Imagine this scenario. You are waiting in an airport to board the flight back home. And to your surprise, you find out that it is not there. You search your pockets and they do not have it. The first reaction is to get nervous. You search the suitcase, the carry bag, and still couldn’t find the lost passport. It’s not appearing. After some more search, you realize that the passport is gone.
My recommendation is to first check your lost passport with lost and found. In some cases, if you are lucky you can find it. Secondly, call the airline or contact the ticket site to let them know what has happened.
In that case, the ticket may be replaced or canceled which may lead to large savings in your return journey. For example, if you have an onward journey from Asia to America you can save up to 2000 dollars if the ticket is replaced.
Next, the best thing do is to make a temporary passport/replacement passport. Here are the steps.
Step 1: Visit the police
The moment you realize your passport is lost it is good to visit the police. The police may give a written statement that it is lost and that will help you in securing a hotel room. The police department may also direct you to the nearest embassy.
Step 2: Visit the Embassy or Consulate
The next step is to visit the Embassy or Consulate of your home country. Although many embassies are found in small cities, embassies are normally located in the capital city. The government consulate office often takes time to give a temporary passport and you may wait before you get it.
Step 3: Documentation For Temporary Passport / Replacement Passport
In order to get a passport, you may need two passport size photographs. You may also have to fill a form to get the replacement passport. Once the photos and form are submitted the temporary passport may be ready within hours Normally, the time for dispatch shouldn’t take much depending on your embassy or consulate. In addition, there will be a fee involved which you may have to pay by cash or credit card.
Step 4: Flight Re-Booking
Once the passport is received it’s time to re-book the flight. If the earlier ticket was canceled you may have to re-book the ticket. If the airline was not informed earlier about the issue the airline may not refund or replace the ticket. However, if the airline was informed earlier it may help you get a refund.
Passports are an important asset for any traveler. From business travelers to politicians, everyone needs it. The above-mentioned steps will definitely help you get back the lost passport.
There are other sites fairly competing with Couchsurfing but the online platform has existed for the longest time hence large clientele and trust from hosts and travelers. These sites were started by people who got tired of spending their holidays at hostels ( Read Myths About Staying In Hostels )
Besides, the founders of this idea were driven by the need to connect with the communities. The need to go deep in new places and discover the culture of the locals can only be possible if you make friends with the locals.
Couch surfing is not for saving on your accommodation expense! Although it automatically comes in, you should be driven by more than cutting costs. The sites offer you a great opportunity to make new friends, connect with a new environment, and deeply engage and participate in a new culture.
As a traveler, the post of your intention to travel to a specific destination and ask if there is anyone ready to host you. Hosts are readily available to respond to your requests. The service is popular today in the tourism industry.
However, some people complain of no responses to their requests sent to hosts. It all depends on your approach! In fact, I would not respond to an email if you give me a reason to think you are creepy and looking for a way to avoid paying for the hotel and probably food.
The essence of host-traveler services on couch surfing is to encourage social activities and interaction with members of the community you are visiting, not cutting costs.
On the least, your profile has to complete and updated. Show that you care and interested in knowing and helping the community. Here are some tips on how to succeed at couch surfing:
Get Recommendations and Reviews
Couch surfing allows posting of reviews and recommendations from friends, previous guests, and other hosts. Of course, the more positive reviews the better. Reviews give you an idea of the host and what to expect.
If most of the reviews indicate the host is fun and safe, you would want to request to stay there because you will probably enjoy your sat too. No one wants to go to a creepy host.
In the same way, hosts need to be sure you are not creepy or will steal from them. it is important to get positive reviews from previous hosts as well as people you’ve met in couch surfing.
If you are new on the platform, get friends to post positive reviews about you and recommend you as a friend. Friends on the platform with positive reviews can help you get a good host.
Update your Profile Pictures
Your profile picture should be as recent as possible. Let it match your age; if your profile indicates you are 25 years old, the photos should correspond. This shows a host you are active and a real person.
Besides, upload photos of your travels and fun with friends. No one wants to host an unsocial traveler. Photos of your previous trips prove that you are a traveler ( learn about photography ), out to have fun and meet people. The more photos you upload the better.
Detail Your Profile
It is important to complete every aspect of your profile; it shows you are serious on the site. You can also go to the extent and add details about yourself in a descriptive manner.
Hosts want to have an idea of the traveler they will be hosting. Do not keep your potential host guessing of who you are based on the email you sent. You two are strangers, a host would want to feel secure and convinced before replying to your email.
Be a Host First
One of the ways to win a host on your next travel is showing you are a great host too. This not only posts positive reviews on your profile but also instills confidence in your potential host. It portrays you as a generous and fun loving person. No one would turn you down.
Hosting someone does not necessarily mean having them in your house. You can act as a tour guide and help a traveler by showing them around town. Take the traveler to a party or bungee jumping in your region. A positive review from a traveler is a sure way of getting hosts.
Attend Meet-ups
Social proof is one of the key requirements on couch surfing. The idea is not only to travel and staying with people but being part of a community. Even if you are not traveling, take time and meet locals and make friends, get to know them.
Every city has its own kind of activities and events that target people on Couch surfing for the sole purpose of bonding and refreshing. Attend local events and any kind of meet-ups. In fact, not all reviews come from people you have stayed with.
A stranger you met last weekend and made a friend can get to the site and post positive comments about your personality. Positive reviews and recommendation are un-replaceable on the platform. The effect of these two is crucial to success on couch surfing.
Did you ever know that you have the ability to stop spending such a big amount of money as bank fees?
Below mentioned are some of the effective tips which people should keep in mind to stop spending so much money as bank fees while you travel.
Try to avoid the credit card fees
Usually, most of the credit cards tend to apply a surcharge of around 3% to 5% on all the purchases that you make out of your country. This will add up to a significant amount at the end of your journey. Hence, you should learn how to avoid these unnecessary credit card fees. For example, if you spend around $6000, you would be spending at least $200 on the credit card fees.
However, all credit cards are not charging this fee. Therefore, you have to do your own research and figure out the credit cards that don’t charge this fee. When you select the right credit card, you will be able to use it without keeping any doubt in mind. That’s because you know that you are not spending your money unnecessarily on the credit card fees.
Don’t just use the random ATM machines that you come across
When you want to withdraw cash while traveling, you will think about using a random ATM machine. But if you are concerned about saving money, you shouldn’t do it.
Instead, you will need to look for the ATM’s that can help you to withdraw money with the lowest fees. Sometimes, you will be tempted to go and withdraw money from the ATM located in the corner store and at your hotel. However, these ATM’s would cost a lot of money and you will end up paying tremendous amounts as fees. Therefore, you must look around for the ATM’s with minimum fees.
Never exchange money from the vendors that you find on the street
While you are roaming around in a foreign country, you will get the need to exchange money. In such instances, you shouldn’t walk to the vendors that you can find on the street. If you do, you will be spending your money unnecessarily. By appearance, they will promise to provide a better rate for your currency than the banks. However, most of these are just scammers. You will only realize that you have got a bad exchange rate, after becoming a victim of a scam.
There are instances where people totally get ripped off by these scammers. Therefore, you should be careful not to fall into the trap of these scammers when exchanging your money.
Stay away from the currency exchange booths
You should also learn to stay away from the currency exchange booths that you come across while traveling as much as possible. It is true that the currency exchange booths don’t offer a scam service like the random guys that you come across on the street.
However, they will not provide the best rate for you. Hence, it would be a good idea to stay away from the currency exchange booths. You are always encouraged to go to the banks. Even if you have to spend a few additional bucks for the transaction fees, you are guaranteed to receive the best rate.
Try to exchange money along with other travelers
If possible, you must always try to exchange money along with the other travelers. This can be considered as one of the most convenient methods available for you to minimize the fee that you spend on bank services. If you come across an individual, who is in need of USD for the local currency, you can give it to him.
If you want to get the real-time currency exchange rate to proceed with this transaction, you can simply take a look at the XE app. The XE app is the most reputed app that you can try to figure out the exchange rates. This will help you to maintain transparency throughout your transaction as well. When you are exchanging money, you can stay away from the conversion fees associated with currency conversion.
Stick to the local currencies when withdrawing from ATM machines
When you are trying to withdraw cash in a foreign country through an ATM machine, you will be provided with two options to consider. You will either be asked to select your local currency or another currency. You shouldn’t use the home currency when you are initiating this transaction.
If you do, you will end up with the worse possible conversion rate. Therefore, you need to make it a habit to stick to the local currency as much as possible. Then you can make sure that you are not spending money unnecessarily as well.
Take a look at Global ATM Alliance
Global ATM Alliance is a great option available for the travelers to minimize bank fees while traveling. In fact, Global ATM Alliance can be considered as a group made out of several international banks. The primary objective of Global ATM Alliance is to have a worldwide network of ATM machines.
This helps people to withdraw money without a bank fee. However, you just need to be a customer of one of the banks that are associated to the network.
Hence, you need to learn more about Global ATM Alliance and become a customer of one of the associated banks to minimize bank fees.
Overall you need to do some hard work if you want to get the best rate or if you want to save. Putting little effort will go a long away in saving lots of money. Hence, put some effort and you are good to go.
Before you learn how to discover the best apartment rentals on sites like Airbnb, you should have a clear understanding of the functionality behind them. Then you will find it as an easy task to proceed and locate the best apartment rental.
From the apartment rental websites such as Airbnb, you are provided with the ability to go ahead and rent out apartments. The host of the apartment would publish what’s available for rent on the internet. The listing is usually published on the internet with photos and a list of facilities that are available. With that, they will be able to earn an extra amount of money out of the facilities that they have.
As a person who wants to rent out an apartment, you can take a look at what is being offered by the property owners in sites such as Airbnb. Then you will be able to go ahead and book them. However, you need to have a clear understanding on how to locate the perfect apartment.
Tips to locate the best apartment option available
Can it accommodate all guests?As the first thing, you should see whether the apartment you are going to rent out has plenty of space to accommodate all the guests. Otherwise, you will end up with frustration when movingahead with the accommodation. Cramped hotels and dorm rooms will not be able to provide plenty of space for you to enjoy the stay. Hence, you must look for space offered in the apartment.
Selecting the right host. When you access a website such as Airbnb, you will be able to find a large number of hosts, who have advertised their properties. To locate the right host you can see the reviews about the host in the property rental sites. You are encouraged to go through these reviews and make your decision carefully. These reviews will help you to get a better understanding of what you will be able to receive. If you can see a lot of negative reviews about the host, it may not the most appropriate listing. Hence, you are encouraged to go ahead with a host who has maintained a lot of positive reviews.
Check whether the calendar is updated. When looking for the perfect apartment out of available options, you need to see whether the calendar is updated as well. The hosts will often have to update the calendar based on the availability of the property. If they don’t configure it, you will have to end up with frustration. Hence, you must double check and see whether the calendar is properly updated on time as well.
The response time of the host. You have a lot of questions to ask from the host and clarify before you select a property. You must take a look at the response time of the host as well. Then you will be able to get all your questions answered in a timely manner and proceed to the booking.
Check if the host is active.You must also see whether the host has been active recently on the apartment rental website that you look at. Otherwise, your efforts to make the booking will be in vain. If the host hasn’t logged in recently, there is a high possibility for your question to go unanswered.
See if the host is verified.You are encouraged to go for property rentals that are being offered by verified hosts. If the host is not verified, you will find it as a difficult task to ensure the quality of service. But if the host is verified, you will be able to make sure that you get a good experience.
Check the quality of the photos.Photos have the ability to convey a lot of information about the properties that you can find on the internet. Due to this reason, you should see whether the host has uploaded quality photos to the listing. Then you will be able to figure out the experience that you can get from the property as well. Learn about photography
See if you can see multiple listing.Finally, you need to see whether the host has multiple listings under his name. Some of the people tend to act as property managers. When you rent out such a property, you will not be able to get a smoother experience. Due to this reason, you should double check to see whether there are multiple listings available under the host. If you can find a lot of listings, you are encouraged to search for another service provider.
Seniors traveling alone or together as a couple, would need extra special care, to ensure that from the point of departure to the point of arrival you have no hassles. Traveling does take a toll on me especially being cooped up in a long distance commercial airliner for hours. Seniors would not be able to manage such a complex initiative hence they would need as much assistance as possible to ensure that their travel between the two points are as comfortable as possible. Here’s a list some of the salient and proactively thought senior travel tips which could make a bad day of traveling better.
1. Booking flights
Seniors and the elderly may find it difficult to endure very long flights. If you live very far apart arrange for a overnight stay and break journey. The idea of getting cooped up for 10 hours or more inside an airplane may not be conducive to the overall well being. It would be wise to consider this aspect before booking the flights. This would really make senior travel easy.
2. Get the airlines to help
Assistance from airlines are available and it would be prudent to inform them and seek help which most if not all international airlines would oblige. They would assist at departure and ensure baggage is handled and other formalities are cleared and the seniors are given priority in boarding.
3. Ensuring that medication is at hand
Ensuring that all medication is in hand will make the travel much more easy. Some of the medication you may take may not be available during the sojourn hence it would be prudent to carry all medication.
Inside NSCBI Airport
4. Ensuring to carry health cards
The medical history records need to be kept at all times and this would allow whoever would administer first aid or any other medical assistance to know what is wrong with them. The delay to diagnose the illness could cost dearly hence ensuring all relevant medical records are carried in the hand luggage and close at hand. This is a very important factor that should not be missed out as any medical emergency could happen at any time especially with seniors and the elderly who are vulnerable.
5. Ensuring that proper security and comfort are accorded.
There are many unscrupulous individuals around who are good at targeting seniors and the elderly. Hence ensuring that they are accorded adequate security and comfort is necessary. This could be arranged by the airline depending on the heath state of the senior or elderly citizen.
6. Ensuring that all documentations are in order
Ensure that all their documentation from passports, tickets etc are in order and they have no hassle anywhere throughout their journey. The slightest of issues could put them into panic mode and that could bring about other complications.
Coffee and Cake
7. Ordering special meals
Taking into consideration your present health ordering special food where necessary in the airline would be beneficial.
8. Packing light
Cumbersome baggage would be major issues. Therefore, ensuring that senior travel as light as possible is important.
9. Stretch Often
One of the riskiest thing for long flight travelers is DVT or deep vein thrombosis. When people become cramped in an airplane it is critical to stretch, stand and move about whenever you can. Even if the seatbelt sign is on, you are not supposed to stroll you can still stretch your toes up. This will help you to recover from DVT.
10. Select an aisle seat
When the flight is long you do want to stretch you can do it easily if you have booked the aisle seat. The freedom to move is less restricted in an aisle seat. Therefore, do choose an aisle seat instead of a window seat.
