The Coronado Beach Resort offers Su’Ruff Camp at Coronado’s Dog Beach where dogie surf instructors treat your favorite pooch to a one hour surfing lesson. But first they’ll need to look the part…. shake on a pair of complementary brightly colored board shorts and a designer surf bandanna – and don’t forget the camera!!  VIPs (Very Important Pets) are treated to gourmet room service, including a Surf & Turf dinner for surfer dogs and rawhide bones, catnip and scratch poles for your favorite felines.  Loews hotels customarily offer a special room service menu for cats and dogs, specialized bedding, leashes, collars, litter boxes and pooper scoopers.  You’ll also find pet-walking trails and pet-sitting services available at many properties as well.

And if your favorite 4 legged champ turns out to be a real surfing superstar, you may want to return in May for the 5th annual Surf Dog Competition that takes place on May 22, 1020.  This fun event attracts big crowds with proceeds going to a local charity.  Your dog doesn’t like water? – No worries, check out the Pumped Up Pets program and exercise along with your pet instead.

All the amenities are not just for the pets.  Your family will find lots of space to play in the sprawling ocean front resort spread over 15 acres.  You’ll find 3 swimming pools, an 80 slip marina, tennis courts, whirlpools, bike and rollerblade paths, and paddle boat rentals to name a few of the family friendly offerings.  Check out the hotel and all the special packages at LoewsHotels.com.

(Photos are from Loews Hotels’ website)

Currently Pet Airways flies routes between New York, Washington DC/Baltimore, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles.  They are equipped to transport dogs and cats, and in the future will be accepting birds, reptiles and other pets.  Pets are dropped off and picked up at ‘paws lounges’ 2 hours prior to flight time and attendants make sure all your pet’s needs are taken care of prior to the flight.  Likewise, your pet will be given a potty break as soon as the flight lands, and you will be able to track their whereabouts throughout their journey.  I’m beginning to think this airline cares more about their passengers’ well being than the airlines that fly us!!!  Visit PetAirways.com to read about all their services, (pet care product discounts), and flight schedules.  It’s nice to see an airline who is dedicated to the care and comfort of their passengers – even if they do have four legs.

Here are my tips for making sure you bring the best credit card on your next trip.

#1 Let’s discuss Chip and Pin authorizations.  About 2 years ago Europe changed from signature verifications to pin authorizations for credit card transactions.  Unfortunately the USA did not follow suit, so our credit cards are not fully compatible with the European system.  In most instances you won’t have a problem, but we did encounter some difficulties when buying from smaller merchants.  Plan ahead, and be sure your card has a four digit pin assigned to it.  When your transaction is processed, you will be asked to enter the pin number to proceed.  If you don’t have a pin number, just press OK again – but we found the sale did not always go through.  Next time we’ll be better prepared!

#2  Call Your Credit Card Company in advance to verify fees and coverages and let them know you’ll be out of the country.  I was totally surprised to find my major airline credit cards had very different coverages for rental car insurance and foreign currency conversion fees.  Visa and MasterCard charge a 3% fee on every foreign currency conversion, while American Express charges 2%.  Traveler’s favorite, Capital One, charges NO conversion fee – but their rewards program is not as good as the airline’s cards.  My strategy has been to pay for my tour arrangements with a credit card that earns airline frequent flyer miles, and then use a Capital One card for purchases while traveling.  Check the rental car insurance coverage carefully, I’m sure you will find significant differences between cards.  From my experience, American Express had the best overall coverage for all sizes of vehicles.

#3 Just Say No to Dynamic Currency Conversion! Some merchants, rental car agencies and hotels may offer to calculate your bill and process it in US dollars.  This is usually a bad deal.  You will be giving the merchant control over the exchange rate instead of the “interbank exchange rate” used by banks and credit card companies.  And it is likely that your credit card company will still charge you a 1% (or higher) fee for processing the foreign transaction even though no conversion is involved.

#4  Be sure to bring at least two credit cards on your trip, and be sure you and your spouse are carrying different cards.  If one of you has your credit card stolen, the other will still have an compromised card available for use.

So plan ahead and you’ll keep more money in your pocket instead of in the hands of the money changers!!!

If you’d rather spend time with your dog than most of the people you know…  have we got a vacation destination for you! The canine friendly folks at luxury Paws Up Wilderness Resort in Greenough Montana are hosting their annual “Wine and Bitch”Weekend from November 14-18, 2008.  Billed as the ‘The Last Best Place’, Paws Up Resort is a hauntingly beautiful panorama of elegant, rustic, country living at it’s pinnacle.  And you and your dog are invited!

This cheeky weekend celebration is designed to give guests and their canine buddies the time of their lives romping through the wilderness.  Events feature fashion shows, a doggie parade, hand-made doggie treats, spa treatments, and of course lots of fine wine and ‘tail chasing’.  With tongue firmly pressed in your cheek, read all about the festivities at Wine and Bitch.com.

And here I was thinking it was a resort where all us girls could get a little tipsy on vintage wine and gripe about all that annoys us.  Oh well, I guess that wouldn’t play in this beautiful setting where nature is so sublime, who could complain?

Pet Transporter.Com
U Ship.Com
Precious Pet Transporter Services.Com
Small Animal Delivery.Com