~Angela
- Suitcase Tip:
Pack a dryer sheet in your suitcase for long flights - this helps to eliminate that musty "airplane odor" and you'll have a "just washed" air to your clothes when you unpack.
- Clothes Packing:
To help prevent creasing of clothing, roll up a small towel and place on the inside of where the garments will fold. Or roll your suites up instead of folding.
- Child Saftey:
On the day of the trip or just before you leave, use a Polaroid camera and take photos of each child in your party. Keep the pictures with you at all times. If you become separated from your child, you will have a photo of what your child looks like right then, that day.
- Luggage:
Mark every piece of luggage inside and outside with your last name and first initial only. Do not use a title [Ms.] Do not put your home address or destination address on the luggage unless your destination is a hotel or resort.
- Packing Tip:
When you are traveling as a couple, each of you should put one complete outfit in the other's suitcase in case one suitcase is delayed or lost. It is also a good idea to carry a change of underwear and socks in your carry-on.
- Fragrance Tip:
Instead of lugging bulky, breakable perfume bottles, soak some cotton balls in your favorite scent and stuff them into empty film canisters. The airtight canisters keep the fragrance fresh!
- Forgot Night Light:
Wish you had a nightlight in that strange hotel room? You don't have to pack one. Before you go to bed, turn on the bathroom light, then shut the bathroom door.
- Wet Clothes:
To get wet clothes dry overnight, hang them on a coat hanger and hang them in the bathroom - Leave the light on.
- Wet Clothes:
You can cut your clothing drying time in half. Roll the wet laundry in a towel, push down hard on the roll, and your washed item is partly dry.
- Pepto Bismol:
When traveling to areas that are pron to diarhea, take two teaspoons of Pepto Bismol before each meal and the chances of you getting diarrhea are reduced.
- Cuts and Scrapes:
Be sure to pack an effective topical antibiotic cream. The smallest scratch or insect bite can quickly become infected. Try "Bactriban" or "Polysporin". To prevent ringworm, the most effective product is "Nizoral" - sold over the counter as an anti-dandruff shampoo.
- Shower Water:
Most people know to ask for unopened bottled water when traveling, but may not realize that it's all too easy to get sick from ingesting water while showering. The solution: Keep mouthwash in your mouth while showering.
- Bottled Water:
In a restaurant, ask for a bottle of water unopened. Have them open it at the table, and you can be sure you won't get local water, bottled. This will also tell you that they use bottled water to cook and clean with.
- Camera Tips:
Always keep your film, tape, or computer disks out of the sun. Carry an extra supply of batteries, and be prepared to turn on your camera, camcorder, or laptop to prove to security personnel that the device is real. Always ask for hand inspection of film, which becomes clouded after successive exposures to airport X-ray machines, and keep videotapes and computer disks away from metal detectors.
- Choosing a car-rental agency:
When choosing a car-rental agency, ask your travel agent about a company's customer-service record. How has the company responded to late plane arrivals and vehicle mishaps? Are there often lines at the rental counter? If you're traveling during a holiday period, does a confirmed reservation guarantee you a car?
- Planning your trip with kids:
Get your kids actively involved in planning your trip from the very beginning -- that way older kids have a stake in making it work and you have a chance to allay younger kids' natural wariness of the unknown. Besides, it's fun.
- Preparation for Your Trip:
Start Early. If a passport is required for you to enter the country where you are planning to travel, apply for it as soon as possible.
Learn about the countries you plan to visit. Before departing, read up on the culture and people for the places you will travel.
As you travel, keep abreast of local news coverage. If you are in an area experiencing civil unrest or a natural disaster, if you will be staying more than two weeks in an area, or if you are going to a place where communications are poor, you are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. Registration takes only a few moments, and it may be invaluable in case of an emergency. Remember to leave a detailed itinerary and the numbers of your passport or other citizenship documents with a friend or relative in the United States.
For up-to-date travel information on any country in the world that you plan to visit, obtain the Department of State's Consular Information Sheet. This covers topics such as entry regulations, the crime and security situation, drug penalties, and location of the nearest U.S. embassy, consulate or consular agency.
The Department also issues Travel Warnings and Public Announcements. A Travel Warning advises travelers not to go to a country because of dangerous conditions and/or U.S. government's ability to assist a U.S. citizen in distress there is severely limited. A Public Announcement is issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about relatively short-term and/or trans-national conditions which would pose significant risks to the security of American travelers.
- Entry and Exit Requirements:
Entering: Every island in the Caribbean has its own entry requirements. Most countries allow you to visit for up to two or three months if you show proof of U.S. citizenship and a return or onward ticket. Some countries, however, require that you have a valid passport. If you are arriving from an area infected with yellow fever, many Caribbean countries require you to have a certificate of vaccination against yellow fever. Some countries have an airport departure tax of up to $25. For authoritative information on a country's entry and exit requirements and on its customs and currency regulations, contact its embassy, consulate, or tourist office in the United States.
Returning - Caution! Make certain that you can return to the United States with the proof of citizenship that you take with you. Although some Caribbean countries may allow you to enter with only a birth certificate, U.S. Immigration requires that you document both your U.S. citizenship and identity when you reenter the United States.
The best document to prove your U.S. citizenship is a valid U.S. passport. Other documents of U.S. citizenship include an expired U.S. passport, a certified copy of your birth certificate, a Certificate of Naturalization , a Certificate of Citizenship , or a Report of Birth Abroad of a U.S. Citizen.
To prove your identity, either a valid driver's license or a government identification card that includes a photo or a physical description is acceptable.
If you lose or have your U.S. passport stolen while overseas, report it immediately to the local police and the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. A lost or stolen birth certificate or driver's license cannot be replaced outside the United States. There are several countries, most notably Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, and Jamaica, where airlines have consistently refused to board American citizens with insufficient proof of U.S. citizenship. The resulting delays can be inconvenient as well as expensive.- Travel Insurance:
Travel insurance is the best way to protect yourself against financial loss. The most useful plan is a comprehensive policy that includes coverage for trip cancellation and interruption, default, trip delay, and medical expenses (with a waiver for preexisting conditions).
Without insurance, you will lose all or most of your money if you cancel your trip or have to cut it short, regardless of the reason. Default insurance covers you if your tour operator, airline, or cruise line goes out of business. Trip-delay covers unforeseen expenses that you may incur due to bad weather or mechanical delays. Study the fine print when comparing policies.
For overseas travel, one of the most important components of travel insurance is its medical coverage. Supplemental health insurance will pick up the cost of your medical bills should you get sick or injured while traveling.
U.S. residents should note that Medicare generally does not cover health-care costs outside the United States, nor do many privately issued policies.
Residents of the United Kingdom can buy an annual travel-insurance policy valid for most vacations taken during the year in which the coverage is purchased.
If you are pregnant or have a pre-existing condition, make sure you're covered.
Always buy travel insurance directly from an insurance company or agent; if you buy it from a cruise line, airline, or tour operator that goes out of business, you probably will not be covered for the agency or operator's default, a major risk. Before you make any purchase, review your existing health and home-owner's policies to find out whether they cover expenses incurred while traveling.
- Precaution Drugs:
Take extra precautions. In your carry-on luggage bring an extra pair of eyeglasses or contact lenses and enough of any medication you take to last the entire trip. You may also want your doctor to write a spare prescription using the drug's generic name, since brand names may vary from country to country. Never put prescription drugs or valuables in luggage to be checked. To avoid customs delays, carry medications in their original packaging. And don't forget to copy down and carry addresses of offices that handle refunds of lost traveler's checks.
- Bag it:
Bag it. Plastic bags -- for everything from toiletries to shoes to aerosol cans -- have prevented many a suitcase fiasco.
- Do the twistie:
Do the twistie. Use garbage-bag ties to secure the zips (as well as locks) on your luggage. This measure annoys and may deter a potential thief.
- Safe Shower:
When entering a hotel room for the first time, run the shower for a few minutes, without you being in the room. This will get rid of any build-up of spores that cause Legionaries disease.
- Basic Emergancy Kit:
Band-aids, antibiotic ointment, tweezers, nail clippers (for some reason we think our nails grow faster down there???), tylenol, anti-bacterial wipes.
- Travel Insurance:
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