I recently learned a few new facts and tips about flying that I wanted to share with you guys. Some of these are things I hope I’ll never need to know, some are things that may impact my next flight.
Category: Travel Misc
Travel Money- Getting the most for your buck
With all of the recent hullabaloo about the Brexit, I watched the exchange rate for dollars to pounds or euros slowly drop. Since I’m also starting to plan my next trip to Europe, it got me thinking about whether to buy a bunch of euros now so I’m ready for the trip and so I get a better rate than I otherwise would. I did a little digging, and I learned a few things about what and what not to do when you’re dealing with foreign currencies.
Airfare- Skiplagged
I recently wrote a post about airfares and some tricks to get a cheaper fare than what’s advertised on the airline’s sites. I’ve had a few readers reach out to me to tell me about a website called SkipLagged that I’d completely forgotten about.
Airfare- Money-saving tips and things to watch for
Most of the time, your airfare will be one of the biggest single line items in your travel budget. Getting a good deal on your airfare could make the difference between taking one trip this year or two, but the airlines certainly don’t make it easy.
WiFi and VPNs- Keeping your data safe
Most of us travel to get away from it all. Vacation offers us time to unplug from the nonstop emails and notifications, and time to relax and be less distracted by everything that constantly demands our time. Being able to leave your work phone at home for a few days can offer us mental peace that’s worth its weight in gold. But sometimes, even on vacation, you still need to get online.
Ziploc Bags- A Traveler’s Best Friend
Somewhere in your home, you have Ziploc bags. They’re probably under the kitchen sink, next to the trash bags and in front of the green and yellow kitchen sponges. Ziploc bags are handy, but it wasn’t until my recent trip that I realized that they had uses outside of the kitchen.
Comfort and Long Flights
It used to be that flying was a special occasion. People got dressed up, the food was good, and it was something to be enjoyed. As the price point dropped, the riffraff started to travel, and airlines started to lower the quality of the travel to lower cost and improve their profits. Now you see people dressed like slobs, acting like the plane is their living room, with no regard for the people around them. There are even websites dedicated to these people. Any schmuck with a credit card can fly. While we can’t control what everyone does around us, there are things that we can do to try to make our own flights a little less painful. Here are a couple of tricks that I’ve been using for years on longer flights to help make them easier and more comfortable.
Be aware
As the holiday season approaches, more of us will be taking trips to see family and friends. Most of those trips will be domestic, visiting the cities and towns that we grew up in. But no matter where your travels take you, from Akron to Zanzibar, you should always be aware of your surroundings. Always pay attention to who’s touching your bags and when. Don’t let them out of your sight, and make sure they’re secured. It’s easy to get complacent when you travel often or when you’re tired from a long day of travel. Taking things out of your bag may take a few seconds, and that’s what we are usually on alert for. But it’s quite easy to put something in.
Packing for your trip
Your flights are booked, you know where the embassy and hospital are, you may have a list of restaurants you want to try or sights you want to see. You’re a few days out from your trip, and you’re starting to pack. I tend to start packing about 3 days before the trip. Generally, what I take on the trip isn’t stuff that I use when I’m home, so I can pack early. If I find that I’m missing something necessary, I can get on Amazon and get it shipped to me within a day or two and still be ok. If you’re like my friend Cristina, you’ll start packing the night before the trip and spend about 8 hours trying to sort through things to figure out what to bring and what to leave behind. Either approach is valid (but mine is better). Wherever you’re going, there are probably a few things that are staples for almost any trip.
Before Your Trip
Congratulations! At this point, you’ve hopefully booked your flight and your hotels, you know where you’re going and when. You haven’t started packing yet (that’s next week’s post), but you’re starting to get excited about the trip. There’s a couple of things that you’ll want to do to make sure your trip goes smoothly.