Traveling can be a major hassle if you are unprepared or haven’t shopped around for the best deal. You could end up paying out the nose for your airline tickets when you could have gotten them for half the price. This article will give you some traveling pointers.
If you are planning a trip abroad, make sure you get your passport well in advance. Many people underestimate how long it takes to get a passport for the first time and are left scrambling and paying extra fees to get it expedited. Plan for your passport to take six to eight weeks to arrive, especially in peak travel season.
Make sure you carry a bottle of water with you. Whether you find yourself out in the wilderness or in a bustling city, having a bottle of water on your person at all times is never a bad idea. These are especially easy to keep handy if you carry a purse.
Making a friend of the concierge will make your stay at any hotel a much safer and smarter experience. This person should be greeted and tipped like your life depends on it. The concierge has a wealth of information on where to eat, play, relax, shop, and can also; get you out of any bind you might find yourself in while far from home.
Keeping a business card from your hotel in your wallet may keep you out of trouble. Immediately upon check-in make sure you grab a card and have it with you wherever you may go. Most especially in a foreign country or unfamiliar place, if you get lost you can simply call them for help or if you happen to over indulge in spirits the card will identify your rightful place in the neighborhood.
If you are traveling to an area that has a high level of crime, consider purchasing your own padlock for the hotel room door. These locks are more difficult to pick than the ones the hotel will have already and no one in the hotel will have a spare to let in “visitors”.
Rental cars come in all colors and all models. The problem is that they all look basically the same! Make sure you note your car’s precise location before you leave it in a parking lot to go into a large discount store or anywhere else where it could be lost in the sea of other cars.
Losing your rental car in large parking lots is no fun. Carry one of those fluorescent foam balls that fit over the tip of your antenna or maybe even a colorful ribbon to tie to the rear view mirror. They take up no room in your luggage and can sure make locating that car a whole lot easier when there are exactly 37 others that look just like it in the same row where you parked!
If you’re traveling with a baby and need to sterilize bottles or teething toys, wash them in hot soapy water, then stop up the sink. Heat some water in the hotel’s coffee maker (without any coffee or tea in it!) and then pour the water over the bottles or teething toys until they’re submerged. Let them sit for about five minutes and you’ll have sterilized them!
If you’re sensitive to the smell of cleaners (or just don’t like them!) try bringing some small candles with you on your trip. This can help mask the scent of the cleaners the maids use and the scents can also help relax you. Some scents can even sooth you and give you a better night’s sleep.
Some hotels have video games in them for you to use. If you’re traveling with kids, ask the front desk to disconnect these. Most of the time as soon as they’re turned on they’ll bill you for playing them. So if you take a shower you may not notice your kids have been playing them until you get your bill at checkout.
When you first arrive at your hotel room, check the mini-bar. Some guests are known for refilling bottles with water, so make sure each and every bottle is fully sealed. If any of them are not, you should immediately phone the front desk and tell them what you have found. You do not want to be charged for someone else’s dishonesty.
If you want to attempt to get an empty seat, there are some tricks to try. Ask for a seat near the back end of the plane, because these generally fill up last. If you are not comfortable with that, ask for an exit row seat. These seats come with extra responsibility, that not many are willing to accept.
As you look through reviews of hotel rooms, musicals, attractions, and airlines, pay close attention to the dates of each review before taking the contents at face value. A review written five years ago might be based on factors that may have changed in the meantime, like operating hours, main events, management, or pricing.
When you arrive at your hotel, especially if you have children, check for fire exit routes. Take a couple of minutes with your children to walk the route with them as a mock fire drill and help them prepare in the case of an emergency. They will be understanding of this since they do this in school on a regular basis.
No matter what mode of transportation you are taking when travling, try to get an off-hour ticket. Make a reservation for late nights or a weekday, as prices tend to be a lot cheaper during these times. Also, ask about any discounts or promotions they may be offering at the time.
As long as you remember the helpful tips in this article, you should be able to travel without being stressed out, which is the best way to travel. Your bank account will thank you also because you’ll be saving a lot of money by getting cheaper airline and hotel deals.