TravelsandEscapes

Consider a rental apartment, house, or condo instead of a standard hotel. If you’re traveling with another couple or if you need two hotel rooms, a rental can save you some money.

You also have more room to spread out and kitchen facilities in case you want to cook, make snacks, or have morning coffee in your pajamas.

Be sure to check out the location first. If it sounds like an amazing deal…check to see where it is located. You may find staying outside of the city is a good deal…until you see where the nearest bus or subway station is located.

You’re planning your vacation to Europe and want to get the most for your money. Great. Who doesn’t? 

Here are some things to think about.

When looking at hotels, car rentals, and other non-flight items, try to get the quotes or the rates in US dollars. Why? It’s what you’re used to seeing and dealing with. You will have the amount in a currency you recognize so when your statement arrives, that amount makes sense. You also won’t have to keep checking exchange rates.

Try to stay in one or two places and really immerse yourself in that area and its culture. Base your trip in Florence if you want to visit that particular part of Tuscany, for instance. Stay in Venice if the Veneto and northeast Italy is your focus. Want to spend some time in Champagne? Paris is a good place for a home base. You won’t spend hours in transit going from city to city, only to have a couple of hours in one new place. Figure out the area you want to see and then stay in a city central to the whole area.

Think about purchasing a museum pass for attractions, museums, and tours in that city or region. If you know the sites you really want to see, these can be a great value. Make sure those sites are listed on the pass.

If there is only one site on your must see list, check online before you leave home to see if you can purchase the ticket in advance. You avoid the long lines to just purchase the ticket and in most cases you bypass most lines with your prepaid ticket. The same goes for popular sites. Check online before you go.

When leaving home for an extended time period do you hope your home will be safe and secure? Or, do you take some precautions while you’re off vising the countryside of Italy?

Some people hire house sitters to stay in their homes, take care of the plants, feed and walk the dog, pick up the mail, and keep an eye on things. Great idea, especially if you are gone for an extended period of time.

You could notify the neighbors you’re going to be gone for a lengthy time. You may even give them the name of your house sitter.

Only gone for a week-end? Do you close your curtains or turn on lights at a certain time each day? You may want to think about a timer. 

Ask your neighbor to pick up the paper, even if it’s only a couple of days. No sense leaving it on the driveway to announce no one is home.

The next time you stay in a hotel that provides shower caps, take it with you to use later. You can use it to cover your shoes in your luggage.

Any dirt on the bottom of your shoes won’t make its way onto your clean clothes. And, your shoes won’t get scuffed by some other items.

Or, use it to cover flip flops or sandals you’ve worn at the beach. I don’t know about you, but I can never get all of the sand out of my flip flops.

Those little bars of soap in hotels…they have some other uses as well.

If you rub the dry bar of soap on a zipper that’s stuck, you can lubricate the zipper’s teeth enough to get the zipper unstuck. You might have to run it up and down several times, but at least you won’t have to break the zipper.

If you’ve been bitten by some bugs on your travels and forgot to bring any anti-itch, use the bar of soap to help with this as well. Some like to rub the dry bar on the bite, others say wetting the bar a little bit and then rubbing it on the bite works better. Either way, let it dry and you should have relief. Plus, keep a bar in your suitcase as it is not subject to TSA rules and regs.

When deciding on a hotel for your vacation, how do you know which one to pick?

Here are some things to think about.

Where is the hotel located. Look at the map and then look at Google Street View. It’s amazing what you see, that the hotel website might not show you. Is that really a train track running directly behind the hotel?

Read the reviews. Look at the positive ones and the negative ones. Are the negative ones just moaning and groaning or are there real concerns that keep popping up in reviews? Perhaps you’ll learn some great services offered by reading a positive review.

If you need an airport shuttle, see if the hotel has one and what times it runs. If you aren’t sure, contact the hotel.

Do you have to pay for parking if you are driving? How much is it?

Understand what services are actually free and what are not. If Wi-Fi is listed as available, you might want to check to see if there is a charge. 

If you can’t find something on the hotel website or if you have a question, don’t be afraid to contact the hotel directly.

Traveling with a curling iron? Pack it in an oven mitt.

Tight connection? When booking, pick an aisle seat near the front.

Traveling several months from now? Sign up for fare alerts at Kayak, FareCompare, Hipmunk, and others.

Checking your luggage? Use an expandable suitcase. As long as it doesn’t exceed the weight amount, you will be able to add more by expanding the suitcase.

Need to save room in your suitcase? Try travel space bags which will compress your clothes and usually keep them wrinkle free.

Have a long flight and want to stay comfortable? Wear breathable fabrics like silk, cotton, or linen on the plane.

Forgot your laundry soap? Baby shampoo works just as well. You can also use it to defog your swim or ski goggles. Just dab a small amount and rinse. Throw in some dryer sheets. One in your dirty clothes bag helps with smelly clothes. Use another one to remove static. Place one in each shoe to keep them smelling better.

Need thread? Dental floss works well.

When you travel, do you make all the arrangements or do you hire a guide? Do you use a travel service that provides everything or just a guide for certain sites? Are you traveling by boat, air, or car? Are you going to be traveling all over Napa Valley drinking and sampling wines? Will you be hiking in unfamiliar territory? 

While there are pros and cons for all of the above, you should decide what you’ll be doing and how beneficial a guide would be for your trip. 

For instance, if you’re going to some location during a time when dozens of tourists visit…you may want to seek out someone ahead of time to let you know the best days and times to visit. That guide may also have special passes or can get you a private tour.

Or, if your time is limited in a city, a guide may be your best bet.

For dive trips, we always hired a guide. We didn’t just sign up for a 40 person boat where no special services were offered. You want someone who is familiar with the best dive spots if that’s your vacation.

A wine tasting vacation, no matter where, is another time when a guide is a good idea. They may recommend great spots. Better yet, you won’t have to worry about drinking and driving.

When visiting places where language is a definite issue, a guide could come in handy when trying to read street signs, order in a restaurant, or get a taxi.

Traveling to Venice was a great opportunity to discover places, streets, canals, and surrounding areas I could use in my latest suspense, mystery novel. In fact, the cover shot is one I took the day we went to Burano.

The foothills of the Dolomites, wandering around the countryside where the prosecco grapes are grown, and highlights of other places around Venice make it into the book as well. 

Check it out on Amazon or from my website at www.wendyvanhatten.com. 

Stay tuned for the next one…you may be surprised.

Remember to pack:
Extra batteries…you don’t want to run out

A battery charger…this would work in place of extra batteries

Extra memory cards…know what kind of memory your camera has and pack accordingly

A lens cloth…having a smudge on your lens doesn’t equal great photos

Plastic bag…if it starts raining, your camera is protected

Filters…if you use filters, remember to pack them

Flashlight…you may need to shine a little light on something

Tripod…if you plan on taking photos with long exposure times, this is essential