Useful Travel-Tips

We all want to travel smarter so I have put together a few useful travel-tips you may find handy.

Starting with packing, if travelling with your partner put half your clothes in each case, if a piece of luggage goes missing you still have some clothes to get you by for the interim. In your carry on pack one complete change of clothes and anything else you will require immediately at destination like your medication and charger.

Carry your passport, pen, travel size toothpaste/toothbrush, hand wipes, tissues, lip balm and a scarf in an anti theft cross shoulder bag while out sight seeing. The scarf can be used as a pillow on a long bus or train trip, to cover shoulders or head in a place of worship, a sarong for the beach or simply to keep you warm.

Universal chargers are great and pack well with cords, thumb drive and spare camera cards in a pencil case or glasses case. It is also easier to back up to thumb drive or use spare cards when full rather than carrying a laptop and you can use your phone to check emails using free Wi-Fi and upload Google maps for your destination to your phone. Switch your phone to plane mode before charging so it will charge faster. Don’t rely on your guess to check your luggage weight, take along an easy to use Digital luggage scale.

Count out medication to make sure you have enough, take the original box. I flatten out the box and take my prescription and take a letter from Doctor or pharmacist to carry my medication and Blood Glucose Monitor. Consults pharmacist or doctor for emergency first aid medications applicable for the destination you are travelling.

Handy Sewing Kit

Dryer sheets are great to layer in between clothing to keep clothes smelling good and take an emergency sewing kit for any on the go repairs. They are small and contain thread, spare buttons, safety pins, etc. Use a Pill container for earrings, small necklaces and rings.

Another useful travel tip is to change your camera’s time zone/date for each time zone you are travelling to, and download and rename your pictures files each day, if taking your laptop.

Take a photo of your name, contact number and email address; if your camera is lost you may at least get your card returned.

Scan your passport, itinerary, booking confirmations, travel insurance (including receipts for expensive items like laptop), prescription for glasses (if lost in transit you can order a new pair) and medications and emergency contact details and email to yourself as well as saving to your phone.

Advise your bank before you travel so your cards don’t get cancelled when the find being used overseas. We also had problems using the sign feature in Burano and Vienna so make sure you have a valid pin number.

If you are getting a house sitter before travelling start well in advance making a list of your travel plans, contact details, details of whom they can contact in an emergency and vet contact if you have pets. I also suggest leaving your credit card details with the vet to use in case of an emergency visit if your pet is injured or sick while you are away. Also leave  instructions on how to use items in your home, a list of best places to shop, eat, etc and a few takeaway menus that do home delivery.It is a nice gesture to purchase a few luxury items to make them feel welcome, like fresh flowers. Or you could leave a little pamper pack like hotels have on their bed with fresh towels and a chocolate on their pillow.

Speaking of gifts, we always take some Aussie favourites witth us like LifeSavers, BBQ Shapes, Tim Tams, Minties, Redskins, etc and make little Aussie Packs to give locals we meet, our favourite waiter, etc. And daily we leave a little chocolate for the hotel housekeeping, with a sticker so they know it’s for them. On the last day we always leave hotel housekeeping a lovely thank you note too.

When you are house sitting it is nice to not only leave the house clean and tidy, but leave a thank you note and some flowers. In the note let know you have provided a small cheese platter, crackers and a bottle of wine for a snack when they arrive home or fresh milk and croissants for their breakfast in the morning as well as details of anything you may have broken or found not to be working. It is also a great idea to contact them at least once in their travels to let them know their furbabies have settled so as to give them peace of mind.

If you have any other useful travel tips, please comment below and maybe we can add to our quick tips page.

Since you’re already here we have a small favour to ask and that is to please share this post or leave a comment below. If you like this post and want to read more like it why not subscribe to our Newsletter? We won’t spam you or share your personal details. If you’re not doing so already, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or click the Mix, Flipboard or other social media buttons below to share this post with others who might enjoy reading it. What are you waiting for?