BY Nabamita SinhaMar 7, 2024

For 38.2% of Americans, dwindling spending power has become a major deterrent that is dampening their travel plans. If economic woes and rising prices are keeping you from vacationing overseas, why not consider exploring the US for a change of pace and scenery? Its sweeping terrain provides plenty of options, whether you’re looking to unwind at a sunny beach or go skiing on a snow-covered mountain. However, traveling in the US could expose you to various risks, just like overseas destinations. So, being mindful of them and taking extra precautions will go a long way in making your vacation enjoyable and worry-free. Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Traveling in the US Here are the safety hazards you stand to encounter during your US travels. Accommodation Scams  Fraudsters often impersonate well-known hotel operators to direct travelers to malicious websites. Such sites are usually set up to steal credit card and other personal information of anyone booking a room, which scammers could later use for financial fraud. Sometimes, the deceptive acts are much more subtle yet could leave you in equal despair. Consider for a moment an accommodation ad that provides exaggerated or inaccurate details or omits critical information to mislead you. This is a prevalent trick shady accommodation owners deploy to overcharge guests and secure bookings during off-peak travel seasons. Deceptive Tour Operators Scammers may offer promotional deals via online ads, messages, emails, and telemarketing calls in a bid to attract travelers hunting for bargains. But these promotions could quickly turn your dream vacation into a nightmare if you don’t watch out. Remember, malicious actors could use fabricated travel packages to steal both your money and personal data. Taxi Meter Fraud Dishonest taxi drivers could overcharge passengers by keeping the meter switched off. Sometimes, they may have the meter on but will reset it as soon as they reach the destination, preventing you from checking the distance and fare. Luggage Theft When dropping you off at the hotel or airport, fraudulent drivers could unload only part of your luggage and drive away with the rest. This type of theft can occur when you’re distracted or not paying close attention to your belongings. Rental Service Fraud Many Americans rent cars during domestic travel. Bad actors can make this an opportunity to charge them for pre-existing damage when they return the vehicle. Without proper documentation, it becomes difficult for clients to prove that the damage was already there, resulting in unfair charges. Shady Locals There are numerous ways fraudsters could make money around popular travel hotspots. One technique is taking the guise of friendly locals offering free personal tours and recommendations. But often, these con artists will take you to expensive shops and cafés that pay them a commission for bringing paying customers. They could also get you entangled in various scams under the pretext of helping you. Wi-Fi Hacking Cybercriminals frequently hack into unsecured networks to steal useful data, such as payment information and account passwords. If you’re in the habit of using public Wi-Fi, this is a critical threat you must guard against. How Can You Ensure Your Travel Safety in the US?  The cost and hassle of experiencing a scam or other travel hazard can make anyone weary of traveling. But you can avoid many of them by following the safety tips listed below. Seek Recommendations Whether you want to reserve a hotel room or rent a car, personal recommendations are essential for selecting legitimate service providers. Today, there are many authentic reviews online that could help you assess travel services and make informed decisions. Use Reputed Online Platforms If you’re using a well-known travel platform, type its website address in the search bar to avoid visiting spoofed websites. When you don’t know much about a vendor, make the reservation through a reputed travel booking site, such as hotel.com or booking.com. These platforms typically screen individuals and businesses before accepting their listings and have safety features to protect customers. Be Cautious About Unsolicited Promotions Emails, messages, phone calls, and social media ads are popular mediums for travel scams that imitate reputed businesses. Therefore, verifying their sources is important for detecting and avoiding fraud. For instance, check whether the email addresses match the ones used earlier by the relevant organizations. Reverse search phone numbers on Nuwber to confirm they’re related to the mentioned companies.  And if there are links or attachments, it’s best not to click on them. These could download malware and compromise your financial data security. Use a Ride-Hailing App This is the easiest solution to avoid taxi scams. Uber, Lyft, and similar apps can help you secure a fair price, find a safe driver, and take the fastest route to your destination. However, if you need to take a regular taxi, check whether the meter is on. If it’s not, find another cab. Watch Your Belongings  Whether you use a taxi or public transportation, keeping an eye on your luggage and other belongings is essential. Don’t forget to pack a light and leave your valuables at home. Check Before Renting When you are renting a vehicle or any other item during your travels, inspect it carefully before signing the rental agreement and providing a deposit. If you notice any dents, scratches, or other obvious damage, point it out to the rental service provider, take photos, and put it down in writing. Use Secure Internet Connections Mobile data is the safest option to avoid cyber threats associated with unsecured networks. When you need to log into public Wi-Fi, always select one protected by passwords. Plan Ahead Doing your homework before traveling is a must to minimize dependency on strangers. Research the destination and the travel spots you want to explore and learn about entrance fees, opening times, location, and special requirements. Also, note down their official contact numbers so you won’t need to rely on others for information. To Recap  Accommodation owners, tour operators, taxi drivers, rental service providers, shady locals, and even cybercriminals can target unsuspecting travelers in the US for various deceptive schemes. Some threats may have more severe consequences than others. However, they could all sap the joy out of your much-awaited vacation. So, be mindful of common hazards and take adequate precautions for your travel safety. Read Also: Traveling To Korea? Here’s Your Must-Try Korean Food Top 15 Restaurants In Colombia You Must Visit While Traveling Top 11 Outlets In Massachusetts You Can Visit While Traveling

BY Abdul Aziz MondalMar 14, 2023

Young people often dream of traveling. Well, there are little to no reasons why they should act on these dreams. Traveling has long become a widely accessible, affordable hobby. Even students on a budget can plan a trip. So, there aren’t really any reasons for postponing traveling. In fact, students will only benefit from taking trips while in college. Young people experience tremendous personal growth and learn about the world when traveling. So, let’s see the six main reasons every student should consider traveling. Travel Makes You Open-Minded You can’t really say that you know anything before you see other countries, meet people from new cultures, and explore the paths you never knew existed. These are the kinds of life lessons that open up young people’s minds about the world and their place in it. First of all, travel gives students a new perspective. It shows them how things can be different from what they are used to, for better or for worse. Plus, you learn to understand and may even appreciate your home more in comparison to other places. In fact, it would be best if you’ve checked out the payforessay reviews online and picked writers to tell you more about the countries you are going to. Coming prepared to a new destination shows respect and interest in a place. Make New Friendships & Connections Of course, we often travel in hopes of meeting many new people along the way. Your adventures may already start when boarding a plane and meeting passengers next to you. However, so many opportunities to make friends except you on the other side of that plane ticket. Young travelers soon learn that meeting people, socializing, and being friendly are the best ways to learn about places, feel more at home, and make the best memories. Indeed, travel unites people. You share the same experiences, feeling somewhat lost but excited at the same time. Such a mix of emotions, vulnerability, and curiosity helps create strong friendship bonds which may last you a lifetime. Travel Helps You Unwind Students endure a lot of stress and school pressure during their studies. Travel can be a perfect opportunity to let go of those stresses. First of all, it is a perfect way to switch your focus. You simply can’t think about school stresses when wandering new streets and exploring foreign cultures. You have to choose to be in the present. Secondly, sometimes, traveling gives people a rare opportunity to slow down. It is the time to observe and think. You are not distracted by the routine or the million things you usually do in school. Here it is just you and a new environment. You need to adapt, analyze what you see, process, and interpret what you feel or notice around you. When life seems to move too fast, such moments are truly special. Travel Teaches Responsibility And Confidence Many young people choose to travel without much other life experience. So, in a way, travel becomes their first lesson about adult life. They learn about the need to make complicated choices for themselves, take full responsibility for their actions, and become fully independent in planning their days, budgets, routes, etc. Sure, such lessons are hard to master on the first try. Yet, travel becomes a perfect playground to test your abilities as an independent and responsible young adult. You do things as you’ve never done before, including meeting many strangers, engaging in various sports activities, exploring new territories, learning foreign languages… The list can go on and on. Every new lesson helps you grow and become more mature and confident. Student Traveling Is Easier Young people may not realize it yet, but traveling as a student is much easier for so many reasons. First, many countries facilitate numerous programs to facilitate tourism among young generations. Thus, they create special price offers for students, organize free sightseeing tours, or have a strong youth-oriented cultural life. In addition, many young travelers can become exchange students. So, their school will literally pay them to live and study in another country. It is a brilliant and affordable way to learn more about other places without missing a school year. Plus, receiving long-term visas is much easier for students than for the rest of us. Lastly, numerous academic or athletic competitions among students are aimed at international cooperation. So, students can participate in such programs to earn a spot in international conventions, tournaments, or panels. It’s Fun! Last but least, travel is simply super fun and exciting. It is a great hobby to have in your twenties. Young people don’t have many responsibilities or limitations at this age. They don't have careers in highly competitive fields. They don’t run a household or take care of families and children. They rarely even have pets to care for. So, this age is when you are able to be most careless and enjoy it! Traveling comes with endless fun opportunities that can present themselves only abroad. It is a perfect time to meet dozens of people, create life-long memories, participate in crazy nightlife, and more. Overall, it is the true definition of having the time of your life while in college. These travel experiences will forever stay with you Read Also: 14 Hacks To Make Your Road Trip Go Smoothly 5 Backpacking Tips For An Unforgettable Euro-Trip Top Trips For Travelling With A Big Group Of People

BY ArnabSep 22, 2022

A UK cancer charity has been raising awareness about what it calls the ‘scandal’ of cancer patients being quoted travel insurance premiums so high they cannot afford to go on holiday.  Hampshire-based PLANETS, which supports people with neuroendocrine, pancreatic, liver, colorectal, abdominal, and pancreatic cancer, has accused travel insurance providers of applying a ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy to cancer patients which often penalizes people even when they are in remission and have been in good health for a number of years.  As well as pointing out that many insurers simply refuse to cover anyone with a history of cancer, making their search for cover more difficult, PLANETS also highlights some of the exorbitant prices cancer patients are sometimes quoted - as if to purposefully put them off. There Are Alternatives For Cancer Patients It points to two cases it came across of patients it worked with, both of whom had neuroendocrine tumors. One was quoted for a two-week trip to Canada requiring £7,000. The other was told to enjoy a week in Spain, it would cost £1,000 for them. PLANETS co-founder Jo Green also has neuroendocrine cancer. The condition is incurable, but with treatment can be managed successfully for many years. She has been living with it for 11 years, has no symptoms, and is in good health. But she too faces obstructive practices whenever she tries to get insurance to go abroad.  The reason why PLANETS has taken up the cause of travel insurance for cancer patients is that, as Jo puts it, going on holiday is an “essential” coping mechanism for many people living with the realities of a long-term medical condition.  “You’ve already been dealt a pretty bad card if you’ve had cancer,” she says. “It is a shame insurance companies can’t be more helpful and realistic in order to allow patients to seek respite through holidays which are important to health and wellbeing.”  Her thoughts are echoed by her fellow co-founder Neil Pearce, a specialist in pancreas, liver, and neuroendocrine tumor surgery. “For many people, the respite and morale boost a holiday away with family or friends brings is invaluable to their life, yet we are in the perverse situation where very little effort [by travel insurers] is even put in to establish the condition a person is in.” Fair Prices And Bespoke Policies After cancer travel insurance reviews, most mainstream travel insurance providers simply aren’t set up to deal with the nuances of people’s health on a case-by-case basis. To them, someone with a pre-existing medical condition represents heightened risk - the risk of falling ill while they are abroad and claiming medical expenses, the risk of requiring more expensive specialist interventions.  Those risks are simply categorized by the condition. Whatever the condition, that’s the additional charge (if they even agree to offer cover for it at all). And everyone with that condition has to pay that same price.  It’s also the case that certain medical conditions attract much higher premiums than others. Cancer is right at the top of that list.  This is all commonplace in the travel insurance sector, but it’s by no means universal. There are providers who specialize in medical travel insurance, i.e. policies specifically geared for people with long-term medical conditions.  The Difference Between The Travel Insurance And Medical Insurance The big difference in how these niche providers operate is that they do take the health of the individual into consideration. This is usually done by means of a simple medical questionnaire. Prospective customers will be asked about their medical history, what condition (or conditions) they are currently living with, how it is managed, what medication they are on, their current state of health, etc.  From this information, medical travel insurance providers are the best insurance for cancer patients and are able to do two things. One, they can make a fairer evaluation of the risk an individual actually poses. So for cancer patients, if they are in remission or if their symptoms are well managed and they are in good health, they can be offered a policy at a fair price.  The insurer understands it isn’t simply cancer that poses the risk - it’s the individual circumstances of the patient. Second, knowing something about the medical background of the individual means specialist insurers can offer policies tailored to their needs.  Although all travel insurance includes cover for medical costs, this is generally only for generic emergency treatments, not interventions specific to a particular condition.  What If You’re Diagnosed With Cancer After You Purchase Travel Insurance? Imagine you and your spouse decide to take a Paris trip to commemorate your 25th wedding anniversary. To safeguard the vacation, you also buy travel insurance. Six months later, a regular mammogram finds a lump in your breast, and stage 2 breast cancer is the result of this discovery. You have to have radiation and surgery, so your eagerly anticipated cruise will have to wait. When you're dealing with a cancer diagnosis, travel insurance with trip cancellation benefits might be really helpful. Travel insurance after breast cancer cancellation benefits can pay you back for your paid, non-refundable trip expenses if your symptoms (or the side effects of treatment) are incapacitating enough to force you to cancel your trip and if your doctor recommends it. In this matter, you can reschedule your Paris trip after your wife has recovered.  Final Words As a cancer patient or anyone else with a long-term medical condition, you want the reassurance that if you do fall ill on your holidays, you will get the care and attention that you need - and that the cost of it will be covered by your insurance. Please remember that travel insurance can't pay for planned medical expenses. Plus, travel insurance will not pay for elective care, non-emergency care,  experimental treatment, and long-term care in your insurance policy.  Apart from this, if you have any more questions, you can ask by commenting below. Please share your opinions, if I missed any points to mention here.  Read Also: Does Traveling Affect Your Life Insurance? Dos And Don’ts Of Travelling With A Campervan Top 10 Scenic Snowflake Cities In The U.S. To Travel To This Winter