Travel Tips

 
 
 
To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive.
 
~ Robert Louis Stevenson ~
 

Make sure that you make copy of your passport photo page, along with tickets, visas, and credit cards, and your emergency and general contact information.  It is helpful to email this information to yourself, and /or make a copy that you carry in a safe place, and share with whomever is the keeper of your life while you are gone.

It is important that someone, at home, be aware of your itinerary and have all of your emergency information.  Planning for just in case does not mean that you are expecting something to go wrong, but rather that you are ensuring all will go smoothly, even if some unforeseen thing happens. 

Two sites Americans should check before leaving the country:

travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html and www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/

Both sites contain a great deal of pertinent and current information regarding nations from around the world.  You can find out anything from visa requirements to health and safety alert.

 

~M~

I know this may seem a bit uncouth, but the condition of many women’s public restrooms can leave you wondering why Home Economic classes have been cut from the curriculum.  When I am traveling, and forced to use a public restroom, if I find them generally untidy, I will go to the stall with a broken door.  Oddly, more often than not, there is at least one door which will not lock or close completely; thus that area is almost always clean.  I will either prop the door close, make a lot of noise, (humming anyone?) or ask someone to stand guard for me – and it works!

Kate says not to neglect signing up for all of the frequent flyer and rental programs, even if you think you will not be traveling enough for it to count, because the benefits do add up.  Also, if you later have a problem, being a preferred customer does, for better or worse, give you better customer service. 

~M~

Coffee!  I have always enjoyed a good cup of coffee; though I was not a regular morning coffee person until the last few years.  I will confess that when I think of coffee, I am speaking of espresso – otherwise known to me as Cuban coffee.  I like it hot, strong, and sweet.  When I am on the road, if I can find Starbucks or Dunkin Doughnuts, a double shot of espresso, with three packets of sugar, and I am all set.  Unfortunately, they can be elusive.  Desperation, has lead me to experiment with hotel coffee.  I have found that if I use one packet of hotel supplied coffee, with less than a half of a cup of water, I can create at least a pseudo espresso, which will at least get me moving until I can find real coffee! 

What about you?  What is your favorite travel tip?  What do you always do before leaving home, or never leave home without?  Below are a few tips from our writers and readers; please feel free to add your own.

Stella says to be sure to label your suitcases, especially as the whole world has bought black bags on wheels. 

Also, never leave home without a study book!  While it is great to have something fun to read, Stella suggests that you also have something to read that will serve to enlighten and inform!

Allison says women should always travel with a medium size purse which can be slung over the shoulder.  The purse should neither be too big nor too small.  It must fit around the neck and carry just the right amount of items.

Nic says that men should always keep their wallets in their front pocket, whether they are traveling or not.

Kate recommends packing light!  She can not stress enough how much you do not need all of those extras.  When traveling for business, she says not having to wait in line to check or retrieve baggage saves valuable time and energy.

Carry a collapsible bag!  You will somehow end up bring home more than planned.

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