From a city zoo in San Jose to the mountainous regions of Pakistan to the savannahs of Africa, it’s easy to see that traveling leads to very different places. Nonetheless, there are some basic tips that will help ensure a good trip no matter where it is that you are going.
When planning a trip overseas, be sure to check on any required or recommended vaccinations and speak to your doctor early about getting them. If you fail to get the shots that are required, you could become very ill while traveling. Alternatively, even if you don’t get sick, you may have difficulty re-entering the country and may be forced into a period of quarantine to ensure you aren’t carrying any diseases.
Check prices directly with your hotel or airline company to save money on your trip. Although it is often small, some search engine sites add a fee to their rates. To avoid the fee, check the airline website directly or give the hotel a call for their rates. You will typically find that the rates are lower when you book directly.
Limit the amount of luggage you take on your trip to a carry-on bag. Luggage has a nasty habit of getting lost in airports. Even if it does not get lost, you often spend an annoying amount of time waiting for it to show up on the luggage carrousel. Limiting the luggage you take to a single carry-on bag will eliminate this problem entirely.
Call the airport ahead of time to receive your seat assignment. Without a seat assignment there is a chance that you might be bumped from a flight. If this happens, you could find yourself stuck in the terminal waiting for the next flight. This could take several hours.
Locate a restaurant near your hotel if you plan to stay longer than overnight. While many hotels have restaurants built right in, such eateries will be sad, generic affairs offering little to remember. By finding a local restaurant within easy travel distance you will gain access to a little bit of local color.
Losing your rental car in large parking lots is no fun. Carry one of those fluorescent foam balls that fit over the tip of your antenna or maybe even a colorful ribbon to tie to the rear view mirror. They take up no room in your luggage and can sure make locating that car a whole lot easier when there are exactly 37 others that look just like it in the same row where you parked!
Use noise-cancelling headphones. Because of all the engine and background noise on an airplane, you have to crank the volume on your headphones up dangerously high just to hear the music. Invest in a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, which cancel out the background noise and let you clearly hear your music at a reasonable volume. Even if you don’t listen to music, they are great for just reducing the noise.
Once you have found an agent and an insurance policy you are happy with you will pay your premium and then you should receive your written policy. Receiving your premium tells you that the insurance agent has forwarded your insurance premium information to the insurance company. If you don’t receive your policy within a couple months, contact your agent.
No matter where it is that you are going, these common tips should help you in your travels. While each country has its own idiosyncrasies, the advice here should be kept in mind no matter where it is that you go. Now that you’ve got the advice, all that’s left is picking the destination!