From packing your bags correctly and boarding your flight to exchanging your money and finding the best places to eat and sleep abroad, traveling can quickly turn into a very complicated venture. Make sure you approach traveling with the knowledge necessary to pull your trip off without a hitch. Check out this article to find out how.
Leave any valuable items you don’t need at home when traveling. Bringing too many valuable items on a trip just increases the chance that some of them will be lost or stolen.
When flying, be sure to wear loose fitting clothes and slip-on shoes. This will ensure that your flight is comfortable. Not only that, it won’t take as long to get through security if you can quickly take your shoes on and off. Loose clothing will allow for any short term swelling that you may experience due to air pressure in the plane’s cabin.
If you know you have to fly, do yourself a favor and wear shoes requiring minimal effort to take off. Don’t pick that day to wear your eyelet wingtips with hard-to-tie laces. Women can wear clogs or slip-ons; men should choose a casual shoe style that can be easily slipped on and off with one hand.
Keep a photo journal of a beloved stuffed animal When traveling with kids, make great memories and an awesome souvenir by taking pictures of your child and the stuffed animal doing fun things throughout the trip. At home, you can collect all the pictures and make them into a photo adventure book to remember your trip.
If you’re going on a cruise, pack a snorkle with you. Then when you stop at one of the locations, hit the beach and do a bit of snorkling. You’ll be amazed at what you can see while snorking, especially if your cruise is in the Caribbean. And buying a snorkle is a lot cheaper than paying for a snorkle tour!
If you are leaving children with friends or relatives while you are away on a trip, make sure to leave important papers like health insurance cards and a notarized letter, stating that their caregiver has your authority to make medical decisions. They made need this information if there is a medical emergency.
If you know in advance that you will be passing through some less-than-desirable neighborhoods or areas of town en route to your destination, don’t rely solely on your in-dash GPS system. Map out alternate routes using MapQuest or Google Maps, so you don’t end up in a bad part of town, in the middle of the night, with bad directions.
Carefully check out any travel package deals before you book them. Many airlines and websites put together flights, hotel accommodations, meals and activities and offer them at one price. This is designed to benefit the companies, because they can book flights and rooms without mentioning their bottom line. Some of these packages can be steals, but you should always look into the cost of each piece of the deal to make sure you are saving money.
Bring your own toilet paper! In many countries, toilet paper is either not used, or not provided. Put a small amount of toilet paper in a plastic sandwich bag, and carry it with you, or simply grab a travel pack of facial tissues. You do not want to get stuck without any!
Traveling doesn’t have to be a complicated thing if you know how to approach it. Take your time to read informative articles like these and your next trip can be planned without the usual hassle. If you’re willing to invest the time and focus on your travel plans, you can do the dirty work up front and enjoy a worry-free vacation.
