Street Smart Travel Part I: Planning Your Trip

Part One: Planning Your Trip

A lot of people email or comment to me that they love hearing about my travels. Though I’m no roadwarrior with super-premium access to elite airport lounges or on any airlines VIP list quite yet, I do tend to travel a lot. I’ve also been fairly lucky in my travels and feel that a lot of that has to do with traveling smart. I try to do my resarch before leaving and make notes along the way so that my next trip can go that much smoother. What follows is what I’ve learned along the way (some of it the hard way).

Tip #1: Do your research:

Researching your travel involves more than buying a Lonely Planet guidebook (although guidebooks are a good place to start). Most research can be broken down into the following components:

Where to stay
What to see/do
Where to eat
What to avoid (tourist traps)
The weather
Nightlife

As you can see from the previous list most guidebooks will give you all of the above. Unfortunately, most guidebooks give you a very homogenised view of the world. If you really want to maximize your holiday travel you should dig a little deeper.

I got into the habit of doing deep research when I did a lot of scuba diving. Scuba divers have a lot of specialized needs and most dive destinations are in places that aren’t exactly easy to get information about. Most of what you need to know comes from word of mouth from other scuba divers. What kinds of boats does that shop run? Do they do nitrox fills? Which divermasters cater to advanced divers? These are the kinds of questions you can’t find in a travel guide and the information, people, and conditions change so rapidly that no book could ever keep up.

As a scuba diver Rodale’s website ScubaDiving.com became an invaluable resource. Divers from all over the world post trip reports so you can get the low down on hotel, diver operators, and dive sites. Similarly there’s a treasure trove of information on the internet on wherever you want to go. My personal favourite is Virtual Tourist. I’m a little biased because the founders are friends of mine (one used to be my roommate) but they’re the first site I check. They have tens of thousands of members who have posted reports on nearly every conceivable destination. Locals even log in and share golden nuggets of insider info.

The main topic areas they cover are:

Hotels
Things to do
Restaurants
Local customs
Nightlife
Off the beaten track
Tourist traps
Warnings and dangers
Transportation
Packing lists
Shopping
Sports
General tips and advice

You can literally spend hours munching on reviews. You can also check out sites like TripAdvisor.com for similar (but far less detailed) information.

Another source I like to hit up is the expat communities. Thailand is one of my favourite travel destinations so I’m a regular reader of ThaiVisa’s message boards. Expats, travellers, and just curious people go there and share detailed info. An expat recommended a hotel in Bangkok that has become my favourite place to stay. I cross-checked it with reviews on Virtual Tourist and even though it doesn’t have a lot of reviews written about it, the available reviews were overwhelmingly glowing. I would have never heard about or even found the place had it not been for that expat tip.

The great part about expat communities is that they’re so zoned into the local scene. These guys aren’t telling you about some restaurant they ate at on their last trip; they just had dinner there last night. And chances are that if you type in “Expat” and the name of the place you want to go there’s a message board or community site of Brits, Americans, and Aussie’s who are living and working there.

Also check out sporting websites. I mentioned scuba diving earlier and even if you’re planning a non-scuba diving trip to someplace like Yap, Palau, or Cozumel there’s plenty of good advice and tips. Maybe you’re going someplace that’s famous with hikers. Maybe there’s a golf community willing to share some tips.

And don’t just be a lurker, post questions. Private message people who’ve written positively (or negatively) about something to get more info.

Bottom line is that anybody can go on Expedia and find a Ritz Carlton or Best Western in almost city in the world. In my ever so humble opinion the best places and the best deals are not the places you’ve heard of before. When I was planning my first trip to Cozumel in Mexico there were only two reviews of this little inn on ScubaDiving.com. Both people hinted strongly that they were torn about writing a review because they were afraid the inn might become too popular. I emailed both reviewers and they couldn’t stop gushing about the place, the owners, and the service. After exchanging several emails with the owner I booked. When I showed up the woman working reception immediately jumped up and said “You must be Bill!” I can’t tell you what a wonderful stay I had. Every morning they would post someone outside to watch the lights coming on in guest’s rooms. Then they would rush a selection of fresh juices and sweet rolls to your front door. Where in the world do you get that kind of service?

Here are some other sites that you might want to add to your research list:

SeatGuru – find out about the exact seat you’ll be sitting in on your next flight.
World Electric Guide – good info on what electrical plugs work where.
Seat61 – fantastic info on how to get around most countries via train.
Yahoo Trip Planner – good for putting it all together in one place.
Google Maps – duh!
TravelBlog – bloggers, traveling, info
CIA Factbook – You don’t need to be a spy but it’s a good place to get raw data
Weather.com – jacket or shorts?
Expat Communities – good place to find sites where you can meet locals

Tip #2: Opinions are only as good as the source

Now, after I’ve just got done telling you to take other people’s advice, I’m going to tell you not to listen to everyone.

Going back to my ScubaDiving.com example, it’s not uncommon to get very contradictory reviews of the same hotel or diver operator. What it boils down to is that different people have different expectations. If you’re an advanced diver and you go with a diver operator who caters to beginning divers there’s a high likelihood that you’re not going to have the best dive experience of your life. Even if the diver operator is fantastic with beginning divers, it’s going to taint your review. Likewise, if you enjoy the comforts of four and five star hotels I would highly discount the advice of some hippie backpacker who crashes in $3 a night hotels on Khao San Road.

One way I try to weed out reviews is the same thing I do even when I’m looking for a book on Amazon. I try to find the most negative reviews and then figure out how closely that guy’s opinions might represent my world view. For instance, I recently booked a 3-star hotel in Seville that had several very negative reviews. Most of negative reviews focused on the noise made by other guests stumbling in at 4 and 5am. Since I planned on being one of those people stumbling in at 4 or 5am I was able to discount the negative reviews. Incidentally, the place was fantastic and I highly recommend the Hotel Regina.

Just remember that one man’s meat is another man’s poison. Don’t write off something because of bad reviews and don’t jump at something because of good reviews.

Tip #3: Develop an itinerary

After you’ve done your research you should now go ahead and put together an itinerary for your trip. Not because you should be some anal retentive on vacation but because a little planning can help you enjoy the limited time you have more fully.

I suggest making a list of everything you want to do. Dream big. Write down every little thing you’ve ever wanted to do. Rank them from the must-do’s to the would-like-to-do’s. One of the exercises that helps me is to sit back and just try to envision the perfect trip. What would it feel like to be in Seville? The warm Andalusian sun beating down, a pitcher of tinto verano, cured ham, maybe some Spanish music. That would be my perfect weekend in Seville. Is it really important for me to see this cathedral or that mosque? Nah. Those things can go lower on my list.

Now take the number of days you’ll be staying there and divide by two. That’s the number of big things on your list you should be planning to do. If you’re on a ten day vacation, I wouldn’t plan on doing any more than five big things.

Before I go on, allow me to issue a disclaimer on my above advice. I’m not a fan of hit and run travel. If I go to the Louvre in Paris I think it deserves the entire day. I’m not going to try and hit the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, and the Eiffel Tower all in one day just because I want to see them all. Travel shouldn’t be a checklist of items that you mark off. If that doesn’t jive with your reasons for travelling then you might want to skip to the next tip.

So why did I divide the number of days by two? Well, in my experience, being too ambitious only leaves you coming home feeling more strung out then when you left. If you’re on a ten day trip and you pick your five favourite things to do you can do them comfortably without feeling like your vacation is more stressful than your job.

Notice that I said on plan on five things not that you’ll only do five things. If you put five things on your list and you can comfortably get to eight things then you’ll feel overjoyed that you got in more than you planned. On the other hand if you plan on ten things and only get to eight you’ll likely feel disappointed. Having the extra time on your itinerary allows you to just sit in that perfect café you stumbled across and enjoy the afternoon without feeling guilty.

Also keep in mind that some things obviously don’t take a full day. If you have a couple of small things you can bunch them up. Just don’t bunch up the big things. I can think of no bigger crime than to be staring up at Michelangelo’s brilliance in the Sistine Chapel and be thinking about a getting over to the Coliseum before it gets dark.

Tip #4: Make multiple copies of your travel details

If you haven’t gathered from my writing on US gaming legislation, I’m a glass half-empty sort of thinker. In actuality I’m more of a person who plans for the worst and hopes for the best.

There are a lot of reasons for having your travel details in several places. First, is that it’s often easier to pull out a PDA and tell the taxi driver that you want to go to Covarrubias quatro than it might be to dig around for that print out buried at the bottom of your backpack. Another major reason is if your bags are lost, stolen, or you’ve fallen on some other hard times. Being able to run into an internet café and get your travel details might be one of the things that saves your butt.

Send your hotel, flight, and itinerary info to one or more close friends and family. Having loved ones know where you’re supposed to be and when can be a lifesaver if things go really bad.

Make a monster list of all possible information you might really need. Hotel confirmation details and address, flight numbers and times, your itinerary, phone numbers of friends, family, and your credit card companies, passport numbers, and anything else that you might need.

Send yourself a copy of the above details to a web accessible email account like Google, Hotmail, or Yahoo. Print out a copy and keep it physically on your person. Add the hotel and other important addresses and phone numbers to your phone contacts. Even if you don’t plan on using your phone overseas having your hotel info in your phone can save you some hassle if you lose the printout. Similarly, enter things like flight details in your phone’s calendar.

I’ve also begun taking pictures or scans of things like my passport, driver’s license, and other important identification and putting it on a memory card. You can use a SD card or whatever other type you use for your camera and may have extras of. I think every camera comes with some ridiculously small 8MB card that you have to replace anyway. If you’re paranoid about that data falling into the wrong hands go ahead and password protect them with PKZIP. The card is small enough you can carry it around in your pocket (buy a plastic case to protect it from breakage). If you ever lose your passport and need to show proof of identity all you need to do is find a computer with a card reader.

Bonus Tip: Bring passport sized photos in case you need an emergency replacement.

Tip #5: Pack an emergency kit

This tip comes from my days as a divemaster and dive instructor. I always pack a first aid kit with my dive equipment and I’ve carried that habit over to my personal travel. My non-diving emergency kit includes things like:

Imodium (never know when you’ll need it)
Sudafed
Ibuprofen
Bandaids
A sewing kit
A penlight flashlight (could come in handy in a power failure)
Tweezers
Duct tape (apply the duct tape to the case you put all this into, peel it off when needed)
Safety pins
Moleskin

All of this (except the flashlight) can fit in something as small as an Altoids tin or a small waterproof case. Field & Stream has a great article on making your own Altoids emergency kit.

If you have any sort of sense of direction I would also recommend purchasing a small compass. They have some that snap onto your watch band. Those are very useful if you need to get a quick bearing on which way is which.

Depending on the kind of travelling I’m doing I’ll also pack (in my checked luggage) a Swiss Army knife and/or Leatherman pocket tool.

Tip #6: Make a packing list

Another carryover from my diving life; my dive bag has a laminated packing list that I put together. When I pack my dive bag I go down the checklist and make sure that I have all of the items. There’s nothing worse than spending four hours on a dive boat only to arrive at a dive site and find that you’ve left your mask in your other scuba bag.

I do the same for my non-diving travel (minus the laminated list). My travel packing list is something I’ve evolved over time. I own about ten sticks of lip balm because I forgot to pack one and had to buy some while away.

I can’t give you a list because a lot of what goes on there will depend on where you’re going and what you will be doing. Regardless, as soon as you start making your plans begin making a list. Things will come to you over time so the longer lead time you have the better.

Here’s a list of things that I only carry with me because I learned the hard way.

Cat 5 network cable for plugging in your laptop in the hotel
Chapstick (heat and cold can play hell on your lips)
Belt (I always forget to stick one in my bag)
Chargers (batteries, cell phone, camera, etc)
Adaptors (check to make sure your electronics are 110v – 220v)
Earplugs or noise cancelling headphones
Sealable plastic baggies (good for wet bars of soap or other things that might get messy)
Visine (mostly for biz trips where you want to hide the jet lag red eyed look)

If you search around on the internet you can find some excellent packing list templates. That’s a good place to get started if you’re having trouble.

One thing to keep in mind though is that you shouldn’t be aiming to take everything and the kitchen sink. Just pack what you need.

Bonus Tip: If you go to a sporting goods store you can pick up a waterproof bag. That’s a great place to pack your toiletries. Nothing worse than arriving at your destination and find that your cologne or some other liquid has gotten out of its container and is now all over your clothes.

Bonus Tip: Most cell phones have an alarm feature. I never trust the alarm clocks in hotel rooms so I just use the one on my cell phone. Another good reason to take your phone with you even if you don’t plan on making or sending any calls from it while you’re away.

Bonus Tip: When shopping for electronic equipment one consideration to keep in mind besides the 110v – 220v compatibility is – if possible – purchase electronics that use a common charger. For instance, my cell phone, my MP3 player, my GPS unit, and several other items all use a USB charger. I can lighten my load by only bringing one charger that handles multiple items.

Bonus Tip: Call your hotel and ask them what items are in the room and what services can be supplied by the hotel. For instance, if they have a hair dryer in the room there’s no need to pack your own.

Bonus Tip: Call the airline or go to the airline website and check what their baggage policy is. Airlines seem to be changing their policies quit frequently and they’re getting more restrictive all the time. Once you know the number and weight allowances make sure you’re baggage conforms. When I flew to Gib I was on BA from LAX to London Heathrow. I had to take a bus from London Heathrow to London Gatwick where I was catching my connecting BA flight. When I checked in at Gatwick they told me that my bags were over the limit. Seems the weight restrictions for flying from the US to the UK were different than from the UK to the rest of Europe. That was a $160 mistake!

Bonus Tip: For more packing list hints, try out Rick Steve’s Europe Packing List and About.com. They both have good lists to use as a template for creating your own.

Tip #7: Buy a Pacsafe

The Pacsafe was a cool little find that I happened across in a sporting goods store. It’s typically near the backpacking gear. It’s a medium sized bag that has layers of metal webbing embedded between the outer and inner lining. It cinches at the top to lock it up and that metal webbing keeps anybody from cutting through the bag trying to get at what’s inside.

I’ve found these to be useful in hotels without a room safe. I will put credit cards, cash, and other valuables in there and then lock the Pacsafe to a water heater pipe or something else sturdy.

Obviously if you’re carrying US nuclear secrets you might opt for something more secure but it’s going to take your average room thief or curious maid a lot of time and effort to get at your goods. Since most thieves like their booty to be quick, easy, and silent they’re more likely to pass when it means either hacking through the cable or dismantling the room’s plumbing.

Bonus Tip: The Pacsafe I purchased came with a key operated lock. I got rid of that and purchased a similar sized combination lock. Why take the risk of losing the key when all you have to do is remember a four digit combination?

Bonus Tip: One of the reasons I originally purchased this was less for travel and more for scuba diving trips. Who knows who might go through your bags on a crowded boat while you’re 80 feet below the ocean’s surface checking out puffer fish. I put all the important stuff in there and felt pretty safe that any would-be thief would draw too much attention trying to get at my goods to make it worth their while.

Tip #8: Confirm, Confirm, Confirm

I like to be a little anal retentive about my travel plans. I’ve had some close calls and heard horror stories from someone who has booked a hotel room and arrived late in the evening only to be told that the hotel policy is that if you haven’t checked in by X hour that they figure you’re a no-show and give the room up to someone else.

It’s well worth the time to email, telephone, and fax your hotel to make sure they will hold your room for a late arrival.

If you’ve arranged for a car to pick you up or to rent a car at your destination, confirm, confirm, confirm.

Tip #9: Make your bags distinctive

You know the scene; you’re sitting at the luggage carousel and a nearly identical hundred black suitcases all come down the line. Do something to make your bag stand out. First, so you can recognize it more quickly but I think it discourages luggage thieves since they know they’re not going to make it all the way out of the luggage area with a bag that sticks out like a sore thumb.

On my Pelican 1650 case I use for my scuba diving equipment I went out and bought a big reflective sticker that says “300 MOD.” I slapped that on the front of the case and I can spot my bag coming off the carousel from half way across the airport. So what does 300 MOD mean? Well, it’s a sticker technical divers put on their scuba tanks as a reminder how deep they can breath that particular mixture of gasses safely (MOD = Maximum Operation Depth). It’s unique and makes my bags easy to spot.

One of the things I do with my regular bags is throw away with those business card sized identification tags. If you go to a luggage or travel shop you can buy big, brightly colored tags but so can everyone else so it only makes you moderately distinctive. What I do is I take those advertisement postcards you see in bars and restaurants and turn those into my luggage tags. I look for ones with really bizarre or eye catching imagery. For instance, I have one with a woman laughing while smoking a big cigar. Since the backside is a bunch of advertising info I glue a blank piece of paper to the other side and then cut the paper down to the postcard size. Then a quick trip to Kinkos to have them heat laminated and you’ve got yourself a sturdy little luggage tag sure to stick out.

But wait, didn’t I leave out the part about putting my address on the other side of the postcard before I laminate it? No. I leave it blank. I use a Brother P-Touch label maker to put my contact information on the back of the postcard. That way I don’t have to keep getting new ones made every time I move.

The other reason I leave the tags blank has to do with what you put on your luggage. Do I really want my home address on my luggage tags? When I travel I will often carry two sets of luggage tags. One for the way there and one for the way back. On the way there I put my name, the name of my hotel, the hotel address, and the phone number of the hotel. If the airline losses my luggage what good is it for them to be calling me at home in the US? I want them calling me at my hotel where I’m sitting unshaven in my boxers waiting for some fresh clothes to arrive. On the way back I use my business address.

Tip #10: Print out everything you’ve been meaning to read

I print out, literally, hundreds of pages of stuff when I travel. I print out blog posts I haven’t gotten to reading yet. I print out message board threads. I print out eBooks. I print out emails I haven’t been able to get to. I print it all out. Now, I have a disposable reading list. I get to the airport and I might read through 10 or 20 pages of stuff while I’m waiting for my flight. I can toss them and my load is that much lighter now. On the plane I might dig through another 20 – 50 pages. I just leave them in the seat pocket in front of me (obviously, don’t leave personal emails or anything else with sensitive info). In my hotel at night I might read another few pages a night. By the end of the trip I’ve read through everything.

I know some people have issues with that. It’s a waste of paper. Well, my uncle was killed by a tree so I have no compasion for those heartless killing machines. The more they cut down the better. Okay, seriously, I also use the backsides of my printouts to jot notes. As my frequent readers may note, I write up most of my trips here on this blog so I often will sit in an airport, read a few pages and then start writing pieces of my trip report on the back of the pages. I keep pages handy for to-do lists, brainstorming, notes, etc. True, I waste some pages but paper can always be recycled and I’m sure if you put in the effort you can find recycle bins to dispose of your unused printouts.

——–

This is part one of a three part series on street smart travelling. Each part contains ten tips plus some bonus tips thrown in as I think of them.