"If you look like your passport photo, you're too ill to travel."

To this point in my life I haven't had the opportunity to be much of a traveler. Mostly this was due to financial reasons, but the more research I do the more I realize that travel can be affordable AND fun. In about 2 weeks I'm going to Atlanta and right now I'm planning a trip for the end of July to Cocoa Beach, FL. Before the year is out, I also want to take a trip to Cape Hatteras, NC.

But I'm still learning about the best way to do this. Some of you are seasoned travelers and I would loooooove advice, links, personal research and anecdotes from everybody. Do you have any upcoming travel plans? Do you have certain routines you follow when planning trips? Tell me about your most favorite travels.

Traveling domestic is a joy compared to international, but I'd still follow these guidelines;

* Easily slipped off shoes. Wear a dress or shorts in this summer weather, or if it's colder, a dress with tights. Just something so they can see obviously that you don't have guns strapped under your jeans, because they will frisk you nowadays, at least on international flights, if they can't tell obviously.

* Make sure before you leave to have all of your hand creams and contact solutions and lotions in a little plastic zip-lock bag and that they're no more than 100 ML together. Have it ready going through security. They'll probably have to open that up and put that bag in another zip-lock bag, but it'll save some time having it handy.

* Don't wear a belt. You'll forget, or they'll forget, and then you'll ring the metal alarm and they'll frisk you. It happened to me.

* Instead of one big bag with all of your posessions, take two smaller bags, and put the bigger onto the plane luggage, and keep the smaller with you in overhead. It's more secure if they happen to lose that other bag, or if they have to ship it to you over night. You'll have clothes!

That's... all I can think of. =O

Do not attempt to take a snow globe through security.

stay at the Luna Sea Hotel

A'yo, make sure your aware of time when traveling. And don't bring machine guns. I know, i know, machine guns are cool as hell and hours of fun. I know...but trust me this time son.:cool:

I've had the pleasure of traveling to several countries around the world and here are a few tips off the top of my mind:

For domestic flights, I suggest arriving an hour and a half before your departure time. For international flights, I suggest 2 and a half hours. There have been times when I've checked in, passed through security, and made it to my gate in well under an hour for an international flight, however, sometimes I've arrived to a huge line of people all waiting to check in on the same flight abroad and the process took a couple hours. It all depends on the time of year and such. Better safe than sorry!

I'm not too picky with clothes. But my primary advice is to dress comfortably! Air planes can be very squishy and depending on your flight path you may want to take a nap!

Since you have plans stretching out to the end of the year and this may be a regular thing for you... please please please sign up for frequent flier miles! All major airlines have it and the points you will accumulate will potentially save you a lot of money down the road!

I've used many sites such as travelocity, orbitz, cheaptickets, ect... the best one in my opinion is kayak! Its pretty much a consolidated search engine that seeks out and compares information from all the major sites. They don't sell anything, instead, point you in the right direction for the best prices.

That's all I can think of right now! (I've purposely omitted some other international tid bits, but I don't think you have abroad plans yet!) :)

Make sure you eat before you get on the plane, especially if you have a long way to go. I wasn't hungry before my four hour flight to Philadelphia but by the time I got there I was shaky and sick and wound up filling up an airsick back as we landed.

I agree with what Rye and PusMoaning have said as well, do all these things. I once made the mistake of wearing my 20 hole Doc Martens on a flight home from San Francisco and I had to take them off three times while my luggage was thoroughly searched. Apparently mohawk = terrorist.

As for traveling stories, I have a doozy and it's my favorite to share. At the airport on the flight home from Philadelphia I had a monster headache (Philly's airport is old and VERY crowded and noisy) and I couldn't wait to get on the plane so I could relax. Our flight was delayed for 45 minutes and when we got on the plane it was so crowded my fiance and I had to sit apart from each other and I discovered why the plane was late - two unaccompanied minors screaming for mommy. They cried for quite some time and then when they stopped crying they started talking... and they did not stop talking for the ENTIRE FOUR HOUR FLIGHT HOME. I was sitting directly in front of them and they talked LOUDLY, whined, complained, kicked the back of my seat and even elbowed me in the head. It was so bad the whole flight got free alcohol, and to make it all worse my fiance was having the time of his life drinking and cavorting with the lady he was sitting next to.

That is my story. ARGH. Worst flight of my life.

If you don't know I'm going to Japan in a week and a half you live in a box. I love to travel. I haven't done much domestic travel, unless you count Alaska and Hawaii, which you shouldn't.

Get to the airport early, dress comfy enough to sit for however long, use Trip Advisor to browse hotels. I usually get my airline tickets through Hotwire or, if I can, Southwest directly. Getting your ticket directly from the airline is typically a good bet, though I've had good experience with Hotwire (Hawaii, Jamaica, and Japan through them so far).

Uhm... That's all I can think of. Travel light, it's less stressful. If you think of any specific questions I'll do my best to help. I also like to get travel tips from Miriel.

If you're self-conscious about customs officers swabbing your person, your bags and questioning you about drugs, foods, explosives and weapons, don't grow a beard and be a young male as you pass through.

You're not allowed lighters in your bags, however it's ok to carry them aboard the plane in your pockets.

You're allowed a blade of length 6cm or less at many airports. It's up to you whether or not you take advantage of this.

My travel plans involve lots of travel between NZ and Australia. I try to coincide my trips back home with big parties, so far it's worked pretty well. If you're flying a budget airline, don't be late to check in by even one minute because they'll tell you to go away. And try to get the seats beside the emergency exits of the plane, 'cos there's more legroom in those ones. :D

Well straight up make sure you know the weight limit for luggage on your flight. Some flights allow like 16kg of weight in the main luggage. Exceeding that is VERY expensive they can charge you around £20 a kilo. It's better to travel very light out and buy anything else you need cheaply in country of destination. If you buy too much consider the clothes you can get rid off and dump those rather than pay the excess.

Agreed, wear comfortable clothes, I once decided to wear a pair of boxers what could become uncomfortable at the waistband one morning of going through security, sitting on a plane, comming through customs in my destination sitting in a car to the place I was going (longer journey than the flight) I was actually beyond discomfort, it had become actually painful for me. I don't think belts are too much of a problem when I went through security I forgot to take my belt off once, the guy didn't make me take it off he saw it, ran the hand scanner over my legs and torso and left it at that.

Don't joke if you're caught having a sneaky cig in the toilets that you were trying to set fire to your shoes, this will lead to two F-16s escorting your plane to the nearest airport and your immediate arrest. Not cool.

Remember Laptops are safer and better off security wise in your hand luggage. Don't put it in the main hold you'll generally regret it because most airlines will not take responsibility for your laptops damage.

wear a light jacket with pockets. I know from my girlfriends experience that because you should ALWAYS have your boarding pass and passport around you to buy stuff in duty free and also incase security ask you for it having to go handbag diving is not cool.

Most things have been covered already. I will just add one piece of advice: You won't know how strongly to treasure it unless you ignore it.

Do not fly through Chicago O'Hare International Airport. DO NOT FLY THROUGH CHICAGO. It may in fact have been architected and staffed entirely by Beelzebub. I have never in my life encountered a worse airport or a worse anywhere.

Do not fly through Chicago.

I barely got a snow globe through airport security when I was in China.

Everything has already been said. I personally like to be at the airport pretty early, so that I have time to do what has to be done without getting too stressed. Having time to browse the airport shops can also be nice, if they're any good that is. Browsing is mostly only worth it in bigger airports.

My favourite trip was undoubtedly when I traveled as a backpacker in 2008-2009, in most of Asia, and then from San Francisco to New York in the US. It took 7 months - 6 in Asia and 1 in the States.
- So yeah, I've been to lots of airports in many different countries. Tiny to huge airports and then everything in the middle. The best advice is really to arrive in good time, and to be organized/have everything ready.

I pretty much a jet setter. So here are all of my advice when you travel

My first advice is to wear fashionable yet comfortable clothing. I know people want to look as if they are heading for a destination location (aka looking like a tourist) but I suggest you refrain from that. You are more likely to get bumped up to business or first class because of that (plus being polite) I have been bumped up on numerous occasions because of this.. Remember ask politely and if they really can't do it.. Don't push it.


Arrive at the airport well ahead of time. with security being tight, come early so that you can queue up at check points and still arrive at your gate in time to relax. Remember your are not helping the line go faster by huffing and puffing at everyone and the security would not rather deal with that either. (you're simply making a scene)

Do take off your belt and shoes and any other metallic out once you line up. Sometimes your laptop is required to be powered on. So make sure you do that (hence it makes sense to come early cause you are saving time by do all these lil tedious things.) Believe me the security ppl aren't fond of such inspection either but do them a favor and do it as sweetly and quickly as possible...

Make sure your passport and ticket are always out in your hand. (its another security measure and you can ask the staff to which gate is your plane at , should u get lost.

Do not tote any sort of bottle of any liquids/cream in your carry on. So do not put your expensive face cream or fav gel in there or else it gets confiscated... Yes that means hand sanitizers and water bottles too. Instead if you must. get those micro creams or lotions... Please find out the gram amount you can carry during your travels.

Clearly make a mental check note or a list of everything that you have packed in your bag. Plus make sure that you have packed your room in that suitcase of yours. Remember take only what is necessary. Most likely you'll come back heavy from whatever shopping that your did so my advice is take only a couple a pairs of casual tops. Two formals and three bottoms. Oh and two pairs of shoes excluding the ones that you are wearing.


And remember. Relax and think about your exciting new destination. A smile on your face will make it seem like a breeze going through an airport!

BON VOYAGE!!

I absolutely love traveling, but I've never been anyway outside the US, sadly. The farthest away I've ever been is Hawaii, and it's beautiful there. My parents think other countries are too dangerous for someone my age to travel to, so. I won't be using my passport until I'm older, I guess. D:

Visit Rubahs and bring money. Next time, bring some lobstars too.

PS: if you wait 3 weeks to travel by bus the cost is ridiculously cheap. What was it, a 90$ bus ride from Toronto to Arkansas? Ridiculous I can barely go 1000 km for 90$.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ShlupQuack

I also like to get travel tips from Miriel.

---

:aimkiss:

Del Murder and I do most of our vacations on a fairly tight budget. There's lots of ways we're able to do this. First, we live lives conducive to being able to take advantage of last minute deals. He has a lot of vacation days at work, I'm self-employed, we don't have kids, and we don't go to work. So the last time we heard about $500 roundtrip tickets to South Korea (crazy smurfing deal!), we were able to jump on it that day and leave within weeks. If you go to school, or can't get off work, taking advantage of sweet deals like this would be harder. But if you can be flexible, then you can find amazing deals.

I'm signed up for email and Twitter for TravelZoo, and they send regular updates on great deals on flights and hotels. I also sign up for hotel newsletters just in case they have a special deal I can take advantage of. A lot of hotels have a promotions section on their website that has deals, especially for off-season. That's another way to get great deals, go in the off season to wherever you're visiting.

Trip Advisor has a search function that allows you to search specifically for well reviewed budget hotels. Take advantage of this! You can find a diamond in the rough this way. If you're traveling to Europe, taking advantage of the hostels there is a great way to save money. Hostels are basically like budget hotels, you still get your own room but probably have to share a bathroom. Youth hostels are the ones where you have to share rooms with other people, and if you're ok with that, those are even cheaper.

One of the best ways to save money on a trip is to avoid eating at tourist trap restaurants. The food will almost always not be great, and it will always be super expensive. Do your research by looking at forums or websites for the place you're visiting and get recommendations on where locals like to eat. When we visited Playa Del Carmen, there was a forum that provided really great recs, and we ate some of the best food of our lives, for super cheap. Chowhound and Trip Advisor forums are also great places to get food recommendations, both for "cheap eats" and for quality local restaurants. It was one of these websites that turned me on to eating at Pinotxo tapas bar at the Boqueria Market. It was extraordinary. It's this little stand in the middle of a bustling marketplace. And they serve affordable and delicious tapas. I had one of the most profound food eating experiences of my life there.

Once we've decided where we're going to go, the next step is to get a great deal on airfare. After that, a great deal on hotels. Try and avoid all-inclusive vacation packages because they give you very little freedom, and you're probably going to eat crap food! After we have the two big things (hotel & airfare figured out), I plan an itinerary. I make a list of places to visit and things to do, and then separate them by location, and number of hours or days I want to spend for each location or activity. Once the daily schedules are roughly laid out, I look into yummy places to eat around those places. If there's time, I'll try and google map the daily routes we'd be taking.

We're not really museum type people. We like seeing cool things, but we like DOING cool things more. So we try to do things that are special to that region. Like ziplining in the jungles of Mexico, or taking a boat tour along the Han River in Seoul. These things are probably the most expensive part of a trip outside of hotel and airfare, but it's worth it to at least plan one or two activities that are super fun. Passively enjoying the sights is one thing, actively engaging yourself is another.

After that, look into local stuff like how the bus or subway systems work, various customs like whether tipping is appropriate or not.

All this takes a lot of time and effort. It would be easier just to do something all inclusive, but that = less adventure, worse food. Or hiring an agent to do it for you, but that = more money. One day, when we're rich, I'm seriously just gonna hire someone to do this for me and also to book super fabulous hotels, and fly first class. ;) I can't even tell you how much I loathe flying sometimes. I do not like being squashed. If you're flying coach, you're going to be squashed. But right now, budget is the way to go, and in order to do things on the cheap, it requires a lot of research and careful planning.

Right now, we're waiting for a good deal on flights to New Zealand. We're gonna go see hobbits and go zorbing!

I fly roughly 6-10 times a year internationally. Bring entertainment to the plane if you have a long flight! :p

Oh and make sure you can equalize, especially if its a small crappy plain.

While you guys are awesome and I am totally bookmarking this thread, I will say that of all of the places i have plans to go thus far, I will be driving. lolz

I'm not really to the financially stable point where I can travel out of the country, but someday I want to do so. I have been using Trip Advisor quite a bit and I'll definitely be checking out these other links. For my trip to Cocoa I've actually been looking into beachfront properties and housing swaps or boarding rooms. They tend to be closer to the beach and the same price or cheaper than most hotels, and way cuter.

I've flown before and I found the whole process not very stressful at all. I remember laughing and asking my flightmate why the heck people freak out about flying. We got there about an hour and fifteen minutes early (to fairly busy airports) wandered through security (his toothpaste was confiscated) and got on the planes. I'm sure it can be worse, what with cancellations and what not, but I think I'll probably travel smarter. At least, that's the hope with this thread!

Don't forget to calculate your gas then. I flew from CA to OK and my friend drove (23 hours!) and the cost wasn't much different.

I have to note that all of the places you listed are on the lower east coast, so I'm assuming your somewhere mid-east or north east?

Tip 1: Travel snacks. It's always nice having snacks and drinks on hand.

Tip 2: Bring a friend. Trips are alot better when you have someone to talk to along the way.

Tip 3: When adding up travel costs such as gas, food, lodging don't forget the spending money.

As far as vacations go I've always driven, but should you go airline the earlier you get your ticket the cheaper. And if your driving through raleigh give me a ring, it's nothing fancy but there are a few things to do while your on your way.

I took a trip to St Louis and had a blast site-seeing, though I spent most of that vacation with my grandparents down in Cape. A really nice couple of cities.

Cape Hatteras is nice. The whole outerbanks are just awesome to go down and chill. It's kind of weird looking at the ocean on either side of the highway for miles. Should you go out that way you might also want to check out kittyhawk and the aviation museum. It's been a while but I remember it being really interesting.

I must admit that I prefer traveling by plane, rather than driving. For some reason, I am always able to fully relax and actually sleep incredibly well while traveling by plane.

I have traveled quite a lot, as we have also have a house in the Philippines. I live in Denmark, and that is an exhausting 24-hour trip by plane, and not a whole lot of fun.

My advice is pretty much the same as everybody elses. But wearing comfortable clothes, is really the most important thing if you ask me. I once decided to wear a suit as we had seats on 1st class, and that was intensely uncomfortable. :(

Wow. I flew to Tenerife which was 4 hours and I got off the plane and was like NEVER AGAIN as, to me, 4 hours was waaaaaay too long xD I'm very impatient.

My longest flight was from NC to Germany... on the way there I just wanted to jump off the play and try my luck swimming, coach international really sucks!! On the way back I took 2 ambien and it was an awesome flight!