The Traveling Professor loves taking his small group tours to Italy. Florence is one of the most popular destinations. But beyond Florence there is so much to see in Italy. There are plenty of destinations that are easy to get to, especially by train and even bus. On The Professor's small group tours, we never hesitate to go beyond the city of Florence to explore more of Italy. Check out today's blog post to see wait awaits the traveler beyond renaissance Florence.
Peru and Machu Picchu is on just about everyone's bucket list. The Traveling Professor has done 20+ small group tours to Peru and Machu Picchu. A trip to this exotic destination requires some planning since the logistics can be a bit complicated and difficult to book. Take a look at The Traveling Professor's tips and learn how to plan a trip to Machu Picchu.
There was a time where The Traveling Professor was an inexperienced traveler. He packed too much, spent much more money than he should have, wasted a lot of time, and missed out on great local culture and food. But after years on the road, The Professor has learned much and is happy to pass his wisdom on to you. Here are his Top Ten Traits of the Experienced Traveler.
No one can figure out how airlines price fares. There are a lot of theories like always fly on a Tuesday or Saturday, buy airfares on a Tuesday, and many other ideas. The Traveling Professor prices out airfares for hundreds of travelers each year, and although it is difficult to find any consistency to how airfares are prices, check out some of the techniques The Professor uses to find the best fares.
While we appreciate the concern for tight security at airport screening stations at every airport, London's Heathrow Airport has a particularly thorough procedure. Along with lengthy times to transfer between any of its 4 passenger terminals (terminals 2-5), passing through LHR to transfer to another flight can be a particularly stressful exercise in making a connection on time. For instance, on a recent trip from Glasgow to LHR to Dallas, we had a 2 1/2 hour layover. We needed almost every minute on that layover in London to make that connection. In this blog post, I give tips on what to consider, and how to deal with transferring through London's Heathrow airport.
On our small group tours to Florence and the rest of Italy, The Traveling Professor usually stays at 3 star deluxe or 4 star hotels. But sometimes when traveling on your own, you want a good 2 or 3 star hotel at a reasonable price. This is understandable since the most significant part of a travel budget is usually lodging. In today's blog post, here are two selections from The Traveling Professor's Guide to Florence, by Melanie Wilson and Professor Steve Solosky, recently published on Amazon.com.
Last month, The Traveling Professor took 11 travelers on a scenic tour to the Scottish Highlands. Scotland has some of the most beautiful scenery to be found, and much of it can be seen via stunning train rides. In today's blog post The Professor will summarize the highlights of the small group tour to the Scottish Highlands. At the end of the post, please view our photos from the tour.
Everyone knows the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Orsay, Rodin and the Arc de Triomphe. They are some of the most popular places to visit while on a tour to Paris. However, Paris has many more attractive options to visit. In this blog post The Traveling Professor lists 3 of his "almost off the radar" places to visit on your next trip to Paris.
Linda and I will be departing on a 21-day small group tours to Paris, Normandy Invasion Beaches, Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands. Everything, as usual, goes in our carry-on. We will take one suitcase each and a small backpack. We will take into consideration the weather, the terrain we will be walking on, the sites to be visited. 21 days is actually a short trip for us, we have gone on trips as long as 44 days with just a carry on. Look at the blog post to see how we pack and what we pack.