Going
on a Missions Trip?
Documents:
Get passport
application forms directly from U.S. government.
Perry
International can assist you in getting the correct documentation
for your overseas travel including pas , visas & legalizations.
We use their service for visas. Their site also has links to foreign
embassies and many other useful links. Or, check Travel
Document Systems for visa info.
Passport
Express expedites a U.S. Passport for your trip - as fast
as in 24 hours. Only use this if absolutely necessary (very expensive).
Plan in advance!
Government Sites:
U.S. State
Department: all kinds of information including travel advisories
and warnings.
Embassy Information: The
Electronic Embassy focuses on the embassies in Washington,
D.C. The Embassy
Page lists embassies online worldwide. Or, try EmbassyWorld.com.
Expenses: GSA and State Department list Domestic
Per Diem Rates and Foreign
Per Diem Rates for business travelers.
Country Information:
The CIA
World Fact Book is always useful. Also see Virtual
Tourist. The
Ethnologue has detailed country by country information about
languages and cultures worldwide.
Lonely
Planet contains lots of valuable information about travelling
in different regions of the world. Especially check out their
section
on health.
The Washington
Post International Section offers a country page with recent
news articles, State Department and CIA links, weather, currency
and other statistical information, and other Internet links for
almost every country.
Health Information:
Check the Centers
for Disease Control. The Medical
College of Wisconsin International Travelers Clinic offers
the traveler some general health advice (such as a suggested travel
kit) as well as specific disease and immunization information
and material on general environmental hazards.
Travel:
For cheap tickets check prices on Hotwire.com,
Orbitz
or Expedia.
Yahoo has
a decent site for checking cheap prices too. On-Line
Airline Information Web site is great for general information.
If possible, buy your tickets directly from the
airline itself (their websites often give a little discount for
online booking) - then if there's a problem you have a better
chance of it being taken care of. But if the price is significantly
better at a travel agent or through a consolidator, then go for
that. Prices change all the time - both up and down.
In addition to the airfare consolidators (discounters)
that accept bookings directly from the public, a number of other
powerful consolidators deal only with travel agents and can often
be the source of extremely low fares. When a travel agent writes
you an air ticket to any part of the world, always ask him/her
to contact a member of the United States Air Consolidators Association,
which will surely offer an advantageous price for your ticket.
The Web sites of some of the members of UACA are www.cnhintl.com,
www.der.com,
www.dfwtours.com,
www.jandoair.com,
www.pacificgateway.com,
www.picassotravel.net,
www.skylinkus.com,
www.solartours.com,
and www.transamtravel.com,
of which only DFW and Solar take reservations directly from the
public.
Phone Cards: Noblecom
has great rates.
Frequent Flyer Programs: United:
join "Mileage Plus." Northwest:
WorldPerks
Enrollment.
Other Useful Stuff:
Advice: Hints
for travellers from the Ozzies. Also see What
I Take on a Trip by Malcolm Webber.
Currency: Universal
Currency Converter. The Xenon
Currency Converter converts between most of the world's currencies.
Foreign Language: The
Travlang Company. Here's a site that will give you quick
and free translation - quite poor quality but it will give
you the idea.
Luggage: The Excess
Baggage Company maintains a website devoted to baggage. See
especially their very detailed customs
guides that cover almost 100 countries.
Time Zones: US
Navy Time Converter
Travel News: Newspage,
which offers personalized news delivery, provides daily listings
of stories
relating to the travel industry.
Travel Stuff: useful article
on latest stuff (bags, clothing, accessories, etc.) with sources.
Weather: CNN
Weather Worldwide; National
Weather Service
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