Friday the 13th Luck and the Rest of the Week in Travel and Health

Welcome to Friday the 13^th. It’s a day of bad luck, and if you think about it long enough you might be afraid to even get out of bed. Of course, here at Healthy Travel Blog we’re all about getting up, getting out of the house and exploring well beyond what’s happening in the neighborhood. But we must acknowledge that every one of us who travels has run into his or her share of bad luck. That was certainly the case for hundreds of travelers in July; USA Today’s Nancy Trejos reports that yesterday, the US Department of Transportation reported that 16 flights in July had ridiculously long delays – passengers being stuck on planes on the tarmac for more than three hours. Now that’s bad luck. And it feels like it’s happening more and more – the Wall Street Journal’s Scott McCartney takes an up close look at why there are so many airport delays.

Packing for your trip. It always seems easy when you start and then quickly spirals out of control. It seems I always end up with brown belts and black shoes. It comes down to a lack of planning. But at Huffington Post, Diane Gottsman offers ten tips for packing your suitcase that will make for a better trip.

You know what makes packing less of a chore? Flying somewhere for free. I said FREE. CNN has the details on an online pricing screw-up by United Airlines in which the airline mistakenly set the price for tickets at $0. Yes, that’s US currency. The question now is whether the airline will honor the tickets.

The New York Times gives the all-in treatment to Latin America. These guides are always really good, offering a wide range of ideas and explorations of different destinations. Not a bad way to spend your weekend.

A new study out this week shows that American businesspeople traveling abroad are very concerned about their health and safety. The Asterisk International Business Travel study shows that 83 percent of travelers say their biggest concern while traveling is their ability to stay healthy and take care of their medical needs. Among the findings, 82 percent say they are not equipped to find a local doctor when they’re traveling. Hello, mPassport.

Last week, we connected you to Frank Bruni’s New York Times column on the allure of familiar technology while traveling the globe. This week at Gadling, a similar sentiment comes from Anna Bornes at Gadling, who wonders if technology advances have really made travel better.

National Geographic’s Keith Bellows and Costas Christ have a slide show on the world’s 25 best ecolodges. These are not just your crunchy backwoods huts; we’re talking real luxury.

A fitness vacation (not to be confused with a vacation from fitness) is a really cool thing to do. You travel somewhere for an awesome fitness experience, whether it’s mountain climbing, surfing giant waves, running extreme marathons, or cycling new territory. At the London Telegraph, they have a terrific , some of them stretching thousands of miles and requiring more than a one week vacation.

You know what would make traveling halfway around the world for a half-marathon even better? A concierge to help you eat healthy and prep for the race.

Photo from Makerbot.com.