When planning Napa Valley travel, you should understand the key areas that make up the majority of Napa Valley. Calistoga, St. Helena, Oakville/Rutherford, Yountville, and Napa are towns that offer winery tours, pleasant accommodations, and other activities that tourists can add to their Napa Valley travel itinerary. As Napa Valley is well known for its wine, adults will find plenty to do, but children may not be quite as thrilled.

Calistoga became popular in the early 1800’s when settlers discovered the amazing restorative properties of the area’s natural hot springs. From that day forward, tourists arranging their Napa Valley Travel itinerary, and who are seeking a little rest and relaxation, have flocked to Calistoga. Harbin Hot Springs is a non-profit organization that offers relaxing Napa Valley travel choices. At Harbin Hot Springs, guests can relax in any of the resort’s natural springs, attend artistic workshops, or stroll the 1700 acres of impressive landscape.

Located in St. Helena, Beringer Vineyards is California’s oldest winery in full operation. Founded in 1876, Beringer offers daily tours and wine tastings for a very affordable price. The vineyard is packed with lush landscaping and historic buildings. St. Helena is also a haven for antique shoppers. The area’s extravagant Meadowood golf course will appeal to the avid golfer. Couples needing a mix of activities on their Napa Valley travel itinerary will enjoy St. Helena.

Any movie buff knows the name Francis Ford Coppola. Formerly known as the Niebaum-Coppola Vineyards, Rubicon Estate in Oakville/Rutherford continues to produce top-notch wines. Rubicon Estate offers special estates throughout the year. The St. Helena Olive Oil Company is another “must see” on many Napa Valley travel itineraries. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar are both produced daily and can be sampled in the retail section of the company.

Yountville, California is no more than one mile in length. Tourists love adding Yountville to their Napa Valley travel plans because the town can be seen by foot. Park your car, put on some comfortable shoes, and see the sites. Amazing architecture is only one of the rewards. France’s Moet and Chandon sister company, Domaine Chandon, is located in Yountville. Daily tours of the winery that specializes in sparkling wines are free. While a trip into the tasting room lets you enjoy a few samples.

In Napa, La Belle

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For many people the thought of paying out for insurance is unnecessary. This situation will never happen to me is very common. Certain types of insurance are compulsory regardless - car insurance, business insurance etc, but many people just think it is a “waste of money” to buy insurance for their freezer, TV, health, legal costs on rental property or vacation, this will never happen to me. Sure you can be lucky and dine out a few times on what you could have paid out, but what happens when a disaster strikes?

A few years ago my family was going to take a late summer holiday with my late father in law who lived in Dublin, Ireland going to join him in the Algarve in Portugal. We had booked this through a package company and naturally they encouraged you to purchase Travel Insurance. 24 hours before the trip we received a call from Ireland to say that he had been taken into hospital. The holiday had to be immediately cancelled and the warm weather clothing unpacked and appropriate clothing for Ireland packed instead. The Travel Insurance at least covered the cost of the lost Portuguese holiday and we were able to take this with him in the early summer the following year.

Some time later we were off on a summer holiday to Ireland, this was in the early era of low cost budget airlines in the UK and we set off for London Luton airport in what we thought would be plenty of time. Normally there would have been plenty of time as this is a journey we had done on numerous occasions. On this particular Sunday Luton was holding its Half marathon and trying to get anywhere need the airport from the Dunstable side was near impossible. We just sat in traffic and eventually arrived at the airport..too late! The flight had gone and the next one that day was fully booked. We were able to book on a flight for the next morning (naturally at an additional charge) and had to go back home again for 24 hours. Fortunately, although we lost a day’s holiday, we were only staying with relatives and did not lose out too much. No we had not taken out Travel Insurance.

In 2001 we decided to spend Christmas in the sunny South of France. When it was not raining it was sunny and very pleasant. We set off to return home via Nice airport and discovered all the flights to the south of England were cancelled. It was covered in a blanket of snow. We spent the entire day at the airport waiting for news. The flights going into London Heathrow were eventually going out as they had cleared the runway, but our flight for London Luton was not even at the airport, as it had never left its destination that morning. Luton never opened that day and we could not even get booked on a flight for the following day as we had gone low cost and the earliest flight was the day after.

We had to hire a car again and stay on for two more nights. We eventually arrived back to a London Luton (and that was still touch and go as only the runway and approach roads did not have snow on them) and got safely home. This time we had Travel insurance - an annual policy and this kicked in and covered some of our additional costs.

It is most important that you do have travel insurance - you never know when you might need it, particularly if you are making your own booking arrangements. Most travel companies insist that you take out a policy, however if you are booking a weekend away, or going self catering booking the accommodation and travel yourself, you might forget or just think it is a waste of money. On a recent visit to Amsterdam, The Netherlands the holiday we booked into on line stated (and as I also saw with some other Dutch hotels) that a “non refundable” deposit would have to be made at the time of booking. If for example the booking had been made three months in advance and you change your travel plans - well there goes the deposit you paid!

Most Travel policies will cover the following: Holiday delayed - Missed departure - Lost your passport -Personal money stolen -Damaged your ski equipment - Personal Accident -Abandon your holiday before you leave your country of residence - Catastrophe (fire, flood, earthquake or storm) - Medical Emergency - Hospital - Emergency Dental Treatment -Legal Advice -Mugging. You must always check exactly what the insurance provider is exactly offering and covering. Most insurers offer a single trip, multi trip 90 day policy and annual policy. A lot even offer people on their “year out” travelling a “back packers policy”. Enjoy your travels, but remember your travel insurance.

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We all need to get away. Our vacations are the one thing that we look forward to all year. Unfortunately what happens sometimes is that we tend to feel the stress of how am I going to afford the vacation that I’ve been dreaming about? Well I hope that with a few of my tips, you will be able to get some airline travel discounts.

Here are some tips to find the lowest fare air ticket:

• Buy tickets 3-5 months before your departure date

Some airlines offer discounts for early buyers. It’s also best to buy your tickets at least 20 days in advance to ensure the best seating possible, most discounted tickets sell out fast. You should also know that Airline Tickets are subject to price increase, especially during Christmas season, so buying early avoids further ticket increase.

• Never fly on weekends

If you’re planning a trip, plan to leave on weekdays, preferable Monday to Wednesday. Weekends are high traffic times, for travelers and would probably cost you an additional $25-$40 increase.

• Don’t travel During Peak season

Airlines tend to increase ticket prices during Peak travel season due to the increase in demand. Traveling during low season is also advantageous if you want to avoid airport and tourist spot crowds. If you really have to travel during peak season, consider leaving home early and going home late to avoid the rush.

• How long to Stay

Yes your travel stay also affects airline ticket prices. Airlines give discounts if you stay at least a week at your destination and return within 90 days.

• Consider a Connecting Flight

Contrary to popular belief, direct flights aren’t always the cheapest. Some people have saved up to $1000 dollars on booking connecting instead of Direct flights. If you don’t have a lot of luggage, and aren’t very particular with time, it is best, and a lot cheaper to book a connecting flight instead of direct.

• Use the senior citizen discount

Some Airlines offer the same senior Citizen discount for the companions of the Senior Citizen. Ask if it’s available.

• The Early Bird gets the Airline Ticket

Call Airlines at 12:01 am on Wednesday mornings. This is when airlines release all the new fares and seat plans. You can be first and choose the best and cheapest tickets at this time.

• Shop on the Internet

The best feature of the internet is that you see all available Prices from a very convenient place, your home. You won’t have to canvass travel agencies. Some internet sites even offer internet only discounts that you can benefit from if you use their services.

• When you do shop on the internet

Check first with travel agents regarding prices, Internet prices aren’t always the cheapest, it’s best to ask a good old travel agent. It won’t hurt to look at news papers too, as some airlines publish discounts on print. If you’re planning to buy more than 6 months in advance, it’s probably best to ask a travel guide as internet sites don’t usually have schedules for longer than six months.

Airline travel discounts are everywhere; you just need to know how to find them! I hope that with these tips, that’s exactly what you are going to be able to do. Now go out there and get that lowest fare air ticket! Happy travels.

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