Liz Hough, Author at LiBT Agents ONLY site

Take these precautions when traveling to a foreign country

Are you nervous about traveling to a foreign country or even to another state? Are you unsure whether you would encounter a language barrier in a foreign country? Do you wish someone would tell you what precautions you should take when traveling to a foreign country?

I am here to help! In this newsletter I am going to give you some amazing advice, as well as some great advice from other travel agents as to which precautions to take when traveling to a foreign country.

It is highly recommended that all travelers purchase travel insurance to protect themselves if they become ill or injured, particularly in a foreign country and require medical treatment and/or evacuation.

To maximize one’s personal safety and security while traveling in international destination:
- Follow your instincts and avoid any areas or situations that seem as though they could become dangerous.
- Stay in the well-known tourist areas of the cities.
- Know and respect the laws in the country you are visiting.
- Visit only legitimate businesses and tourist areas, and avoid areas where prostitution and drug dealing might occur.
- Leave your itinerary with a friend or family member back home.
- Check with your cell phone provider prior to departure to see if your phone is capable of roaming on GSM or 3G/4G international networks.
- Do not display expensive looking jewelry, large amounts of money or other valuable items.
- Make sure to have a charged cellphone and fully charged power block with you at all times.
- Know where your exits are in case you would have to get out in an emergency.
- Make every attempt to travel during daylight hours and stick to main roads.

Additional precautions travelers can take, just as they would at home, include:
- Have someone you trust with you.
- If something seems suspicious, remove yourself from that situation.
- Be a good citizen. If you see a fellow traveler needing assistance don’t be afraid to help.
- If traveling with children, be sure to keep an eye on them at all times, especially near water as the resorts do not offer lifeguards.

We recommend that U.S. citizens follow the advice of the State Department and register their travel plans at https://step.state.gov. This will help the State Department contact travelers if there is a family emergency in the U.S., or in the event an emergency transpires in the place where the individual is traveling.

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation. Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs.

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business. Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Travel Agents Save Wintry Weather Disasters

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It is only the beginning of March but believe it or not, people are planning and booking their winter vacations for next year. Why? Everyone loves to travel to warmer weather and the Caribbean and Mexico are usually the top places we book. A few days relaxing on the beach and taking in some good amounts of Vitamin D makes everyone’s spirits lift up. Unfortunately, wintry weather can disrupt travel plans. It is a known fact that travelers who book through a trained travel agent professional have many advantages over those who “go it alone.”

Here are some of the advantages when you book with a Life is Better Traveling travel professional:

1. Life is Better Traveling Travel agents are trained to monitor situations like winter weather that may impact their clients’ travel plans. As such, they also can work on alternative travel plans and can likely have those in place the moment the need arises. In some cases, such as weather, airlines are not required to provide accommodations. Travel agents can proactively find accommodations for their clients in when weather disrupts travel plans.

2. If changes in travel plans are necessary due to weather or mechanical issues for example, many times, travel agents can rebook clients for no additional charge or are able to obtain travel vouchers and/or refunds that clients may not know are due or available to them.

3. We stand ready to assist clients who may encounter major transportation delays or cancelled flights. If necessary:

We will help our clients secure other flight arrangements.
We will work to rebook hotel and car rental reservations.
We will work to find alternative modes of transportation to get our clients to their destination.

4. With limited airline seats available, Life is Better Traveling travel agents have the resources needed to quickly rebook clients and reserve the next available seat.

Travelers who book on their own either have to “roll the dice” by calling an 800 number or standing in a lengthy customer service line to try get rebooked. Using a travel agent can essentially move you to the “front of the line.”

Why Uber is a great way to get around…

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Have you Ubered lately?

Forget conventional taxi service, Uber is the new way to get around.

I was recently at a farewell party and one of the guests was talking about how she used Uber to get to the restaurant. The person she was talking to ask her if she felt safe using this service and she replied, yes. The person who asked the question said she would not feel safe using the service but has heard that people have had good services. So it has me thinking, if I need a mode of transportation and didn’t want to use a taxi would I use Uber?

For those of you who do not know what Uber is here is the description of the business straight from their web-site: Uber is evolving the way the world moves. By seamlessly connecting riders to drivers through our apps, we make cities more accessible, opening up more possibilities for riders and more business for drivers. From our founding in 2009 to our launches in hundreds of cities today, Uber’s rapidly expanding global presence continues to bring people and their cities closer. They are rapidly growing as the Uber service is available in 59 countries and 311 cities and growing.

So how do you Uber? You simply go on their website and sign up for their App which can be easily downloaded on any smart device through the Apple Store or Google Play store. Once you download the app you put in your criteria of where you need to be picked up, what time, and what place to drop off. They also pride themselves on having clear pricing for your trip and you can even pay through the app. I feel that having already paid for the services up front is very helpful and I don’t have to worry about having cash or giving the correct change.

Is Uber safe? I know for certain that taxi cab drivers are not always the most reliable or safe drivers. I have been swindled by a few taxi drivers overseas as they have taken the scenic route to get me to my destination. What ends up happening is I pay an arm and a leg for what should have been a 2 minute ride. We also hear about people who rob taxi cab drivers or vice versa. Unfortunately, this is the risk involved when using these types of services. Uber is on a mission thought to ensure the safety of both the passengers and drivers. Each Uber driver must undergo a background investigation including a criminal background check. They also make everyone take their code of conduct which Uber says gives everyone in the “vehicle has a shared standard for respect, accountability, and common courtesy.” Make sure to ask the driver the name of the person they are there to pick-up. This also helps with confusion and safety.

So will you Uber? I really like that I can pre-pay my ride. This helps with not allowing the driver to take you on the scenic route unless it is on their time and dime. I would be more likely to use this service in the United States when I don’t have a whole bunch of luggage with me. Carrying around luggage is already a hassle, then when your Uber car pulls up and it can barely fit your carry-on let alone the four other pieces of luggage you have with you can be nerve racking. I think this concept is great as it has helped people who are drinking make sure they don’t get behind the wheel, as with the case of a few of our friends at this farewell party the other weekend. I am always for a service that may save a life.

Next time you need a taxi, consider using Uber!

P.S. Did you know that Uber is throughout Europe and a great way to quickly get around the city to see sights? When you are ready to book your next European vacation, make sure to ask your travel agent the best way to go about using Uber.

You need THIS app for international travel!

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Don’t leave home without downloading this app…

One of the main bottlenecks when coming back into the United States after international travel is getting through Customs. Filling out forms on the plane, waiting in long lines, and answering a bunch of questions about your recent trip is tiring. What if I told you there is now a way to do most of this through an app? Would you download a simple app to your phone if it could save you time getting through customs? I know I would.

The Mobile Passport Control app is an app that can do just that, help you get through the whole process more quickly. All you have to do is download the app to one of your smart devices, i.e. tablet or phone. Once you download the app, create a profile with your passport information including name, gender, date of birth, and country of citizenship. Once you have this set-up, you are ready to use the app on your next international trip.

How do you use the app when coming back into the US? It is actually quite simple. Select “New Trip” in the app. In your new trip you will put in your arrival airport, airline, take a self-photo, and answer the series of CBP inspection related questions. Note: only select airports are participating currently visit https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/mobile-passport-control for the full list of airports. Once you have Wi-Fi or data available to you, submit your information and you will receive a receipt with your encrypted quick response code or QR code.

When you get to the CBP officer they will scan the code and verify your information.

No more filling out forms on the plane and answering a ton of questions with the CBP officer. You are doing all the administrative tasks in advanced which helps reduce passport control inspection time and, therefore, overall wait times. You will still have to go through the line, no skipping the line, but this will dramatically decrease the amount of time you are waiting.

If you are traveling with your family, great news! You can add up to 12 profiles for a single household and submit only once for those 12 people. This helps out families who are traveling with little kids because you can easily do this on the plane, submit once you get off the plane, and get through CPB quickly.

Currently this app is only available to United States and Canadian citizens. Eligible travelers can download the Mobile Passport app from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. After all, Life is Better Traveling when making it easier for you.

Windmills, Lions, Beaches, OH MY!

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When you think of Greece you think of the iconic white-washed walls and grey cobblestone streets. You dream of sunny weather, clear water, good food, and Greek Yia-Yia’s (Greek for Grandmother) inviting you into their home for some dancing and fun. OPA!

Well, when you visit the Islands of Greece you can get this experience minus the Yia-Yia inviting you into their home. One of my favorite Greek Islands that I visited was Mykonos. The moment we stepped into Old Town I felt like I was transported into a Greek Island photo that I see on the wall in the local Greek Restaurant. White-washed buildings with grey cobblestoned streets. The streets were just wide enough to fit a small car through, but you won’t see cars on these streets.

Mykonos offers a variety of things to do on the Island including enjoying one of the many beaches. Of course, I wanted to see the iconic windmills. The windmills look down a small part of the Island called Little Venice. Little Venice is a tiny quarter of trendy boutiques, churches and whitewashed fishermen’s houses lining the seafront in Mykonos’ Old Town.

The four signature windmills up on a hill overlooking Mykonos Town are the most well-know and signature to the Island. Capped with wood and straw, the three-story conical windmills were built by the Venetians in the 16th century to mill flour. They remained in use until the early 20th century.

Did you know that there are actually two dozen windmills on the Island? The Bonis Windmill overlooking Little Venice houses a folklore museum, while others around the Island now serve as very unusual homes. The views from the windmills over Little Venice and the harbor are stunning, especially at sunset. Sailing into harbor, the windmills are one of the first sights of Mykonos.

Even though the windmills may attract you to this Island, there are many attractions to see including the Terrace of the Lions which are dedicated to the Greek God Apollo. Originally in 600 B.C. there were up to a dozen big squatting guardian cats lining the Sacred Way. If you were to visit today you would see only seven remaining due to weathering. The current lions are replicas, with the originals preserved in the site’s museum, a short walk east of the terrace near the visitor pavilion.

If you are thinking of taking a trip to Greece you may want to consider adding Mykonos to your list of Islands that you visit. With several amazing beaches, museums, sites, and over a dozen windmills to see you will not be disappointed nor will you go away with an empty stomach!

If you are thinking of taking a European vacation, make sure to include Rome in your itinerary so you can experience the magnificent of this museum. Simply email Mary and we can start to plan.

Remember, a Life is Better Traveling Travel Agent is here to help make your next European vacation amazing!

Which type of road trip does your family take?

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When my husband had the opportunity again to speak at a conference in Charleston, South Carolina we instantly decided to turn it into a family vacation. We had taken the family two years ago when he had the opportunity to speak and we had so much fun. Deciding to go again was an easy decision. The tough part was getting there. Flying to Charleston from Pittsburgh is easy as they now have direct, non-stop flights, but we decided to take an adventure. A road-trip adventure.

What comes with a road-trip? There are two ways to do a road trip. The first I like to call the “Just Go” road-trip which doesn’t involve much planning at all. If you don’t like to plan, then this may be the option for you. The “Just Go” road-trip involves leaving very early in the morning, way before the kids are even awake. You can leave at 1am or 4am, just anytime before the kids would wake up for the day. The night before you simply put the kids into their clothes they are going to wear the next day and let them sleep in them for the night. When it comes time to leave, you move them from their beds into the car and “Just Go!”

With the “Just Go” road-trip you can plan to stop along the way or you can drive straight through depending on how long it will take you to get to your destination. Driving straight through is the goal, but as with many kids, the constant asking “are we there yet” can be a big reason to add in a stop or two along the way. My recommendation for kids six years of age and under is to try to stop every four hours when they are awake. Four-hours is a good amount of time that allows you to cover a large distance. This amount of time also helps get the kids out of the car to expend some of that built up energy.

The other type of road trip I like to call the “Scenic” road trip. With the “Scenic” road trip you build in more places to stop and see various sites along the way. This type of road trip takes a lot more advanced planning. The planning that is involved includes mapping out places to visit along the way with shorter breaks in between, usually 2 to 3 hours in the car before a stop. Each stop is something fun for the kids to do like a zoo, museum, battlefield, caverns, a farm, an Amish market, or the world’s biggest ball of yarn.

The “Scenic” road trip also involves sleeping at various motels and hotels along the way until you get to your final destination. Depending on the areas you will be stopping, you want to make sure the accommodations receive good reviews from other families who have stayed there. You don’t necessarily have to stay in the same area as one of your stops. If you plan to be in that area late, then it is a good idea to stay there. If you decide that you want your road trip to be a “Scenic” road trip, you can easily map it out on Google Maps and find local hotels and sights. You can also contact a travel agent to help you come up with a plan.

You can also do a combination of “Just Go” and “Scenic” road trips. There really is no right or wrong when planning a road trip as long as you are planning it to fit your family’s needs. Just remember, Life is Better Traveling!

Stay tuned next month for more on my road trip adventure to Charleston and my family’s adventure.

Is Hawaii safe to visit?

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Are you thinking of taking a Hawaiian vacation but aren’t sure if the recent volcano eruption will make for a bad vacation? Are you concerned all the Hawaiian Islands are affected? At Life is Better Traveling, we are here to help you get a better understanding of what is going on in Hawaii so you can make an informed decision to book that vacation.

If you haven’t been following the eruption going on the past few weeks, the beautiful volcano of Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii is very active right now. This volcano is the most active of the five volcanoes that make up the Islands of Hawaii. It is located on the southern part of the Island of Hawaii, and this Island is the most southern of all the Islands. But how does this effect the other popular vacation Islands like Maui and Oahu?

Picture by: Pixabay

With increasing concerns from travelers and people who are looking to book their upcoming vacation to Hawaii, Governor David Ige and State Department of Health Director Dr. Virginia Pressler have officially released a statement to answer questions to your concerns.

Dr. Pressler commented, “The air quality for the vast majority of the Hawaiian Islands is clean and healthy. The emissions from Kilauea volcano are a non-factor for Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kauai. The weather is beautiful and warm with cooling trade winds everywhere in Hawaii and is exactly what travelers expect when coming here for a relaxing and fun vacation experience. This includes Hilo, Pahoa and the Kona and Kohala coasts on the Island of Hawaii.

“The areas where precautions are required for people are in lower Puna where lava is flowing and downwind from there on the Island of Hawaii, particularly if they have respiratory problems. Because of heavy emissions of vog, as well as occasional bursts of ash plumes from the Kilauea summit, the southeast portions of the Island are also routinely experiencing concerning conditions. Those visiting areas south of Hilo should stay alert for air quality updates, especially when wind conditions change. Fortunately, when trade winds are blowing, the vog and ash routinely move in a southwesterly direction and out to sea away from the Hawaiian Islands.”

Governor Ige stated, “Hawaii’s air quality is being closely monitored on a continuing basis by scientists, meteorologists and the Hawaii State Department of Health. This team of experts says the air quality in the Hawaiian Islands is safe for residents and visitors, except in the affected areas.

Two other topics that I want to alleviate people’s concerns about are laze and the Puna Geothermal Venture plant. Laze is a natural reaction that occurs whenever lava flows into the ocean as it is doing now and has from time to time over the past 35 years. This is all part of nature’s way of creating new land for life to grow. Laze is limited to the area where the lava meets the ocean and is not a danger to people who keep a safe distance away.

“At the Puna Geothermal Venture plant, the state is actively directing protective actions to reduce the risk from lava flows moving nearby. The underground wells have been sealed and secured minimizing the threat to the safety of people and communities.

“The bottom line is that there is no reason for travelers to avoid making their vacation plans in the Hawaiian Islands due to safety concerns because of Kilauea volcano.

Visitors will be welcomed with open arms and treated to the hospitality, aloha, warmth and natural beauty that is found everywhere in Hawaii. The only area to avoid is lower Puna where the eruption is ongoing.”

Picture by: Pixabay

For the latest update on air quality in the Hawaiian Islands, please reference the State of Hawaii Interagency Vog Information Dashboard: http://www.ivhhn.org/vog/

If you are thinking of booking your next vacation to Hawaii make sure to contact one of our Hawaiian Destination Specialists, Mary Yohannan or Sonja Hester. We are here to book all components including hotel, air, transfers, inter-Island flights, excursions, and travel protection. Don’t book it all alone, have an expert make sure you will have the most amazing time in Hawaii.

Remember, a Life is Better Traveling Travel Agent is here to help make your next vacation amazing!

What a GEM on the Adriatic Sea…

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This Old Town in port has Old World charm with one of, if not the oldest pharmacy’s in the world. This city has been a maritime city for centuries and due to its easy access to the sea, became one of the wealthiest port cities in Europe. Over the vast years Dubrovnik has seen its fair share of destruction but you wouldn’t even know from the city’s beauty and charm.

When we awoke in the morning the ship was still coming into port and we were able to get some beautiful and very scenic photos of Croatia’s coastline. I wasn’t really sure what to expect of Croatia. The stories that I heard were the days when it was part of Yugoslavia, which was not always a good time.

But the beautiful coastline melted away any apprehensions I had about visiting this country. The ship we were on was too big to dock at the port so we had to be tendered into the port by life boats. It was good to know that they worked.

Once we got off our tender we entered through the gates into Old Town. Now a word of warning: we were offered bathrooms right before going through the gates. These bathrooms were more traditional for the area, nothing more than holes in the ground with stainless steel foot-grips. Not a wonderful experience. Once we got into Old Town, modern facilities were available. So I recommend holding it if you can! Now back to walking through the gates, I felt like I had gone back in time. The light colored stone buildings one on top of the other lining the cobblestone streets was like something out of an Audrey Hepburn movie. This is not what I expected at all. It was beautiful and it looked so well preserved! We were there so early in the morning that nobody was on the streets yet except the local cats. Yes, I am a cat person so there will be pictures of cats in my blogs.

Since not much was open yet, we were told to walk around for about 30 minutes and then our tour would start. This is the point where I start walking around as fast as I can while taking in the sites. You never know where these tours are going to take you so I always sneak off to get into some stores or get some unique pictures of the architecture. There were so many narrow alleyways with steep staircases to get to the top. Each alleyway had an array of shops, restaurants, eateries, and apartments. Again, nothing was open so I couldn’t get any good shopping in yet.

The tour started in front of Onuphrius‘ Fountain. This is a beautiful large stone fountain that people congregate around through out the day to get pictures, relax, or fill up their water bottles. Which I personally would never do in a foreign country. We headed into the Franciscan Monastery which is one of the oldest pharmacies in Europe. When you walk in you can see the set up of the pharmacy and they still have some of the tools on display. We also walked the inside court yard area of the monastery, which is beautiful. The blooming flowers and well manicured garden just made for a picture perfect morning. There really isn’t much else that we ventured into here, but we did enjoy reading some of the burial markings of old monks. We then made our way back out to the fountain and down Stradun. This is the main street. There are a lot of great little stores that have anything from jewelry to knick-knacks. There was also a fresh produce market going on in the square. There were fresh figs threaded through some yarn that looked like a necklace. They were the biggest figs I have ever seen. There are many days that I kick myself for not trying them.

It was now time to leave the city center and start our bus tour. We did a lot of driving around and the scenery seemed very bare. It almost was desert-like to me but this changed when we came upon our restaurant. The restaurant was far from the port but lush with trees and a small stream going through the center of the property. The ambiance of the restaurant was beautiful and the food was really good too, typical lamb and potatoes but it hit the spot.

After leaving the restaurant we headed back to the coast but further south. We hit a nice resort area where apparently a lot of celebrities like to go for peace and relaxation. There were a lot of boats on the water but we didn’t see a lot of people swimming. The water was really choppy that day but it was this beautiful deep blue color that I have never seen before in my life. We took the mile walk around the lagoon and noticed that there were several beaches. Well, not exactly what we would call a beach. Their version of a beach at this lagoon was large rocks. Apparently you just jump off of them to get into the water. Some of the rocks had ladders attached to them so you could get back out. I think I will stick with the sand.

I call Dubrovnik a hidden gem because its’ beauty and charm were something I really didn’t expect. Places like this, the ones that truly surprise you, are the ones that remind you how much Life is Better Traveling.

5 Travel scams to avoid when traveling

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Travel Scam #1: Free Items – Be aware of people who approach you with “Free” items, especially items that they try to put onto your body such as a bracelet or necklace. Many times the person will put on the bracelet and then demand money from you. When you don’t pay them they start to make a scene drawing attention to them and you.

What to do: Avoid having people put anything onto your body and when someone tells you that it is “Free” believe that it is NOT “Free”

Travel Scam #2: Taxi Drivers – Taxi drivers get a bad reputation but that is because some of them do have a bad reputation. There are two scams I would like to let you know about with taxi cab drives.

Be aware of a taxi driver who refuses to turn on their meter as soon as you get into their taxi cab. Sometimes they will tell you that you can get a better rate only to take you on the scenic drive and you end up paying a lot more. Also, taxi cab drivers will start to ask you a lot of questions to get you talking while distracting you from knowing how long you have been in their taxi cab. Again, when they are VERY interested in knowing about you they are also increasing the meter which means costing you more money.

What to do: Make sure to have the driver turn on the meter before you start to move to ensure that the meter is actually working. Find out in advance which taxi cab companies are reputable. If the driver starts to ask a lot of questions, tell them you are tired and just really want to get to your hotel.

Be aware of the taxi cab driver who tells you your hotel is overbooked or closed. Many times, they will tell you this and then make a recommendation which is a more expensive hotel, and they pocket a large commission.

What to do: If your hotel is truly overbooked or closed your travel agent will let you know in advance or your hotel will contact you directly. If you have not received information from either one of these two places, then your hotel is ready for your stay.

Travel Scam #3: ATM Scams – These are becoming more and more popular. Sometimes a “friendly” person will come up and tell you that you can avoid the service fees. They tell you to cancel out and put your pin number in again so they can show where to avoid the fees. While this happening another person close by is gathering your information from a reader. Also, someone might approach you after you have left the ATM saying that you dropped $20 or 20 Euros. Don’t take the money, this is scam. They want to know where on you your wallet is so they can bump into you later and take your wallet is located. Men, always put your wallet in your front pocket.

What to do: Do not let anyone distract you at the ATM. If someone comes up to you while at the ATM cancel your transaction, take your card, and leave. Also, don’t let anyone know where on you your wallet is.

Travel Scam #4: Hotel Calls during sleeping hours – Be aware of scammers who call your hotel room saying they want to confirm the credit card information that they have on file. They may tell you that they have this card with the last four digits of something you don’t have, which then prompts you to give them the correct credit card information. The hotel collects your information during booking and at check-in or check-out. They will not call you in your room to collect information.

What to do: If you do get a phone call to your room, politely tell the person that you will come downstairs to give them your information. If they tell you that you don’t have to do that they can do it all over the phone, tell them you prefer to do it in person or not at all.

Travel Scam #5: Free Food – Be aware of the free food that is brought to your table. In the U.S. we are very accustomed to having bread brought to our table while we are waiting for our meals to arrive. However, when you are in a foreign country many times the waiter will bring you various small dishes of appetizers like pickles, cheese, etc. They will tell you that it is part of your meal but when the bill comes you have various extra charges for those appetizers sometimes as much as the meal.

What to do: if the waiter comes with something you didn’t order then question what it is and why they brought it to your table. Do not accept anything that you didn’t order and if they put it on the table and leave, take it right back to the kitchen.

We went looking for Dracula but instead fell in love with Romania…

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Yes, believe it or not I had spent an entire week in Romania traveling around the country with a guide in his very tiny vehicle, while enjoying the country of Romania. How did I come about taking this journey through Romania? One word…Dracula! I absolutely love Halloween and so one year my husband had the great idea that we should take a Dracula tour around Romania during Halloween. Intrigued, I looked into tour operators who did this and actually found a reputable one. After everything checked out, I booked our flights, hotels, and tours and we were off to Bucharest. Unfortunately, no Dracula tour was offered over Halloween so we opted for the beginning of November. This ended up being a great time of year to go because it wasn’t too hot or too cold.

I would love to talk about our whole trip in one article, but it would be way too long, so for this article I am going to focus on Bucharest, Romania. So what is there to see in Bucharest, Romania? Surprisingly, a lot! On our day we opted for a full-day, private sight-seeing tour of Bucharest. We first stopped at the Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum which I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. After touring the grounds for two hours, we ended up having an amazing time looking at various structures that have been built throughout Romania including wooden churches dating back 1000 years. All of the buildings and monuments were physically transported from all over Romania and placed here to preserve them.

Did you know that Bucharest is one of the few cities like Paris, New York, and Rome to have an Arcul de Triumf (The Triumphal Arch)? That’s right, it is located in one of the busy intersections so if you were going by it and blinked, you might miss it. This city also has its own little Times Square with billboards and lights that take over the side of buildings. Some are in English, but most are in Romanian.

My favorite tour of Bucharest was their parliament building which is called the Palace of the Parliament, and was built in the 1980s during the reign of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. It was a long and arduous project building this massive complex, but it is now the largest parliament/administrative building in the world, even larger than the Pentagon. The palace houses the Romanian Parliament which consists of the Chamber of Deputies, and the Senate, as well as the National Museum of Contemporary Art. The building boasts one of the largest convention centers in the world.

You can see the massive parliament building even in the thick fog. This was the view from our hotel room.

Walking through this massive building makes you feel as though you don’t belong there. However, the building is so massive that curiosity really got to us. There are marble stair cases, meeting rooms that are larger than my house, carpeting that rivals the carpeting in Kensington Palace, and many treasures. We only did a 2-hour tour but we could have easily done an entire day in this building.

It is quite cheap to travel around Romania as when we were there one USD was equivalent to almost four Romanian Leu. Full meals would cost us $3 and that was with a beer. The food is very good there, and if you ever go you must try the smoked lard.

NOTE: I must give warning that in the 1980’s when many people were forced out of their homes and into apartment style living. They had to leave their pets outside. Bucharest and southern Romania have a large dog population that roams freely and they sometimes form packs. As Americans, we are kind to our animals but if you were to travel here you must be cautious when approaching any animals.