Travel Tips

The most dangerous part of most travel is transportation, especially bad roads and poor drivers, but people seem to worry more about crime. When we travel to a different country we not only share the common security risks experienced by the people of that country, but also often run the risk of being the tourist target. Often we can not really blend in to look like a native, but we can limit the risks by using the caution of a native. The first rule I have is to choose my own informants, friends, and in some countries, taxis. -- A family coming out of a museum is less likely to lead you to danger than the young man hanging out near the museum entrance.-- The second rule is to carry only what is necessary for a good visit. The third rule is try not to be stupid. Of course, it is this third rule that I break periodically; so far with no significant consequences.

Language is also a helpful tool to ease your travel anxiety.
I am fluent in English and Spanish, recently I was studied Portuguese, but currently I'm studying Mandarin. I used to be fairly fluent in Italian and French, but I have traveled many places where none of these was the national language and I have found I could get around well with just 60 words or phrases memorized and said fluently before arrival.
Hello. Goodday. Goodbye. Please. Thank you. No. Where is the ----?
How much? Too much. When? Bathroom? Room? Bed? Could you help me?
Yes. The check(or bill). 1-9, 10, 20 ...90, 100, 1000. More. Less. How long? (for time), minutes, hours, days. Now? Sorry; Excuse me. Do you speak English? (This actually helps because the person will know what you need even if their answer is no.) Purified water.
And 14 specialty words like the unit of money, a drink (beer, tea depending on you taste and the county being visited).
Of course, a lot of this can be said with the correct gestures, but it helps to have both.
PS: I have written 4 tips on language study and language schools in the general tip section for Mexico that could apply to studying in any latin country

Plastic zip lock bags.
A pair of hard shoes suitable for walking and for going out to nicer places, and a pair of light shoes well used.
A pair of shorts that can be used as swimming trunks, under or outer wear.
A light plastic poncho or windbreaker jacket for the rain.
Underwear - 3 pairs. (Take more if you have underwear you are ready to throw away.)
Socks - one pair of good heavy socks and three or more pairs of throwaways. (You can buy cheap replacements rather than wash these pairs.)
Two pairs of pants. (One belt if necessary.) Preferably quick dry. (One might be an end of trip throw away.)
Three shirts. One a heavier polo shirt and at least one that can look dressy. Again you might add some throwaways.
These numbers include what is on your back.
Special conditions:
If you are going during cold weather you may need a sweater, boots, long underwear and gloves or mittens when you arrive. Again, if you take a sweater you are ready to toss you can replace it a local handy craft item. Although I believe in layers, you might have to replace the wind breaker and take a true winter coat. You do not want to suffer while you look for that classic Russian head covering or great winter coat.
On the other hand if you are arriving in a sunny climate you can look for a protective hat . Perhaps you might want to buy cheap sunglasses, and a little local notebook. You do not need to carry everything you might need, just plan to make a few practical purchases during your trip.

A camera with lots of memory or film, one of the new small "halogen" lights that operates on two large watch batteries and can clip on a hat or a book. Soap for person and cloths, toothpaste, toothbrush, disposable razors, sun screen --you can buy replacements but you certainly do not want to have to do this when you first arrive. (Optional -- comb, deodorant, nail clippers.) A dictionary or phrasebook, an informative guidebook. An appropriately themed reading book either fiction or non-fiction for air and bus travel.
Some Pepto Bismo tablets, Loperamide, a few good band-aids, a very small sewing kit, a roll of tough tape. Pens - always useful and can be given away if the occasion arises.

For a list of special VT suggestions read below.
The above lists are based on a willingness to wash clothes in a sink most nights, a willingness and the money to throw away some dirty items and replace them with cheap utilitarian items like socks or good souvenir-clothing items or even just T-shirts, and a desire to travel light. You can see that rather than return home with dirty US laundry, I prefer to jettison as much as possible to make room for things made in the country I visit including local clothes I dirtied while travelling. It is also a list written by a male traveller who claims no understanding of what would be the essentials for a women, although I do not expect that there would be alot of differences.

Conclusion: Using the above guidelines, I fill a large carry-on suitcase. If I did not carry a lot of throwaways it would be only 60% full. I do carry a few personal extras including a pair of very small small high powered binoculars, a second cheap camera for use in dicey situations, a small tape recorder-player for language tapes, music and recording. For cold weather travel my luggage is generally not greater because I go wearing all the essentials.

And most important: Money! I would suggest three types: 1) A credit card with low fees for foreign cash from ATMs. 2)Traveler's Checks if you can get them for free or at a low commission to be used only in an emergency. (I usually use them when I return to the US, but they have more than once proved a vacation saver when my credit card would not work and once they allowed me to buy something really special when I did not have enough cash or credit card access. 3) Some cash for flexibility. A large part of which you would convert into local currency upon or soon after arrival.

Over the years, the circumstances surrounding how you carry or access money during your travels has been in continuous flux. New fees and new conveniences are added regularly. For example, whereas for many years credit cards used to be the cheapest and most convenient way to pay, this is often not now the case. Many credit cards now have high fees and interest rates especially for cash withdrawals. Often the advice for one country is inappropriate for another country. Travelers checks may now generally cost more and be exchanged at poorer rates than cash, but I have recently even traveled in a country where US travelers checks gave a better rate than cash.

1. If you are traveling to many different places on a cruise, you can not very well buy a guide book for each stop. What you can do is create your own "Do it yourself" VT guide book by clicking on save tips or save forum posts found throughout VT to guide book and then printing them up later. Of course, this will not create a comprehensive book with complete history and cultural comments but it should give you some neat ideas for special things to do or see.
2. Cruises usually include a lot of travel time. Even if you have classes you will have time to read and relax. In my opinion, you should not spend this time reading science fiction, pulp fiction or old classic English or American mysteries not related to your travel! I would highly recommend novels by authors of the countries or areas you are visiting. I have alway found that this type of reading enhances my travel experience and the travel enhances the pleasure of the reading.
Although I am sure that your cruise ship will have a library, if I were you I would not want to leave to chance that it or your fellow travelers would have the type of books I wanted to read. One of the advantages of cruise travel is that you do not have to carry your luggage wherever you visit.
I will not presume to suggest to you the books to buy; naturally our tastes and interests will be somewhat different. Some travel guide books include a list of recommended reading that might be helpful.
3. If you like to draw, take some basic materials so that you can do it while you travel. If you like to make music and can find a cheap very portable instrument, take it with you or take money to buy one. If you like to take pictures take a camera and lots of memory or film. If you like to dance, take your dancing shoes. . . .OK you get the idea -- There are things that you like to do that can help you connect with the people of the places you will be visiting.
4. Lastly, let me suggest that spending more time in or near your port stops may at times be more rewarding then traveling off for brief visits to other perhaps more famous sites. It will give you a chance to look, smell, taste, listen and even join in with the life of the city. You will be able to visit the small museum, gallery, market or neighborhood restaurant missed by most other visitors. Not only will you have time to smell the coffee, you will be able to drink a cup while you scan a local newspaper with no train or plane to meet.

Airline prices can go up or down for specific dates and routes depending on the demand for seats. Sometimes low demand can result in a special last minute very cheap fare promotion. When you are very specific for when and where you want to go your chances of catching this "fire sale" goes down. If you only want to travel on "the majors" or only on US carriers you may have to pay more. The airlines generally have a seasonal discount pattern established. You may be able to take advantage of it. For the USA Jan, Feb and March are generally good months to find good fares, but even during this time the fare available will depend on supply and demand. The pricing for this season tends to be set in late October, November and December.
If you wait to buy later you may have to pay more rather than less, or travel at a different time.
I would suggest you do an extended internet search. Try several services because each will produce a different "lowest price". Make sure you are comparing the full price including any service charge and the taxes. Also check The VT "Deals" section. Lastly, once you find a low price you like, check and see if the airline has its own page for ticket sales. This often will save a service charge if not finding you a lower base price.
Also checking a national airline may reveal specials not available to the larger search services. For Mexico, I regularly check the Aeromexico and Mexicana sites.
There is a rule of diminishing returns. Search for 15 minutes and save 150 dollars. Search for an hour and a half and save 250 dollars. Search for days and save 300 dollars, and for weeks save 320 dollars. The savings possible also depend on your flexiblilty. I once saved 150 dollars by traveling on a Jan 2nd weekend day rather than Jan 1st or January 3rd even though one would think that the combination of holiday and weekend travel would be bad.
One other hint for happiness: Once you buy your tickets, stop checking. Good luck.

In general, the problem with tours can be too much time doing what does not interested one, too little time on what you want to see and explore, too little intellectual preparation of the guides, and too high a cost premium for the service. This would seem to likely to only result in boring stories, but strangely I just remember good experiences.

The last tour I really enjoyed and in fact the last tour I have taken, was in China (From Luoyong to the Shao Lin Monastery, etc.) when the guide only spoke Chinese. I speak no significant Chinese! I took it because it was much cheaper and more efficient than trying to go to the various sites and pay the individual entrance fees, but what I really enjoyed was sweetness of the guide and the friendly helpfulness of the Chinese tour participants.

I also remember fondly a bus tour from Paris to the champagne area of France that started in the cold dark of an early morning with a bunch of strangers from various countries and ended as an international party bus. I would consider any tour that had as part of its goal experience with high spirits.

In fact, although philosophically and constitutionally I am not cut out for guided tours, as I have grown older I have even come to appreciate my father's advice that a quick city tour can be a good way to get oriented to a new large city. Since being disoriented in a large city can increase one's security risk it might really be a good idea. When the economics are right and time restricted I will at least consider it. At least with this type of tour one can usually easily go back for longer visits to places of personal interest.

Come to think of it, I am having a hard time thinking of a bad tour that I have taken. That does not mean I will start taking tours regularly, but if I do get on a bad one, I hope that it is really, really bad, because sometimes in travel the worst experiences can make the best stories. On the other hand, sometimes they are just boring.

On its face it may seem that you save a lot of money going all-inclusive. Prices outside of an all-inclusive package in resorts that have both options are often set ridiculously high so that those on package feel good about all the money they are "saving". The prices in other resort hotels are likely to be high as well compared to outside the hotel just because they do have a somewhat captive clientele. Resort hotels are not generally located where it will be convenient to always go out of the hotel for better food and lower prices.

There is certainly a convenience and feeling of being able to relax when you know that you can eat and drink without worrying about payment. Your choice depends on what you are want. The more you want an escape from the home and the real conditions of whatever country you are visiting the more this would be attractive. From an attitude of "this is not for me" I have evolved to a "with a large group of friends, this might be really fun" opinion. If I had several small children it also might be attractive.

How to improve the chances that you will have a perfect visit:

1)Start by checking some reviews of your resort in 'trip adviser', on VT or on other internet sites. The negative reviews can be particularly useful because you could find yourself in similar situations. The positive reviews will be re-assuring.
2) Go prepared to be pro-active: Do not just accept the first room they offer unless it has the working equipment you expect and the location and view you want. A little time examining a few rooms before you move in could make a big difference in your vacation. Anger may work, but in my opinion more important is friendly persistence 3) If there is a specialty restaurant included in your package, reserve your table before you arrive or as soon as possible upon arrival. Sometimes there are a limited number of places and if the hotel is very full you could be left out of the specialty restaurant and have to eat at the buffet-restaurant all the time. 4)If you go away for the day and want to save money ask for a sack lunch. It won't be great but it should be free. 5)Just because you have already paid for all your meals you do not have to limit yourselves just to the hotel food. In general, the food will be better at a place that lives and dies based on the food quality and/or quantity. 6) The same can be said for music and entertainment. Consider escaping from you all-inclusive to someplace (probably not another hotel) special. 7) Do not waste any of your valuable family time to hear about time-shares no matter what free prizes or rewards you are offered. 8)In reference to trips and activities refer back to number one about being pro-active. I do not think you will find any coupons that will help more then being pro-active. ALWAYS ask for a discount even when buying a tour or renting a car at a hotel desk. Yes, you might have a hard time getting one inside the hotel because they tend to think of you as a captive client, but it is worth a try. Bargaining, for example, is part of Mexican Culture. Again persistence counts. You should try a few angles-- discount for volume? discount for families? discount for children? discount for "old" mothers? discount for friends? This will work best if the seller knows that you can and might go elsewhere to make your purchase.