Traveling is something we all do from time to time. It is often essential for both business and pleasure. Making traveling easier is a goal that many of us have. In this article we will discuss a few tips for making your next travel experience an easier one.
When traveling to a new city, try your best to look as if you belong there: Never let anyone see that you are lost. Checking your map in the middle of the sidewalk is a sure-fire giveaway, as is asking for directions. Remember, new arrivals are good targets for pickpockets and muggers.
When booking a hotel stay, be sure to ask when the hotel was last built or renovated. A low-cost motel that’s brand new might be a better option than an older building attached to a good name. Stay away from lower-end and mid-range hotels that haven’t been renovated in more than five or six years.
Stick to boiled or bottled water when you travel. It does not matter if you are flying half way across the world or just taking a day trip in your own state. Often your stomach will not react well to different water and it is better to be safe than sorry!
Enroll in the loyal customer club. These clubs reward you with a free night after you’ve stayed a certain number of nights at their participating locations. Even if aren’t planning to stay with them again, enroll anyway. Being a member often entitles you to extra benefits–anything from drinks to internet access–during your stay.
For some the road trip is the only way to travel. If you’re going to be taking a road trip do this simple things before hand so you don’t end up stranded half way across the country. Number one, be sure to get an oil change! Number two, have your mechanic give your car a once over before you depart. The last thing you need in the middle of no where are easily preventable mechanical failures.
To help you avoid paying excess airline baggage fees on your return trip, when you are more likely to have souvenirs to bring home, pack old clothing and shoes that you might want to give away. Then, when you are packing to come home, you can leave or donate the old clothing and shoes to make room in your luggage if necessary.
Something you should never do is place an important document in the pocket of the seat in front of you. Most likely, it will slide down to where you will not be able to view it anymore and you will forget all about it. Then you will get off the plane and realize too late that you don’t have it.
Remote areas are often among the most interesting of possible travel destinations. Just make sure you take necessities like your prescription medicines with you. One way of looking at it is that if something isn’t available for sale where you are then you probably didn’t need it anyway! Items like medicines, however, can be indispensable so don’t leave having them to chance.
When you are traveling overseas, make sure that you know and obey all of the local laws. The embassies and consulates can only help you so much. If you commit a crime on foreign soil, according to foreign law, your government will be unable to override those laws and you must submit to the punishment of that country’s laws.
If you’re traveling with kids, buy each child their own disposable camera. Tell them to take pictures of anything they find interesting. If they fill it up before the trip is over, you can get them another one fairly cheap. Then they’ll have something to remember all the things they liked – you’d be surprised how different the pictures your kid takes are from yours.
If you are planning a long cruise, consider selecting a cruise line that offers self-service laundry. This will reduce the amount of laundry you need to bring along when you pack, and is also significantly cheaper than asking the ship’s crew to do your laundry for you. Longer cruises require more clothing, so a laundry is very useful.
Want to take a trip with some friends, but nobody has a car big enough for everyone to fit in? Traveling with children and want to minimize the food and bathroom breaks? Try renting an RV; and then you can pack everyone in, even the family dog. Look online for rental companies in your area.
When choosing luggage for a trip, black isn’t always better. You want to be able to easily identify your luggage when it comes off of the baggage carousel, so buy luggage in a fun color like red or green, if you can. If you already own black luggage, add a distinctive ribbon or something colorful to mark it as yours. This will avoid any baggage mix-ups.
Try to stay cool while traveling. Bodies may naturally heat up due to closed quarters, limited airflow and just being nervous about visiting a new place. Make use of overhead vents on airplanes, standing on the deck, if on a ship, or opening a window in a car. Sometimes you may be able to crack a window open on a bus as well, if you are unable to do so sit towards the front of the bus rather than at the back to avoid stale air.
Alcohol consumption should be kept to a minimum while you are traveling. It is fine to have a few drinks yet if you get drunk while waiting for a plane, train or bus you may be targeted by people looking to take advantage of the situation. Always be aware of your surroundings and staying sober will help you do this.
Traveling is essential for business and pleasure as well. It can sometimes be difficult to navigate airports, figure routes for car travel, or even understand a bus schedule. So how do you make travel easier, and more enjoyable too? In this article we have provided a few tips that can help. We hope they will prove successful the next time you decide to travel.
