Before you embark on a summer vacation, check out these suggestions for better travels
Here are 18 travel tips sure to make your next vacation a smoother experience:
1. It's best to always keep a travel checklist of items that you can update as you gain experience in your travels. I always check mine two to three times before I ever walk out the door.
2. If traveling abroad, carry an extra copy of your passport in a separate piece of luggage or on your phone. That will make it a lot easier to obtain an emergency replacement if you lose your original. Generally, it is never a good idea to carry your original around with you on the streets.
3. Always double-check all your confirmations of airline flights, hotels, rental cars. Too many vacations have been ruined because of a date error on a reservation.
4. If you are faced with suddenly having to rebook flights and hotels, often travel providers have “chat” features on their apps, which is a quicker communication method than being on hold for an hour or more.
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5. Always know the currency foreign exchange of the countries to which you are traveling. Avoid being taken advantage of by hotels, restaurants, etc. that want to do currency exchanges for you at unfavorable rates. The FOREX website is the best place to check exchange rates. Resist the urge to have it charged in U.S. dollars when you settle the bill.
6. Some countries will give you a more favorable rate if you exchange new, undamaged U.S. $100 bills at exchange kiosks.
7. If you want to have a little bit of foreign currency before you land, you can go to a major bank or AAA in the United States and have them order currency for you. However, be aware, even though they tell you there is “no fee,” the fee gets taken out by a less-than-favorable exchange rate.
8. I always have two to three alternate travel routes in mind before I ever go to the airport in case of cancellations. You are in a more powerful position if you know your alternate options.
9. Make sure you have pre-selected your phone plans for calls and texts. Understand the limits of your plan when out of the country to avoid high surcharge surprises
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10. Carry only a minimum amount of cash with you on the streets of a strange city or country. Pickpockets abound in many countries.
11. Most pickpockets depend on distraction to complete their task. “Distraction is always followed by extraction!"
12. Split up your credit cards to avoid one person carrying all of them.
13. Don’t put your medicine in a checked bag. It may not show up for two weeks.
14. If you take several medications, it is best to keep a list of those in case you need to replace them in a travel destination.
15. Make sure you explicitly understand your travel medical insurance policies in the event something happens such as illness or needed medical evacuation. Certain credit cards cover these types of events. Know those credit card policies. The devil is in the details!
16. On vacation, I always try to take some clothes that are at “end of life.” I can leave those behind as I go. Often a maid at a hotel or bed and breakfast knows someone who can use them. If you give them to the hotel maid, attach a note with them so management will know you gave them away.
17. Don’t overpack! You can buy just about anything you need in your travels ― unless you are going to Mt. Everest. Packing large containers of toiletries doesn’t make sense when you can buy them along the way if you run out.
18. The last thing to do before you walk out the door is to set the thermostat at minimum settings. You don’t want to pay for energy bills when you're not using your house.
Steve Barrymore, of Oklahoma City, has been a lifelong world traveler with recent emphasis on Latin America where he has attended over a dozen Spanish language immersion programs in nine different Spanish-speaking countries.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Travel tips help vacation plans run more smoothly, even abroad
