You could go online (that’s where you are right now, you’ll notice) and do a little research and reading on the subject of travel (which you’re also doing right now). How do you separate the wheat from the chaff? What about hidden costs, problems you might not think of, secret discounts you don’t know about, pitfalls in processing—many dangers lurk in traveling beyond familiar confines. All that research—and figuring out how the processes work—is time consuming. What’s your time worth?

You might visit a travel agent. Travel agents have an unearned reputation for being expensive. After all, they have offices and all those fancy travel books and posters. All those ads are supplied by the cruise lines and travel companies, and that’s who pays the agent, too, not you, normally. If an agent has to charge you for a service, they will tell you up front. if you’re in a travel club, you can expect the agent to reduce or eliminate the commission, too, further reducing the price.  Ask yourself: What’s a travel agent’s knowledge and experience worth? They know the ropes, pitfalls, they have access to all the discounts, and they’ll save you time—after you get to know a travel agent, one phone call can take care of everything.

Of course, you have the same problem picking a travel agent as you do making travel decisions online: Who’s good? How do you tell? Here are a few ways to take the measure of a travel agent.

• Does the person have a connection to you? (This rule applies to real estate sales and funeral directors, too.) Relatives, acquaintances, friends, and friends of friends are motivated to take especially good care of you.
• Is the person well traveled? Especially if they have been to where you want to go, but all travel experience seasons a person to the rigors of travel. A travel agent who has personally been around the block a few times is a fount of wisdom and advice, and they can tell you what to expect.
• Is the person organized? Not necessarily neat (but that’s a good indicator), but can they find your file immediately? Do they know where everything is? That sort of thing. You don’t want an absent-minded professor as your travel agent. You never (okay, seldom) see a good travel agent surprised by something, and they keep their promises about when they’ll have something ready. They are ready for you when you show up after the first, introductory meeting.
• Do they answer phone calls and emails promptly? This is a must. Even if they have to tell you they need more time, they don’t make you wait for a reply.
• Do they want to do a good job for you? You can tell this by the number of choices they present you with. A lazy travel agent won’t research multiple options, won’t hunt for the best price. You see them look up one thing and give you a price. A good agent will hunt down good deals, think of options (a nearby less expensive location, for instance) that you didn’t consider, check with several wholesalers, give you a lot to choose from.

A good travel agent can make your next trip more enjoyable.

See if you get the pun:

(Note the sign on the back wall)

Consider an all-inclusive resort.

All-inclusives generally have a single price that includes airfare, all food, all beverages, all lodging, all activities, all tips. Cruises can take you to several locations, but the resorts try to make up for it by having a large enough (say, 20 acres) and interesting enough physical plant to make up for the variety of destinations on a cruise.

One resort's accommodations

At an all-inclusive resort you don’t need to go on a paid excursion to take in horseback riding, snorkeling, scuba, sailing, fishing, hiking, and guided tours into town or nearby historic sites. They are included, and generally offered several times a day. You won’t run out of things to do, and the schedule is yours. Not into snorkeling? They have a pool too big to fit on a cruise ship, and at least one resort features big-name video games that aren’t even on the market yet. Maybe you like active (volleyball, tennis) sports or sedate (billiards) games. Included. Not to mention lounging on a really nice beach, or spa services (some of the spa services might be extra), and food.

Maybe golf is your game

Food! All-inclusives have several restaurants, all part of the package. Calling them “restaurants” might be an understatement. Take your pick of these modifiers: exotic, themed, gourmet, high-class (or casual), always open, sushi, French, Italian, western, seafood, even local.

Beaches is the foremost family-oriented resort, and they have several attractive locations. Sandals is a popular couples and honeymoon location. Do a quick internet search and you can find a pile more.

You can even get married at an all-inclusive. Included, but you have to bring your own spouse-to-be.

The goal of an all-inclusive resort is to offer so many things on site that you feel no need to go elsewhere. Eventually you have to come home, though. When you do, come back to this site and tell us about it.

Everyone knows that the cruise lines low-ball the fare (and some travel agents, especially, ahem, travel clubs, can discount them even more), for which you get the cabin, the food, the evening entertainment, and many activities. If that’s all you care to do, a cruise is a really, really  good deal. You can stay fairly busy and have a pretty good time without ever leaving the boat.

However, the cruise companies also offer shopping, gambling, and alcoholic beverages on board, and those aren’t free. Justifiably, perhaps—after all, people have so many individual preferences that it’s impossible to include these in a way that would please anyone, much less everyone.

Don’t drink? Gambling against your religion? You’re satisfied with your possessions? You’re still not out of danger. If you’re not into any of those vices, you probably want to do some sightseeing or have an adventure while you’re on shore, right?  After all, you won’t find much snorkeling in Kansas, or catamaran rides, or a Georgian naval base. If you have any intellectual curiosity or spirit of adventure, be prepared to go on a couple cruise-sponsored activities. Every port of call has something worth doing, and unless you speak the language fluently, and have local relatives, you’re ahead to stick with the planned itineraries. Prices range  from $35 to $100, and they have something to suit every taste. They’re worth it. Sign up for something at every port. The memories are worth far more than the cost of the excursion.

Replica of the original Endeavour—the space shuttle was named after this ship

Here’s a pic of the Georgian (architectural style) naval base, on the island of Antigua in the Caribbean. You can go on a really interesting tour of the place if your cruise ship stops at Antigua.

Not having a passport when you need one is really inconvenient, so if you might possibly maybe perhaps travel out of the country in the next ten years, get a passport. You have to bring them an original birth certificate and a copy of it, two passport photos (about $10 at the local camera store), and a credit card, check, money order, or cash.

• Getting a passport for the first time? Bring a hundred bucks.
• Replacing an expired passport costs $75.
• Processing takes 4–6 weeks. Want to have it expedited? That takes only 2–3 weeks, and it’ll set you back another $60.
• Some large cities have government buildings where you can make an appointment, bring your stuff, and get your passport on the spot. It’s for people leaving in less than two weeks (for example, you have a funeral in Europe) and I don’t know how much extra it costs to go that route.
• They have a passport card, which costs only $20 if you already have a passport. It’s not good for air travel, but if you’re going by land to Canada, Mexico, or on a cruise it’s all you need.

The Department of State has other fees, and you can pay a service to handle it for you. Here’s a link to the schedule of fees on the State Department’s site. Look around—there’s a lot of information on their site.

Did you experience any glitches when you got your passport? Give us a heads up in the comments section.

So let’s not try to cover destinations here.

How about no destination? They say (It’s a Zen saying, by the way) the journey is the destination. This kind of road trip can be relaxing, unless you’re one of those goal-oriented types who just has to be headed somewhere. The trick is to have more time available than you need to get someplace (or get back), and try to take that whole time. If you can convince yourself that you have PLENTY of time, you will go slower, watch what’s going on more, meander more (turn off on side roads), maybe stop and check things out more. You’ll arrive (or return) more relaxed and refreshed than you would believe. Give it a try, then comment below. No hurry.

(Did you catch the allusion to the song in the title of this post?)

Solo—Freedom! Nobody to negotiate with about breaks or exact route, speed, meals, or choice of radio station. You go where you want, when you want and how you want. This freedom can be liberating, and a lot of motorcyclists prefer to travel this way. But beware the tendency to fall asleep when you’re alone, and be sure your solitude doesn’t turn into loneliness.

Adult companion—If you are okay with sharing the timing of meal and potty breaks, agree on a route, and have similar preferences for side trips,  adult conversation is nice, a competent navigator is nice, and just plain companionship is nice. My wife and I have a system we like: She drives and I read to her.

Kids—The key to this travel technique is: The shorter the better. Reconcile yourself to dealing with the squabbles and short attention spans. I remember dad fixing the back seat into a bed, and we actually did sleep a little. New toys help, renting a large vehicle helps, traveling games help (watch for out of state license plates, find objects that start with each letter of the alphabet, that sort of thing), and frequent breaks help. Reconcile yourself to a slower trip.

How do you like to travel? (I didn’t mention pets…) Add your adventures and opinions in the comments link below.

• Lay out everything you plan to pack on the bed. Put half of it back; pack the rest.
• If you’re a guy, and you’re going on a cruise, pack your old undies. Throw them out as the cruise progresses. You eliminate laundry and having to pack dirty underwear when you return home. (Sounds gross, but speaking as a guy, it makes sense.)
• Don’t fold your clothing when you pack. Roll all your clothes into cylinders. The clothes don’t wrinkle, and for some reason, the items seem to take up less space. Easier to find stuff, too.

Anyway, One of the first posts on this blog touches on several types of vacations, and several recent posts have mentioned those types in a bit more detail. Now it’s time to mention the road trip.

Road trips come in several varieties, depending on the vehicle, the passengers, and the destination.

Vehicle

• Starting at the bottom, you can do without your own vehicle. Stand well into the shoulder of the road and put your thumb out. A sign helps, and wearing a shirt and tie helps. I did a lot of this in college. Maybe I should stop while I’m ahead, and mention that I’m not recommending you attempt this kind of travel. Maybe I’ll post more about hitchhiking some other time.
• Next up is riding a two-wheeled conveyance, such as a bicycle. Human-powered bicycling is a whole subculture all its own, and if you want to consider this kind of trip, you probably already have plenty of connections within the community.
• So is motorcycling a subculture, but you’ll find a lot of short-distance riders out there. One motorcycle club, the Iron Butt Association (real name) has plenty of advice on how to commit a long motorcycle ride. To join them, you have to document a ride of 1000 miles or more in 24 hours or less. Enough said, for now. Yes, mea culpa; I belong.
• Finally we get to automobiles. Consider renting a car instead of using your own. Especially if you belong to a travel club that offers steep discounts, such as (ahem) Serenity Travel, renting can be less expensive than putting all that stress on the old heap, and you have fewer worries about breakdowns and accidents. Your insurance company’s web site probably has a good list of things to check on regarding your car before you head out.
• You can go bigger than a mere automobile. I definitely recommend that you rent that RV. Unless you make road trips a lifestyle (subculture-based groups for that, too), you won’t get enough use out of an RV to justify the cost. I see more RVs parked in driveways than I see on the road. And you have fewer maintenance and repair hassles with a rental RV, too. Perhaps the best thing is that RVs are great for small groups, say two or three couples. You can split the cost, and you can enjoy good fun and fellowship while traveling, not just at your destination. Put some bicycles on the carrier in the back.

This is getting too long to cover passengers and destinations, so look for parts 2 and 3.

I think that’s the kind of person you want to have for a receptionist. Nobody gets held up waiting for the doors to be unlocked, the occasional customer who calls before you open is greeted by a human instead of an answering machine, and sometimes the coffee gets an early start. Always a nice thing.

My experience so far is that everyone around here likes to exceed expectations. It’s a good place to be associated with.