As large Corporations begin to outsource, automate and streamline their operations, many Americans are faced with the startling realization that company loyalty and seniority may not guarantee them the job security and retirement benefits they desire. Despite the economy, the travel industry continues to grow, with online travel making up the fastest growing sector of this industry.

Top 10 Reasons To Consider A Home Based Travel Business:

1. The Industry: Travel is a seven trillion dollar a year business, and is expected to double to fourteen trillion within the next decade. Despite current economic conditions, the travel industry continues to grow, and is growing 23% faster than the Global economy.

2. The Timing: A key factor in the growth of the travel industry in the upcoming decade is the Baby Boomer generation. This is a key demographic for the travel industry, for two reasons. The first reason is that the Baby Boomer generation is seventy eight million strong. Baby Boomers are retiring at a rate of one every eight seconds, and will continue to do so for the next twenty years. The second reason that this demographic will drive the growth of the travel industry is because Baby boomers consider travel a necessity, not a luxury, and they have indicated travel as the number one thing they intend to do when they retire.

3. The Technology: 52 percent of all travel booked in 2007 and 2008 was booked online, and is expected to grow to over 90 percent by the year 2010. In 2007 alone, over 19 billion in travel and related services was booked through online booking engines. More travel was booked online than offline with traditional brick and mortar travel agencies. Source: phocuswright

4. The Investment: True to the home based business model, home based travel businesses have very low overhead. The majority of your investment will be in training and licensing. Training and certification costs will depend upon which travel business opportunity you decide is right for you, based of course, on your due diligence research.

5. The Flexibility: The flexibility of a home based business makes a home travel business perfect for stay at home moms, stay at home dads, those looking for part time income, and retirees. This opportunity is not limited to that particular niche however. Many individuals have left their full time jobs after starting a home travel business, simply because their part time income surpassed their full time job earnings. The ability to set your own hours and to be your own boss is a very attractive advantage of working from home.

6. The Business Models Available: Several traditional brick and mortar companies now see the value of bringing on travel agents who work from home, but this option is still considered an Employer-Employee arrangement. There are other attractive options available that offer the business owner a travel booking engine, and the ability to become a Certified Travel agent for a small investment, and a monthly web hosting fee. Companies that offer this business model include Traverus Travel Network, World Ventures, Global Resorts Network, and YTB .

7. The Benefits: The benefits of becoming a home travel business are many. The travel industry has a reputation for taking care of travel professionals by making it extremely affordable to travel. Travel agents can save up to 80 percent on travel,and receive complimentary upgrades on flights, hotels and car rentals. In addition, many travel companies offer perks such as member trips and the ability to build an organization by recruiting additional agents to maximize earnings.

8. The FAM Trips - also known as familiarization trips. Suppliers will offer access to their facilities at substantial discounts so that travel agents will have first hand knowledge of what their clients will experience when they travel to the suppliers destination. The travel agent will then be able to make recommendations and book travel for their clients based on their personal knowledge. Travel suppliers will roll out the red carpet for the travel agent to ensure the travel professional has an outstanding time.

9. Say Goodbye To Traffic and Commuting: The true beauty of any work from home business is the fact that when you wake up, you are at work, when you are ready to work. Just to be sure to pace yourself, and if possible, have a designated area for your work. That way, when you close the door, and turn out the light, you are really off of work for the day.

10. The Tax Benefits - There are also tax benefits for individuals who chose to do this profession as an independent travel agent, working from home. You should consult with your CPA or tax professional for more information regarding this benefit.

http://www.panviettravel.com.vn/index.php?option=com_entravelpackages&task=show&catid=283&id=207

Email to us: panviettravel@gmail.com

Code: PV - SH 21 -07

Routes: Hanoi – Sapa – Halong – Ninh Binh - Hue – Danang – Hoi An – Nha Trang – Saigon – Cu Chi – Mekong

Duration: 21 days

Itinerary in Brief

Day 1: Good morning Hanoi

Day 2: Hanoi, city tour of the 1000 year old capital

Day 3: Hanoi - Tam Coc - Hoa Lu - Sapa, night train

Day 4: Sapa - Ta Phin, trekking and homestay (4 hours)

Day 5: More trekking and back to Sapa

Day 6: Sapa - Tam Duong by Jeep

Day 7: Tam Duong - Sapa - Hanoi, via night train

Day 8: Hanoi - Halong Bay

Day 9: Halong Bay – HanoiDay

10: Your free day in HanoiDay

11: Hue, city tour Day

12: Hue, boat trip - HoianDay

13: Hoian, walking tour in the ancient town

Day 14: Hoian - Nha Trang

Day 15: Nha Trang, island boat trip

Day 16: Nha Trang - Saigon, city tour

Day 17: Tay Ninh and the Cu Chi tunnels

Day 18: Saigon to the fertile Mekong Delta (Cai Be - Can Tho)

Day 19: Can Tho - Saigon

Day 20: Free day in Saigon

Day 21: Departure Saigon, Goodbye Vietnam

Itinerary in Detail



Day 1: Good morning Hanoi

Welcome to Hanoi, we will meet and take you to your hotel, check in your hotel then today is free at your leisure, to rest or explore around at your own pace. Overnight in Hanoi.

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel

Day 2: Hanoi, city tour of the 1000 year old capital

Depart at 8:00 am, after checking out, from your hotel by car. We will begin our day by visiting Uncle Ho, learning about his great life at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Presidential Palace, and his residential place. Next stop is the nearby Temple of Literature.

The site of Vietnam\’s first University, built in twelfth century, to teach the royals the Confucius theory. Here we will also have a chance to see a traditional music performance. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant for a taste of authentic Hanoi Pho. In the afternoon, choose one from the numerous museums or temples around Hanoi (Museum of Ethnology, Women\’s Museum, History Museum or Quan Thanh Temple). A late afternoon walk around Hoan Kiem Lake and Hanoi\’s fascinating Old Quarter for some great fun, shopping, and street side traditional food. This is your chance to be part of typical Hanoian style and its traditional Vietnamese culture. We finish our relaxing but informative day by attending a Water Puppet Show, a favorite experience for all visitors to Vietnam.We can help you get back to your hotel if you wish, but often our guests would just rather spend the early evening enjoying a drink with a view of the city. Dinner on your own.

Included: Retire to your hotel for the night. All meals, Car / bus, Entrance fee(s)

Day 3: Hanoi - Tam Coc - Hoa Lu - Sapa, night train

Pick-up from your hotel is at 8:00 am, we have a 2 hour drive (110km South) to the city of Ninh Binh, also known as the Inland Halong and the Ancient Capital. It will be an exciting day highlighted, by a 2 hour boat ride in a hand- woven bamboo row boat down the Tam Coc streams enjoying spectacular scenery surrounded by rice paddies and towering limestone mountain peaks. After lunch served at a local riverside restaurant we make a short transfer (4 km) down a peaceful country road to Hoa Lu, Vietnam’s ancient capital eleven centuries ago. Here, there are two temples dedicated to King Dinh and King Le, the founders of the ancient capital during the 10th century. Return to Hanoi around 5:00 pm.8:30 pm: Transfer from an prearranged meeting spot to the station for your night train to Sapa.

Included: All meals Car / bus Entrance fee(s), Tour Guide, Hotel, AC train tickets

Day.4: Sapa – Ta Phin, trekking and homestay (4 hours)

The train arrives in Lao Cai at about 6:30 am where your PanViet guide will welcome you. Look for the “PanViet Travel” sign when you exit the train station. Then take a morning drive through the clouds by car / bus to Sapa (about 1.5 hours).

When you arrive in Sapa you will be taken to a local restaurant for a morning shower &breakfast. Then we will take a short ride from Sapa to our trekking base where we start our trek through terraced rice fields and Hmong villages. Chances to meet and talk with locals working in the fields are plentiful. We will break for a picnic lunch en route then continue trekking to Ta Phin village of the Dao people (4 hours). Your Dao host family will warmly welcome you to their traditional home where we will share in an ethnic style dinner and stay the night.

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, All meals, Entrance fee(s), Home-stay

Day 5: More trekking and back to Sapa

At the first of gleam of daylight, you will see and hear the sounds of morning village life. You can join them in some of their activities, like feeding the animals, cleaning the houses, gardening or preparing breakfast. After breakfast, we will complete our trek on valley route to the main road (4 hours) linking Lao Cai and Sapa. Alternatively, for this long trek, you can choose a short morning wander around the village for about 1 hour, resulting in more time spent with the host family and other villagers. For both options, you will be supported by our car / bus back to Sapa (30 minutes).

When we arrive back in Sapa we will check in to the hotel, shower, and have lunch. At 2:30 pm we will visit the gardens of beautiful Ham Rong mountain &take part in a traditional ethnic music performance put on by the ethnic minority people. Then return at your own leisure with free time to discover the secrets of this colorful town. Overnight at the hotel in Sapa town.

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, All meals



Day 6: Sapa - Tam Duong by Jeep

Morning preparations, breakfast, check-out, then it is time to take a wonderful journey by jeep. We will go up and over Tram Ton pass and then descend, zig-zagging to the valley below. The views on this trip are absolutely incredible! Our destination is Tam Duong, but before we get there we will visit Binh Lu and see hilltribe people carrying with them their hand crafted products or leading animals on the way to market. You will be free to wonder around but please be respectful of the people here as they are reluctant to have their picture taken without permission. This area has not seen many tourists. We will have lunch here, then continue through the untouched villages with frequent stops to visit and talk to the locals. Overnight in Tam Duong.

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, All meals.

Day 7: Tam Duong - Sapa - Hanoi, via night train

Breakfast then back in the jeep for the uphill climb back to Sapa. Time for capture yesterday\’s missed photographs of this fabulous areas. If this day falls on Sunday then 2 beautiful markets can be visited on our way.

You will return to Sapa in late afternoon and finally depart for the Lao Cai train station at 5:30 pm. The train leaves Lao Cai at 8:50 pm and arrives after a pleasant sleep in your first class, shared AC soft berth to Hanoi by 4:30 am.

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, all meals

Day 8: Hanoi – Halong Bay

When you arrive in Hanoi a very short walk will get you to a prearranged hotel for you to shower and a take a short rest before we start our next day. At 8:00 am we will pick you up, by private car/ bus, at the hotel and begin our journey to Halong city. After 3.5 hours driving and viewing simple, country side, rice paddy life, we arrive at the at port. Board your private boat, an authentic Chinese Junk, and start your amazing cruise through this World Heritage Site. Lunch is served onboard, a selection of the freshest seafood. We visit \”the amazing cave\”, followed by a swim in the tranquility of Halong Bay and its emerald water. We will cruise further into a quiet area where we will anchor and stay overnight. Dinner and relax as the sun sets. Then you are free to swim in the phosphorous water, retire to your cabin, or fall asleep under the stars amidst the magic of Halong on the top deck.Hotel for shower

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Private cabin on junk, All meals, Entrance fee(s)

Day 9: Halong Bay – Hanoi

Wake up early in the morning for a great sunrise and a breath of fresh ocean air. Breakfast served on boat then we do a leisurely cruise through thousands of seemingly never ending islands. These are great opportunities to capture some amazing photographs.

We stop to visit a floating fishing village and listen to some legendary stories of the fishermen\’s daily life. Take one last swim somewhere in the middle of the bay to refresh before cruising back to the Halong city pier. By noon we be ashore and break for lunch at a local restaurant. Then we hit the road back to Hanoi. We arrive and finish our tour at your hotel by 5:00 pm.

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, alll meals

Day 10: Your free day in Hanoi

Today is your free day in the Hanoi capital and all of its fascinating historical charm. Spend your day relaxing or shopping. Some suggestions include waking up early (about 6:00 am) and joining in the some exercise around Hoan Kiem Lake; or taking a cyclo tour around the Old Quarter for a different point of view; or visiting the numerous markets, shopping, and trying all of the street side traditional foods.

Board your 11:00 pm night train, AC soft sleeper to Hue.

Included: AC soft tickets, Breafast

Day 11: Hue, city tour

Arrival in Hue at 10:00 am then transfer to your Hotel. After morning preparations we will go on a relaxing cyclo or bicycle tour. We will also visit the Forbidden Purple City and Dong Ba market. Overnight in Hue.

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Lunch, Dinner

Day 12: Hue, boat trip - Hoian

Getting started at 9:30 am from your hotel, we walk and transfer to the boat dock for cruising on the Perfume River viewing the city and the tranquil villages on the riverbank. Walk up to visit the Thien Mu Pagoda, overlooking the Perfume River and the beautiful scenery beyond. Take some time here to learn about the influences of Buddhism in Vietnam.

Leave Hue in the evening by a car/ bus for Hoian. From here it will take us about 4 hours to get to Hoian. There is fabulous sightseeing en route and we may make stops at: Lang Co beach, Hai Van pass, Cham Museum, and the Marble mountains. Then onto Hoian, overnight here.

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Boat cruise, Entrance fee(s), All meals

Day 13: Hoian, walking tour in the ancient town

The center of Vietnam is home to many of World Heritage Sites and Hoian is one of them. Here in this ancient town of Hoian, 30 km south of Danang, lies on the banks of the Thu Bon River.

Occupied by early western traders in the 16th century, Hoian has a distinct Chinese atmosphere with low, tile-roofed houses and narrow streets. The original structure of some of these streets still remain almost fully intact. All the houses were made of rare wood, decorated with colorful lacquered details and panels engraved with Chinese characters. Always a favorite place!

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Entrance fee(s), All meals

Day 14: Hoian - Nha Trang

Breakfast at the hotel then transfer to the airport in Da Nang for noon-flight to Nha Trang. A taxi takes you to your hotel, it is free to chill out on the beautiful white sand beach.

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Car / bus, flight, Entrance fee(s)

Day 15: Nha Trang, island boat trip

Morning pick up from hotel and transfer to the boat station (45 minutes). Hop on the boat and begin a day on the water. The first stop will be at Mum Island. This is one of the best places for snorkeling in Nha Trang. Hold your breath for as long as you can and dive deep into this colorful world of fish and coral. Next stop, Tam Island, for sun bathing and relaxing on the off shore beach. Lunch will be served at a nearby fishing village with a selection of fresh seafood. After the lunch we will visit Tri Nguyen Aquarium then take the boat back to Nha Trang city. Free time in the evening and overnight at your hotel.

Note: We may need to fly to Saigon this afternoon (4:45 pm) if our next morning flight is not available.

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Boat, Entrance fee(s), Breafast, lunch

Day 16: Nha Trang - Saigon, city tour

We take an early flight this morning at 7:45 am, arriving to Saigon at 8:40 am, transfer down town and check-in at our hotel before our city tour of this bustling Saigon started. Visit the Binh Tay Market in Cho Lon; stopover at Thien Hau, a 150 year old Chinese Temple; then to a Lacquer wares workshop and the Jade Emperor pagoda. In the afternoon visit the War Remnants Museum, the Notre Dame Cathedral and the historic Central Post Office, we’ll drop you off at your hotel around 5:30 pm.

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Flight, Entrance fee(s), All meals

Day 17: Tay Ninh and the Cu Chi tunnels

Departing Saigon at 8:30 am from your hotel for a morning excursion to Tay Ninh to the Great Cao Dai Temple (a place to worship a mixture of Buddhism, Confucius, Taoism, Hinduism and Christianity). We see the noon mass at the temple (1 hour). Lunch in Tay Ninh.

In the afternoon we visit the Cu Chi outdoor museum to learn about the infamous tunnel systems of the Viet Cong. Take this opportunity to get a unique understanding of the guerillas underground fight strategies during the war and crawl through 50 - 100 meters of the 200 km tunnel system. On the way back to Saigon, local rice paper workshops, and views of Vietnam country side and paddy fields are pleasant sights. We’ll drop you off at your hotel.

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Entrance fee(s), All meals

Day 18: Saigon to the fertile Mekong Delta (Cai Be - Can Tho)

Depart Saigon at 8:00 am from your hotel. Head south to Cai Be. Upon arrival at 10:30 am, board a boat for a journey through the Mekong\’s floating market. See how river life goes on here, watch the trading between merchant ships and local farmers. Alive and exciting. Cruise through the secluded canals and cross the Mighty Mekong to an island where we will stop to enjoy fresh seasonal fruit before boating to Vinh Long. Back on the bus for our trip to Can Tho to overnight.

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Entrance fee(s), Boat, All meals

Day 19: Can Tho – Saigon

An early start for a boat trip to Cai Rang floating market, then we have some distance to cover. First a cruise, then a walk on a quiet country road taking in the magnificent scenery and getting a little bit closer to the locals as they go about their daily routine. We take a trip by \”xe loi\” which is a local colonial-era cab pulled by motorbike and tour the country side. In the afternoon we head back to Saigon. At your same Saigon hotel by 6:00 pm.

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Entrance fee(s), Boat, All meals

Day 20: Free day in Saigon

Breakfast at the hotel then a day at your leisure in Saigon. Today is a great day for you to relax, shop, take a cyclo tour, and finish any last preparations before you take your flight home the next day.BreakfastHotelDay 21: Departure Saigon, Goodbye Vietnam

Breakfast at hotel. Depending on your flight you may have sometime for some more shopping. Then we will transfer you to the airport for your flight home. Goodbye and hope to see you again soon!

Included: Transfer, Tour Guide

Prices ($US)

Your price when;

Standard

Superior

Deluxe

you are 2 persons:

1773 / person

2023 / person

2374 / person

you are 4 persons:

1478 / person

1737 / person

2088 / person

Included: All as mentioned above.

Budget for 1 star hotel, Standard is 2-3 stars, Superior is from 3-4 stars, Deluxe is at 4-5 stars hotels.

Excluded: Travel insurance, drinks, items of a personal nature, tips and gratitude, others not mentioned in the inclusion box.

What to Bring: Passport with a valid visa, sun hat, sunglasses, sun cream, insect repellent, good shoes for some hiking, camera with lots of films.

Have you ever thought about making a steady online income… while traveling? Ebay provides a fantastic platform for doing this and it’s not very difficult or time consuming. You can travel overseas for a LONG time by holding just a few online auctions per week if you set things up properly.

Most people dismiss Ebay as a viable travel business because they think you’ve got to have a physical inventory present… and while traveling, that would clearly be limited by the size of your luggage.

There’s good news and more good news. The first piece of good news is that you definitely DON’T need to have a physical item or inventory to sell. You can easily sell a digitally delivered product or inexpensively hire a fulfillment house to ship your stuff for you. Here’s the ‘more’ good news: because most people dismiss Ebay for making a travel income the market is left wide open for this type of marketing!

The other big reason entrepreneurs dismiss Ebay is because they think it’s for selling old junk lying around the house. They take a ‘garage sale’ mentality about Ebay (sell your extra stuff lying around the house). This is great for some people, but wrong for business!

So, Here is your basic model for traveling and making money with online auctions:

1)    Find a product to sell. This is easy. You can sell a digital E-book if you don’t want to carry an inventory, or you can resell items from wholesalers at a markup. Simply get on the lists of a few dozen wholesalers and start watching their wholesale product listings.



2)    Based on those products, narrow it down to what people WANT. This is the biggest pitfall would-be auction sellers make… They sell a product they think people need instead of what people actually BUY. You’ve got to find where the highway traffic is flowing and stand in front of it with a big money net.

3)    Study Your Competition. You should steal what other competitors are doing that is working! Watch for the sellers who consistently sell products in the market you’ve chosen, and see what they are doing. They’re on Ebay because what they’re doing is working! By the way, don’t get scared off by competition. Competition means there’s a market of buyers!

4)    Get your feet wet. Jump in there and make a listing! Start the bidding price low so that people get emotionally invested in your product. Show lots of pictures. Consider utilizing an auction listing template to make things look nice… but remember, it’s the STORY that people get drawn into more than a pretty website, so make them feel like they already own the product and show them the benefits of owning your product, not the features.



5)    Scale Bigger. After you’ve experienced some success with a few auctions, you can now make more sales and bigger sales.

So how do you travel and sell on ebay? Easy. There are internet café’s all over the world that you can login to for as little as $0.10 cents per hour! Most will be around $1-$2 dollars per hour, and you’ll get a surprisingly high-tech computer to access the web with.

You can modify your listings from abroad and have your fulfillment house (or your little brother!) handle shipments. If you like, you can even have a customer service center answering buyer questions.

**Attn Ezine editors/Site owners**

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site as long as you leave all links in place. You may not modify the content and must include our resource box as listed above. However, you may sign up as an affiliate at MoneyForTraveling.com and insert your affiliate links to earn income for your efforts.

Can you get a job over the summer while traveling? There are plenty around and many aimed at travelers specifically. Organize your work permit and check out the local paper for jobs for travelers. You’ll be amazed at what kind of work you can find to do.



1. You could become an au pair or nanny. There are many opportunities to look after people’s other kids while traveling. Try England, South Africa or Australia for starters.

2. You could teach English. In a number of countries there are opportunities for English teachers. If you are bilingual you’ll have a much better chance of scoring one of these jobs in places like Japan.

3. How about working in a pub? In England there are opportunities for free board in pubs where you are prepared to pull a beer. Hospitality jobs are relatively easy to come by in Australia.

4. Have you ever considered working at children’s holiday camps in the USA or Russia as a camp counselor?

5. You could become a fruit picker! Get to work in the fields all over the world.

6. What about a winter holiday job? Can you ski? You can get jobs as ski or snowboard instructors in many ski resorts all over the globe.

7. How about becoming a Jack or Jillaroo on an outback station in Australia? Immerse yourself in the culture of the outback.

8. Is there work available at the hostel you are staying at? It won’t hurt to ask. Sometimes you can exchange work for free food and board or at least a reduction in the price.



Apart from paid positions, you can also get volunteer work in many places. Volunteering your services can get you free food and board. How about volunteering on a farm? Or being a hike trail or tourist guide volunteer? You’ll get to see the sights for free.



For those of you who may be looking for a more serious work/travel experience there are other opportunities. For example, can you get a transfer with your current job to an overseas position? Or do you want to do something worthwhile in your gap year? Programs are available for students to travel in their gap year and get involved in some amazing projects all over the world. You could work in the publishing industry in India or teach children with special needs. There are many organizations set up to help place people who want to broaden their horizons by volunteering their services in foreign countries.



If you think working or volunteering while you are traveling would be a possibility for you, make sure you find out if you need work permits to do so. Using your skills while traveling is a great way to save money and meet people. You’ll be rewarded in many ways.



This article is brought to you by: Stuart S. Travel – Your Online Travel Guru

www.stuartstravel.com

Instead of deal directly with the airlines, has it ever occurred to you to use a good travel agency to book your spring break vacation? Airlines will quote you fares and book your flights, but that’s as far as they go. A travel agency can offer discounted fares, advice on spring break destinations, and may have a great deal or two for you and your friends. Spring break is barely two months away, so now is the ideal time to start looking for a travel agency.

If airlines are offering huge discounts to lure money-weary individuals into traveling, imagine the larger discounts that a travel agency can offer. Since travel agents purchase blocks of seats, they can pass on the savings to their customers.

There are numerous travel agencies, but there is only a fraction of those agencies that cater to the special needs of the student travel industry. Although you can use any travel agency to book your spring break vacation, why not choose a travel agency that specializes in student tours and spring break vacations?



Looking for the Right Travel Agency: Tips

Before you book your next spring break vacation, the travel agency must satisfy certain requirements. You may want to look into the following criteria:

· Full Description of Services – Does the travel agency introduce itself adequately to potential customers? Do they have contact numbers, student packages, discount programs, and do they explain the procedures for their spring break packages as well as clearly state their refund policy?

· Variety – Does the travel agency have a wide range of destination choices and do they have hotel categories that meet all budgets? Some travel agencies like to specialize in a certain number of destinations – USA, Canada, or Mexico; some cover the world! When travel agencies can book spring break vacations almost anywhere in the world, that means that they’ve been in the student travel industry long enough and are confident that they can offer far away and exotic destinations without any problems because they belong to a large network of travel professionals;

· Discounts and Deals – Does the travel agency extend discounts for group travel or do they have frequent hot deals to offer? The capability to offer great deals can mean any number of things: they have good relationships with major airlines, hotels and tourist organizations, they receive discounted rates from suppliers and they in turn offer these to student travelers, or they are booking so many flights and vacation packages that they earn free points or free miles. You could be offered a deal to the Bahamas, your destination of choice, because the travel agency happened to receive a deal from a Bahamas tour operator at the time you booked!

· Photographs – Wouldn’t it be nice to see what you are getting into? If you are going to a spring break destination for the first time, you would want to know what kind of hotel you’re staying at, wouldn’t you? It isn’t enough for the travel agency to say, “You’re booked at a 4-star hotel”. You’ll want to know the name and location of that hotel so you can look it up on the Internet or ask people about it, plus you’ll want to see the rooms, dining facilities, and recreational facilities. Some travelers have been dismayed to find out that the hotel had only one treadmill, as opposed to what the travel agency described as a “full operating gym”. Or that the travel agency said 12 tennis courts, when in fact the hotel did not have any, referring travelers instead to a sports center a mile away!

· Interactive web site –Instead of spending precious minutes on the phone asking the travel agent about destinations, packages and vacation amenities, it would be simpler to do the search yourself on their web site by giving you the option to select a city and a package. When you’ve found what you’re looking for, that is when you call and ask for details that weren’t covered on their web site.

· Flexibility – some travel agents require you to pay for their packaged vacations to be able to receive discounts, but some travel agents are flexible in that they allow you to choose only air, or only hotel, or both.

A good travel agency is well organized. This important trait is evident in the way they present travel information. For example, there are websites that are designed to specifically cater to students. They list the cities they serve with a brief article about popular attractions and then you click on a link and the screen displays what their package covers plus costs for the city you selected.

So if you’re using a travel agency to book your spring break vacation, look for an agency that’s efficient, organized and capable of offing some fantastic deals.

Have you ever wanted to travel the world and make money for sharing your adventures with the world? Using the web and a simple blog, this couldn’t be easier. There are just a few simple, yet hidden techniques for making a healthy income for blogging about your travels.

In fact, the number of underground travelers who hold no jobs, yet make cash for writing about their  travels is growing by the day. We keep our mouths shut about our techniques as we visit worldwide destinations and get paid for telling the world about it. I know there have got to be great people out there who deserve to travel and want this information, so I’ve decided to share a few of our techniques:

1)   Own Your Blog. Sites like Blogger, Myspace, and BlogSpot are no good for our purposes, because you can’t tweak the site to make a profit very easily. Instead, if you buy a domain for 10 bucks and then install Wordpress, you now have the platform to make it extremely profitable.

2)    Utilize PPC (pay-per-click) to get started. You won’t make a massive income off of this right away, but you can easily make 5-10 bucks a day in the beginning. That may not sound like a lot… but it’s enough for a meal every day or a flight after a month, and the number only gets bigger as your blog grows in readership.



3)    Collect names and email addresses. You want to do this so that you can bring your readers back to your blog. Very few people ‘bookmark’ a site any longer, but if you email your readers every time you post a new article, you will grow your readership at an exponential rate.

4)    Offer an RSS (Real Simple Syndication) subscriptions. Don’t let this intimidate you. Setting this up is as simple as checking a box on your blog’s options. RSS is another way for your readers to keep up-to-date with your blog. Insead of you emailing them, their RSS reader of choice will automatically show them the newly posted content. The more they see your content, the better chance they’ll click on an ad (and therefore, the better chance you’ll get paid)

5)    Sell a product that will interest your readers. Once you are up and running, you will see your readership growing as well. Now it’s time to really monetize your site. This is where affiliate marketing comes in. This is simply taking a commission for any customer you send to another product (considering they buy the product). So, every now and again, make a blog post about the affiliate product you are promoting. When your readers see this, those who are interested will click on your ‘affiliate link,’ and if they buy, you get paid. Easy as that. Becoming an affiliate is always free, and there are thousands of products begging for active affiliates.

By the way, affiliate commissions are typically 50% to 75%. Gigantic, and very profitable.



6)    Create your own product. The only problem with affiliate marketing is that the product is completely out of your control and you only take a part of the cut. Once you have a bunch of blog posts, you can bundle them together and make an ‘ebook.’ Sell this to your loyal readers, and you’ll be surprised at how many of them will pay for the content they’re getting for free anyway!

There are bloggers out there who are making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for writing about their passions. My instincts tell me you’d be happy with a few hundred or thousand dollars extra per week, so start taking action on these ideas. They’re not complicated, they just require action. The best part is, once they’re set up, they can all be automated and can take place without your presence!

**Attention Readers**

To get your copy of our free step-by-step guide showing you how to make money as you travel without ever holding a ‘job,’ visit http://www.moneyfortraveling.com. The expert authors at www.MoneyForTraveling.com have all made a substantial internet income while traveling or they have been hired and paid well to travel the world and will show you how to do the same.

**Attn Ezine editors/Site owners**

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site as long as you leave all links in place. You may not modify the content and must include our resource box as listed above. However, you may sign up as an affiliate at MoneyForTraveling.com and insert your affiliate links to earn income for your efforts.

When you are looking to book your next vacation or your next business trip, you may be considering using an online travel agency. Before you decide to do so, however, you should be aware of what to expect from an online travel agency so you can determine how best to match that to your own unique needs. There are several different levels of service in which to classify online travel agencies, the level you need depends on your trip requirements as well as your personal travel and leisure preferences or desires.

Quite simply, you should be able to find an online travel agency that can fulfill any expectation you may have. Whether you prefer self-service travel plans where you do all of your own searching and booking, or a full-service online agency that handles every detail on your behalf, there are many options available. Depending on the type of travel you will be undertaking, there are also various options that you can consider among online travel agencies. Some specialize only in travel packages, while others offer a la carte menus of travel services for you to pick and choose.

There are several expectations, however, that are universal to all online travel agencies. These have to do with the minimum level of service provided and the quality and competitiveness of the types of travel being sold. It is best to qualify the online travel agency on all of these expectations before you choose to enter into partnership with them for the travel you are seeking to plan.

The first universal expectation that you should have for your online travel agency is having a variety of destinations and packages available to choose from. It does not matter what specialty the agency might have, from full-service travel to niche travel such as cruises or unusual destinations. No matter what is being sold, you always want to partner with an agency that provides options. While the first option you see may very well end up being the best choice or the best value, you will have no means of determining that unless other options are available for comparison. Good self-service travel sites will readily offer you comparison information. Full-service online travel agencies should compile that same information and present it to you when you are in the process of making a decision.

The second universal expectation you should have when using an online travel agency is that they offer the same basic types of vacations from more than one carrier or provider. For example, you can choose between two major airlines for the same New York-to-Miami flight leg of your trip. If an online travel agency represents only one brand, they are not truly a travel agency; instead, they are a representative of that brand. If only one brand were offered, customers would have no means of evaluating whether the services and products offered were of value or were worthless. Having a number of providers to choose from when selecting hotel or airfare or cruise line shows that the travel agency is actively updating its site with the best prices and options currently available.

The third universal expectation that you should have for your online travel agency is price competitiveness. Although travel agencies sometimes charge fees to travelers in order to off-set their cost of doing business, those fees must be fair. The charges for the actual travel services you see published through online travel agencies should be no more than what you would pay if you went directly through the provider, and, in fact, less if bundled with other services.

The final universal expectation that you should have for your online travel agency is a service-level guarantee that ensures you get what you pay for and are treated in a courteous and appropriate manner. Online travel agencies should also offer some form of a guarantee for your purchases that no foreseeable action on their part or the part of the service provider will interrupt your travel. They cannot warrant against freak or random occurrences, but they can ensure that their own offerings are solid before offered.

Perhaps the best thing about using an online agency is the availability of customer reviews and feedback you can read before making a final purchase. Another nice convenience, for repeat customers, is the ability to create your own customer profile that allows you to save certain options in your preferences that will streamline future vacation planning. You can save time and hassle by storing any corporate or membership discount numbers, frequent flyer numbers and other pertinent information on your customer profile.

The expectations you hold for the online travel agency you select as a partner may be varied. If they can uphold these four basic standards of quality, you can be assured that you are getting sound representation and the best deals available.