Adventures In Travel

07/08/2024

International phone plan options
by Brian Kelly
TPG | Hero Image
This past week, there was a major service outage for U.S. cellphone carriers that affected American travelers across Europe who use Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. The problem was with a third-party provider of roaming services.

Having cellphone service abroad is critical — I’m on Verizon, and I need fast service, so I pay $10 per day when I travel. It isn’t cheap, but it is easy and generally works pretty fast. If I ever go over my data, Verizon lets me buy more. I’d rather pay more to have fast internet.

T-Mobile tends to be the most economical option. I have a second phone when traveling that’s connected to the T-Mobile network as a backup, and T-Mobile offers 10 days of 5GB of data for $35. Depending on the service plan you have, T-Mobile also offers free Wi-Fi on U.S. airlines.

I know it depends on your home city and which company might offer the best service for your day-to-day life, but as we learned last week, U.S. carriers can go down (even though it is rare), so it’s always better to have a backup option when you go overseas. I’m talking about SIM cards — whether physical cards you can pop into your phone or eSIM cards, which are all the rage right now.

Zach Griff gives a detailed account of how he uses dual SIM cards when traveling to avoid the daily fees for international roaming. If you have an iPhone 14 or newer, you don’t have to worry about physical SIM cards anymore, either.

Here are a few tips:
Most phones have dual SIM card options. If you have dual SIM cards, make sure your second one is unlocked so you can add a foreign SIM card when traveling. You can unlock it before you leave by calling your carrier.
If you only have one SIM card, be sure you know how to take it out and replace it with a local physical SIM card.
If you don’t want to mess with a physical SIM card at the airport, try a digital option or eSIM. I learned about Airalo from quite a few friends and followers.
Generally, SIM cards can save you money and even get you faster service speed and might be less likely to have an outage.

Points and miles spotlight: Q&A with Raimee Iacofano

For this month’s influencer spotlight, I talked to Raimee Iacofano — whom I follow and admire for the way she encourages younger travelers to seek out deals and travel the world. She shares a lot of great actionable tips on Instagram at . I recently got a chance to ask her some questions — let’s go!

Brian: What’s been your best redemption lately?

Raimee: It would have to be business class with All Nippon Airways from Tokyo to LAX for 45,000 points using my Ultimate Rewards points from my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. I love the variety of transfer partners and statement credits that card provides.

Brian: I loved my time in Japan; what did you think?

Raimee: Japan is one of those places that really hits you with culture shock, and I look for that feeling when I travel! I loved the coordinated chaos of Tokyo, the beautiful landscapes in the Japanese countryside, and the overall efficiency I experienced in the country. I also had such lovely interactions with the locals, even despite the language barrier.

Brian: What’s one loyalty program that’s overlooked?

Raimee: Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles and ANA. You can use these miles to fly to Europe at very reasonable rates, like 45,000 round-trip in economy or 88,000 to 100,000 round-trip in business class.

Check out Raimee Travel on Instagram and give her a follow so you can see all of her upcoming points and miles adventures!

Have a great weekend,

BK

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Let me book this for you! Debbie at Adventures in Travel LLC message me!

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Would you like to cruise? I love to book them! Contact me today to book you a wonderful cruise!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLStC1njvkc

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Moon vine this morning

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The U.S. Travel Association, joining THE Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), has called on the Biden administration to implement a path to

02/11/2019

Are reservations needed for the different sit down restaurants in the Universal Park? I know with Disney you need to book months in advance

*; Nope!

*; Typically no, but things like Mythos in IOA will fill up quickly as get a wait so it can be good to get a reservation.

*; good shout 👍 reservations aren't typically "needed" but if you have a certain restaurant that is a must-do then a reservation would be wise 👍

*; I would be a little hesitant when not making reservations. We have been here for 3 days and all the restaurants have been 45+ minutes wait time at night. We made one reservation for Mythos and we could have walked right in so I guess it is hit or miss.

*; Alot of places don't take reservations after a certain time... it was nothing like Disney

*; We ate at Mythos which is a highly rated theme park restaurant and only wanted about 10 minutes.

*; If I show up and they tell me the wait time is 30+ minutes, so you have to sit there and wait? Or would we be able to walk around to shops that were nearby?

*; I think it depends on when you go. We went first week of December and didn't need a reservation for any restaurant and never had to wait. That could be different if you go during a busy time.

*; We went over Christmas and didn’t get reservations. We ate at confisco one afternoon with a 10 minute wait at dinner time- barely enough time to hit Backwater Jacks for a drink 😂. Mythos had a wait in August though

*; where is Confisco??

*; front of park in IOA. Easy to walk right by. Good food and service!

*; We ate at one last year by the water, that had that shark statue by it. They were busy, but we got reservations and we explored the park for about 45 min till I got the text on time, and it was really good food

02/11/2019

Tell us your secrets of Universal or Islands of Adventure Only:

James; Doll Potion of the Gods is a must try at Mythos in Islands of Adventure.

Courtney;Is that alcoholic?

James; Oh yes.

James; The phone booth outside of Muggle London can be used to call the ministry of Magic. Just dial Magic!

Trudie; it wouldn’t work for me. I must have been doing something wrong

Aliza; you have to dial the number very fast. It took me about 15 mins to figure that out. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yaskara; Butterbeer potted cream is absolutely delicious (few people know about this form).

James; Where is the best place (or only place) to get it?

Tamara; I had it at Three Broomsticks. It is YUMMY!

Shandi; If you have a pair of your own 3D glasses carry them along to E.T., Cat in the Hat, and Mummy for a new experience.

Shandi; you can ask for a free cup of water (as many cups as you can carry) from any food stand or restaurant and save the $4 it costs for a bottle of water.

Cassidy; also if you take a reusable bottle they’ll fill it up for ya!

Cassidy; also if you take a reusable bottle they’ll fill it up for ya!

Aliza; When you are in side the Men in Black ride and walking down the hall try to open all of the doors. Just do it!! 😜

Emma; The phone near the exit of Simpsons (by the bench where Millhouse sits) rings sometimes and you can hear Simpsons characters at the other end if you answer it!

Shannon; Kreacher peeks out of the window above 10 Grimmauld Place every few minutes.

Sam;especially when you knock the door

Shannon;There are 2 secret spells in Diagon Alley that aren't marked anywhere.

James; THE BEER THAT SHALL NOT BE NAMED- The fan community refers to this beer as the “Deathly Hallows”. It’s a three layered beer made with Guinness, Strong Bow, and Wizard’s Brew. Since the symbol of the Deathly Hallows is a triangle, this “triple” is appropriately named. But because it’s not officially on the menu, and the creative minds behind the Wizarding World have a strict policy of sticking to the blueprint, you might not be able to order this drink by that name. Depending on how nice you are and how cool the bartender is, you may have to ask for “the triple” or specifically ask for all three beers in one cup. Give them a little wink wink, and hopefully you’ll be served up this tasty libation!

James; Legendary movie director Steven Spielberg makes an appearance in Men in Black: Alien Attack, wearing a Jurassic Park baseball cap and reading a newspaper. When shot, the figure lowers the newspaper to reveal a triple-headed alien.

Samantha; There’s a patio area in the three broom sticks and hardly anyone ever sits out there so it’s never crowded.

Lindsey; they used to have a ton of fish and turtles that you could throw croissants to off of that patio. But they did something to the water 😔

James; If you can take a break from blasting the aliens on Men in Black: Alien Attack, take a look at the storefronts that you see along the way. These feature a host of in-jokes, such as the “I.M. Hotep Jewelry Store” (named after the undead character from The Mummy) and “Flaming Moe’s Bar” (a tribute to an episode of The Simpsons).

James; While visiting Gringotts, you can ask the goblin in Money Exchange any question and he will respond. However, he responds to other questions better, so ask him about the dragon in Gringotts next time you visit.

Terri; It's not at the ride, though, right? It's at the actual money exchange storefront?

Myra; it's not a ride. It's the money exchange to the right of Gringotts. I had been in there several times but never knew the goblin spoke to people. Me and my boys were the only ones in there one day and all of a sudden the goblin said "please be careful with your beverage" I looked around and realized he was talking to me because I was holding a hot butter beer.

Christi; You can refill any universal cup for $1.30 each fill no reactivation needed.

Christi; You can bring in your own food, snacks, granola bars, bags of chips, ect...

Christi; If you have kids go to Dollar Tree and buy the necklaces or glow stick toys and bring them with you. everyone gets a fun thing and you don't have to pay $10 for another piece of overpriced glow toys.

Eminelly; Simple way to save money on food at the parks: When you order a meal at a quick service restaurant, just say no side, just the entree, the price will be cheaper at most places! I usually want a sandwich and barely finish the fries. It can be applied at most theme parks! 😉

Melissa; Don’t waist 5 dollars a bottle on water. Bring a reusable bottle and fill it up at the quick service restaurants.

Terri;There is an actual piece of the Berlin Wall behind the Hard Rock Cafe on City Walk.

Stephanie; When you are in knockturn alley and you are performing the spell on the skeleton projector, the projection will move when you do! Do a little dance and it will mimic your moves!

Mandy; On Race Through New York when Jimmy almost runs over Sara's basket of puppies, take a look at the window of the pizza shop, Jimmy's wife and daughters are inside.

Constance; You can hear Moaning Myrtle in the restrooms by The Three Broomsticks restaurant. Both men's and women's.

Are reservations needed for the different sit down restaurants in the park? I know with Disney you need to book months in advance

Monica; We went over Christmas and didn’t get reservations. We ate at Confisco one afternoon with a 10 minute wait at dinner time- barely enough time to hit Backwater Jacks for a drink 😂. Mythos had a wait in

Chris; We ate at one last year by the water, that had that shark statue by it. They were busy, but we got reservations and we explored the park for about 45 min till I got the text on time, and it was really good food
Manage

07/22/2018

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

CDC Travelers’ Health Branch provides updated travel information, notices, and vaccine requirements to inform international travelers and provide guidance to the clinicians who serve them.