Here are 18 travel tips that will make your next vacation more enjoyable:
1. It's best to always keep a travel checklist with items that you can update as you gain experience while traveling. I always check mine two or three times before I walk out the door.
2. If you are traveling abroad, carry an extra copy of your passport in separate luggage or on your phone. This will make it much easier to get an emergency replacement if you lose your original. In general, it's never a good idea to carry your original with you on the street.
3. Always check all your flight, hotel and rental car confirmations. Too many vacations have been ruined because of a wrong date on a reservation.
4. If you're faced with a sudden rebooking of flights and hotels, travel providers often have “chat” features on their apps, which is a faster method of communication than sitting on hold for a hour or more.
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5. Always know the currency of the countries you are traveling to. Avoid letting yourself be exploited by hotels, restaurants, etc. who wish to carry out currency exchanges for you at unfavorable rates. THE FOREX website is the best place to check exchange rates. Resist the urge to charge it in US dollars when you pay the bill.
6. Some countries will offer you a better rate if you exchange new, undamaged US$100 bills at currency exchange kiosks.
7. If you want to have some foreign currency before you land, you can go to a major bank or AAA in the United States and ask them to order foreign currency for you. However, be aware that even if they tell you there are “no fees”, the fees are offset by a less than favorable exchange rate.
8. I always have two to three alternative travel itineraries in mind before heading to the airport in case of cancellation. You are in a more powerful position if you know your alternative options.
9. Make sure you have pre-selected your phone plans for calls and texts. Understand your plan limits when you're out of the country to avoid surprises from high surcharges.
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10. Carry only a minimum amount of cash with you on the streets of a foreign city or country. Pickpockets are numerous in many countries.
11. Most pickpockets depend on distraction to accomplish their task. “Distraction is always followed by extraction!”
12. Separate your credit cards to avoid one person carrying them all.
13. Do not put your medications in a checked bag. It may not appear for two weeks.
14. If you are taking multiple medications, it is best to keep a list of them in case you need to replace them in a travel destination.
15. Make sure you understand your travel medical insurance policies in case something happens, such as illness or a necessary medical evacuation. Some credit cards cover these types of events. Know these credit card policies. The devil is in the details!
16. On vacation, I always try to take “end of life” clothes. I can leave them behind as I go. Often a housekeeper at a hotel or B&B knows someone who can use them. If you give them to the hotel housekeeper, attach a note so management knows you gave them.
17. Don’t overload your luggage! You can buy just about anything you need on your trip unless you're going to Mt. Everest. Packing large containers of toiletries doesn't make sense when you can buy them along the way if you run out.
18. The last thing you should do before you walk out the door is set the thermostat to low. You don't want to pay your energy bills when you're not using your home.
Steve Barrymore of Oklahoma City has always traveled the world and recently focused on Latin America where he has participated in more than a dozen Spanish immersion programs in nine different Spanish-speaking countries..
