Travel Is Educational

Travel always teaches me something, whether it's something big or something small like researching dining options before regretting your dinner choice. We haven't had any big trips since September of 2019, but that gave us a lot to marinate on for the next couple years. 

Just when you think you've got your travel style perfected, you learn something new or need to change your mindset. 2019 was a cool year for me travel-wise. I had fantastic trips and I also learned a lot of things Here are the four I found most important:

You can always pack lighter
I'm great at packing light, but I'm also great at overpacking. When we fly somewhere new, I give myself a finite space to pack in, but I can overpack my small bags. This year traveling to Scotland, and having to pack dressy clothes for a wedding, we had half a carry-on full of items that we were basically just wearing once or twice.

I love gadgets, but I need to remember to pare down. I don't always need to take my iPad with me, or 3 magazines I never read, and I definitely need to reevaluate everything in my toiletry bag, because I'm still not using some of the items in it. The only extra item I was really happy I took with me was a second jacket. I brought a packable winter coat with attached hood and then a separate rain jacket. I figured if it was really cold, I could wear both, as the one could have zipped into the other. I didn't have to do this, but I did need my rain jacket on the last day of travel, because it rained all day and then poured for an hour straight. I joked that we got 2 weeks worth of rain in an afternoon, because we were really lucky the whole rest of our trip.

You can travel with family and still like them after
I don't really travel well with many others. I like my space and need to recharge from group time. Being with people 24/7 is a lot for me, especially when those other people aren't like me. I worried that 5 of us sharing a vacation rental would be too much and either I would yell at people halfway through the week or they would think I was a jerk because I would hide in my room after a day out. 

We decided to plan our days out the way we wanted to and then let family know they could join us or not. We did some stuff with people and a lot of stuff on our own and then met up for lunch or dinner or connected when we all got back for the night. At one point, Eric and I were at the same place as his sister and her husband and we didn't really hang out until we were done with our tour and then had lunch together. Having expectations that you don't have to spend all your time together so everyone can do what they want and not get sick of each other is pretty important.


Uber and other rideshare can be cheaper than public transportation
This is especially true in places like London where tons of people are going to and from the airport and there are few ways to get there if you don't live there and have a car. We paid something like $70 for the two of us to take the Heathrow Express, because we didn't realize we needed to book tickets 3 months in advance to get the much discounted price, but we also were traveling at peak time, so we couldn't buy discounted tickets going back either. 

A few days before departure, I looked up train info and then got an estimate for Uber. We actually saved money and also didn't have to schlep our bags half a mile to get to a bus or Tube station, which was such a relief, because we (okay *I*) bought so much stuff to bring home with us.

Have a back-up plan
This is always important to me. You never know what's going to happen. Well, in this instance we found out that the washer in our rental didn't work (and there wasn't even a dryer) and there wasn't a laundromat anywhere near us. We re-wear our clothes, because we pack so few. I try to bring dark colors that don't show stains and also clothing that's breathable and doesn't hold odor (if possible). So, when we found out the washer didn't work, it was annoying, but I hand washed socks and underwear in the sink and hung them up overnight next to the radiator and was good to go.

Unfortunately, two of our group had put all of their clothes in the washing machine, which turned on, filled up, and then did nothing. After wasting half a day trying to fix it and call the owner, they finally hung everything up, but all the pants were jeans, and those take forever. My tip: Unless your jeans are visibly dirty, don't bother washing them on vacation. Even Richard Branson, who owns Virgin Airlines, will only bring/wear one pair of jeans on his entire trip. I won't go that far, as I also tend to throw in a pair of black pants for dressier occasions, and I wash everything else before they go back into my rotation. I couldn't do that this time, so I just made sure I washed enough socks and underwear to get us through to London and could wash everything else there.

This won't be my last what-did-I-learn post, as every trip teaches me something, and we can all benefit. Tell me some of the things you've learned about yourself or travel from your trips in the comments.

Do You Need Travel Insurance?

Travel is never truly inexpensive, unless you camp or stay in hostels. Most of us are more interested in sleeping in hotels or going on cruises. Nobody likes to be screwed out of their hard-earned money by unforeseen circumstances beyond their control and travel insurance can prevent that from happening. 

Now, you may have been traveling for years without taking this precaution, or you may have been in a situation where you wished you had taken out insurance to protect you. Fortunately, travel insurance can be affordable and easy to add on to your trip, but when do you really need it?

Look into the right type of insurance

There are many different types of travel insurance, including illness, injury, lost luggage, theft and more. You can also get basic coverage that includes many of these things, but you will want to get the one that suits the trip you are going on. If you are going to hike Machu Picchu, you will need a different insurance than if you are going on a European cruise.

You bought a package deal

When you purchase a vacation package, it is all tracked under one company name. You can usually get internal travel insurance with them, or you can purchase you own, in case the company goes out of business or their insurance doesn’t cover last-minute tragedies like a death in the family.

The vacation is a once-in-a-lifetime trip 

Sometimes you go on trips that cost a lot more than you normally pay for a vacation. There is a big difference in price between going to Napa for the weekend and going on a week-long Kenyan safari. If you have to cancel or rebook your trip to Napa, it probably won’t break you in the long run, but if something unexpected happens and you can’t go on your safari – weather, natural disasters and health issues are almost never something you can predict – you will be very sorry to be out thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars that you can’t recoup without insurance.

Unexpected things happen

With countries opening up and then possibly shutting down, or a war moving into different countries (hopefully, this doesn't happen), everything is sort of in flux and anything could happen at any time. You might get Covid and can't go. The country you're traveling to may suddenly prohibit people from certain countries entry. Your country may not allow flights to certain countries. 

I've booked a flight to France for September, including a package to go to Disneyland Paris. Our credit card will take care of our flight, but I totally bought insurance for our portion going to Disney, because there are so many things that need to happen, including getting a Health Pass once we arrive in France, in order to do almost anything touristy. I'm still monitoring if my Covid booster from December 2021 will be acceptable at that time or if I'll need another one before I go. As of right now, it's too soon to tell.

You travel often

Travel insurance will generally cost 5-8% of your total trip, but if you do more than just take a yearly vacation, then you might benefit more from buying yearly travel insurance plans instead of paying for each trip separately.

When you do insure your trips, make sure you know exactly what each policy covers. When something happens and you have to make a claim, take notes on everything that happened and who you talked to. If a theft has occurred, report it immediately and make sure you are tenacious if the insurance company seems to drag their feet on paying out. Obviously, they make less money if they have to pay out on a claim, but if you know what your rights are, you shouldn’t have a problem getting what’s owed to you.

Remember, if you make any changes to your travel plans, alert your insurance company as soon as possible, so you can be sure you are still covered for everything you need.

Have you ever wished you had travel insurance on a trip?

Make The Most Of A Long Layover

Sometimes you just can't help ending up with a long layover. We've had ones from 4 hours to overnight and we've always viewed it as a challenge in fun. I am always disappointed when I only have an hour or so and can't explore a new airport, because so many are becoming cultural hubs.

How much time do you have? Here's how to fill it!

Under 3 hours

• Check out the airport's art collection. Lots of airports have art installations and some even have galleries. 
• Grab a bite to eat. Most airports have restaurants from the local area that also have locations in the airport. Even if you don't have time to check out the city, you can at least enjoy some local food.
• Take a nap. If the airport you're in has sleep pods, you can make the most of your layover and get some shut-eye. You can always camp out on a few chairs though. On our last trip, we witnessed a guy soundly sleeping in an out of the way section of floor.
• Get some exercise. Some airports have gyms and/or yoga rooms, so fill your time getting relaxed or burning calories before you have to sit back down again. If the airport you're at has neither of these, you can always just walk up and down the terminal. If you have kids, you might be lucky enough to be in an airport with a playground where they can burn off their excess energy.
• Hit up the spa. Pamper yourself with a pedicure, manicure, or massage. 

3-6 hours

• Take a city tour. I've been to airports, like Salt Lake City, that actually have free buses to/from the airport to the city center, where you can take a tour, check out some local landmarks and do a bit of shopping.
• Watch a movie. We've done this before. We brought some movies from home, camped out in a very quiet terminal, and then watched two movies on our laptop. Now, it's easier, because you can stream everything wherever you are. Of course, some airports even have theaters, including Portland International that runs an hour's worth of locally-made entertainment around the clock.
• Get a day pass to the airport lounge. Maybe you just want some quiet space and to get a little work done. If you feel like the cost of access is justified, most lounges have free snacks, drinks, nice bathrooms (some have showers) and desks with outlet. 

6+ hours

• Rent a car and get out and explore. We once had 8 hours to spare in Vancouver, BC, so we hopped in a rental car, went to one of the city's popular parks, got some walking in, visited the conservatory, had lunch, and then drove to the salt room nearby and got a bit of relaxation in.
• Meet a friend. On an 8-hour layover in San Francisco, a friend came to pick us up at the airport, and we did some city things, hand lunch and dinner, then she dropped us back at the airport and we continued on our trip. It was like two trips in one.
• Get a room. Once on a trip through DFW, we found a really great deal on an international flight to Ecuador, but we had a 14-hour layover. Even with a hotel room at the airport Marriott, it was a deal, so we checked in, hit the town, took in a movie, got a good night's sleep in a nice bed, grabbed a continental breakfast and got back to the airport and onto our main trip. It was fun.

Sometimes you just have to make the best of a bad situation if you didn't plan it or you're trying to save money. If you end up with a long layover due to the airline's fault, then make sure you get compensated.

• Download the GateGuru app before you leave home so you can find all the shops, restaurants and amenities near your gate and everywhere else in the airport. 
• Have some cash on-hand, just in case. you never know what might happen.
• If you aren't traveling with just a carry-on (and I highly recommend you do), make sure you have spare clothes, pajamas, and toiletries with you. I also suggest snacks, so you aren't paying the crazy mark-up at most airline shops.
• If your flight is delayed more than two hours (or you get bumped), you are owed compensation. Ask for cash, if possible. The airline regulations clearly state that compensation should be paid in cash, electronic transfer or checks, unless the passenger chooses to accept travel vouchers instead. If you choose travel vouchers, then you have rules you have to adhere to and can only use it on the airline you booked originally.
• You can also sometimes finagle airport vouchers for drinks and food.
• If the delay is responsible for an overnight stay, the airline owes you a voucher for a free hotel night. 
• Some tips for getting the most from your cancellation/delay: 
• Be nice. You need to keep your cool when talking to airline counter agents. They can't do everything, but if they can, they are way more inclined to do it if you're nice to them.
• Ask. It never hurts to ask. The worst that can happen is they'll say no, but hopefully give you something worth more than what they were going to give you.
• Know your rights. Make sure you know what you can ask for under which situation. Weather delays are not in the control of the airline, so in that case, keep the airline's 800-number on-hand to call and rebook. Usually they will waive fees for you. If all else fails, take to Twitter to contact the airline for help.

What's the coolest thing you've done on a layover?