How To Fight The Travel Gremlins
When the travel gremlins start messing with your vacation, it's generally more than annoying. It's expensive.
Most major snags in two of the costliest areas - lodging and health - can be avoided through foresight (by getting confirmed reservations and medical policies covering emergencies). But procrastinators aren't totally out of luck.
-- Travelers who need last-minute lodging can usually find it - frequently at a discount - through municipal or private room-finding bureaus in most cities and resort areas (local visitor centers can provide the numbers).
Even national park lodgings are often available with as little as 24 hours' notice.
AmFac Parks & Resorts - which manages lodges, restaurants and other concessions at eight major national parks and memorials as well as accommodations in a number of other resort areas and state parks - says half of all calls to its reservations center are to change or cancel existing bookings. If you strike out on the first inquiry, keep trying.
-- Anyone who has ever had the perfect vacation ruined by a bout of sunburn, motion sickness or stomach trouble isn't alone.
According to a recent national survey of 1,000 men and women, 63 percent of travelers reported that they or a companion had gotten sick while on their last vacation. Their medical maladies - the vast majority of them preventable - boosted the travelers' average vacation expenditure by an average of $220 to $341.
The most common illnesses that plagued those surveyed were sunburn (62 percent), motion or seasickness (34 percent) and allergies (34 percent). Other illnesses encountered during vacation included "Montezuma's Revenge" (23 percent) and food poisoning (12 percent), according to the "Rx for Travel Health Survey," commissioned by Novartis Consumer Health Inc., a manufacturer of prescription anti-motion-sickness medication.
The amount of money travelers spent on their vacation also didn't affect their luck in avoiding travel illnesses, the study showed. More than three-quarters (78 percent) of those who spent $1,500 to $2,000 got sick while traveling and 77 percent of those who spent more than $5,000 also got sick while away.
The survey also discovered that almost 9 out of 10 travelers who got sick (89 percent) did not consult a doctor before leaving home. A quick trip or even a phone call can equip you with a prescription that will head off - or finish off - many ailments that commonly strike travelers.
Always keep medications in your carry-on luggage and advise your travel agent, airline, hotel and tour representative of any medical condition. Consider wearing a Medic Alert bracelet bearing the number of a 24-hour response center and warning medical personnel of your medications, allergies or any special condition. Lodgings can always direct guests to a local clinic or doctor in an emergency.