Maybe you'll meet this fellow on your next vacation.
(Photo/ Austin-Lehman Adventures)

Ten tips to help you plan a better vacation

Sure, it may be snowing where you are, but it's summer vacation planning time.  Here, from Austin-Lehman Adventures, are 10 tips:

Build Files -- Organize brochures, maps, and notes, from conversations to website links.

Google is Your Friend -- Ninety-six percent of all travel research is now done online. Use “long tail” search terms to hone in on your questions such as: “Best family adventure vacation to Yellowstone.” Bookmark the better sites you visit.

Shop for Information off-line -- Pick up travel magazines and regional guides reflecting your interests. Talk to friends and co-workers. Visit your local travel counselor for input.

Create a bucket list -- Put together a list of dream destinations and activities; cut it to a short list. Use logic. Is Mexico too hot in summer? Then consider fall travel. 

Who Gets Your Business? Seek tour operators specializing in the kinds of vacations on your short list. Again, Google is your friend. For example, search for “best bike tour operator in Italy” and note results. Pore through travel magazines that often list the “best of the best” in annual editions. Look for them online.

Work Your Short List -- With your A-list of destinations/activities and tour operators, begin e-mailing or calling. Track all interactions. If a company fails to get back to you in a timely manner and/or fails to answer your questions accurately and thoroughly, do you really want to trust your vacation to them? The best will rise to the top.

Ask Questions -- How long has the tour operator been in business? Is the owner involved in day-to-day operations? Does the company run its own tours or outsource? What are deposit/cancellation/trip insurance/satisfaction guarantee policies? What happens to a small group trip if nobody else signs up? Who takes these trips, what is average group size and guide-to-guest ratio?

Ask About SpecificTours/Itineraries -- How long has the tour operator been running a particular trip? What is/isn’t included? Where does trip begin and end and how do you get there? What’s the best time of year to visit? What’s a typical day and how many miles daily, on average, of biking, hiking, paddling? Describe the accommodations, amenities and food? Why is your trip so special and why are you the best tour operator to travel with?

Digest and Summarize -- Digest and quantify everything learned. Narrow it down to a couple of options. Review final concerns, make some final calls, remove all doubt.

Book Em! Make sure everyone agrees, pick up the phone and confidently book the trip.

 

Austin-Lehman Adventures, which  provides adventure vacations on five continents, wouldn't have provided this list if it didn't know it would rate high. For a catalog, call

800-575-1540, or e-mail info@austinlehman.com.  The website is www.austinlehman.com. 

Search Amazon.com for travel planning   

Trivial question

What is Europe's highest capital city? (Answer somewhere below.)

Sarasota welcomes early spring with 15% off

Well, the groundhog did not see his shadow this morning, which means an early spring. (Yeah, right.) To celebrate, the Gulf Coast destination of Sarasota is offering 15 percent off select accommodations now through March 21, the first day of spring, as part of its Phil's 15 promotion. Guests should mention the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau Phil's 15 promotion when booking by phone.  The discount is available at the following places: Wingate By Wyndham, Bradenton, 941-755-0055, www.wingatebradenton.com; Comfort Inn, Sarasota, 941-351-7734, www.comfortinn.com/hotel/fl758; Lido Beach Holiday Inn, Sarasota, 941-388-5555, www.lidobeachholidayinn.com; and  Rolling Waves Beach Cottages, Longboat Key, 941-383-1323, www.rollingwaves.com.

And speaking of Florida ...

B Ocean Fort Lauderdale, the flagship property of the newly-launched, upscale  brand B Hotels & Resorts, is offering  a Snow Day rate of $149 per night, for bookings made between now and Feb. 28, for travel through April 15.   Call 888-66-BHOTEL or visit www.boceanfortlauderdale.com.

Fascinating fact 

The Netherlands has 4,971 miles of canals -- the last time I counted them, at any rate. 

They're outta there!

Viking River Cruises moved swiftly to transport its 91 passengers who were in Cairo to Frankfurt, Germany, and then onto the United States.  It was a lifelong dream for me to travel to Egypt,” said 80-year-old Betty Stein of Lafayette Hill, Pa., a Viking guest. “While I didn’t get to see the Pyramids, I did get the opportunity to experience history in the making. The Egyptians were great, Viking was great and our program director was a doll."

Trivial answer

At about 2,000 feet high, Madrid is the highest capital city in Europe. Some say the honor goes to Andorra La Vella. at 4.622 feet, is higher but  Andorra is technically a principality,