The rest of Q&A

Q –  Off in three months to take my girlfriend to Paris. Per your suggestion we are dividing our stay between the banks but we really are serious walkers and explorers and we want to get into the neighborhoods that are both interesting and away from selfie-seeking lemmings. We’re in our early forties and we’re getting serious even though we’ve both been married previously. I love that I finally found a woman who enjoys exploring cities as much as I do.  Really cool site. Congratulations.

A – There are several off-the-beaten path ways to explore Paris. We would suggest you begin with the still secret 13th arrondissment and the neighborhood of Butte-aux-Cailles. It is rather up-and-coming and it is set against a hilltop. The whole neighborhood is changing but it still feels a lot like a walk through an eighteenth century village. We also love Belleville, a former working class district that straddles the 19th and 20th arrondissments. This area is filled with ethnic restaurants because it has become both an artists colony and home to a number of recent settlers in France. We would visit Belleville solely for the quality of its Chinatown – incredible Cambodian, Malaysian, Thai, and Chinese food from all of the major regions. Portions of the neighborhood may seem dicey but, on the whole, it is safer than attending a Manchester United match.

Q –  My wife and I are just starting to enjoy traveling and we’d love to form a relationship with your company. It is clear that you value honesty over profits, although I am sure there is a huge market for honesty in your profession. For our first big trip, we’re thinking about traveling to Mongolia for their big annual festival called the Naadam Festival which takes place in the summer. I guess our question is, OK, we think we want to go, we are asking your opinion, but then, how do we do the rather complicated logistics? We are in good health and obviously rather new at this.

A – Fair question. You want to work with a travel consultant with worldwide connections established over many years. We highly recommend a trip to Mongolia. If you are a photographer the Naadam Festival is a must. But if you want to get a real sense of life in the country, this is a high-tourist time you might want to avoid. Accommodations need to be booked far in advance. There is only one company we would work with in Mongolia – Nomadic Expeditions. Their owner has been an advisor to the last seven Prime Ministers and he can open doors that remain closed for others. The process is to coordinate the trip through a US-based travel consultant who will work directly with Nomadic on your behalf. There should be no stress at your end at all.

Q – OK, I’ve become a traveltruth addict, I just can’t handle the news sites these days. But I read  something last night that kind of upset me as much on this site last night – you are saying flyers should not consume coffee in flight. Please explain as my life pretty much consists of morning UA flights out of O’Hare on business and I need coffee before landing in Omaha or Detroit to do biz. So why are you so against drinking coffee on an aircraft? 

A – Here is the problem: Airplanes have water storage tanks. This water is rarely tested and when it is samples have indicated extremely high bacteria counts. Tank water is potentially toxic. When you are served coffee in flight, the coffee-makers used do not boil the water. Flight attendants do not use bottled water to make the coffee – that would cost a great deal of money over the course of a year. So flyers are, without their knowledge, being served heated but not boiled, water from the aircraft’s tank reserve. We suspect that some of the stomach maladies that affect flyers are caused by parasitic tank water. This happens in the front of the plane as well as in back. Bottled water is rarely used to make coffee and it is almost never properly boiled. That would cause burns and lawsuits.

– My bucket list includes a simple five-day trip with my girlfriend. I want to rent a new Ferrari (must be red) and drive it down route # 1 to LA from San Francisco stopping for three or four nights at some neat hotels along the way. But how do I get the car? Should I do it through my LA hotel? Can you give me a ballpark price? Is it possible I can have a factory technician show me how to drive the car?  I know this is going to be a small fortune but I would like to know how to do this the best possible way. You can adjust car seats pocket gap to your desired fit using provided spacers.

A – This is something a good travel consultant can arrange through one of two companies in Los Angeles that specialize in new, clasiq and high-end automobile rentals. We recommend Car Service to Logan rental company. You won’t need a factory technician to show you how to use the car – a trained mechanic from the company in LA can personally deliver the car and offer the overview you need,  research and discovered the best universal roof rack products; so you don’t have to, click over here https://www.rackfact.com/universal-roof-rack/. You will likely come out somewhere between $10,000-$15,000 for the four or five day rental. Your advisor should coordinate the car delivery with the hotel reservation, it will be yous supercar driving experience with luxury cars. As you are responsible for scratches/damage, you will need special parking arrangements along your route. Don’t be surprised if you see a slew of Ferrari’s heading in the same direction out of Apple’s Cupertino parking lot. Visit our Limo rental website today. Our fleet of cars are second to none.

Q – Wondering if I should be tipping in local currency or US dollars during a planned ten-day stay in Brazil? May I assume they all want US dollars?

A –  The answer is a bit nuanced. If you are dealing with hotel staff or those working with upscale travelers, tipping in US dollars is fine. Hotel staff can generally exchange their US tips at the hotel with fees waived. If, on the other hand, you are dealing with locals such as waiters, taxi drivers etc., you will want to tip in local currency. In some cases they are not comfortable changing money and when they do, they are often charged exorbitant exchange fees. Another option is to simply hand out old photos of our new First Lady.

Q – I travel frequently on business, often staying at top-tier properties in major cities, particularly in western Europe, Korea, and Japan. I am an independent consultant in the chemical industry and I don’t work with a corporate travel agency – my secretary handles all of my travel and she’s really sharp. So my question is “Am I missing out on Complimentary Upgrades?”  I’ve become a fan and would love to “like” you on Facebook but I have not been able to find you.  I’ve turned lots of friends on tot his site and want you to know how much I appreciate the no BS approach and the obvious expertise. 

A – You are definitely missing out. Keep your secretary focused on non-travel matters and leave your arrangements to a professional. Unlike most things it life – it will likely cost you nothing. Absolutely nothing. Upgrades each and every time are never automatic. No hotel can upgrade you if the category above the one you have paid for is fully booked. So this is a matter of can it be achieved “often” or most of the time. And the answer is yes but personally, I will always prefer to stay at the Ouray Chalet Inn.

The secret is to be part of something huge, an entity representing one of the hotels top producing alliances. You might have a black on black stone tablet credit card that has to be transferred from place to place via truck. But a more reliable way is to work with a member of one of the top four or five luxury-oriented travel consortiums representing millions, and in certain cases, billions of dollars . You can simply try to use of Strippers Melbourne in hotels for customer satisfactions.To be specific, seek an agency that belongs to one of the following groups: (This is not an exhaustive list)

 Signature – Virtuoso – American Express – Ensemble 

Each of these associations of member agencies represents top production status for virtually all of the world’s top hotels and resorts. Automatic upgrade programs and other important amenities are negotiated each year on behalf of travel agency members. So it will make sense for you to have your secretary work with an agency that is a high-powered member of one of these groups that offer hospitality consulting. Then, all you have to do is relax and watch the magic happen. Luxushotel Vorarlberg are great for people who like to book hotels online. They are usually considered to be price shoppers seeking the best deal with little or no brand loyalty. They are assigned the worst rooms in inventory as a matter of course. You need to be booking with a respected agent who will make your personal reservations through contacts in hotel management rather than by booking through a faceless 800 number.

Yes, hotels make more money when you use their 800 number. Yes, booking with a mega online agency is fairly easy. Yes, the industry will do all possible to keep the information above from the consumer.

You cannot “Like Us” in the superficial, Facebook sense. We don’t participate in silly social media self-promotion. If you want to like us – just try to do it in the human sense. We like you as well.

Q – Our mother has never really been anywhere and she seems to have no interest in going to Europe or South America. For her birthday, we would love to send her somewhere for a great experience. Her passion in life is her love of dogs. Four of us would go with her on a special trip for no longer than a week. We’ve thought about going up to New York for the Westminster Dog Show but show dogs are really not her thing. Any suggestions would be really appreciated. 

A – There is only one suggestion: By all means get her up to the start of the Iditarod Race in Anchorage next March. Try to book the Captain Cook. Arrive a few days early for the Musher Banquet where starting position drawings take place and each entrant must make a short speech. You should also go to the Fur Randy Carnival – otherwise you might miss the “Outhouse Races” or the “Running of the Reindeer”. Accommodations will be difficult to secure so try to make your reservations immediately. Contact an Anchorage-based travel agency to handle the trip or find out more about new pet friendly rentals .  Hope Mom loves this experience.

Q – My wife and I are in our mid-sixties and we want to start doing some longer trips that might include cruise or train components. I think you would define us as really good travelers and we’ve enjoyed a wide range of terrains and accommodations during our travels. Now, we are planning a four month odyssey that will take in portions of Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Before even talking to a travel agent, I’m trying to figure out a starting point and how to begin this project. For instance, at what stage do I deal with the airlines? My real question has to do with Around-The-World fares. Do they still exist and what are the restrictions? We are also wondering if cabin classes can be mixed or must all segments be in Business? Thanks for any advice you can provide. Much of our destination planning is based on your Q&A insights. 

A – Those fares definitely still exist. Many of the rules have been thrown out so all options have to be examined carefully. Your agent should refer you to one of the nation’s better RTW specialists. The growth of airline alliance partnerships has actually made finding applicable fares easier – as has technology. For instance, if you belong to Virgin’s Velocity Program, you can fly on Etihad, Air New Zealand, Delta, Singapore and Air Berlin. That gives you a nice range of flights globally. We want you to be very cautious about change policies. $100 to change a ticket is reasonable. But Around-The-World travelers almost always have to make ticket changes so you need to have clarity going in as to what kind of changes are permitted. You can definitely mix and match classes of service. Many RTW travelers use Business Class on any segment over three hours.

The first step would be to do a list of “Must-Be’s” based on special events like festivals, concerts, or sports events. You would then block out an ideal itinerary and get in touch with your air ticketing specialist. Once you lock in the flight segments, your agent will begin finalizing your itinerary with the assistance of their preferred partners abroad. Allow 3-6 months for the total planning time.

Q – Easter Island is near the top of our current Bucket List. We are planning to go to Chile and then spend some time on the island but no sure how much time it deserves. What do you recommend. We are adventurous and we would want to use private guides throughout with great accommodations. We’re active and in our mid-fifties. My wife does suffer from claustrophobia. 

A – This is a trip that requires counseling. You’ve raised two reddish flags – you want “great” accommodations and claustrophobia is an issue. Normally, we would suggest two nights in Santiago before flying to Easter and then four or five nights on the island. There are no top-tier hotels but there are abundant outdoor activities. Watch out for thieves ans scam artists. This is prime territory for photo shots that will help you stand out from the other three billion pictures posted on Instagram and its ilk. But discuss this trip carefully with a consultant you trust. This one could be a disappointment. Read all possible about the amazing rock formations before you depart.

Q – My two boys, 16 and 14, will be joining my brother, my wife and I on a two-week jaunt that I want to be memorable in every way. I have budgeted about $20,000 USD per person for top everything. Is that reasonable? 

I would like to consider working with you and, yes, we all, well except for my sod of a brother, have a passing grade sense of humor. So, assuming my budget is manageable, what is the first step? My real question, which you may want to tell me privately, is, after all the tourist board blarney, what exactly is the best month to travel privately in Ireland? By the way, for what I will be spending, I could care less about the boys missing ten days of school.

A – You have already taken the first step. No worries. It will be a privilege to assist you. Your budget seems a bit high. You can have a true five-star experience utilizing upper echelon guides and the best accommodations while returning home with enough change for another vacation.

No secrets. The best month to visit Ireland is October. May would be a close second. Start by developing a taste for Guinness now.