Offer Your Best Travel Tips in the Comments by 10am Eastern Saturday morning to Win.
Some of y’all will remember that I hosted an online forum about technology and travel that was sponsored by National Car Rental coinciding with the launch of their new mobile app.
I rent regularly from National and had been looking forward to the introduction of a mobile app (finally!) and the folks participating in the chat were friends and travel heroes.
I like the products I like, I share the reasons why here, and I don’t want there to be confusion over my motives — if I benefit personally from a referral link I always say so in the post, I frequently try to arrange to give any miles I may earn from referrals back to you in the form of bigger bonuses (some companies are receptive to this, others are not) and I prefer to do giveaways rather than take freebies myself.
There was modest compensation for participating in the National forum, and I already gave away half the amount here on the blog. I split it up into more than one giveaway largely because I didn’t want to have to do tax reporting!
I want your best travel tips in the comments.
- You may enter as many times as you like, but each entry should be a bona fide travel tip. I will compile the best tips in a subsequent post.
- I will select two winners, largely at random but to be eligible to win the entry must be (in my sole judgment) a genuine tip.
- Two prizes of (2) $100 Visa Gift cards each will be awarded.
You have a great chance of winning because internet traffic drops like a rock on Friday evenings, second slowest only behind Saturday evenings.
So.. what are your best travel tips? They can be anything from ways to improve the odds of getting an airline upgrade, a hotel suite upgrade, clearing airport security quickly, the best place to eat at a given airport, anything at all.
I love to learn from this community of readers, and love to be able to share your knowledge back with everyone else. I look forward to reading your submissions, and of course to selecting two winners!
- You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. Don’t miss out!
Roll your clothes up instead of folding them as it takes up less space allowing you to take more or have a smaller bag. You pick!
Wear the shoes for your flight that will take up the most space, and pack the small/light shoes.
Print out multiple copies of your itinerary, tour packets, airline info, hotel info, etc. Every person traveling should have a copy and should keep it separate from yours. This way in case one person loses their bag there is a backup. Keep one copy in an easy to access area for airline/rail/car rental/hotel check-ins.
Pack a small backpack or drawstring bag to carry your small stuff while exploring.
Having no status, I am always eager to get good seats. Both my husband and I prefer aisles and we have had good luck asking for aisles across from eachother. We often find the middles next to one or both of us end up free and our trip is all the more comfortable, much more so than if one of us was in the middle seat.
Set your alarm for exactly 24 hours before your southwest flight so u can check in online and get an early boarding zone
When booking airline tickets, always get the confirmation number from the airline itself, as other booking sites may give you their own confm. number which can differ from the airline.
I go to my local laundromat and pick up a single size box of detergent for $1, then put it in a plastic baggie and put it in my suitcase. Detergent (esp single serve) is not always available in laundromats abroad (one I’ve been to in Paris, for example). Or you can get it at the hotel but at a crazy markup (a Westin in Canada that I otherwise love). The single size box is really thin and fits well in a zipper pocket inside my suitcase.
I should mention that I travel w toddler twins and I always have to do laundry so I’ve spent a good desk of time thinking about and doing this!
leave yourself a text message of where you parked the car at the airport. Nothing like getting back home and wandering the lot in search of your car!
Try to limit your meals to Breakfast and dinners. Take granola bars, trail mix, etc. and eat that for your lunch on the go while maximizing your day. This allows you to see more things that are only open during the day and not spending valuable time eating lunch in a restaurant.
Get a travel case for your electric toothbrush. Going back to a regular (caveman style) toothbrush is the worst…
Double-check your mileage accounts to make sure you got the proper credits you deserved.
Take a plastic bag to put your dirty clothes in so that you can separate them from the clean ones in your suitcase.
Get a credit card that has no foreign transaction fee.
Make sure to take a business card, piece of hotel statinonary, or a print out you brought from home with your Hotel’s name and address in case you need a cab later in the day. Much easier to just give the cab driver the exact name and address especially in international destinations.
When renting a car, first check what coverage your credit card includes.
Don’t set up a destination until you find good deals on tickets/hotels if you are on budget.
If you aren’t wearing it on the flight, don’t forget your belt! It’s an easy thing to forget to pack.
I know most people here are interested in premium cabin travel. however, if you are stuck in the back of the plane on a long flight to Europe or Asia (just like me) and you want the seat next to you in coach class to be empty, choose an aisle seat in the middle block of the plane (as opposed to a seat in any one of the window blocks). the middle seats in the middle blocks are the last seats to be chosen by travelers, so they are the most likely ones to stay empty. this has worked very well for me over the years….
In case of a flight cancellation at the airport, try calling the airline’s 800# for rebookings while you’re standing in a long line waiting to be rebooked. Often you will be rebooked much quickly over the phone, saving you time and possibly getting you on a better flight than the people waiting in line in front of you. 🙂 If you have access to the airline’s club lounge, that is also a great place to go for rebookings instead of the general 100+ passengers long line.
Log-in and print your boarding pass 24 hours ahead.
Take a “travel wallet” with only the cards and id’s you will be needing on the trip. Leave the excess at home.
Always be courteous to airline and hotel personnel – will get you farther than having status.
Pre-book dinner reservations before arriving in the city. Domestic and international destinations have many options to book using Opentable, Toptable, etc. through the web. Many hotels will take reservations right through email or comments section of the hotel reservation. Allows you to already pre-scout a dinner spot and have a reservation versus wandering the area and waiting for an hour to be seated.
Take a small container of liquid hand soap as bar soap can leave your hands feeling all sticky…
Buy a few restaurant coupons in the city you will be visiting on sites like restaurant.com and groupon to save a little bit on meals.
Take a little time before leaving home to study the public transit if you will be using it. Subways and sorts can be tricky to figure out on your phone…
My best travel tip for inter-time-zone travel is very simply–if you are American, bring melatonin. It is the best way to get rid of jetlag, either by taking a late flight and sleeping, or the first night you arrive.
Ask for the can of soda, it will save the flight attendant the time of pouring and you will have more to drink.
Use ExOfficio travel shirts for their security pockets, non-wrinkle, convertible sleeves, extra venting, and overall ease of use. Some come with UV protection or Bug protection, great for those warmer climates. Overall, great to keep valuables more secure and handy.
Check before leaving to see if you have access to lounges at any of the airports you will be spending time at. It makes layovers much more enjoyable.
Before getting in the security line just take everything out of your pockets and put them in your carry-on. (cell, wallet, keys, money)
Get both the Tripit and AwardWallet apps on your phone so that you can have all of your travel reservation information and all of your loyalty numbers at your fingertips.
If you are visiting Portland, Oregon, you can buy your souvenirs and gifts at the airport on your way out. Some very Portland shops have branches at PDX, including Made in Oregon, Mother Goose, Powell’s, Columbia Sportswear, and others. The prices are the same as in the city and of course there is no sales tax. So no need to shop in town unless you want to!
Take advantage of free wifi wherever you can find it, particularly when traveling overseas
If you’re going to a place with a spa, book your massage etc BEFORE arriving. Otherwise you may be disappointed to find there are no openings after you arrive.
Be sure to check the quantity and expiration date of your Over The Counter drugs and refresh any that have gone out of date or no longer have. Do not want to get to a destination and need an OTC drug only to find it is out of date or you used them all on the last trip.
Make sure to download travel apps to your phone such as you Airline, Hotel, etc. Then when use that app when checking in, when trying to check flight status, etc. Some of the airline apps also have terminal maps, lounge locations, and baggage information which can be useful when arriving at unfamiliar airports.
My number 1 tip is to try Priceline for bargain hotel bookings. You can often figure out what hotels are available by checking online forums and searching Hotwire to determine inventory.
I like to have an extra storage plastic bag to throw in change, cell phones, keys, etc before going through security. It makes it faster going through and easier getting out.
If you’re elite on Delta and they don’t upgrade you to first class, you can always get your glass of wine (in plastic, though — darn)or snack box with your “Have one on us” coupon that prints out with your boarding pass — IF you have printed that before arriving at the airport. If you don’t have a printer available and wait to print out the pass at the airport kiosk, you won’t get that coupon. SO, when traveling, don’t just check in online in your hotel room, but ask if you can PRINT your boarding pass at the hotel’s business computer and get that freebee.
Get an international atomic wrist watch. Great to just select your destination city and not have to re-program your watch. This also allows you to easily flip back to your home setting and see the local time. Casio has some very fine inexpensive options in this area.
Keep your passport in a money belt when traveling abroad — and sleep with it under you pillow. Trust me, you don’t want to deal with replacing a stolen passport.
You can buy first class lounge passes on Ebay if that’s your thing.
The Check Inn program by CLC lodging offers corporate rates for small business travelers.
Open up an Amex prepaid card, it works both as ATM and credit cards. The best part being it has no annual fees, no foreign exchange fees or transaction fees
Pay attention to the locals in front of you in the security line when traveling internationally. Many times you will not need to remove things like shoes or belts abroad. This will save you time and effort by not removing those items when you are not expected to do so.
Seek out the local, unique experiences. Stay away from Western chain hotels and get out and meet people.
Scan and email yourself a copy of your passport and all credit cards (front and back) that you will be travelling with in case they are lost or stolen.
Learn how to say a few words in the language of the country you are visiting. We learned “thank you,” “thank you very much,” “hello” and “goodbye” in Turkish before our recent visit to Istanbul and the smiles we got from the people we interacted with in stores, when asking directions, in restaurants and even at border control were well worth the effort. People really appreciate it. I actually carried a card in my pocket and sometimes dug it out to read to someone which made them smile even more.