Be Smart With These Travel Tips

The reports from the travel agencies are saying this year will be setting records again for traveling abroad as well as at home. If your travel plans include traveling to Europe for the first time, or even just across the country, check out these tips to make your travel easier and much more enjoyable.

You should always travel light – it’s just not worth it to lug around a bunch of suitcases – try to stick with just two, a small one and a large one. Place all the necessities you’ll need at the end of every day like your toothbrush and toothpaste, cosmetics, slippers and sleepwear in the smaller of the two suitcases. When you return to your hotel from am exhausting day of touring, you will be in no mood to ferret through a huge suitcase looking for things like these. The rest of the clothes you’re taking along should go in the bigger suitcase.

When packing, be mindful of how you are using the space. Following this idea, only bring along cosmetic items in small, travel sizes, such as toothpaste, shampoo, bath powders and cold cream. Make sure you take along the toothpaste that has breath fresheners and teeth brighteners all in one.

A compact alarm clock is a must. Some hotels don’t have a wake up call service or can be very unreliable, a great way to mess up your sightseeing plans. Another tip is to avoid carrying a lot of cash on you at any one given time, nothing more than to cover your expenses for just a day or two. In order to keep your money safe, opt for traveler’s checks instead. You can turn these into cash as necessary. Carrying a credit card would also be a good idea. Be sure it’s a card that’s recognized internationally, and leave the rest at home.

There are certain safety tips that you should adhere to if you don’t want to become an easy target to thieves. Do not leave personal items like handbags casually dangling. Put the strap across your entire body, or tuck your bag under your arm and try not to put your wallet in the back pocket of your trousers.

One other method is wrapping elastic bands around your wallet. The bands add friction to your wallet, making it more difficult to quietly extract it from your pocket. You do not need to carry sentimental or valuable items with you. Put some necessities like an outfit change into the bag you carry with you.

You may want to have a mini clothesline made for travel and clothespins for the line, as well as a few inflatable hangars. All of the above can be purchased at variety counters. You will be able to rinse your clothes at the end of each day and let them dry overnight.

Bring a stash of mailing labels that already have your name printed on them. You can use these to easily mail purchases back to yourself. Simply ask the sales associate to put the label on your package before it’s shipped. Those pre-addressed labels will come in extremely handy since they save so much time.

Store all your sales receipts in your handbag in an envelope for that purpose. When going through customs, the envelope will have any documentation they request. Your laundry, lingerie, shoes, and other items which need to be separated can easily be divided with a variety of plastic bags.

Make sure to bring suntan lotion on your trip – they may not sell your brand and what they do sell will be expensive! Empty shampoo, lotion and other liquid and semi-liquid items into plastic containers so they won’t break in transit.

Finally, you need to pick and pack smart clothes for your trip – be sure to only bring items that won’t wrinkle during travel. You don’t want to waste time on vacation with washing and ironing. But the best tip you can ever get is to relax and don’t over-plan your trip. While travel should excite you, don’t feel obligated to remain active every second. It’s also important to spend some time relaxing. It is your vacation, after all!

By Suzana