General Travel Tips
 

What are you favourite general travel tips?
Here are a few to get you going.

Trust no one. Especially if they come to you.

Always take a thermos to save time and money in buying hot drinks.

Always have enough food for a meal in case of delays or no opportunity to buy a meal.

Take the Card out of your camera if you have to leave it in the car or room.

On long haul flights have a full wash, clean your teeth and change your underwear at the half way mark.

Take things that are valuable or cannot be easily replaced in your carry-on and don't let it leave your side. Never put them in checked-luggage. This includes but is not limited to: your passport, your money, ATM/charge cards, anything obtained by prescription (meds/glasses/contacts) and any fancy electronics (cellphones, ipod, laptops).

"Trust no one. Especially if they come to you." - Wrong. Very wrong. Yes, you should be cautious. Yes, in some places there are well known scams you should avoid. BUT, there are times and places when you need help and a kind stranger may well be the one who provides it.

For instance, if you're approached in Beijing by someone who wants to practice their English, these days it's probably the start of a scam (expensive tea tasting, art gallery etc.). But, if you're in a bus station out in the Chinese countryside trying to buy a ticket, or on a train trying to order dinner, the stranger who offers to help is going to do that and only that.

You have to be joking about that last one - have you looked at the floor in the bathrooms?

Trust no one??? That's excessive. Use caution and judgement based on the situation.

I often trust people when I travel (with my camera, when asking for directions, etc) and it's always worked in my favor thus far. You don't hand over your camera to the younger man who says "I'll take a photo for you!" but you ask a couple, a family, etc. You have to use common sense but please don't travel with the idea that you can't trust anyone and people are out to "get" you.

I couldn't agree more with Suze: <<<Take things that are valuable or cannot be easily replaced in your carry-on and don't let it leave your side.>>> If it's really important, DO NOT CHECK IT. You can buy more underwear, you can buy more clothes. Buying a new camera, computer, glasses, etc aren't so easy.


Have fun and remember that your way is not the only way. Yep, it's different from at home, that's one of the main reasons to travel. Just because it's different does NOT make it wrong. Be accepting of differences.

Learn a few words of the local language and remember to smile. If you find someone who speaks your language, speak clearly and a bit slower but don't shout. A few words of the local language (where is _____, excuse me, please, sorry, thank you, yes, no, how much? etc) really do go a long way and are pretty easy to learn and remember. Don't worry about the best pronunciation, the attempt and a smile go a long way.

If you travel alone, take a book to read while eating (or while on the plane/bus/train). It makes it less awkward feeling and can be a great conversation starter.

Maybe the "trust no one" meant like when a scam artist approaches trying to sell you a "gold ring"?

like Thursdaysd, I do NOT wash up & change clothes in the plane bathroom a long haul flight. I wait and do that in my arrival airport, on the ground. It's cleaner that way!

A big second (or third, or?) to what suze and others have said re: putting the important stuff in a carry-on - and I'll add, make sure it's a good one, with a zipper or other closure -- and not one of those open-ended 'large-sacs', where stuff can/could fall out when the bag is laid on its side, like under the seat in front of you, or in the above storage compartment.

If you're taking prescription medications (and if you are, they should always be taken in your carry-on as well), always ensure you take a few days more of each medication than you actually might need, and keep those separately from the others -- be on the safe side, you might open a bottle one day and lose several pills down a sink, or drain, or wherever/whatever, and because of where you are, not be able to replenish such readily.

I like the suggestion of taking a little extra food -- we always do this, and especially now that the airlines so seldom provide anything of value to eat, and delays (whether departure or arrival) can be common, and sometimes considerable. Having a little extra food on-hand can sure help in such circumstances!!

Just a couple of tips that came to my mind ... bet there are many more out there?

Cheers!!

I'm sure there are a million+ travel tips. Heck there's whole books full of them. And all kinds of other websites... Trip Advisor, Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, Budget Travel, Frommer's, etc. etc. Not to mention GUIDEBOOKS!

I opened this thread for new people to the site and new travellers.

It's unfortunate but for whatever reason hardly anyone uses this "Travel Tips" branch. The likelyhood of a new traveller seeing the post is kind of slim.

But thanks for posting, peterSale. I didn't mean to sound negative. Maybe if we get enough new posts & new ideas going here... we could drum up some business on this branch!

That's why I did it. There was a comment that there was not much happening here, so I thought I would try and get something going for those to come here. It is a bit hit and miss, I know, but newies would probably come to this branch and be a bit disappointed.

What else can we start?

OK, i'm in :-) let's liven things up around here!

Great.Keep them coming people.

If you're going someplace that could potentially be cool, don't pack your coat in your suitcase (learned that one the hard way on an early April business trip to Paris when my luggage was delayed).

If you're going someplace that could potentially be cool, take a scarf and some of those amazing expanding gloves that stretch alot. If you forget your coat, or it is delayed because you had the brilliant idea to pack it in your suitcase, you can get by with a blazer and a couple of layers as long as you can keep your hands and neck warm.

Leave your nice jewelry at home.

Splurge and buy good socks. They are worth it.

Airline travel: Each suitcase is packed with 1/2 my husband's clothes and 1/2 mine, so if one suitcase is lost we will each have something to wear.

Car travel: beach items in separate bag especially towels, so this bag doesn't have to be lugged into the hotel. Leave a sweatshirt or windbreaker for each traveler in the car. Same for a comfy pair of shoes each.

I usually type up all suggestions for sights/directions/phone numbers etc. This past trip I had two copies, one for the car and one for the hotel room. This little idea was great especially for our trip to Cape Cod where we had one hotel for the week and spent a lot of time traveling around.

I have a mini bottles of Dawn, Tide, Fabreze and Wrinkle Release always in my travel kit.

I find a pair of dark shades to be enormously helpful in enabling me to sleep on planes. Funny, I've been flying for many years, but it took my son's example recently to teach me this.

Pack a set of earplugs in your kit - they're invaluable when one's accommodations turn out to be noisier than expected.

Pack a clothespin in case an annoying beam of light shines through hotel drapes.

Redstater- I like the dark shades idea!

I have guy friends who use a baseball cap (same idea as the sunglasses) to help them sleep on planes. The shelter over the eyes of the brim gives them a bit of feeling of privacy.

" Pack a clothespin in case an annoying beam of light shines through hotel drapes. "

Love that one - we could have used such a good many times for just that purpose!! There will definitely be a couple of clothespins in the luggage of our next trip south!! :-)

Instead of clothespins I use the small black triangular paperclips (husband refers to them as "bull clips?. That way I can use them for papers also. I have even put a keyring through the side of the clip and used it to clip items inside of my daypack.

"Binder" clips are great gadgets - much stronger hold than any other clip. But don't forget the lowly safety pin, which comes in many sizes, is smaller and lighter, can be secured even more safely than a clip, and can be used in a huge variety of applications. They're one of my favorite travel secrets - right up there with duct tape.

Oh yes....Duct tape.. never travel without it. It was even mentioned & needed on a season of The Amazing Race.

A sense of humor for when things go wrong is essential.....

Before leaving:A good map is essential to have the feeling of your destination, for planning i use www.tratoz.com and i never never never forget to empty my memory cards.

Ounce on the road: Smile, smile, smile....i was in Japan last may losted 2-3 times and i got help with just a smile and absolutely no verbal communication.......same in Austria the year before

Thanks folks. Keep them coming.

Here's a travel thing I often do, especially when travelling during the wetter times of the year -- I line my suitcase(s) with a large 'garbage' bag - ensuring it's one that's big enough to totally line the bag, and fold over from all sides, thus enclosing all my clothes, etc.

Having arrived where I'm going only to find clothes inside wet from poor baggage handling at airports, I've found this trick really helps to prevent such.

It works great when travelling with just a carry-on as well, especially when you have to walk to your mode of transportation, or from it to hotel, and etc.

Bottomline... don't lose your passport, money, credit cards, plane ticket confirmation number, or hotel reservations. Really anything else (camera, clean clothes, etc.) is just icing on the cake.

Have copies of all your reservations/passports/ATM cards/Credit Cards, etc. (hard copies and electronic). Have them on your email and/or a flash drive. If traveling with a group, make sure more than one of you has copies. Call your bank and credit cards before and tell them where you will be to avoid freezing of your accounts. Order money from your bank prior to the trip, so you have money when you land for taxis, etc...one less worry. Take plenty of hand wipes. Bring some laundry detergent to do some wash in the hotel on long trips. Double, triple-check your dates/times. Have coins on you at all times in Europe/Italy..most bathrooms are not free. Pack snacks from home, you never know when you will be starving and nowhere near food (we pack cheez-its and granola bars). Have enough clothes/items in your carry on to last a few days, in case your luggage is lost. The most important items are your passports, tickets, and money. The rest you can get by without (for a bit). Careful planning and preparation is the key to a smooth trip! Remember you are in a different country representing your country. Smile, be polite and respectful. Have fun!!

Put your swim trunks in your carry on. Pack light.

>>Double, triple-check your dates/times.<<

That would seem obvious . . . yet we have a current trip report over on the Europe forum where a mother/grandmother/two very young children missed a looooooong haul flight. They showed up at the airport and apparently had never looked at their flight times. Had to re-book a different flight for $$$$$

Thank you all for this wonderful information. I especially found the suggestion to put 1/2 of my clothes in husband's bag and visa versa. Great tip.

Also, I am new to the forum, and have asked ? but don't know how to get answers. Your help is appreciated

dannat - what are you talking about? You do have answers.

Take a very small first aid kit, you really don't want to be in a country where you can't say, "aspirin or Benadryl" if you need it.

Learn a little of the language. Instead of saying, "do you speak English?" Learn to say, "I'm sorry but I don't speak..." People are more likely to help you if you try.

Yes! spca is right. Always bring some new comfy socks for a trip. Don't forget moleskins.