Today I’m speaking with K Campbell (goes by KC) who is a military intelligence veteran and currently a senior security and intelligence consultant at a company calledBlue Glacier Security & Intelligence.

He has experience and training in intelligence; risk, threat, and vulnerability assessments; executive protection; counterterrorism, and business continuity.

Even though a background like that seems like it’s overdoing it for leisure travel, KC brings some useful perspective to what’s happening right now with coronavirus, and travel safety going into the future.

He has specific tips about government warnings and how the different risk levels work, and registering your travels to stay safe.

Selected Links from the Episode

• KC on Twitter
• KC on LinkedIn
• Blue Glacier Security and Intelligence
• US State Dept STEP program
• Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Map
• British Foreign & Commonwealth office (FCO)

Show Notes & Timestamps

• KC’s background in military intelligence 00:02:03
• Recommendations for post-coronavirus travel 00:03:18
• The info source many security pro’s don’t even use 00:05:39
• Breakdown of various government warnings 00:06:46
• General tips for assessing risk for your vacation 00:11:48
• Common mistakes and how to avoid them 00:14:39

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This show is not just for rewards points gurus…but for new people too.

Rewards points programs can be confusing to figure out (which is why I just have a United CC, good enough for me).

But, many travelers are pros at earning, saving, and spending points with their favorite travel suppliers. They get to take free trips, upgrade to 1st class, and get hotel suites “on the house”.

However, with the coronavirus shutdown…most people are not traveling. They’re not booking travel either, so that means nobody is using their points.

And that brings up the dreaded thought of expiring points.

Will you lose your balance while waiting for things to get back to normal?

Today we’re joined by Jamie Larounis from UpgradedPoints.com.

Jamie will provide tips to put you at ease as far as expiring points, plus provide some general tips for those new to rewards programs.

This show is short, to the point, and full of good tips…enjoy.

Selected Links from the Episode

• Jamie Larounis on Twitter
• The Forward Cabin (Jamie’s blog)
• UpgradedPoints.com

Show Notes & Timestamps

• Are points expiring during the shut down? 00:02:19
• Which rewards programs are better than others? 00:03:16
• General tips for people new to rewards programs 00:07:34
• Common mistakes with rewards programs 00:10:19
• Frequent misconceptions about points programs 00:11:42

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Hello, it’s me Damian…Safe Travels host!

My main business is travel insurance, I started Travel Insurance Review in 2006 as a free resource for travelers to learn about insurance.

Today I talk about how travel insurance can cover coronavirus, and specifically how Cancel For Any Reason coverage has become vital.

Selected Links from the Episode

• Cancel For Any Reason travel insurance
• Comparison Engine

Show Notes & Timestamps

• Overview of travel insurance 00:01:00
• How travel insurance covered coronavirus at first 00:02:26
• So where do we stand now with travel insurance and coronavirus? 00:04:30
• What is the best option for insuring future trips? 00:06:35
• Summary 00:11:09

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Today I’m speaking with Brian Altomare from Lugless.com.

Even though most travel is still shut down, some parts of the country are starting to move around again.

I was curious about getting some advice for those who were still concerned about coronavirus, but who needed to fly whether for work or other necessary reason.

What could they do to minimize exposure and get through the flying process with as little concern as possible?

Today’s show is a little different, because there is definitely a product pitch…but it’s a service that can help minimize your time in the airport and make your trip more worry-free.

I’m speaking with Brian Altomare who founded a luggage shipping service called LugLess.

Brian pitched this on Shark Tank years ago, and even though that didn’t go the way he wanted…he still grew the company and thrived…and it was later acquired.

Brian will talk about how this service minimizes your airport time and therefore your exposure to coronavirus.

He’ll talk about his Shark Tank experience.

Then in a departure from the norm for Safe Travels, he offers some entrepreneurial advice for those who might have an idea they want to run with.

Selected Links from the Episode

• Brian Altomare LinkedIn
• LugLess

Show Notes & Timestamps

• Lessons learned from the Shark Tank pitch 00:03:11
• How LugLess helps reduce exposure at the airport 00:04:19
• Who benefits most from LugLess? 00:10:14
• Key success tips for entrepreneurs starting out 00:13:43
• Avoiding startup mistakes 00:15:22
• Work/life balance 00:16:35
• The magic of making your bed…every day 00:18:3

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In this episode we are talking about RV travel for the summer of 2020, and how to handle coronavirus concerns.

I’m joined by Jeff Crider, who is a publisher and author for several RV and campground-related publications, and has been in the business for decades.

Jeff is especially tuned into campgrounds and their specific procedures for handling coronavirus concerns this summer. He will share some of the actions campgrounds are taking, tips for smooth travels this summer, and some common mistakes that new RVers make and how you can avoid them.

Selected Links from the Episode

• Recreation.gov
• Reserve America
• GoCampingAmerica.com
• GoRving.com
• CampColorado.com
• J & H RV Park Flagstaff
• RV Business
• Woodalls Campground Management
• Motorhome Magazine
• Contact Jeff: campinginfosource@gmail.com

Show Notes & Timestamps

• Current status of campgrounds with covid-19 00:03:53
• On the need for extra homework in researching trips this year 00:04:47
• Resources for campground status 00:06:12
• Why tent campers might have a harder time 00:09:14
• RV travel as a safe “social distancing” form of travel 00:13:05
• General tips for new RVers 00:21:18
• Tips on backing and asking for help 00:23:34
• Common mistakes and how to avoid them 00:25:16
• On renting vs buying 00:31:14

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In this episode I speak with Leslie Stroud of 7Wayfinders.com.

She and her family (5 kids!) were traveling the world full-time when coronavirus came along and brought their plans to a halt….in New Zealand.

Leslie talks about the very strict and thorough safety lockdown in New Zealand, handling this with kids, and plans to get out when things open up again.

She also shares family travel tips, advice for road-schooling, and more.

Selected Links from the Episode

• 7Wayfinders.com
• Leslie and her family on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook

Show Notes & Timestamps

• On the overwhelming decision to travel full time as a family 00:06:41
• Coronavirus lockdown in New Zealand 00:10:10
• The thorough safety measure in NZ 00:11:48
• Tips for full-time travel with a family 00:18:57
• Mistakes to avoid when traveling with kids 00:22:25
• Misconceptions of traveling with kids 00:24:43
• Advice for “Road-schooling” 00:27:18

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In this episode I speak with full-time RVers Marc and Julie Bennett about the challenges, and benefits, of RV travel during coronavirus.

The Bennett’s are not only full-time RVers, but make a living running RVLove.com where they produce a wealth of content.

They are also the authors of “Living the RV Life: Your Ultimate Guide to Life on the Road”.

Much of the country is still in some phase of lockdown, but many travelers are starting to think about summer travel.

But, cruises and maybe even air travel are out of the question, so many travelers are thinking of alternatives…including RV travel.

In this show we talk about the ways RV travel is perfect for social distancing, tips to get started, RV selection advice, and common mistakes new RVers make and how to avoid them.

Selected Links from the Episode

• RVLove.com
• RVLove on Twitter
• Living the RV Life: Your Ultimate Guide to Life on the Road book on Amazon
• Garden of the Gods RV Resort in Colorado Springs

Show Notes & Timestamps

• From “off the grid” to pandemic lockdown 00:02:39
• RV travel as a safe alternative during coronavirus 00:07:42
• How campgrounds have change procedures 00:09:11
• General advice for newer RVers 00:16:15
• On which brands might be better 00:17:45
• Common mistakes to avoid when starting out 00:21:33
• Typical misconceptions about RV travel 00:23:57

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Transcript

Damian: Thank you very much for joining us today.

The Bennetts: Well, thanks for having us. Yeah, it’s great to be here.

Damian: Would you mind just giving a little overview of what it is that you do, who you are, where you are, and your area of expertise.

The Bennetts: Sure. Well, we’re Julie and Mark Bennett and we’re full time RVers and have been on the road now living, working and traveling from our motorhome. Almost six years. So we hit the road in 2014 and in that time we’ve traveled to all 50 USA States, Canada, Mexico, all while working full time. And in that time, we’ve been sharing along the way in our journey at our website, RV love.com we create YouTube videos at our YouTube channel, and share on social media.

And we also have a book that we published with Simon & Schuster “Living The RV Life”, your ultimate guide to life on the road and running an online school. So we keep pretty busy creating lots of volume information and resources that we should have been in there when we got started on the road.

Damian: Yes. From looking at your website, a lot of great information. It was really fun to look at and I can tell how much work you’ve been putting into all of that, and you’re on the road now, I assume, right?

The Bennetts: We are. We’re actually in our original home state of Colorado. We’re at a campground called garden of the gods RV resort in Colorado Springs. It’s a little South of the main Denver Metro area, and we specifically chose this area because it’s a really, we stayed here a few times and it’s a really nice area that we knew would be comfortable staying this time of year for extended periods during this covid pandemic.

Damian: So when the pandemic started, were you not there? Did you head there specifically?

The Bennetts: when this all first started, it’s actually pretty funny. When this first started, we were out in the middle of the Arizona desert, Southwestern Arizona near a town called courtside, and we were actually camping off grid using our onboard water tanks and solar power and just out in the middle of the desert.

And had we not been watching the news, we wouldn’t even have known anything was going on because we were just out in the middle of nowhere. And of course we couldn’t avoid the news. And so we, they said shelter in place, so we just stayed there for a few more weeks. just replenishing water every couple of weeks.

But then as the temperature started to rise and as the situation looked like it was going to continue to extend for a couple more months, we decided this is not gonna work cause out in the middle of the desert the temperatures were going to be quickly getting up over a hundred degrees. And that’s not very comfortable in an RV, especially without electric hookups to run air conditioners.

So we decided to hightail it to Colorado. And that was actually a big decision for us because we didn’t want to set a bad example of traveling during the stay at home and stay in place orders. But you know, we were in a situation where we kind of needed to make a move. And so we did. We made it, there was not a tourist trip though.

It was a very focused two days. We, you know, 950 miles in two days. We drove up here to be able to get planted and know we were going to stay here for a solid two months once we arrived.

Damian: That’s interesting because you say a stay at home order. Technically you were staying at home, you were just moving your home.

The Bennetts: exactly. That’s one of the unique things about an RV is that you’re always home wherever you go, especially as a full timer. 

Damian: And you’ve been doing this six years, which is quite a while. That’s quite an undertaking. How did this all start for you? Is there a story there?

The Bennetts: Yeah. When we first started this, one of our primary motivators was just to be able to see more and experience more with the limited time off you have from work. I had traveled a fair bit with work over the years, but it’s just business travel where you fly in, you stay in a hotel, you do business meetings, you fly home, you don’t really see a lot.

And my wife, when you hear her talk, you might pick up, she’s Australian. And when we, when we went back to Australia to visit a lot of her family, I noticed a lot of her family and friends had actually seen more of the United States than I had. And I thought, well, that’s not right. And so we started looking at ways we could have more experiences.

And with today’s technology, with cellular connectivity, you can get really good internet speeds. And so over the years I tried to get a job I could do from home, and once I had a job I could do from home, then we could have the secondary question of what is home and redefining that. And so we bought an RV, we wanted to travel with our dog and travel all around the country, have a stable environment to do my work. So we hit the road, and the first three years on the road, I had my regular job. I’ve worked remote for a company out of Texas, and then three years into it our hobby side business, I guess had grown to a point that it was unsustainable after hours and for Julie to do it full time. And so we made the leap of faith to both work on it full time. And I left my regular job and now the last three years, we’ve been working full time together on our own RV love

Damian: It sounds like a very deliberate decision as you were looking for work that would allow you to do this. So one of my questions was if it was scary to go full time, but it sounds like you planned from the get go to go into full time RVing?

The Bennetts: It was still scary because anytime you’re making a big life change, especially leaving a, you know, quote, normal unquote life and you know, literally driving off into the sunset to live in a home on wheels. It is still scary. We did do, we’d tend to be planners. We owned our town home. Marc had a job, but he had very deliberately planned to change his job from an office job near our home to a remote job because even though he technically could have done his previous job from home, it was an more traditional, older school company that wasn’t open to that concept.

So the first step was finding a job that he could do remotely. And once he found that, that’s when it really started. But we probably spend a solid nine months planning, you know, researching. The first thing we looked into, Damian was internet connectivity. And you know, let’s not even look at RVs until we know we can get good enough internet to work from the road.

And you know, when we first started, we thought you had to have a satellite, but of course you don’t. Cellular technologies advanced so well. That really answered our first question, but we planned solidly downsized, sold our home, it took about nine months and there was still a lot to learn even after we got on the road, and things that we didn’t expect to have some emotional transition. And there is a lot to learn. It’s a very different lifestyle, but it’s one that we’ve really enjoyed and embraced.

Damian: And I’d love to ask you about the main topic that we got in touch about, which is coronavirus, it’s going on right now. A lot of the countries are in various stages of lockdown for a couple of months now. And I know a lot of people are looking towards RV travel as an alternative as they’re looking at flights that aren’t happening or cruises that might not be happening.

We got in touch to discuss whether RV travel is a good alternative to coronavirus as far as social distancing and a lot of those concerns. So what would your opinion be? Is our being a safe way to travel while social distancing.

The Bennetts: I think it’s fantastic for social distancing and cause it’s like we alluded to early on, it’s your home it’s your home on wheels. Everywhere you go, you have a fully self contained environment. You know, you have your entire kitchen, all of your food, you have your own bed, your own linens. You have the entire history of every item in your RV.

So when you go to traditional types of travel, there’s so much exposure risk. You know, you go get to an airport, there’s touch points everywhere. I’m a lifetime germaphobe and so this, I think I have a lifetime of training to prepare me for this type of situation. But, uh, uh, Julian, I’ve been joking about that.

But you know, when you traditionally travel, there’s so many touch points, whether it’s rental cars or the airplanes, or when you get to a hotel, if you might be in a high rise hotel that has a central HVAC system. So the, all the. Even the air is shared and the elevator’s shared and every pillows, mattresses, everything.

Whereas like I said, in an RV, everything’s controlled and contained, and even when you arrive at a campground, you still don’t even need to have any contact with anybody. You can pull into your RV site. You know, if the camera has an online check-in, you could potentially pull into your site, hook up to utilities for water and electricity, and never have contact with any person.

Damian: So you say that you can check into a lot of these places without contact. Is that an unusual thing? Has that it changed since coronavirus started or was that always…

The Bennetts: It’s definitely what, when this all started to happen back in March, and you know, nobody’s been through this before. This is unprecedented. And there were a lot, there was a lot of confusion for a lot of campgrounds too, because many were being closed down by States. You know, national and state park campgrounds were the first to close being a federal government. but private campgrounds, you know, States and even local counties were issuing orders for them to close. And then some of them had to fight really to be able to be reopened again on the basis that they have year round or seasonal residents or they have full timers like us that are there and have nowhere else to go.

And so they were having to very quickly modify a lot of their protocols to have safe checking for guests. So you could book online or by phone and pay over the phone with your credit card. And then you get your packet is waiting out for you when you arrive or they just tell you what site to pull into and so you don’t, you really don’t need to speak to, you know, once upon a time, we would go into a campground office and we’d go chat to them and they check us in.

But that’s really not necessary because when you arrive at a campground after hours, for example, it’s very common for campgrounds to have after hours checking areas. So if you come in when the office is closed, you can just see what sites are available. Go and get yourself set up and go down and sort out your payment in the morning.

So I think if the system was already there, but probably really is not really being used and now they’re being forced to, and we think this is going to continue for a long time. I think this is changing a lot of things for a lot of people and as guests, we’re just why? Why do we need to go in and check in?

We don’t want to, so I think, you know, everyone’s been forced into it, but it’s not a bad thing because we can, we can very easily make it all happen on both sides. 

Well, something Julie touched on there too, is that when a lot of these RV parks started fighting back with the governments that were trying to shut them down because they’re looking at them as travel and week ending and you know, recreational stuff is that a lot of these campgrounds are essential services.

They provide housing year round for a lot of their guests. And also for people like us that are full time, but they also have stores on site that sell groceries or propane on board. And that’s what’s helped them requalify as essential services. And that’s why you see so many of them open around the country.

And just to add to that too, a lot of medical personnel, people in construction, frontline workers, a lot of traveling doctors, traveling nurses and people that are actually on the front lines helping with this situation.

They need housing and accommodations as well. So being able to keep the campgrounds up is really important.

Damian: It’s great to hear that they’ve been so helpful in adapting some of their procedures to accommodate you as far as the campgrounds go, but then otherwise on the road, how much contact is necessary as you’re moving about?

The Bennetts: Well, very little as you’re moving about, especially if you have an RV like us, we have a…what’s called a Class A RV, which is the ones that look like big buses, and then we tow a vehicle behind it. But we have really large fuel tanks and so we can go multiple States without filling. So the number of times we need to fill our tanks at a gas station or having any contact with anyone is really low.

If we stopped to take a break, we’re still in our RV. If we stopped to get fuel, all I do is get fuel and then keep going. And a lot of it’s pay at the pump and you can disinfect the pumps. So you had gloves and a mask and you had, your sanitizer was really easy. I mean, the only exposure we have with people pretty much is going to the grocery store.

And I think that’s what’s interesting too, is people think of people who travel around. We have other people think of us as transient people that are all out and about doing things. But Julie and I work full time from our RV. So, you know, as I alluded to early in the call, how when we were in the desert, we wouldn’t have known this because our normal life was not disrupted.

We are in our RV working and then we go for walks. But we are not driving to and from work. You know, we’ve a lot of family and friends who have jobs that they continue to commute to work and their exposure rate is far higher than ours is as an RVer. And we’ve even been able to get groceries delivered to our RV at our campsite, so we don’t even have to go out to the store, or if we do just one of us, one of us will go, but even when we stopped for fuel on the way, we don’t have to use public restrooms. We have our own bathroom on board. We don’t have to go in and buy any of the food and get a snack because we have that all on board.

So they’re all huge benefits that I think even people that are thinking about doing road trips instead of cruisers or air travel or train travel. Or bus travel. The great thing about an RV is that you don’t have to go into other places like I’m all sufficient. All the self contained

Damian: Yes. From a social distancing standpoint, it sounds perfect, but are there other considerations that people should take if they’re going to try something like this? As far as safety or extra precautions they might take?

The Bennetts: Well, I think we’re all well trained to know that we need to wash our hands and hand sanitizer, gloves, mask, that kind of thing. But, but you know, I think in terms of planning for a trip, you know, plan and fill up you know, specifically with an RV we’re talking about here, fill up the fridge and your pantry first so that you’re not having to stop multiple times on your trip.

You know, I think the less opportunities you need to go out and do things now, I think when we’re out at RV trips or vacations we’d like to eat out a lot and I would like to go to cafes and restaurants. We like to support the local communities that we visit and we would still like to do that.

But we have to balance that with, well, what feels safe for us. In fact, last night, Damien, we got a pizza take out. We rolled up in the parking lot. We ordered it over the phone. They actually brought it out to our Jeep and then we took it into the garden of the gods park and ate it last night, and that’s the first time we’ve eaten any food that hasn’t been prepared by ourselves in over two months, over two months, and any of that that thought goes through and it’s like, is it going to be okay?

But we felt comfortable with the place. But you know, I think people need to be thinking about that more, you know, how can I avoid as many touch points as possible? Well, and that was actually a factor for us when we were relocating. I mentioned to you earlier, is that we wanted to reduce any potential impact on society by having anything go wrong. You know, if we had a mechanical breakdown or something, that was a concern for us. We didn’t want to have to put additional load or strain on the systems. And Julie’s point with you getting prepped for your trip is just make sure you check over your RV and make sure everything’s in good working order before you hit the road.

If you’re going to, especially if you’re going to go on a longer trip. But I think that’s important to do. You know, check your tire pressure, check your mechanicals, and give a good once-over. Make sure there’s no leaks or anything that’s going to require a service during your trip, because one, it’s an interruption to your enjoyment on your travels, but it also, it’s putting additional strains on the system and additional context as well.

Damian: I think that’s all very helpful for those that are considering RV travel as some sort of alternative for the summer or even in the future. I’d love to just ask for some general travel advice.

The show is about helping people enjoy worry free travel. And I think with your extensive experience…you mentioned six years on the road, full time, all the States, most national parks, and you’re producing a lot of content. So you really have a lot of experience in this, and I bet you can provide some additional tips. maybe it’s first timers or people that have done a little bit, but what would be some essential tips that you can offer?

The Bennetts: Oh, it’s such a huge topic, and that’s why we wrote a book about it, but, I think one of the first things…and we normally would recommend people look into renting if they don’t already own, we often would recommend people looking to renting one before they buy one. In this environment, this changing environment.

There’s been a lot of people that have additional reservations about it because those rentals are more similar to traditional travel in that they’re a shared unit. But you know, if you check with the rental agency and if they have good protocols around safety and then you could probably still consider renting.

But you know, as far as buying, we often recommend, don’t buy it without having done some homework and some research, because there’s a lot of different choices out there, and if you’re doing your homework, it can be a really great fit for you. But if you make a really rash or emotional decision, you might end up being an expensive one.

Because it’s not inexpensive to get into the lifestyle if you’re purchasing, because they do have some depreciation, just like cars, and they’re not like houses in that they don’t appreciate in value, but they’re more like cars in their value depreciation, but they’re also not quite like cars in that they even a brand new units often going to have a few things to work out, little bugs to work out to get it in full operating order.

Damian: on the topic of buying or even renting, do you have brands that you recommend that are generally better than others?

The Bennetts: Well, that’s another really complex topic. And you know, in cars there’s maybe two dozen popular brands. In an RV space, there’s hundreds of over the, over the years. And there’s such a wide variance between the quality of one.

I think one of the biggest pieces of advice we give people is to be clear on your why. Is why you’re going to be getting into RV? If you’re going to be doing a few weekends here and there, you’re not going to invest nearly as heavily as if you’re someone like us who’s going to be living in it full time and you have very different needs if you’re going to spend weeks, months, or years in an RV, then if you’re just going to be spending a few days.

So as far as, when someone asks us about a specific brand, first we’d need to narrow down the type. And even after narrowing down the type, we’d have to ask them a lot of questions about how they plan on using it before we’d make a recommendation even the year model, because over the years, Damian, like certain brands that were around years ago , might be out of business now that, for example, we have a Country Coach, they’ve been out of date with one of the known as one of the best motor home builders ever, but they went out of business in 2009 as many manufacturers did. And so that’s not a brand that’s available today, but it’s still a great quality motorhome. 

Now, on that same topic, some of the brands out there that you know were considered to be good brands back in the day when they went out of business in ’08, ’09 and been bought out by other companies. So even though it’s the same name too, maybe a new person would think, well, okay, that’s a Monaco, that’s a Fleetwood for, I’m using that as an example because that’s a very different company now than what it was 10 or 15 years ago. So it’s, that’s where the brand, the brand conversation is. It’s put this way, it’s a much bigger conversation. That’s why we have a book in an online school because these conversations and these topics can be really complex for people who get into them for, you know, for longterm and are higher and higher investments.

And you can spend as little as $5,000 on RV and we can spend as much as $2 million on an RV. 

Damian: That’s very helpful because I had no idea that there was that many brands, so it really makes it hard to narrow anything

The Bennetts: And also things like some brands will manufacture travel trailers and motorhomes and high-end motorhomes and low end travel trailers. So even though they might technically be the same brand, they’re very different. You cannot compare. This is not apples and apples and it’s what I say, but there are great resources out there.

There are some great guides that you can buy that really do drill down a very deep level of the different types, whether it’s towables, you know, the ones you can tow behind a truck or, which is, by the way, the vast majority of our views on the road are towables or trailers that you tow behind the vehicle.

Probably 85% of all RVs out there are in that 10 or 15% that are motorized. Where in the Class A, which are the bigger ones, that’s the much smaller percentage. You’ll see a lot more people in your Class B’s and your vans or your class C’s, which are typically the ones with the cab over the front driving area and that you’ll often see the rentals out there.

They’re mostly Class C’s and they’re much easier to drive for people because it’s like getting out of a car. It feels more similar to driving more familiar, and that’s probably why you see more of those as rentals, but don’t go a little off track there, but it’s, yeah, it’s with the whole brand thing. 

I think once people start realizing what kind of narrowing down what kind of RV they want, then then you start digging deeper into brands and it also comes down to your budget and how you plan to use it. Cause there’s no point getting an expensive top of the line Class C RV for, if you’ve got four kids and you’re going on family vacations down by the river, you know it’s going to get wrecked.

These things are not built to last unless they have some of the higher end that it designed for longer term or full time living. They’re just not designed for that. And so there are pros and cons to every pros and cons to everything. 

Damian: I’m sure with your experience you have seen a lot of people new to RVing and make mistakes and mishaps. How can you help people that are new to this avoid those?

The Bennetts: Well, that is a great question, definitely lots of homework and research. I think one of the things that people need to realize is driving an RV is not at all like driving a car in the sense that. You really have to think about things like speed. If you’re driving and you’re just putting it into Google maps, where are we going?

You get it to 70 mile an hour road. That’s not a good idea in an RV because the tires are usually not rated for speed. Also, once you load all your gear in it, or your food or your drinks or your family and your pets and your clothes and all the gear and toys you want to take with you, RV weight is really important consideration and you need to be really mindful of that because over 50% of RVs on the road are actually overweight on some measure, whether that’s tire weight, axle weight, or total weight.

And so you need to be, again, educated to be doing this safely. That’s why we really recommend people do their research before they get into a big, but we don’t want to scare people away either, because it can be, once you do a initial level of research, you can do this really safely and confidently and have a lot of enjoyment from it for sure.

And I, you know, spoke, she really was speaking of the speeds, that’s another factor too, is that your fuel economy plummets because these are not like a Tesla or a really fancy car that’s really slipstream through the air. Like these are like driving a loaf of bread down the road sometimes. So they’re not very fuel efficient.

So the faster you drive, the lower your fuel gets. But you know, on that fuel topic, I also want to make the point that. You don’t spend as much on fuel as some people think, especially as full-timers, like Julia and I, you know, six years on the road, people are often surprised that we only put maybe 8,000 miles a year on an RV and that’s traveling to 20 or 30 different States in a year.

And it’s because we don’t have to go there and back. And so when people look at the RVs as being these really gas guzzling expensive vehicles to go traveling, we actually spend less money in fuel than our other families and friends who have jobs that they commute to and from. So we spend a surprisingly low amount on fuel on an annual basis.

And when you say under 60 because when we drive our RV over 60 it’s just that mileage drops like a stone. So we always just take your time getting anywhere we go.

Damian: You mentioned the misconception about the fuel usage and some of the costs there. What other myths are there about our being that you can help dispel?

The Bennetts: Well, there’s a few, I think another one is that it’s…we get this as a really interesting misconception actually, because we see it on both ends of the spectrum. There are some people who have the view of RVers as only the wealthy then that can be doing this because they’re doing it on top of their other regular lifestyle, and it’s a luxury item.

And it doesn’t have to be only the wealthy. And what’s really interesting about that is we also see that on the opposite end of the spectrum is that the only people who go any extensive time in an RV are the people who don’t have any money, don’t have enough money for a regular home.

And so it’s in between. It’s both. And it’s in between. We have people who do get into this lifestyle as a matter of necessity because you can live in this lifestyle less expensively than traditional housing. But we also see people on the far other end of this that have enormous wealth and are doing it just for fun. And I would add to that, that RVing isn’t just for retired people, because once upon a time, I think that’s how people thought of our being is like, well, that’s what your grandparents do.

Now more than ever. You’ve got people from all ages or life stages, buying or renting RVs, and you know, people like us, for example, we can work remotely with a good internet connection and scenic views outside our window. everywhere we go. If you have a family, you can road school your kids. We know solo travelers. We made a lot of solo women travel. There are actually a lot of them over 60 all ages, but amazed and inspired by the number of 60 plus year old women who are just saying, you know what? I always wanted to do this. I’m going to go do it.

We even know some women whose husbands aren’t into it and they’re like, I’d rather stay at home, and they go out and do it anyway without him. And it’s really inspiring, you know, solo travelers, couples, families, and people anywhere from their 20s, uh, all the way up to their 80s. 

We’ve even heard of a couple in their nineties. They may not travel as far these days, but you know, there really is for everyone now and now with social media, there’s so much more awareness about RV with what’s happened with the pandemic. Everyone’s thinking about new ways to travel. People are thinking, well, maybe an RV. And so, I think it’s going to be really interesting to see how many more people do hit the road in an RV.

And that. Yeah. We’re very optimistic about it. We really see that there’s going to be a new awareness of this lifestyle. Then people are going to be seeing how good it can be.

Damian: Finally, do you have some sort of big idea piece of advice that you can share to people that are looking at RV travel?

The Bennetts: Get out there and do it if you’re been thinking about it. And when we meet so many people that say to us, you’re living my dream. And I think it’s so easy for us to put our dreams off waiting until when this happens, if this happens, and I think what we’re all learning from these pandemic is that, you know what…life doesn’t slow down and wait for anybody. It’s a, you’ve got to just make your own decisions about what’s right for you.

If you’ve been putting this decision off, you know, what for? What are you waiting for? This is hands down, going to be the best, the safest way to travel. Get out doors, still practice social distancing.

Still be safe. Still get out and enjoy time with your family and with your loved ones, and see so much to see in this country. I think we’ve been full time, six years and we’ve traveled to all 50 States and we still feel like just scratching the surface. But beyond just travel, you know, we talked about this a little bit earlier in the call, is that you might, there might be a lot of new opportunities for people to look at this as a lifestyle, not just a temporary travel in that with this pandemic, there’s been so many companies who’ve been forced into the arena of letting their employees work from home and that there’s, there’s thousands, if not hundreds of, or even millions of people that had never had the opportunity to work from home.

 And now if they like that, and if companies are deciding, well, even when we do come back on board, we’re not going to have as many people come on back into the office because they want social distancing or because they’ve realized they don’t need to have as much real estate that the company’s paying for it. They’d rather have employees from home. This is a huge rebirth and opportunity for people to reevaluate how they live their lives on a longer and larger scale. And I think there’s going to be an increased interest in people working remotely, whether that’s from an RV or from a town that’s not in the big city.

Damian: That’s great advice. After coronavirus winds down, I’m sure there’s some sort of bucket list item that you haven’t been to yet. What’s the next destination?

The Bennetts: Well, you know what’s funny and quite ironic is we last had a home in Colorado before we hit the road. Mark spent his entire life growing up, living here in Colorado until we hit the road. And. It’s one of our favorite States, and we’re back here now, but so often we’re here visiting family in the Denver, Boulder Metro area that we actually haven’t been unexplored in many of the other parts of Colorado, just to, I mean, there’s so much beauty here.

There is, and having lived here most of my life, having a traditional home, most of my trips up into the mountain communities or some of the others more, more rural areas were short trips. They would be a day trip or for skiing, or maybe even a weekend trip for a mountain biking trip. But now with the RV, we can actually plant our RV in a different area and actually really immerse in that community and feel what it’s like to live there.

And so. This is a new opportunity for us to spend extensive time a whole summer here traveling around to different regions of the state that we haven’t done before…as crazy as that is, you know, after all these years, we’ve spent surprisingly little time outside of the Metro area and the time that we have spent here has been a lot of time catching up with family and friends, but because of what’s happening with the pandemic, people who are a bit more gun shy about going out and doing social things, so we may see some family and friends when things lighten up and take precautions, but I just don’t think it’s going to be social a time for us as it has been in the past. 

So it’s been more about, in the past it’s been about coming back to Colorado to see the people, and this probably is going to be for the summer. We get to make it about the places that we can see. So yeah, we’re excited about that. There are some great places here in Colorado that we can stay in RV parks and resorts like we are right now here in Colorado Springs or to be able to camp off grid.

There are some great areas, out of the cities, of course, where we can just camp off grid with solar panels and our lithium batteries in our big tanks and just hang out there in the middle of nature. And, that’s true social isolation, commune with nature.

Damian: I don’t think that’s very uncommon. I think a lot of times it’s what’s in your own backyard that you kind of miss. So I think you have a fine plan there.

The Bennetts: Yes

Damian: Where would you like people to find you online? Where can they find some of your work?

The Bennetts: Sure would love everyone to come over and visit us at RVLove.com and you can sign up and get our email updates and tips on RV life. And, we’re all over social media, so pretty much be tapping RV love. You can get to all of our links from our website. You can find us on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and uh, in our books on Amazon and all good bookstores living the RV life.

So pretty much if you type in RVlove will pop up some way, but the website’s always the best place to go.

Damian: Mark and Julie, thank you very much for joining today. It’s been very helpful. A lot of great insights. I appreciate it.

The Bennetts: Thanks for having us 

Travelers are playing the waiting game.

On one hand, much of the United States is still on some sort of shutdown in an effort to slow the spread of covid-19. Because of this, it’s hard to feel comfortable booking any sort of travel for the future.

On the other hand, travel suppliers are offering deals to entice travelers back to booking.

Janice Lintz is a world traveler (139 countries and counting) and is on her way to visiting every country.

She is also a writer and consumer advocate, and she has strong opinions about booking future travel now.

Short answer from Janice: Don’t….yet.

Janice shares the criteria she will be looking for to feel comfortable booking travel again, plus some general travel tips and advice from her many years of experience.

Selected Links from the Episode

• JaniceLintz.com
• Janice Lintz Twitter
• TPG Reader Hall of Fame: The United Island Hopper, a volcano and a last-minute escape from Asia
• Untamed Borders adventure travel

Show Notes & Timestamps

• Janice’s derailed trip story 00:05:21
• On being acknowledged in ThePointsGuy.com Hall of Fame 00:07:25
• Why Janice got started traveling extensively 00:09:58
• Why Janice is not booking anytime soon 00:13:58
• The indicator she is looking for before planning again 00:19:13
• How about refundable travel deals? 00:19:52
• General travel tips including packing 00:24:53
• Common mistakes to avoid 00:26:17
• Travel myths to put to rest 00:28:44

Listen

Transcript

Damian: Janice, thank you very much for joining us today.

Janice: Thank you for having me.

Damian: Janice, can you just share, for those who do not know, give us a little overview of your biography, what you do as far as travel goes, your area of expertise, and tell us a bit of yourself?

Janice: Well, I’m traveling to every country in the world, so I’ve been to 139 UN countries and 194 countries, territories and disputed nations. My goal is to visit every country in the world.

Damian: And what’s your timeframe for that?

Janice: I don’t have a timeframe because, as we’re going to discuss, I have no idea when I’m going to return to travel. I also never wanted to set a timeframe on because I didn’t want to speed around the world, with no judgment of people who are. It isn’t the right style of travel for me.

I want to spend whatever amount of time I think a particular country requires. There are some countries I might spend less time and others where I spent more like Myanmar, where I recently spent three weeks. To me, the country warranted the time. I don’t want to feel like I’m in and out of a nation. I have extreme FOMO, fear of missing out.

For me to go somewhere and miss something, gives me agita. I don’t want to miss things. Putting a deadline on my travels feels stressful. I’m planning to live a long life, so I view this as a life goal. I’m not going for a record. Others accomplished them, and foot planting is not my objective.

I’m too curious. I need to see everything.

Damian: And with that goal, and I’m sure you’ve done your research, does something stand out as what’s going to be the challenging country, which is going to be the one that’s hard to cross off the list?

Janice: You know, it’s interesting. I mean, there are some dangerous or perceived dangerous countries. I’m hoping that by the time I get to them, they will be less risky or not scary. Opportunities also arise. 

So, for example, I went to Iraq with a group of extreme travelers. Untamed Borders organized the adventure, so I felt very comfortable and knew I was in good hands. The group had an incredible fixer. I was also on a trip with some of the most traveled people in the world who I felt knew how to manage situations in case anything happened. Although, I was there a year ago, a year ago October. Although everything seemed and appeared fine, was it? I am not a safety expert, but I didn’t feel unsafe. 

I’ve also been to countries like Somaliland or Eritrea, which had the perception of being dangerous, and I never felt unsafe at any time. Although this is anecdotal evidence, which is not a basis to determine safety, however, it’s hard to know. I don’t know how many countries I have left to visit that other people perceive as dangerous are perilous? I think sometimes the media makes things out of nothing, and sometimes it’s warranted, but it’s hard to know until you’re there.

Damian: You do a lot of writing as a profession, is that correct?

Janice: I haven’t written for a publication recently. I did write one article, but I stopped writing because I am supposed to work on a book that has progressed slowly. It’s tough to travel simultaneously and write if you want to travel in a meaningful way.

When you’re traveling, I’ve seen the bloggers; they’re changing into different adorable outfits. I don’t want my clothes to be the focus of my travel. Also, spending so much time achieving the perfect photo detracts from my trip. I often travel solo, so it’s hard to achieve a great shot since I don’t have a partner who can take the picture. I have to rely on random strangers, which doesn’t always achiever the best photograph. 

I want to travel. So it’s hard to do both at the same time. Taking photos consumes time, and I’d rather spend more time traveling.

Damian: Sounds like you’re talking about them focusing more on the content that they’re trying to produce than on the travel part of the trip.

Janice: Exactly, I want to focus on the travel part of the trip.

Damian: What was the last country that you crossed off the list? What was the last place that you visited for the first time?

Janice: Well, I just came back from a two month trip through that was a circumnavigation of the globe. I started in Hawaii and finished in Singapore. The trip had complicated routing. I flew to Hawaii to take United’s Island hopper, then to the Marshall Islands, all four states of the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Saipan, and Palau.

I was supposed to go to the Philippines; however, I canceled because of the volcano eruption. Then, I was supposed to visit Australia, but I canceled before I departed because of the fires. I had to figure out where I can go after Palau because the country only has five direct flights, and the virus was percolating in China, although it wasn’t in other regions.

One of the five places I could catch a direct flight to was Macau, and I nixed that thinking, you know what, I don’t want to push it. I had already been to Korea, so I didn’t want to visit again. I decided I would go to Laos despite there wasn’t a direct flight. I had to fly from Palau back to Guam to Nagoya, Japan, where I spent the day in Bangkok, Thailand, where I spent another day and then to Laos. I traveled around Laos before I flew to Myanmar. 

In Myanmar, I spent three weeks. I was supposed to fly at one point to Singapore but canceled because Singapore’s virus numbers increased. After Myanmar, I decided to go home via India. When I was supposed to catch my flight to India, India banned me from entering the country because I visited Japan on February 8th. 

By this point, Singapore’s numbers went down. A friend recommended I go to Singapore. So I did. When I was in Singapore, President Trump announced the US was closing its borders to Europeans. So I cut my visit to Singapore short and flew home through Germany. That was my last trip.

Damian: That’s a complicated trip. It kind of leads to the next thing I was going to ask. You made ThePointsGuy.com Reader Hall of Fame, and it seems like someone that can make a trip like that, deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Can you comment on that a little bit?

Janice: Well, you know, I adore Brian. I think he and his team, including Jasmine, who previously worked for Million Mile Secrets, published an article about my travels as well, are fantastic. 

For me, the article was a personal accomplishment because I admire Brian and what he’s done with The Points Guy. I felt like they gave me the black belt of points. I thought I was doing well with points and miles, but it’s nice to have my success acknowledged. I’ve made many trips that are equally as complicated as the last one. My forte is traveling well, but smart. I was personally satisfied. I took the article as a huge compliment coming from the team, which I think is exceptionally terrific.

Damian: I agree, they produce a lot of great content. Very helpful.

Janice: Yes, they’re one of the blogs that I admire, and so it was really lovely for me to receive the acknowledgment. The trip was complicated because it changed so many times. However, it helped to have a fantastic group of friends who aided me along the way.

I belong to a WhatsApp group with some incredible people. Some of the people I’ve never met. I’m not sure I would even know them in person. They were so helpful, providing me updates from the countries they’re in and giving me local on the ground tips of where to visit. One person even suggested flying from Myanmar to Kolkata, India. I hadn’t considered flying home via India, but it was a creative way to reposition to get home. That was until the border closed. 

I moderate a small group called Traveling the World with new and old friends who are very accomplished travelers. They were sending me messages to help me along the way. 

Plus, my stash of points made the changes easier. The combination of everything allowed me to keep pivoting.

The staff at United was also excellent. One woman who helped me tremendously was a United representative who retired, and somehow, I had her cell phone number. I don’t even know how I had it. She’s the one that told me to go to the airport when I couldn’t get the United site to work. That was a great tip that I should have known. 

Damian: That’s tapping into an old network. You don’t even remember how you got the number, but…

Janice: If you give me your number and I think you’re knowledgeable, it goes into my master list for each company. You become part of my network when I need a resource at some future point.

Damian: You’re on a call, you’re going to get a text at some point.

Janice: Exactly

Damian: How did you get started traveling so extensively? Was there a trip or something that started this passion for being so thorough in your travels?

Janice: When I was younger, my grandmother was a voracious traveler. She consumed traveling and would sit and devouring tour books. She was older, and she would take trips with various tour companies.

Her brothers were the most incredible travelers, and they would send postcards. Many of them, I never met. I would receive their postcards from places like Nepal, which seemed so distant and far away. 

I also watched a television show called Big Blue Marble; I had pen pals and a stamp collection. I was continually learning about these exotic places.

I also had a mother who loved deals. She was the Queen of the Deal because she did it pre-internet, and things are a lot easier now with the internet.

She once did this deal with Eastern Airlines, which doesn’t exist anymore, where a person could travel 21 days, anywhere Eastern flew so long as the person traveled in one direction. I don’t know how my mother managed to get tickets for a family of five on all these flights, but we went to Jamaica, Bermuda, two places in Mexico: Acapulco, Mexico City, and then Las Vegas.

It was this crazy…can you imagine this? We were just a regular family traveling as if we would jet setters. And this was before airlines had limits and charged for luggage. We had a giant box to add our souvenirs. By the end, it had Mexican sombreros, Jamaican Palm tree leaf hats, and stuffed animals from Circus Circus Hotel, which was then a great, fancy hotel. We would just keep adding things to this giant wardrobe type box. It was crazy.

Damian: It was a souvenir box?

Janice: Yes, we would dump everything in there, check it in, and the airline staff didn’t even bat an eye.

I also did a post-college, backpack trip, the iconic trip of $25 a day. That was when the travel bug bit me. I came home and knew I could travel without my family. Once I realized I could do this, that was when there was no turning back.

The turning point during that trip was when I realized I was eating cheese at home that wasn’t cheese. It was processed stuff that came with plastic around it versus real cheese; the cheese didn’t come out of a green can—the same for ice cream. I had incredible gelato in Italy, not in the flavorless ice cream that came in a half-gallon box. 

I realized I had to see and taste everything myself. I couldn’t rely on other people for their opinions and tastes. I’ve traveled ever since that trip.

However, two and a half years ago, I developed thyroid cancer. After my surgery, I couldn’t speak for five months. I had an immobile vocal cord. At the same time, my house sold after my divorce. I realized that this was the perfect time to up my game and travel extensively. I could take what was a crisis for most people and turn it into the most incredible opportunity.

If I didn’t do it then, I probably would never do it. It’s like now if you don’t do those projects around your home that you are saving for someday, then you will never do them. I decided to seize the moment. And once I started feeling a little better, I made a trial trip to El Salvador to see if I could manage the traveling.

The trip was tough, but I could do it. I decided to take two years to travel as much as I could to epic locations and tick off my “must-see” bucket list. I pretty much visited all of them when I finished Singapore.

Damian: Let’s switch over to the topic that we got in touch about. Originally, I requested that I wanted to speak to those travelers who were thinking about trying to plan trips after the coronaviruses start to wind down. You got in touch offering to take the opposing view.

Can you describe what that opposing view is?

Janice: Yes. I’m somebody who’s visited 139 UN countries or 194 countries, territories, and disputed nations. I traveled for the last two years for pretty much every four to six weeks, give or take. However, I’m not planning any trips now, no matter what the deal is, and I look for the sale. 

I’m somebody who, when a friend said, Oh, you could visit Easter Island because the airline added flights and they’re super cheap, I booked the trip in 10 minutes. Another friend emailed me and said, Did you see the sale to Antarctica? It’s 50% off if you go next month and I am going. I booked it immediately. I’m somebody who loves a deal.

However, now I don’t feel safe, and regardless of the deal, I won’t book a trip. There’s no consistent leadership in this country or globally. There’s pressure on politicians to open up places because people are hurting economically. I get that, and I’m not minimizing the dire financial situation that many people or companies are in, but if we open too soon, I believe there’s going to be another wave of deaths. Instead, we need to bite the bullet and buckle down to ride out the pandemic to get things under control the way New Zealand did. I think otherwise, we’re opening ourselves up for a real problem.

I don’t want to be part of that. We don’t know which countries are going to open up, and then say, whoopsie, we made a mistake and close their borders again. Then what? I could end up stranded. Look at the ships that were floating around and couldn’t dock. What do you do then?

What if you go to a country and you get sick? Medical care in first world countries is less of an issue, although they may not take you, but what if you’re in parts of Africa with dirt roads? It’s not a place I want to get sick. So that’s concerning to me. I need to know will I have the medical care I need, will my medical insurance, and evacuation insurance cover me? 

Just because countries say there are no deaths, doesn’t mean it’s accurate. Are they reporting them? Do the countries’ have access to test people and are they? What is the government doing to stop the virus?

The United States is a disaster. Americans are in for a rude awakening when they find other countries ban Americans from entering them. Americans are unaccustomed to not visiting where they want to go. However, the US is such a mess that governments are no longer going to want Americans entering their country. 

I don’t think even traveling domestically in the US is any better. Which state is handling the virus best? The local governments are all fighting and making side deals.

I think this is a time to buckle down, keep the borders closed to get the issue under control. If we don’t, we’re just going to go from one wave to the next, to the next, to the next.

Damian: Well, it seems like people shouldn’t take your opinion lightly because of two things we’ve talked about your experience; obviously, you’ve been all over the world and done a lot of traveling and all types of travel. But then, as you mentioned, you’re open to those deals. You’d like to find deals, and you’d like to find opportunities. So it certainly says a lot that you don’t have a comfort level for that anytime soon.

Janice: I just want to emphasize that I am not a doctor, and I don’t have secret intelligence. However, I have my ear to the ground, and my friends are the most incredible travelers around the world. I listen to what they have to say. 

That said, some travelers are cowboys and are just insane. There are some of them, I think, who are still traveling there. There’s one or two of them. I’m not sure how, but they still are. However, I’m not willing to take that chance because when I take a risk, it’s a calculated risk. To others, it may appear reckless, but I am not or hope I am not. Issues can still arise, but I try to minimize them. 

I live down the block from the hospital in Brooklyn that is in the media all the time. I see the ambulances regularly. And then I see people right by the hospital walking, not social distancing, as they’re oblivious.

There is a lack of leadership in our country. We don’t have a proper CDC that built an infrastructure from the start. We weren’t prepared when the problem happened.

It’s kind of like what I said with my trip; I was able to pivot so well because I had built in the infrastructure. I figured out the tools I needed in advance. So along the way, if there were problems, I could shift. One of those tools I didn’t mention was I used Global Rescue as my Medical Evacuation and Extraction Service. I communicated with them the whole time about the virus and the eruption to decide if I should go to the Philippines? Their knowledge base was incredible. I would never have access to this information as a mere mortal, but I relied on experts.

Damian: So, with our situation now, what sort of indicator would you be waiting for that would give you the comfort level to look at traveling again?

Janice: A vaccine or medicine to controlling virus-like malaria or a vaccine to prevent it. I don’t need to be an early adopter. I want to see what happens when the doors open and what the waves are?

Damian: Both internationally and domestically as far as The States opening and countries opening?

Janice: Yes. Let other people test them to figure out the problems. I’m not willing to take a chance. I want to see what happens when the doors open domestically and internationally? Let’s see what happens for me to make a more educated decision then.

Damian: Yeah, we’ve discussed on previous shows ways to mitigate if you are going to travel, kind of mitigate your risk. You mentioned travel insurance. I think we’ve talked a little bit about refundable trip plans with airlines and things like that. There are a few steps to take there, but it’s certainly nothing at the level you’re talking about.

Janice: I think that’s where companies made a misstep. In the past, if there was a good deal and the company said refundable, I would have booked and said, you know, whatever, if it doesn’t work, I’ll just cancel. But, when companies start changing the traditional definitions of standard terms, like refundable and cancellation, that is a problem. Businesses are slicing and dicing words that give me pause for concern. The airlines were not refunding refundable trips. DOT stepped in, and that’s not cool.

Some airlines are saying, well, it’s not a cancellation if we reschedule in X hours. Well, not true because it’s a cancellation. If airlines do that, it impacts a person’s trip. If a person misses their tour or hotels, that’s not cool. Credit card insurance or trip cancellation insurance won’t step in as well.

Companies need to go back to using the traditional terms of refundable and cancellation, meaning refundable, meaning you have X hours to refund it or time, and you get your money back. Consumers are more confident booking if they know they can refund or cancel their trip. Then people can book trips and wait and see what is happening with the virus.

I think companies are making a big mistake by letting the lawyers play around with traditional definitions. 

Damian: Instead of cut and dry refunds, credits, or expiring credits or anything in between, all of your money back and nothing. It can be very confusing for the traveler, I think.

Janice: Right? Let’s say you get credit, and then the company goes belly up, then what? Then get in line with the creditors or fight with your insurance company. I didn’t realize that none of the credit cards covered pandemics under trip cancellation insurance; I had no idea. Now I was lucky. I had no issues getting any of the companies to refund my money, so I got lucky. 

I’m also one person, and I wasn’t traveling with a family of five. Imagine not receiving thousands of dollars back from a canceled trip? That is very costly. Is anyone willing to risk paying $10,000 for a vacation they can’t take?

Damian: Yeah, I agree. What do you mention about watching what happens in other places, when they start to ease. Concerns and kind of getting the data from there. I think that makes a lot of sense. Is there another piece of information that would make you change your thoughts on this?

Janice: I would like to see any money that companies accept going into escrow accounts. I would like to see the government requiring it. I know Untamed Borders mentioned this recently where people who are traveling with them shouldn’t worry because the UK requires them to deposit the monies into an escrow account. So, a person who cancels could get a refund. 

That’s nice because then you know that money is secure. I think companies need to start putting money in escrow accounts to ensure creditors can’t get their hands on it if a company does go belly up.

Customers are going to remember how companies handle this situation? People have a good memory and will remember who dealt with the problem well. Hilton is one company that dealt with the issues well. Conrad Singapore canceled my reservation with no problem and gave me a full refund. Hyatt did the same for a reservation I made for my son’s graduation that I canceled. I understand IHG is also fantastic. I think people are going to remember that because when they are taking a risk and maybe booking something that is refundable, they’re going to remember who meant refundable for refundable versus refundable, but not always. There shouldn’t be a footnote by the word refundable.

Damian: Yeah. Don’t make people find loopholes.

Janice: Right. I think that is why some of the people in the frequent flyer world abuse some of the rules. They feel the companies are doing loopholes on their end, so it opens the door for customers to do loopholes. The companies complain about customers exploiting loopholes, but they do the same thing when they change the definition of words and say, refundable doesn’t mean refundable. If you want customers to treat the company right, the company has to treat the customer correctly.

Damian: Agreed. Well, thank you for taking the opposing view here. I think your take on this certainly as somebody with the experience that you have will be very helpful to the listener. So I appreciate it.

Janice: Oh, my pleasure. I hope it was helpful. It’s just a personal opinion.

Damian: But, It’s a viewpoint from someone with certain experience and. And you are someone that wants to go back and travel again. So I think that accounts for a lot.

Janice: Well, thank you.

Damian: We’ll switch away from coronavirus. I really want to finish with some actionable tips and advice. The show is about helping people travel, worry-free, any general essential tips for traveling that you’d like to share?

Janice: Well, I think one is preparation. Even if I’m going to a cold-or warm weather place, I take one outfit of the opposite location. I don’t bring something heavy, but items I can layer. I’m going to a warm-weather place; I pack a lightweight hat, gloves, and a polar fleece to layer. And so that this way, I never caught if there’s a change in temperature.

I do the same with medicine. When I’m traveling, I always bring medicine along for food poisoning. I travel with powdered Pedialyte packets, which saved me more times than anything else. That stuff is excellent. So it’s

Damian: For dehydration.

Janice: Yes, dehydration. I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but they’re these like long tubes of powder Pedialyte, and you just dump it into a bottle of water.

Damian: Okay. Yeah.

Janice: The drink rehydrates you. Pedialyte isn’t available in every country, and it’s amazing when you are sick.

I also bring water shoes. So when I’m hiking, a lot of times, I don’t want to ruin my boots. Speedo water shoes make a big difference.

Damian: Any mistakes that you see a lot of travelers make that you can help them avoid?

Janice: One, I always bring multiple credit cards and ATM cards. If a machine eats my card, I have a backup plan. Not every country takes the same credit card. So I always have an Amex, Visa, and a MasterCard with me.

I confirm all flight times, especially the small airlines. The same is true for luggage weight. Airlines change the flights, and unlike an American airline where you get a notice on your app, small airlines don’t seem to notify people the same way. Double-checking is critical. An airline once changed the flight, didn’t inform me, I confirmed the flight and had no idea the time changed, so I was stranded. So check the flight time, even the morning of the flight.

Don’t pack like you’re going on a fashion shoot. No one dresses like Vogue layouts on a safari. I think the most important thing is realizing that the difference between a tourist and a traveler is knowing things are not going to go perfectly. It never does as, even if you have the best travel agent. Things happen. Trips aren’t perfect, and I learned a long time ago to go with the flow and figure out how to make it work rather than letting the problem ruin my entire trip over the aggravation. Fighting about the issue destroys the trip rather than embracing it.

My flight took off in Madagascar without me because the travel agency, through the credit card, made a mistake and used their email address instead of my email address. So when the flight time changed, I didn’t know about it, even though I confirmed with the agency the night before the flight. The whole reason I went to Madagascar was to see the Baobab trees. I now couldn’t because there was no flight, and I was upset.

The next flight available was to Nosy Be. I never heard of it at the time. It turned out to be delightful. There is a certain point where I had to suck it up if I didn’t want to ruin my trip. I was like, okay, whatever. I have no choice. I’m going to go, and I embraced it. I ended up having a marvelous time staying at this beautiful hotel.

The hotel heard what happened, and they went above and beyond for me. At dinner, I had giant shrimp and fantastic massages: $40 for two hours, which was terrific. I swam with sea turtles and saw whales. It was amazing. It was not what I expected, but it was different and extraordinary. I think learning to embrace problems makes my trips so much better.

Damian: That’s great. And how about myths? What do you hear travelers say over and over? Misconceptions that you can help debunk.

Janice: Well, I think places that seem dangerous aren’t if you work with experts as I do. I used an excellent guide in Eritrea, Tekeste, and Somaliland. Everything was fantastic because I had great people on the ground, helping me. 

I’m also a solo woman, so I find hiring a guide is helpful, so that I’m always with someone, but yet I’m traveling by myself. I’m getting their expertise as well, which makes a big difference. I tend to like it if the guide can drive as well, so I have one person rather than a team.

I think traveling for enjoyment versus getting Instagram pictures. I think too many people these days are traveling for Instagram, and they just go from one place to the next to get the photo rather than enjoying it.

Damian: And finally, is there a final big idea, a piece of advice that you’d like to give to the listeners.

Janice: Well, my whole premise is about traveling well, but smart. I always recommend people to pick your destination based on the deal rather than I to want to go to X place. So when I went to Antarctica, I went because Quark was having a 50% off sale. Antarctica was off the table because I thought the trip was going to be too expensive. However, when the opportunity arose, I quickly changed where I would travel rather than saying, Oh, I want to go to this place. 

Then don’t wait, because you never know what’s going to happen like now with the pandemic. There is never the perfect time to travel, so you have to seize the opportunity. Go off the beaten path because it’s going to be cheaper. 

Rather than say, look, I want to go to X place in Paris, maybe go out of the city and figure out alternatives. Sometimes I will hotel hop to get the deal or pick locations based on currency. I use frequent flyer points for my flights. Don’t hoard them for a rainy day, because if you don’t use them, you lose them or they devalue.

I also use discounted gift cards for different hotels but don’t go too heavy into them. Especially now, we don’t know what companies are going to go out of business. So be cautious of that possibility. 

Those are my best tips. My way of traveling is how to travel well but smart.

Damian: That’s great advice. What’s the first destination after this is all done.

Janice: Well, as I mentioned, I’m going to take a wait and see approach. I think it’s too soon to say, but I’m likely to go to the Pacific ocean territories if they let me in the countries. I think those countries are more isolated, so they are less prone to the virus, although they do have a lot of Chinese tourists. The countries shut down much quicker than the US.

And so I’m hoping I can visit them; however, I’m still taking a wait and see approach to see what happens? It’s too soon for me to tell really. But that’s where I’m leaning towards for now.

Damian: And what’s the best place where people can find your work online?

Janice: JaniceLintz.com

Damian: Thank you very much. I’ve really enjoyed the conversation. You’ve provided a lot of great information, and I appreciate it. 

Janice: Thank you for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity and especially to give an opposite viewpoint.

*The transcript was edited for clarity.