Use a pocket-sized notebook for maps & notes – International travel tip

by Gadling Staff on

Don’t want to look like a lost tourist, consulting a giant map in a public place?

Before you leave home, buy a small pocket- or purse-sized notebook. Copy maps of each destination (break a city into smaller areas) and reduce them down to notebook size; glue them into your notebook, folding out if needed. Highlight important places, like your hotel, and include directions to/from airports or train stations.

It can also be used to write down anything you want/need to remember like addresses and memorable experiences. It keeps all your important information in one place and is small enough to carry everywhere.

Related: 5 tips for spicing up your travel journals, or how to get beyond “Today I ate breakfast at…”

Know the numbers (and the currency) – Dining out tip

by Gadling Staff on

The meal was delicious, and the atmosphere was divine, but then it comes time for the bill. As long as you know numbers in the native tongue, dealing with the bill should be no problemo. Perhaps you know your basic, uno, dos, tres… but try learn more numbers in the native tongue.

Parts of Italy are especially notorious for using some fast-talking to try and overcharge for even your basic bowl of penne. Make sure you have no problem asking for correct change or asserting that your meal was trece (13) euros — not treinta (30).

Pro tip: When you arrive in-country, look carefully at the money from that place. Learn what the different colors or sizes of the bills indicate. Later, when you’re feeling rushed — perhaps you’ve been drinking? — you want to feel comfortable with the cash and not throw down the equivalent of $100 when all you ordered was two beers.

Label your power cords – Hotel tip

by Gadling Staff on

Today’s tech-savvy world requires a lot of equipment to stay “plugged-in.” Cell phones, laptops, and MP3 players all require power cords to recharge. Since these items don’t need to be plugged in all the time, it’s easy to forget your power cords when checking out of a hotel.

Increase your chances of recovery by writing your name and contact information on a piece of masking tape and securing the tape to your power cord. Be sure to write clearly, and use an indelible marker, such as a Sharpie, so the information will not smear or rub off.

Before you check out, simply grab all the cords with your name on them. If you accidentally forget one, you can easily call the hotel and say, “I forgot my cord. Mine is the one with my name and address on it.”

Sail from local ports to save on airfare – Cruise tip

by Gadling Staff on

As a resident of Richmond, Virginia, I discovered that cruise ships leave from Norfolk after being refurbished at a shipyard in Newport News. When they leave port, the rooms have been thoroughly cleaned and upgraded. The ships are like new again.

The best part is that you can hop on board and cruise down to the Caribbean. The trips usually come back to Norfolk, so you can save on airfare both ways. For each person that cruises, you can save as much as $200 on airfare.

Roll the dice, make decisions – Traveling with kids tip

by Gadling Staff on

When traveling with the family, there will inevitably be disputes over things like the television station, choice of restaurants, and who gets the pull-out couch.

Bring a pair of dice along, and let everybody roll the dice to make decisions. Whoever gets the highest roll wins.