TRAVEL TIPS FOR TOMATOES
Phyllis Stoller has a BA from Tufts University, an MA from New York University and a Finance Degree from the University of the South Bank, London England. Phyllis Stoller founded and managed for 16 years, the largest tour operator for women in North America. She was voted top in women’s travel by Travel & Leisure Magazine,the first to receive this honor. Phyllis has appeared on The Today Show, CNN, Lifetime TV for Women and others. She is a consultant on marketing to women.
Phyllis now resides in New York City and London, England and is affiliated with ECPS Consulting Corporation in New York. She prides herself on her family: husband, Eric, a ‘keeper’, sons Nick (comedy writer and director of Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Matt , a progressive political strategist who works with liberal Democratic candidates. Phyllis can be reached at Phyllisnycity@gmail.com.
Savor Save Shine
If you read glossy travel magazines, you are told to embark on the flight swaddled in a $1300 cashmere scarf, your feet in Loro Piano socks and your jewels in a Todds bag. You will be moisturized with Sisley and coiffed with Kerastase. Your luggage will be Vuitton or Tumi and your seat will be up front and on the aisle.
Let’s face it, no one travels like that anymore! Those of us who own $1300 scarves know better than to take them on vacation. We all buy our socks at Target. Jewelry lives in the bank vault. Our luggage comes from TJ Maxx and we sit in economy class, where frankly an Ambien makes the overnight trip literally fly by.
This article will share with you some tips on how to travel economically, while looking good and feeling even better.
Tips for Saving Money
1. Take a ‘bare bones’ tour which includes air, a 4 star hotel, breakfast buffet and taxes. Large tour companies usually have wholesale prices with airlines and hotels so even with a typical 18-22% mark up, they save you money. Some package tours include airport transfers but if you are with 3 others to share the costs, this might not save you money. Compare US prices with tours from other countries: Canadian, and UK companies sometimes offer the same tours for less. If they have US marketing offices you might need to access non US prices on overseas search engines like yahoo.co.uk or opodo.com. Obviously they make it hard for us to see deals they are offering other nationalities.
2. ‘Bare bones’ because most cities have events you can book locally for less money and on your schedule. In Paris a weekly magazine called Pariscope has an English language section with walks, talks, events . In San Miguel de Allende, Mexico there are house/garden visits with English personnel which are advertised in most hotels.
3. Meals: Eat price fixed meals, lunch instead of dinner if possible. I had included breakfast with the preferred package tour because people who try to save money on breakfast outside are wasting time and energy! Try bakeries and tea rooms for light lunches. In Lisbon, a more affordable city, Victorian bakeries offer warm flaky quiches along with delicious coffee for a pittance.
Eat in department stores and museums. Many museums have both indoor and outdoor eating and some, like the Wallace in London, have a covered courtyard with fine food and a genteel atmosphere. Department store eating can be fun for women traveling as other clientele are likely to be other women.
4. Guidebooks: Buy 1-2 good ones. Lonely Planet for any place outside of Europe and Michelin for Europe. Let’s Go is a must for savers; it is written by 120 Harvard students annually who list free museum evenings, best pizza, great cafeterias and such. Blue Guides and Baedekers are for architecture so you can do your own intellectual tour, Time Out for walks, markets, events budget related but not necessarily “young”.
Tips for Looking Good
No more backpacks please. Definitely no white sneakers.
1. The best look for overseas’ travel is slacks (dark color or at the lightest dark khaki), tee shirts with some spandex (no University of My Childhood logo please), dark socks and decent walking, not hiking shoes. Ecco, Merril and many others make light weight, light looking shoes. Finish with a silk dress or skirt and silk or cotton scarf, one decent jacket or blazer and you are set. Handbag: treat yourself to an expandable trendy colored bag: Sportsac says American but Chapelier in fabulous colors and Longchamp in dark hues say international.
2. Jewelry even fake metal jewelry can mean trouble. If you like accessorizing, go for beads, the kind you see in summer Macy’s ads. Same with designer sunglasses: I have seen them whipped off a wo man’s head in a public square by what we would in the last century have called an urchin.
3. Hair and the rest of you.One week before you leave, put out all the cosmetics and personal products you use. Put away anything you do not use that week-time passing says you can live without your bronze over blush. Take only small amounts of shampoo etc. in leak proof bottles from The Container Store (love their travel section, fyi). Overseas you can pick up all kinds of new and safe items: henna lipsticks in Berber pharmacies in Marrakech, Bourjois and Boots cosmetics all over Europe, farmers’ market herbal soaps and perfume essences in Provence. Overseas department stores have supermarket areas , these plus regular supermarkets are treasure troves for high quality shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotions, nail polish and such.
4. Finally laundry. Two money savers: do your own with hotel shampoo as your detergent, and dry it over the heat/a-c unit by clipping light weight wet clothes on the curtains at night. Use a chip clip. But I never said this….. Or make laundry part of your trip budget, one time on a two week trip. Today laundry might actually cost you less than the new overweight luggage rules on the airplane. My favorite light clothes come from Gap Body (shirts) Kohls (capris) and for evening: silk wrap around midi length skirt and washable silk shirts from Brooks Brothers. Dare I admit my favorite quick dry underwear and bras come from Costco and throw away shirts for hot weather exercise, are Hanes pocket tee’s for men?
I will be sending along more travel tips for tomatoes who want a practical but grown up way to go. A bientot which means Speak to you shortly.
I am off to my favorite money saving spa: Hotel Ixtapan Spa and Golf Resort ( $1299 for a week with all meals and spa services). If you bring along your mom, daughter, daughter-in-law or granny, Ixtapan offers a discount!
Happy travelling,
Phyllis Stoller
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