I am trying to identify the Top things I do to save me money when flying! Be flexible with dates. By doing so, airfares and accommodation prices can vary enormously. My Dad found on one occasion when booking an airfare found that the same fare was $1495 one day and $3050 the next. The difference? School holidays! When I book flights I always try to use the tools that let me see fares over a week. For example: kayak.com allows you to search for airfares three days before and three days after a selected date. Related Posts: Travel Tip #3…
Travel Tips (Monday)
Category Archives for Travel Tips (Monday).
Travel Tip: Take Travel Insurance
Do I really need to suggest that if people travel, then they need some??? Apparently yes! The horror stories of people flying without insurance and have something go really wrong, continue to float around. I spend about $500 to $600 per year for a one year policy that covers me everywhere in the world. I have claimed twice. One for medical care in the USA that had more zeros in the medical bill than I liked and once for a hire car accident. I feel my insurance investment was worth it. I wonder how my…
Travel Tip: Back up Your Documents
Photocopy and scan your key identity documents eg Birth Certificate passport or drivers licence. I upload a copy to the cloud to my dropbox (a free service that allows me to store photos and documents). You can use Google docs for the same purpose. You can also send it as an attachment in an email to yourself or your travelling companions. That way if everything you own is lost or stolen, your documentation is always available. (as long as you remember your password!). Make sure you log out of your email or dropbox when you finish at a public computer. You don’t want someone…
Travel Tip #4 Treat People with Respect
I had flown in six hours late and found my four star hotel had given my room away. In return, however, they had upgraded me to a five star hotel next door and added a couple of extras. Grateful for having a bed for the night, I thanked the agent. She said “you are not going to yell at me?” “No”, I replied. “you sorted out the problem and I have a better deal. Why should I yell at you?” She said “The last three guys yelled at me” After apologising on their behalf, I wheeled my suitcase…
Travel Tip: Don’t Check in baggage
Following on from last week, when I talked about how many toiletries people travel with, I had a very frustrating week with fellow passengers and their luggage . At Melbourne airport, a family of five were checking in, in front of me. They had fifteen bags – for a vacation. They had a huge argument with the check in staff about their baggage allowance. They were claiming the first class luggage allowance whilst travelling in Economy. The check in clerk was not giving it to them despite their posturing and yelling. The end result of a lot of wasted time, was a re pack…
Travel Tip: Take No Toiletries
I am amazed at what people carry with them in their as toiletries. Most, if not all of us take too much. The more toiletries you take means the more space they take and the more weight they create. You have to carry that weight. These days airlines are tightening up what you check in . If you are paying for your luggage then, you are paying for those toiletries. Should, you try and take them on board the plane, you may find yourself throwing stuff out because you cannot get the items past security courtesy of the 3-1-1 rule that applies to all US domestic flights and many international flights across the world. This rule limits passengers to Liquids, aerosols and gels must be in containers three oz/ 100 ml or less, Items being in one, clear plastic zip-top bag, and Only one zip-top bag per passenger. So my goal and suggestion is to cut back on toiletries. Taking none is impossible. . Here are my 4Rs for travelling with toiletries: Reduce what you take to one of every item. Do you really need three body washes, perfumes or aftershaves? Remember shampoo, soap and body wash are available in your hotel. The stuff they give away in most 3, 4 and 5 star hotels is perfectly acceptable. No, it may not be the brand you are used to but the point of travel is to try and new things. Reassure yourself that most toiletries are available universally around the world. If you are going to backpack in Cuba or Togo, that may be a different proposition. I used to carry around a roll of toilet paper – for years- I never used it.…
Travel Tip: Don’t Stress
‘Everything will be all right in the end. If it’s not all right, then it’s not yet the end … Don’t stress about travel. Its not worth it. Life is stressful enough. Things will go wrong with travel. – its inevitable. There are some things that can help: Time Leave enough time for your check ins etc. I add an hour to my check in time at Los Angeles compared to Melbourne Australia. Avoid flying on the day of an important meeting or wedding. Also choose flights with longer layovers. If you have the choice between 60 and 90 minutes, take…
Travel Tips
I get a lot of requests for travel tips, especially Money saving ones. From next Monday, I am going to share a travel tip each week. Feel free to send questions and/or suggestions! Thank you!
AA JFK to EZE 777 [updated x 2]
I have unintentionally caused some offence with one of my statement in this post. You will see this reflected in the comments. I have updated it in an attempt to better explain what I clearly messed up saying. I want to say on the outset that I am opposed to discrimination on any basis. I also unreservedly apologise to those people who were concerned I might be advocating age discrimination. My major feeling, which I have hopefully explained n a better way, is as a customer the attitude I have experienced from key personnel. Now read on and I hope you find the rest of the post interesting!…
Wild about travel has moved!
As foreshadowed, Boardingarea.com is our new home. Thanks for inviting us aboard! I am Wild about Travel. I love it. Both the journey and the destination. I want to share about my experiences with both. Thoughts and observations from where I have been and how I have got there. Expect cities, nature, planes, trains, advice, hassles and good times. I have flown 786 times (as of now) for a total of 1,785,449km (1,109,427 miles) to six continents with 78 airlines. I have experienced boat travel and train travel on or between five continents and buses plus cars…
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