Many vacationers look forward to traveling during the
summer months to the Caribbean, Florida and vacation
resorts along the Gulf of Mexico.

While the late spring and summer offer tremendous
travel bargains, these months also correspond with the
start of the hurricane season. Recently there has been
an increase of travel in the "off peak" months of July
and August, when many families have the opportunity to
get away on vacation. This year in particular, many
potential vacationers have been unsure whether to plan
a vacation in the areas mentioned above.

The people of the Caribbean sum up hurricane season
with the following saying: June - Too Soon; July -
Stand By; August - Look Out You Must; September -
Remember; October - All Over.

What you need to understand about the nature of the
current hurricane patterns

The experts agree the rise in the number of hurricanes
in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico are likely to
continue. Most of the experts in this field believe
global warming is responsible for the fuel that turned
Katrina from a slow moving tropical storm into one of
the most deadly hurricanes in U.S. history. The water
temperature in the Gulf was higher than normal, and
whether you believe in global warming or not, the
facts are the Caribbean and Gulf regions will be
dealing with more active hurricanes for at least the
next 15 years.

First of all, we usually think of hurricanes as highly
destructive wind storms, but it is the water that
kills people, animals and vegetation. It's the storm
surge that produces flooding, such as what happened
in New Orleans, and storm surges produced the deadly
mudslides in the Caribbean island of Haiti last
summer.

Currently the Caribbean/Atlantic hurricane season
starts officially on June 1 and ends on November 30.
Hurricanes are uncommon in June, early July and
November, and the peak months are August, September
and October. But changes in the world's climate
indicate that hurricane season could be extended to
include May and December. In the coming years, July
and November could be seen as peak months. The good
news is that tropical storms that develop at either
end of the season are usually weak.

Can you find a "storm free" vacation during the summer
months?

Most hurricanes form over the North Atlantic, coming
off the coast of Africa. They then head in a westerly
direction towards the Caribbean, then usually turn
north towards the U.S. coast. Some of the storms may
turn northwards in the open waters of the Atlantic
before reaching the islands of the Caribbean.

The islands of Trinidad and Tobago are located beyond
the southern end of the Windward Island chain, and
these two islands experience much less storms than in
the islands that lie further north. Barbados has also
been lucky in that the island has not experienced a
direct hit in over 20 years. The ABC islands of Aruba,
Bonaire and Curacao, are also located outside of the
usual hurricane belt, along with Margarita Island,
which is located just off the coast of Venezuela. The
Seychelle islands in the Indian Ocean have escaped
tropical storms by the close proximity to the Equator.

While the islands listed above have not seen recent
hurricane damage, there is no guarantee these islands
will always be completely safe during hurricane
season. However the chance of running into a hurricane
is actually very small - millions of people travel to
these areas and enjoy a wonderful tropical vacation.

Since 1995, the Atlantic hurricane season has been
above normal, which means more storm activity. From
1970 to 1994, the activity was below normal, and these
cycles come in 20 + year spans. So we will be dealing
with more active hurricane seasons for quite a few
years.

What to do if you are caught in a hurricane

Hurricanes do not come up suddenly, and there is at
least a 3 day warning on a specific, direct hit. Most
vacationers immediately leave their vacation spot when
threatened with a hurricane, however some will choose
to ride it out, or fail to realize there will be no
flights to get them out at the last minute if they
finally decide to leave.

When a hurricane approaches the first thing you need
to do is move far away from beach areas to avoid the
storm surge. Hurricanes season is nothing new to
Caribbean islanders, and many have dealt with plenty
of hurricanes before. The only advice that can be
given is to follow the directions of local officials,
and evacuate to the nearest storm shelter or
designated facility.

The most damaging winds of the hurricane are found
within a 50-100 mile radius of the storms eye.
Normally an island in the path of a hurricane will
experience a day or two of normal activity - depending
on the intensity of the storm.

Tropical storms in other regions of the world

Tropical storms always occur in oceanic basins inside
the tropics. The only difference is we call these
storms by different names.

In the Atlantic/Caribbean, Pacific cost of Mexico we
call these storms hurricanes. In the north-west
Pacific region around Taiwan, Japan and the
Philippines, these storms are called typhoons, and
cyclones are the name given around Australia and in
the Indian Ocean. No matter what you call these storms
around the world, they are in essence the same thing.

No one can be promised a "storm free" vacation during
hurricane season.

Here's a few important things we advise travelers to think about . . .

(1) Travelers booking vacations on their own need to
be better informed about hurricane season, and the
particular locations safety policies and procedures.
Working with a travel professional can definitely be
an advantage if you need to change travel plans, or be
advised of safety information prior to your trip. If
you decide to book at one of the online travel sites,
you cannot expect to get much assistance in an
emergency.

(2) Take a look at travel insurance policies. There
are many policies to fit any vacationers needs, and we
suggest you read the fine print to make sure what is
covered, and what is not. If you cannot afford to lose
the money you invested in your trip, you need to
purchase travel insurance.

The purchase of travel insurance policies have doubled
over the past few years, and the major cancellation
reasons are illness, death and weather related. Most
policies are over 10 pages, and you can ask for a
policy interpretation if you do not fully understand
what the policy covers.

(3) Take advantage of Last Minute Vacation Packages.
Not only can you save a bundle, there will be no
chance of getting caught in a tropical storm or
hurricane activity since there is plenty of advance
warning. Last minute vacations are available within 14
days of travel.

(4) Always use a credit card for travel purchases. You
can always file a claim with your credit card company
for services or goods that you have not received.

Using debit cards can be tricky since the actual funds
have already been taken from your account. With a
credit card, a hold is often put on your account
before the actual charge appears. This same hold can
turn up on your bank account. In other words, a charge
can show up twice on your bank account. A hold can
stay on your account for up to a week in some cases.
Once the "hold" falls off, you will have access to
that money, however in the meantime, you may find
yourself without available funds.

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