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Posts Tagged ‘Getting’

Bali’s varied landscape of hills and mountains, rugged coastlines and sandy beaches, lush rice terraces and barren volcanic hillsides provide a picturesque backdrop to the colorful and deeply spiritual culture of this \”Island of The Gods.\” Below are a few questions that are commonly asked plus tips on the do’s and don’ts of Bali Travel.

1/ Do you need a visa for travel to bali?
In general you don’t need to get a visa before you to Bali from most countries. A visa costs approximately US$10 for 7 days/US$25 for 30 days. If you have a Hong Kong SAR or Macau SAR passport, then you will get a free visa.
Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months from the date of entry into Indonesia, and you must have proof of onward passage (either return or through tickets). If you cannot fulfill both of these requirements, you may not be allowed to enter the country.
The Visa on Arrival is non-extendable and cannot be converted into a different visa. Once you disembark, you will come to an area where you buy your visa. (Do not miss this section).  AFTER you have paid for and received your visa you THEN to proceed to Immigration where your visa will be processed.

2/ Is it safe to travel to Bali?
On October 12, 2002, the most commercialized, southern area of Bali came under attack by terrorists. The Kuta Beach tourist area is often referred to as \”Little Australia\” by the local people because it is known to primarily cater to Australian tourists and surfers. This shocking tragedy sent the message around the world that no tourist destination is completely safe in our dangerous times. What a disappointment to all who have come to deeply appreciate the hospitable Balinese people and their culture. But the intent of the perpetrators was to strike at Western revelers and their commercialism. Since Bali as a whole is primarily unscathed by such ugly decay, the Balinese culture remains untouched. However, the impact on the tourist economy has not been minimal. In recent years, tourism has contributed significantly to the financial well-being of the island and even to Indonesia as a whole. Swift efforts by the government to ensure a speedy recover are underway. Strict security measures have been implemented. Some countries have already lifted travel warnings implemented, and tourism to Bali is again on the rise.  Read more...

Whatever the budget for a trip or vacation, most people would like to save a little – or a lot – of money when booking hotels, airfares and other trip necessities.

At Travel-like-a-pro.com, we specialize in helping people save money when booking their trips and vacations, and here are a few of our favorite tips for booking a hotel and making the reservation as smooth and affordable as possible:

Search for hotels or resorts of your choice by using online travel-specific search engines such as expedia.com or orbitz.com. These sites contain powerful engines which will do the legwork for you in looking for the best rates to be found online. They do the comparisons for you, and are fairly flexible so that you can search by your priority, such as price, star rating or proximity to attractions. Use your travel agent if you have a good relationship. It pays to develop and maintain a relationship with a good agency, as you will then become a ‘preferred’ customer of theirs, and can take advantage of the best pricing available. They may even have an online or physical mailing list they can put you on to be notified immediately of great deals. Join the Last minute Club or some similar travel savings club. These organizations often have blocks of tickets and hotel rooms and can offer better rates because of this. They also have buying power with hotels and airlines because they frequently send them business, and thus can offer you savings over retail, especially, as you might expect, on ‘last-minute’ trips. Once you have narrowed down your choices, consider calling the hotel/s yourself. Be straightforward and polite, and ask if there are any discounts you can take advantage of, and ask if they can do any better, offer you an upgrade – anything they can do. Many hotel clerks have confided that they have the authority to offer complimentary upgrades or discounts to clientele, but they will not do so unless they are directly asked. S/he who asks, receives! Try calling two of your top choices and mention that you are down to these last two choices, and see what the best offer is…sometimes a little competition (without threats) can induce a reservation employee to do a little better for you.
Get a Travel Agent ID Card. This is a tool your travel agent would not appreciate you knowing about, but it can easily be done, and you will save many thousands of dollars on hotels, airfare, car rentals and more over your lifetime. According to a one successful businessman, ‘My wife got a Travel Agent ID several years ago, and it has paid for itself many times over. We’ve saved thousands over the years and it was definitely a worthwhile investment.’

With these tips, and those found in the Travel Industry Secrets resource guide available at Travel-Like-A-Pro.com, you can be the envy of all your friends and save more of your money for spending on fun things while you are away, by never paying inflated retail travel rates again!

The number-one rule in packing for a trip is to pack lightly because we often forget how frequently we’ll have to lift or carry our luggage during our travels. Consider how, you’ll be dragging your luggage into the trunk of your car and out again, through the airport, off of the luggage carousel, through another airport, back into the trunk of your rental car and out again until finally you get to the hotel where hopefully they’ll have a porter.

On top of having to lug your bags around, your airline will have strict rules on the size, weight and the number of bags you can travel with-for both carry-on and checked baggage. Make sure you check your airline’s website for current information on restrictions and don’t assume that what you took last time will be allowed this time-especially if you are travelling on a different airline. Luggage size and weight restrictions can vary by airline or travel destination.

*MONEY-SAVING TRAVEL TIP*
Packing lightly for your travels can save you money. Many airlines are now charging fees for overweight bags, oversized bags, and for checking more than the allowed number of bags per passenger.

Other great reasons for packing lightly: shorter waits around the luggage carousel, less need for porters (and tips!) and easier Customs inspections (after all, if you had to force your bags closed, imagine how happy the Customs agents will be!)

Travel tips for packing your carry-on
Your carry-on should contain all your most valuable items and must-have documentation like:

•    Your wallet
•    Your passport
•    Your tickets
•    Your traveller’s cheques
•    Your emergency medical travel insurance
•    Your medications (be sure to keep them in their original bottles)
•    Phone numbers and addresses of where you’ll be staying
•    A small amount of local currency for immediate use when you arrive
•    The maps you’ll need to get where you are staying once you’ve arrived
•    If you must bring valuables like jewellery with you, your carry-on is your safest bet – but leave them at home if you can.

Travel tips for packing your checked luggage
The following tips should help you keep your luggage light and leave enough room so you can pack souvenirs when you return:  Read more...

We could all use a break from the monotony of our jobs and the humdrum of domestic chores, and the first thing that comes to mind is often a vacation. As many health experts say, taking a vacation every now and then is indispensable to good health.

The next thing we do is look for great travel deals through a travel agency. This is important because if taking a vacation means emptying out our wallets and bank accounts, what good can that do to our financial health? In dire economic times, topmost in our minds is to get the best deals, which are typically possible only from travel agencies.

Many people think that getting travel deals on the Internet is the way to go. The reason for this is that there is very little overhead involved. Online ticket sellers don’t need a physical location; all they need is a web site and a marketing campaign. A recently released white paper says, however, that people who book with travel agents receive discounts of as much as $56.00 more than when booking with the Internet or with an airline.

Great Deals through Your Travel Agency: Tips

Here are some things to bear in mind when you want to obtain great deals through a travel agency.

1. Remember the concepts of off-peak and peak – these concepts relate to travel time periods. For instance, peak travel periods would be Thanksgiving, Christmas, graduation and Easter. You probably still might get a great deal, but chances are very slim. Peak season equates with greater demand for tickets and more crowded airports, not to speak of higher fuel costs. You can obtain great deals if you schedule your trip during off peak travel periods.

2. Air consolidators – when you hear someone say, “my ticket is a consolidated ticket”, that means they are travelling to an overseas destination like Asia or Europe and their travel agents sold them consolidated tickets. Agents have access to consolidated tickets because they have special and exclusive arrangements with major carriers, thanks to frequent volume purchases.

3. Wide network of providers – travel agents work on special computer systems that provide access to the world’s discounted travel packages. This is why your best bet is to deal with a travel agent when hunting for deals because agents use the most sophisticated program applications, technology and relationships to do some bargain hunting for you.