Are you looking for some tips that will help you maximize your overall journey? The information below will hopefully help the novice evolve into a professional traveler.
Secure travel arrangements in advance to help maintain your budget. Although there are many things you can purchase on your trip, it is important to know that most of the things will much pricier now rather than if you had bought them much earlier. When you budget your expendable cash wisely and make your souvenir purchases early on, you will have more available funds later on in your journey if some issue were to arise.
Always remember to tip any hotel staff. For these services, a good tip for housekeeping would be from $2-$5 per day, and $1 per bag of luggage. This will help ensure that you maintain a good relationship during your stay.
Carry a business card or book of matches from your hotel with you everywhere you go. If you are in a foreign country or city and you get lost, you will have something to show to others to help find your way back to the hotel. It is particularly useful for those who haven’t mastered the language.
If you are taking a road trip with kids, take along a couple cookie sheets. You can use them as a table on which to draw or play a game. If your children are very little, you can pack magnetic numbers and letters for some educational entertainment.
Earplugs are beneficial if you are awoken easily. Sometimes hotel walls seem tissue paper thin. Decent earplugs (or more than one pair of disposable ear plugs) can block out lots of noise so that you can sleep well at night.
If you run into issues in your plans, you may get frustrated. Flights are cancelled and rental cars disappear. In cases such as these, you and the agent you speak with are the only people who can solve the problem. In the beginning you both want to resolve the issue, but it may be easy for an argument to develop. Try to stay calm and polite. You will accomplish far more this way, and your trip will be less stressful.
Ask to be placed in a room on an upper level, if at all possible. It may not seem like a real issue, but thieves can access ground-floor rooms quite easily. Sliding doors are also a security risk, so if you have a choice, opt for a room without them. Rooms such as this can be broken into easier.
Make sure you check your alarm when you check into your hotel room before retiring for the evening. You want to make sure the alarm is not going to go off during the night and wake you up.
Make your luggage appear unique. Decorate it colorfully. Try using paint and markers for drawing on it, or you can use stickers. You don’t need others taking your luggage, by mistake.
If you are traveling with others, divvy up belongings so that every bag contains some belongs of each person. That offers security in the event that some bags get lost. If one person’s luggage is lost, that person will have some clothes in another person’s luggage. To guard against not having any clothes should something go wrong with the luggage, carry an extra set of clothes in your carry-on bag.
Be wary of travel-deal emails. Be sure not to open travel related emails, unless you know which company they are coming from.
Carry any valuables you have with you at all times. Passengers have access to the bus during these stops, giving them the chance to run off with things.
It is usually cheaper to avoid direct flights. You still need to be realistic about checking layover times, though. If the time between flights is not long enough, you may risk your connecting flight. If you have a long layover, bring along a book to help pass the time.
Check your local discount electronics store before you depart overseas, and check for a voltage converter or adapter for your appliances. It’s best to purchase one before you leave, because you will pay much more if you wait until you reach your hotel.
The tips above have proven to be a great help when planning your trip. This article was put together to assist you in learning the best ways to plan a trip and keep you safe and smart as you travel.