a new trick...

I like to think I'm up on all the tricks for finding the cheapest airfare, but here's a new one from Michael Jones that I found on his Armageddon Project blog. Michael recommends to "check Expedia.com or Southwest Airlines’ site for tickets EXACTLY one week to the day before you want to fly. I found that Southwest and Expedia both offer CHEAP fares on a 7-day advance purchase."

I haven't had the chance to check it out myself, but I'm happy to have another "secret" travel tip at my disposal.

Thanks Mike!

Out in Africa

For the past several years, a (growing) group of buddies and I take a major trip together. In 2004, we visited Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls in Argentina. This year, we spent nearly 2 weeks visiting the volcanos, rainforests and beaches of Costa Rica. Now it's time to start planning our next trip for early 2006: SOUTH AFRICA!

Like many people, I've dreamed for years about going on safari and seeing all those wild beasts normally confined to the local zoo. How exotic! Throw in a cosmopolitan city like Cape Town, and the trip even gets better. But for the bargain travel hunter, South Africa poses a bit of a problem. Airfares to South Africa START at $1000 and go up from there. And safaris are expensive...way expensive. But I've done some preliminary research, and I think I've found a couple outfits that can provide a fantastic time, at a more reasonable price. Plus, both offer all-inclusive packages with airfare, as well as "land only" options for those of us planning on using frequent flyer miles to get to South Africa.

My first choice, 2Afrika, offers lots of great options for South African trips. One 13-day offering includes Cape Town, Victoria Falls AND Chobe National Park! The company has been very responsive to my emails and really seems to know their stuff. Another company, Djoser African Safaris, does Africa a bit differently, specializing in "active, affordable trips for small groups that offer a blend of nature, culture and authentic local experiences". They've got a VERY interesting selection of South Africa trips.

Can't wait to start really planning with the rest of my travel group.