Narrator
Welcome to the Luxury Travel Podcast, where you will discover information on luxury travel right around the world. You’ll hear amazing stories, tips, and secrets from experts and luxury world travelers. Please fasten your seatbelt low and tight and remain seated for the show.
Now, here’s your Luxury Travel captain Allen Suss.
Allen Suss
My podcast today is with Helen Scott, a well-traveled client of mine, who’ll be talking about her travel experiences. Helen usually travels overseas alone, often choosing escorted tours, particularly in regions where English is not widely spoken, and transport is not always reliable. Today we will be discussing factors she considers important when planning her next holiday. These include selecting the tour company, why she prefers a travel agent rather than booking via the internet, and her methods to ensure her personal safety and well-being. Hello Helen.
Helen Scott
Hi Allen, how are you?
Allen Suss
Good, thank you. It’s very good of you to be here and giving me the time to speak on the podcast. The first thing I like to ask you is what type of traveler are you?
Helen Scott
Well, Allen, as you know, I’m a single lady, so I often travel with a friend of mine. But when she’s unavailable, I go by myself. One thing I do add is that I always pay for single accommodation. We’re not in each other’s hip pocket.
Allen Suss
What are your favorite places so far?
Helen Scott
Well, Allen, as you possibly know, I’ve finally managed to make the seven continents of the world. I thought that was a really big milestone in my travel. Favorite places, I think the latest big tour I did was to the Antarctic and that was just beyond belief. I couldn’t imagine it before I went, and I really can’t describe why it was the best. It was the peace. It was just being in such a strange environment. Totally silent. Fortunately, we had very good weather. I traveled from Ushuaia in South America. We crossed the Drake Passage.
Helen Scott
I was rather hoping for a little bit of weather, but we didn’t get it. Very mild crossing both ways. And I guess the other favorite place would be Kenya. I was on a tour a couple of years ago of the Game Parks there. And again, that was all animals and not a lot of people. So, maybe it’s an indication. But then to take another track, I often go to Asia where you’ve got lots of people and very few animals. So, I guess I travel everywhere.
Allen Suss
Thank you, Helen. I was impressed that you found that Kenya was an interesting place for you because, if one reads the newspaper, Kenya could be not the safest place for a single lady traveler. How did you get around that? Being in the group was that a big help for you?
Helen Scott
Allen, most of my tours are done with groups. It’s just that if anything goes wrong, somebody else has to fix it up. An example of why I was so pleased to be in a group was when I was traveling in South America. Unfortunately, it was an extensive tour of South America with a lot of flights. And South American countries are quite infamous, I should say for canceling flights. We had to make a few detours, change our travel plans because of canceled flights.
Helen Scott
So yes, somebody else had to worry about that.
Of course, if you cancel flights, you have to cancel your pickups, and cancel your accommodation. In a group at least somebody else must do it. The whole tour has to be rejigged so that we still see the same places, but possibly on different days.
Allen Suss
That’s a very handy tip. If you’re going to strange places, don’t always try and do it yourself. Groups can be very useful and very helpful. You’ve mentioned, a couple of your favorite places. Are there any other favorite places or other places that you still want to visit?
Helen Scott
Well, Allen, that’s a leading question because as you know, I’ve just booked a tour with you to go to Mexico and Cuba. Cuba has been on my bucket list for years, not so much Mexico. But I’m trying to get there before all the other tourists get there. Similarly, I went to Myanmar or Burma a couple of years ago, and now it’s the place to visit. So, I like to get there before the crowds.
Allen Suss
Yeah. So, I’m well aware that Cuba has been on your mind for quite a while. In fact, Cuba is one of the latest tourist destinations. In fact, most Cuban tours tend to fill up very quickly. Maybe that’s a point for people interested in going to Cuba. Don’t leave it to the last minute to go there because accommodation is going to be difficult, traveling around, flights, everything. So, if you’re thinking of going ahead to Cuba, do it soon.
Helen Scott
I agree with that Allen. In fact, I booked my Cuba trip 10 months prior to travel. So yes, that’s definitely an indication. In fact, I had tried to go this year and the tour that I had chosen was booked out.
Allen Suss
Yes, that’s quite true. Now, when you’re making a decision or when you’re deciding where you’re going to travel, how do you decide that? Do you use the newspapers, do you use the internet to gather as much information as you possibly can? What do you do?
Helen Scott
Allen. I’m like the lady with the pin. I watch a lot of television, travel logs, et cetera. I read a lot and it’s a case of, we’ll that would be a really interesting place to visit. And from there, I start to research on the net. I’m one of these people who can’t really read brochures on the net. So, I asked for them to be sent. A handy hint for those people who like to pour through brochures.
Helen Scott
And also, it gives you other ideas as well. So, that’s mainly what I do. I do very little independent travel, as I said before, somebody else can worry about the flights, et cetera. And the only time I don’t use a travel agent, in fact, Allen is if I’m traveling within Australia. I get onto the internet and do that myself, but any overseas travel, yes, I definitely use a travel agent.
Allen Suss
Further to your making a decision on where do you want to travel? How do you decide on who the travel operator might be? Who would you use?
Helen Scott
Yes, that’s a tricky one. Well, of course you have entry level, and your budget and comfortable accommodation, et cetera. And then you can get the high-end. I certainly can’t afford high-end particularly with the Australian dollar as it is these days. So, I’ll look for a tour company that is reputable, I also have a look on Tripadvisor to see if people have made comments about those particular tour advisors. But I think in the main, I have settled on probably two different tour companies. I know them, I know the standard of accommodation, which is quite good. Their support on the ground, in other countries is excellent. In as much as you have good English-speaking guides, if you have any questions or any requests or et cetera they’re there to help you. The tourist themselves are escorted, but it’s the local guides who can really help.
Helen Scott
Another reason why I’ve settled on two operators in the main, although I tend to branch out from time to time is that both operators offer little extras. And that’s something that I like to look for. Some of them will offer free, not free time, but a choice of what you do in a particular country. Others might offer limousine pickups from home, which comes in handy if you leave at midnight by plane. Some even offer you a night or two’s accommodation pre or post tour. So, all those little things add up. It’s more of a loyalty program, but something that’s very important I think to the average traveler.
Allen Suss
That is so true. Some of these operators in fact, do offer a great loyalty program. And if you keep coming back, they keep giving you more and more benefits. And certainly, transfers by limo to the airport and back again, that’s a great benefit for a lot of people. And there’s also a possibly of a discount on your forthcoming trips. And the other thing is they notify you of new destinations that they’re organizing as well. Now, do you have places you want to visit? Are there any that sort of top of mind at the moment?
Helen Scott
Well, Cuba. After that, I’m looking at a cruise and flight to or from Amsterdam into Switzerland. I haven’t been to Switzerland, and I’d like to visit the lakes up in Switzerland while I’m there, so that’s so in the future. I’ll start pouring over those travel brochures just as soon as they come out.
Allen Suss
Yes. I know you’re looking at the river cruises down the Rhine and Danube. And there’s more and more becoming available. More importantly people are traveling on these river cruises. And there’s more and more ships becoming available on the rivers. So, a lot of people are doing that at the moment. And the beautiful thing about going on any cruise, whether it’s on an ocean or whether it’s on a river is that you unpack once and you’re looked after for a week, two weeks, three weeks.
Helen Scott
Yes. That has a lot of appeal. That’s another thing I meant to say when I was talking about doing tours. I don’t like tours that stop for one night in various places. I like to stop for a couple of nights occasionally. Okay, you can get to a situation where you have to stop one night. There might not be much of interest where you happen to be. The two nights allow you to catch up on your washing and just rest a little bit. Regarding those river cruises, Allen, I’m very impressed with the boats that I’ve looked at. They’re getting bigger and bigger, and offering more and more. I noticed the other day, that one I was reading about even offers a butler service. Coffee served in bed, first thing in the morning, I could just about put up with it!
Allen Suss
Yes. I’m finding that more of my clients want to go on the various river cruises that are available. On the newer ships, cabin layout is becoming much more interesting. They are able to open up the windows and become totally opened up. And the food has been presented by top class chefs. There’s entertainment, there’s opportunity for going off the boat and visiting the shops, and bike riding, and just tramping around and walking around. So, fantastic opportunities.
Allen Suss
And also, the weather, if you do it… And there’s another opportunity, and the other opportunity is that some of the cruise companies, they give you substantial discounts on some of the cruises at various times of the year. So, for a lot of people, those discounts can be very, very high. Helen, I’d like to ask you, what are your three tips or more tips that you might have for female travelers.
Helen Scott
Allen, before I get on to that. When you’re talking about those ships going down the European rivers, I think I would definitely have a trip on my next list. It sounds really exciting. It’s something that I’d like to do.
My three tips, number one, do not leave home without travel insurance. I know of one particular family who had to sell an investment property to pay for their son’s medical expenses because he had a motor vehicle accident in Paris. And the horror stories go on, and on, and on. It can be hundreds of thousands of dollars. And just recently there was a young man in Switzerland, I think, and they weren’t going to let him out of hospital until he paid his account. And the count was in excess of a hundred thousand dollars. So, do not leave home without it!
Helen Scott
I guess the other thing is, particularly if you’re touring, you have to be very mindful of your health. Obviously in some places you can’t drink the local water, but even the food can be harmful. make sure that if you’re buying food outside, that it’s from somewhere that looks really, really clean. And I think the biggest thing you really need when you’re moving about in a strange country is your hand sanitizer. That’s sort of stops a lot of infection. And speaking of hand sanitizers and health, I would say the third thing is to talk with your doctor and put together a little medical kit. It doesn’t have to be extensive, but it must include a broad-spectrum antibiotic because that will get you up and going if you fall ill.
Helen Scott
Being a single traveler, my worst nightmare Allen, is to be stuck in bed in a hotel somewhere and the tour groups go off to a brand-new country or brand-new city. So, you just cannot afford to be sick. And I really don’t want to be stuck in a hospital by myself in a strange country. So, I guess the medical kit could even come to the top of my list of important things, that is, after insurance. Yeah. Allen, I think that’s about it. Everybody has their own tips and things they do, but they’re my masters.
Allen Suss
Helen, I know for a fact that you like to get foot massages and you like to go shopping in Chinatown. And I know you like to eat out and try the food. But there’re quite a number of tips that you can offer on that sort of little ventures too?
Helen Scott
Yes, Allen, I’ve just not long ago returned from Singapore, where of course, I had to have foot massages. But the very best thing, Allen, is that I’m going to China in a couple of weeks. And that’s when I first started having foot massages. So, after touring each day, you can imagine where I’ll be.
Allen Suss
Well, that sounds pretty good. It’s something I think I must try sometime in the future myself. But I also know, not that you’re a shopaholic, but you do like to go and visit little markets in Chinatown and other places and rummage around to see what’s there. So, what tips do you have for that? And how much time do you spend in these markets?
Helen Scott
Yes, Allen, I’m really into visiting markets when I’m overseas. It’s where you see real people going about their daily business. You get to have a chat with vendors, even though I probably have one and a half languages at my disposal, that’s English and a smattering of French. But you can talk to people, and you can do it. But yes, it gives you an indication of what people are doing. Their daily lives, what sort of foods being sold, just household items that they might go off to market to buy. It is far more interesting than dropping into the local department store, I can assure you. And I’m not a big buyer of souvenirs or trinkets. So, department stores don’t really cut the mustard for me, but I do love markets.
Allen Suss
Yes, you were telling me the time that you were in Singapore when you happened to walk into a very good-looking shop. They were selling safes and there were safes selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. To me, it’s hard to believe that you can buy a safe for a half a million dollars. Probably you can buy a safe that’s more than a hundred thousand dollars or so. But they were selling safes for half a million dollars!
Helen Scott
Well, obviously Allen, I didn’t go to purchase. It was quite an upmarket store. And I couldn’t quite figure out what these pieces of furniture were. They were just stunning. They looked anything but safes. They were pieces of furniture. And some of them even had sections where you could keep your watch collection, which really impressed me because I have three watches. So, it would be useless for me. But yes, they were hundreds of thousands of dollars. And I was speaking to the chap there and he said that the company will come and install it in your home. It’s not a case of receiving a cardboard carton or a pallet and ripping off the timber and just setting the thing up. It was just really amazing to see how some people live.
Allen Suss
The other thing is, I know that you do a lot of, can we call it research, where you go and eat the local foods. And you go to the local markets and a lot of the local food places. Tell us a little about that.
Helen Scott
Well, Allen, you’re right, and you’re wrong. I don’t eat a lot of food in markets. I think the worst thing that I have had is a deep-fried witchetty grub type thing on a stick, like a kebab. I was told by our tour guide that it wasn’t going to kill me. So, I tried it. It really wasn’t worth it. But at least I can sit here and relay to you the story about the deep-fried witchetty grubs on a stick. But yes, it’s not advisable to just buy ordinary food that hasn’t been deep-fried, and you can see it being cooked. But I do like to try different things.
Helen Scott
I’ve had wine, spirit I think it was with a snake in it. I tried that. In India, we were told all about a wedding ceremony or arranged marriages in that particular part of the country. And the parents got together and arranged the marriage for their offspring. And then sealed the deal with a drink made of, apart from other things, liquid opium. So, I had a little taste of that. It didn’t do anything for me, and probably I didn’t have enough. But that was one of my tips, just be very careful where you eat and what you eat.
Allen Suss
Thank you, Helen. That was a most interesting conversation with you. And for anyone who wants to get more information, just contact me at Travel Managers. And my email address is allens and spelt, allens@travelmanagers .com.au,
