The Healthy Pregnant Traveler

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Most women can travel without problems well into the pregnancy. Even if the pregnancy is uncomplicated, consulting with the obstetrician before trips may avoid many issues.

Pregnant women can generally fly on most airlines until 7 or 8 months into the pregnancy. US airlines used the cut-off of 36 weeks and foreign carriers may prohibit flights after 35 weeks. Check with the airline about their policies before making the reservation. However, if there is a risk of premature delivery, it is wise not to travel by air at all. Cruise ships may also have limits for pregnant women travelers; for many cruise lines, pregnant women beyond 23 or 24 weeks are prohibited from boarding the ship.

When booking hotels, the pregnant woman should speak to the hotel specifically to get details about the services offered. Having a bathroom in the hotel room is important for the pregnant woman because late-night bathroom trips or requests for a key to the restroom can be a huge burden. The pregnant woman also has frequent fluctuations in temperature so having access to the air conditioning or heating controls is also key when selecting a hotel. Comfort in a hotel is important when pregnant.

Food selection and availability during travel while pregnant can be challenging. Pregnant women should have a snack bag prepared in the hotel; high fiber foods are a necessity. Travel can disrupt the digestion of pregnant women; having whole wheat crackers, fiber bars and dried fruits are all good options. Pregnant women should also be careful about food consumed while traveling as well. Eating the wrong foods may have harmful implications for the pregnancy. Asking questions can avoid this problem.

Following these steps can allow a pregnant woman and her significant other to go on a last trip and spend some time at a romantic hotel in before the baby arrives.

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Don’t Let Lost Luggage Be A Travel Nightmare

Luggage carousel at Ben-Gurion International A...
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It’s every traveler’s nightmare. You get off the plane, walk over to the baggage claim and you are left with nothing. No matter how many times that luggage carousel goes around and around, your luggage isn’t going to appear. Somewhere between point A and point B, your luggage took a detour and is now sitting miles away from where you are. Usually this type of scenario could ruin a whole vacation or business trip. However there are many helpful tips that a traveler could use to avoid allowing lost luggage to ruin a vacation.

The first tip is to not panic. Starting off a vacation in a panicked state will usually cause many other events and things throughout the vacation to go wrong. So if you find yourself with lost luggage; take a deep breath, calm down and then handle the situation with the airline. Most airlines, if they know where your luggage is, will try to get your luggage to you within 24 hours. They will even send it to your hotel so you don’t have to pick it up.

Another helpful tip is to utilize what resources you have. Inquire what items the hotel can provide you. Many hotels provide toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs and other products to those that might have forgotten to pack these items. Take advantage of what the hotels offer and pick up the items that you will need while on vacation. For items that cannot be obtained from the front desk of the hotel, make a quick stop to a local store. Many vacation hot spots have 24 hour stores where travelers can easily pick up essential items that might have been in that lost luggage. If you are unsure where to head to pick up these items, ask the front desk. They should be able to direct you in the right direction.

Next time you find your luggage lost remember to not panic. Just take some of these helpful tips in mind and you’ll be able to relax and enjoy a wonderful vacation because you successful avoided a vacation nightmare situation.

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Avoiding the Stress After the Vacation is Booked

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As the days get closer to your next vacation your mind is no doubt racing with things to remember. Everything from calling a friend to watch the house, to getting a sitter for your pet, to telling the mail carrier about your leaving the city. There are a million things to do to give your mind less stress before you head out on your vacation, but what about doing something to alleviate the stress you have from a potential disaster vacation? This is often forgot about once the trip is booked and paid for, no one remembers to double check and plan ahead for a stress free vacation.

Best thing to do is call the hotel and the airline to make sure that they have your reservation on file. I know you may have an email or a confirmation number that you feel puts you at ease but it is amazing how easy these places can lose that information especially if there was a computer failure or bad weather. It’s best to call ahead and look a little foolish than to be standing in line at the airport without a flight or a hotel to go to.

Traveling light is always recommended. Find out ahead of time what the carry on policy is for the luggage through your airline. The more you can bring on the plane the better. The last thing you want to risk is that someone is going to lose your luggage and you end up using a pay day loan to replace what you brought. However, if it looks to be inevitable that you are going to have to check your bags than you might want to consider checking them all, except for your multi-media bag. This just makes it more enjoyable to only have to carry that through the airport rather than an oversized suitcase that might have trouble getting on the plane in the first place.

Traveling doesn’t ever have to be a nightmare if you are just smart enough to plan ahead for it and enjoy your vacation without stress.

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