Travel Tips (Monday)

Category Archives for Travel Tips (Monday).

Buy Attraction Tickets in Advance

Ever stood in line and watched people being shooed to the front of the line with their pre-paid tickets. Always check the websites of attractions you want to visit to find out: How you buy tickets Where you buy tickets What you can buy in advance — you may have to pay a ticket fee of oen to two dollars per ticket but it is better than spending in line- especially if you have kids with you What deals are available- sometimes prepaid tickets are cheaper -note it does mean you are then locked into…

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Get a decent seat

One of my key travel mantras is to score a seat asap. As you will see below, I am obsessive about getting the perfect seat. If I am flying on a long flight, a decent seat that will accommodate my length becomes crucial. If I am not up the front, then exit rows and bulkheads become way more important. I always choose my seat at the time of booking.  If the airline or booking website won’t let me, I keep re-visiting the website until I can.  Or I call, use the agent’s first name and politely ask for their help.  Note, however, some…

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Woofound Explore

Tired of trawling through lists of information about options of what to do in a city? Woofound Explore aims to personalise travel information.   They say: Our system is founded on the premise that self-knowledge and discovery will open the doors to opportunity. Once downloaded and opened,  the user is asked a series of questions about their interests.  The user answers by selecting a button that says: “Me” or a button that says “Not Me”.  It takes less than a minute. The then app uses that data to provide recommendations about things to do in 70 cities in the USA that are…

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Ode to a Pen-a flying essential

At Sydney airport this week, desperate passengers approached the departures area. looking for pens to complete their departure cards. The pens supplied by the airport had been ripped off the chains at the desk leaving their chains dangling. Any passenger seen with a pen was fair game, as passengers mobbed them! A shop nearby, was selling pens for $1.75 +, a slight markup on a pen sold for 30 cents elsewhere. When travelling, I carry six pens: two in my laptop bag, one in my pocket, one with my passport and two in my main luggage. This might sound…

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Getting cheap fares and deals fast-subscribe

There are some deals that I only become aware of via email.   So I have become a bit of an addict for subscribing to the deal sites of airlines and travel companies. I have some rules though: I make sure the organisation I am subscribing to actually has decent deals or information before subscribing Set up a yahoo or gmail account that is dedicated specifically for travel news deals or have a travel deal folder set up  on your email account with a filter rule set up that sweeps any deals into the folder( (I have done both at different times)…

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Considering Carry On

I was standing at the check in counter for Lufthansa at Frankfurt. The check in agent asked the passenger next to me to present his carry on bag so she could weigh it. “why? It’s just carry on” “yes sir. I need to weigh it. Sir it weighs 12kilograms. You must check it. ” “the last airline let me carry it on” “You have to remove items or check it in sir” “this has nothing to do with safety. You just want to make money. Get me your supervisor” The customer then berated the supervisor.…

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Switch off that Phone????

As the announcement to switch off our phones is broadcast. I watch some people settle back in their seats content or smug, they have complied. Some will discover upon landing that their phone wasn’t actually off! In fact the Airline Passenger Experience Association and the Consumer Electronics Association found 30 percent of passengers accidentally left an electronic device turned on during a flight -61 percent said it was a smartphone. Another group will get up and check in a panic, only to find they have indeed already switched their phone off. On a recent flight,…

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Stay Well En Route

After my post, last Wednesday,  about the students who flew home ill from Chile last week, thought I would share some tips to stay well. Getting sick is part of the joys of travel, so be prepared! Feel free to add your suggestions. Before Travel  Get all appropriate vaccinations for the area you are travelling to Get your up to date flu vaccination Make sure you have appropriate travel insurance coverage Take a travel-size bottle of hand sanitizer Carry medication for headaches, toothaches (it can happen) and diarrhea Have mosquito repellant When Flying I drink a fresh squeezed…

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How to close an aircraft overhead compartment

I love the sounds of an aeroplane. The roar of the engines, the bang of the wheels retracting, the motors running that extend the wing flaps for take-off and the wind whistling past etc etc Of all the aircraft noises I hate the most, it’s the sound of slamming overhead bin doors! Some passengers, some airlines and some cabin attendants get it right. Others don’t and there is a cacophony of slamming hatches. Its fast and supposedly efficient -but irritating. Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam! To keep me happy: With one hand, hold the latch open.…

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Rethinking Hotel Clubs

I have a wallet full of Hotel Loyalty Clubs. I have a philosophy that if the program is free to join and I am going to be staying in the hotel anyway, I join. I then get my bright shiny cards and take them with me on the road.  In the USA in 2010, there were almost 2.1 billion Hotel membership cards floating around the wallets, pockets and drawers iof travellers. A study by Deloitte in the US with 4000 travellers found there that only eight per cent of travellers stayed loyal to one hotel brand. Of high frequency travelers, almost 42 percent…

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