Layover Ideas: Paris

Summer layover in Paris? Check out Paris Plages, on the banks of the Seine.

Have a layover coming up in Paris? Wondering what you could do with your time? Here's a little inspiration.

We've gathered the following resources - tips, stories and layover ideas - to help you get the most out of your time here... [read more].

Want more layover ideas?
• Read more stories on the LayoverIdeas Blog • Explore cities worldwide on LayoverIdeas.com

Related resources
Mugging: are you a target? 10 resources
Spot the deadly fake taxi on your international travels!
Dealing with taxi drivers
Dealing with touts
Airport arrival advice

Geological explosions to rock Iceland and disrupt your air travel?

Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano

By Todd Romaine

Things are brewing in cold, rugged Iceland. Another earthquake hit the Icelandic volcano (Bardarbunga) earlier today. This is not to be confused with the other volcano - Eyjafjallajokull) that erupted back in 2010. This recent shake was the largest of the multiple earthquakes to hit over the past week, sending out suspicions of a volcanic eruption in the coming days. Such an eruption would disrupt air travel across Europe and possibly North America. Many transcontinental flight hover in and around Icelandic air space and several include regular stops in the capital, Reykjavik.

Eyjafjallajokull's eruption in 2010

Like me, many would think the reason for disrupted travel in the event of a volcanic eruption is that it affects visibility and hence it becomes a safety issue without basic navigation abilities through a thick plume of smoke. But truth be told, volcanic ash contains glass and pulverized rock particles that are bad for airplane engines. Apparently such particles can erode the engine compressor or even solidify on the turbine blades, blocking the engines. That being said, the grounded flight option for 6 straight days like such as occurred in 2010 is unlikely to ever repeat itself again. Airlines have relaxed their policies since such time and increasingly comfortable on flying through ash or deviating around the perimeter of the eruption and its smoke trails. So if this sucker explodes soon, you may be delayed but most likely you will viewing some possible impressive views between North America and Europe or vice versa.

Eyjafjallajokull's ash cloud

And if you are delayed for a day or two, feel free to spend some time exploring (if time permits) in and around your departure city rather than being cramped and stressed at the airport. You may need to extend your car rental which likely can be done over the phone or when you return back to the airport. So keep your eyes frequently on the news and be prepared to have a few buffer days planned for in the event you are temporarily stranded because of an explosion on some remote island in the middle of the North Atlantic!

Layover Ideas: Atlanta

The Atlanta skyline that will greet you if you have a layover

Have a layover coming up in Atlanta? Wondering what you could do with your time? Here's a little inspiration.

We've gathered the following resources - tips, stories and layover ideas - to help you get the most out of your time here... [read more].

Want more layover ideas?
• Read more stories on the LayoverIdeas Blog • Explore cities worldwide on LayoverIdeas.com

Related resources
Mugging: are you a target? 10 resources
Spot the deadly fake taxi on your international travels!
Dealing with taxi drivers
Dealing with touts
Airport arrival advice

Are cross-border car rentals possible?

Swiss border post in Italy

Thinking of renting a car and traversing across several countries?

Well, it is not always as easy as it seems.

Besides USA-Canada-Mexico, parts of Western Europe, and parts of Southern Africa, there are still many complications with cross-border car rentals that will make things difficult, costly or outright impossible.

Rental car agencies are naturally quite concerned with renting their vehicles for travel in countries that have a notorious reputation of theft or damage and, sadly, this includes a good chunk of the world.

Donegal, Ireland car hire

Even if a car rental agency will let you take a vehicle into another country, it will unlikely be their best make and model.

You may find yourself behind the wheel of a small economy car that has limited functionality to traverse in countries with bad roads. An economy car will likely have issues in countries with lots of potholes and lack nearby logistical support to help out a strained car, leaving you at the mercy of the general public for assistance.

Also, a small car will likely show your belongings more on the backseat as you will be cramped with trunk room and this will again attract attention from possible thieves, carjackers etc.

Rental car plates in Uruguay are
identified by the word "alquiler"

Another thing to think about is do you really want to tell the next country that you are a foreigner and attract unwanted attention? If you are driving from Hungary into Bulgaria or Romania, or from South Africa into Mozambique, you may elicit unwanted attention (“we need to check your paperwork”) in the forms of frequent traffic stops and bribes from the police.

Bottom line, if you can find alternative transportation, such as a train, then this is your best bet. You can always try to rent a car locally for the country in question versus irregular cross-border journeys. However this is not always realistic based on limited infrastructure in some of these countries, so if you need to drive cross-border here are some things to plan for:

• Confirm first and foremost you are permitted to drive to another country. This includes the online booking details as well as asking in person once you are picking up your car 
• You need special insurance to go into another country and this is something the car rental agency will arrange for you beforehand (keep these documents in your glove box and present these to the relevant authorities: highway police, immigration control stops) 
• Make sure you have an international drivers permit – this will avoid the “you are not authorized to drive in country X” accusation (and the accompanying "we need to be paid off in order to let you drive away" bribe)
• Inquire about vignettes, or road taxes, (especially in Central & Eastern Europe) that essentially covers off all toll roads – if you don’t get this figured out you could be in for a nasty surprise when dropping off your car or being pulled over by the police 
• Check out our page on renting How to Protect Yourself When Renting a Car for more tips

Related resources

• International Car Rentals and Car Hires - advice from IHateTaxis
• How to Protect Yourself When Renting a Car
• Do You Need Insurance to Rent a Car?
• Airport Car Rentals and Car Hires
• One Way Car Rentals and Car Hires
• International Driver's Permit (IDP) - Government of Canada

Ready to book? Click here to book your rental car with IHateTaxis!

May the odds be ever in your favour

Where Lady Luck is always welcome: Monte Carlo Casino, Monaco
Architect Charles Garnier, built 1878-79 (image source: wikicommons)

by Todd Romaine

Three recent airline crashes, 462 needless deaths and the notorious missing Malaysian Airlines flight has put a definite scare in both novice and experienced flyers alike. More people have perished in the first 6 months of 2014 in air travel than all of 2013. 

Oddly the safety statistics for flying these days is better than it has been before. One M.I.T. statistics professor indicated that a person could fly every day for an average of 123,000 years before dying in a crash. The mechanical and structural parts of an air plane have become more reliable and navigation more intelligent thereby avoiding other planes and structures due to poor visibility. You have a significant higher possibility of perishing in a car accident where about 1.24 million die on roads worldwide each year, the bulk of this in the developing world where lack of enforcement and traffic etiquette creates needless reckless driving and ensuing fatalities. Even car fatalities in the West are on the consistent decline with better safety features such as air bags, brakes, GPS and the likes. However, how often are car fatalties on the news unless it is involves someone famous, multiple deaths, or it results in some general traffic disturbance. Most car accident fatalties are non-broadcasted lonely journeys devoid of deeper meanings to the general public. They lack the public appetite for group tragedy sensationalism like the Titanic or 9 11. 

What makes people eery about flying recently is that the way planes crash, the collective suffering and death toll, images of mangled and burned bodies, and the associated media coverage of grieving families at the airport. It is this sensationalism that makes some of us rethink the concept of flying altogether. But at the end of the day, most of the alternatives to flying are less safe, more timely and or more expensive. Naturally, we gravitate towards decisions that cost us less and take less time - a byproduct of our DNA perhaps...choosing the path of least resistance. 

So keep flying - the odds are statistically in your favour.