by Jan Mauer | Jan 19, 2018 | International Flights, Luxury Travel, Travel Tips
A couple months ago, I wrote a post with tricks for handling airport security lines. Here I’d like to expand on one of those tips. If you’re a frequent traveler, you’ve undoubtedly had the near-universal experience of enduring a TSA security line or an immigration line upon re-entry to your home country. Find out how to skip TSA security and immigration lines for good. You may have heard of Global Entry, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States. You fill out a (fairly lengthy) application, pay $100, and if your application passes the initial phase, you’re invited to an in-person interview/screening at a participating airport. If you pass that phase of the application, you are granted a Global Entry ID. In a nutshell, this is how it works: At airports, program participants proceed to Global Entry kiosks, present their machine-readable passport or U.S. permanent resident card, place their fingertips on the scanner for fingerprint verification, and make a customs declaration. The kiosk issues the traveler a transaction receipt and directs the traveler to baggage claim and the exit. (www.globalentry.gov) In addition, people who are approved via the Global Entry program can also participate in TSA Pre-Check, which allows people to skip regular TSA security lines at participating airports and go through an expedited line — without having to remove shoes or other clothing items, open laptops, or do any of the other things that take up time in line. Global Entry, and the accompanying TSA Pre-Check, are a good fit for your flying needs... by Jan Mauer | Jan 12, 2018 | African Safari, European Travel, International Flights, Luxury Destinations, Luxury Travel, Ocean Cruises, River Cruises, Romance Travel and Honeymoons, Small Group Tours, South Pacific Tahiti, Travel Adventures, Travel Tips
Historically, January is a great time to plan a trip. In fact, it’s typically the busiest month of the year for travel professionals. This is because families and friends get together over the holidays and discuss their travel dreams for the upcoming year. Have you thought about your travel plans for the year yet? I’m here to help you weed through your choices and save you hours of time researching on the Internet. If I haven’t been there myself, I know someone who has. Further, I have direct lines to people who can add value and extra amenities, thereby elevating your trip from something special to something truly extraordinary. We are trained to cut through the slick advertising and fake reviews so that your dream vacation doesn’t descend into a nightmare. After all, there is a good reason why the people in those Booking.com commercials always look so relieved when they walk into a nice hotel room! Don’t leave something so important to chance. With my family on a dive trip in Cozumel in 2013. It is proven that travel builds and strengthens family bonds in ways that nothing else can. I can tell you first-hand that experiencing a foreign country with your children, whether they are adults or still in primary school, is worth more than any lessons they’ll glean from school. My son and I still reminisce about our amazing family ski vacations in Crested Butte, Colorado and scuba dive trips in Cozumel, Mexico that have made lasting memories. The most important thing is my child will remember those stories and hopefully share them with his own... by Jan Mauer | Jan 4, 2018 | Luxury Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Tips
With the arrival of 2018, I’ve been considering what type of traveler I am. Do I represent only the best qualities of Americans to the locals in the foreign cities to which I travel? Have I become overly reliant on returning to the same places again and again, rather than branching out, and discovering exciting new destinations? These thoughts prompted me to create a list of my New Year’s travel resolutions – 14 of them, in fact – and I’d like to share with you my New Year’s resolutions for avid travelers. If you, too, are an avid traveler, then let’s say this together! Stand up and place your hand over your heart… I resolve to: 1. …be a better global ambassador exhibiting the true spirit of America – not what is on television. 2. …take any and all vacation time I’ve earned…and steal whatever extra days off I can! 3. …go somewhere new in 2018, instead of returning to the old tried and true go-to vacation destinations. 4. …stop saying I’ve “done” a country, knowing deep down that I could never really know a country unless I’ve lived there. 5. …consciously unplug for longer and longer stretches when I travel. 6. …make my politicians see time off for travel as a right, not a luxury; so I can rest, recharge, rejuvenate and reignite my passions by being a more creative, loyal and productive employee. 7. … NOT do last minute “guilt” souvenir shopping at the airport store on the way home. 8. …take better pictures – but not so many that I forget to see what is in... 
