Welcome to the first issue of "Travels With the Diva", a newsletter for women who love to travel!

In this issue, I'll tell you about a couple of great vacations - a women-only trip to Morocco, and a wonderful river cruise through the south of France.

I'll also tell you a little bit about TripDiva Travel, and give you a chance to participate in the website by adding your travel stories or trip reviews.

About TripDiva Travel

TripDiva Travel is a home-based travel agency, associated with Dugan's Travels (a nation-wide group of over 500 agents). TripDiva specializes in great vacations for women (hence the website domain, www.great-womens-vacations.com).

Some of the vacations we talk about are for women only; most are not (so if you see something you would like to explore with your husband or significant other, you can do that, too).

But women's vacations tend to be a bit different than most couples or family vacations. They're a bit "smaller" in scale, allowing for interaction and connections with your fellow travelers and companions. It can be hard to get to know people on a large cruise ship; there are just so many of them! On a small ship cruise, there are no more than 200 people on board and you can make many new friends, or have a nice conversation with your travel companions without shouting over the crowds!

The vacations we look for are focused on experiences, not destinations (although there are a lot of great destinations, too). Would you like to learn to paint or speak Italian, join a cooking class or just learn to enjoy fine wine, take a tour that lets you get close and interact with the locals instead of just passing by an historical site while riding a bus? Those are great women's vacations.

At www.great-womens-vacations.com (or www.tripdivatravel.com - it will get you to the same place), we try to give you the tools to find great vacation experiences and contact information to book your trip. We will be adding a booking engine (via Travelocity), so you can book air and hotels, if needed; or you can simply contact us and we'll help you arrange your trip.

Travel News and Updates

As I'm sure you are aware, airlines have weight limits for checked baggage, and impose fees for bags exceeding the maximum weight. Generally, airlines allow 2 checked bags per passenger, with each bag maxed out at 50 pounds (some smaller airlines have stricter limits).

United Airlines recently announced that they will impose a fee of $25 for the second checked bag, regardless of weight.

You can still check 2 bags, but the $25 fee will be applied to the second bag. (This fee is waived if you are a platinum-level frequent flier).

The fee is the result of higher fuel charges; rather than raising ticket prices, many airlines are finding other ways of generating revenue. And this one will also reduce the weight carried by each plane as passengers cut back on baggage.

So, start weeding out those extra clothes and other "necessities". If United has decided this is a necessary step, other airlines are bound to follow suit. We'll all have to learn to travel light (for more packing tips, see Packing Tips on the website.)

Two Great Vacations

A Women-Only Vacation to Morocco - Country Walkers has a women's trip to Morocco in April, with everything from belly dancing to spa treatments!

Country Walkers offers extended walking tours, far beyond the usual city tour of historical sites. You don't literally walk across the country, of course; travel from one town to the next is by bus - but by touring each town on foot, you get to meet and interact with the people you encounter and get hands-on experience in the local culture.

The Moroccan trip includes a cooking class, belly dance demonstrations, embroidery and carpet-making demonstrations, and a visit to a women-owned ironworks. You can have a henna tattoo or a spa treatment; one night is spent in a tent, another in a luxury hotel located in a former palace.

www.countrywalkers.com or contact me for more information.

A River Cruise through the south of France - There are several good cruise companies that travel the rivers of Europe; Uniworld, Viking, Amadeus and Peter Deilmann are among the best. All four have cruises that travel the Rhone River, through Burgundy and Provence. These cruises focus on the wine region, with wine tastings and experts to show you the finer points of the vintages. The Amadeus cruise includes a trip to Spain at the end of the cruise.

River cruises are a great way to travel Europe. The ships are like fine hotels, and travel by ship is much more pleasant than a bus. There are many river cruises in Europe, and most travel the Danube or Rhine through Germany, Austria, and Hungary. Why not try France instead?

Viking and Uniworld are offering discounts on select European cruises if booked by March 31, 2008. Check out their websites, www.vikingrivercruises.com or www.uniworld.com, for more details, or contact me and let me know where you would like to travel.

Write a Review or Tell us Your Story and get a T-shirt!

Have a great travel story, or know of a good restaurant somewhere that you want to tell everyone about?

Send it to us using our "Contact Us" page.

You can tell us about a great experience, funny story, fascinating destination, or whatever you want to share.

Tell us about your last trip - where did you go, what did you do, what was great about it, what would you avoid next time?

If your story or review is published, we'll send you a TripDiva T-shirt or mug with the Hula Girl logo.

This doesn't have to be professional quality writing - just share your experiences! We want to hear them!

Until next time - Happy Travels!