Before you go

Make a master list of “things to do before leaving” – (e.g. stop mail & newspapers, shut off water supply to washer, unplug appliances & electronics, etc.)

Type a master list of instructions for the friend or neighbor who will be watching the house, watering the plants, and caring for the pets.  This way you can post a list just in case they may have forgotten any verbal instructions.  We usually tape it to the counter with a small gift for the person (or bring a gift back from the trip).

Itinerary

As we're designing each trip we create a spreadsheet that contains all logistical information we need for each day of the trip including hotel & airline phone numbers, rates, confirmation numbers, reserved airline seats, special & pre-paid reservations, as well as emergency phone numbers or numbers of friends we plan to visit or call along the way. This provides a single page that can be easily carried and referred to as needed. The original reservation confirmation pages, emails, etc. can be packed in a separate place and referred to if needed. Recently, I've included our medical prescription numbers on the sheet so they're in a safe place should our medicine be lost or stolen.

We make copies of travel sites or take the travel books with us on the trip with places highlighted if there is more time than planned or to involve the kids on a morning or two by letting them pick out a day's activities.  As you may expect, the internet contains seemingly unlimited information about wherever you're traveling to and can easily be printed and brought with you.

Money & Passports

With today's technology, traveler's checks can be easily forged and therefore they are not as readily accepted as they once were. An ATM card gives you local currency at competitive rates and you should always carry as much cash as you're comfortable with — some of which can also be tucked away in safe places. Finally, you should make sure that two travelers have at least one credit/debit card that has a different account number than the other person is carrying. If either one of you experiences a lost or stolen wallet, you can cancel the stolen card(s) and still have another credit/debit card to use while you wait for a replacement.

It is important to have several copies of the identification page of your passport and keep them along with credit card cancellation and account numbers in safe places scattered among suitcases and carry-ons.

Carry small bills for taxis, tips, or street shopping. Keep these easily accessible and separate from your other cash and credit cards.

Traveling with kids

When the kids were young we had a system to alleviate some of the sibling squabbles. We were able to minimize these by giving each child a $10 roll of quarters and for any “infraction” they would have to pay Mom & Dad a quarter.   At the end of the trip all the quarters that were left were theirs.  It has been the best $30 we spend on driving trips and the kids really watch themselves because they don't want to loose a quarter — or at least they don't want to loose more than their brother or sister. Additionally, we would always pack a “travel pack” that would include new things for them to do.  This would include puzzles, cards, pens, paper and a treat.  Now that they are older it may include a new CD or a travel journal and a surprise.    Back to Top>>

Packing

Pack a small emergency kit that can be packed in your luggage to include:  pain relievers, band aids, antibiotic cream, sun screen, nail clipper, Pepto Bismol, Benadryl, eye drops, and any other over the counter medications you think you may need.

Pack your current prescription medications, (e.g. Epi Pen - we have a child allergic to shellfish), pain relievers, water, chapstick & gum separately in a carry-on bag for the plane.

Rather than lying the clothes separately and flat in the suitcase, roll underwear, top, bottom & socks together in one roll so when everyone is getting dressed in the morning, they only need to pull out one pre-matched roll and not mess the suitcase up digging for items.

The kids like to bring their own suitcases but when we were planning two to three weeks on the road with short stays, I found it easier to pack 2-3 days of clothing for the five of us into one suitcase (and the kids still had their own backpacks).  This was much easier especially when we would be traveling by car and using the car top carrier – we were able to take only one suitcase in each night instead of all 4 or 5.

Bring a good pair of noise blocking earphones in the car (the type you wear when operating noisy equipment). It was always good for the person who wanted to read instead of listening to the radio or CD.  They also work great for an adult who needs a short nap so they can take over driving.

Pack a bottle of Febreze — it extends the time between washings.

Always pack empty zip lock baggies in the suitcase – they don't take up any room and we always find a valuable use for them sometime during the trip.

Label your suitcase with a ribbon or luggage belt for easier identification.

Enjoy & Learn

We know that there is not enough time to see and do everything in each city we visit, so we try to fit in the highlights and balance some of our days with down time. This allows us to enjoy the trip as a true vacation and not have it feel like a series of obligations.

Start a collection: bring home a new souvenir from each trip to build a collection:  postcards, foreign money, pebbles, rocks, soda cans, pins…the possibilities are endless and make travel interesting.

Save your ticket stubs and brochures – they make the vacation scrapbook more interesting and colorful.

We purchased a Language Lingo – a hand held electronic translation tool.  It was the size of a small calculator and it helped the kids learn words or phrases while we were in that country and it was a life saver when trying to order in restaurants without English menus.    Back to Top>>

Jetlag

I expect my jetlag tips may not work for everyone, but by using these techniques even our kids have minimal issues from jetlag when taking long flights and traversing double-digit time zones. It sounds obvious but one of the most important things you can do is to set your watch when taking off and immediately make adjustments to the new time zone. If I'm traveling from the US to Asia I may arrive at the hotel early evening and I'll take a walk, eat, or work on email until about 11:00p even if I'm exhausted by 7:00p. By 11:00p I'm often tired enough to sleep through the night but if I wake up I will usually fall back asleep or at least get some of the rest my body needs. My hard and fast rule is not to get out of bed until at least 6:00a. The next day you may feel a little sleepy by mid-afternoon but stay busy until you catch your second wind giving you enough energy to make it to 11:00p which should allow you to sleep through the night. Returning from Asia to the mid-western US I land about 12:00p and I have so much to do I find staying up to about 10:00p is relatively easy and I almost always sleep through the night. I find the toughest trip to be flying from the eastern US to Western Europe since it's such a short night and I have a long day ahead of me. Therefore, I usually head to the hotel to take a 90 minute nap followed by a hot shower allowing me to make it through the day until 10:00 or 11:00p. Regardless of wherever you fly and how many time zones you cross, if you can't survive without taking a daytime nap; limit it to no more than 90 minutes. It can be harder than you can imagine to wake yourself up after a 90 minute nap but you have to do it — if you let yourself sleep for several hours or more you'll never make it through the next night and then you'll be even worse off the next day. I usually take one or two cat naps on a long international flight which helps me control my sleep cycles — napping when necessary but still tired when I need to be.   Back to Top>>

Taxis

One travel trip that I've consistently reminded our kids is to always find the taxi stand at an airport. For those that have flown into foreign airports you know that the moment you step out of customs, you're inundated with typically nicely-dressed men sometimes with official looking badges offering you a taxi ride — you are especially vulnerable if you look like you don't know where you're going. The drivers represent themselves as taxis and say they can save you money but it's just not worth it. Official taxis are regulated by the government so the price is fair and the travel safe. As a general rule I tell the kids it's safer and less expensive to hire transportation that you have to seek out rather than transportation that is seeking you out.

If I'm unfamiliar with the city I'll ask the taxi starter the approximate fare and time to get to my hotel and if there's no taxi starter available you should agree with the taxi driver on either a metered fare or a fixed price and if you agree on a fixed price make sure you’re clear as to which currency. I had a taxi driver in Beijing try to tell me after we arrived at our hotel that the “100” we agreed to was in US dollars instead of Chinese Yuan (approx US$ 12). I knew the value of the taxi ride and made it clear he was getting paid in Yuan. If you feel you may be getting ripped off, summon the bellman of the hotel to speak with the taxi driver — you are their guest and they will make sure the taxi driver isn't trying to pull a fast one.    Back to Top>>

Cell phones, emergency numbers

A compatible cell phone is practically a requirement when traveling to foreign countries these days whether you're on business or pleasure. Without getting into a lengthy discussion on cell phone technology, GSM is a global standard and unless you have T-mobile or Cingular in the states (including the new technology phones merged in with AT&T Wireless) you probably don't have it. In general, there are two common US GSM frequencies and two international GSM frequencies so as long as you have at least a tri-band GSM phone you should be OK. You'll want to make sure you've activated international roaming with your provider and you may end up paying $1-3 per minute when making or receiving calls with another country (or slightly more for remote countries) but if you need it it's well worth it — and you don't pay for it unless you use it. If you plan to be in the country for a while or use it often you can usually rent a sim chip at the airport which will give you local rates (and a local telephone number). Yes, other US cell phone companies can provide international coverage so check with your provider and in any case don't expect any of them to work in Japan or South Korea (they both run on a 3G network which is very uncommon to find in US-based phones). My last bit of advice is to make sure you know the emergency number(s) in the countries you're visiting — 911 is only a US emergency number. Some GSM roaming providers in foreign countries send you a text message displaying the emergency number for that country when you first turn on your phone but it's important enough that you should look up emergencies numbers beforehand for each country you plan to visit and include it on your confirmation sheet (see itinerary tip above).    Back to Top>>

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