Travel News

Dealing with jet lag is fairly easy for people who jet off around the world infrequently, perhaps once or twice a year on vacation or for the odd business trip, but for aircrews and regular long-haul fliers, jet lag often brings several health problems that can become virtually permanent.

Long-haul fliers will be more than familiar with the disturbance to their sleep pattern and the insomnia which can be produced by a long trip, in addition to such things as changes in mood, irritability, gastro-intestinal problems and difficulty in dealing with information. But, for very frequent fliers these usually transient symptoms are a part of everyday life and are frequently joined by menstrual cycle problems for women and also by short-term psychiatric problems for a number of people. So how do you go about managing jet lag?

The key factors that influence the degree of jet lag that you experience, apart from how frequently you travel, are the distances involved, the direction in which you travel and your age.

If you frequently travel across only two or three world time zones then any affects are likely to be extremely mild. But, as soon as you begin crossing more than three world time zones, and especially once you start frequently traveling across six or more time zones, jet lag symptoms begin to markedly increase.

Jet lag symptoms are also much more apparent if you travel east and affect you less when flying west. For example, if you travel from London to Singapore on vacation you will experience greater jet lag on arrival in Singapore at the beginning of your holiday than you will in London when you get home.

Generally when you fly east you can expect that jet lag will last for several days and a good guide here is roughly two thirds of the number of time zones traveled across. For instance, if you fly across six time zones you may expect jet lag to affect you for approximately four days. When traveling west jet lag may be expected to last for about half this time.

Age is also a major factor when it comes to jet lag and, as you get older, you will discover that you are increasingly affected by jet lag.

A true jet lag cure does not exist although there is a great deal that you can do to assist in reducing the symptoms of jet lag.

Italy is a very popular travel destination for many visitors. Here are some quick Italy travel tips

Tips for Italy

• Avoid going to Italy in the height of the summer season: instead go during spring or fall and the weather will still be settled and you won’t have to fight the crowds to see the tourist attractions.
• Bring as little as possible. One small bag that you can easy carry yourself on and off planes, trains and up and down stairs will give you a lot more freedom. Don’t expect every hotel to have an elevator - they don’t.
• Most long-haul flights arrive in Rome or Milan and these gateways will give you the best selection of discount flights. You may get a better over-all cost looking for a cheap flight into London or Amsterdam and then connecting on to Italy using a local European budget airline such as EasyJet or Ryan Air.
• If you do use a low cost airline check how far out of town the airport they are using is and how much it will cost you to get back into town. Few of the cheaper airports will be as convenient as Rome’s Fumcino airport where you can catch the Leonardo Express train to Rome’s Termini Station for Euro11
• Don’t worry about not speaking Italian - if you speak French or Spanish you won’t have a lot of problem. Even if you don’t patience, acting, sign language and a sense of humor will get you a long way.
• Train Travel. If you are going to use the Eurail pass for discounted train travel within Europe you need to purchase your pass before leaving home. Do you figures carefully though, many of the passes are not good value unless you are traveling from one end of Europe to the other. Also if you are over 26 you will have to travel first class on an Eurail pass while second class is comfortable and available for tickets bought in Italy.
• Italy has a fairly low rate of crime. Be careful of pickpockets in major cities but there is probably less violent crime than in your home town. Be aware of your surroundings in large train stations and popular tourist sites. The Romans never carry a bag slung over a shoulder but hung diagonally across the body - and you should too.

Enjoy your Italian vacation: hopefully these Italy vacation hints have helped