Photo of the Day: Homs City Center, Syria

Posted by traveller on March 15, 2010

Homs City Center, Syria by syrialooks

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How to Challenge Rental Car Damage

Posted by traveller on

If you are renting a car on your travels and not taking the costly insurance you may end up having to challenge rental car damage.

You may have seen some horror stories of people getting charged for dents and scratches that were already on the car as well as “loss of use” charges where the rental company wants to charge you for the potential money they would have made renting the car while it was (supposedly) out of commission getting repaired. And those loss of use charges are never discounted. And really - who pays full price for rentals these days?

Anyways, if you do not want to pay for the hassle insurance the rental agency offers there are some steps that you can take to protect your interests in the event that you need to challenge some rental car damage.

Before you leave the rental car agency lot with your car do that thorough walk around and mark EVERYTHING on the little damage sheet they give you. Have someone video you doing this as well as video the car up close to show all the existing damage. Also take photos of the car. Do not forget about the interior!

These things are all great evidence for challenging rental car damage.

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Photo of the Day: Traytown, Newfoundland

Posted by traveller on March 12, 2010

Traytown, Newfoundland by Product of Newfoundland

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How to Travel to Italy by Train

Posted by traveller on March 11, 2010

Train travel is Europe is a popular method of travel that can be less stressful than traveling by plane. Booking a seat on the high speed Eurostar train only requires a 30 minute early check-in as opposed to a couple of hours at the airport. Some train travel can be almost as quick as flying by plane as well. Traveling by train across Europe to Italy also gives travelers a way to see the scenery. If you are ready to book your travel to Italy by train it is something that you can easily do on your own.

Get rail tickets from the Rail Europe website before leaving the United States. You can only buy tickets from Rail Europe before you leave the US as they have to mail your train pass or tickets to you. An advantage to buying from Rail Europe is that you are able to make your purchase in US dollars. On the Rail Europe site you can buy point to point rail tickets or you can buy a rail pass. Rail passes are available that cover single countries as well as multiple countries. Passes vary in price and days of use.

Buy train tickets in person at a train station in Europe. Ticket machines as well as staffed ticket windows are available at train stations so that you can purchase your tickets on the spot. If you have questions about a connection or your travel you should go to one of the windows. Do not expect the train station clerk to be able to speak English. It is a good idea to have a translation dictionary with you if you do not speak the local language.

Book a seat on the Eurostar train if you are traveling to Italy from the United Kingdom. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Eurostar.com or on the Rail Europe website. The Eurostar is a high speed train that goes from London to Paris, France in just over two hours. The train also takes travelers to Brussels, Belgium. The Eurostar travels in the Channel Tunnel, which is under the English Channel. From Paris or Brussels you can take another train into Italy. Tickets can be purchased at the train station to get you the rest of the way to Italy or you can use a rail pass if you have one.