Roadtrippin’ with a theme – Road trip tip

by Gadling Staff on

Road trips are meant to be fun and adventurous. Up the stakes by picking a theme for your trip!

Choose a theme that you and your travel buddies agree might be interesting, and do your best to center your stops and sightseeing around this theme. The possibilities are endless:

  • Food theme: Eat only barbecue across the Southeastern U.S.
  • Sports theme: Pit-stop at small town parks for quick games of touch football
  • Souvenir theme: Collect tacky knick-knacks from truck stops and gas stations
  • Couch theme: Limit your overnight stays to only couch-surfing

Avoid eating cold dishes (especially in developing nations) – Dining out tip

by Gadling Staff on

Having visited India several times in my life, I can confidently say that eating a cold dish is a one-way trip to the hospital. It’s because food handling standards in some countries are not quite the same as in developed nations.

Foods to avoid include chilled sauces and desserts. It’s actually a pretty easy tip to follow because most food is made hot and fresh. However, chilled foods are a problem because bacteria is permitted to develop and the food may be several days old.

Cook with the coffee pot – Hotel tip

by Gadling Staff on

The hardest part about hotel life, isn’t the bed, or bathroom, it’s food. What a lot of people don’t know is that you can do some quick home-styled cooking with the appliances you have available. The most important of these is the coffee pot!

The coffee pot’s heat comes from a warming plate, which is what the pot rests on. If you fill the pot with water and let it heat up, you can make anything from ramen to spaghetti.

Pro tip: just using the plate you can cook bacon, and even heat up some pop tarts in the morning for the kids.

Collect beer coasters – Souvenir tip

by Gadling Staff on

When most visitors to Europe think of art they imagine oil-on-canvas masterpieces hanging in distinguished museums. But beer companies adorn their coasters with colorful symbols and European scenes. Collecting them is not only fun, it doesn’t cost anything. When you leave the bar, just grab the circular print of the hearty fraulein holding onto the beer stein and pop it in your pocket.

The multitude of local brews allows you to collect a myriad of regal symbols and pastoral scenes. These remembrances of beers past can mark your trek through local London pubs and Berlin beer gardens.

Manage your gratuities carefully – Cruise tip

by Gadling Staff on

Any cruise virgin should be told BEFORE going on a cruise that many cruise lines automatically slap you with gratuity charges.

Different cruise lines have their own “tipping guidelines” that they use to charge you. Most charge on a per person/per day basis. With all of the people that expect to be tipped, this can get really pricey — especially for large families.

Cruisers should know that a quick trip to the Purser’s Desk can have those gratuities removed from your bill, and you’ll be free to tip deserving persons accordingly.