Whether it is for pleasure or business, traveling can be a lot of fun. It can also be more than a little bothersome. Planning for transportation, packing and finding a place to stay can add up and become incredibly stressful. Here are a few helpful tips to ease the burden a bit.
Tip your hotel service personnel. A small tip can make the greatest difference in your stay. If you do not tip, the maid who services your room may feel slighted by the lack of financial gratitude and this could lead to the neglect of your room as well as supply of soaps and shampoos. Your luggage carrier, when properly paid, could suggest the great spots around town.
Before leaving on a trip, find out and write down the addresses of the American embassies in the countries you’ll be visiting. While the embassy is not a traveler’s aid office, they can help you if your passport is stolen or if you find yourself in some kind of unexpected legal trouble while overseas.
When considering traveling, it is important to think of the best mode of travel. Traveling by car can offer many more sights and opportunities for side trips. Traveling by train can offer a chance to relax and get some work done if they wanted. Planes can cover ground fast but don’t allow much movement and one cannot get off the plane in flight. Each mode of travel has it’s own advantages and disadvantages to be considered.
Make sure that your cell phone plan is on a national calling set up before you leave town. If you are normally on a regional or local plan, switching to a national plan, even just for the short time you will be gone, can keep you from getting charged for roaming or long distance.
Before departing on a trip, the wise traveler makes sure at least one person back home knows where he will be. This “home base” contact should also be updated with any unplanned changes the traveler encounters on the way. Someone who knows where a traveler is – and where they should be – can be a great help in the case of trouble on the road.
Try signing up for travel price watcher. A lot of websites allow you to specify your destinations and will monitor prices for you. When the price drops, you will get an email alert. This strategy can eliminate the need to constantly check for lower prices.
The best part of traveling is being able to spend freely once you get to your destination. While the hotel and the flight are usually the most expensive part, the best trips usually involve spending a ton of money out and about. So before you travel set up a savings plan such that you have a fat wallet after paying for the hotel and the flight so you can maximize your enjoyment.
When choosing an airline, it’s important to take more than just the price of the ticket into consideration. A lot of airlines charge money for checked bags now, and many charge other excessive hidden costs. Before ‘shelling out your hard earned money’ for what seems like a cheap ticket, do some research.
If you are taking a cruise, bring a tackle box and use it to store your valuables. Most thieves are only interested in what they can quickly find and get out with. They probably will not think to look in a tackle box for valuables.
Hopefully, these tips have given you something of value – or at the very least – something useful to mull over. Above all else, it is important to stay safe while traveling. Aside from that, try to just push the stress aside and have fun. Enjoy!