220: African Safaris
Vacation Mavens
Tamara is hosting an all-women small group trip to Portugal this fall and she would love for you to join her! . Did you know that Kim has been on safaris in four African countries? Today she shares some great tips that will help you decide where you might want to go, understand the differences between various safari experiences, and provide some advice for planning an African safari trip. You can read more about a few of Kim's safari experiences here:
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219: German Christmas Markets Trip
Vacation Mavens
Tamara is hosting an all-women small group trip to Portugal this fall and she would love for you to join her! . In this episode, Tamara talks about her two-week German Christmas Markets road trip! If you have this magical holiday trip on your radar, make sure to give this episode a close listen and check out the following articles:
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Barge and River Cruising Through France
Vacation Mavens
Before we say goodbye to summer and pull on our flannels and break out the pumpkin spice, Tamara and Kim are back with a recap of Tamara's European summer travels including a month spent exploring France by river and barge cruise! Tamara first spent two weeks in the United Kingdom, on a road trip through both Scotland and Wales with two other travel writers. She then took the Eurostar down to France and spent one week cruising through the Canal Nivernais on the Hotel Barge Elisabeth. Next, she went to Bordeaux and her husband joined her for a weeklong river cruise with AmaWaterways. Tamara...
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217: Scottsdale and Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka)
Vacation Mavens
Well it has been a minute since we had a chance to catch up and record a podcast but in this episode Tamara shares her insights and experience from her recent family trip to Japan. Kim and Tamara also share their love for Scottsdale, Arizona and some of the things they did on a girls' trip together. Read more at: Tamara also talked about her time in Paso Robles, California. You can read her to get inspired to visit this wine region. Kim attended conferences in Walt Disney World (read her tips for using DVC points to ), Disney Land, and San Antonio. She also took a family cruise to...
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216: Ireland and Northern Ireland
Vacation Mavens
Kim took a last minute spring break trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland with her younger daughter and this week on the podcast, she tells us all about it! She flew into Dublin and then stay at a country estate hotel in Northern Ireland before visiting Belfast, the Causeway Coast, Derry/Londonderry, and Galway before looping back to Dublin. See Kim's articles on: Ireland Trip Highlights: in Northern Ireland Belfast - Titanic Belfast and city architecture - Carrick-a-Rede bridge, Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle in Derry - walk the walls around the city Galway - Kim...
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215 Oceanside Disneyland California
Vacation Mavens
Spring break is almost here and on this episode Kim and Tamara share their experience on a girls' trip in Oceanside, California and then their mother-daughter trip to Disneyland with their girls. If you want some inspiration for a SoCal getaway, be sure to listen in!
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214 Northern Italy + Big Announcement
Vacation Mavens
Happy New Year! We are back and apologize for taking so long to release a new episode. Moving forward, we will strive to have one episode a month to share our travels and tips, as we continue to each put more time into our respective websites. But first, Tamara has a big announcement and that is that she is hosting a women-only small group trip to Iceland in September 2023! You can get all the information on and she really hopes that some listeners will be able to join! Note that there is a discount of 15,000 ISK if you register by January 15, 2023. Next Tamara tells us all about her...
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213: Glacier Country, Montana
Vacation Mavens
This episode is sponsored by Glacier Country Tourism. All opinions are our own. This week, Tamara shares what it is like to visit Glacier Country, Montana on a girls' trip and Kim shares her thoughts on this scenic part of Northwestern Montana. From Missoula to Whitefish, Kalispell to Glacier National Park -- if Montana is on your bucket list, give this episode a listen! Read more: Things to do in Glacier Country, Montana Glacier Country is a tourism region of Northwestern Montana that covers eight counties To get to Glacier Country you can fly into Missoula or Glacier Airport in Kalispell,...
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212: Summer Travel Catch Up
Vacation Mavens
We are back from our summer travel and packed a whole lot into a one episode recap! We apologize in advance for some audio difficulties on this one, especially after taking so long to get it live. Thanks for hanging in there with us! On this episode we cover Tamara's summer trips to: Nantucket (read her ) New Brunswick, Canada (, , and ) Prince Edward Island, Canada () Sailing on the And Kim shares about her adventures: Mediterranean cruise on Costa Cruise Lines () Gorilla trekking in Uganda Alaskan cruise on Holland America Graduation trip to Disney World and Universal Orlando ()
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211: NYC to Bahamas Cruise
Vacation Mavens
We are still catching up about our spring break trips and this time Kim shares the ups and downs from a Norwegian Cruise Lines voyage from New York City to the Bahamas with stops in "Orlando" and Norwegian's private island. Listen in and see if you are ready to set sail. In NYC, Kim stayed in the Hyatt Centric in Times Square for 2 nights before her cruise. The hotel was part of the American Express Fine Hotels Collection and she was able to get a $200 statement credits on her Amex Platinum Card. The hotel has a good location, but slow elevators and the rooftop bar is not open to minors....
info_outlineDo you show up to the rental car counter and get overwhelmed with all the choices? Do you want to prepay for the gas? Do you want additional insurance? Do you know what your existing insurance covers? Ack! It is all so confusing, so this week we chat with road warrior Ed Pizzarello and get his car rental tips. Listen to Ed's tips for renting a car so you are armed with the info you need to make good choices when planning your next trip.
ON THE PODCAST
00:30 - Sponsor
01:12 - Talking with Kim and Tamara about car rental
03:25 - Talking with Ed
05:40 - Favorite car rental company
08:00 - Loyalty programs
10:55 - Bad experiences
14:40 - What to look for in your rental car
19:20 - Finding budget rentals
24:45 - Booking
26:20 - Insurance
30:29 - Gas
34:50 - Issues with rental cars
40:20 - Renting Internationally
43:18 - Ed’s Favorite Travel Gear
44:50 - What’s next for Edward
46:45 - Up next for Vacation Mavens
ABOUT EDWARD PIZZARELLO
Edward Pizzarello travels for over 100,000 miles a year for business and loves to travel with his wife and two children whenever he's not on the road for work. You can find him blogging at Pizza in Motion and hosting the Miles to Go podcast.
Tune in to Edwards podcast Miles to Go using Google and Apple or on Now Boarding Podcasts.
Follow Edward on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
TIPS FOR RENTING A CAR ON VACATION
- Hertz may not always be the cheapest option, but they offer the best customer service. Ed has found that Hertz has always taken care of him, while other companies have left him with unresolved issues or not willing to honor a rental rate.
- Being a part of a loyalty program with a car rental company can pay off when it comes to picking up your rental car. If you are part of the company's loyalty program you can skip having to wait in a very long line. Since most of you will be traveling with children, this will save you from having to wait possibly over an hour!
- Mini vans tend to be more expensive to rent, due to the fact that everyone wants them because of the space for luggage and passengers. They also may have the most miles because they are always been taken out. Try looking for a station wagon or SUV instead.
- When looking for what kind of car to rent for your vacation, you really want to think about how much space you really need and look closely at what luggage guidelines are listed.
- When looking for car rental deals you may want to look at what your credit card companies have to offer. For instance Chase bank has a portal where you can get cash back for just for using your card to pay for certain items. Look to see if they have a rental company that you can add on to get money back. Costco is also a great option, since they partner with different companies you can get some really great deals. Costco also will not charge you for adding a second driver while other companies will.
- Auto Slash is a great site to look for the best prices in rental cars. They will ask you for a lot of information and then send you all of the deals you are eligible for at different companies. Also, if you plug in the information of your car rental after you book, the site will keep checking to see if your car rental price changes up until the moment you pick up your car.
- When it comes to insurance when you are booking your car rental, you should first check your credit cards to see what they will cover in case of any issues. Chase seems to be one of the best when it comes to car rental coverage. But you should check your cards to see exactly what they will cover.
- Be aware of the gas prices when you need to fill up your tank before you drop off the rental car. A lot of time the closer you get to airports, the more you will have to pay per gallon!
- If you plan to rent a car internationally be aware that automatic transmission will usually cost more and companies may run out of them if you don't book months in advance. If you are comfortable driving a manual, you should definitely think about renting one when going overseas.
- Having a larger car in Europe is not easy. You will find it hard to find parking and with the narrow road you may have issue getting around.
FAVORITE TRAVEL GEAR
Edward likes to wear his Merrell shoes along with a pair of jeans or his Prana shorts that have zip pockets for the summer time. In the colder weather he will wear his ScotteVest so that he can utilize all of the pockets.
MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST
Article on how to use Chase Portal
American Express Premium Car Rental Protection
FOLLOW US AND SPREAD THE WORD!
If you liked this show, please be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play and leave us a review! Have a question or comment? Send us an email or leave us a voicemail at +1.641.715.3900, ext. 926035#. You can also follow our travels on Stuffed Suitcase and We3Travel, or follow the Vacation Mavens on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. Thanks for listening!