Taking a step back from the east coast and looking more globally, it seems mother nature has had it out for us in the last couple of years. It started with earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. There was Icelandic volcano that disrupted travel for weeks (not to mention the damage it did to Icelandic farms). There were the floods that tore through Tennessee. Then you had the Japanese tsunamis and earthquakes. New Zealand was also the victim of multiple earthquakes. Chile got it again with the collapse of the mine, which only gave us slight hope with the virtually miraculous survival of the miners. Somewhere in there was the tornado that tore through the midwest United States.  I’m sure I’m forgetting some in there, but you get the point. We seem to have made mother nature mad. People have their theories as to why, but whatever the reason, it feels as if the world has been nothing short of catastrophic as of late.

While certainly delayed and cancelled travel plans aren’t nearly at the top of the priority list when these types of things happen, they are impacted. More than that, you could be enroute or stranded away from loved ones during a natural disaster, and this can be scary if not dangerous. Do you have a good plan for what you’d do if traveling during a disaster? While one certainly can’t control the path of the hurricane or ash of a volcanic eruption, there are some things you can do to take care of yourself and traveling companions as best as possible.

1. Leave a detailed copy of your itinerary with a loved one at home. It should have dates of when you’ll be where, names and contact details of accommodations, flight details, and any other travel details (trains, buses, private transfers, tours, etc). Choose someone that will react well in an emergency. You may love your great-grandma, but her inability to read without a magnifying glass and fading memory may not be the best choice for your emergency contact.

2. Put the same detailed itinerary somewhere in your carry on and/or checked luggage. If you somehow get separated from your luggage, say during changed/cancelled flights, it will at least provide some link to where you might be.

3. Keep your most important contacts obviously labeled in your phone and computer/email address book if you have it with you. For instance, I have my parents cell phones labeled with their names and their home phone labelled “home”, even though I don’t live there. I presume if something happened to me, the first person someone would look to call would be my parents. I want them to know how to get ahold of them.

4. Further more, if you’re in a situation that you think could become dangerous (ie a mountain climbing trip through remote, snowy mountains) create a list of the people that you’d want contacted first in an emergecy and their contact details. My parents and I are very close, and they’d know the names of people to contact, but they don’t know their numbers. Plus, what if someone can’t reach my parents and time is of the essence? This provides a “plan B” for contacting loved ones.

5. Know how to locate the US Embassy at your destination. You can actually register with the embassy before you travel, so that they know where to find you if needed.  Also, if you loose your passport/have it stolen or are dangerous situation, this is a good place to go. It’s “neutral territory” so to speak.

6. Use your common sense. I’m adventurous, and my idea of a great trip might not match a lot of peoples. I don’t believe a lot of the “oh that’s too dangerous” people. I went to Zimbabwe during a supposedly dangerous time and was in South Korea a few days after North Korea bombed a ship in South Korean waters. I was perfectly safe both time and felt no ill effects of the events in either case. But there are situations that I would not put myself into because I don’t have a death wish. When my flight to Europe was grounded during the Icelandic volcano, I stayed put. I didn’t try to get around it because I was so determined to go on my trip. If ash is going to shut down a plane’s engine, I want no part of that!

5. On one leg of each trip, they predicted turbulence so bad that the pilot asked the flight attendants to sit down and asked passengers not to ring their call button unless it was a true emergency. Very reassuring. At least they were honest. This is actually the second (and third) time I’ve been in this situation. This is the first time it made me air sick.

4. Our flight out of Philly was so delayed (go figure! Thank you once again, Philadelphia International) that we were sure to miss our connection. Southwest called ahead and got us on the next connecting flight going out an hour later and even checked us in to give us a boarding letter/numbrt – per SWA’s unique boarding process. Our original connecting flight was actually delayed and we got there just as the doors closed. They were completely honest and said they’d waited as long as they could but had then been told we were going to miss our connection so gave up our seats to those who had missed a previous connection. Some people complained, but I appreciated their honesty and the fact that they’d made the effort to call ahead and make sure we were going to make a connecting flight in the first place, even if it was a little later. What the people complaining didn’t think about was that we were doing the exact same thing to late arrivals for the flight we were placed on, and we were thrilled to get that seat … circle of life.

3. On the return flight, we waited for a few passengers that were on an incoming flight and would be there in the next 20 minutes (one passenger being a small child). Not only was this a surprising display of courtesy to flyers that were no doubt sprinting down the concourse, but the fact that they actually communicated this to us was perhaps even more alarming given the lack of communication flights often provide (or don’t) these days.

2. Due to the ridiculous heat in Texas and the cooler air in the plane, the overhead air vents started dripping – and in some cases full on spraying – on our heads. The flight attendants announced, “if your air vent is dripping on you, please let us know and we’ll bring you a towel!” Definitely a first in my book.

1. During all the delays, turbulence and dripping air vents, passengers were friendly, laughing and actually helping each other. It makes me wonder if SWA’s chivalrous attitude and sense of humor encourages passengers to adopt a bit of the same.

Thank you, Southwest Airlines for doing the best job you could with the famous Philly delays, thunderstorms and unintentional in-flight showers, all the while actually somehow making these delayed, queasy, wet passengers not want to kill each other. I truly do applaud you and will be flying you again next time I have the opportunity to do so. Plus, I like the fact that you offer me peanuts and pretzels.

Amsterdam - From the US (especially the East Coast) it’s easy to fly right into the city, and flight prices have been decreasing over the last few months. Spring is tulip time in the Netherlands, and the magnificent color of these blooms is tough to duplicate elsewhere. Weather you choose to wander on your own, take a day tour (there are specific tulip viewing tours in the spring), or sit back and relax on a river cruise, book early – this is one of the most popular times of year to visit.

The Swiss Riviera – Like the Netherlands, the Swiss Riveria is marked by rainbows of tulips during the spring. It’s a beautiful time to walk alongside the water amongst the flowers with clear view of the alps on a sunny day. It’s also an optimal season to travel the Riviera by train – either for a day trip or over the course of several days. The towns of Montreaux, Vevey and Mont Pelerrin are popular destinations by rail. You can learn more about Switzerland by rail on these sites: http://su.pr/2epHwj , http://su.pr/2nogCe

Costa Rica – With a decidedly rainy season from June through November or December (depending on how bad the season is), the spring is definitely an ideal time to head to this lush Central American hotspot. Probably the country’s top selling feature is it’s biodiversity. Surfers and those looking for R&R can head to it’s beach- laden coasts, Guanacaste being one of the most sought after. It’s colorful rain forests rich with wildlife provide adventure and ecotourism opportunities, including hiking, canopy tours and birding. The Arenal Volcano area, where visitors will find also find thermal hot springs, provides perhaps the most distinctive experiences. Travelers will often combine several of these regions for a trip that offers both relaxation and adventure.

Southern Spain – If you’ve had a long, snowy winter and spring isn’t warming up quite as quickly as you’d hoped, a trip to the towns in Southern Spain can cure that longing for sunny skies and warmer weather. In Seville, for instance, the average high temperature in April hovers around 24 degrees Celsius, or 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and it’s definitely known to get warmer. Though this isn’t necessarily beach weather (which is OK, since Seville isn’t on a beach), it is certainly nicer than many people have back home, plus you get to soak in the scenery, food and ambiance that defines the southern regions of Spain. One important note is that Spain is a very Catholic country, so if you plan to travel in the spring, you may want to avoid Easter week. Restaurants and attractions could be closed during this time and hotel rooms could be tough to come by.

Botswana and/or Victoria Falls – I know this probably isn’t popping up in many “spring vacation suggestion” lists, but I have personally been to both of these destinations in the spring, and they’re extraordinary. The rainy season runs from November to early April, so depending on when you go you could get some rain, but it’s certainly not at it’s worse and shouldn’t be enough to interrupt your trip. Victoria Falls, in fact, thrives on the rain from this season. According to my guides, they’ve seen a number of the falls virtually disappear in dry season. It would be very frustrating, I imagine, to travel across multiple continents, to some of the most sought-after waterfalls in the world, to find them virtually non-existent. As for Botswana, the rainy season fills the water sources and draw in the animals seeking them. Recent rainfall also means lush vegetation and an abundance of food for the grazing animals, allowing more viewing opportunities. If you’re planning to go in the spring, head there some time between mid-April and end of May, before the high tourist season hits. You’ll have less competition for accommodation and tours and will avoid the often stifling heat of Botswana’s summer.

I pointed out in the challenge request that it didn’t have to be a trip you could actually take (though of course that would be ideal for several reasons), it just had to be one you’d like to take and train for. The point was to give yourself an activity and training goal, with the idea that training for an active vacation was a better way to motivate yourself than training just to burn calories or improve muscle tone or a number of other traditional exercise goals.

It took me a while to find an active vacation that I wanted to train for – not because I couldn’t find one, but because there are so many options that piqued my interest. I wanted something that was both realistic and that felt like “me” -  activities that I enjoy and would like to incorporate into a longer training regimen.

After much searching, I found DuVine Adventure’s Yoga Bike Tour through Provence. This tour is ideal for me for a number of reasons. First, I have been aching to get to Provence and back to France in general. Secondly, I love to bike. I actually bought a “real” bike two summers ago along with the appropriate biking gear and have enjoyed it immensely – at least when I’m not getting my foot stuck in the pedal cages and crashing into something, which happens periodically. Finally, the yoga portion. I used to be very dedicated to my yoga regimen – two to three days per week, various forms and times of day to make sure I was maximizing it’s benefits. Then, about a year and a half ago, I somehow just got out of the routine and let’s just say it’s been a long time since I’ve attentively done yoga. I need to get back for all sorts of reasons and I know this. Truly, this itinerary is the perfect combination and meets all of the determining factors for choosing my active travel challenge.

There are so far two 2011 dates listed, so I’m aiming for the August 21 – 26 tour. In all honesty, I may or may not get on this trip. My work load and wallet tend to dictate my travel opportunities, so while I would love to go, I am going to have to wait to see if the actual trip is feasible. Still, I’m going to train like it is. The descriptions says that the biking portion covers about 120 miles with an average of just over 20 miles per day. I can do this, or at least I’m rather confident that I can. I’ve ridden a max of 44 miles per day, though I’ll admit that one of the times I did this I’d gotten lost and didn’t have much choice in the matter. I couldn’t hop on my bike and knock out this 120 miles right now, but I can train for it, and I’m excited to do just that. This makes it the ideal challenge. The yoga portion I will simply have to re-dedicate myself to. I can also do this.

So there you have it- my active travel challenge. What is yours? Need some help training? I’m offering a free training consultation to get everyone started, so please  contact me. I promise, it’s truly free. I’m excited to train along side my readers, even if for different challenges and I look forward to writing about mine and hearing about yours as we move forward.

If your vacation involves primarily one type of activity this simplifies the training – you primarily have to focus on biking, walking, hiking, canoeing, etc. Generally, tour companies or private guides will provide details on the distance, intensity and terrain scheduled for each day of the trip. This allows you to tailor your practice to include these features. For instance, if you know part of your biking trip is through the mountains where you may not have pavement the whole way, practice on hills with this type of terrain. Practice in the heat of the day, early morning, dusk, rain, wind and other potential weather conditions. Your tour company or guide should also be able to provide you information on typical weather patterns during the season you’ll be traveling. If not, this is relatively easy to research online.

Once you have this basic information, it’s time to create an actual training schedule. If you aren’t used to this type of training or the particular activity, this might be a good time to enlist a personal trainer, even if just to get you up and running (literally or figuratively). When fine tuning your schedule, start with your final training goal and work backward. This way you know that you can gradually work up to the goal and not have to overtrain in the last few weeks to reach it. Your schedule should range anywhere from three months to a year, depending on the intensity of the trip, your experience level and your overall starting activity level. Your toughest week should not be the week before your trip. Instead, this should be a few weeks before, with slightly less intense weeks following. While you want to still be ready to take on the vacation, you don’t want to be completely burnt out after the first day or two of your travels due to strenuous workouts just before leaving.

Finally, it’s critical to build both cross-training and rest days into your program. Cross-training should involve alternative types of cardiovascular exercise as well as strength training and flexibility. Cardiovascular coss-training allows your body to keep training but work different muscles than those used in the primary activity. If your primary activity is high-impact, for instance, you might choose swimming to take the weight off the joints, or the elliptical machine to lower the impact.  Strength training helps build the muscles supporting the joints, which can help prevent joint injuries from overuse or misuse (though avoiding misuse should be a focus in your training). Rest days give your body total rest from intense activity. You can use these days to stretch or do light yoga if you choose, but nothing that requires high cardiovascular activity or intense impact on the joints. Ideally you should have at least one rest day and one cross-training day per week, even at the most intense training level.

6.  Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride… in a Prague taxi. Upon arriving at the train station, we realized it was the wrong station and the correct one was all the way across town. We flagged down two cabs which were not nearly big enough for 10 of us plus luggage, but had no other option if we wanted a chance at making our train. The hatch backs wouldn’t close due to the suitcases, so we had to lay over the back of the seat to hold onto our luggage, lest it fly out the back as the drivers sped as fast as they could so that we made our train. When we finally got to the train station, we were on the wrong side of the tracks, so our taxi drivers jumped down onto the tracks and threw our luggage onto the correct side so that we didn’t have to haul it all the way around.

7. Robben Island and District 6 tour in Cape Town. Like the DMZ, this is another eery one. Reading the stories of the people forcibly removed from their homes, touring the town of extreme poverty to which they were sent and learning about Robben Island from a former inmate was a very sobering experience. Even more sobering is that it only ended (officially) 20 years ago.

8. Drenching yoga retreat in Costa Rica. The rainy season in Costa Rica is no misnomer. My best friend and I went to Pura Vida Retreat & Spa for a 5-day yoga retreat in August several years back. It was a fantastic destination, both the retreat itself and the surrounding area. Highlights outside of the yoga included: Psoas Volcano National Park, Butterfly and Waterfall Gardens, a horseback ride and zipline excursion, a road block of cows for which we had to wait to cross the highway (for about 20+ minutes), and torrential rains that overtook the sky every afternoon from approximately 2 PM until about 7 PM. We often arrived at dinner (at the retreat, but across the resort) completely drenched. We once ventured into town and the water level went from non-existing to mid ankle within about 30 minutes. Even the rough sounding portions were all part of the overall experience and made for some great stories. Next time, though, I’ll go in the dry season!

9.  New Year’s Eve in Buenos Aires. I have celebrated New Year’s Eve in a variety of locations – Positano on the Italian coast, Costa de Saupe in Brazil, on a Caribbean cruise and multiple places here in the U.S. No place, for me, does New Year’s eve better than Buenos Aires (to not hurt feelings of friends and family, this doesn’t mean my best New Year’s Eve, it means what the city itself offers). The great thing about New Years Eve in this city is that while it’s great fun and a bit “crazy” it’s not the kind of wild you have to shield your children’s eyes from. We began with a delicious and thoroughly enjoyable dinner in Puerto Madera. As we emerged from the restaurant, we couldn’t help but join the crowd dancing on the sidewalk, at the other restaurants and in the streets. Everyone from young kids to groups of friends to couples was up and ready to have a good time. It’s tough to describe the feeling in the air on this New Year’s Eve, except it was truly a sense of togetherness and everyone setting aside their troubles to celebrate the coming of a new year and a new start. They also have a tradition of ripping up last year’s calender and throwing the shreds of paper into the streets – a custom I’ve seen no where else (or at least for a whole community – I’m sure individuals do it all the time).

10.  Traveling with private driver through Ireland. When you have a family of 11 people, ranging from the ages of 10 months to those old enough to not want their ages mentioned in my blog post, it’s tricky to find a vacation style that appeals to everyone. To ensure we could cater as best as possible to the group, we hired a private driver by the name of Tony O’Connor (I apologize if I’ve spelled his name incorrectly). Because of Tony’s knowledge, we were lucky enough to stop at Kylemore abby, drive through the Burren, take a half day trip to Conamara and spend an afternoon in Cobh (Cove) – all places we may not have thought of if not for him. Tony kept us laughing, informed and entertained for what were sometimes long drives and less than ideal pit stop opportunities along the way. I highly recommend a private driver in Ireland. You just don’t see it all by flying to the major cities and the train system isn’t as easy or expansive as it is in the rest of Western Europe.

By now, I’m sure you know the answer to the title question is… of course I would. Wether the experience was scary, humbling, drenching or just downright fun, each allowed me to enjoy an aspect of travel that one doesn’t necessarily intend on when planning a trip and I personally relish my vacations that much more because of them.

To be honest, I think it’s all of the little things, even more than the price increase, that are really frustrating everyone. I think, I hope, most people understand a down economy and the need to keep a business, even if you’re a major airline, afloat. I personally don’t want them skimping on breaks or engine parts to save a few bucks, so I’ll pay a little extra per flight. What I do mind, though, is that when I pay that extra money, it doesn’t include a snack, even a bottle of water, a blanket and pillow, my luggage or in some cases, even my seat – I have to pay extra to make sure I’m sitting with my travel companions. That is frustrating.

That being said, my question is: what should the airlines do? Price isn’t the only reason people aren’t flying, so lowering the price with the hope of getting more travelers may not help. In the past five years or so, we’ve had to deal with everything from a Tsunami that wiped out part of southeast Asia, to volcanic ash spreading from Iceland to Morocco, to the swine flu epidemic, to a man on board a flight with a bomb in his underwear. People are nervous to travel. They don’t want to take the chance of getting the swine flu or an act of terror (define that as you will) or volcanic ash shutting down their plane engines. They’re also dealing with job loss and may not be able to afford hotels on a vacation even if the flights were free. While I’m not supporting the airlines nickel-and-diming everyone (I am not and it certainly doesn’t help my job as a travel planner that they are!), I really wouldn’t have a better solution to offer. Sometimes, you can look at a situation in the news and think the answer is so obvious. This, it seems, is not one of them.

To me, it’s a three-part fix, only one of which we individually have much control over. First, people need to have jobs (at least most people) in order to take vacations. Until people feel a little secure in their finances, they’re probably not going to spend what they have on travel. Second – and this is the part I hope I as a travel professional can influence – people need to get excited about travel again. All the negative press in the industry lately tends to block out the magical memories of traveling and people figure it’s not worth the hassle.  I’ve heard that exact phrase many, many times. Finally, they need an incentive to travel. It bursts their bubble when they do finally get all excited about their trip and then realize the airfare alone will be over $3500 for two people. This, is where airlines come in. The difficulty they face is that people don’t look at the flight as the highlight of their trip. They’re willing to still pay a lot for the hotel with all of the amenities where they feel like a king or queen. They’re willing to pay extra for an authentic (insert the name of the cuisine) meal to feel that they’re experiencing the culture. But they look at air travel as a way to get there and simply aren’t willing to pay extra for what they consider transportation (this may not prove true on luxury airlines and charter, but I’m looking at your average traveler).

So I’m curious – what do you think the airlines should do? When fuel prices and landing fees are high and travelers already don’t want to fly, how can the airlines turn things around without going out of business?

It’s not an easy task. For the travelers part, I suggest this – get out your travel photos, read some blogs about destinations you’ve wanted to visit, talk to your friends about their most recent trips, start making your travel wish list again. If you are concerned about a potential road block (not literally, although possibly in some cases), talk to your travel planner. If you don’t have one, get one! Trust me, it’s our job to make sure you have a happy, safe trip, and we’re not going to tell you it’s OK to travel to the middle of a war zone just to make a sale – clients caught in cross-fire do not make for repeat business! For travel professionals, get out there and share your passion for travel. Blog your travels, post your photos, host a travel night where people share their stories and pictures, coordinate with others to have a joint travel event. Do what you can to truly show people what it means to travel.

Being in the travel industry, and having started traveling overseas at the age of 16, I almost assume everyone, or at least every adult, has a passport. To me, it’s like a drivers license or a social security card (if you’re a U.S. citizen) – perhaps I shouldn’t assume everyone has those either.

Furthermore, I also tend to forget that it’s not “common knowledge” that you now need a passport to go to Canada, the Caribbean and basically everywhere in the world outside of the U.S. The exceptions to this are the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, US Samoa, and a few other US territories, where I tend to send clients who want to travel in the near future and do not have a passport.

I am a firm believer that everyone should have a passport. I believe that at a certain age, everyone should have to apply for it like they do a social security card. I also believe they should be less expensive, so that everyone, or at least virtually everyone, can actually afford this. I’m not saying to make the process easier; the government can do their background checks all they want – thats a whole other rant of mine for another day. However, I firmly feel everyone should have the option to travel, and without shelling out over 80 bucks for a passport and more if you have to get it rushed, you’re not leaving the U.S. (except to those territories described above).

There are two reasons I feel this way. First is the more practical. There are many instances in which people have to travel out of the country – either for work, family emergency or even out of safety such as in a natural disaster – and guess what: no passport, you’re not leaving the country. Yes, you can get a passport at the least minute. However, you may have to personally go to the customs office and pay much more than  would if you had just applied for it in advance before you needed it rushed. (There are other ways to do it, though the customs office is often the quickest). We’re lucky here in Philadelphia that we have an office close by in center city. If you are living in a small town in the midwest, say, where the next big city is a few hours away and that’s where you have to go to apply for your last minute passport, it is much less convenient.

Secondly, I simply feel that with a passport people feel more free to travel, allow themselves to consider a wider variety of destinations and at least feel they have the opportunity to explore destinations outside of the U.S. and it’s territory if they chose to do so. I’ve had a surprisingly large number of clients want to plan a trip in the near future and tell me “but it has to be in the US or a place that I don’t need a passport.” I do offer them the information about the rushed passport but the (additional) downside of the rushed passport is this – you have to have your flight receipt or trip itinerary to get it. That means, you have to purchase your flights or pay for your trip before having the passport needed to take the trip. Now generally, there isn’t a delay in these rushed passports, but these days it seems people’s stress levels are high enough that asking them to pay for a vacation and “hope” that they’ll get the passport in time is a bit much, and I can’t say I blame them. So instead of applying for the passport, people just opt to stay closer to home. Indeed there are plenty of worthwhile destinations within our country, but wouldn’t it be nice to at least have the option to go elsewhere?

So, do you have a passport? If not, what is your reason for not having one? I am simply curious of people’s views on this – of what stops them from getting a passport, if they think they’d travel more if they had a passport, etc. I’m guessing that people who read this blog enjoy travel, so I figure that it is not a lack of desire to travel that has kept them from getting a passport. And finally, so I don’t exclude those who already have a passport, what is your favorite stamp in your passport?