What’s your best travel/vacation tip?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If traveling to Europe, try to get the latest possible flight you can. Air France has a 10.30 pm flight to Paris, Virgin had an almost-midnight flight to London. Try for these so you're ready to sleep when you board. Take a light sleeping aid to force sleeping.

Research your destination plan as much as possible. Book tickets ahead of time if available. Don't spend your vacation time waiting in lines if it can be avoided.

Don't worry about the food so much. A piece of bread with cheese bought off a market stall is an okay lunch.

Kids can walk much longer than you think.

Try not to check a bag. I tell the kids that every pair of pants is worn at least 3 to 4 times, a top at least twice (if not soiled). Carry 2 pairs of shoes always.

It's ok to forget stuff at home. Nothing is truly irreplaceable.

Take public transit at your destination. Don't be afraid.

When booking your flights, it helps to be flexible to save money. Most airlines will now have a calendar where you can see what your flight will cost across several months.

It's ok to miss a few days of school in elementary, and even middle.

Don't not travel if you cannot have your perfect trip. My DH cannot travel overseas right now so I travel with two older kids as much as I can. When it's time to travel all five of us, we will, but I won't let this hold me up. Don't not travel.

You can immediately tell a traveled person from a non-traveled one by their conversation.

Don't waste foreign or long travel on a young child. I say confidently, nothing much they will see before age 8 will be remembered, and if they do, it will be inconsequential stuff.

+1000

You don't get the full experience if you don't ride the train/tram/bus with the locals!

[Anonymous]

With kids, everyone picks something special they really want to do on the trip. Zip line. See the catacombs. Tour Monet’s Garden. Hike the Iceberg. Unless age or infirmity prevents it, everyone else shows up with a good attitude for your thing, and you show up for theirs. You go by inverse order of whiniest family members on trips. You whine, pout, sulk or complain and, we don’t do your thing.

We’re a family. You won’t love everything. You’ll be surprised what you do enjoy if you have a good attitude. And since I’m the family trip planner, kids get a big kick out of being able to direct the parents (and sibling) to do …. Anything they want (within financial, safety and common sense boundaries).

Also gets them researching the places we’ll visit to make their choice. And we end up with a lot of agreement one what else to do.

[Anonymous]

Pp, I love this!

[Anonymous]

Slim pouch with anything you can't afford to lose goes under clothing in every single large-ish Euro city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh and be nice and charming if something doesn’t go your way. The old adage of attracting flies with honey. I’ve been upgraded numerous times simply by being kind to the desk agent at hotels or airlines

Yeah that's not a thing anymore with airlines.

Yeah, that hasn't been a thing since 1973.

It worked for me about 10 years ago without trying. I was flying Etihad within South America. DH and I had a really long layover in Brazil and we were sitting nicely in the waiting area for like 10 hours. At some point I recall chatting with the gate agents who were also just kind of hanging around. Around hour 8 they called us up and offered us an upgrade for our flight from Brazil to Buenos Aires. Short flight, but that first class experience was awesome!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If traveling to Europe, try to get the latest possible flight you can. Air France has a 10.30 pm flight to Paris, Virgin had an almost-midnight flight to London.

Agreed on the late flights, but the details here are incorrect. Air France later flight is at 9:30 PM, it's United which has a 10:45 PM to Paris now. To London, United and BA have flights around 10:30 PM, unfortunately Virgin moved their departure much earlier to 6 PM- we were on the 9:30 PM departure a few years ago and it was great, we were asleep within 30 minutes after takeoff, woke up 45 minutes before landing, arrived into the city just before noon, not fully rested, but in pretty good shape overall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If traveling to Europe, try to get the latest possible flight you can. Air France has a 10.30 pm flight to Paris, Virgin had an almost-midnight flight to London.

Agreed on the late flights, but the details here are incorrect. Air France later flight is at 9:30 PM, it's United which has a 10:45 PM to Paris now. To London, United and BA have flights around 10:30 PM, unfortunately Virgin moved their departure much earlier to 6 PM- we were on the 9:30 PM departure a few years ago and it was great, we were asleep within 30 minutes after takeoff, woke up 45 minutes before landing, arrived into the city just before noon, not fully rested, but in pretty good shape overall.

AF schedule varies seasonally. I was on a 10.25 pm flight to Paris when we flew over spring break two months ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If traveling to Europe, try to get the latest possible flight you can. Air France has a 10.30 pm flight to Paris, Virgin had an almost-midnight flight to London. Try for these so you're ready to sleep when you board. Take a light sleeping aid to force sleeping.

Research your destination plan as much as possible. Book tickets ahead of time if available. Don't spend your vacation time waiting in lines if it can be avoided.

Don't worry about the food so much. A piece of bread with cheese bought off a market stall is an okay lunch.

Kids can walk much longer than you think.

Try not to check a bag. I tell the kids that every pair of pants is worn at least 3 to 4 times, a top at least twice (if not soiled). Carry 2 pairs of shoes always.

It's ok to forget stuff at home. Nothing is truly irreplaceable.

Take public transit at your destination. Don't be afraid.

When booking your flights, it helps to be flexible to save money. Most airlines will now have a calendar where you can see what your flight will cost across several months.

It's ok to miss a few days of school in elementary, and even middle.

Don't not travel if you cannot have your perfect trip. My DH cannot travel overseas right now so I travel with two older kids as much as I can. When it's time to travel all five of us, we will, but I won't let this hold me up. Don't not travel.

You can immediately tell a traveled person from a non-traveled one by their conversation.

Don't waste foreign or long travel on a young child. I say confidently, nothing much they will see before age 8 will be remembered, and if they do, it will be inconsequential stuff.

+1000

You don't get the full experience if you don't ride the train/tram/bus with the locals!

We were in Istanbul one summer when DS was 12 years old. He has always been a public transit enthusiast. We were in Istiklal street, which is incredibly crowded, and he walked on while we were getting ice cream, and got separated from us. No cellphone but he had a public transport card on him. When he realized he was lost, he just walked to the nearest metro station, looked at the map, and took the train to the nearest stop to the hotel, then tram, and walked back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh and be nice and charming if something doesn’t go your way. The old adage of attracting flies with honey. I’ve been upgraded numerous times simply by being kind to the desk agent at hotels or airlines

Yeah that's not a thing anymore with airlines.

Yeah, that hasn't been a thing since 1973.

It worked for me about 10 years ago without trying. I was flying Etihad within South America. DH and I had a really long layover in Brazil and we were sitting nicely in the waiting area for like 10 hours. At some point I recall chatting with the gate agents who were also just kind of hanging around. Around hour 8 they called us up and offered us an upgrade for our flight from Brazil to Buenos Aires. Short flight, but that first class experience was awesome!

If you weren't "trying" it didn't "work for you."

[Anonymous]

May not work for everyone, but we intentionally booked a long stop over of 12 hrs at Tokyo from India to US on Japan Airlines. The tickets were cheaper, we travelled light with only two backpacks with change of clothes. Changed at the airport, exited the airport and enjoyed Tokyo for 7 hrs and were back in time for our connection.

It was hectic, but Japan has been on our wishlist for many years. We would 100% go back again someday. We were traveling premium economy, so that helped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If traveling to Europe, try to get the latest possible flight you can. Air France has a 10.30 pm flight to Paris, Virgin had an almost-midnight flight to London. Try for these so you're ready to sleep when you board. Take a light sleeping aid to force sleeping.

Research your destination plan as much as possible. Book tickets ahead of time if available. Don't spend your vacation time waiting in lines if it can be avoided.

Don't worry about the food so much. A piece of bread with cheese bought off a market stall is an okay lunch.

Kids can walk much longer than you think.

Try not to check a bag. I tell the kids that every pair of pants is worn at least 3 to 4 times, a top at least twice (if not soiled). Carry 2 pairs of shoes always.

It's ok to forget stuff at home. Nothing is truly irreplaceable.

Take public transit at your destination. Don't be afraid.

When booking your flights, it helps to be flexible to save money. Most airlines will now have a calendar where you can see what your flight will cost across several months.

It's ok to miss a few days of school in elementary, and even middle.

Don't not travel if you cannot have your perfect trip. My DH cannot travel overseas right now so I travel with two older kids as much as I can. When it's time to travel all five of us, we will, but I won't let this hold me up. Don't not travel.

You can immediately tell a traveled person from a non-traveled one by their conversation.

Don't waste foreign or long travel on a young child. I say confidently, nothing much they will see before age 8 will be remembered, and if they do, it will be inconsequential stuff.

Disagree with this. What about families that have family in foreign countries? Or families where the kids are good travelers that sleep well? We have traveled internationally with our kids since they were babies and have had amazing experiences. I don't need them to remember everything to enjoy the moment in the present.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Slim pouch with anything you can't afford to lose goes under clothing in every single large-ish Euro city.

I'm assuming you mean your wallet and phone - so how are you getting your wallet out from under your clothing every time you need to use it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Slim pouch with anything you can't afford to lose goes under clothing in every single large-ish Euro city.

I'm assuming you mean your wallet and phone - so how are you getting your wallet out from under your clothing every time you need to use it?

I wear separates and go to a quiet spot in a store and remove if needed. I carry some cash in pocket so I don’t do this for small transactions. But I also mean passport if you need to have on you (for a train journey for instance) my phone I have in a special theft proof crossbody with a tough lock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A tip I learned on this forum: When traveling to Europe, book your first hotel/apartment/whatever in the first city starting the night before you arrive, so you can check in immediately upon arrival (assuming you take a red eye to Europe). Having to putz around for hours while you’re exhausted, waiting until 3 or 4 pm to check in, sucks.
Make sure everyone in your party uses the bathroom before getting into the passport control line, and maybe grab a bottled water on the way if you can. Last March in Rome, we waited well over an hour in line. In Paris this past April, the wait was over two hours!

You better let them know what you are doing, or there is a good chance you will arrive and your reservation was canceled and they gave your room away when you didn't show up. Even when you do let them know what you are doing, this can happen.

Yes of course you need to tell them you are arriving the next morning so they don’t think you are a no show. I do this all the time though for both work and fun travel and have never had them give the room away.

It is pretty common for them to end up giving the room away. This is a risky thing to do.

With most hotel apps, you can check into your room from your phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A tip I learned on this forum: When traveling to Europe, book your first hotel/apartment/whatever in the first city starting the night before you arrive, so you can check in immediately upon arrival (assuming you take a red eye to Europe). Having to putz around for hours while you’re exhausted, waiting until 3 or 4 pm to check in, sucks.
Make sure everyone in your party uses the bathroom before getting into the passport control line, and maybe grab a bottled water on the way if you can. Last March in Rome, we waited well over an hour in line. In Paris this past April, the wait was over two hours!

You better let them know what you are doing, or there is a good chance you will arrive and your reservation was canceled and they gave your room away when you didn't show up. Even when you do let them know what you are doing, this can happen.