Pets are an integral part of ones family, especially for all pet lovers. So, when a family goes on vacation it is considered that the pet goes along. All vacation planning thus includes the pets and pet friendly vacations and travel planning make more sense. According to statistics, 60 million households in the USA are proud pet owners. About 15 million or 25% of these pet owners travel on vacations with their pets and stay in pet friendly lodgings. For the convenience of these pet owners pet friendly hotels, vacation home rentals and condos are available across many locations. The following are a few tips to keep in mind while traveling with a pet.
1. While making your vacation rental or hotel reservations, make sure you double-check that pets are permitted. Make sure that you get the ?pets allowed? receipt for your reservation either online or through normal mail channels. Verbal assurances cannot be relied upon.
2. The next step is to get your pet acquainted with traveling. One can achieve this by using the car. Get the pet into the car and make sure you play with it to make it relax. After a while, take it for a short drive. Increase the length of the drives bit by bit, so that the pet gets used to long drives that you may take on most vacations.
3. Keeping the safety factor foremost in mind, make sure you get your pet to get used to being secured inside the car. Securing harness can be bought from the local pet stores.
4. Make sure you pet is properly tagged with the identification containing the pet's name, owners name and the phone number, preferably your vacation rental's or cell phone number. This will ensure that the pet is returned to you easily in case it wanders off in new surroundings. Make sure you have a photograph of your pet handy, so that in case of a loss, enquiries are easier.
5. Always check with your vet before the vacation, if any vaccinations are needed to suit the environment of your destination. If your pet is a dog, make sure you carry the up-to-date rabies tag on its collar. It could be required in many places.
6. Upon arrival at the pet friendly vacation rental always inform the check-in person or staff that you have a pet along with you. Make sure you understand and follow the rules of the place regarding pet restricted areas in the vacation rentals.
7. Never let the pet use the furniture in the pet friendly vacation rental for sitting or sleeping unless covered with your own sheet. Use the bathroom for placing water and food containers over an old newspaper to facilitate cleaning up.
8. Avoid leaving the pet unattended in a pet friendly vacation rental. If you have to do so, please inform the clerk or the rental agent of the same. Make sure you pet is secured while doing so lest it may surprise or hurt the vacation rental staff.
Traveling and vacationing with pets can be fun, if you use a little commonsense and care while doing so.
For some people, camping is a way to get back to nature while for others it means bringing out the big toys and having some fun. For the people who bring out the big motor home equipped with satellite television, cook tops, refrigerators and other neat gadgets, camping can leave a negative impact on the environment. For the people who wish to camp and do so while leaving the smallest ecological footprint possible, there are some clever tricks to keeping your camping ?green? and safe.
LED Flashlights and Lanterns
LED lights are the most energy efficient light source currently available for flashlights and lanterns. They produce a brighter sustained light while still using less battery power than a traditional flashlight. In fact quality LED flashlight can provide over 600 hours of light from one set of regular AA or AAA batteries. The combination of battery savings and bulb efficiency results in up to 90% less energy consumption than any other flashlight. LED lanterns use the same bulb technology making them a good idea for having around the campsite as well.
Wind-up LED flashlights are an even more environmentally-conscious light source. These are fairly easy to use. All you have to do is wind them up to create power creating friction and turn it on. These lights don't put out as strong of a light as a regular LED but they are an excellent option for short hiking excursions.
Cookware
Don't use styrofoam cups while camping, no matter how convenient they may seem. The same goes for paper plates and disposable plastic forks. Instead, camp with reusable dishes and utensils and wash them after each use. This will drastically decrease the amount of trash you burn (bad for the enviro-gases pollute the air) or throw away (plastics don't biodegrade quickly, overfilling our landfills).
Recycle
Think about what you do at home to be ecologically friendly and institute it on your camping trip. Keep paper bags or bins around for recycling. You can then easily take this stuff back with you and recycle it appropriately when you get home. Also, consider composting your trash in a bucket if you can.
Go Low -Tech
A tent and sleeping bag is far more environmentally friendly than a motor home or camper trailer. Motor homes require large amounts of fuel and energy to keep in operation every day. With the cost of energy and fuel where it is right now, your camping trip could cost you a lot less if you consider more green camping alternatives.
You can enjoy a true outdoor camping excursion more if you do it electricity free. Leave the games, portable TVs, and computers at home. Pack a cell phone or PDA in case of emergencies but turn it off or just plain leave it alone. Every little bit helps when it comes to reducing how much energy we consumer every year.
Cookstoves
Unless you're allergic to smoke or have strong asthma symptoms, the campfire is still the most ecologically friendly way to cook food. Fueled grills require propane or electricity to operate. Campfire requires wood that can be easily picked-up off the forest floor and a light source. It may not be practical to cook everything you want on a fire but you can use it for some things to help reduce the amount of time you cook on a fueled cook stove.
Going on a green camping trip can actually be one of the more fun vacations you take this summer. Look into ways you can help make less of an impact on the environment the next time you venture out into your home state's mountain country or forested parks.
Both Milan Matchev & Ben Anton are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Milan Matchev has sinced written about articles on various topics from Advertising Guide, Vacation Rentals and Travel and Leisure. - Holiday Homes and Vacation Rentals where you can thake your dog or cat with you - leader in luxury vacation rentals on worldwi. Milan Matchev's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.
Ben Anton has sinced written about articles on various topics from Software, Home and Writing. Ben Anton writes for Discount Lights and Knives from his home in Portland, Oregon. Want more information on preparing for a ? Visi. Ben Anton's top article generates over 1220000 views. to your Favourites.