Whether your business takes you away from home or you are looking for a memorable vacation, you can benefit from these handy tips on travel. While travel has tended to become faster and cheaper over time, there is still a big difference between the costs you experience as an unprepared traveler versus being a well-educated one.
When you travel, it’s tempting to try to pack activities into every spare minute. But you should also plan for some downtime. For example, a three-day weekend in New York City can be crammed with things to do, but why not build in a couple of hours’ ramble around Central Park? It will give you time to regroup, relax, and just enjoy being in your new surroundings.
Prior to booking a hotel, ask if renovations will be taking place during that time. There are few things more annoying than waking to the sound of construction equipment while you are enjoying a vacation. The hotel staff is powerless about such noise, so your best bet is just avoiding potential construction dates altogether.
Keep your money discreetly tucked away while traveling. It would be terrible to be stuck in a foreign place with no way to pay for necessities. Put cash on a money clip and hide it in a secret place. Try to carry the minimum amount of money with you so that you do not risk losing much.
Before going on any vacation or trip, read the reviews. These reviews should be about the local restaurants around the area that you are staying, the hotel that you are staying in or the car service that you are using if you are renting a car. These reviews can help make your trip much better.
When traveling overseas, do not be afraid to use your cell phone if you need to make a brief call home. You may be charged a high fee, but you can avoid the stress of trying to figure out how to use phone cards. If you need to make several calls, consider using a phone service that operates over the internet.
When you fly across time zones jet leg is very common, although there is nothing you can do to completely avoid it, if you eat light on your flight it can help. Eat lightly and avoid rich foods for the first few days of your trip that way your body can focus on getting used to your new surroundings instead of digesting a lot of food.
If you are planning to travel by car, purchase an expandable file to help you organize your trip. Label one slot with each day of your trip and put any information that you need for the day in there. You might include maps, directions, hotel confirmation numbers, or attraction information. Staying organized will help make your road trip less stressful and will allow you to stay on schedule.
Educating yourself on the ins and outs of traveling can save you more than just money. Savvy travelers not only get to their destinations for less money, they often get there faster – and almost always less stressed out. The tips in this article are just the start of your travel education; be on the lookout for more ways to save time and money.
