Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
nutritionist (and not just the same
boring fodder you get everywhere
else), and other family-friendly facili-
ties including family rooms, while
other resorts such as Hamilton Island
have “kids stay, eat, and play free”
offers, particularly during holiday
periods. Many hotels will offer inter-
connecting rooms or “family rooms.”
Ask when booking, and look out for
our “kid friendly” icon in this topic.
Don't forget that children entering
Australia on their parent's passport
still need their own visa. See “Entry
Requirements,” earlier in this chapter.
Rascals in Paradise
(
&
415/921-
7000;
www.rascalsinparadise.com)
sells family vacation packages to
Australia.
Familyhostel
(
&
800/733-9753;
www.learn.unh.edu/familyhostel) takes
the whole family, including kids 8 to
15, on moderately priced domestic
and international learning vacations.
Lectures, fields trips, and sightseeing
are guided by a team of academics.
You can find good family-oriented
vacation advice on the Internet from
sites like the
Family Travel Network
(www.familytravelnetwork.com);
Trav-
eling Internationally with Your Kids
(www.travelwithyourkids.com), a com-
prehensive site offering sound advice
for long-distance and international
travel with children; and
Family
Travel Files
(www.thefamilytravel
files.com), which offers an online
magazine and a directory of off-the-
beaten-path tours and tour operators
for families.
How to Take Great Trips with
Your Kids
(The Harvard Common
Press) is full of good general advice
that can apply to travel anywhere.
WOMEN TRAVELERS
Women Welcome Women World
Wide (5W)
(
&
203/259-7832
in the
U.S.; www.womenwelcomewomen.
org.uk) works to foster international
friendships by enabling women of
different countries to visit one another
(men can come along on the trips;
they just can't join the club). It's a big,
active organization, with more than
3,500 members from all walks of life
in some 70 countries.
Check out the website
Journey-
woman
(www.journeywoman.com), a
lively travel resource, with “GirlTalk
Guides” to destinations like New
York, Hong Kong, and Toronto and a
free e-mail newsletter; or the travel
guide
Safety and Security for
Women Who Travel,
by Sheila Swan
Laufer and Peter Laufer (Travelers'
Tales, Inc.), offering commonsense
advice and tips on safe travel.
STUDENT TRAVEL
If you're planning to travel to Aus-
tralia, you'd be wise to arm yourself
with an
International Student Iden-
tity Card (ISIC),
which offers sub-
stantial savings on rail passes, plane
tickets, and entrance fees. It also pro-
vides you with basic health and life
insurance and a 24-hour help line.
The card is available for $22 from
STA Travel
(
&
800/781-4040,
and if
you're not in North America there's
probably a local number in your coun-
try; www.statravel.com), the biggest
student travel agency in the world. If
you're no longer a student but are still
under 26, you can get a
International
Youth Travel Card (IYTC)
for the
same price from the same people,
which entitles you to some discounts
(but not on museum admissions).
(
Note:
In 2002, STA Travel bought
competitors
Council Travel
and
USIT Campus
after they went bank-
rupt. It's still operating some offices
under the Council name, but it's
owned by STA.)
Travel CUTS
(
&
800/667-2887
or
416/614-2887; www.travelcuts.com)
offers similar services for both Canadi-
ans and U.S. residents. Irish students
should turn to
USIT
(
&
01/602
1600;
www.usitnow.ie).
