The armchair vacation planner

"What can be more palpably absurd than the prospect held out of locomotives traveling twice as fast as stagecoaches?"

--The Quarterly Review (England), March 1825

Americans, ever on the move, now travel faster in their own vehicles than the early locomotives did, let alone the stagecoaches. The author of this quote would be appalled at the speed of today's world, a pace that carries over to our vacations. Americans love to be on the go, traveling to distant places. And members of the uniformed services--Active, Reserve or retired are no exception to the travel bug. But you have the advantage of numerous travel destinations throughout the world that are offered to service members at reduced rates or military vacation spots available to service members only.

If you live near a military base, your first stop for information should be the Morale Center (if there is one), where a treasure trove of information is available on local and foreign vacation and travel opportunities. For many Reservists and retirees, however, proximity to these recreation resource centers is not an option.

There are easy ways to get around this issue, and in this article I will touch on just a few of the many ways you and your family can schedule a wonderful vacation, without traipsing to your not-so-local base. You simply have to know where to look--and often it's as close as your computer and as accessible as the Internet. As you will see, going to just one of the Web sites listed below will lead you to another, which will lead to another.... It's addictive, but take your time, and enjoy your research.

A great place to start is www.militaryliving .com. Their publications are updated regularly, are usually available at exchanges, and can be purchased through their Web site. They tell you where you can go (world-wide military lodging--Europe, the Near East, Vietnam, for example) and how to get there (road atlases and Space-A guides).

A similar resource is the Military Travel Reading List, www.militaryreadinglist.com/ militarytravel/militarytravel.htm. Utilizing the library of books they recommend will give you much-needed information on Space-A and U.S. and European travel. Their list of suggested travel books, as well as those associated with military travel, will be a great help in your planning process. In all cases, a link to a Web site to purchase the guides is provided.

Do not, in today's world, limit yourself to a "hard copy" book or periodical. Where books and newsletters serve as good sources for details of what is available, they suffer from inherent time constraints. Think of your years in academia, and how you evolved from doing your research in encyclopedias to doing it in scholarly books and relevant periodicals. Back in our pre-computer days, an encyclopedia served as the beginning of a project, a place that would point us to other sources of information. So, too, today should anything tangible. Look to the books and newsletters to find Web sites that can be updated in a moment, an especially valuable tool if your schedule is flexible enough to allow you to leave on short notice to take advantage of some of the best deals.

My electronic journey uncovered a wealth of sites with bargains galore all over the world. Admittedly just scratching the surface of what's out there, here's what I found, in no particular order:

11th Hour Vacations (www.11thhourvacations.com/resorts/military_discount.php?n) provides a full range of travel services, including vacation packages and cruises where they offer an additional $50 off to military personnel. As their name implies, they have a number of last-minute packages for the flexible traveler.

Armed Forces Vacation Club (www.afvclub .com) is connected to many of the MWR facilities at our bases. They, too, offer many leisure travel packages, and specialize in condo pack ages around the world.

Army MWR Travel (www.armymwr.com/ portal/travel) is a site maintained by the U.S. Army's MWR staff. It is a "one-stop shopping" travel service that can provide not only the travel deals you're looking for, but also information on military recreation sites.

FLAUSA (www.flausa.com/tools/hotdeals/military.php) is a site maintained by the state of Florida. You can "click on" various areas within the state to see what is available in the way of accommodations and attractions.

A site that provides helpful information for women in the military or wives of military personnel is herMilitary (www.hermilitary .com/herravel.htm). A full range of travel services is available, as well as travel advice and support.

Luxury-Stores.com (http://travel.luxurystores.com/military-discount-airline-tick- ets.html) like the others provides a full range of travel services.

Military.com (www.military.com/Travel) is, like the Army MWR Web site, a place to find a wide range of travel packages, as well as information on military lodging. In addition, they provide what data are allowed on the Internet on Space-A travel.

MilitaryNow.com (www.militarynow.com) is, like the AFVC and herMilitary, focused on the needs of military members and their families. Their Web site is all-inclusive, with material on numerous other discounts in addition to their travel services.

Military-Travel.net (www.militarytravel. net), an affiliate of Hotels.com, offers a 5 percent discount on their already low prices. Through this site, you have access to more than 5,000 hotels throughout the world.

Military Travel Store (www.militarytravelstore.com) not only can book your travel, they can even provide air travel financing for all military personnel.

MilitaryVacations.US (www.militaryvacations.us) is an impressive Web site that specializes in cruises, resorts, and tours worldwide. They, too, offer last-minute packages at a substantial discount.

Travel30 (www.travel30.com/military-discounts.htm) has it all. The complete range of travel services, including last-minute deals and vacation financing, is available in an easy-to-manage Web site.

USAA Travel Services (www.usaa.com), for USAA members only, offers a wide range of travel services, specializing in cruises and tours with a military theme (e.g., a D-Day 60th Anniversary tour).

You can sign up for a bi-weekly travel newsletter (www.govarm.com) directed toward all current and retired members of the armed forces and federal, state and local government employees. This newsletter features members-only rates for airfare, car rental, hotel rooms, golf and RV rentals worldwide. A portion of the proceeds goes to support recreation and MWR offices.

There are so many more opportunities out there. In addition to the widely published military lodging sites, individual services have facilities that are not publicized as widely. There may be additional restrictions on their use (rank and/or service priority being most common). Check with your service to uncover these little gems that may be just what you're looking for.

I hope my guidance proves helpful to you. Through your years of service, you and your family have more than earned a relaxing, or at least interesting, vacation. By taking advantage of these "military-only" offers, you may save a little money in order to buy that "My parents went on vacation to--, and all I got was this lousy tee shirt." And when you arrive at your destination--no matter the speed at which you travel--be sure to allow some time for relaxation!

"It is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, and certainly not desirable, as one's hat keeps blowing off."

--Woody Allen

HOT TIPS

Family members of Active Duty and retirees get Space-A air travel privilege when traveling with their sponsors in the 48 United States (CONUS). Active and retired military family members have been eligible to travel with their sponsors to Hawaii, Alaska and U.S. Territories and Foreign Countries for many years. This new rule affects point-to-point travel in the continental United States, which has not been available in the past. The one-year test that began April 1, 2003 was extended indefinitely on February 26, 2004. For updates on the expiration date, go to militaryliving.com.

As part of "Operation Freedom Lodging," Vail Resorts in Colorado is offering 1,000 free nights to service members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Members from any branch of service who served 30 or more days in these countries are eligible to receive up to three consecutive nights of lodging at Vail Resorts-owned and operated hotels in Breckenridge and Keystone.

Qualified service members wishing to make reservations for Operation Freedom Lodging should call Breckenridge at (800) 832-3694, and Keystone at (800) 270-4690. For more information on the verification process, call Ft. Carson Morale, Welfare and Recreation at DSN 691-2083 or (719) 526-2083.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Reserve Officers Association of the United States
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group