How to Book Train Travel From Budapest to Zagreb

Zagreb, Croatia, is located 342 kilometers (about 210 miles) from Budapest, making it one of the closest European capitals to Hungary. Train travel between the 2 cities is easy to book, and Zagreb is well worth a visit.

Prepare to Travel From Budapest to Zagreb

1 Know the entry requirements for Croatia. U.S. citizens will need a passport and a pre-booked return or onward ticket to enter the country. However, U.S. citizens may stay up to 90 days without a visa.

2 Bring at least 4,000 Hungarian forints per first-class ticket you intend to buy. Second-class tickets usually cost about 2/3 the first-class price.

3 Decide when you'd like to leave. Most days, 4 trains connect Budapest and Zagreb via Siofok on Lake Balaton. Most trains make the trip in about 6 hours, but some routes make additional stops. Timetables can be found online at the Hungarian railway Web site (see Resources).

Book Your Ticket From Budapest to Zagreb

1 Go to a Budapest train station. The Budapest-Keleti train station ticketing agents will have probably more experience with westbound international travel. The central ticket office for the Hungarian state railway in Budapest will probably have more experience dealing with foreigners.

2 Order your ticket or tickets as clearly as you can and don't leave out any information. Say when you'd like to leave, where you are going, what class you will be traveling and how many tickets you would like.

3 Call mom once you've arrived safely: there are many public phones and many kiosks that sell calling cards in Glavni kolodvor.

How to Become a Certified Travel Agent

If you are interested in becoming a Travel Agent, and wish to seek employment in an agency, here are some tips for you to get started. I have had 10 years of experience and earned my CTC degree, and several Destination Specialist Certificates.

1 Call your local Travel Agencies and speak with the manager or Senior Consultants. Ask him/her if their agency or chain of stores offers a Travel School Certificate program, or if they know of any near by or one they can recommend. These courses will often require observing in a Travel Agency, and use classroom training.

2 You can also do a search online, for Travel Training Schools. Check resources below. To search your specific state, type in the words "travel school" or key phrases for your area. Such at this Web site, http://www.education****-search.com/programs/hospitality_and_retail_management/travel_agent_school. Travel schools are available in many states as well as online.

3 Visit The Travel Institute's Web site, and begin studying at home. Their Web site is, http://www.thetravelinstitute.com/home.cfm?tn=standard&menuid=84&navids=1,84&pageid=72. A link is also provided below, regarding entry-level training, in resources below.

4 Once you are hired full-time, you can further educate yourself, and earn more certificates through The Travel Institute, including earning the title "Certified Travel Consultant", otherwise written CTC (once earned)after your name.

5 The Travel Institute offers many courses, such as Destination Specialist Certificates (DS), and Lifestyle Specialist Certificates (LS), to advance your career.

How to Use a Travel Agent IATA Number

Every bona fide travel agency, or travel agent, must have an identifying number in order to work with travel suppliers such as cruise lines and tour operators. That number is called an IATA number, or International Air Transport Association number. Persons who want to work as travel agents must know what an IATA number is, how to obtain an IATA number with which to work with travel suppliers, what a psuedo-IATA number and TRUE I.D. number are, and when to utilize the IATA number.

How to Use a Travel Agent IATA Number

1 Develop a relationship with a host agency and have a written agreement regarding your commission rate, and what the host agency will provide to you, including leads, or advertising.

2 If you do not want to work with a host agency, obtain a pseudo-IATA number with a travel supplier you intend to do regular business with, or apply for a TRUE I.D. through the Outside Sales Support Network (OSSN).

3 Apply for an account with each travel supplier you intend to work with, or obtain your host agency's list of preferred suppliers. You will be required to supply your own, or the host agency's, IATA number in your application, whether you apply online, or via telephone.

4 Have the IATA number you are using handy when you call a travel supplier for a quote, or a reservation. No travel supplier will even talk to you until they know that you are a bona fide travel agent working for yourself, or with a host agency.

5 Keep track of your sales and the commission amount, which can run anywhere from 7% to 25%. As you receive commission checks directly from the travel supplier, or your host agency, mark the commissions as paid.

How Does a Text Message Travel From One Phone to Another?

Short Message Service (SMS)

SMS is the service through which text travels from one phone to another. Messages are limited to 160 characters including spaces, hence the name "short messaging service." Depending on your cell phone provider, your phone will either prevent you from typing past 160 characters, or it will send your message in blocks of 160 characters.

The Control Channel

Once your message is typed, it travels through radio waves to the control channel. The control channel is the pathway that allows your phone to communicate with your cell phone tower so that your phone can send and receive calls, data packets and SMS messages.

The Short Message Service Center

The short message service center (SMSC) is the section of your wireless service that stores, forwards and receives SMS messages. Once a text message travels through the control channel, it arrives at the SMSC to be stored or sent immediately if the recipient's cell phone is active and enabled to receive text messages. If the recipient's cell phone is inactive or otherwise unable to receive text messages, then the SMSC stores the message until it can be sent.

How to Write a Travel Article

Travel writing is a great way to combine the love of travel and the love of writing into a lucrative and rewarding career. Travel writing isn’t rocket science, but it can be a tricky door to break into, and you’ll need to follow some simple guidelines in order to produce a story that publishers will want to run. Travel writing is a little bit of journalism mixed with journaling, topped off with useful information about locations. The best part about travel writing is being able to create your own voice and be honest about the things you’re doing, which is wholly separate from the unbiased rules of reporting.

1 Determine your audience. Your audience will determine the final article you produce and should be who you have in mind during your experience. Is this for a leisure travel magazine, a college newspaper or an online travel website? Adult travel magazines will likely need a more mature voice and a more upscale itinerary, while college newspapers are looking for more affordable, backpacker-style travel advice. Wherever you plan to publish, do your research by reading plenty of back issues and learning the voice and style of your publication.

2 Be prepared. Always carry a pen and notebook with you to make important notes and to help remember obscure events. Be sure to include street names, prices for museums and other sites and information on how to get from place to place. Use your personal experience as a guide for what readers need to know. Answer the questions that you had. Keep in mind when you got lost and various things you did wrong, so you don’t allow your reader to make the same mistakes.

3 Take pictures. You should always have a camera with your when traveling to record the things you are seeing and places you are visiting, if for no one else, but yourself. This will help you to remember things you might have forgotten and could give you an opportunity to publish them with your article. Most travel magazines will use professional photos, but you never know when someone might ask to use yours.

4 Research your location. Travel articles combine a personal travel story together with a knowledge of the place being visited, so you’ll need to know the important facts and history of the place your are visiting and include them in the article. Add a few historical highlights to the tale of your personal journey to create a cyclical and complete travel article.

5 Say something new. This is the biggest challenge when it comes to travel writing. There are a multitude of articles covering every location, monument, restaurant and local hangout across the globe, so it’s important that your article provide new information about the place you are visiting. Talk to the locals and try to discover the secret or obscure places that have been relatively untouched by travelers and journalists. You must be willing to experience things rather than merely observe them. Try an unusual cuisine, dance the local dance and get involved in the things around you.

6 Create a fresh voice. Don’t be afraid to be kitschy, funny or brutally honest in your writing. Travelers look to travel articles as a source and guide for their next trip, so if you’re not honest about a place you visited, people won’t trust that you know what you’re talking about. Everyone has different travel tastes, but there are people out there who have similar tastes to you. Write for them.

7 Write the facts. Your first draft should get the basic details and important information about the specific journey. Don’t worry if the first draft is dry and bit boring because you’ll edit it later. Make sure you cover all the important information about the location, such as if and when there is a daily siesta, how late banks are open and if you can change money on Sundays. Your readers should be able to follow in your footsteps, so provide addresses and easy-to-follow directions when necessary.

8 Give your article a kick. Once you have your facts and important information, you’ll want to make your story come alive. Use metaphors and descriptive language to liven it up. If you’re in a foreign country, talk about the local flavor, throw in a few common phrases and try using quotes from other travelers or from books of poetry that were written on the places you’re visiting. The best writer will be able to capture the audience by their writing alone, no matter how dry the subject matter.

9 Be honest, personal and funny. Tell the reader what you liked or disliked about the location and why. Tell the funny stories and mishaps. People fight change, and traveling forces people to try new things and adjust their comfortable lifestyles, which makes for interesting travel stories. Tell your readers about those funny incidences that occurred on your journey, and they won’t be so surprised when something similar happens to them. People like to identify with others, especially in their travel experiences, so telling your personal story is a great way to connect with your audience.

10 Edit your work. The last thing you need is to turn in a mediocre article filled with punctuation and grammar mistakes. Also be sure to fact check all of your information to be sure that you have correct addresses, museum prices and local currency. Be extra careful where historical information is concerned. If you’re unsure about anything, don’t include it in the piece.

How to Make a Travel Brochure

Travel brochures are information packages to advertise local tourist attractions. Some are made by local states, some by individual travel agencies. A good travel brochure would include pictures of points of interest, local parks and landmarks. Description of each destination is also necessary to help tourists decide where to go and what to do. There are numerous software programs you can use to create a travel brochure. Professional software can cost you thousands of dollars. You can just easily design your travel brochures using Microsoft Word. You don't even have to be a computer wizard. Here is how.

1 We are going to make a fourfold brochure with finished size of 3.5" x 11". To do so, we will create

2 separate 11x14 legal size documents. They will be printed back to back and folded up evenly.

2Open a new Microsoft Word document, under templates, select brochures and click the 8.5" x 14" landscape 4-fold travel brochure template. You will see two spreads. Save as California Tours.

3 Click on the text box and enter your own text. Click on the pictures and insert your own photos. Adjust size of text box and pictures by dragging on the sides and corners. To keep pictures proportional, hold shift and drag on the corner. Highlight text to format to different sizes, fonts and colors.

4 Do the same for the second spread.

5 Save the final design and email to your local printer and ask them to print it out on semi-gloss magazine paper stock.

About Traveling With Pets in Airplane Cargo

Traveling with or transporting pets in airplane cargo requires a lot of information, thought and planning ahead. Even under the best conditions, air travel can be difficult for some pets. You should talk to your veterinarian before transporting your pet by air, not only to satisfy the official airline regulations, but to make sure that your pet is healthy and stable enough to tolerate travel related physical stresses as well as the stress of separation from familiar humans and surroundings.

Will My Pet Be Safe?

Federal rules now require airlines to make known to the public the number of animals killed or injured on flights. Some of the airlines are now refusing to allow pets to be checked as baggage because of the possibility of dangerous heat in cramped cargo holds. Some airlines limit pets traveling in cargo to temperate seasons only. Pets weighing more than 15 or 20 pounds must be checked as baggage or sent as cargo if they are to travel by air. Giant-size kennels can only be shipped as cargo and most airlines have a 100 pound weight limit for both animal and carrier. On the major airlines, the cargo section is supposed to be fully pressurized and properly heated, but crated animals in cargo have had problems and there have been some deaths. People should be especially cautious if the traveling pet is old, unhealthy, timid, or if it is a short-nosed breed. Your animal will never be put through the x-ray machine, but you will probably be asked to take your pet out of its carrier so the carrier can be sent through the machine.

Airline Pet-Transport Policies

Each airline has its own specific regulations, as well as kennel, temperature, size, breed, and species restrictions. To be sure you have the most up-to-date information available, it is essential to contact the airline you have chosen before making travel plans for your pet. Some airlines allow pets in the cabin and to be checked as baggage. Some accept pets as cargo only and others do not allow pets to be checked as baggage or placed in cargo. A few airlines have special sections of their cargo planes and domestic flight planes set up for safely transporting pets. Some require that the customer will be traveling on the same flight. There are airlines which only allow service animals to travel on their planes. All airlines require advance reservations and strict adherence to rules when it comes to flying with pets.

Health, Comfort & Safety Rules

You will need a health certificate with proof of current immunizations, provided by your veterinarian, in order to comply with the airline, state and federal rules. To be valid for your trip on most airlines, the certificate should be issued no more than seven to ten days before your pet's departure date. An airline cannot transport a pet that is violent or dangerous, so it is important that the pet's paperwork includes information about personality as well as health.

USDA requires that you give your pet water and a small amount of food about four hours before you check in at the airport. The kennel must display labels on top and on at least one side with the words LIVE ANIMALS printed in 1-inch-high letters and it must also display your telephone number and/or the phone number of a person who can be contacted about your pet when it reaches the destination, especially if you are sending your pet unaccompanied by cargo plane.

Airline Security Regulations

Check with the specific airline to find out the exact amount of time they require you to arrive before your pet's trip. For pets transported as cargo, the airline may ask you to take your pet out of its kennel to allow security officers to screen the kennel before your pet can be approved for air travel. When your pet travels as checked baggage in the plane's cargo hold and you have to switch planes, most airlines cannot transfer your pet to another airline. Each airline must inspect your pet at the time it accepts your pet for transport. On a trip involving more than one airline, you will probably have to claim your pet at the connecting airport and check in with the agents at the new airline. This will definitely take additional time so factor it into your schedule.

Pet Transporters and "Travel Agents"

If for any reason, you cannot travel on the same flight with your pet there are licensed businesses and people who can help you. These companies help people, organizations, businesses, and the military make travel arrangements and even accompany your pet. You can find them online by searching for "Pet Transporters."

Check with individual airlines as to specific regulations, restrictions, safety records and costs before selecting the best one for your pet. It would be best not to rely entirely on website information because rules and prices change frequently and sometimes seasonally. Contact the airline and insist on speaking with someone who is knowledgeable about traveling with and transporting pets on airplanes.

How to Travel With My Dog on an Airplane

Regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the International Air Transport Association, air travel with a dog requires that pet owners follow the rules and restrictions set in place by the airline they choose. Most airlines allow small animals to travel in the passenger cabin with the owner, while larger dogs are placed alone in the cargo hold. Early preparation, and determining what your airline requires, saves time and headaches when planning to travel in the cabin with your dog.

1 Purchase a pet carrier that meets the airline's standards, has a waterproof bottom and will slide under the airplane seat in front of you. Fit it with an old towel or blanket to keep your dog comfortable. Label the carrier with your name, address, cell phone number and the phone number at your destination.

2 Obtain a health certificate from your veterinarian stating that your dog is current on all vaccinations and in good health.

3 Check with your airline regarding age and weight restrictions for your dog. For example, American Airlines requires that dogs be at least 8 weeks old and less than 20 pounds.

4 Book a non-stop flight if possible. Remember that while your dog is on the plane, it will not be allowed out of the crate during the flight and will not be able to relieve itself--except in the carrier.

5 Withhold solid food starting approximately four hours before the flight, to avoid any vomiting or stomach distress.

6 Check in to your flight at least three hours before departure. This allows for all veterinary documentation to be checked, for you to reserve space for your dog, and for you and your pet to go through security.