SAN DIEGO TRAVEL & ADVENTURE SHOW 2020

A great start to the new year is a visit to the San Diego Travel and Adventure Show. This years' event was held on January 18-19 at the Convention Center in downtown San Diego. Although I've attended many times before, I still get excited to discover what's new in the travel industry, mingle with travel enthusiasts, and to plan some new adventures.

Featuring 25 speakers, 140 exhibitors, 12 dance groups, door prizes, and a coconut tree climb, there was something for everyone—including my two granddaughters who were entertained for hours by the dancers and musicians on the Global Beats Stage. Click here for the dates and locations of future shows that might be coming to a location near you.

Everyone leaves the show with their favorite memories and I will share mine:

                    MOST INFORMATIVE SPEAKER:

Ralph Valesco, “Creating Great Memories of your Travels (with any Camera!).” Ralph is one of the top 100 photographers in the world and getting photo advice from him is something you don't want to miss. His eBook: “52 Categories of a Shot List,” available for free on his website, is truly inspirational. Ralph also leads cultural and photo enrichment tours to places throughout the world.

                               BEST FREE SAMPLE:

I didn't expect to learn about coffee at the travel show, but when I stopped at the Indonesia booth they were giving away free samples of Tentera Sumatra Coffee from Indonesia. They also gave us a single-serve pour-over coffee packet to bring home. The take-home sample turned out to be one of the best pour-over coffees I've tasted. I will look for the Tentera coffee kiosk (729 N. Vignes St. East Portal) near the Union Station in Los Angeles next time I'm there.

                              

                               MOST ENTERTAINING:

The music and dance group from the Cook Islands that performed on the Global Beats Stage. This wonderfully talented group of nine dancers had just flown over 4,000 miles from the South Pacific to attend this event.

                            FAVORITE TRAVEL GURU:

Straight talking Emmy Award-Winning Reporter and Producer, Peter Greenberg is one of America's most recognized, honored and respected front-line travel news journalists. I never pass up a chance to listen to him at the travel shows. If you want to learn great travel secrets from a master traveler, he is the one to listen to.

        THE BEST FREE GIVEAWAY (THAT I MISSED):

Gate 1 Travel's offer of a free trip for two on a seven-night Danube River Cruise with an upgraded room.

                 TRAVEL ADVICE FROM A LOCAL:

We were lucky this year because there was a representative from Rijeka, Croatia at the Katarina Line-Incoming Croatia booth—a place we will be traveling to this year. It's always helpful to meet a local like Daniel Hauptfeld, Marketing Director, who gave us some great advice and a much-needed map of Croatia. 

                                FAVORITE QUOTE:

“Buy yourself a world atlas and put it by your bedside.”
                                                                -Peter Greenberg

               A FAVORITE PHOTO TO TAKE HOME:

Just as we were leaving the show, my granddaughter, Mila, who was in control, as usual, tugged us over to the colorful Redding, California booth to get a photo taken. She chose the background and props for the photo. Redding is located near the Cascade Mountain (background) in northwestern California, and it looks like a great destination for hiking, fishing, and kayaking.

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2018 TRAVEL & ADVENTURE SHOW IN SANDIEGO--JANUARY 13-14

Travel & Adventure shows are the #1 series of travel shows in the U.S. They are held in eight separate locations throughout the country from January through March. The first show of 2018 was held in San Diego on January 13-14.

With over 140 exhibits, four stages, dance performances, and cooking presentations, deciding where to spend my time is always a challenge. However, since I enjoy hearing travel stories almost as much as I love to travel, I head for the travel theater to listen to travel stars like Samantha Brown, Peter Greenberg, Rudy Maxa, and Patricia Schultz share their adventures and expertise. 

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SamanthaBrown has always been one of the most popular speakers, and this year was no exception. She's been hosting television travel shows for over 15 years and recently launched her own public television series, Places to Love. The series of ten half-hour episodes feature places throughout the world, with the goal of getting to know the places directly from the people who live there and know it best. Samantha has the wonderful ability to make travel look fun and make the art of conversation look easy.

If the programs are not available in your viewing area, you can download the PBS app and watch them anytime for free. I just now signed up for the app and spent 30 enjoyable minutes with “Samantha Brown in Bern, Switzerland”—I couldn't recommend her show more highly. The next episode takes place in Brooklyn, NY, it should be good because that's where she currently hails from.

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RUDY MAXA

Rudy Maxa, travel expert, writer, and television personality, has produced 85 travel shows for public television. He is producer of the popular weekly radio program, Rudy Maxa's World with the Carey's.

As usual, he had some words of wisdom to share with the audience:

--If you want to go somewhere, set the date and work your schedule  around it—or it just won't happen.

--Engage with the locals more. A few suggested websites: are Eatwith.com, Mealsharing.com, and Travelingspoon.com.

        

--Every place can be discovered—it can also become your next favorite place.

--Travel in your own hometown.

Then, a few interesting facts: the average American takes 3.8 days of vacation per year; the first commercial jet air flight was in 1952; the Milestone Motel in San Luis Obispo, California, opened in 1925—it was the first motel in the world. At that time, you could rent a two-bedroom bungalow with a kitchen for $1.25 a night. It closed in 1991, however, you can still see part of the original structure if you are driving along Hwy 101 halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

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PeterGreenberg, an Emmy Award-winning journalist and CBS News Travel Editor, travels 420,000 miles a year. Of the many programs he has produced for public television, a favorite is The Royal Tour. In this series, he does one-on-one journeys through countries with their heads of state.

Here are his predictions for the most popular travel destinations of 2018:

Portugal with its a high standard of living at a low cost. TAP, the Portugal airlines, MM allows for free five-day layovers in Portugal before flying on to your final destination.

Malta, a southern European island country is also on the list. Only a two-hour flight from Rome—offering a warm climate, great food, historical monuments, and three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Valletta, the Megalithic Temples of Malta, and Hal Saflieni Hypogeum (underground cemetery).

Baja California, Mexico, is well known for its hundreds of miles of coastline, however, the hidden secret is a great wine. Wine tours have become popular and Baja now exports 75% of its wine to France.

The Faroe Islands, halfway between Iceland and Norway, are best visited in the summer when there are 22 hours of daylight. It consists of 18 islands and many are connected by underground tunnel roads.

Chile is another popular destination. A place of natural beauty with mountains, a coastline, national parks, forests, and lakes to enjoy.

Detroit, Michigan, the motor city, is making a comeback due to its restoration of buildings, parks, and restaurants along the riverfront.

York, Pennsylvania, is considered a good place to learn about American history while enjoying great food. It's also known as the factory tour capital of the world. It sounds like a great place for a family vacation.

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Just one last thing: I didn't spend my entire time at the travel theater. I also stopped to visit Eli the camel and took advantage of the free camel ride that is provided to all visitors at the Travel & Adventure show. I guess that qualifies me for a three-day camel safari ride.                                                                                               

PATRICIA SCHULTZ 

1,000 PLACES TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE

LIFE'S A TRIP! 2017 TRAVEL & ADVENTURE SHOW – SAN DIEGO

      The 4^th Annual San Diego Travel & Adventure Show, held in March 2017, was the place to go for inspiration, insight, and expert information. With over 140 exhibits, four travel stages, and a global beats music stage, deciding where to spend your time will be the challenge. I usually grab a coffee and sit at one of the travel theaters to enjoy and learn from the most popular travel gurus around. They share their travel expertise in an entertaining way. I always leave with new ideas and inspiration to keep on traveling. 

      

      One of the most popular speakers is Phil Keoghan, Host/Co-Executive Producer of the Amazing Race and author of No Opportunity Wasted—a book that aims to inspire people to break through their boundaries, challenge themselves and live a fuller life.

        He always has something new and exciting going on, and this year it was his new documentary Le Ride. In order to produce the film, Phil and his friend Ben Cornell, actually road the 1928 Tour de France route on 1928 bicycles with no gears. The two men biked an average of 150 miles per day. The film is a tribute to the first English-speaking cycling team of four, an underfunded and untested team from New Zealand and Australia that finished in 28^th place. The 3,338 mile tour was the toughest in history with only 25% of the participants finishing the race. The film is slated to be screened at the Palm Springs American Documentary Film Festival, March 31-April 5, 2017. It is currently showing in New Zealand and will be in the US later this year. Phil's best quote: “Focus on what's right, not wrong.”

      

       Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter, producer and CBS news travel editor, Peter Greenberg, flies 400,000 miles a year. He is not shy about speaking up when the airlines, hotels, and others treat the public unfairly. As usual he had a lot to say about what's going on in the industry. Most importantly, he emphasized that it is a good time to be traveling, and it should be a global buyers' market through the end of the year. The value of the US dollar has improved, making it more expensive for those overseas to travel.

      Because 2016 was a boom year for travel, more start-up airlines offered cheap flights from cities like San Diego that are not major hubs. He mentioned Edelweiss Airlines, WOW Airlines, and Norwegian Shuttle. The big consideration here is that you check the costs for extras like checked luggage and carry on bags.

      One of my favorite travel bloggers is Johnny Jet, whom I have been following for at least a dozen years. He always has great tips on his website for finding cheap flights. He shared a story about his first job out of college, when he was a college recruiter and needed to travel a lot for work. He began learning all the tricks to finding the cheapest airfares, which he then shared with his fellow recruiters. Eventually, this evolved into a blog that allowed him to travel and write full time.

      Another great reason for attending the travel show is to meet travel planners and locals from countries that you might be traveling to. That's why we headed over to meet Robert Hill, owner of Downunderguru, who was an exhibitor. He also gave an informative presentation: “What's on Down Under: Travel Worthy Events in Australia and New Zealand in 2017-18.” Fortunately, we found out that the 2017 Rugby League World Cup takes place in New Zealand at the same time we will be there. This will make travel bookings more difficult. I started early making my hotel bookings, but this bit of information will make me even more diligent.

       Oh, yes, there were camel rides available to everyone this year at the travel show. I'm still bit a irritated that I didn't take advantage of the ride because the lines were long.

Related Posts:
http://myvintagejourneys.blogspot.com/2016/01/travel-tips-from-2016-san-diego-travel.html
http://myvintagejourneys.blogspot.com/2015_02_01_archive.html

TRAVEL TIPS FROM THE 2016 SAN DIEGO TRAVEL & ADVENTURE SHOW

       Travel shows are where travel lovers come for inspiration, insight, and expert information and to hear celebrity speakers. The 2016 San Diego Travel & Adventure Show, January 16-17, once again provided all of this and more. With over 140 exhibits, four travel stages, and a global beats music stage, deciding where to spend my time was a challenge.

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       Here are some of the best TRAVEL TIPS I gathered from the experts: 

    

       Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter, producer and CBS news travel editor, Peter Greenberg, flies 400,000 miles a year. He is not shy about speaking up when the airlines, hotels and others treat the public unfairly. Here are some TIPS from his fantastic presentation.

PETER GREENBERG

      Airline Points: There are 18 trillion unredeemed frequent flyer miles. His advice: REDEEM THEM. They lose value every day.

      Hotel bookings: Everything is negotiable; his advice it to call the manager on duty directly to get a good rate, or some free incidentals like parking or resort fees. Always get the individual's name for verification. If a hotel fails to disclose a charge, you don't have to pay it.

      Online bookings: Peter is a real fan of “having a conversation.” He is fine about doing your research online; however, when it comes to booking, he likes to do it with a real person because they have far more information available to them. We see only about half of available inventory online.

      He is also a strong believer in talking to the local people at a destination to find out what's going on. The people who live there know the most. His motto: it's more important to be interested than interesting. Always ask “Why?”

      Airlines: He frequently hears complaints about the airlines these days; however, when someone complains he asks them: Did you get from point A to point B? Did you get there alive? If the answer is yes to both questions, he tells them they had a good flight. In other words, keep your expectations low.

      Connection time: He warned that it's important to allow plenty of time between flights. He recommends 90 minutes to two hours on domestic and four hours when flying internationally.

      What do you do if you get to the gate and your flight is delayed or canceled (not due to weather or “acts of God”)? If it's a major airline you can evoke the FAA Rule 240. It mandates that an airline with a delayed or canceled flight has to transfer passengers to another carrier if the second carrier could get passengers to the destination more quickly than the original airline.

      TSA: Always avoid the line that has two individuals instead of one looking at the computer screen where the bags are scanned. This is because one of them is a trainee and it will take more time.

      Baggage: If you check bags, and especially if you pack valuables like cameras, electronics, and new purchases, always open the bag at the conveyer belt before leaving the airport to make sure nothing has been stolen. Commonly thieves open the bag, remove the items, and then close it again so you won't notice until it's too late. Better yet, don't pack valuables.

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      Patricia Schultz, author of the best sellers 1,000 Places to Go Before You Die and 1,000 Places to See in the USA & Canada is always a delight to listen to. (She was advised not to use the word die in the title-I guess she proved the editors wrong.) She has the gift of making every place she talks about sound “Oh, so enticing.”

     

PATRICIA SCHULTZ

She had great things to say about Scandinavia, especially Norway, with its fjords, describing it as the most beautifully endowed of the Scandinavian countries. She loves Italy, her favorite city is Venice. She said that her Italian mother had a lot to do with her love of Italy and life, although she credits her German father for instilling a hard-work ethic required to write books. 
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      For photography tips, award-winning photographer, Ralph Velasco, was the guy to listen to. His presentation was full of practical ideas without getting high tech. He has led over fifty small group cultural tours around the world with an emphasis on photography. His latest ebook is titled Essence of a Place: A Travel Photographer's Guide to Using a Shot List for Capturing Any Destination.

    

RALPH VELASCO

#1 Travel Tip: Spend more time on travel and less money on gear.

      Backgrounds: He shared a number of his photos on an overhead screen and frequently pointed out the importance of using the background to provide a sense of place—this is especially important when taking portraits and selfies.

      Shot List: Prepare a shot list ahead of time. It is basically a plan for taking photos in a variety of categories. This will make your photo books and slideshows more interesting. For more information, he offers a free app titled My Shot List for Travel (available only on IOS devices at this time).

      Other Ideas:

--Always stop, look, recognize, and then shoot; don't forget to turn around and look behind you.

--Manipulate the landscape. Take photos in both landscape and portrait mode to see which is preferable.

--Download and back up your photos nightly.

--Have a theme in mind when taking photos—you are more likely to see something if you are looking for it.

--Don't just take photos—allow time to have fun and enjoy the place through the mind's eye.

--Learn from your mistakes.

--Share your photos when you get back.

--If you don't like getting up early you should become a writer.

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      One last tip from me: Visit the exhibitors early in the day before they run out of freebies like candy, pens, and bags and don't forget to enter all of the contests—you might win a free trip.

BELLA GUATEMALA TRAVEL EXHIBIT