Travel News & Alerts

European Refugee Crisis Update:

I am sure many of you have seen the evening news telecasts covering the European refugee crisis, so I thought it was important to give an update on the current situation because this ultimately affects tourists traveling to the region for pleasure especially if you plan to use the train system.

Most importantly is security and your safety during any trip you may take to Eastern Europe.  99.9% of this crisis has been peaceful with very few conflicts arising and those conflicts for the most part have been isolated to temporary housing/camp facilities on the borders of countries, not within any major city.

Aside from security, from a tourist perspective the biggest concern/obstacle is the security procedures and delays with train schedules at some of the major terminals throughout Europe.  Trains are the easiest way for the refugees to cross between countries and get to their final destination (in most cases, Germany).  With all of this said, this is a very fluid situation and things do change on a daily basis.  So if you have an upcoming trip to Eastern Europe, we encourage you to please contact us, so we can ensure you will not experience any delays, new security procedures or obstacles getting to/from your destination.  

For More Information, Please Contact:

Patrick Millard

The Travel Maestro, LLC

(301) 213-8440

Patrick.Millard@TheTravelMaestro.com

El Nino's Potential Impact on Your Upcoming Travel Plans

In addition to the refugee crisis in Europe, you have probably heard about the possibility of an El Niño effect on the weather patterns this winter.  At The Travel Maestro, we are absolutely not experts in meteorology nor do we believe that our own local weather man can accurately predict the weather tomorrow, much less tell us the weather in one or two months from now.  However, El Niño is a real weather occurrence and if scientists are correct, there will be prolonged climate changes in store of us over the coming months.  

So, here is a brief summary of what we can expect in specific regions, if scientists are correct and we have a strong El Niño this year.

• Alaska, Canada and the Northern Half of the United States should see a milder and dryer winter this year.
• Southern Half of the United States, particularly Southern California and the South East region will have a much cooler and wetter winter than normal.  This will bode well for the drought-stricken region of Southern California but will still not make a significant dent in the overall lack of water for the past few years.
• If El Niño does occur, climate will also be affected throughout other regions of the world.  Please refer to the map above (courtesy of NOAA) if you would like to see how other regions of the world may be affected.