Vacationers Should Apply for Passport Now

If you're planning to travel to a timeshare on the warm, sunny beaches of the Caribbean or Mexico for the winter holidays, make sure you apply for your passport now. The government has finally caught up on its processing backload and the temporary reprieve is over. Beginning Monday, October 1, U.S. citizens returning to the country from Mexico, Bermuda, the Caribbean or Canada will be required to show their passports.

Although the new passport rule went into effect in January, it was temporarily rescinded in June because government workers couldn't keep up with demand. In January the average wait for a passport was 6 to 8 weeks; 3 weeks if you paid for expedited service. By the beginning of summer, more than 2 million people were still waiting for their passports. Public ire over missed and cancelled trips led the government to accept photo ID and proof of passport application in lieu of an actual passport over the summer. (If you left the country before September 30, you can still return using an ID and proof of application.)

"Right now, all of our passport service agencies are back to a 6- to 8-week processing time for routine passport applications and no more than 3 weeks using our expedited service, said Cy Ferenchak, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs. "If you plan ahead under those standards you should have ample time to apply for and receive a passport before your scheduled departure time."

Before the terrorist fears of 9/11, U.S. citizens could travel between Mexico, the Caribbean, Bermuda and Canada without a passport. Now air travelers must show a passport to return to the U.S., and in 2008 land and sea travelers will also have to meet the requirement which could cause another logjam of applications in early 2008. The standard passport application fee is $97 for delivery in 6 to 8 weeks; add $60 plus the cost of overnight delivery for expedited 3-week service. Passports are good for 10 years. For more detailed information on passport regulations, visit the U.S. State Department's website at http://travel.state.gov/travel.

You'll find application forms on the State Department's website, but you can also apply at many post offices. This fall many communities are sponsoring passport events at local town halls and libraries. The goal of these community events is to make winter travel easier for residents by bringing to one location forms, passport photo services and officials who can answer questions and accept completed passport applications. Check with your local government community affairs office or post office to see if such an event is planned in your area.

If you're planning a trip, click the post title for one-stop shopping on Timeshare Giant. We can assist you with all your travel needs.

Timeshares Let You "Try Out" Retirement Sites

When you're young, retirement seems light years away. By the time you're middle age, you feel like it can't come soon enough. "It's never to early to start planning for retirement," my financial planner keeps telling me. But she's always armed with a dreary stack of figures and portfolio options. Necessary, but ho hum boring. The part of retirement planning that excites me is the where.

Beach or mountain? City or country? Small town or metropolis? North or south? There are so many options and good things to recommend each choice. I finally hit upon the perfect solution. I'm trying them all out -- one timeshare at a time!

I made a list of all the places I might like to retire to and each year I rent or exchange a week at a timeshare in one of those locations. By staying at a timeshare, I'm guaranteed endless variety, superior accommodations, and access to fabulous amenities. The bonus is that making arrangements and planning my trip is quick, easy and hassle-free. I figure by the time I reach retirement age, I'll have narrowed down the field considerably.

The October 1, 2007 issue of U.S. News & World Report gave me some new places to add to my list of golden years hot spots. The article on America's Best Places to Retire lists 10 great cities across the country that have the amenities and services retirees are looking for, including cost of living, climate, low crime rate, healthcare access, educational opportunities, and recreational, entertainment and cultural venues.

San Francisco, one of my favorite cities, made the top 10 list. It's easy to leave your heart there. Cable cars, twisty streets, Fisherman's Wharf, the Golden Gate -- San Fran is just teeming with exciting places to see and things to do. On Timeshare Giant you'll find nine timeshares for sale or rent that cater to every taste.

A stay at the chic four-star, Gold Crown boutique Club Donatello (above, right) puts you right in the heart of Union Square. Like a cozy bed and breakfast atmosphere? Live the genteel life of yesteryear at the Jackson Court City Shares (above left) brownstone mansion in prestigious Pacific Heights. You can experience the elegant life of robber barons and gold tycoons at the Nob Hill Inn which has catered to the rich and famous since the mid 1800s. If you prefer peace and quiet, you'll want to stay at Shell Vacations Club (right) on the quiet edge of legendary Fisherman's Wharf. Click the post title to preview all of the outstanding San Francisco timeshare properties available for purchase or rent on Timeshare Giant.

Travel Logs Capture Precious Memories

Travel logs capture those special moments that make a trip memorable. Sometimes those isolated magical moments transcend the vacation. Unfortunately, the human memory being what it is, those precious memories are often lost if not recorded. But those who keep a travel log capture those moments for all time.

Over the centuries many venerable travelers have kept a journal of their travels. From the adventures of Marco Polo to the diaries of pioneer wives heading west, travel logs provide a window to a specific time and place in our world. They chronicle not just the places, people and activities of a time, but the thoughts and feelings of the people who lived then.

Travel logs come in many flavors. My uncle kept a movie journal of his travels with my aunt. After he retired, they travelled all over the world. He shot rolls and rolls of Super 8 film, then spent hours splicing them together into silent travelogues, complete with placards announcing each new site. Watching them is like travelling back in time. My uncle captured many historic moments and places, some of which no longer exist, like the giant Afghan Buddhas destroyed by the Taliban. He and my aunt were on the first tour into China when it reopened to Westerners during the Nixon presidency. The changes in the world my uncle chronicled in his films are startling.

My cousin keeps a highly personal travel log. A writer and an artist, she takes an unlined journal with her on travels. She fills the pages with sketches of local scenes and people, interspersed with paragraphs of her thoughts and perceptions. Sometimes she's fanciful, creating a short story about people she sees or meets. Sometimes she is inspired to write poetry. Her journals are a very personal remembrance of her travels -- what she felt, what she thought, who she met.

A modern gal, my twenty-something niece captures memories of her trips with her digital camera. Since her junior high school band trip she has filled dozens of scrapbooks with snaps of her travels. She enjoys pasting in the pictures and using colorful markers to add captions and blurbs to describe special moments and crazy things that happened with her friends.

Perhaps the best reason to keep a travel log is to help you remember those magical, sometimes comical, sometimes poignant moments that occur during a trip that are, unfortunately, too often forgotten. Re-reading old travel logs brings back a rush of memories and with them the sense of wonder you first experienced.

Valuable Tips for Selling Your Timeshare

If you decide to sell your timeshare, there are certain important things you should know and do. On Timeshare Giant you'll find a helpful Timeshare Seller's Checklist in the Toolbox at the bottom of each web page. It's just one of many helpful tools available on the Timeshare Giant website to make buying, selling or renting a timeshare easy to do.

When you sell your timeshare, pay particular attention to the following:

• Collect complete information about your timeshare, including whether it is a point system, deeded or right-to-use property.
• Buyers will want to know if use of your timeshare is floating or fixed and the weeks it is available for use. They'll also want to know if use is guaranteed every year or just odd or even years and whether the timeshare is available for use this year.
• Obtain information on the exchange company. Buyers will also want details on how exchanges work.
• Compile a list of annual maintenance fees, property taxes and any other expenses normally associated with your timeshare.
• Find out about escrow requirements and fees from a title company as well as membership transfer requirements and fees from your resort owner services department.
• Post your timeshare for sale ad on Timeshare Giant. It's easy and a basic six-month listing is absolutely free; just click here.

You can access the complete Timeshare Seller's Checklist on the Timeshare Giant website by clicking the link or post title.

Timeshare Giant is your one-stop shopping place for buying, selling and renting timeshares. Visit the Timeshare Giant website to preview timeshares for sale or rent from all over the world, to list your timeshare for sale or rent, to make all your vacation plans, and for lots of helpful timeshare tips and resources.

Share Vacation Snaps at Online Photo Sites

Can't wait to share your vacation pictures with your friends and family? Photo-sharing websites allow you to download your snaps so friends across the country can view them and even order prints. Do you really want to make grandma wait until you get home to see little Billy taking his first dip in the ocean or eating his first handful of sand?

Yahoo Photos, one of the most popular online photo-hosting sites is shutting down today (September 20). You still have a few hours left to order a disk of any pictures you have stored there before they disappear forever into cyber space, or you can download them for free onto your desktop. Then what? Time to transfer your pics to another photo-hosting site. Here's a rundown on the five most-popular sites:

• Kodak Easy Share Gallery (http://www.kodakgallery.com/) provides 12 months of unlimited free online storage (timed from the date of your first upload). Free storage stays in effect as long as you make a purchase once a year.


• Shutterfly (http://www.shutterfly.com/) provides free storage and allows free sharing. The site also offers tools that help you turn prints into greeting cards and postcards.


• Snapfish (http://www.snapfish.com/) offers free storage and sharing as well as special tools for using snaps on cards, etc.


• Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/) provides free basic storage and sharing accounts with a charge for premium services.


• Photobucket (http://www.photobucket.com/) offers a free account with storage for 10,000 images. More than enough to keep grandma happy!

New Service Lets You Leave Baby Gear at Home

Traveling parents often feel like pack mules lugging around all the gear needed to succor an infant. I've long thought that for such tiny beings, babies consume a disproportionate amount of the available space when a family travels. Strollers, highchairs, car seats, cribs, toys, clothes, diapers, food, bottles -- if you're traveling with an infant, you need them all.

Fortunately enterprising entrepreneurs have come to our rescue. You no longer have to pack half your home when traveling with little ones. Pack light and leave the heavy lifting to others. Vacationers can now rent all the essentials needed by their junior explorers, even toys!

While the market is currently dominated by two companies, the increasing number of traveling families makes this a growth market.

• Baby's Away has affiliates in more than 70 locations nationwide. Daily rental on a full-size crib is $12; and ExerSaucer, $6.


• The Traveling Baby Co. operates in several states with plans to expand. Daily rental on a high-end stroller is $18; a car seat, $8.

While prices might seem extravagant, in reality they're fairly cost effective for vacationers. Avis charges $10 per day for a car seat. Many airlines charge $80 per bag for bags over the free 2-bag limit. And there's no way to pack a crib, bouncy chair or the essential baby swing in a suitcase. However, you can rent just about anything a baby or young child needs from toys to bathtubs, monitors to nursing pillows.

Many savvy parents have started using the rental services when visiting grandparents, even when they live close enough to drive. "It's just easier and it cuts the clutter," said one young mother of two. "After you get two car seats in the back seat and a couple of suitcases and the diaper bag in the trunk, there's not a lot of room for anything else."

Persian Gulf Fast Becoming Timeshare Vacation Mecca

Americans may not consider the Middle East a vacation hot spot, but luxury tourism is flourishing in the Persian Gulf region. The second annual Middle East Leisure Real Estate Symposium just concluded in Dubai, vacation mecca of the Middle Eastern elite. Hosted by timeshare giants Group RCI and NorthCourseSM Leisure Real Estate Solutions, the symposium gave Middle Eastern developers a master class in leisure site development with "access to some of the best brains in the business," said Claude Attala, Managing Director of NorthCourse's Dubai division.

The timeshare and fractional ownership industries in the Persian Gulf region are expected to surge over the next decade, bringing in revenues of $1.2 billion. Recent research shows that 68% of Persian Gulf nationals are interested in purchasing timeshares or fractional ownerships.

Diamond of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai is perhaps the most elite tourist destination on the Persian Gulf. Once the unassuming home of Bedouin traders, the modern gem is an eclectic and exciting mix of the new and old. Its ultramodern skyscrapers thrusting into the clear blue Gulf sky, Dubai's storied beaches and throbbing nightlife beckon the rich and chic of the Middle East, Africa, India and an increasing number of Europeans. Westerners will feel at home in the modern city where English is as easily spoken as Arabic.

Drawn by Dubai's renowned tax-free shopping, tourists browse chic shops of all kinds from high couture fashions to high-end electronics. The pristine beaches and clear turquoise water of the Persian Gulf make Dubai a top water-sport destination and world-class diving center. At the Nad al Sheba racetrack you can bet on camel races by day and sleek thoroughbreds at night. More than 400 restaurants showcase Dubai's ethnic diversity. Gorgeous golf courses, beautiful beaches, premium shopping, exciting nightlife, pampering spas and fascinating historic sites provide tourists with endless choices in Dubai.

Shown at top right is Dubai's famous Palm Island, home of the exclusive Royal Club at Palm-Jumeirah, a premium timeshare destination.

What Is a Fractional Timeshare?

Fractional timeshare ownership guarantees you the use of a timeshare property or resort during several weeks of the year -- that is, for a fraction of the year. Typically, fractional interests range from a minimum of 2 to 13 or more weeks per year, far more than the one week per year common in most timeshare plans.

Many owners choose to purchase a fractional timeshare as opposed to a second or vacation home. With fractional ownership, you need only pay for the time you actually plan to be in residence, a considerable savings over purchasing a second home, which generally goes unused for a considerable portion of the year. Whether you're in residence or not, you pay to maintain, heat, insure and provide utility services for a second home. With a second home, you also pay for mortgage and taxes for a full year. With a fractional interest in a timeshare, you share all those expenses with other owners, prorated to reflect the actual fraction of the year the timeshare is available for your exclusive use.

Fractional ownership originated in the U.S. in 1994 with groups of family members or close friends pooling their resources to buy vacation properties. The average fractional owners are married empty-nesters in their mid-50s with an average household income of $500,000. Generally, ownership is divided into fourths, eighths or 13ths with each owner enjoying an equal number of weeks at the property. With fewer restrictions than most timeshares, fractionals can be rented out, shared with family and friends, sold or left to your heir in your will. Like timeshares, fractionals can be exchanged, allowing owners to vacation in other locales.

Fractional ownership offers vacationers some distinct advantages, including the opportunity to vacation longer and more often and the opportunity to vacation in multiple seasons. Many fractional owners enjoy the seasonal delights of both summer and winter at their timeshare.

Fixed or Flex: What Timeshare Plan Is Best?

Timeshare ownership plans come in two basic flavors: fixed weeks or flex (floating) weeks. Which type is best? It depends on your vacation preferences.

Fixed Weeks: You are permanently assigned ownership of a specific unit and reserved a specific week during the year when the timeshare will be available for your exclusive use. The advantage of owning a fixed week is that you always know when and where you will be vacationing. When you want a bit of variety or can't use your week, you can deposit it into an exchange system.

Fixed weeks give you and your family the opportunity to lay down some vacation roots. You can start building vacation traditions, activities your family will look forward to year after year. You may develop friendships with other couples and families that vacation during the same week you do and plan joint events for your annual get-togethers.

Vacationing in the same spot at the same time year after year can provide the foundation for building wonderful family memories. When my friend was a child, every year her family spent the last two weeks in July at her grandmother's cottage on Lake Michigan. She tells grand stories of blueberry picking with friends, everyone trooping over the next morning for a gut-busting blueberry pancake feast. She remembers with fondness lazy days swimming in the lake and building sandcastles on the beach with her sisters. Her grandmother's cottage in Michigan was the site of many early life adventures: learning to sail (and dunking her dad in the process), her first kiss (stolen under the creek bridge), weekly treks to Sherman's for homemade ice cream (and the best chocolate sodas this side of heaven), and long explores back into the sand dunes searching for the elusive deer herd (many hoof prints followed, no deer sighted).

Returning to the same spot every year adds a cozy comfortableness to your vacation. You know what to bring, where things are, what there is to do. Each year new people and new activities will add a little pizazz to your vacation, but you'll find yourself looking forward most to your traditional activities. My friend remembers her childhood vacations with such fondness that she and her husband recently decided to buy a timeshare and start building their own family memories.

Flex (Floating) Weeks: Flex or floating weeks allow you varying degrees of flexibility in selecting the week you use your timeshare property. At some resorts you can schedule your week at any time during the year; others restrict flexibility to certain seasons. Scheduling is based on availability. Be prepared to vacation in a different unit each year. While you may be able to request a particular unit, assignments are based on availability. Resorts with similar seasons such as Hawaii or the Caribbean are more likely to offer the flex system.

If you have a hectic work or family schedule or aren't able to vacation at the same time every year, a flex system is more apt to fit into your lifestyle. A flex timeshare allows you to fit your vacation into your life at your convenience.

If you purchase a timeshare primarily for its exchange value, the flex system facilitates easy exchanges. If you find variety the spice of life, through the exchange system you can vacation in a different exotic locale every year. One year you can ski the slopes of Switzerland; the next, you can bask on the white sands of the Caribbean.

I read about a couple who upon retirement decided to shuck off the shackles of their staid and ordinary life and travel the world -- one timeshare at a time. They became quite adventuresome travelers, eagerly planning each vacation with an eye toward soaking up as much of the local culture as possible. Using a timeshare as their home base, they have snorkeled along Australia's Great Barrier Reef, taken cooking classes in Thailand, cruised the fjords of Norway, and bicycled through France's wine country. With the advantage of timeshare exchanges, the world is now their oyster.