There are several benefits of working with a professional when planning a Greece Tour… they are best equipped to manage all the unknowns you might not know:
… where to go
… best time of the year to schedule
… best places to stay and visit.

When it came to deciding to design a custom cruise and tour of scenery, I made my decision based on my belief that Greece can easily meet the expectations of even the most demanding travelers… lacking little; offering a lot! Beautiful scenery… a panorama of sea and mountains, archaeological sites that are a living tribute to the abilities of man to create, and a broad array of activities from busy, noisy nightclubs to quiet moonlit walks on the beach. All in all, Greece is easily recognized as a traveler’s paradise.

[caption id="attachment_1235" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Elegant accommodations on Greece Tour"][/caption]

Elegant restaurants, exquisite hotels, and luxurious accommodations fill any traveler’s greatest expectations. If your taste runs more to the less crowded places… they are there, hidden among the crowded, popular locations, but not heavily promoted. It is normally these quaint places that get you to the heart and soul of the Greek people, offering “hidden treasures” throughout the islands.

While on a Greece Tour you can avoid mass tourism and enjoy the simple nature and hospitality of a country not caught up in the rush of life, leaning more to an experience of where nature is pure, food is fresh, and the atmosphere is unspoiled. In many of the off-beaten areas, your accommodations may not be the luxury you would find in other settings throughout Greece, but as a custom designed cruise and tour, you can be assured this will not be representative of the choices made on your behalf… thus, giving you the best of both worlds!

Traveling at the right time of year is an important decision when custom designing a cruise and tour to Greece… much thought goes into avoiding the rush of Greeks taking their summer vacations in August, weather conditions in other parts of the year, and off-peak pricing. Thus, May 2011 it is!

There are alternative connections into Greece, such as the Ionian Island and Turkey, which has daily boat traffic to the islands of the Aegean, but connecting through Athens gives travelers an opportunity to experience Athenian lifestyle and the marvels of the Acropolis.

I hope you have gleaned a little more about the thinking and work that goes in to designing a custom cruise, and that questions you may have about the Greece Tour May 2011 will have been answered here.

[caption id="attachment_1222" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Greece Tour May 2011"][/caption]

Today I feel compelled to give over “some” of my research for the Greece Tour May 2011 and just give you a list of some pretty amazing sites online where you, too, might want to go and spend time just looking around and getting an opinion other than my own that this will be the most amazing custom designed cruise and tour you could hope for!

Ready, set, go!

1. Hellinic Resources A great collection of news and services.
2. The Guide To Athens The essential guide to the capital city of Athens, Greece.
3. Travel Advice Latest travel advice for those travelling to Greece.
4. Travel State.Gov Includes information on entry requirements, security, local laws and health.
5. Video – Beautiful panoramic shots… and the music… ah!  that music!

Click here… Today is the last day of the HUGE discount for the Greece Tour May 2011.

If you or a friend has any interest in joining us … today would be a good day to make that decision.

Thanks for stopping back by today to get the answers to all those “travel advisory” questions about Greece Tours I was so curious about yesterday!  I wanted to quickly share the things I learned about the health-related concerns today.  The primary question(s) I wanted to answer… “Are there certain health tips that will be important to know; are there a different set of “health rights” when visiting internationally? ”

Health Rights

The “health rights” consideration is specific to tourists visiting from member states of the European Union, who must be holders of an appropriate health card – allowing them competent treatment from offices and clinics participating in the National Health Care System.  Travelers from other countries have to secure coverage from their own provider that may offer some type of international or travel health coverage option.

I did find, however a number of phone resources that I would certainly want to make available to you during any Greece Tour:

• Ambulance Service                         166
• Hospitals/Clinics                              1434
• Poison Control                                  779 3777
• Pharmacy                                            1434
• Addiction                                            210 361 7089

Pharmacies

I have learned that what we would expect of a pharmacy may be significantly different than what we might receive while in Greece!  They are smaller and for the most part a small family-operated enterprise.  These pharmacists are governed by pharmaceutical laws and, interesting trivia here – are allowed to manufacture some of the drugs licensed in Greece!

Also on that “important to know” list is that you will not find an open pharmacy on Saturday or Sunday – an almost cultural approach to service.  You will also find them wherever the pharmacist happens to want to set up shop, and will be open only when they happen to feel like being open!  There is, fortunately for travelers, a law that requires a Duty Pharmacy be open sometime during the weekend – for at least one of the three “shifts.”  Information about which pharmacy may be open at any given time is found by dialing 1016 and saying your prayers the person on the other end speaks English.  If by chance you happen by a pharmacy, you will in all likelihood find a card leaned up against the window listing the Duty Pharmacies.

The key point in all of this is not to discredit the country’s culture, but to allow you to embrace it… by giving you that travel advisory to take care of your pharmacy needs before they become problematic or tied to critical timing.  If you need simple items that you would normally purchase at your local Walgreen’s – look for them at the Greek kiosks rather than running into problems with a pharmacy there.

I found that Greece has essentially the same health precaution standards as travelers would expect for all of Western Europe – the one difference being for travelers spending any amount of time in Greece during the summer must come prepared for intense heat and sun radiation and visitors must be prepared to protect themselves from a heavy battery of mosquitos.

Sun Protection

Protecting your skin and eyes from the sun is critical; failing to protect them will only put you in a possible position of undergoing cryosurgery to remove pre-cancerous lesions from your skin, and dealing with irreversible damage to your eyes.  Keep in mind that even on a cloudy day – at much as 60 percent of the sun’s rays still offer potential damage to unprotected skin and eyes.   Lotions, sun blocks, hats, and side-wrap style sunglasses will be your best friends!

Mosquito Protection

Apparently there is a major concern about voracious mosquitos, and travelers are advised to purchase the little electric zappers and tablets that repel all manner of flying critters.  I searched and found one under the name Top Gun that is around $5 that should fit the budget and do the trick!  There are very few screened doors or windows in Greece, and it is my understanding that if you go to most supermarkets and request “andee-cou-no-pia” you will be led to the anti-mosquito section of the market.

From my own past experience, and the advice of good friends – the same tips I have learned throughout the years should apply for a Greece Tour as well:

• If you are traveling with children, toss in a box of Bounce fabric softener sheets, and gently rub the surface of the child’s skin prior to any anticipated potential exposure to mosquitos. 
• I can remember my Mother using Avon’s Skin-so-Softâ bath oil – mixing it half and half with rubbing alcohol, and another beauty expert friend of mine shared that mixing clear liquid vanilla, the kind that is sold in Mexico, mixed with olive oil is great for your skin, smells great, and repels mosquitos quite well.
• Living near “green belts” here in Arizona, I have grown to appreciate the value of the Citronella soaps.   They contain olive oil and Aloe Vera – which are great for the skin, and Citronella oil that repels the mosquitos.  I tend to couple that with burning the citronella incense or candles – keeping the pests at bay without adding any kind of additive, chemicals or dilutants to my environment. 
• The only time I have used a traditional repellant that has a chemical solution is when I had the children out camping in the woods and wanted the maximum protection for them – the potential danger of a mosquito bite being greater than the chemicals.

Another medical application is adding a Vitamin B-1 tablet daily during mosquito season, which in Greece appears to be between April and October.  Also related to food intake is that mosquitos are drawn to you after you have eaten bananas!  Apparently the manner in which the body processes the banana oil has the pesky little critters zero-ing in on you like crazy.

I hope you are finding this information valuable and interesting as well.  Tomorrow we will look into the next couple of questions that are still burning in my mind!

1. What do we have to be aware of relative to health issues with local restrooms, recreational drugs of which we might not be aware, and what vaccinations might be required, or at least prudent to have before departure?
2. Would it be good to know whether tap or bottled water is a better choice; what food and alcohol choices might be not so good?   What restaurant or tourist traps would it be good to know about?

Oh, you might also want to head over to my website and sign up for the travel news… and receive your complimentary copy of Traveling Lite 101.

Identity Theft in the News….

According  to the Spokesman Review, two Spokane, Washington women   received over $40,000 in good and services using stolen identity information taken from local vehicles and mail boxes.  One would have to question why the potential risk of 20 years in prison and fines edging $250,000 fail to deter this type of crime.  Instead, the incidences just seem to get more frequent and more colorful.

For example, the story that broke in The Province  about an investigation into a ring of thieves using stolen credit card infor ation to purchase over $130,000 of online auction items.  These electronics and jewelry items were then resold on other online sites for a significant profit.  Imagine the shock of Vancouver police who found six young  twenty-somethings with a plethora of identity-theft  – shall we call it paraphernalia – items, following  an intensive and complex investigation that is still not complete.

My understanding has always been that one of the reasons people buy Mac computers is the safety features far exceed those of PC users… that may no longer be the case as we see headlines today that FaceTime has a glitch that will allow hackers to access FaceTime accounts and steal personal account information.   Does the recent report on CIO mean that Apple will stand side by side with Microsoft in creating online protection? 

No state is exempt from thieves – Maryland AP News reports a Delaware man, under the guise of securing home loans for clients, spent close to three years stealing client financial information to commit identity theft.  Although Carl Gail turned himself in and is out on bail, he is facing over 30 counts in his indictment.   Today’s headlines also include reports from Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin, and many others.

Continuing a quick scan of today’s news, I have to be even more passionate about the support I offer to counter these ongoing offenses by representing a product offered by Pre-paid Legal.  In LaGrange, Texas, a 34 year old woman received a 10 year sentence for conspiracy to commit identity theft, in Milwaukee, another woman is in court facing similar charges for the part she played in an identity theft scandal, and NewsNet5 reports over 11 million people were victimized in 2009.  The numbers are staggering – the implications are horrifying.

If you want to have further discussion about protecting yourself from identity theft, email me at jan-vitale@cox.net and let me know the greatest fear you might be experiencing so we can talk about how I can provide you the most information and the best protection.

Honeymoon travel to exotic places is becoming somewhat the “norm” as destinations weddings and honeymoons are attractively packaged with cheaper fares and ease of travel…  Are you considering a honeymoon in Thailand, or perhaps spending those first days of married life sight-seeing Europe?  Travel insurance probably needs to be a part of your planning and budget.

Honeymoons are not where you would expect to need healthcare or hospitalization, but in your honeymoon travels you should happen to meet with an accident or require other medical attention, you probably have not budgeted sufficient funds to cover that treatment.  Tests, exams, x-rays and suragery could extend to thousands of dollars; international travel insurance is the perfect coverage – even though you will hope it ultimately covers only your peace of mind!

Additional Coverage..

Many honeymoon travelers don’t realize that in addtion to the reimbursement of miscellaneous medical expenses, these same policies also cover a broad array of other expenses.   For example:

• The purchase of emergency items in case of the delay of checked-in baggage on arrival at your honeymoon destination.
• Expenses included in obtaining a new or duplicate passport should it be lost during your honeymoon.
• Being compensated for luggage lost in transit.
• Cost of legal assistance in case your personal items are stolen.

Words of Caution…

Should you take the prudent course of action and secure a travel policy for your honeymoon, exercise caution in knowing what is actually covered and what exeptions to claims might be outlined in the terms of the policy.

Choose a policy that will allow the greatest coverage for your particular honeymoon plans.   Some policies cover particular activities, such as scuba diving or skiing in high mountain areas; a standard policy might not be sufficient.

Don’t hesitate shopping and comparing.  Visit with a number of insuranc companies, possible payment options, special conditions and exclusions.  If your travels are planned for the United States, make sure to check into the network of hospitals offered by the policy.  While you are checking out various companies, see if you can get any information regarding their customer service history; it would be a travesty to pay a little less for the for the policy, only to have a nightmare occur when trying to place a claim.

Read the policy carefully, and have the agent cover anything that is unclear or questionable.  Keep your policy number and the company’s number together with other vital documents you need for your honeymoon travel.

I trust this has at least planted a seed about the need for honeymoon travel insurance, and a few considerations you need to check out before you make that final question.  If I can help you in any way, let my 30 plus years in the industry be your guide.  Email any questions you have to JanVitaleVA@yahoo.com with Honeymoon Travel Insurance in the Subject line.