Have you ever been in an airport AND in a hurry? Did it seem like everyone in the entire airport was following the same path as you?
Did you know there may be shortcuts in airports to get from one hallway or one point to another? How do you find them?
Take a good look at the airport concourse map. It shows all the hallways, the elevators, etc. You may just find a better way then following along after every other traveler.
You’re at the airport, ready to head home after a couple weeks in Italy…or wherever. You have some leftover Euros. What do you do with them?
You could bring the Euros home and use them next time.
You could buy something at the airport.
You could find a chain coffee shop, like the one you have back home. Buy a gift card with the exact amount of leftover Euros. Whatever it translates to when you get home…it’s a cup or more of coffee.
The day before you leave, remember to charge all your electronic devices. I have a power back up for my phone and tablet. When I take a bunch of photos, they can drain my battery more quickly.
There’s probably no worse feeling than that of not finding your passport…when you’re in a foreign country.
You’ve looked everywhere. It’s nowhere to be found. It may be lost. It may be stolen. It’s just gone.
What do you do? Search everything one more time. I mean everything. Did it get wedged in your suitcase behind your shoes? Did it get covered up with the morning’s newspaper? Look everywhere.
Then, if it’s gone…
Contact the police in case it really was stolen. Contact your local embassy. If you’ve registered with STEP (see a previous post on this), you’ll know where the embassy is, the phone number, and other pertinent info. You’ll have to show up in person at the embassy to get an emergency passport to get home. Once at home, you’ll need to apply for a new passport.
When you’re at the embassy, you’ll need to show ID. If your wallet was stolen, take someone along who can vouch for you.
It would be a good idea to have a preparation kit of sorts with you in a different place than where you keep your passport. If you received two passport photos when yours was taken, put that in your ‘kit’. Include a copy of your US birth certificate…not the original. Include a copy of your passport and a copy of your flight itinerary and tickets. If your phone is password protected, you could keep a file with this information on it.
If you’ve registered with STEP…this process will be easier.
http://www.journeywoman.com/BestTravelTips/best-tips-december-2015.html
Have you ever used Gate Guru? It can be found at www.gateguru.com.
Why would you check it out? Several reasons:
You can save your upcoming and past trips. This means you can put your itinerary here, including any info you might need that day. Think of hotel reservations, phone number of your hotel or destination, and more.
If you need to, you can even rent a car thru here.
And, of course, get important information about your gate.
Let me know if you’ve tried it.
No travel info today…just a reminder of a fantastic dessert in Venice. Yum!
You’ve arrived at your destination. What do you do with the boarding pass? After all, you don’t need it any more…right?
Don’t toss it in the hotel or any other wastebasket. Why?
As with most documents, your boarding pass has information about you on it. And, that information can be accessed by a site reading the barcode on your boarding pass. You don’t want your phone number, frequent flyer number, your account PIN, or any other personal information to be accessed by someone who shouldn’t have that info.
Save it and shred it when you get home…
Looking for a unique gift for some kids this year? How about a globe or an atlas?
Our world seems to be getting smaller all the time. Let the kids see the world from the perspective of a globe. You can also check out National Geographic’s Kids World Atlas to have them start learning where other countries are in comparison to the US.
