Vacation Blog

Have you ever wondered what truly makes a perfect travel companion? Here are the different characteristics that will answer your question:

1. He/she should share the same love or passion for traveling.

Your potential travel mate should be someone who also loves the places you long to see, the food you want to eat, or activities you like to try. You basically do not like to deal with a travel buddy who needs a lot of convincing before he tries out something with you. You are just wasting your time and energy on that person.

2. He/she must be worth your trust.

Unless you know the person too well, there is a huge possibility that your travel friend is not someone you truly know. You may not even meet him at all, except through photos and some exchange of e-mails. That is why trust plays a very integral role if you are planning not to go for singles travel. If you get invited by persons to be their travel mate and you definitely feel uncomfortable, then you better not pursue it. Chances are your instincts are right.

3. It is better if he/she has keen sense of direction.

One of the greatest challenges when traveling to other places, more so in foreign countries, is following directions. After all, streets are unfamiliar, buildings are unknown, and it is definitely going to be your first time to try out everything. Your travel buddy does not have to be from the location where you are going, though it is actually advisable. The least thing you can do is to look for a companion who very well knows how to read maps and ask the right questions from the right people. You will be surprised on how much time you can spend from just interpreting the directions or instructions you can see in your map.

4. He/she must be willing to share the expenses with you.

There are different reasons why you may like to look for a travel friend. It does not really have to involve finances, though you will surely want to have someone who is willing to share the expenses with you. Fortunately, there are lots of them. What is more, they are more than glad to discuss how the costs will be divided between the both of you. You can either identify as to who pays what, or you may want to divide all of the expenses in half.

5. A great travel friend is someone who is willing to compromise.

Whether you like it or not, there are definitely times when you will not agree on certain things. Perhaps you prefer your restaurant over his or your travel companion wants to explore a certain activity, which you do not want to. Hence, you may want to search for a travel buddy who can be as open-minded as you. This way, you know that both of you can easily come up with a good compromise in the end.

You can find a good travel partner possessing all these characteristics through various travel websites. Most of them have the ability to match your preferences to the names located in their database.

Richard McKenzie is a constant traveler and owner of Travel Friend, a website that helps people all over the world find the perfect travel companion for them. If you need some assistance or you want more information, you can e-mail him at info@travelfriend.us

The need for travel insurance when traveling from Australia involves a couple of considerations that are unique. While much of the world can travel between international destinations with one direct flight, travel from Australia to the rest of the world might involve as many as 4 separate flights in each direction.

For example, fly to Sydney to connect with your carrier airline, Sydney to the airline hub city, from hub city to major European city and then on to your final destination.

That's eight opportunities for baggage to go astray or suffer damage. If just one of those flights is delayed (and it's not the airlines fault) and you miss the next connection you are faced with some serious costs. While these worst case scenarios seldom happen, their potential for upset and upheaval should not be lightly dismissed when determining your need for Australian travel insurance.

Any experienced traveler will tell you that travel insurance is the one thing you should never leave home without. Sure its tempting to save costs by not taking insurance but when something unfortunate happens and you don't have any cover, you realize just how cheap the insurance actually was.

The first step in deciding what level of insurance cover is appropriate is to assess the likelihood of risk, be it physical, financial or both, that will apply to the type of travel you are undertaking and the places you are visiting.

So when deciding on a sensible level of cover, what are some of the things to consider?

** Hospitals & Medical Expense

If there is one reason to buy travel insurance, this is the one. It makes a lot of sense to protect against hospital or medical bills incurred while traveling outside of Australia. Costs in private hospitals in most overseas countries are horrific. In a worst case scenario, a medical evacuation back to Australia can easily exceed $150,000.

In the case of serious injury you'll want the insurance to cover the cost of your return home using commercial airlines or a network of private medical evacuation aircraft. The cost of a travel insurance policy is insignificant when compared to spending all of the family finances to bring home a loved one.

Things to look for in a this part of a travel insurance policy:

- Unlimited hospital and medical cover when travelling to the US, Canada or Japan.

- Cover for an emergency evacuation.

- Provision for a relative to accompany you if you're ill or injured and travelling alone.

- Cover for emergency dental work.

- Cover for pre-existing medical conditions or pregnancy.

Take the time to read the policy exclusions. The hospital and medical cover of a policy will stop when you return home.

** Your Luggage

The most common reason for travel insurance claims is the loss of, or damage to, luggage and personal effects. The next time you are in the baggage claim area, look over to the customer support desk where those with lost luggage are waiting to lodge their details. The loss of luggage can result in a significant outlay to replace the lost items.

With suitable travel insurance cover, you can start replacing the lost items almost immediately while still traveling.

Always read the policy wording carefully to see what is covered. Expensive items such as laptop computers and cameras may have a limit on the amount that can be claimed.

Things to look for in this part of a policy:

- Are there individual item limits?

- Are you covered if your luggage is stolen from your hotel room?

- Are you covered if your luggage is stolen from the boot of a locked car?

- Does the policy cover loss of cash?

** Cancellations & Curtailment

Will your policy need to cover financial loss if you have to cancel or cut short the trip under certain circumstances. If you break your leg a week before your trip, or need to return home mid way through a trip to attend to a sick relative, how much will you be out of pocket? What do you stand to lose if the trip is all paid for but suddenly you can't go due to a serious illness/accident involving a close relative?

Things to look for in this part of the policy:

- Protection against loss of non-refundable deposits and any costs paid in advance if you cancel before departure due to illness or injury, compulsory jury duty, unforeseen retrenchment and natural disaster.

** Personal Liability

Tourists can and do make mistakes and sometimes face litigation in a foreign country. If your actions when abroad cause an accident and injure someone, a good policy can cover your liability and legal expenses. Most policies will not pay legal expenses if you have a car accident.

** Rental Cars

If you are involved in an accident overseas in a hire car, there is usually a policy excess (aka deductible) that you have to pay to the rental car company. Travel insurance can cover the costs of the excess amount.

** Delays

Flight delays happen, it's a fact of life. If you have only limited time between connecting flights, it's makes a lot of sense to protect yourself against the unexpected costs that can arise from missed connections. Delays can involve hotel costs, transfer and shuttle fares, extra meals and can quickly become very expensive.

Airlines will usually only compensate their passengers for delays when the airline is obviously at fault. There are many factors that can cause delays where the airlines are not at fault and in these cases, the customer is liable for their own costs. Conditions and benefits vary considerably between policies so always read the policy wording carefully if you need this cover.

** Resumption Of Journey

Travel cover ends the moment you arrive home. Some policies cover a situation where you have to return home because of a sick relative or a death in the family. Not only will you be able to claim for some of these costs, but you can also resume your journey.

The conditions and benefits vary considerably between policies so always read the policy details carefully.

This article would be incomplete if it failed to touch on one last, important aspect of travel insurance.... the COST! Insurance bought via your travel agent will usually include a 40%-50% commission to the agent. It is nearly always far cheaper to buy your insurance online and save yourself those huge commissions which can run into hundreds of dollars for a family group.

So..... the question is not really do you need travel insurance, but what level of cover do you need?

Copyright (c) 2008 Terry Hely

Terry is a traveler and author of several travel guides. Further travel insurance information is contained in his Australian destination guide