AVIDTRAVELER

H A B I T S O F T H E

Tips and t r icks f rom those who spend a good dea l o ft ime t rave l ing the wor ld .

Once you arrive at your destination, whether it’s a trip tothe beach or an international vacation abroad with stopseverywhere from Germany to Belize, you know what to do.You know what you want to see, where you want to go, andwhat you want to eat. What you may not know, is howyou’re going to go about getting there.

Yes, of course, you’ll probably use a plane to get to yourdestination if it falls in the latter category of trips, butwhat about packing your goods? Do you have a pre-flightor pre-drive ritual? Do you have an airline you use? Areyou really prepared to travel before you hurriedly boardthe plane, sit down, and finally exhale? Well, now you willbe, thanks to this quick list of habits of regular travelers.

T H E A V I D T R A V E L E R

Packing is, for many, the most cumbersome, annoying anddreaded part of taking a trip. No one really enjoyspacking. It’s a slow process and it’s often the one part ofthe trip that is going to go wrong–you’ll wind upforgetting your phone charger, your ticket, or even acouple articles of clothing.

To avoid this, simply make a checklist of all of the itemsyou’ll need for your vacation or trip and then pack thenight before. That gives you extra time to sleep on it, andif something pops into your head in the hours before youleave it gives you a chance to pack it without having torush.

MAKE A CHECKLIST AND PACK THENIGHT BEFORE

Among the many, many items you’re going to want tomake sure that you’ve packed away, if you’re travelinginternationally a pocket dictionary should be high on thatlist. Not everyone in every country is going to be able tocommunicate at a high level in whatever your nativelanguage is. While wearable real-time translation earbuds are entering the market as we speak, the technology(and price) may not be all it’s cracked up to be, so apocket dictionary will serve just fine for most people forthe time being. A combination of hand signs and basicwords like “food,” or “bathroom” will be enough to get youaround a city of your choosing.

B E S U R E T O B R I N G A P O C K E TD I C T I O N A R Y

Frequent flier miles are a beautiful, beautiful thing. Tocollect them, you’ll need to frequent one airline inparticular for the bulk of your travel needs. If you’ve gotan allegiance to one airline in particular, I suggesthopping aboard their frequent flier program as soon asyou can to capitalize on the rewards, which willaccumulate to free flights over time.

It’s also important to note that, on occasion, an airlinewill offer a flight at a price that you can’t pass up, even ifit’s outside your frequent flier realm. In these cases, Iadvise that you take up the offer, as saving money now isjust as good as saving it later.

STICK (PRIMARILY) TO ONE AIRLINE

This is a quick and simple trick that cuts down on timespent packing and lets you leave a few things off yourchecklist. A small bag that includes items like smallbottles of shampoo and conditioner, as well as soap andother travel-sized toiletries that you keep packed andstored away somewhere in your home makes itremembering them easy, and eliminates the need to pack.

KEEP A BAG OF TOILETRIES PACKED

No matter where you’re travel ing or what t ime your f l ightdeparts, remember to arr ive at the airport early–evenearl ier than you expect you may have to. This makes iteasier to create a small r i tual around travel ing. Do youl ike a cup of coffee before you begin your travel to keepyou on your toes and alert? Make that part of your pre-travel agenda, and st ick to i t . Plan ahead with enoughtime to get everything you need f inished and more.

PLAN AHEAD, GET THERE EARLY ANDMAKE A RITUAL OF IT