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Ah, not again! You’ve been duped by another phoney baloney scammer. It’s something that’s sure to put a doozy on your good time. That being said, many of the biggest scams today can be easily avoided with a little thing called common sense. Let’s check it out.

Free trip to Florida: Your phone rings and the voice on the other end tells you to select 9 and you win a free trip to Florida. What!? You quickly pound in the 9 and listen to a schpeal about a $500 holding fee. So excited about your win, you quickly agree to give up your credit card number for “verification purposes” not even realizing that the entire holding fee was instantly deducted from your account until after you hang up. Bummer. After trying to call back and getting in the vicious circle of nowhere, you give up while wistfully repeating the phrase, “Nothing in life is free.”

Common sense: If you are winning a contest you never entered, you might want to think twice about the prize. If it’s the free Florida trip, log onto the fraud help hotline www.800helpfla.com immediately to report the crime.

Card Milling: An email arrives shouting “Become a travel agent and save up to 75% on flights in 15 minutes!” Sign me up! You shell out a few hundred bucks for you travel savvy ID card that’s going to get you discounts galore as you see the world. We can see how this one gets people because you get tangible proof of purchase by way of a little ID card. You slap that baby down on the counter at your first destination and try to explain that you’re a “travel agent” with a “discount card.” The reception shoves that card right back with a smirk that says, “Sucka!”

Common sense: Get a real job the real way. Visit www.abta.com, www.monster.com or other esteemed job websites. on innocent traveler’s who have stars in their eyes to visit their favorite country. They’ll either under or over insurance and will just explain “highlights” of the policy while leaving out all of the additional fees.

Common sense: Come 2009 (hopefully), the government will be monitoring

Over and out: Probably the oldest one in the book, this scam is one we’ve all heard time and time again – “Company takes millions from customers, boards up, and swiftly leaves town.” And of course the owner’s are long gone spending everyone else’s hard earned cash.

Common sense: Make sure that your travel insurance covers airline and operator closure. If it’s a valid company, it will.

Speaking of insurance: Many insurance companies, whether legitimate or not, find it all too easy to pray travel agents via the Financial Services Authority. Until then, read the fine print, ask questions, and make sure they are all answered – in full, no bs – before you get off the phone.

Receptionist or no?: Man, now they try to get you while you’re getting your beauty sleep? Yes, sir. These scams almost always happen in the wee hours of the morning when a receptionist calls claiming a flub happened while processing your bill. Of course they need you at the front desk or you can just read your card number over the phone for a more painless fix. Riiiight.

Common sense: Don’t give out your credit card number to anybody ever! Oh and also, make sure you get a receipt when you check in when the real receptionist swipes your card the first time.

Covert conversion: Many times when you hand your credit card over to that lovely person across the counter in a foreign land, they will automatically change the currency to their own, while also adding additional fees like an exchange commission – all without asking your consent or telling you what they’ve done.

Common sense: If you find yourself in this situation, you will also want to make sure you tell the vendor you are using your home currency. It’s also wise to change currency over once before your trip so you don’t get duped doing it numerous times over seas. Try to use your card for large purchases only from a trusted vendor.

Stop! This is the police! Well sort of… : You meet your new “best friend” at the local bar. You talk, share a couple laughs, and more than a couple of beers. He genuinely enjoys your company so he gives you a literal “token” of his appreciation – a baggie of marijuana. Like any normal person you take it to your hotel room to examine the goods. That is until you are stopped short by two brawny policemen that ask you to empty your pockets… or give them $200 a pop and they’ll turn a blind eye.

Common sense: Didn’t your mom ever tell you not to do drugs? If this happens, it can be a tricky situation. You may want to just stash the hash and pay up; get rid of it ASAP and make a run for it; or do the right thing and get the police involved. The police will want some evidence of this mystery friend (since you are the one illegally holding the dope) so make sure to ask people around you to stay and be a witness if possible.

Another “best bud” situation: You meet a nice friend while on holiday. He buys you a few rounds then nonchalantly slips you a drug like Rohyphnol. You stumble around; he takes your money and runs. It’s called burundanga and it happens a lot in South America and Thailand.

Common sense: Jeez how many times have you heard these ones — don’t take drinks from a stranger; don’t let anyone handle your drinks except you; don’t leave your drink unattended. The list goes on and on. It’s also a good idea to travel in pairs so at least one of you is coherent lest something like this happen.

Taxi, taxi!: An Austrian couple on the trip of a lifetime (round the world that is) got sick of waiting for a taxi at the bus terminal. They hopped into an unlicensed taxi in Bolivia, were kidnapped, held captive for five days, robbed, and then sadly killed. True story. Don’t let it happen to you.

Common sense: Only use official, licensed taxis. Know before you go and figure out which cab companies are valid in the area. Or just wait for a bus or train. Also, do not let the cab driver pick up or take other passengers while you are in the vehicle. They could easily turn out to be gang members and you’ll be put in a similar situation as the Austrian couple.

Metal Detector Dance: You calmly put your bags on the conveyor belt and while doing so, a man flies past you, apologizing about the rush he’s in. He does the same as you’ve just done – emptying pockets, putting bags on the belt, and running off… with your bag too. Apparently metal detectors don’t detect thieves.

Common sense: Never let your bag out of your sight for a second. If you yell out “He’s got my bag!” one of the nearby guards will surely go all knight in shining armor for you… or be your superhero if you’re a dude.

Bus fraud: This one verges on hilarious and if you agree to it, there might be something slightly wrong with you in the first place! The story goes, you are approached at a bar by someone who swears up and down you’ll get a thousand bucks if you get the bus in the morning. The bus of course will be rear-ending someone along the way (the government employed driver is agreeing to this obviously too) and all the passengers will get a generous cut of the insurance check. All you have to do is give your special friend $300 for a fixer fee and you’re golden. The next morning you hop on the bus, arrive at your destination, and damn… no accident… and no special friend.

Common sense: Wow, if you fall for this, you have no common sense so always travel with a buddy.

That title is like sweet music to our ears and soon to be sweet beer to our lips. After researching with those who have tested, tasted, and gotten wasted we’ve come up with the best beer cities in the world.

10. Mexico City: Corona, oh how we heart you! The most perfect summertime beer known to man is produced in Mexico City. Not into a lime wedge in your drink? No problem. The locale is also noted for their smooth, dark Negra Modelo lager, Dos XX golden lager, and Bohemia pilsner lager. Una cerveza por favor indeed!

9. Portland: Home to the some of the oldest breweries in the U.S., Portland takes the cake for having the most breweries in a U.S. city. All 28 of them ensure that there is plenty of beer to go around.

8. Sapporo: Japan? Beer? What the… Yes it’s true. Sapporo loves beer so much that they even have vending machines that line the streets chock full of the stuff. There is also a beer garden next to the Sapporo beer museum where a daily barbeque ensues. Man, who knew the Japanese were such party animals!

7. Montreal: The Canadian’s are known for two things – hockey and beer. Quebec is home to Labatt and Molson while Montreal is home to many renowned brewpubs like Le Cheval Blanc. The Canadian’s have gotten a little tricky and differentiate their beer by color rather than classification. Ie: “I’ll take a blonde,” instead of saying “I’ll take a lager.”

6. Brugge: Belgium is known for many of the finer things in life like lace, Godiva chocolates, and – beer. Brugge offers hundreds of varieties of brusky, more than 500 to be exact. Plus it’s chock full of drinking history with the well preserved 1515 Café Vlissinghe and the 1455 De Gouden Boom Brewery that has been getting the fine people of Brugge sloshed for centuries.

5. Prague: If beer had its own Miss Beer of the Universe pageant, Prague’s would win every time. The brews are just tip top quality yet surprisingly as easy on the wallet as they are on the eyes. U Fleku, the world’s oldest brewpub, is also located here and the Pilsner factory is only an hour away.

4. Burlington: Just north of Boston and south of Montreal (two other big time beer drinking cities) Burlington gets the best of both brewing worlds. Plus it’s a collegiate town with a four block pedestrian zone that just begs for stumbling feet. Not to mention beer keeps a belly warm while skiing in the blustery Vermont winter.

3. Dublin: When Irish eyes are smiling… that probably means their good and drunk at a pub in Dublin. It’s also home to Guinness and you can find a pub crawl to join any day of the week. Need we say more?

2. Amsterdam: Did you think that a magic mushroom was all Amsterdam was good for? Think again! The Dutch also brewed up some of our favorites like Heineken, Grolsch, and Amstel. Wanna get to a local spot away from tourists? Ask to be pointed in the direction of the nearest pils.

1. Wait for it…wait for it…. Berlin: Surprised you didn’t we? This city gets all the props since its August Oktoberfest, which is hosted in a 1.2 mile long beer garden, is celebrated around the world by the young and old. Even when we were at the virginal Disneyworld in Orlando, Epcot’s Oktoberfest was going strong. A little weird but nonetheless a smack down win for Berlin.

Check out these hotels next time your in Europe. They’re right where all the beer drinkin’ action is.

Berlin: Amstel House

Amsterdam: Xavier’s Happy House

Dublin: Temple Bar Hotel

Monaco is small – really small. Its entire population is only 33,000 but that doesn’t stop it from being the most sought after spot in the world by the rich and famous. It is one of the most expensive countries to live in as well as one of the most lavish. And it’s about to expand, thanks to good old stilts technology.

Now when we think stilts we think clowns swaying to and fro over us at a carnival. Well yes, it will go something like that minus the clowns and the swaying (we hope!). By using extensive oil rig technology, the annex will include room for yacht docks, shopping, and more living space.

Though many environmentalists are extremely concerned, including the ruler, the eco-friendly Prince Albert, the wealthy who call this place their playground want more Monaco no matter what the costs.

The expansion is to take place over nearly a decade but only time will tell who will win in the battle of eco-maniacs vs. the snobs.

If you want to see the before and after shots of Monaco book a stay at the Ambassador or Tulip Inn Monaco Terminus now, and then in about 15 years to see the post work.

Try the:

Ambassador Monaco

Tulip Inn Monaco

The United Kingdom is known for its coastal variety. Some beaches are sandy, some are worn down and windswept, and others offer majestic cliffs. According to The Independent online newspaper, there are 50 beaches in UK that are primed and proper for your use. Though we won’t cover the entirety, we will give you a taste and a brief suggestion of where to stay so that you can practically dig your toes in the sand from your room.

10. Sennen Cove, Cornwall
Sennen Cove is picturesque with its sandy beach, crystal Sea, and striking locale. It is also a great place to surf, especially at sundown.

9. Lowestoft Beach, Suffolk
Lowestoft has clear, calm water, soft sounds, and plenty of lifeguards on duty, making it an ideal place to bring family. There are also two piers and a promenade with many activities and shopping.

8. St Bees, Cumbria
St Bees is the starting point of the famous 300km coastal walk that goes all the way to Robin Hood’s Bay in Yorkshire. It is also one of the most popular public beaches and has a great historic village to explore.

7. Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire
Saundersfoot oozes charm and is known for its family friendly atmosphere. There are shops that sell anything including toys, delicious local foods, and surf boards to catch the good waves that break here.

6. Barafundle Bay, Pembrokeshire
This is a lesser known protected beach that remains largely unspoiled by the public. It has pristine sand dunes, rocky headlands, and to die for cliff top views.

5. West Sands, Scotland
West Sands is one of the most bustling beaches in the country. It has a large, sandy beach, a great university historic town to explore, and an internationally celebrated golf course. It also has perfect conditions for many extreme water sports – fun for the whole family!

4. Bigbury-on-Sea, Devon
This unique beach is located on a sand spit. It has clean, soothing waters and a ferry service to the Bantham Beach on the other side of the estuary.

3. Llanbedrog, Gwynedd
A 16km hike from Chwilog to Llanbedrog is part of the much larger 146km from Caernarfon to Porthmadog. Regardless, this protected beach is a gorgeous stopping point for tired bodies to sink into the sand.

2. Blackpool Sands, Devon
This private beach is ideal for families with its safe swim areas, lifeguards, and on point beach patrol. It is made mostly of fine pebbles though sand has been dumped in several areas to create a more comfortable beach. There is also a freshwater pool – perfect for even the smallest of children.

1. Bamburgh, Northumberland
A majestic castle overlooks this pristine strip of golden beach that makes up one of the most beautiful places in the UK.

Photos via Wikipedia.org and Andrew Easton

This phrase becomes literal during Buñol, Spain’s La Tomatina. You see, it all began in 1945, when a group of rowdy youngsters taunted parade participants one hot summer day. One of the ‘giants’ on stilts took a tumble because of the debauchery. He then proceeded to get up and start roughing up the teens. A massive rumble in the village square ensued and luckily for La Tomatina, a nearby fruit stand became an armory as people launched fruits and veggies at anybody standing in their way. Though it was stopped by officials, a group of young people gathered again the following year, and then the year after that, and so on. Officers continued to put a halt to the nonsense until it became the official Day of the Tomato, or La Tomatina, several years later.

Each year on the last Wednesday of August, an upwards of 30,000 people from Buñol, Germany, UK, France, US, and South America wait on the cobble streets for the spirited food fight to begin. Residences hose down the crowd with buckets of water thrown from the balconies above. Soon after carts full of about 100,000 kilos of tomatoes are wheeled in (squashed mind you to avoid tomato pelting injuries) and the crowd goes at it. Afterwards, the crowd is ushered out to wash the food off their faces while the locals rush in and have the whole shebang cleaned up in an hour.

The town is a very small one so your best bet is to shack up in nearby Valencia, which is about a ½ hours ride away from Buñol on the RENFE rail system.

• 2 Star: Hostal Venecia
• 3 Star: Catalonia Excelsior
• 4 Star: Vincci Palace
• 5 Star: Eurostars Gran Valencia

The Cameron House just got a new lease on life. The stunning 15th century chateau, located along Scotland’s Loch Lomond, was recently bought by AHG (the same company that brings us the city wide boutique hotels Malmaison and Hotel du Vin) as part of their De Vere group.

The 96 room house just got one hell of a makeover that includes the opening of a brand new wing called the Colquhoun House. Colquhoun just recently opened, on May 1 to be exact, with six suites and 30 more bedrooms. They’ve also made the leap into today’s technology by adding flat screen televisions, free internet access, and direct dial phones to each room.
Renovation aside, the home has had a fascinating life thus far. The site dates back to the 1400s, when a much smaller Cameron was built here. By the 1800s the shipbuilding and merchant Smollet family had moved up in the world and right into the Cameron House. They lavished the grounds and even introduced bison and bears to the landscape for hunting purposes.

Though you won’t be caught in a bison stampede today, the resort has followed in the Smollet family luxurious footsteps with a new Carrick golf club, contemporary spa, and rooftop whirlpool overlooking the spectacular loch view.

The B&B Awards pay homage to those who covet a creative spirit and innovative approach while providing unswerving service and some of the best lodging in London.

To celebrate AA’s 100th year of service, the B&B Awards will be all ‘champagne wishes and caviar dreams’ so to speak in the new Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, a hotel that is sure to see an award in its near future.

This year, top honors go to the following three establishments, who are also the shortlist for B&B of the Year:

The New Linden in Notting Hill
San Domenico House in Chelsea
The St. George in Langham Place

Favorite category, AA Funkiest B&B of the Year, has also announced its shortlist which includes:

Bangors Organic in Bude, Cornwall
Enchanted Manor in Niton, Isle of Wight
Moss Grove Organic in Grasmere, Cumbria

Stay tuned to see who is the funkiest hotel of them all!

If you travel to Germany in the next few years, you may be hardpressed to find a hotel room. This isn’t for a bad reason. It’s simply because two out of every ten hotels in Germany plan on refurbishing to the highest, most modernized standards that they can muster. So that’s a good thing.

Where did this renovation whirlwind stem from? For starters, hotels have been paying close attention to guests’ wishes, which included clean and well designed rooms.  Not to mention, that decline since the smoking ban in restaurants.

In response, many German hotels are upping their ante by providing their guests will the best rooms money can buy and restaurants with mouth watering menus that will attract even the most avid of smokers.

So if planning a trip to Germany, our advice to you is: Try to stay out of the old and go in with the new.

Some of our favorite German hotels that are going on the hammer include:

Hotel Monopol in Frankfurt
Hilton Hotel in Berlin
The Westin Grand Berlin in Berlin

Once considered a dumpy, schlumpy kind of a place, Southport is sensing the winds of change and keeping its fingers crossed that with these winds will come flocks of tourists.

Nearly £220m has been spent on the place in the last decade. The fruits of labor have recently been blossoming. Another addition golf course, the Royal Birkdale set to open this year, brings the “Golf Coast” total to seven. Sea lovers will be delighted at the new water sports building and twin totems. Kiddies will be screaming their joys atop thrill rides at the £45m Eden Project, an indoor-outdoor theme park. Lord Street has been overflowed with luxuries like the handsome The Vincent, which was transformed from a cinema to a boutique hotel. It’s been house will cost a cool £2,500 a night, which speaks volumes about the hopes that rest on 2008’s tourism.

Though this is far from all the changes that have been made, you may want to enjoy Southport soon before the tides change and an influx of extra tourists wash up on shore.

Try:

• 2 Star: Balmoral Lodge Hotel
• 3 Star: Edendale House Hotel
• 4 Star: Bay Tree House Bed and Breakfast
• 5 Star: Cambridge House Hotel

Most of us have had a friend or two who up and quits their home life to travel the world. Although we want to join them, most times our nagging senses take hold of us and tell us it just isn’t possible. Yet, it is possible and you can have the best of both worlds. Don’t let responsibilities dampen your travel dreams. Put your sensibility aside and take on some penny-pinching ways so maybe next time you’ll be able to say to that traveling fool “Hey, mind if I come too?”

1. Where are you living? If you really want to take a few months off to travel, then you will really need to save some money. Consider what the biggest money eater in your life is. Most likely it’s your rent or mortgage. If you rent, it’s as easy as sucking up your pride and moving back home or taking on a roommate to help split the bills. If it’s your mortgage, do some research and see if there are any alternatives, like getting a lower interest rate via refinance.

2. Sell it! It’s a pretty well known fact that most of us only use about 20% of what we actually have and the other 80% just collects dust. So dust it off and sell it. Ebay or Amazon is easy ways to go but you can also hold a yard sale too. You might be amazed by how easily you’ll part with things if you keep your end goal in mind.

3. Work Weekends: Along with your 9-5, pick up another side job on weekends. Use the money from your fulltime job for life’s necessities and stock pile the goods from your weekend workplace.

4. Just Say No: One of the most money sucking things are nights on the town. Whether you’re just going to a movie or going all out big style, these are unnecessary expenses that you should cut out until you’ve reached your savings goal. You can pick up where you left off socially when you get back from your exciting trip.

5. Foreign Currency: No matter how hard we try, some of us just have a problem saving money. The best way to nip it in the bud is to change your dollars into the currency you’ll be using on your trip. That way it’s already taken care of plus you won’t be tempted to switch it back since your most likely going to lose money that way. 

Although there are plenty other tips out there, these five will definitely get you where you need to go. In just a few months you will reap the benefits and get the ultimate end reward, the trip of a lifetime.