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Traveling is something that not everyone around you gets to experience. Traveling is thoroughly enjoyed by some and is completely despised by others. Either way, travel is essential to the modern way of life. People travel for work, travel for leisure, travel to visit friends and family and travel to get away from them. Travel is essential to today's society with some of us embracing it and others doing everything they can to avoid it.

Due to today's current economy, there has been an upswing in "stay-cations" as the budgets are getting tighter and pennies are being pinched. However many companies in the travel sector are offering great deals on travel services, for both domestic and international travel. You can find great bargains on airfare, hotels and car rentals. And now that the peak travel season is almost over, there is even more incentive to travel, as the prices will keep dropping for off-season travel.

I personally love to travel and I am very fortunate to have been able to venture to many foreign cities and countries around the world. When I travel, I find that I enjoy mingling with the locals far better than roaming the streets and visiting the sights as a tourist with a camera around my neck and fanny pack on my side. One, it is just not my style to wear a fanny pack and two, you can learn a lot by putting down a pint at a local watering hole and hearing stories, tips and legends from the locals. Don't get me wrong, I still go and visit the sights, just not with the flock; this is also why I tend to travel off-season as well, less tourists.

I am going to use this space over the next few weeks to write about travel; how to search for travel services, where to travel, and offer up some travel tips from my vault of travel knowledge and experience.

Author:  By Brian Lutz 





The world just keeps getting smaller and smaller and global commerce is becoming more and more common. China, India and other emerging economies are now targeted by the U.S. and other western corporations in hopes of expanding their market. Business travelers are now frequently traveling to Africa, South America and the Middle East. 

Vacationers and leisure travelers are always looking for new and exotic travel destinations. Let's face it, we are more mobile now than ever in human history. Thankfully, in most cases, international travel is completed without incident. However, in some cases an international leisure or business trip can become a nightmare if you do not have the right travel insurance plan.

People ask me all the time, "Is travel insurance a waste of money?" The answer is a resounding NO. For the money spent, the coverage is absolutely worthwhile. Imagine you are on your dream vacation in South America and you become ill after eating out at a local seafood restaurant. In America you would probably first call your doctor and then maybe go to the hospital if the condition worsened. A doctors visit and a trip to the ER is most definitely covered by your domestic insurer but what about in South America, Africa, Europe or other countries?

In most cases, you are not covered at all or the amount of reimbursement is greatly reduced. On another note, most doctors and hospitals abroad will not even entertain the idea of being reimbursed by your domestic insurance and will most certainly require payment in full.

A serious condition could leave you with tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills that have to be paid. What about finding quality medical care in say, China? Unfortunately, your network of doctors and hospitals under your PPO or HMO does not extend to China.

In some cases, international travel insurance plans offer an international network of pre-certified doctors, clinics and hospitals that will accept direct payment form your international insurer. This way, you don't even have to pay out of pocket and wait to get reimbursed later.

To me, the thought of being treated by a foreign doctor in a foreign land is frightening. What school did this doctor attend? Do they even speak your language? Is he or she trained in western medicine? If you have a travel plan that comes with an international network of doctors hospitals and clinics, you know that you are receiving quality care. Otherwise, you are relying on the hotel concierge, your cab driver or a person walking down the street to offer you advice on a "good doctor." 

What about if you are in a serious accident and need to be flown to another facility for life-saving surgery? This is a terrible thought but it happens every day while folks are on vacation or traveling on business across the globe. Emergency medical evacuation services can cost from $30,00 to $50,000 or more for a single trip. And guess what? 

It's not covered by your domestic insurance plan. However, most quality travel insurance plans cover this event but you have to be careful in selecting a plan that does not put major restrictions on this benefit.

Major medical insurance is just one of the benefits of purchasing an international travel insurance plan. Most comprehensive plans also cover trip cancellation, trip interruption, accident and lost luggage insurance just to name a few. Look for future articles where I will explain in detail the other valuable benefits contained in a quality travel insurance plan.

Author:  By Mike Chiango





However, choosing such an apartment (instead of that hotel room) can be a tricky operation, after all there are not that many to select from and it is, after all, a big decision, one that if got wrong could ruin an otherwise lovely trip. The choice is made even more important if it is an important occasion.however, choosing such an apartment (instead of that hotel room) can be a tricky operation, after all there are not that many to select from and it is, after all, a big decision, one that if got wrong could ruin an otherwise lovely trip. The choice is made even more important if it is an important occasion.

Setting Your Priorities for that Holiday Apartment

To a degree your priorities will depend on the reason for the trip, after all if it is a business trip you’ll be looking for a place to stay near to your meeting/airport etc, whereas if it is for a holiday you’ll probably be looking for somewhere in the countryside. Then again it could be being close to a particular event is the main attraction? The thing to do is to decide on your priorities and budget and only then to start your search.

The Holiday Apartment – Where to Look

These days the first port of call just has to be the Internet, after all, it contains details of just about every hotel in the UK one way or another, and if you look hard enough you’ll find the few offering quality holidays serviced apartments too. So where do you start?, well if you have an idea of the location you want to stay in (eg Liverpool) then you could, like many, simply go to one of the major Search Engines (Google being the UK’s favourite at the moment) and type in “hotels in Liverpool", which will undoubtedly bring up some “apartment-type sites" (as they know that their target audience will use these words when searching).

Apartment Directories

The chances are that a good percentage of the sites listed will be “Hotel Directory" sites, the main reason for this simply being that these sites are a lot bigger than sites which are about just one hotel and that they spend more money and effort in getting their (directory) sites to the top of the listings, but if you look closely you’ll also see directory sites like JMPLuxury Travel, ones that offer that something different, the holiday apartment.

The good news is that these directory sites offer the searcher a real boon as they often give them the ability to fine tune their requirements not only by location, but also by room type and price, and in many cases availability.

Thus these directories can save much time, it not being necessary to continuously “hop" from one site to another.

Choosing from the Apartment Short List

Once you have used the Apartment directory’s search facility to narrow down the number to a workable level you can then start looking at pictures of the apartment complex, the rooms, and list of facilities. Depending on the level of detail selectable in the directory’s search facility, it may be that some of the lists have to be discarded very quickly, eg if it didn’t give you the choice of choosing only “pet-friendly" ones and you are taking your pet dog. It could, however, be quite difficult choosing from the remaining list if it is very long, but by careful examination, you’ll be sure to find one that meets your needs exactly.

Holiday Apartment Directories – The Quality Answer

Looking at the alternative method of searching (hopping from one site to another) directories must be the “time saving" answer for those seeking an apartment. However, they have another advantage as not only do they offer speed, information and choice (plus the all-important ability to reduce the numbers down to manageable levels) all in one easy to use location, they also provide another key ingredient/pointer, that of an assurance of quality. ?Why?? because all the apartments in the directory are being continuously assessed for quality and with these checks are going on all the time you can be assured that every apartment in the directory offers good quality, bad performers being removed lest they bring the entire directory into disrepute.

Apartment Directories Offer it All

So when it comes to choosing that holiday apartment and making a reservation, the good directory has it all. You can:-?

  • Search for all the apartments that match your initial list of requirements
  • Hone down that list by refining the search criteria
  • Check the facilities to find one that is just perfect
  • Confirm availability
  • Reserve your apartment online
  • And have the assurance of quality
  • Which Directory to Choose??


As ever this is another matter of personal choice, but basically if you select one that covers the UK in depth and has an easy to use interface (and better still is backed up by a helpful team you can actually speak to on the phone)Article Search, just like the service offered by JMPLuxury Travel you can’t go far wrong.

So happy “apartment selecting" and do enjoy your holiday/break or business trip.


Author: Graham Baylis                               

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