Journey by Design, LLC Blog

Travel Videos (http://travelago.com/): What better way to get a lay-of-the-land than to watch a video. These short, but professional videos will give you the highlights of a particular destination. Tip: Focus on the “Destination” section. While some of these videos are somewhat dated, they still give you a good overview.

Travel Videos, part II (http://www.geobeats.com/): These short videos tend to be more contemporary and focused on specific local experiences (as opposed to the “Top Ten things to do in ____”). Tip: Use the “Destination” and “Topic” tabs at the upper right to narrow down your search.

Currency Conversion (http://www.oanda.com/): Allows you to convert into or from USD (or whatever currency you use).  Tip: Take a look at this before going to exchange money overseas. It will help you narrow down the best rate available.

Travel Exchange Cheat Sheet (http://www.oanda.com/currency/travel-exchange-rates): Allows you to print a simple currency conversion table which can be referred to throughout your trip. Tip: Using Credit Cards while traveling overseas? Then be sure to select the “Typical Credit Card Rate: +2%” box.

Time and Date Converter (http://www.timeanddate.com/): Easy way to figure out what day and time it is in other parts of the world. Even tells you the time zone and provides you with a future calendars for planning purposes. Tip: Have friends or family located around the globe? You can set up your own “Personal World Clock” indicating all of their times and dates on one page.

IAMAT (http://www.iamat.org/index.cfm): International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers (IAMAT) provides travel health advice, immunization guidance and Doctor/Clinic locations. This is NOT travel health insurance. Tip: This is a free service, but they ask for donations as a not-for-profit. One of the (free) services available is the creation of a customized “My Travel Health Planner”; something you may not want to think about, but is really worth the up-front consideration.

USTIA (http://www.ustia.org/): U.S. Travel Insurance Association (USTIA) is a useful tool for researching your travel insurance options and identifying which travel insurance companies are reliable. Tip: This is a free service to the U.S. traveler.

Insure my Trip (http://www.insuremytrip.com/): Intuitive site which allows you to evaluate several insurance company quotes at one time. Tip: The first time buyer of travel insurance may find it useful to discuss their options with their travel advisor. Like anything to do with insurance, it can be confusing at first!

U.S. Department of State (http://www.travel.state.gov/): Visa, Passport and International Travel  information. Tip: Sign up with the State Department before an international trip so they can be of assistance, if necessary.

CIA – The World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html): Comprehensive country information (alternative to Wikipedia). Tip: Want to get a simple overview of a country? Just select the country and the flag, regional map, pictures and nine key areas (Introduction, Geography, People, Government, Economy, Communications, Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues) will be displayed.