Mexico

Did You Buy or Win a Resort Vacation Certificate?

Are you ready for a vacation?

A few months ago, through my real estate business, Jack Edwards Real Estate, I donated two vacation certificates to local Elk Grove nonprofit organizations for their annual fundraising dinner.  The question of course, is it worth your time and money to bid on one of these certificates at the live or silent auction at the fundraising dinner that you will be attending.

Of course the answer is always, “It Depends.”  The biggest “It Depends,” is on when and where you want to travel. These certificates are not for the peak season, but for shoulder season. The shoulder season is the few weeks before or after the time that everyone wants to visit. Personally, I prefer to travel during the shoulder season because the crowds are much smaller, so for me they are always a big win.

I have stayed at many of the locations that are available with these certifiates, and will return to stay there again on a future trip. Since I own a timeshare, I sometimes stay at those locations using the timeshare or using a trade through RCI. If I am low on points, using one of these certificates may be a better option for me. It is all about how and where you travel. You can always bid on it and give it to a friend or one of your kids so that they can travel the world. Other than airfare, assuming that you are flying somewhere, the cost of the lodging is usually your most expensive part of the trip. At $200-$500 per night for some locations, or more, that makes this certifiate easily worth $1400 to $3500 depending on the cost per night at the resort of choice. This certificate can cover that cost.

Let me tell you about the certificate and you can decide for yourself. It comes from Resort Vacation Certificates, which is affiliated with RCI, the worldwide resort destination company. The certificate will give you hundreds of options for an exciting vacation, locally or around the world.

In some locations, you can use the certificate to cover the cost of your room at the resort, but in some locations, especially during peak times, you may have to pay a small fee for the whole week, not each night, in addition to using the certificate. The key is to plan early and book your vacation as soon as possible to get the best choice. You will have to book your vacation before April 25, 2025 and you must start your travel within 365 days of the date booked.

What do you do if you have the winning bid?

If you have the winning bid for the vacation certificate, you will need to provide an email address so that we can send you the certificate.  Once you receive the email, you will be directed to create an account and log into the www.resortscerts.com website. You will be required to register your certificate before you can start to explore and ultimately redeem your certificate and complete your booking.

On the website, you will be able to view all of the available resorts as well as four videos with vacation ideas. I have included links to two of the videos here so that you can have a look before you even consider bidding for the vacation certificate.  Orlando Video.  Mazatlan Video.

Keep in mind that the certificate does not include any of your other expenditures such as air fare, transfers, activities or meals.  Additionally, there will possibly be a required deposit, a resort fee, a charge for housekeeping, as well as a tourist tax. I have seen resorts in Arizona that charge an air conditioning fee.  Some resorts require the visitor be over 21 years of age. If traveling to Africa, you may have to get vaccinations before you leave home. So, before booking, look at the bottom of the resort information page for any additional fees, local taxes or other restrictions. P.S. These fees are not just for certificate holders, they are mandatory for all guests including timeshare owners at the resort.

Here are some thoughts for international destinations. Three of my favorite places to visit would be Cabo San Lucas, Australia and Africa. I have included excerpts from the website showing where some of the resorts are located. You will have full access to all of the locations after you register your certificate.  Again, as a reminder, book as soon as possible for the greatest selections. Also, you will see below that some resorts show that they offer upgrades as well as options for no additional fees. Some resorts also offer to sell you an “All Inclusive” option to cover some of your food and drinks. I just checked on a couple of the resorts discussed in this blog post and some have increased a little since this blog post was first created in April 2024.

In the first image below showing Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, I am showing some of the available resorts. We have stayed at a couple of these resorts. We have stayed several times at the one marked $470 on the right side of the map, which is the Worldmark Coral Baja and the one marked at $555 is the Pueblo Bonito Rose in Cabo San Lucas. The last time I checked, Pueblo Bonito Rose was getting a little run down, but next door is the sister resort of Pueblo Bonito Blanco. Coral Baja and Pueblo Bonito Blanco are great resorts. When the map shows “No charge,” that means that the resort certificate covers your room with out paying an upgrade fee. You may still be charged for other fees noted above.

Below is a graphic showing some options in the Melbourne area of Australia. We have stayed at Phillip Island and will be staying at Torquay this fall. As you can see, most of these resorts are available with an extra fee of between $200 & $302 dollars. Still not to bad for a week in a great resort.

For my Africa example, I am showing South Africa and the town of Hazyview which is just west of one of the main gates into Kruger National Park. We visited there in 2015 and stayed at the Sanbonani Lodge, shown in this example, and enjoyed visiting Kruger every day except for a spa day at the resort to rest and relax.  $362 dollars for a week in a great resort is a great price. Don’t hesitate to ask me about any of these vacation locations.

It seems that most of the resorts in this area of South Africa will charge an extra fee of $361.75 per week for a two bedroom unit that sleeps 6 people. I don’t think you can stay at a Motel 6 for a week for $361.75. I just checked and you can stay at the Motel 6 in Rancho Cordova for about $832 from the 12th to the 19th of July to visit the California State Fair but you won’t get a two bedroom unit because they don’t have any of those. For 6 people, you would need 3 units which would cost you $2496 for the week. If it is for mom and dad and a couple of kids, you may get by with cramming everyone into one room for $832 for the week.

According to The Reserve, a local hotel in Hazyview, which would charge you $179 per night for a room with a bed and a fold out couch, “One of the most enticing aspects of staying in Hazyview is its proximity to the world-famous Kruger National Park.”  The Phabeni Gate is less than 15 kilometers away. Keep in mind that if you want to visit Kruger National Park, they do charge an entry fee. When we were there in 2015, we purchased an annual pass for each of us before we left home and each morning we checked in at the gate and spent the day driving around and game watching. We fully enjoyed our first safari in Africa without breaking the bank. I just looked on May 31st for the Sanbonani and the price is now $365.19 for a week in August 2024. That is still pretty cheap for a week in a great resort. When is the prime time to visit Kruger? Check my guide on the best time to visit Africa and you will find that August is a prime time to visit.

So, are you ready to vacation? Start thinking about where you would like to go and how much less it would cost if you have a vacation certificate that covers most of the cost of lodging for your visit. Yes, there is still air fare or other transportation costs. And there is food; but I bet you were planning on eating if you stayed home for that week.

This is also the perfect vacation option if you want to visit resorts throughout the USA and Canada.  Places like Las Vegas, San Diego, Palm Springs, Sedona, Banff, Calgary, Canmoor  etc…  I have told you a lot about what this vacation certificate is great for, but what it is not great for?

For example, these certificates are for resorts in vacation locations throughout the world, but generally not hotels in big cities, so don’t bid on this item if you want to visit London, Paris, Berlin or Sydney.

Known Traveler Info Updated

These days, almost everyone who travels a lot has Pre-Check or Global Entry or some other program that gives you a Known Traveler Number (KTN).

Here are a few things to keep in mind.

  1.  When you book travel make sure that you put your KTN into your airline’s system to speed your processing during check-in as well as upon your return to the USA. Also, make sure that you add that as well as your passport info in your name as well as your frequent travel partner. Otherwise, you may get Pre-Check and your partner won’t. Your partner won’t be happy with you when they find out that it was all your fault.
  2. If you are like me, you got your Pre-Check first, then later because of expanding to international travel, took the time and effort to get your Global Entry Card. We could not get an interview in our area so we set it up to do the interview in Alabama on a trip to visit family.
  3. You can also get a KTN by applying thru through Nexus, Sentri. You don’t need all 4, just do Global Entry.
  4. With having more than one type of program available, what numbers do you inter for your KTN?
    1. If you only have Pre-Check, you enter that number. Generally it starts with a TT followed by numbers and letters. Once you obtain your Global Entry number, don’t use your Pre-Check number. In fact, go to all of your airline apps and change your Pre-Check number to your Global Entry number. They still call it your Known Traveler Number on every airline website that I have used.
    2. If you have upgraded to Global Entry, use that number and quit using your Pre-Check number. Your Global Entry number is 9 numbers and generally it starts with a 15 or 98 or 99. You can find the number on the back of your card if you ever received a card.  Forget about the two letters and three numbers that you may see showing after the 9 numbers. I don’t know what they are, but the are not a part of the KTN that you need.
  5. Finally, you don’t need to carry your Global Entry card unless you are returning to the US from Canada. They will ask to see it.
  6.  Also, you will not get a notification to update or renew your Global Entry membership. So, go back and find the date that you received it and put a note in your calendar, a couple of months prior to the 5 year expiration date, to log in to do a renewal.  Do your renewal at https://ttp.cbp.dhs.gov.  It will show you your KTN and the expiration date. You can renew it up to 1 year in advance if you wish, but no earlier. Before you renew, you may consider getting a credit card that will pay for your renewal. Get one that also gives you Priority Pass access to the lounges that you will want to visit during those long layovers. I use my Hilton Honors card from American Express. Not only do I enjoy the Priority Pass access to the lounges, I also enjoy the reduced car insurance when I travel to Mexico. My last trip to Cabo, using that card, saved me over $500 on car insurance but also allowed me to use the VIP lounge in Cabo before our trip home. A lot of people use the Chase Sapphire Reserve card for the same type of benefits.
  7. On a similar subject, for those of you who don’t travel internationally very often and chose to stay with Pre-Check, you have another option for your return from your infrequent travels abroad if you return to a major port of entry. That app was called Mobile Passport when it first came out. It was changed to Airside Mobile Passport but it has changed again in February 2022 to CBP MPC which is short for Customs & Border Protection Mobile Passport Control. You often have a line as short or shorter than what you will see for Global Entry, but like I noted, it is not available at every airport or port of entry. Currently only 31 airports and 4 shipping ports. When we returned from Cabo recently, I was telling some of the people in line to board the flight about this App. Unfortunately, we were flying back to the US on Southwest Airlines by way of the John Wayne International Airport in Santa Anna (SNA). If we were entering via PHX, LAX, OAK, SAN, SFO, SJC or SMF, they could have used this App and saved waiting in line with a couple hundred other folks. Keep that in mind when booking your flights if you can use this App.

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel

Travel Documents – COVID-19

It’s Time to Travel!

For the past 2 years, most of us did not do much in the way of international travel because of the COVID-19 restrictions. However, we did manage a 2-week trip to Alberta, Canada last year. I can fully recommend a trip to Calgary. We stayed in Canmore which is just a few miles from Banff. Beautiful place to visit.

Now that most countries are allowing travel, you need to know as much as possible regarding entry requirements for the countries you are visiting or transiting through. It was time for us to dust off our 2020-planned trip to Zambia for another safari.

It is pretty clear that the U.S. still requires an antigen test and in fact, requires you to obtain it one day before you board your airplane to come home. Not a problem since they are available almost everywhere. I had already located the lab in Lusaka, Zambia where we could get the test. That meant staying an extra night in Zambia since their website still said that it would take 24 hours for the results when everywhere else only took 20 minutes; but that was ok. I also discovered that it would be cheaper to do the test at Johannesburg airport, so, at the last minute we changed our plan to get the test in Zambia and opted to get in Johannesburg. That would save us about 500 Rand (about $32 USD). Not a lot of money, but money none the less.

A Bump in the Road

Unfortunately, not every country keeps an updated website listing their requirements, or they are often vague about what you need to do. So, no matter how well you plan, you can still end up with problems like we did.

COVID19 Blank Vac RecordFor example, our planned trip to Zambia would transit through South Africa. When we started planning the trip, both countries required us to get a PCR test 72 hours before going through their countries. In late March 2022, both countries changed their rules. As of March 22, 2022 you had to do the PCR test or to provide proof of vaccination. No where on the government websites of South Africa or Zambia noted what exactly was required for proof. Would they accept the little paper copy of a shot record from Kaiser? That is what we had in hand when we set off on our trip. All set, or so we thought. When we arrived in Johannesburg, late in the evening, they told us that our documents did not meet their requirements because they did not have the QR code, but since the unit that handles that issue was already closed, we were allowed to pass thru without any other issue. Yay!

That meant that we would need to get our vaccination records with the QR code. I did remember logging into a California website a few months earlier that provided a QR code vaccination record. To make sure that we were ready for our return trip, I logged into the California Department of Public Health, Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record website. I completed the information and they provided our proof of vaccination with a QR code. Everything was ready to go with a copy of the document in my phone. (I am sure that your state provides a similar service.)

Are You Kidding Me?

As they say, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry”. When we arrived in Johannesburg, they would not accept our State of California proof with the QR code. They did not say what they would accept, but it had to have the QR code on it. They also said that their rules had changed at 10:00 am that morning which now required their sacred vaccination record with the QR code or an antigen test. Our only alternative was to wait for 2 hours in a line of a few hundred people to get an antigen test before we could actually enter the terminal’s passport check area.

We took our test but, but they did not issue a certificate. They just taped the plastic test piece to our travel documents to enter South Africa and required us to photograph it and show the photo to the border guards. They would not give us the proof of the test. That left us with the question of “How do we get back into the U.S. without a certificate showing that we had a negative antigen test? Then, I remembered our return trip from Canada last October and that the airline only asked for the Passenger Disclosure and Attestation Form, not the test certificate signed off by the person who gave the test. With that in hand, we were ready to return to the US. Just remember that you really want to have that proof of testing in hand when you enter the US. They could always ask for it at your first port of entry as you go through passport control.

We’ll Be Ready Next Time

Africa Union LogoWhen we got home, I was still looking for the info needed to get the correct document with the QR code for travel to Africa. I finally found it so that you don’t have to look for it.

On that site, you fill out the info on your tests from your little vaccine record card. Then photograph it and upload it to their website. When completed, they give you the option to print the certificate with their approved QR code or email it to yourself. I have my document, but I have to say that I am not fully convinced that it will get me through the Johannesburg airport. They will probably have changed their rules before we return to Africa. Just in case, next time I will also have a PCR test before we get on the plane.

There are a couple of additional documents you may need, depending upon which country you are visiting. Both Zambia and South Africa require you to complete a Traveler Health Questionnaire before you land and to provide that document to airport staff person checking your documents. You can even fill out the PDF and bring printed copies with you.

If you were planning to travel to Mexico, I just discovered that “Starting March 2022, it will NO longer be necessary to fill out the Health Questionnaire, to fly in/out from Mexico.”

As with every trip we take, we learn something new. “Travel is broadening”; just don’t come back too broad! We’re looking forward to our next trip, next week, to Cabo San Lucas!

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel

Travel Documents – Real ID

I am sure that you know that you need a passport for most international travel.I am also sure that you have heard that by October 1, 2020, you will need to have your driver’s license updated/reissued to travel stateside in compliance with the Real ID law. Of course, you could use your passport for all of your air travel, but if you don’t want to carry it for domestic travel, get your driver’s license updated if you are over 18 years of age.

Of course, each state has to set up the issuance of a Federally approved Real ID. All of them are doing it through their Department of Motor Vehicles. For my friends who live in California, here is the link to the DMV website to use to determine which of your documents will suffice to get your Real ID. As of September 2019, almost all of the states have had their version of the Real ID approved by the Feds. Click Here for more info. If you live in Oregon or one of the other states without an approved Real ID, make sure that you have your passport in order. Yes, there are a few other documents that will suffice, but whatever you do, don’t show up at an airport after October 1st without the proper ID or you won’t be allowed to fly. That could really ruin an otherwise well planned trip.

Now that we have done the extra research about Real ID, it is time to double check our passports to make sure that we have at least 6 months on our passports beyond the time we will be traveling and that we have at least 2 empty pages for passport stamps and visa stamps for each country that we are visiting.

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel

Another Scam to Avoid

Scam Alert Graphic

I am sure that you have read about the many scams that are played on American tourists such as don’t take the baby that someone tries to hand to you as they use it as a distraction to pick your pocket. Walk away if someone “accidentally” spills mustard on you and tries to wipe it off as a way to get close enough to pick your pocket.

Here is another that the State Department is warning travelers about.  Don’t pick up wallets or other valuables and don’t take them from strangers asking if you dropped it. Just keep walking. This is a common scam targeting tourists. travel.state.gov/scams

Once you have it in your hands, they will say that you stole it and that they will call the police if you don’t pay them. You know that you don’t speak the language so how can you tell the police what really happened. Even if they finally believe you, you may spend a day in jail before you get released. So, don’t pick up something that does not belong to you and don’t ever take anything that anyone hands you.

I know that when traveling in Columbia and Mexico they often try to hand you their goods then ask you to pay for them and they won’t take back the goods that they handed to you. You are tempted to just throw them on the ground and walk away. Of course, now you have just destroyed their goods and you were worse off than if you had paid for the goods.

So, if a stranger tries to hand you something, just don’t take it.  Say no, walk away and don’t look back. If you look back, the will keep trying.  

Make sure to enjoy your trip, but don’t be lulled into the con job they are trying to commit. 

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel