A Traveling Dog, The Travel Blog

Now, I’m not saying this because I was born there, but Tampa is pretty much the best city in Florida.

Miami? Psh. Lame!

Key West? A few days there is fine, but after you’ve toured Hemingway’s house and drank your body weight in margaritas, you’re ready to get back to the mainland.

Orlando? Gross! If Disney doesn’t scare you away, it’s like pretty much armpit of Florida.

That can only leave Tampa. It’s Cuban roots run deep through the city, especially in the former Cigar-making district, the lovely Ybor City. When in Ybor, you have to grab a cuban sandwich and some flan at the historic La Tropicana Cafe, and take a stroll down 7th ave. On 7th and on the surrounding streets and aves. you’ll find all sorts of old cigar factories and other architectural relics of Ybor’s glory days turned into antique shops, vintage stores, bars, restaurants, music venues, and lots more bars.

In addition to Ybor, you have the beautiful Gulf beaches 25 minutes away in St. Petersburg/Clearwater, PLUS awesome roller coasters at Busch Gardens. Oh yeah, and every January there’s Gasparilla. Gasparilla is a Mardi Gras-esque parade where giant ships of costumed pirates invade the bay and “take over the city”. What’s not to love?

If you have severe flying anxiety like I do, chances are your family members draw straws to see who has to sit next to you on a flight.  In addition to victims of flying anxiety, the list of sufferers do not end there.  Sitting next to someone who is tense for the entire duration of the flight, potentially losing the feeling in their arms when squeezed at any sign of air turbulence, and having drinks knocked onto their laps isn’t fun for anyone.

As a victim of severe flying anxiety, I’ve learned to keep a few things in mind before, during, and after a flight to put the trip at ease for myself and those around me.  Try some, if not all of the following steps the next time you hop on a plane:

Before boarding:

• Dress comfortably so you can fall asleep easily
• Avoid eating a full meal or drinking too many liquids; you don’t want increase your nausea or have to deal with going to the restroom during take-off
• Don’t immediately go to your gate’s seating area to sit and stew; walk around the shops and try to relax with your family and friends

During the flight:

• Remember that turbulence is normal
• If you begin think negative thoughts, remind yourself that the chances of getting struck by lightning are greater than any type of flight-related incidents
• Have you seen a plane from the outside?  You are in a strong, reliable and well-maintained aircraft
• 3 million people fly every day; flying is routine and extremely safe
• Have a glass of wine, it’s worth the $5

After the flight:

You’ve made it.  Now remind yourself how easy it was and that you can do it again and again and again.

Follow these helpful tips and stop cutting off your loved ones’ circulation.  Take care, relax, and happy flying!

Feel like you’re being milked and bilked for all you’re worth by the airlines when you make travel plans? Turns out: you are!

A U.S. House subcommittee on aviation recently found that airlines have charged fees for services that consumers would normally expect to have included in the ticket price, including baggage fees, seat choice, and reservation changes or cancellations.

While airlines counter that they’re able to lower their fares by unbundling these fees, the government feels differently, and that the proliferation of new fees can be “confusing and in some cases misleading.”

One proposal was to extend the airline excise tax of 7.5% to the full total, unbundled fee—currently, the added fees for services like checking a single piece of baggage escape the tax. The airlines argued that additional taxes would harm growth of the economy.

What this could mean for travelers, and A Traveling Dog readers? It could mean that government moves forward with pushing the excise tax and airlines (almost inevitably) decide to pass the costs on to consumers. Or it means that customers get savvier about being sure about what to book (without cancellations or changes) and get increasingly bigger pieces of carry-on luggage in order to avoid checked baggage fees.

Do you have tons of travel stories your dying to share with the world, but are lacking a soapbox to shout your stories from check out TravelBlog.org. The site allows you to update your personal travel travel diary from any computer world wide. So the next time you’re sitting in that internet cafe, far, far away from home, log into your TravelBlog.org account and start documenting your trip. It’s a fantastic way to keep your friends and family in the loop, while having a coherent record of everything you saw and experienced.

So start a Travel Blog today and have a place to look back on your favorite traveling moments!

My favorite airline to travel on by far, is JetBlue. Between the better snack options, comfortable leather seats, and TVs in the back of every headrest, I really feel like I’m getting my money’s worth.

As if I didn’t like them enough, they have their own Twitter page called JetBlue Cheeps (Cute!). This is a really great resource for tracking absolute STEALS on last minute flights. New Cheeps are posted on Tuesdays. For instance, they had a one-way flight for $39, from Jacksonville, FL to JFK in New York this past Saturday.

So if you don’t have Twitter or think it’s a waste of time, sign up just to track JetBlue Cheeps and get the deal of a lifetime on one of the best airlines in the U.S.

Many people have the dream of traveling around the world, but their dreams often come to an end when they realize how much money they will end up spending on airfare and lodging. Not to mention the amount of time it would take to coordinate all of the stops and flight times.
But don’t give up your dream just yet! There are around the world tickets, that are suprisingly affordable.

Here are the details:
Many online spots like airtrek.com offer open-ended tickets for continental or multi-continental tours. Open ended means that you have no set flight times from each destination, but a year maximum to get around and see all of your spots and anywhere in between.
AirTrek.com has a special that includes airfare to Paris – Dublin – New York – Las Vegas – Los Angeles – Beijing – Hong Kong – Singapore – Overland On Your Own – Bangkok – Delhi – Bombay / Mumbai – Paris… all for a reasonable price of 1799.

So basically, open-ended tickets are the travel-lover’s dream come true!

For a lot of travelers, one of the most daunting aspects of preparing for a trip is packing. We all know we should pack light, but many feel they’d rather bring too much, than not enough. If you’re going on a trip and are a little anxious about packing all of your clothes, here a little advice.

Put everything you want to bring in a pile. Evaluate what you selected and start to take out at least 5 things you KNOW aren’t necessary. What ever is left, pack half of it. This can be especially hard for ladies to do, as it seems perfectly logical to bring 5 different pairs of shoes, but trust me, when you’re carrying around a huge bag, trying to find your hotel in a foreign country, you’re going to wish you lightened up on your load.

Clothes take up the most room in your bag, so be very selective and bring only the essentials. Doing laundry in your room every few days is a lot easier than carrying around a huge, heavy bag.

As far as toiletries go, bring small bottles. These are easily replaceable and you can always take the hotel shampoos and soaps when you run out.

We all want to travel, but time and money are our biggest deterrents from taking that expedition across Europe we’ve been meaning to do. An often overlooked place to visit is Canada. This huge country to the north of us has tons of great offerings for travelers. Here are 5 Canadian Vacation Ideas:

1) Old Quebec:
Between the old cobblestone roads, well-preserved 17th century architecture and French cafes, visiting Quebec is like taking a step back in time, and a step across the ocean.

2) Cape Breton Island:
Cape Breton is an island at the tip of Nova Scotia, famous for its food, music and Celtic heritage. A must visit for any Canadian traveller.

3)Prince Edward Island:
This gorgeous locale is home to the Anne of Green Gables Homestead located in the Prince Edward National Park. The beautiful island features a gorgeous coastal landscape characteristic of the Maritime Plan region.

4)Montreal:
One of the most stylish and exciting cities in North America, Montreal is a must-visit for the art, music, and culture enthusiast. Montreal is known to host tons of festivals, and one of their biggest is the Montreal International Jazz Festival in June/July. It’s free of charge, offers about 500 concerts and features around 2000 musicians from 20 different countries.

5)Toronto:
If you’re looking for a city that is on-par with Chicago and New York in terms of restaurants and shopping, Toronto is your best bet. Toronto is a huge financial capital and boast tons of awe-inspiring sky-scrapers and modern architecture.

The intriguing continent of South America has so much to offer in terms of a rich traveling experience. Between the history, natural wonders, diverse cultures, and the amazing cuisine, you’re sure to have an unforgettable trip. If you’re planning a trip to South America, here are a few places we recommend you check out:

Panama Viejo: The most ancient settlement of South America on the Pacific coastline.

Caraz in Peru: The heart of the Tunshucayco ruins of the Chavin civilization is believed to be the oldest in Peru. Located between two peaks, the town is the perfect locale for biking, hiking and other outdoorsy adventures.

Macchu Pichu: The mystical lost city of Peru boasts some incredible ancient architecture and is one of the most popular destinations in the country.

Iguazu Falls: A natural jewel of the continent, the Iguazu Falls in Argentina are a must visit for the nature enthusiast, mostly due to the rare species of flora and fauna that can be seen in the surrounding park.

Salvador De Bahia, Brazil: Boasting 365 churches, beautiful old houses, and narrow pebbled streets; the air of the town is remarkable and is a great place of retreat from the hustle and bustle of more metropolitan cities like Sao Paulo.

If you plan on being away for the holidays such as Christmas or New Years, it’s probably important to you that you still will get to celebrate, even if you are away from home. I’ve actually done this quite a few times over the years and there are some really amazing vacation spots where you can celebrate the holidays. A few years back I went to Paris and stayed at the Franklin Roosevelt hotel. This hotel is already pretty amazing as is Paris in general. But with all the building lit up in the night sky like the Eiffel Tower it really is simply amazing.

And like most other places during the New Years, Paris had a fireworks show as well which was delivered right from the Eiffel Tower! Some hotels you stay at might even give you special meals for dinner on New Years, champagne, strawberries, or anything else you want! Paris was really romantic so maybe you are looking for something like this or maybe you have children and want to go someplace fun with them. In this case, my number one choice would definitely be Disney World! I have been to Disney World quite a few times over the years for fourth of July and New Years and I can tell you that they set off an amazing fireworks display that will make the whole family ooh and ahh.

Very prettyful indeed! Another cool experience for vacation in terms of Christmas is in Charleston Harbor – they, along with other locations, have a special fireworks display JUST for Christmas in the harbor. They also have a parade and a tree lighting ceremony, which everyone always seems to enjoy! The point here is that even though you have to be away from your home on these special holidays, it doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on all the great things the holidays bring!