Here are 5 Travel tips to know before go – Travel Tip #1. Vacation travel tips
1. Make a photocopy of your passport, itinerary, credit card numbers with 800 contacts and insurance policy and give it to a family member at home and put a copy in a safe place with you as well.
If something unexpected happens while you are away, the family member will be able to assist getting the help you need. This will make also make it easier for you to start an insurance claim or make other travel or medical arrangements. Some travel agencies do this as a courtesy for their customers.
If your credit card is lost or stolen you will be able to call and have the card company put warnings on your accounts.
If a family member need to get ahold of you incase of a family emergency they will know exactly where you are.
This tip will help give you piece of mind so that you will have a fantastic vacation and know if anything happens your covered.
2. Add contact information to the inside of your luggage.
In addition to your outside luggage tag, put your name and contact information inside your suitcase In the event that it is lost. Contact information could include the hotel you are staying at during your vacation and your home address, too.
I went to Las Vegas when I was younger and the airline thought I looked too young to go to Las Vegas so they sent my luggage to Chicago, true story. It took a day to get my luggage back and I didn’t have a change of cloths in my carry-on, and so that leads me to tip number 3.
3. Pack a change of cloths and swim suit in your carry-on
If you are traveling to a warm destination or use this tip as a regular practice when traveling, its always a good idea to pack a change of clothes and swim suit in your carry on. Your room might not be ready for you when you arrive. The concierge will hold your luggage for you and in the meantime, you can be out by the pool enjoying your first day.
Make sure all medications and anything else vital are packed in your carry on, as well. Make sure medications are in their ORIGINAL containers!
4. Using ATM machines when your out of town or abroad.
ATM machines – If you think you may use an ATM on your trip, check with your bank to see about international fees. Also, you may end up getting your money in local currency, which might be hard to change back at the end of your trip if you do use an ATM machine – especially one in a busy area, be careful of your purse or other belongings.
You will be concentrating on what you’re doing – not what you are carrying. Don’t become a target of a crime. Generally, it is better to take a small amount of cash from home for local use – tipping, small purchases; and use your credit card for everything else. The only places you will find that don’t accept a credit card would be a local market or small store. Even then, the US dollar is widely accepted.
5. Shake blankets and pillows found in the closets at the hotel if you use them.
I know this sound strange, but shake out any blankets or pillows found in a closet used in a hotel room especially if they are not wrapped in plastic.
True story, my husband and I were on vacation and decided to cuddle on the couch with a blanket from the closet to watch the Stanley Cup Championship. Suddenly my husband started running a violent fever. We thought he had food poisoning or had an allergic reaction to something he ate. We bought Diphenhydramine HCI (for allergies or an allergic reaction, which is another item to take along on vacation).
The next morning we noticed his foot was swollen to twice its size. Eventually we found out he had been bitten by a Brown Recluse Spider. I guess they like to snuggle up in blankets as well. I had to convince my husband to go to the hospital because he is quite stubborn. Well after a blood test and two IV’s of antibiotics later, my husband is fine and we even laugh about it now, but at the time it wasn’t funny and he says I may have saved his life.
If you use blankets or pillows on vacation, just give them a quick shake, just in case a little critter may have decided to cuddle there too.
