When traveling over the holidays with gifts, never pre-wrap!
Wrapped items may need to be inspected by the TSA, and that could mean they’ll be unwrapped by security before you even get to your destination. Go ahead and pack the gifts, but either pack a few sheets of wrapping paper — or just plan to purchase paper at your destination — and tend to the task after landing
Flight attendants aren’t the only experts. My last Galley Gossip post, The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2010 – book giveaway, brought in quite a few interesting travel tips from smart women travelers around the world. Here is a list of my top 10 favorite tips…
10 SMART TRAVEL TIPS FROM WOMEN
1. My mom always says bring your swimsuit and one easy outfit in your carry on so you won’t lose a vacation day if checked bags are lost – Lindsay
2. If you are traveling with someone else, pack a few things in their luggage and a few of their things in your luggage. Then, if God forbid, one of you loses your luggage, you will still have some things to wear. – Leslie
3. Bring your children with you on trips. They get to experience the world in a new and exciting way. You will teach them to have a love for both travel and adventure, and you’ll get to see them learning about the world and new places. It’s almost like experiencing things again yourself for the first time. What is more beautiful than that? – Michelle
4. Throw out any leftover shampoo, hand lotion etc when going home. This leaves room for souvenirs that you haven’t shipped home. – Judy
5. When I travel alone I wear a fake engagement ring and wedding band on my ring finger. It helps keep away unwanted attention. – Jen
6. Be spontaneous. When you’re spontaneous, sometimes great things happen, and sometimes not so good things happen, but if you’ve got a good sense of humor the bad times can leave the best (funniest) memories. – Susan
7. Don’t stress! Besides doing some research before you go about what is available (i.e., sailing, snorkeling, hiking tours, etc.) go without much of an agenda at all, except to have FUN! – Julia
8. Make an effort to go somewhere every other month. Even if it’s a 2-3 hour road trip away from home. Work gets monotonous and I need to get a dose of the “travel bug” every now and then to keep things interesting. – Marena
9. Pack an amazing convertible dress like the American Apparel Cotton Jersey Bandeau Dress – $43 . It’s space-saving magic – Gina
10. I email myself AND my mother a copy of my passport, my itinerary, and the international phone numbers for my credit cards. If I can’t get online, I know I can call my mum should anything get stolen. – Morgan
[Photos courtesy of Madaboutasia and Julie70]
%Gallery-75821%
Looking to lighten your luggage load? Instead of bringing more clothing, bring along a small bottle of Woolite and do hand laundry instead.
By using a sink or the bath tub, you can stop and do a load of laundry anywhere you travel.
Just remember the rule of threes when it comes to hand-washing and travel:
1.) you need at least one item to wear while…
2.) one item is drying, and…
3.) a third in reserve.
Want to smell great while traveling without risking your expensive — and probably large — bottle of fragrance? There are several options to try.
1.) Many fragrances are available in solid form, a great alternative.
2.) Ask for multiple samples of your favorite fragrance and pack those in a medicine (or similar) bottle with a tight seal.
3.) Spritz cotton balls and place in an airtight container. Rub on, or stick in a pocket, as you travel.
4.) Pour some of your usual fragrance into a plastic “spritz” bottle from the travel-size section of a grocery or drug store. It’s cheaper than a travel atomizer.
Smell ya later!
I always shop and buy souvenirs when on vacation. Even on business trips, I tend to bring home more than I brought, due to literature, books, and lunchtime shopping sprees.
For this reason, I have learned to pack my belongings in a small suitcase, and then place that suitcase inside a larger one.
This means I leave home with one suitcase, and return with two. I save the charges for an extra suitcase by making sure the smaller one is carry-on size, so I only need to check the larger one for the return flight home.