Keeping Warm in The Middle of Winter 1.18.12

So, in the middle of watching the movie Piranha (not in 3D, unfortunately), I started to get wistful for the summer months and warm weather. I suppose that’s probably a weird reaction to watching people being eaten alive by flesh-eating fish, but since I’m pretty sure prehistoric piranhas don’t really exist, I was able to still feel a little jealous for those in bathing suits that hadn’t fallen victim to the scourge yet.

With winter in full swing for plenty of places in the Northern Hemisphere, many of you are probably in my same boat, except without the cheeseball horror flick. Are you tired of the cold, dreary weather? Irritated every day when you have to pull out another thick sweater and pair of wooly socks? Sure, you get to wear your rad selection of boots, but it’s not as much fun that you have to wear them just to keep your toes from freezing and falling off. Got some extra cash you can toss at a getaway of some kind? Well, then you can take advantage of some great vacation deals right now, like:

Cruises – Right now, there are a billion specials on cruises to Mexico and the Caribbean, as well as ones in the Mediterranean. Pack your swimsuit and summer clothing (and a coat for when you come back) and enjoy the beach and pool and everything else that you don’t have to wear 42 layers of clothes to do!

South America – It’s summer in the Southern Hemisphere, and South America is always affordable, so not only can you enjoy warm weather, but you can do it for less. Feel free to hike, shop, take pictures, visit museums and more without a coat and gloves.

Mexico – Say hola to the sun again and work on your Spanish while haggling for tchotchkes and printed tees that you will probably never wear once you get home. Grab a couple of margaritas while you catch some rays, but make sure you apply and reapply sunscreen, or you will end up like a lobster. You probably want to eat them, not look like one.

Florida – The Orange State might be in the middle of winter, too, but it’s much milder than the rest of the States, meaning you can visit and bring some warm clothes, but less bulky and cumbersome than those you’re probably wearing at home. During the day, you can likely get by with jeans and t-shirt.

Hawaii – Aloha beach and sunshine. Go snorkeling, hike a volcano, eat delicious seafood and do it all in flip flops and shorts. Right now you can find some amazing rates on hotels in more popular cities.

Where would YOU go if you could travel someplace warm right now?

P.S. I recommend Piranha for those of you who like “scary” movies and find unrealistic gore hilarious, which I do. All those people who only gave it one star have no sense of humor and were, obviously, expecting something from something that will end up being shown a bunch of times on SyFy. 

Secrets to Summer Savings Ebook

I have been asked approximately one million times how one goes about saving any money on their summer vacations and how not to have to take out a second mortgage on your home to pay for it all. Well, I’m coming to your rescue with an ebook on summer saving secrets. Anything that can possibly help you save a buck (or hopefully much more) will be in this thing. You’ll be able to download it as a PDF for the low, low price of $2.99 in the coming months. (Shooting for a March release.) It's a great way to get a taste of what you can expect to find in the Shereen Travels Cheap book, too.

Not only will you learn how to save as much as possible on airfare and lodging, I’ll also show you how to get discounts and spend less on theme parks, dining and activities and more! Now, you could wait until this is out, or you can get all these tips and a whole lot more, including packing advice and super useful websites for booking, by buying my book right now. It’s the best way to spend $14.95 and will save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars off each and every trip you take. Whether you’re going to Vegas for the weekend or going to Europe for three weeks. I promise you that it's an easy read as well. If you're a fan of Rick Steves' practicality in travel and budget, then you will also appreciate a book that follows those same values, but injects a bit of humor and fun into saving money. Travel should be fun and so should a travel book. If it reads like your geometry textbook, you wouldn't want to read it...and, frankly, neither would I.

Other cool stuff coming soon: Do you always overpack? Do you desperately need help choosing what to bring even for a weekend away? Does your bedroom look like that picture above when trying to find just the right outfits? Well, fear not! I’m working on packing lists for you to download and use for all your packing. You’ll know how many shirts, pants, shoes and pairs of underwear to take with you no matter what kind of trip you’re headed on. How can you get access to these handy dandy lists? Make sure you sign up for my newsletter, as they will only be available for subscribers. Look for them to be downloadable sometime in February. You’ll know exactly how I plan for trips now, because I use the same ones anytime I travel.

Passport to the World! 1.14.12

Blog tour update: Don't forget to go check out Hobbies on a Budget this week. Not only because I'll have a guest post there on something fun and travel-related, but also because you could win a copy of my book, see a review and the blog is AWEsome. I also have a guest post on a new blog called The Travel Guru on traveling to London on a budget.

International travel is exciting, but preparing for it can be a little more involved than just packing a bag and printing out a boarding pass. Actually, if only all travel was like that, I think more people would be inclined to go somewhere more often. Unfortunately, there is money involved and actually finding things to pack, whittling down your things to pack, planning what you will do based on what you can afford, sobbing because you can’t afford everything you want to do, doing conversion math to find out you did the exchange rates wrong and cried for nothing, reading through countless reviews of hotels, resorts or properties within your price range, finding the perfect outfit and hairdo to make your passport picture perfect, disappointment in how not perfect your passport picture turned out…and oh yeah, actually getting your passport in time for you to go to Mexico or Hungry or Lithuania.

Overwhelmed yet? Don’t worry. Getting a passport isn’t that difficult, unless you’re a terrorist or can’t prove your citizenship. If that were true, you probably can’t even get on a plane now anyway, so you might have bigger problems than figuring out where you are going on your yearly vacation(s).

By now, we all know that a passport is a handy thing. If you ever want to leave the country you live in, it’s a complete necessity. Also, if you want to go somewhere, but don’t have the motivation, going through the trouble of getting a passport will make you think about actually using it. Suddenly, going to North Dakota doesn’t seem so glamorous, especially when you can spend the same amount of money and go to Peru or Jamaica. Stretch your dollars and expand your travel radius to go somewhere truly new.

How soon do your need to apply for your passport? A reader asked me this recently and it occurred to me that this might not be a question many people know how to answer. If you are planning a trip, then the sooner you can go in and take care of this crucial step, the better. Typically, it takes about 6 weeks to get your passport after you apply. You can cut that down to 2-4 weeks if you expedite it, but if you don’t need it in a hurry, save your $60. Use that towards airfare to your exotic destination. I would suggest you apply no later than two months before you are set to leave. It gives you a little bit of wiggle room.

How many millions of dollars will it cost you to get a passport? Luckily, it won’t even cost you a whole million to get your passport and be able to travel (almost) anywhere you want in the world for the next 10 years – when you will need to renew it. In fact, it’s only $135, which includes your application fee ($110) and processing fee ($25). Of course, you also have to pay for photos, which are pretty specific. Those can be anywhere from $8 to $25, depending on where you go. My suggestion would be to contact your nearest postal branch and see if they do the whole kit and kaboodle. You can fill out your application, get your photos taken, give them money and then go home and wait for it to show up…in 6 weeks.

What if your passport is expired? If your passport is expired, you can easily renew it. Hopefully, you have a bunch of stamps in there and made it worth your while to get one in the first place. If you must renew, know that the same rules apply as getting a new one. It’s easier if your current one is undamaged, has your (now) legal name, was issued within the last 15 years and when you were 16 years of age or older. The only thing you save is the processing fee, though. You still have to fork over $110 and a new photo. (At least this helps if your current one is just terrible and you want a do over.)

If you have children, know that they will also need a passport to travel with you. If they are under 15, it needs to be renewed every 5 years until that age. Application fees and processing are a little more affordable, totaling $105, but renewals will cost the same price each time.

Hope your picture turns out better!

What’s the deal with that passport card? If you plan any kind of international travel, I would suggest a regular passport. It enables you to go anywhere. If you’re an avid cruiser, a passport card can be a useful tool. Travel between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean can be done with just a passport card, as long as you aren’t flying to any of those destinations. If you will be entering by car or ship, you don’t need a full-on passport, but wouldn’t it still be fun to have an actual passport to get a stamp in? I think it would!

One tip I can give you is to get a passport before you actually make plans to go anywhere. It enables you to fit it into your budget and not have to spend vacation money to get one or more for your trip. $135 is not a huge amount of money, but what if you have your spouse and three kids? That’s almost $600! That is a severe chunk to lay down at once, but also could be the stumbling block to actually going anywhere, or having to eat PB&J for the whole week you’re gone. Yum for one meal. Yuck after your 6th or 7th one in a row.

For more info on passports or passport cards, check out the Government’s travel site.

{All photos courtesy of lovely users at weheartit. Click thru for originals.}