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Archive for the ‘Questions & Answers’ Category
Q&A: Hiking Trip in February
I’ve got a week off at the end of February that I don’t know what to do with and am toying with heading to somewhere abroad to go hiking for a week. Have any ideas? – Chris
Lucky you! The end of February is a great time to travel as it is more of a “shoulder season” so deals should be plentiful and you can head into Central America for warm days or to the Southern Hemisphere to catch the tail-end of summer! DIWYY did some sleuthing and has some suggestions for you to explore:
-Head down to Loreto, Mexico for 7-day Baja Multisport organized by REI Adventures. In addition to hiking, you will also get a chance to mountain bike, sea kayak, and snorkel. And to make your life easier, the price of all sports equipment is included in the tour cost. Tour starts at $1,699 (land only) and has two February departures: February 14th and February 28th.
-Have you hiked the Inca trail? GAP Adventures has a 7-day tour called The Inca Trail which will allow you to spend a few days hiking before seeing awe-inspiring Machu Picchu. The tour is priced at $749 and includes accommodations (combination of hotels and camping), several meals, guided tours, and support staff during the trek. GAP Adventures has numerous February departures.
-Why not head further south into South America and explore Argentina or Chile? Places like Patagonia, Cordoba, and El Calafate, would provide the right mix of relaxation and adventure. If you want to do something informal, look into buying a return ticket into a major city like Santiago (SCL), Buenos Aires (EZE), or even smaller Argentinean cities like Cordoba (COR) or El Calafate (FTE) and explore! If you opt for Cordoba, check out Qualia Tourism. Although the website is in Spanish, the owner, Martin, speaks English. The website features several excursions on varying lengths. Use Google Translate if you need help deciphering the site.
-Morocco is another option. We found a reasonably priced tour from Top Deck with their 9-day Moroccan Explorer trip. While it does not include hiking, it does include lots of culture and adventure! They have availability on February 20th for only $825 (land only). Flights into Marrakesh from the US will transit through Europe.
Do you have a travel question? Be sure to visit the DIWYY homepage and use our question submittal form!
New Q&A: Adding Additional Pages to a Passport
I have been traveling a lot in recent years and am running out of pages in my passport. Do I need to get a new one or can pages be added? -Submitted by Nicole
Great Question! I successfully filled up my passport a couple years ago and was able to get an additional 24 pages added. I even ran out of pages again a second time, and the State Department was able to add another section (The maximum is 72 pages per passport book). The process is very simple, and inexpensive, if you plan ahead and can work with standard processing.
To get started, you will need to complete form DS-4085 which can either be completed online and printed or printed and then filled out by hand. For standard processing (estimated at 4-6 weeks), you simply put your passport and the completed form in an envelope and send it off for processing. The Department of State recommends a traceable method of shipping like USPS Priority Mail.
If you need your passport sooner, you can opt for rush processing but it will cost $60. In this scenario, it is also recommended to use USPS Priority or Express Mail to send your passport. If you include an additional fee (usually around $15, but call for the current rate), they will send your passport back to you with USPS Overnight shipping instead of USPS Priority Mail.
If you are leaving the country within two weeks, you can make an appointment at a Regional Passport Office for processing.
Some other tips to remember (which I have learned from experience!):
-The Department of State will not accept FedEx or UPS as the mailing address for both standard and rush processing is a P.O. Box and neither companies deliver to these types of addresses. You best bet is USPS Priority Mail or Overnight Mail. Both will generate a tracking number for you.
-Always make a copy of the documents you send, just to be on the safe side.
-Prefer to have your passport mailed to another address other than your home address? On Line 6, put the address where you want it mailed to and in Line 10, put your permanent address. I like to have my passport shipped to my work location since someone is available for receiving it and it won’t be sitting on my front porch all day.
-When applying for a new passport, you can request a “business-size” passport (48 pages versus the standard 24) for no additional cost. This will save you time and money in the long run if you anticipate a full travel schedule in your future.
Have any other questions about passports? Post them here and I’ll be happy to answer them.
Happy Traveling,
Kristina (currently a holder of a gigantic 72-page passport!)
New Q&A: Post-college Plans
I’m a college senior thinking about what to do after I graduate. I’m planning on grad school but want to take a year or two off and live/work abroad. Do you have any recommendations on where to begin the search? I’m open to exploring different options! -Submitted by Hannah
Thank you for your question. Taking some time off after college is a great idea for a couple of reasons:
-When else in your life will you have the opportunity to just take off and explore the world?
-Even though you have your degree, you may not be entirely sure what you’d like to do as a career. Traveling and experiencing the world could help identify a particular area to focus on.
-And my favorite reason (coming from an HR person): when it does come time to interview for jobs or apply for graduate, think of all the cool stories you will have to make yourself sound like the most interesting person in the world? At one interview, I started talking about travel (which can be connected to just about anything) and the interviewer asks me all the places I had visited. I listed those off and I think I impressed them…after all, I did get the job!
Now that you are pumped up, let’s explore some possibilities. Working abroad is a viable option considering having some sort of income will assist in your travel ventures. Additionally, if you go through a program, you are likely going to have a much easier time securing a Visa. Here is our short list of some ideas:
-Work aboard luxury yachts in the Caribbean (a la DIWYY co-founder, Jerri), Au Pair in Europe, or work on a farm in New Zealand. Good sites to check out include Extraordinary Jobs for Ordinary People and Transitions Abroad.
-Teach English Abroad. Endless options can be found online but be sure to thoroughly research a program and check its credentials before signing up. One legit organization we recommend is The Japanese Exchange & Teaching Program (JET).
Volunteering Abroad is also a way to give you meaningful experience that you can take back into your professional life when you go to home. You could do anything from helping at an AIDS Orphanage in Tanzania to working at an elephant rehabilitation center in Thailand. For ideas, we recommend checking sites like VolunteerAbroad.com, Cross-Cultural Solutions, and Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village Program. Like working abroad, be sure to thoroughly research the organization you would be going with. If possible, try to talk with people who have previously participated in the program to get a testimonial.
As a last option, traveling on your own (either independently or with a tour) is easy because you make your own schedule! If you do this method, we recommend getting a “Round the World” or Regional ticket so you have the flexibility to book flights as you go within certain parameters. For this type of tickets, check with your travel agent or the major airline alliance websites (oneworld, Star Alliance, SkyTeam).
New Q&A: Travel Deals for Students
I would LOVE to travel more but, being that I am still a student, budget is still a top consideration when I am planning my trips. Where can I find the best deals on flights and tours? -Submitted by Amy
Being in college is usually a Catch 22: you have the time to travel but don’t have the income to be doing so. As a result, you need to get creative in your travel planning which can sometimes mean planning way ahead or waiting until the last minute. Since these planning styles are not suitable to everyone, here are some additional strategies for the people who prefer something in between:
-When you begin researching flights, check out websites like Kayak.com. Kayak is great because it searches all airlines and has a ton of search parameters to use (nearby airports, flexible schedules, weekend travel, etc). I usually do my research here and then ticket on the airline carrier’s website.
-Look for tour companies that incorporate the flight cost into the overall price—this can equate to a substantial cost savings, although you sometimes do not get to choose your airline. I recommend checking out Gate 1 Travel and Contiki who both offer deals for flights and tours. Gate 1 Travel travelers are of all ages and their tours typically hit the major sightseeing spots in the region you will be visiting. Contiki, who coordinates tours specifically for travelers ages 18-35, occasionally run specials where there is a flat rate for airfare which can also be to your benefit, especially if you are flying to a popular country during high season. For both of these companies, I recommend subscribing to their newsletters so that you are the first to hear about any deals.
-Along the lines of “being in the know”, I recommend becoming fans of your favorite airlines on Facebook and also subscribing to their email newsletters. This way, you will be alerted for flight deals and also packaged vacations specials. I am a fan of Virgin America on Facebook and they are constantly advertising their amazing fare deals within the United States. I also get the email newsletters from the major US carriers (American, Delta, and United) to see if any routes are deeply discounted in the near future.
-Since you are a student, be sure to also leverage the deals you can get from flashing your school ID. Vendors like STA Travel specifically cater to the college audience in terms of flights, tours, and rail passes and usually have physical locations near college campuses. If you are between the ages of 16-25, you can qualify for certain Rail Europe discounts.
Good luck in your travel planning! If anyone has other suggestions, please post a comment here or on our Facebook page.
Do YOU have a travel question you’d like answered?? If so, use our submittal form on our website.