Archives for October 2012

Visit any of the best US travel destinations to see the work of nature. You can travel to attractive places to see the sights of great mountains, forests, plains, wildlife and deserts. You will be able to visit these US travel destinations because; the United States of America is a diversified country that offers amazing and cultural wonders. Therefore, if you are a nature loving individual, the best US travel destinations are your alternative. You will be highly impressed with the alpine lakes, soaring shore redwoods, moving vineyard and a lot of other fascinating places in all the cities of US.

There are 50 states and more than 20,000 cities in the large kingdom of the USA with each state and city offering something illustrative. This article will identify 5 popular US travel destinations you can visit with or without your critical illness insurance cover and have maximum enjoyment and fun.

The first among the US travel destinations is the New York City aka the Big Apple. This city is the greatest US destination that all visitors to US will not like to pass over. This is due to the fact that this city offers tremendous magnetisms like mountains, a lot of islands, museums, beaches, greatest theater and many more. On the other hand, there are other American icons like Empire State Building, Statute of Liberty and the Times Square, apart from all the attractions mentioned earlier.

The Los Angeles is the number two of the highest US travel destinations after New York City. Los Angeles is famous for its lure of international and Hollywood celebrities as well as Disneyland, snowboarding, Seaside Mountains, climbing, zoos, parks among others. Mount Shasta volcano is another eye catching area around Los Angeles. Los Angeles California is said to be an American Dream.

Chicago in Illinois certainly comes to mind when it comes to the museums and architecture. You can pleasantly enjoy attractive museums, botanical gardens, aquariums, restaurant, skylines, shopping spots as well as many other activities in the city of Chicago Illinois. On the other hand, the Art Institute of Chicago offers you various Art exhibitions and Art sessions throughout the year, if you are an art lover. You can equally visit some part of Illinois like the Springfield – the home of late Abraham Lincoln, who was the former American president.

Furthermore, Washington DC and USA capital is also among the popular US travel destinations you need to visit when you travel to USA. Washington DC is popular for its typical monuments and museums such as the Vietnam War Memorial, the historical white house, National Parks, Lincoln Memorial, Wild Life and National Forests.

Finally, there is also Las Vegas in Nevada which is an extraordinary city of the United States. Las Vegas – the Sin City is noted for its night life including hotels, lightening casinos, museums and cultural shows that always grab the attention of a lot of people across the world. Nevada State also provides a lot of enthralling spots including Hoover dam, wild horse state recreation area, Tahoe state park and many more.

Although, there are a lot of attractive places you can visit in the US, identified above are just the five popular US travel destinations you can visit to see the work of nature even without critical illness insurance. Therefore, check these places out whenever you travel to the United States of America.

You might be well insured in your own country but your health insurance might not necessarily apply outside your country. For many international travelers and expatriates working abroad in far off destinations around the world, the best way to meet the medical bills in case of an unexpected emergency is by buying international health insurance. The greatest advantage of this insurance plan is its cross-border reach, allowing you to meet your medical expenses with ease whether you are hiking in the Himalayas or holidaying in the idyllic beaches of the Mediterranean.

The insurance plans often come for two segments in the market: short and extended stays. Short term coverage often involves being covered over a brief period of time while extended coverage is geared at those will stay in certain countries for a long period of time.  While traveler insurance is often an attractive proposition, they often come with relatively high premium payments.

The need for this type of insurance is necessitated by two factors. The most important one is the fact that most domestic health insurance often has very limited scope. If you are already insured, this coverage might not necessarily extend to your visits or stays abroad. Additionally, as an expat in a foreign country, you might not be eligible to purchase the domestic health insurance of your host country thus leaving you dangerously exposed in case of an emergency. In many cases, the cost of treatment might skyrocket in the absence of coverage thus leaving you on the brink of bankruptcy or in utter financial ruin.

However, with international health insurance, you will have your back covered wherever you are in the world. Shopping for the scheme is relatively easy, and in many cases, you will find that your present insurer is already offering the package allowing you to seamlessly transition to global coverage. You can also compare packages online amongst the various reputable insurers to determine which is offering the best products and  rates for the international market segment.

Your health insurance may not help you abroad. Are you among the 70 percent of Americans who travel overseas without travel insurance? According to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association, that’s how many of us get a whiff of sunscreen and throw caution to the wind, happily believing our domestic health policy will see us through. Of the 30 percent of Americans who buy travel insurance, many people purchase it for the cancellation cover and baggage insurance and are unaware of the medical clauses to look for.

Why should you be concerned about medical coverage overseas? Put it this way, is your health insurance really going to pay to fly you back home if you fall ill abroad? That service costs upwards of $50,000. If everyone realized what it cost to fall seriously ill on vacation, we’d all be checking the fine print pretty closely.

Your health insurance may say it applies overseas and covers you for “customary and reasonable” hospital costs abroad. But that’s not worth much when you consider the added extras that are not covered by the insurance but are pretty “customary and reasonable” to you if you’ve had an accident. For example, if you break a leg climbing for a great view over those ancient ruins, or slip on an over-polished hotel lobby floor, health insurance may cover a night in hospital but it won’t shell out for the x-ray or the cast. Most policies, if they cover overseas incidents at all, will force you to pay upfront and then submit your claim when you return home. Also, the regular medical facilities in many countries abroad may not be up to U.S. standards and you’ll need to consider ‘upgrading’ to private healthcare, which won’t be covered by your domestic health insurance policy.

OK, so you’ve saved on a bargain vacation so you can pay for an x-ray yourself. But what happens if disaster strikes? It may be rare to suffer a major health problem on vacation but unfortunately it does happen. The most common serious health incidents affecting Americans abroad are car accidents and heart attacks. Health insurance is highly unlikely to pay for repatriation to the U.S., special assistance on a flight home or an air ambulance if you need it.

Not surprisingly, Medicare and Medicaid programs do not provide coverage for medical costs outside the United States. Your credit card may offer some form of travel insurance but this is usually in the form of a referral service to a specified medical facility and nothing more. Don’t expect to rely on your friendly U.S. diplomat for financial help, either. A U.S. Consular Officer overseas will help an American citizen locate medical services and inform relatives at home and they will assist in transferring funds to you but, as the U.S. Department of State respectfully reminds us, “payment of hospital and all expenses is the responsibility of the traveler.”

Money isn’t the only consideration. Imagine how stressful it could be to fall ill in an unfamiliar country, with no way of knowing where to find quality healthcare and no money to pay for it even if you did find it. Good travel protection comes with an emergency hotline number to help you locate the nearest suitable healthcare center, especially useful when you can’t speak the language.

Look at your existing health insurance and find out:

Does it apply aboard?

Does it include emergency treatment abroad?

Does it include emergency evacuation?

If the answer’s no to any of these questions, you know it makes sense to buy supplemental travel insurance, a short term health insurance policy designed for travelers or standalone medical evacuation insurance. Check the fine print of this policy too. Make sure you’re covered for planned activities such as scuba diving, mountain climbing – many insurance policies have an altitude cap, above which you are not covered – and extreme sports. Check the company guarantees medical payments abroad. Don’t forget about pre-existing conditions that may not be dealt with. Finding out too late you’re not covered will be costly, and may be catastrophic.

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to find a job that allows you to travel as part of your career? This way you wouldn’t need to save up all your money for two weeks’ vacation a year – you could travel and get paid for it! If you have few commitments and family ties then a job with added travel is ideal. Consider a career in one of the following fields so you can indulge your wanderlust while getting paid:

Teaching English as a foreign language overseas. Millions of people all over the world want to learn English and if you have English as your native language, or you are proficient in English, then you have a whole host of opportunities for working abroad and traveling the world. You will normally need a degree but you may also find better jobs with a teaching qualification such as the TESOL, or an ESL certificate. Pay varies wildly from country to country and institution to institution. You may receive living expenses or a good salary, depending on your experience and the demand.

Working on a cruise ship is an excellent way to see the world. You can receive a free cruise for working as a dancer, fitness instructor, lecturer, waitress or handyman. Of course, you won’t be free to lounge around the pool all day with the guests but you will at least stop at some exciting destinations. Another career to consider is that of tour director or manager. These jobs tend to be shorter term commitments than cruises, where you are responsible for a tour group on their vacation. You normally need to speak at least two languages, and be calm and efficient under pressure.

If you love writing, consider a career as a travel writer. You may not be able to earn a living wage from travel writing alone, at least while you are starting out, but writing while you travel can pay for your travel costs and allow you to see more places.

Before taking a trip abroad there are a number of things you can do to prepare yourself and help protect yourself when you are overseas. Minor incidents or accidents, like losing a wallet or spraining your ankle, are simple to deal with at home but turn into major problems when you’re in a country you’re not familiar with. And big issues, like a car accident or a serious illness, are costly to deal with. To give yourself umbrella coverage and make sure your health is protected, purchase visitor medical insurance before your trip.

Paying a little extra on top of your trip cost now can save you a lot of money later. You may resent paying for visitor medical insurance when you have bills for hotels and airfares but the price is low in comparison with what you would need to pay if you had an accident or fell ill abroad. A medical evacuation back to the USA could cost you over $50,000, for example.

In most cases domestic health insurance plans and Medicare or Medicaid programs don’t cover you for accident and illness abroad. Check with your provider, but US medical insurance is not typically enough to cover you for a foreign hospital stay or doctor’s visit. If your policy does not protect you abroad, take out a short term policy that does. These insurance policies specifically cover travel so you won’t usually have to have a medical check-up and the process of signing up is simple – a few clicks on the website and you’re covered.

If you need to access a doctor or medical facility abroad you can contact your visitor insurance provider (there is often an emergency number you can call to find information about how to get treated and how to claim). Or, the US Embassy or Consulate in country can provide you with a list of physicians and facilities. These aren’t recommendations, but the list can be very helpful if you are unsure where to go.

In today’s economic climate an overseas vacation may seem like an unnecessary expense, but you don’t need to give up your dream of travel in the United States. There are economical alternatives to travel all over the world, and the United States is no exception. check out the following tips for cutting the cost of your American vacation.

travel differently – you don’t need to stop traveling, but you may need to rethink the way you travel. Five star hotels may be out, but there are other ways to find affordable accommodation. For example, try couch surfing. Couch surfing means taking a room or even just a bed in a local’s house. There are websites dedicated to matching you up with people offering space for a few nights. Look for an experienced host with good references and use an established company and you won’t run into any problems – you may even make some new friends.

Another way of saving on travel in the US is by traveling outside of peak season. You may have to put up with less than ideal weather but you get to see the US for a fraction of the price. Plan ahead if you are traveling out of season – make sure you take the correct clothes and you call ahead of arriving at your hotel because some places may be closed in low season. If you want to travel in high season try a vacation rental with a big group of friends or family. This is a cost effective way to stay in the US and you save money on eating out by making your own meals at your vacation home.

Consider also the benefits of a house swap for your next vacation. If you have a home to offer you could exchange with another person who wants to visit your country or your region. Again, go through a reputable agency or website and vet your applicants carefully and in this way you should have a good experience.