Here are some tips for making your travel a bit easier.

On the Bus:
Many discount bus operators have emerged in the past year, giving penny-pincher passengers one-way tickets for as little as $1. They key to getting these cheap fares is, of course, to buy early. If you haven’t done so already, buy them now!

Like any wheeled vehicle, buses are still subject to traffic conditions, just like any other car. Bring a book, charge your iPod, try to travel outside of rush hour, and don’t cut your time too close. If you have to be at Aunt Millie’s place for dinner at 3 p.m., it’s best not to take the bus that is scheduled to arrive at 2:30 p.m. Try to be flexible.

Those traveling by bus after the holidays should check out MegaBus–the discount bus company is giving away 100,000 free bus tickets for travel between January 14 and March 18. Seeing as their tickets generally start at $1, and now they’re giving away 100,000 free tickets, I’m not really quite sure how the company stays in business. But hey, I’ll take it.

By Rail:
Those who don’t like the confinement of a bus or the lines at the airport can opt to travel the old-fashioned way. Sure, it might take some four hours to get from D.C. to New York on Amtrak (compared to the 45 minutes on a plane), but–and especially if you are lucky enough to sit in a “quiet car”–think of all the reading and/or sleep you can catch up on, and of all the leg cramping that you can avoid.

At the Airport:
Don’t try to pack food on the plane. It’s messy, and the whole point of traveling elsewhere for the holidays is to have someone else do all the cooking, right? TSA advises against trying to carry-on the following items: cranberry sauce, maple syrup, and gravy (among other foods). And while you can’t bring those foods on the plane, you can bring cakes and pies; however, desserts are subject to additional screening (because pumpkin pie can be lethal…).

On November 20, TSA implemented “Green” lanes to all of its security checkpoints nationwide. The Green lanes are part of the “Diamond Self-Select” program that TSA created earlier this year, and were tested in some 48 airports. The Green lanes are designated for families, those needing extra assistance, and passengers who aren’t familiar with security rules. Call it a segregation of the passengers who can take their time from those who are impatient, but either way, the Green lanes have been popular in airports so far, and should hopefully ease the security checkpoint process.

You can also reduce your time at the airport by checking into your flight online. Many airlines (like American Airlines or Southwest) will allow passengers to check in online and print out their boarding pass 24 hours before their scheduled flight. Currently, Delta Airlines, American Airlines, and Continental are even testing a system that allows passengers scan their phone screen as a boarding pass. Delta passengers departing from LaGuardia can sign up online to receive a text message with their boarding pass bar code. Before they board the plane, all they have to do is hold up their phone to the bar code scanner, and they’re on their way. All passengers should also check out TSA’s Wait Time Calculator. Just enter your airport, day, and flight time and it will tell you the approximate time you will have to stand in line at the security checkpoint.

As always, with any travel, be prepared! Do your research! Don’t show up to any airport or rail station without proper I.D., your boarding pass, and plenty of holiday patience. And be nice to transportation employees. I’m quite sure that plane and train delays are not their fault, so don’t take it out on them.

Hope it helped you out…Chow..@_@

If you think 2008 was a rough year for the travel industry, you haven’t seen anything yet. Even before January was out, 2009 showed record drops in travel and bookings to some of the most historically recession-proof destinations . Virtually every sector of the travel industry is facing the worst booking rates in years, and few think the bottom is even in sight.

The situation may create opportunities for both savings and outstanding trips, but it will bring with it some volatility — flights may be canceled, hotels may eliminate staff or even close, and prices may fluctuate wildly such that what looks like a bargain today may appear more like price-gouging tomorrow.

While you could get away with being a bit of a passive shopper and lazy traveler when things were good, now that things aren’t so good it’s more important than ever to use smart travel strategies. Here are my tips for the tactics that have been available to folks for a while, and are now essential steps.

1. Check prices after you book your travel
Most reputable travel companies have some kind of pricing guarantee — i.e., if prices plunge after you have made your purchase, but before your travel date, the company will make up some or all of the difference. Airlines can be very problematic in this respect; most also apply their standard change fee, which will usually wipe out most or all of your potential savings. Other outfits, such as hotels, car rental companies, theme parks and some (but not all) cruise lines, are more likely to be accommodating.

2. Consider taking “dream vacations”
The week in Disney, the trip to Hawaii, the Caribbean waterfront resort stay, the “lost weekend” in Vegas — the old “dream vacation” standbys are almost criminally affordable at present. Where to look for the best deals? Try the most tourist-friendly places, where flights and hotels are abundant — and empty. Oceanfront hotels in Hawaii are going for $100 a night; famous four-star hotels in Las Vegas are asking $85-$125 a night; Miami is priced like it’s 1975. These are prices you used to get only at motels and geographically challenged hotels, but now you can get them right in the thick of the action.

3. Upgrade your expectations
Where you usually might settle for the moderately priced hotel a couple blocks off the beach, this year you are going to find oceanview rooms priced identically to their poorer first-floor-parking-lot cousins. When booking, ask for the room rates — and then ask if you can get a better room for the same price.

4. Book directly
Despite the abundance of competition online — and there will be plenty — 2009 is going to be a year of unadvertised specials. Merely by asking a real person for the best rates, you’ll get them in many cases. Whether it’s because they’re taking the chance that you don’t know any better and will book anyway, or their Web sites just can’t keep up with the rush of changing discounts, many travel companies can offer prices over the phone that they just can’t show everyone on the Web. Book hotels on the phone, purchase theme park tickets on the phone … do this with anything where a real person might be able to offer you a better deal.

5. Ask about amenities
A few weeks back, I wrote that some travel suppliers were trying to hold their rates steady while piling on the amenities as enticements, including free breakfasts, late check-outs, free spa access and room and cabin upgrades. This is still the case, but as base rates go down, some of these amenities may shrink and even disappear, and you will want to go in with your eyes open if this is the case. Additionally, layoffs are starting to pile up in the travel sector, and services may not be up to snuff as fewer folks try to do more of the work. You’ll want to know what to expect before you lock in a booking.

6. Confirm your flights
As suggested above, downsizing will be a serious, well, downside of the economic hard times, and in the worst cases, it could affect your travel dramatically. As route maps contract, you will want to check in with your airline before you travel. In the past few months, the airlines have been spotty about notifying travelers of changes that will affect their bookings, so you will want to look after yourself and make sure your flight still exists before you show up at the airport.

7. Confirm everything
Things could get even worse at hotels; industry analysts predict a rash of hotel closings if business prospects do not improve. Rental car companies also fit the bill; a couple are teetering on the cusp of bankruptcy, and you could arrive at a rental counter to find there is no rental counter. Again, call a few days before your trip to confirm that your reservation is still in order.

8. Book some things as late as possible
For admittedly glum reasons — things are likely going to get worse before they get better — these days I’m booking certain items as late as possible to take advantage of declining prices and last-minute deals. These include car rentals, theme park tickets and non-essential flights, for which I’ll be watching the weekend getaway notices.

9. Purchase travel insurance
With so much uncertainty in the air, travel insurance could protect you from many of the problems above. Make sure you read the fine print to be sure you are covered in the event of bankruptcy, flight cancellation or changes, financial default and more.

This column is often filled with the nuts and bolts of travel — how to do this, how to find that, when to duck and when to run, when to go and when to hunker down. We talk less about why we fret and endure all the complexities and hassle of traveling, assuming that, among fellow travelers, it’s understood.

But a crashing global economy and the uncertainty it creates would make anyone reconsider why they should travel right now. It turns out that a recession is a great time to travel, not only because we might have some unexpected time on our hands, but for a host of other reasons besides. Why travel now?
1. No one else is
Many travelers bemoan the fact that wherever they go, they are surrounded by, well, other travelers. And sometimes lots of other travelers, which translates to another reviled evil of travel: crowds.A phrase says“Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” If ever applied to the urge to travel, now is the time. Airports and (some) planes are empty, hotels are vacant, attractions are uncrowded and tourist boom towns seem like ghost towns. Now is the time to have your next destination all to yourself.

2. It’s cheap
And we mean really cheap. Like (if you do your homework) half-price cheap. Airlines are gutting their bottom lines with ridiculous fare sales, hotels are offering free breakfasts on top of free nights on top of discounts, and gas prices are at pre-1970’s gas crisis prices which is even more impressive when you note that vehicles are much more fuel-efficient today than they were 30 years ago.

3. The roads are clear
It may not seem to be the case at 5:30 p.m., but Americans are driving much less these days — in the billions of miles less, according to AAA. Between this and low gas prices, 2009 may be the ideal year for a road trip.

4. Things are bad all over
Until recently, Americans taking dollars abroad found themselves a bit down and out — the dollar didn’t have anywhere near the purchasing power it once did in most popular international destinations. However, times have changed, and they are hard times for most global currencies; the dollar is just one weak currency amid lots of other weak currencies, which means it’s worth a lot more than it was just a few months ago. The upside of this is that it could very well cost you the same to go to Italy as it does to Arizona.

One offshoot of the global crisis has been an increase in house swapping; instead of ponying up $200 a night for a hotel, get online and swap your house even-steven with another traveler from your destination city.

5. You can put your troubles in the rear view mirror
Traveling to other parts of the world, particularly less developed countries, is a way of simultaneously escaping your own problems and putting those problems into perspective. Seeing new things and meeting new people can help you get out of the cycle of working and worrying, and your own problems may not seem so large when you see the context of how most of the rest of the world lives.

6. You need it
A recent study in the U.K. found that while many families are willing to work longer hours and give up certain luxuries, they are most reluctant to give up their holiday time. Fancy phones, big TV’s, lavish parties, expensive meals … these are all things we can do without. But a little time to ourselves, with no one making constant demands on us, is a much more basic human need than any such baubles and bunkum. And for those of us who love to travel, experiences and memories are more important and meaningful than flashy stuff.

7. You may well have the money; you just have to find and extract it
I’m not talking about turning down the heat so low you have to eat breakfast wrapped in blankets.

8. Your money moves around anyway
I do not take lightly the very real challenges some folks are facing on the financial front. But if you are still more or less solvent, one of the truisms of a capitalistic economy is that money wants to move one way or another. That is, when people stopped spending money on gasoline last year, bicycle shops experienced a boom they hadn’t seen since Lance Armstrong burst on the scene. In the end, did folks who spent $800 on a road-ready bike save $800 in gas in a short time? Meanwhile, at present, restaurants are hurting while the cookbook business, of all things, is booming. (In this case, you really can save money cooking instead of eating out, of course.) Dollar stores are the darlings of Wall Street.

The bottom line: Folks still spend, but they spend a little less, and in different places. If you’re moving your money around anyway, a memorable and deeply refreshing trip merits serious consideration.

9. Life is too long (or too short) for bad coffee
The gag that life is too short for bad coffee always struck me as being backwards — I think that life is too long for bad coffee. Seventy-seven years, day after day after day, of the same scalded industrial-quality coffee can’t be called good living. Likewise, day after day after day of the same grueling commute, the same nasty traffic circle, the same parking spot, the same chips and cheese sandwich at the office mess (you see where this is going), is much too long a slog to take without a break.

10. The world keeps on turning
All those places that you want to visit before they’re gone, from rapidly changing cultures to endangered places, aren’t disappearing any slower just because the economy is tanking. You want to make sure you visit them not only before they are gone, but before you are gone — and none of us are getting any younger. Why travel now? Because now is the time!

These are the top ten Parks around the World..

1. Tongariro National Park, New Zealand
This is one of the North Island’s three World Heritage Sites. It features volcanic peaks (one of which is active) and is still home to many Maoris, who donated the park to New Zealand in 1887, when it became the world’s fourth national park. The Maoris are very outgoing in displaying their culture to visitors.

2. Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia
This World Heritage Site is jointly managed by the Aborigines and the Australian government. It has magnificent vistas, great waterfalls, stunning displays of Aboriginal rock art, and is habitat to an awesome predator, the estuarine (saltwater) crocodile.

3. Snowdonia National Park, Wales, Great Britain
Snowdonia is a lovely mountain park, with Mount Snowdon, which is comprised of slate, rising to 3,560 feet. While this park is not as geologically or visually arresting as many other mountain parks around, its peaceful setting and wild landscapes make it one of Britain’s top outdoor attractions.

4. Kruger National Park, South Africa
This is one of the most impressive wildlife viewing areas in the world. Millions of acres of habitat and little development give visitors an opportunity to see many large African mammals and magnificent birds. It is one of the few places where wildlife is in charge—they wander free and the visitors are controlled.

6. Iguazú National Park, Argentina
This park protects one of the most spectacular natural landscapes in Argentina and Brazil, Iguazú Falls and the surrounding subtropical forest. The falls are 70 meters high, but even more impressive is their width: the river at the falls is 1,500 meters wide. A thrilling experience is the short boat ride and walk along the catwalks to the most striking of the hundreds of falls, Garganta del Diablo, the Devil’s Throat.

7. Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal
The park includes Mount Everest, among other prominent mountains. It has distinctive wildlife and small picturesque Sherpa villages with their gumpas (monasteries).

8. Madain Saley National Historic Park, Saudi Arabia
This region, the Biblical Midian, is mostly undulating desert, interspersed with huge rocky outcrops and lush oases. Here, between 500 B.C. and 100 A.D., the Nabatean people created 125 monumental cut-rock tombs and facades, edifices up to 130 feet tall, that are standing today in a remarkable state of preservation.

9. Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
Plitvice Lakes National Park is located in inland Croatia, about halfway between Zagreb and Split. In moderately mountainous terrain, the park is all about water—small lakes and streams and beautiful waterfalls everywhere. Because of the geology of the area, travertine, type of sedimentary rock, is evident in most of the water features, giving them distinctive blue-green colors and exceptionally clear water. There are a number of excellent short and moderate hiking trails with quiet, non-polluting electric ferries connecting some of the trails by way of the lakes. Because of the vegetation, fall “color season” is especially spectacular.

10. Hortobagy National Park, Hungary
This park is located on the “puszta,” or great Hungarian plains. It was the country’s first national park. It also is a biosphere reserve and a World Heritage Site. The plains and wetlands reflect two millennia of human occupation and have supported agrarian life for centuries. It has several endangered bird species and is a refuge for rare Przewalski’s horses and migratory waterfowl. Culturally, it preserves and interprets traditional Hungarian folkways, such as the nomadic herding culture of the puszta.

If you have a plans for vacations try these national parks. Im sure you’ll enjoy it. Have fun.. Hope you like it.

If you’ve got travel plans for the upcoming holiday season, the time to book your tickets is now. The question is, where can you find tickets cheap enough to offset the extra $40 you’ll have to spend to check your bags and enjoy a snack on your six-hour flight. Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite travel web site for cheap tickets, and today we’re back with the five most popular answers. Keep reading for a breakdown of the best travel sites on the block, then cast your ballot for the one you like best.

Kayak
Kayak is a travel search aggregator, scouring over 140 sites to bring you the cheapest fares it can find. The results are nicely sorted by price, and once the search is complete, you can tweak and filter the results to find the perfect ticket for your needs. Kayak supports email alerts, can search nearby airports, and the Buzz feature is great if you’re looking to take a spur-of-the-minute vacation on the cheap. Like most travel sites, Kayak also covers hotels, cruises, and rental cars.

Yapta
Yapta—aka Your Amazing Personal Travel Assistant—is an airline search engine with an emphasis on tracking airline prices before and after you purchase your tickets. Before your purchase, Yapta will track a flight and alert you when it falls below your desired price (a feature available on most of the sites featured here). After your purchase, Yapta will continue tracking the ticket price. If it drops, the site will send an alert if you’re eligible for a refund or travel credit. If you’re a big Yapta fan, you can even integrate it in your browser with the previously mentioned Yapta Firefox extension or Internet Explorer plug-in.

Live Search Farecast
Live Search Farecast is another airline ticket search aggregator similar to Kayak. Farecast sets itself apart by offering price predictions that suggest whether now is the right time to buy your ticket—or whether you should wait. It does this by tracking and analyzing fare histories. Earlier this year, Farecast was purchased by Microsoft, who slapped the Live Search moniker on the front end.

Priceline
Priceline has long been a favorite of bargain hunters and William Shatner fans alike. Priceline made its name with its Name Your Own Price system, and while the Name Your Own Price option is still available, it’s been significantly de-emphasized on the site. If you’re looking to really low and you don’t mind bidding blindly (when you name your price, you don’t get to choose departure/arrival times or number of stops, for example), NYOP is a good way to go. Otherwise, Priceline’s default search engine still has a lot to offer.

Sidestep
Sidestep is yet another search aggregator that you may find oddly familiar if you’re a Kayak user. That’s because Sidestep was purchased by Kayak a year ago this December. In fact, from what I can tell, SideStep’s search results are the same as what you can get from Kayak—it even sports the same Buzz feature—so it’s really just a matter of choosing which one you like the look and feel of more.

If your planning to have a vacation for at least a cheap way…
Visit now these sites…

Pet fanatics rejoice! Your pet can now enjoy the luxury of traveling in the main cabin rather than in cargo on Pet Airways, the first airline to dedicate itself to pet-friendly travel. I’m a pet owner and even a fanatic, I do believe that animals should enjoy a safe and comfortable ride, just like us humans. So it’s about time something like this arrived, although today’s current economic climate makes it an interesting time to launch such a venture.
So here’s how it works. First,you can buy your ticket on the Pet Airways website, where you also specify the animal’s height and weight. Sample round-trip fares for small- to medium-sized dogs traveling between New York City and L.A. in September cost $698 round-trip (a lot of dough to throw down for your pet!). That would also include a no-fee overnight stopover for your pet in Chicago. Shorter flights are direct and cost upwards of $300 round-trip, depending on your pet’s height and weight. For extra comfort, you can upgrade your pet’s carrier for an additional $50.
On the day of travel, the pampering starts prior to takeoff in a special pet lounge or even at an overnight PAWS Lodge, where you can check your pet in up to 72 hours before flying. Once on board the aircraft (in this case, a modified turboprop… how green!), animals are regularly monitored by in-flight pet attendants, plus get a bathroom break on arrival before heading over to the pickup lounge for that happy reunion with their owners. And because Pet Airways loves pets so much, it even offers to hold them overnight at the PAWS Lodge in case owners can’t pick them up (although if you care enough about your pet to buy it a first-class seat, you should care enough to pick it up on time). Oh yeah, you can even track where your pet is at any time using the airline’s pet tracker. Genius!

Keep in mind Pet Airways currently accepts dogs and cats only, plus pets taller than 33 inches or heavier than 120 pounds are not allowed. Flights start this July between five metropolitan airports within driving distance of New York City, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles.

No more worries for your pet, they can now join you wherever you will go… I love my pets very much.. I’m happy for this fares like this.. I’m thankful for the pet airways airlines..

Maria Saenz, senior travel counselor at Montrose Travel, isn’t alone awarding Best Value to Oceania Cruises — at least what she describes as the “Penthouse Suite category.” Founded in 2002, “Oceania delivers an extreme value overall [with] butler service, in-suite dining options, amenities and inclusions [that] other lines will charge more.”

Where to go is typically the first question cruisers ask themselves, so it’s no surprise that Best Ports of Call drew the most “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” responses from our panelists. One passenger’s exotic Caribbean seaside town is another’s overcrowded tourist trap. But overall, says Jason Colman, an elite cruise counselor scholar certified by the Cruise Lines Industry Association (CLIA), Oceania Cruises offer “the most intensive look at some of the world’s greatest cities — with most sailings including an overnight or two in port.” Maria Saenz, senior travel counselor at Montrose Travel, agreed. “Oceania’s customer base is well-traveled and they do hit the best ports in any given itinerary. They know when and where to stay overnight.”

There are two schools of thought when it comes to choosing your cabin. Some say, spend as little time in your room as possible. There are excursions to be enjoyed (or, lounge chairs to be sat upon). On the other hand, being comfortable during your “off hours” means more rest and relaxation — and a better overall cruise experience. Either way, according to nearly half of our experts, the Best Rooms are found aboard Regent Seven Seas ships. Lori Herzog, a senior cruise consultant at CruiseCenter.com, describes all-suite staterooms that feature “residential-style décor, flat-panel televisions, large living areas for entertaining and in-room dining.” And, they average 350 square feet.Even on the best cruise, you should get off the boat at least once. Every cruise company is eager to arrange shore excursions that range from simple shopping trips in nearby towns to heart-pounding helicopter tours.
There’s a reason that cruises are popular among families: It’s easy to keep the kids busy, and toddlers can’t get lost. (At least not for long.) But which cruise is best for families? The traditional response is Disney Cruise Line, which operates two nearly identical liners, Disney Magic and Disney Wonder.In the survey’s closest race, Disney Cruise Line actually failed to take the title for Best Family Cruise. Instead, Royal Caribbean International squeaked ahead of the mouse with 45 percent of the vote (compared to Disney’s 42 percent). According to CruiseCenter.com’s Lori Herzog, “Royal Caribbean offers a fantastic program for families since their ships are large and have multi-faceted venues to entertain kids and families of all ages.”But the cruise industry is an ever-evolving business. The Avid Cruiser’s Ralph Grizzle recommends family cruisers stay tuned for industry developments. “Disney has a trick or two up its sleeves with its two new ships, the first coming in 2010.”

The world’s leading online travel company Expedia released its Expedia Insiders’ Select list of the world’s best hotels earlier this week.

The list comprised of top hotels chosen from nearly 80,000 properties worldwide that feature on Expedia.

Taking 1st place overall was Sofitel Chicago Water Tower in the United States and JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa in Cancun, Mexico was named the top resort worldwide.

Cerulean Tower Toyku hotel in Tokyo, Japan claimed 1st place in Asia, whilst The Knight Residence in Edinburgh, Scotland took 1st place in Europe.

On the Beach Holiday Apartments in Trinity Beach in Tropical North Queensland was named one of Australia’s best hotels (72nd overall) and was one of five Australian hotels that made it to this exclusive list. Others that made the list were Sydney’s Four Seasons, Swissotel and Shangri-La as well as Courtyard by Marriott in Surfers Paradise.

Hotels listed ranged from boutiques to chain properties in a variety of destinations. Favourites in the US like the Sanderling Resort & Spa on North Carolina ’s Outer Banks and Chateau on the Lake in Branson, Mo. as well as Dubai’s Ritz-Carlton were selected, representing the global reach of Expedia’s list.

Marketing Director Australia and New Zealand, Kristi Barrow said, “The Expedia Insiders’ Select list makes it easier for Australian travellers to sort through thousands of hotel options to choose the best hotel for their trip”

Expedia collected thousands of Traveler Opinions®, value ratings acquired by customers comparing same star-rating and geographical region hotels, and local expertise from Expedia employees located in different parts of the world. These factors were then put through a weighted mathematical formula to compile the Expedia Insiders’ Select list.

“Expedia has the captured the experiences of millions of hotel guests, and combined them with a value rating and local destination expertise to help travellers identify the best hotels in the world for the best value.” she said.

Expedia Insiders’ Select hotels are recognised for their consistency of providing excellent service, experience and affordability.

Expedia’s Traveler Opinions® are available on the Expedia.com.au site. Ms Barrow said that the accessibility of this information is essential in giving consumers planning their trip “real traveller reviews and opinions on more than 23,000 destinations and 80,000 hotels and attractions around the world.”

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Summer means fun in the sun. School is over for kids, adults are on vacation and it’s time for outdoor activities. However, one must be cautious because summer is also a peak time for accidents. One must be aware emergencies are just around the corner even though how small they are. It is good to remember that to enjoy summer is to bare safety in mind.

• One of the best ways to stay safe this summer is to wear a helmet and other safety gear when doing rigorous outdoor activities like biking, skating and skateboarding, and when riding scooters, all-terrain vehicles, and horses. Studies on bicycle helmets have shown they can reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent.

• Use layers of protection to prevent a swimming pool tragedy. This includes placing barriers completely around your pool to prevent access, using door and pool alarms, closely supervising your child and being prepared in case of an emergency.

• When cooking outdoors with a gas grill, check the air tubes that lead into the burner for any blockage from insects, spiders, or food grease. Check grill hoses for cracking, brittleness, holes, and leaks. Make sure there are no sharp bends in the hose or tubing. If you ever detect a leak, immediately turn off the gas at the tank and don’t attempt to light the grill until the leak is fixed.

• Make sure you have a safe surface because falls are likely the cause for playground injuries. Concrete, asphalt or packed dirt surfaces are too hard. Use at least 9 inches of wood chips or mulch.

• To prevent serious injuries while using a trampoline, allow only one person on at a time, and do not allow somersaults. Use a shock-absorbing pad that completely covers the springs and place the trampoline away from structures and other play areas. Kids under 6-years-old should not use full-size trampolines.

• Don’t allow a game of hide-n-seek to become deadly. There have been reports of numerous suffocation deaths involving children who crawled inside old cedar chests, latch-type freezers and refrigerators, iceboxes in campers, clothes dryers and picnic coolers. Childproof old appliances, warn children not to play inside them.

• If summer plans include camping and you want heat inside your tent or camper, use one of the new portable heaters that are equipped with an oxygen depletion sensor (ODS). If oxygen levels start to fall inside your tent or camper, the ODS automatically shuts down the heater before it can produce deadly levels of carbon monoxide (CO). Do not attempt to use alternative sources of heat or power to warm a tent or camper. Traditional camping heaters, charcoal grills, camping lanterns, and gas generators also can cause CO poisoning.