Anonymous
05/29/2025 12:40
Subject: What’s your best travel/vacation tip?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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."
? The op above just suggested being nice as a travel tip, that it sometimes results in upgrades. Nothing about "trying" for an upgrade. Pps said airlines no longer randomly give upgrades just bc someone was nice. I cited a somewhat recent experience where they had.
No upgrades for you with that attitude!
This all seems dubious. Etihad in South America?
Why in the world would I have made this up?
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2285516/business-economy#:~:text=Since%202010%2C%20the%20airline%20had,Dubai%2C%20Istanbul%20and%20Egyptian%20cities.
"Since 2010, the airline had a daily flight between Doha and Buenos Aires with a stopover in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, but it was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. "
Anonymous
05/29/2025 12:16
Subject: What’s your best travel/vacation tip?
Our three-year old has been to two continents and we're planning a third for next year. Will she remember any of it? Of course not, but we will and she'll have pictures to look back on. I don't know why we expect adults to travel "for the experience!" but children "for the memories." I travel with my kid because I want to travel and she's an easy going kid that will eat most kinds of food.
Anonymous
05/29/2025 11:37
Subject: What’s your best travel/vacation tip?
Great thread - and thank you all for the great tips!
I am surprised that no one has mentioned passports and AirTags.
With passports it is important to keep in mind that different countries have different requirements about passport validity: just a valid passport is usually not enough. Most countries require passports to be valid for a minimum period beyond the date of intended stay (6 months, 3 months). So BEFORE booking any international travel it is extremely important to check everyone’s passports that they are valid, especially kids’ passports since they are only valid for 5 years. Otherwise they will not let you on the plane (ask me how I know 🤪)
AirTags are great for tracking things - we put an AirTag in each piece of checked luggage and can always see where our bags are. Some parents also use them in young kids’ shoes in crowded places like amusement parks, etc. We have not used them for that purpose since our kids were little before AirTags but sounds like a good idea.
I am surprised that no one has mentioned passports and AirTags.
With passports it is important to keep in mind that different countries have different requirements about passport validity: just a valid passport is usually not enough. Most countries require passports to be valid for a minimum period beyond the date of intended stay (6 months, 3 months). So BEFORE booking any international travel it is extremely important to check everyone’s passports that they are valid, especially kids’ passports since they are only valid for 5 years. Otherwise they will not let you on the plane (ask me how I know 🤪)
AirTags are great for tracking things - we put an AirTag in each piece of checked luggage and can always see where our bags are. Some parents also use them in young kids’ shoes in crowded places like amusement parks, etc. We have not used them for that purpose since our kids were little before AirTags but sounds like a good idea.
Anonymous
05/29/2025 10:57
Subject: What’s your best travel/vacation tip?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
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.
Awww. My kids have been to every continent except for Antartica before they were 9, and they remember so much. Maybe a sea turtle "shaking" her hand underwater is inconsequential in the long run, but DD still felt like it was a magical experience snorkeling. International travel for kids isn't a necessity, but it's never a waste of money if you can spare it.
+1. I don't know what the "right" age is, but I felt like our long travels with the kids - even at a young age - did them more good than, say, the trip to Disney. If nothing else, the kids are now exceptional travelers. For a trip of 7-14 days, they don't need much more than what fits comfortably in the overhead airplane bin, they put up with long travel times without complaint, they can navigate airports and public transportation in foreign countries probably better than I can. And, they're fun to be with.
+1
Also, taking my kids at young ages is for me. I love sharing those experiences with them. I look back and am so thankful we did it. Best moments of my life.
Same here. I enjoy & remember. And also, we do all sorts of things our young kids enjoy/benefit from at the time but they won’t remember later— reading to them, taking them to the playground, baking with them, etc. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter.
Anonymous
05/29/2025 09:50
Subject: What’s your best travel/vacation tip?
Pack light and always book one ways (unless the price differential is high).
Anonymous
05/29/2025 09:45
Subject: Re:What’s your best travel/vacation tip?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Fly private, bring staff, have a trip planner.
The most DCUM response ever!
Never fly private because it spoils you forever.
Anonymous
05/29/2025 09:44
Subject: Re:What’s your best travel/vacation tip?
Anonymous wrote:Fly private, bring staff, have a trip planner.
The most DCUM response ever!
Anonymous
05/29/2025 09:43
Subject: What’s your best travel/vacation tip?
I agree with - it's not about the right time - either go or don't. But I will say this: W Europe in Aug is hard. Know it and decide accordingly. Ditto Asia. Go to hot places when it'll be cooler, cold places when it's warmer. Have common sense to know and if you still want to do it, don't ask how it'll be, you already know!
I also have learned that when booking flights, be creative. You'd be surprised at saving money booking one ways sometimes. Or, book through another destination on way home to save money and see more than 1 place. Or fly using points for free more or less and pay less flying out if the country from that point because it's less than if you went from A to C direct - fly A to B for free and just pay B to C if it's cheaper. You don't need to always fly A- C direct - look at your budget closely. Try different scenarios,
Lastly - try to pack light. It helps in so many fronts. You can def get by without checking in bags even going away for 3 1/2 wks to Asia. Yes you can. And when you shop for luggage- go for the largest capacity carry on v cheapest. Value is determined not by just dollars but by how convenient and frequently and well made that piece of carry on works in the long run.
I also have learned that when booking flights, be creative. You'd be surprised at saving money booking one ways sometimes. Or, book through another destination on way home to save money and see more than 1 place. Or fly using points for free more or less and pay less flying out if the country from that point because it's less than if you went from A to C direct - fly A to B for free and just pay B to C if it's cheaper. You don't need to always fly A- C direct - look at your budget closely. Try different scenarios,
Lastly - try to pack light. It helps in so many fronts. You can def get by without checking in bags even going away for 3 1/2 wks to Asia. Yes you can. And when you shop for luggage- go for the largest capacity carry on v cheapest. Value is determined not by just dollars but by how convenient and frequently and well made that piece of carry on works in the long run.
Anonymous
05/29/2025 09:29
Subject: What’s your best travel/vacation tip?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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."
? The op above just suggested being nice as a travel tip, that it sometimes results in upgrades. Nothing about "trying" for an upgrade. Pps said airlines no longer randomly give upgrades just bc someone was nice. I cited a somewhat recent experience where they had.
No upgrades for you with that attitude!
This all seems dubious. Etihad in South America?
There are random routes like this all of the world called "Fifth freedom". Basically an airline can tag on another route to the end of an existing round trip to their home country, so for Etihad it probably was something like Abu Dhabi - Rio - Buenos Aires - Rio - Abu Dhabi but you can book the flights within South America separately. Same reason you can fly United from Hong Kong - Bangkok or Tokyo - Ulanbaatar.
Anonymous
05/29/2025 09:11
Subject: Re:What’s your best travel/vacation tip?
Fly private, bring staff, have a trip planner.
Anonymous
05/29/2025 09:11
Subject: What’s your best travel/vacation tip?
Anonymous wrote:On traveling with young kids….do it if you want to do it, but they won’t remember much/. They might remember a particular slide or an animal or one thing you ate. My four year old adored Costa Rica but now a decades later does not remember any of it.
I don’t think early travel really makes them better travelers in the long run — those of you with good travelers that are older probably would have had good travelers anyway/. A lot of it is genetic. Also if your kids were bad travelers (eg didn’t sleep well at night) you probably would have stopped. So you didn’t create good travelers — you just lucked out with them. We traveled a ton when my kids were little but my oldest (now an adult) is just not an avid traveler due to sleep and dietary issues. And I never traveled as a kid because my parents didn’t have the money but I am a great traveler and was pretty much immediately that way as soon as I was able, because my personality type is just laid back, like to try new things and I have no sleep or dietary issues.
I do think early travel can help kids develop interests that will sometimes stick with them. So a kid that takes a great hiking trip at 6 might discover a love of it that causes them to hike more at home and get really into nature. Or a kid might develop an interest in animals or history or something that sticks with them. Like any kind of learning, it’s good for brain development even if it doesn’t stick with them.
I fully disagree with the concept of judging the worth of something to young children by their actual memories of it. Early travel experiences broaden young minds so that they understand that there are different ways of living. Obviously this applies to travel to actual places, not like Disney. But the value of early education is not that you remember the lessons explicitly, it is that they are burned deeper into you and your understanding of the world.
Anonymous
05/29/2025 08:57
Subject: What’s your best travel/vacation tip?
Smile, be friendly, learn a few words of the local language at least. We have traveled all over and never have the negative experiences we hear about, even in cities with bad reputations. In fact, people have gone out of their way to help us.
Anonymous
05/29/2025 08:48
Subject: What’s your best travel/vacation tip?
On traveling with young kids….do it if you want to do it, but they won’t remember much/. They might remember a particular slide or an animal or one thing you ate. My four year old adored Costa Rica but now a decades later does not remember any of it.
I don’t think early travel really makes them better travelers in the long run — those of you with good travelers that are older probably would have had good travelers anyway/. A lot of it is genetic. Also if your kids were bad travelers (eg didn’t sleep well at night) you probably would have stopped. So you didn’t create good travelers — you just lucked out with them. We traveled a ton when my kids were little but my oldest (now an adult) is just not an avid traveler due to sleep and dietary issues. And I never traveled as a kid because my parents didn’t have the money but I am a great traveler and was pretty much immediately that way as soon as I was able, because my personality type is just laid back, like to try new things and I have no sleep or dietary issues.
I do think early travel can help kids develop interests that will sometimes stick with them. So a kid that takes a great hiking trip at 6 might discover a love of it that causes them to hike more at home and get really into nature. Or a kid might develop an interest in animals or history or something that sticks with them. Like any kind of learning, it’s good for brain development even if it doesn’t stick with them.
I don’t think early travel really makes them better travelers in the long run — those of you with good travelers that are older probably would have had good travelers anyway/. A lot of it is genetic. Also if your kids were bad travelers (eg didn’t sleep well at night) you probably would have stopped. So you didn’t create good travelers — you just lucked out with them. We traveled a ton when my kids were little but my oldest (now an adult) is just not an avid traveler due to sleep and dietary issues. And I never traveled as a kid because my parents didn’t have the money but I am a great traveler and was pretty much immediately that way as soon as I was able, because my personality type is just laid back, like to try new things and I have no sleep or dietary issues.
I do think early travel can help kids develop interests that will sometimes stick with them. So a kid that takes a great hiking trip at 6 might discover a love of it that causes them to hike more at home and get really into nature. Or a kid might develop an interest in animals or history or something that sticks with them. Like any kind of learning, it’s good for brain development even if it doesn’t stick with them.
Anonymous
05/29/2025 08:35
Subject: What’s your best travel/vacation tip?
I prefer driving vacations over flying. Don't try to bring your dog. Have a lot of money and spend it all.
Anonymous
05/29/2025 08:27
Subject: Re:What’s your best travel/vacation tip?
Anonymous wrote:Doing laundry on vacation is worth it. We try to book somewhere with laundry either in the middle and towards the end of vacation. Even if DH and I have to stay up late to get it done, we think it is worth it. We are able to pack less, and we don't come home with a mountain of laundry.
I don’t often do this now but always did it when the kids were little. One of my nice memories is at Yellowstone — we took an afternoon where the kids could be reading or playing on iPads. I out the laundry in, went to get a cup of coffee and just sat in the chairs outside reading a book until it was time to switch the laundry and then get it outit out. It was so pleasant and we needed a couple of hours of downtime. And lovely to then have clothes that didn’t stink.