10 Travel Tips for a Smoother Trip

Travel is full of major decisions, like what destination to visit, your budget, and when to stop waiting and finally book your trip. Well, beyond the big picture, it’s the little things that can make a trip easier and less stressful. Just follow these simple 10 tips to smooth the way on your next vacation.

1. Park with your car nose out

If you return to your car to find a dead battery, a broken window due to thievery or any other potential problem, with your car’s nose parked out, you will have easier access to the battery, and/or easier hook-up to a tow truck.

2. Leave time to get to economy lots

Quite often, these lost are found in parking lots that are off-airport  property.
Transport from these lots to the terminals run regularly, but you invariably want to give yourself up to 20 to 30 minutes to ensure a timely arrival to your terminal.

3. Pack essentials in your carry-on
Recent statistics show that, on average, at least one bag on every flight is lost or delayed. If there’s anything in your bag that you can’t live without, pack it in your carry-on. This is especially true of items that are not easily or inexpensively replaced, such as running shoes or a lightweight raincoat.

As well, you’ll get through airport security faster if you pack your carry-on more efficiently.

4. Know your hotel information
If a) your luggage is lost or delayed; b) you miss your connection and will be late checking in; or c) you are going to a destination you’ve never visited before, you will want to have complete contact information for your hotel on your person. Before you leave home, print out the hotel’s name, address and phone number, and program the latter into your cell phone. (Don’t worry though, when you book with Trasformativa, we provide you with a printed copy of all travel documents, as well as electronic version)

5. Exchange your currency in the destination you are visiting
Exchange your US currency at the hotel of your destination rather than at the airport, as their rate is normally better.  However, many destinations in the Caribbean are happy to take US Dollars, so no exchange is necessary.  However, when traveling Europe, you will want to exchange your US Dollars to the local currency.

6. Save your boarding pass
Do you usually toss your boarding pass as soon as you step off the plane?  DON’T!!  Your boarding pass contains encrypted personal information that you would not want someone else to obtain.  This can also serve as proof of travel if your airline fails to give you the proper credit for frequent flier miles,and can also be useful as a receipt for tax purposes, especially if you are self-employed.

7. Know when to use — and when to skip — the skycaps
Skycap upside: You check-in at the curb, lose the bulky luggage and head straight to your gate.

Best to use if you are running late and will otherwise miss your flight; however, if time is tight, there’s no guarantee your bag is going to make it onto the plane.

Skycap downside: They don’t give you a seat assignment, and they cost a few bucks. (Don’t forget to tip!!)

You will not get your seat assignments, can’t make any special requests, get credit for frequent flier miles, and cannot address any problems with the flight such as delays or cancellations.

8. Get your seat assignments ASAP
Every minute you let pass without a seat assignment is another minute that someone else is selecting your coveted aisle or window seat Your best bet is to check in online or choose your seats at the time of ticket purchase.  (When you book with Trasformativa, your seats are assigned at the time of deposit/booking.)

9. Mark your bags with an easily recognizable item
We all buy our bags at the same stores and from the same manufacturers, so that black roller bag of yours is one of many. The result,  an endless stream of nearly identical bags on the baggage carousel. The solution: mark your bags by tying a colorful ribbon (Mine is Purple from the Breathless Resorts), stitching a unique patch or putting a large sticker on your bags will make it easily identifiable.  (When you book with Trasformativa, we give you a pre-travel bag that contains some colorful luggage tags to affix to your bag.)

10. Remember your flight number
This may seem like a no-brainer, but knowing your flight number can make your life easier in small or foreign airports that do not list the full names of destination airports, or list by flight number alone.

I hope these 10 travel tips will make your future travel adventures easier.

Have you booked your summer vacation or fall getaway??  Now’s the time!!

TRAVEL IN COLOR – NOT BLACK AND WHITE

ABOUT TRASFORMATIVA TRAVEL

Trasformativa is a US based travel company with offices located in Durham, NC and Clarksville, VA.  We are  focused exclusively on transformational travel. Our experienced and qualified travel agents offer many different types of transformational travel opportunities. We work with individuals and groups of many sizes to help them find a true difference. Most of the people who contact us are luxury travelers and leaders of groups who are traveling together. This includes, yoga or fitness instructors, health and wellness professionals, human resource directors, sales managers, CEO’s, church group leaders, corporate trainers, personal chefs, wedding planners, brides, corporate travel professionals, and also individuals looking to plan an exciting and out-of-the-way trip for a group of their friends.

Our transformational opportunities include Exotic Group Travel, Jamaica Travel, Caribbean Travel, Europe Travel, Retreat Group Travel, Culinary & Vineyard Group Travel, Wellness Travel Retreats, Incentive Travel Reward Programs, Destination Training Events, Corporate Wellness Retreats, Team Building Retreats, Fitness Retreats, Yoga & Meditation Retreats, Juice & Cleanse Retreats, Spirituality Retreats, and Autism Travel,

To learn more, visit our website or call us at (919) 616-3780.