You know you’ll remember exactly where you parked your car in the humongous airport parking lot. Right?
However, if you’re excited about your upcoming trip, remembering where you parked might not be at the top of your things to remember.
Next time, take a photo of the parking lot section sign with your phone or digital camera. Then forget about it until you return.
How do you convey the address of your hotel to your taxi driver in Paris when you don’t speak his version of French and you can’t understand the questions he’s asking you? Maybe you saved the emailed copy of your confirmation…but you’re in a cab without wifi…and your phone doesn’t work in Europe.
What then?
You could show him your confirmation email that you printed and have with you. It may be ‘old school’…but it works.
Do you back up your travel documents that would be catastrophic to lose? Copies of your passport, travel insurance policy, credit card info, or other identification info are vital to have when traveling.
You can keep these safe by using cloud technology like Dropbox, Google Drive, InfoSafe, and others.
I know you want to see it all when you travel. But, you know what? That’s impossible.
In fact, you should leave room in your schedule for those unexpected delights. If you slow down and enjoy the trip…chances are your entire experience will be better.
Guess what…you can come back to take in the sights you missed or want to revisit. It’s a whole lot more fun that way.
Many of you probably start planning your trips fairly early, especially if looking for flights to Europe, across the US, or a complicated itinerary.
When you start checking airfares, do you wonder if they will go down? Should you wait? How do you know?
One tool I found is to use Kayak. Put in your cities and dates. Then use their feature called Price Trend which shows whether the fare for your flight has been rising or falling. It also advises if you if you should purchase now or wait, with a confidence percentage.
You know you need to fill up the rental car before you return it. But…you forgot to check where the closest place to do that is.
Next time, on your way out of the rental car facility…check for gas stations. Or…check your smart phone before you’re in a rush to catch your flight.
Have you ever been trapped behind a whole family walking together, slowly through an airport or on a city street?
It’s nice they all want to walk together. But, taking up the whole sidewalk or walkway is not only annoying, it’s rude. In fact, this was one of the complaints I recently read about in a survey of most annoying things travelers do!
Especially in an airport, everyone is in a hurry. Catching a flight…getting to baggage claim…going through customs. The last thing you want to do in an airport is get caught behind a group of people not paying any attention to other people.
Pay attention and try to get out of the way. Your fellow travelers will thank you.
Did you hear that Frontier Airlines will be charging $50 for a carry on bag? What are your thoughts on this? Will that affect your decision on picking an airline?
I don’t pack a hair dryer when traveling. It’s not because I want my hair to look like I just crawled out of bed, either. I check with the hotel, B & B, or apartment website of the place where we will be staying. Most often hair dryers are provided.
It seems hotels are now providing a wide range of items for travelers. Kimpton provides zebra print ounge socks, toothpaste, and mouthwash at its properties. Hyatt is following suit.
Forgot your charger? Did you know that mobile phone chargers were the number one most left behind item in hotel rooms? Some travelers check the desk drawer first before calling the front desk to see if they have loaners.
Need a portable place for your child to sleep? Many hotels offer free kid’s items from bathtub toys to small cribs.
Bottom line…check with your hotel or B & B before you go to the store to pick up what you forgot. Chances are, the front desk staff will have what you need.
And, check before you leave home to see what you don’t need to pack. Might as well save some room in your luggage.