Category: In the suitcase

How to plan for any trip (Part 1)

1girlwhotravels Airlines, Cruises, Hotels, How to, In the suitcase March 10, 2016March 7, 2017 3 Comments

4-1

So here I am in the final stages of getting ready for my trip in 5-6 weeks to Romania and Bulgaria. We have already booked our international flights, local flights, all hotels, and several private day tours. Yet somehow I feel like I am missing something?

How do you plan for a big trip?

Checklist

Book your domestic flights minimum 57 days advance and international flights minimum 171 days advance for the best price; here is my detailed process for booking a flight then immediately after I select a seat.
Reserve hotels within 1-2 weeks after flights are booked. Now keep in mind this may not be the place I end up staying at but I do want to ensure I have a place to sleep that meets most of my hotel requirements for this journey.
Confirm my annual travel insurance policy will be active and cover the duration of my trip.

Now for the fun of trying to short list all the amazing places I want to visit on this trip. I love this part of travel planning when you get down to the details of roughed out daily itinerary. There will always be more places to visit than time allows.

So let me be clear about my general approach; I want to get a general idea of major highlights for the trip so that I can appropriately prioritize and arrange necessary transport. I generally assume one morning event and 1 – 2 afternoon events. I will never be militant about the schedule planning down to the minute of at 8:00 breakfast and at 8:35 leave to visit the castle. No way dude we are on vacation after all : ) However I also don’t want to get home and a week later find out that I was 5 miles away from the most amazing historic UNESCO village. UGH!

So the key word here folks is balance a little organized structure and plenty of time to sit in the cafe to watch the world go by.

Get your travel guide book of choice and start reading about where you are going.
Check out the country, state or city local website for major attractions or upcoming events
Look at tour company travel itineraries to get an idea of what might be possible in your timeline.
Get inspired by the UNESCO heritage list. There are some amazing places on their list!
Check out National Geographic or BBC Travel
Get an idea of local tours on viator.com
Ask your friends if they have been there : )

Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria sketched out plans

Hurray you have finished the majority of your trip planning! You have a sketched out travel itinerary and hopefully identified a place to sleep each night. Update your calendar and set a countdown to your travel date with any of the free apps available.

In the next post we will review a detailed planning checklist for weekly count down to the travel date!

Seek your adventure!

2 Must have travel apps!

1girlwhotravels Technology & Apps, Travel Guides November 19, 2015December 1, 2015 2 Comments

Here are 2 of my favorite mobile apps that I utilize on a regular basis for travel and yes they are FREE!

Worldmate: It will store all of your flights, hotels, train reservations, car rentals etc. It is super easy to utilize. You simply email your confirmation details to trips@worldmate.com and it stores everything together. It allows you to export your trip details to share your itinerary with family, friends, or anyone else who might want to know where in the world you might be. It supports online check in and alerts you if you don’t have a hotel reservation for any dates in your itinerary. You can access it via the website or mobile device. It does everything but make your coffee!

Triposo: It provides a mini travel guide for many destinations around the world. I typically download the specific city or country I am going to weeks in advance so I can “save” my list of places I want to visit. My favorite feature about this app is that it allows you to access maps offline with GPS feature. In other words, I don’t have to find wifi or utilize expensive data plans to access GPS map functionality. This is extremely helpful for those rambling streets that change names and you suddenly find yourself lost. It also provides suggested walking tours or customized walking tours including places from your “saved list” which is an amazing feature! This can literally save me hours of work trying to find the places I want to visit on the map and coordinate options to plan out my days.

My Island Hopper Bonanza voyage begins this weekend!!! I will be traveling just over 19,000 miles in 11 days. Phew! Thank heavens I saved my air miles and I will be in business class the entire journey drinking champagne. I will have more frequent posts during my trip so watch this space. For all my loyal subscribers I respect your email inbox and you will continue to receive only 1 email per week.

After my years working abroad spending Thanksgiving away from family I have made travel is my new tradition. I have spent Thanksgiving in some amazing locations including Iguazu Falls, Mendoza, Buenos Aires, Bali and for that I am forever grateful. I wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are few highlights from last year’s Thanksgiving in Bali.

Seek your adventure!

What’s in my suitcase?

1girlwhotravels How to, Travel gear November 5, 2015 5 Comments

So for a big trip I will start packing usually 2-3 weeks before; my project manager personality takes over here; I will start by simply setting specific items in the guest room.

#1 Packing cubes: Hands down one of the best travel inventions ever! It is a lot like the iPhone; I don’t know what I ever did before they existed. It allows me to organize clothes and better yet it compresses the volume so more actually fits into the suitcase! I put absolutely everything in my suitcase into a packing cube. There is nothing left to roll around freely. Warning these cubes are addicting, several friends and the majority of my family members have joined my addiction.

#2 Walking shoes: It is very important to have comfortable walking shoes especially if you are traveling internationally. Most Americans don’t really walk anywhere on a daily basis. However in many countries it is very easy to live without a car. Wait what? There are people in this world that live without a car. Huh! So get ready to move those legs and ensure you have comfortable shoes on.

#3 Flat packable water bottle: I always carry one of these so it can be easily stored away when not in use. I hate paying for water in countries that have perfectly fine tap water. Save your money for beer.

#4 Earplugs: You never know when you will be on a plane next to the crying baby or a noisy hotel room. I have had good luck with this brand.

#5 Face clothes: Many countries do not have washcloth size towels. I like this brand because they start out dry and you just add a little water which is nice for travel as it reduces spaces.

#6 Collapsable duffle bag: I mentioned in a previous post but it can come in handy for transporting travel purchases on the return journey home. I have also utilized it to toss things into when moving on to the next city catching a train / taxi / bus etc.

#7 In Flight Seat Pack: For long flights I always ensure I have organized myself a small in flight personal amenity kit. In business class most airlines still provide an amenity kit and on a few airlines you can still find amenity kits in coach. Regardless I hate fumbling around in the dark looking for my headphones, cough drops, contact lens case, mints, etc. This handy seat pack can actually hang on the tray table hook as well.

#8 Clothes: It depends on the destination and schedule of events but majority of trips I generally focus on bringing clothes that are practical and versatile for the trip. Think layers and recycle clothing articles during the trip i.e. one sweater that matches most things. I usually have one outfit for evenings out black skirt/pants and dressy top so if I end up going to a nice restaurant or theatre I am prepared.

Ask yourself “Am I actually going to wear this on the trip?”

On several trips I have done “disposable clothing” where the clothes only get a one way ticket. It may be clothes that I was getting ready to donate anyway or hit the super clearance racks. This can be very handy for quick overnight trips however this strategy has yielded interesting results. Last year in Indonesia on an overnight trip my friend and I both left behind our clothes that were worn the previous day in 100+ degrees. While we were waiting for the taxi to the airport a gentleman came running over with our clothes. He was quite bewildered that we would intentionally leave behind our belongings however we requested that he donate them.

Let’s pack!

So once I have gathered everything I think I need for the trip I begin to prioritize. For anyone who knows me from a professional level you will appreciate that I apply the Must – Should – Could agile principles to my suitcase. I start filling the packing cubes with anything that is an absolutely “must have” take on the trip and if capacity allows I add in some “should have” or “could have” items. Now let’s go to the airport!

Seek your adventure!

Let’s talk luggage!

1girlwhotravels Flights, Travel gear October 29, 2015 1 Comment

CasesWEB_3079682b — So many choices in luggage! Photo source: telegraph.co.uk/travel

For me looking at luggage is like a kid in the candy story. I want one of each! I have purchased many pieces of luggage over the years and have learned what features are important.

For carry on rolling suitcases there are 3 primary things:

Are the wheels built with solid quality construction?
- This is very important! Solid construction on the wheels will make the suitcase so much better. I prefer the spinner wheels (aka 4 wheels) so you can simply stroll the suitcase next to you.

What is the weight of the suitcase empty?
- This should ideally be no more than 9 lbs otherwise you limit what’s in the suitcase.

Is the suitcase expandable?
- I will often put extra items in my suitcase when in transit on a train. Or if I did some shopping and I need to check my suitcase on the return journey home.

My current suitcase that is utilized for nearly every trip at the moment is Travelpro Crew 10 21″ Expandable Spinner. Travelpro is a luggage brand that is very popular with pilots and flight attendents. I figure if they travel on nearly daily basis and it works for them; it must be good. BTW you will notice the link for the suitcase was to ebags.com which is where I purchase most of luggage and travel gear. The often have sales and there is usually a promo code floating around on the internet.

Keep in mind every airline has different carry on limits so take this into consideration before you buy something.

Regardless of what suitcase you utilize please do yourself a favor as most suitcases are black so find some way to distinguish your suitcase. A popular option is to put luggage handle wraps on the handles that will make your bag stand out. This will help you quickly identify your bag when you are deplaning after a long journey. Sorry one more thing, please ensure you have a luggage tag with your name and address information. I personally prefer a luggage tag that provides privacy to my address so the person standing behind cannot read my address and decide to show up at my door the next day.

Seek your adventure!

Carry on or checked luggage?

1girlwhotravels Airports, Travel gear October 8, 2015November 3, 2015 2 Comments

In recent years I have learned to love the idea of carry on luggage. Some people may think it is to save money as most airlines have a fee to check luggage for domestic flights. However this can easily be avoided with airline status or simply booking your flight with the right credit card. In regards to international flights you are still allowed to check luggage for free with a few exceptions.

Even though I may have free checked luggage status for nearly all of my domestic travel I carry on. Given that most of my domestic travel is long weekends everything can fit into a carry on. Although I do make some exceptions to check luggage; especially if it involves sharing a couple bottles of wine purchased in Argentina with friends.

My primary reason for carry on luggage is to save time! Online checkin makes getting boarding passes easy prior to arriving to the airport and with no luggage to check I don’t have to wait for an agent. I have TSA Pre-Check so I get to fast track through security. We will save the topic of TSA Pre-Check for another post but if you travel 3-4 times a year you should seriously consider it!

So I have already saved anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hour waiting to drop off my bag depending on the airport and current waiting time. Then upon arrival at the final destination I don’t have to wait to collect my luggage which can be again anywhere from 5 minutes to 45 minutes. So looking at worst case scenario when I add up the time spent for a return trip I have now saved 3.5 hours avoiding the wait for luggage. Yikes! I could fly from Chicago to Phoenix in that amount of time. Additionally if the trip is merely a long weekend that is significant amount of the weekend that I could be spending relaxing with a drink in hand.

1345 — **November 2013:** Panama 10 day trip luggage plus small personal item

For international travel my decision will depend on the duration of the trip, number of flight connections and the variation of attire required. For instance this past May I had a 10 day trip to Europe that involved visiting 6 cities, 8 flights and 2 train journeys. In addition the weather for the destinations varied from 55F to 105F and events ranged from casual to cocktail attire. It took a lot of careful planning but I managed to get everything into a carryon suitcase and one personal item. I was even more impressed that all my shopping purchases fit into the same luggage on the way back.

I do appreciate of course that packing for one person is much different from the monumental task of packing for a family of 6. When traveling with small children checking your luggage is your best strategy given the joys of unloading and reloading through airport security. For instance when traveling with my sister several years ago my nephew was 3 and my niece was 6 weeks old; I may have been the one who lost the boarding passes in all the commotion. Oops!

When have I checked luggage?

On a 2 week trip to Singapore and Bali with a long stopover
On a flight heading to a cruise given all that evening wear
On a last minute trip to Mexico and uncertain what our plans might be
On many return trips I will check a bag to balance out some of my travel purchases. I always travel with a small collapsable duffle bag that has been utilized many times!

I have a basic principle regardless of carrying on or checking luggage; it is your luggage so be prepared to carry it.

Seek your adventure!

Why I never leave home without travel insurance!

1girlwhotravels How to, In the suitcase September 30, 2015March 7, 2017 0 Comment

We all look forward to our vacations and once the trip is booked we have no intentions to cancel or reschedule. Of course life is unpredictable at times and we never know what tomorrow will bring for us. Take for example this baby camel who was seriously considering joining our tour group until the bus driver closed the doors.

Morocco Medical Evacuation

Many years ago while traveling in Morocco one of my travel companions had an accident. On the second day of a week long trip, we were traveling by train which required a transfer part way through a long journey. The station where we stopped at was extremely rustic with station platform made of mere dirt and gravel. In the process of exiting the overcrowded train a local gentlemen grabbed our luggage which raised concern for all of us. My friend was so focused on watching the man with the luggage and that she lost her footing coming off the train. The pain was instantaneous but we managed to get onto the transferring train.

After arriving to our final destination we stopped a local clinic where no one spoke English and my limited French was not enough. The progress at the local clinic was not going well so we asked our local guide to bring us to an English speaking doctor that we found in our travel book (thank you Lonely Planet).

Bottom line the diagnosis was not good as she had pulled ligaments on one side of the ankle and a strained ligaments on the other side. Given our itinerary was primarily walking and hiking this was not going to a very enjoyable trip for her. She was able to work with the travel insurance company for immediate evacuation back to England. The last minute return flights were all arranged and paid for by the travel insurance company. While my friend was very sad to miss the remainder of the journey; the thought of seeing her own doctor and sleeping in her own bed never sounded so good.

Turkish Delight

Almost 10 years ago I myself had an accident that involved “bouncing” down several marble stairs in Turkey. While the pain was incredible and bruising occurred within hours I was extremely lucky the injuries were limited to muscular. I was at the beginning of a week long trip that involved a stop in London, trip to Turkey and then back to London for a wedding and concert before returning back to Chicago. I managed through the trip thankfully with lots of support from my lovely British friends taking shifts as my nurse. In this instance my expenses while in Turkey to the doctor and prescriptions were all covered by my primary medical insurance through a reimbursement. While travel insurance was not utilized for this situation I was relieved to know I had options.

Trip Cancellation/Rebooking

Every January or February I schedule a “flip flop trip”; which is basically an opportunity to get out of the below freezing temperatures in Chicago and yes you guessed it…wear flip flops. This past January I had my annual “flip flop trip” was departing in 2 days when a family member passed away. Sadly the airline industry is not very helpful in these circumstances; unless of course you happen to be flying Southwest who has a very generous customer service policy. Anyway I digress, I ended up canceling the original tickets for myself and my travel companion. I booked new tickets utilizing frequent flier miles which had last minute bookings fees over $200 each. I was able to get reimbursed by my travel insurance company for the last minute rebooking fees. The trip may have been delayed but the flip flops and I still got our day in the sun.

Things to consider. . .

Everyone will have different travel insurance needs but it will protect your investment in your trip. I travel several times a year internationally and domestically therefore I choose an annual policy that covers all my trips.

So there are a few things I consider when looking for travel insurance depending on my travel plans for the coming year:

Does the coverage include medical evacuation & repatriation?
What is the maximum trip length covered?
Do they offer 24 hour telephone assistance?
Do they limit maximum number of trips covered per year?
Do I need to consider trip cancellation coverage? What has been pre-paid for the trip that is non-refundable?
Does it cover trip cancellation or interruption due to terrorism?

I have purchased annual policies for several years on Squaremouth.com website. You can purchase annual policy or single trip policy all depending on your needs. Once you have your travel insurance be sure to make a printed copy and take it with you on your trip! Pack your bags and get ready for some fun.

Seek your adventure now!