Amazon.com Travel is a sensitive business， one where your decisions do make a difference， from the little details on up. Your choice of destination， obviously， will influence your experience， but so will the shoes you choose to walk in， how much luggage you opt to bring， where you stay， what inoculations you get before you go， and with whom you decide to travel. Travel is often associated with spontaneity and freedom， but there's usually some preparation and forethought necessary to get you to that carefree time. That's where Deborah Burns comes in. An accomplished， savvy traveler herself， she writes sensibly and lucidly on those little things (itineraries， visas， foreign languages， transportation， children， and budgets) that make the difference between a holiday to dream about and a nightmare vacation experience. The more preparation the better. Some visas take months to procure. The best travel deals are often available far in advance of departure. And as for those shoes， to bring comfortable， well-broken-in footwear， you can't go shopping for them a week before you leave. Covering health， business， souvenirs， safety， dining， and what to pack， Burns's most important lesson is that you don't need to learn everything the hard way. --Stephanie Gold --This text refers to the Paperback edition. From Library Journal Most of these tips from Burns will help the novice and inform seasoned travelers about， for example， international driving permits and foreign pay phone cards. None of this replaces a good travel agent， who might urge cancellation insurance (which Burns never takes out). Some hints are odd， like adding salt to local (boiled/bottled) water that tastes bad. Burns concentrates on overseas travel by air， boat， auto， and rail. Unwisely， details of escorted bus tours， a delightful way to view Ireland， Italy， Portugal， etc.， are omitted. Good advice on packing， foreign exchange， bargaining， beggars， tipping， and more is read mellifluously by Suzanne Toren. A welcome addition to the travel section of popular libraries.AGordon Blackwell， Eastchester， NYCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information， Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition. See all Editorial Reviews