• Go for at least 4 nights if you want a true perspective.
• Arrive at a reasonable hour even if you need to leave work early.
• Meet with spa coordinators immediately.
• Choose a spa that fits your needs; overseas spas emphasize beauty AND ‘THE WATERS’ rather than exercise, nutrition, etc.
• Some spas are really resorts with a few spa facilities.
• A good gauge of a spa is the number of professionals on staff.
• Does the manicurist also do facials? If so, this is not a true spa.
• Read health and fitness magazines for a few months in advance and formulate questions. This is your chance to ask specialists everything: don’t forget to have questions for the cook, hairdresser, class instructors, hikers, and nurse.
• Have a goal. This helps you to schedule properly and make priorities, i.e., weight loss, stress reduction, learning about new ideas, menopause considerations, etc.
• List all the machines from your hometown gym; you can get a trainer to teach you how to use them more effectively.
• Figure out how fast you walk so when you join a spa walk you know your level. Instructors will say, “This is the 12 minute mile group” etc.
• Before you pack, find out about laundry so you don’t over pack. If facilities are not available, buy 9 Hanes Beefy T Shirts to wear on top. They will be cheaper to throw out than most spa laundry services.
• Leggings and spandex shorts are easy to pack and to wash in your room.
• Do carry some exercise clothes on the plane and wear your sneakers.
• If luggage is delayed, you will find the spa store very pricey!
• Packing in two small bags increases the chances that one will arrive with you.
• Do not overindulge immediately on fresh salad, fruits, or high fiber foods. Ask about ingredients, i.e., some chocolate sauces contain prune nectar. You will pay the price!
• Spread your appointments so that your body has a rest from exercise, i.e., book a massage and longer services on the second and fourth days, as you will probably be too tired to continue exercising.
• Use your services for information you cannot get in your hometown, i.e., don’t waste time on a manicure if the spa offers for the same price a physical trainer or hydrotherapy.
• Ask a physical trainer for a short stretch routine to do in your room before you jump into the early morning walk, especially if you are not in great shape.
• Bring minimum make-up and no jewelry; most spas are very casual and women wind down quickly. Spas are not a fashion show.
• Do bring something from your college or your children’s school especially if you are going alone. Great way to identify new friends from the same background.
• Try one new class or lecture each day even if you walk out before the end. These include meditation, tai chi, and alternative health proposals. Try two new services, even picking what you consider “off the wall”. Professional spas do not offer services that have no benefit.
• Remember you will drink lots of water – get rid of bathroom/locker room qualms. Some spandex girls used to look like you so don’t be embarrassed. Never look at the other people in a class; you are there for yourself, not to compete.
• Keep an open mind and you will learn not just from the professionals but also from the other guests.

Special trip: Join us on a “Travel for a Cause” trip to five-star Turning Stone Resort in Verona NY, for a weekend of spa and Native American experiences like traditional story telling around the fire pit of Skana, The Spa. March 27-30, 2008, $1599 twin and $2199 single. Deposit: $300. To book call The Women’s Travel Club at 800-480-4448 or fill out a booking form on their site: www.womenstravelclub.com. Readers of Womencorp get a free 1 year membership for bookings before Dec. 1, 2008.

Guests will receive a gift bag from KN Karen NeuburgerÒ that includes a comfortable and stylish KN Karen Neuburger sportswear ensemble, perfect for travel, as well as other comfy, cozy products that the lifestyle brand is famous for.

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation will receive $200 for each booking, half from The Women’s Travel Club and half from KN Karen Neuburger.

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Phyllis Stoller founded The Women’s Travel Club during her personal quest to find travel friends. It became more than a unique tour operator but also an advocate for women’s travel and safety needs. She has appeared on local and national TV including CNN, The Today Show and Lifetime Television for Women. She writes on the subject of women and travel and has been quoted in newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Chicago Tribune, and magazines such as Travel & Leisure, Working Woman, Time and Newsweek.

Get More Tips, Strategies And Articles About Travel For
Women HERE

Designed for the impulsive buyer of travel who missed her summer vacation but not recommended but if you are going to blitz the brochure! Put some structure in your vacation, courtesy of The Women’s Travel Club. Most airlines and tours define ‘off-season’ as after Labor Day, but with more people traveling, the cut-off can be different. Obviously, for tropical places the seasons are reversed as they are for niche trips. For example, India is best in November, Iceland’s northern lights do not appear until October 1st, and for East African migration, June or July is migration time, although that varies from year to year.

We are noticing more and more travelers are too busy to really do their homework so we created this “quick and dirty” list to help out and for readers of Womencorp.org, we added some off season tips. And by the way, beginning at the end of August, many airlines have sale fares on the Internet and in print!

Tips for women in choosing a trip:

1. Make sure the people in the brochure look like you! Off-season tip: are they wearing expensive coats and technical clothing and you are a hand-me-down gal?

2. Hate small print? At the very least, please read the cancellation penalties and find the point at which the company can cancel on you. Off-season used to be slow, so tour operators were flexible, but not now. Travelers are grabbing autumn deals and besides that, global warming is making formerly chilly spots a little more comfy. Try Italy and Portugal in November with www.womenstravelclub.com

3. Hotel quality: Google the hotel used in the capital city on the itinerary for a general flavor. A/C might not be as important off-season but it does muffle street sounds, gear changing trucks (which are bigger with more lenient EU regulations on size) and noisy neighbors calling Tokyo at midnight.

4. Red flag the word “from”. That means you are looking at the lowest price. And when you spot an autumn deal in the paper, airlines now quote $xxx each way not mentioning fuel surcharges or taxes. Fuel surcharges can be $150 traveling round-trip to London and more than $300 if you are flying to the Far East.

5. To gauge pace: If breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included, you are on a slow moving trip! Beware of overpacking as airlines are now charging more aggressively for over-weight. Layering for chilliness in off-season is the lighter way to go!

6. Financial security: Only pay by credit card both deposit and balance. And check for travel insurance availability. One of the beauties of off-season is less air traffic so less missed connections. But beware of late season storms and weather if you live in the southeast or southwest! Travel insurance will usually cover you if your flights are delayed by weather. If you are not sure if your local situation will qualify for repayment, cut out a newspaper article about the local tornado or other situation like road closure which delayed you for further proof to the insurer if you have to make a claim.

7. Forget the number of days; most companies include travel days. Only look at the number of nights! In some parts of the globe, as you go north and further south, the days are shorter off-season allowing fewer hours for your daytime touring. Study the itinerary to make sure you will actually be able to see the palace you are passing by.

8. Check trade association memberships like ASTA, BBB and IATA. Most have renewals for these associations on December 31st, so your tour operator cannot claim they are almost renewed.

9. Prompt responses from the company indicate they are customer friendly. Prompt email responses let you know they cater to Internet savvy travelers. This applies year-round and staff will be back from summer vacations by September so no excuses that “we were short-handed”and could not call you back promptly.

10. Check that the company has a street address. This is true off and in-season. Do you really want to invest thousands of dollars with someone working in their spare bedroom?

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Phyllis Stoller founded The Women’s Travel Club during her personal quest to find travel friends. It became more than a unique tour operator but also an advocate for women’s travel and safety needs. She has appeared on local and national TV including CNN, The Today Show and Lifetime Television for Women. She writes on the subject of women and travel and has been quoted in newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Chicago Tribune, and magazines such as Travel & Leisure, Working Woman, Time and Newsweek.

Get More Tips, Strategies And Articles About Travel For
Women HERE