Smart Travel

by Linda and Don Overend

We're fast approaching the holiday season; Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and Christmas isn't that far away. Shops are now full of Christmas merchandise, and the holiday season means the shopping season.

Sometimes shopping choices can be difficult, especially if your time for shopping is limited. If you're looking for a special gift for a special person or persons, a gift that offers excitement, relaxation, cultural enrichment and memories, you should consider the gift of travel.

Travel is a great gift for parents to give children or perhaps even the entire family. Children can give their parents an unforgettable gift of a cruise or a tour. Think how wonderful it would be for grandparents to give themselves and their grandchildren a trip together, and the lasting memories they would enjoy.

Businesses can give special customers or valued employees a gift of travel which will assure the recipients of their importance and value to the company. Travel can be a gift for all ages and all lifestyles.

Gift travel can be as simple as a weekend in a nearby city, a few days at a golf or ski resort or a quick trip to Las Vegas. Or it can be as elaborate as a tour of Europe, a safari in Africa or a cruise to almost anywhere in the world. It can cost a couple of hundred dollars or several thousand dollars; it can encompass two or three days or several weeks. The choices are almost unlimited.

There are several ways to give a travel gift. If you're giving to your family, you will know their preferences and their time constraints, and you can actually plan and pre-select a trip in advance and present the documents for the travel as their Christmas package.

Another alternative is to announce your intention in advance of Christmas, and make the selection and planning a cooperative effort among all the members of the group. This system works very well for family groups or groups of friends.

An option that works for almost any gift situation is a travel gift certificate. These are available from your travel agent in any denomination and will allow the recipient of the travel gift to make the selection of the time and type of travel and the destination.

Your travel agent can determine the amount you wish to give and advise you of the scope of travel that amount will provide.

The gift may not need to cover the entire trip, as many recipients of travel gifts will wish to supplement the gift certificate value with their own funds to extend or upgrade the gift.

If you are thinking of a gift of travel to take place during the upcoming holidays, you should make these arrangements immediately, as holiday travel options fill quickly and you could find your selection limited if you delay. Thanksgiving travel options are already heavily booked.

For those very special persons on your Christmas gift list, don't overlook the gift that gives everything, a gift of travel. The family members, friends or business associates that receive a travel gift will never forget your kindness and will long remember the pleasure that comes with the gift. [[In-content Ad]]