Photo: April 15, 2022
(I receive no compensation from anyone for these opinions)
Linda and I have been travelling for 4 years now. Here is a summary of all the "little things" we've learned that might make your travel easier.
Getting Prepared for Travel
·
Bank Accounts
o
Get a Fidelity or Schwab checking account with
an ATM card
o
Put a few thousand dollars in there strictly for
travel
o
This is NOT your normal day-to-day checking
account that pays your bills!!
·
Credit Cards
o
Carry more than one, from different banks.
o
Premium Travel Cards – these can be expensive!
But, they have some useful perks:
§
No currency exchange fee
§
Rental Car Insurance
§
Airport Lounge access
§
Some form of cancellation insurance
§
Can transfer points to hotel chains and airline
partners
·
Memberships
o
Pick a few of these and create accounts to
accumulate benefits
o
Airline loyalty programs
o
Car Rental loyalty programs
o
Hotel Chain loyalty programs
·
Copies/Photos of Key Documents
o
Passport data page
o
Drivers License
o
Photo of Credit Cards
§
NOTE: I do NOT do this - I GREATLY prefer
keeping credit card data in our encrypted Password Manager program!!!
·
Apps for your phone
o Get
an e-SIM data plan for your phone
§ We
use FlexiRoam
o Password
Manager Program
§ We
use Bitwarden (free)
o WhatsApp
(Free)
§ The
whole world uses WhatsApp (except North America).
o Google
Maps (Free)
o Rome
to Rio (Free)
§ Shows
more local transportation options
o XE
Currency Conversion (Free)
§ Has
the best user interface
o Google
Translate (Free)
§ Lets
you type, talk or take photos for translation
o Splitwise
(Free)
§ Great
for sharing costs with family or friends
o Airline
Apps
o Hotel
Apps
o Rental
Car Agency Apps
o All
Trails
§ Find
hiking and biking trails near your location (free)
§ Paid
version let’s you save the trails offline (for when you have no cellular
signal)
o VPN
§ We
use Nord VPN
o Ride
Hailing Apps (aka Taxi Apps)
§ Uber
works in so many places
·
FreeNow
·
Didi
§ Convenience
of fixed price and paying by credit card
·
Luggage
o
We use 4-wheel spinner type for checked bag and
carry on bag
o
We prefer Softside style (easier to stuff full)
§
I have a Hard Shell carry on I like
o
Apple AirTag hidden inside with duct tape
§
Change the battery yearly
o
Have a small backpack for day trips (snacks,
jacket, water, ect)
·
Passport
o Must
have 6 months or more before expiring
·
Electricity
o
We like “cube -style” plug converters for all
the different plug configurations
§
For charging phones, tablets, camera batteries,
computers
o
Don’t bring devices that have motors or heating
elements to other countries
Planning
· Check whether you need to get a Tourist VISA to
enter the country you’re planning to visit
o
Usually can book online
o
Get familiar with the rules for staying in the
European Schengen Zone
· Use AI to help
o
Chat GPT and other AI sites can help with
initial planning
o
Things like:
§
Plan a circular driving route around Germany,
hit the major tourist attractions, maximum driving time per day is 4 hours,
minimum stay in a town is 2 nights, make the trip a maximum of 20 days, show me
an itinerary.
o
They aren’t perfect, they make mistakes so
doubled check. But it gets your plan started pretty quickly
· Calendar
o
Put EVERYTHING in your Google or Apple Calendar
o
Start and end date and time
o
Reservation or Confirmation number
o
How you booked it (What website, phone number,
app)
o
How much you agreed to pay and what currency
· Google My Maps (this different than Google Maps)
o
This is a little-known tool that allows you to
build and SAVE the routes you have planned
o
It’s not critical, but can be a nice way to
display your vacation’s planned route
Flights
o
Always start with Google Flights to find flights
and prices
o
Beauty of “Travel Points” with airlines or
affiliated Credit Card programs is you can cancel a flight booked with points
and get the points refunded !!
o
We always try to book flights directly thru the
Airline
o If
its an 8 hour cross an ocean flight: look into Premium Economy or Business
Class tickets for comfort and the possibility of sleep.
o
We always try for :
o the
fewest number of connecting flights
o sticking
with the major airlines (this does not mean just USA based carriers). These are
also great:
§ Turkish
Airlines
§ Emirates
§ British
Airways
§ Thai
Airlines
§ Lufthansa
§ Singapore
Airlines
Accommodation
o
Use use AirBnb (and VRBO) as well hotels
o
In general, for 1-2 nights we use hotels, longer
we use Airbnb
o
We’ve seen stories about Airbnb catastrophes –
we have not experienced any.
o
Most Airbnb’s give a discount if you stay a full
week or a full 28 days.
o
For Hotels
o
We usually check the Hotel’s website to see if
booking directly is a better deal
o
We book with Booking.com, Hotels.com
o
Usually, but not always, getting a room that
includes breakfast is a good deal.
Rental Cars
o
Check the majors
o
Budget
o
Avis
o
Enterprise/National
o
Sixt
o
EuropCar
o
In general, we do NOT book with local “Mom and
Pop” rental car agencies
o
Look at booking sites Travelocity, Priceline
o
I have had great success with Car Rental
Aggregator called QEEQ (there are others)
o
Think about whether you need an vehicle with Automatic
Transmission
o
If you have a fancy Travel Credit Card DECLINE
car company liability insurance
Transportation
o
Local buses and subways are usually VERY
economical
o Google
Maps and Rome to Rio will give info on what route number to take and track your
location on the route
o
Taxis
o In
many European locations paying with a credit card is OK, many other places will
expect CASH.
o In
some places taxis use meters
o Many,
many more places expect you to negotiate a price to go to your destination
o
Google Maps
o Learn
how to save “Offline Data” in Google Maps when on Wi-Fi.
§ Allows
you to keep navigating without using your phone data or when you can’t get a
cellular signal
Communication
o
Get a data plan for your phone, activate it just
before you leave.
o
We find you do NOT need a foreign phone number
with a voice line – DATA ONLY.
o
We use E-SIM data only plans. Paired with
WhatsApp you can make WhatsApp to WhatsApp phone calls or video calls.
o
Every hotel, car rental agency, tour operator,
Tour Guide in the world has a WhatsApp account (ask for it or check their
website)
o
E-SIM plans are offered by dozens of companies.
Some are:
o
Saily
o
Airalo
o
Holafly
o
Nomad
o
FlexiRoam (this is the one we use, buy when they
have a sale)
Paying for Things
·
Use your “no transaction fee” travel credit card
o Always
pay in the local currency!!
o If
they ask to convert to $USA it’s a ploy to make more money
o Make
sure you have your credit card set up to ALWAYS send you an email when there is
a charge
·
Getting local Cash in the Local Currency
o Use
your ATM card attached to your Schwab or Fidelity Checking account
o Schwab and Fidelity refund any local ATM machine fees
o ALWAYS
“Decline” any option on the ATM that shows you a fixed conversion rate
§ This
will be a BAD deal
·
Emergency Cash
o
Some people say carrying Emergency Cash is no
longer necessary
o
We always have $200 USD (Euros make sense too) in
“new, crisp” $20 bills with no marks or tears
§
Many foreign currency exchanges will REJECT any
marked or damaged bills
When you arrive
o
We find it’s most convenient to take a taxi or
Uber from the airport to your accommodation
o
You’re tired, its takes you directly to your
destination
o
We usually arrange for a “free” walking tour the
first or second day in a location
o
They aren’t free, you give a good tip for a well
presented and well-organized walking tour.
o
Look at GetYourGuide.com or GuruWalks.com
o
Going on a Hop-On/Hop-Off bus tour around town
can also help you get oriented to the town
Miscellaneous Musings
o
Travel while you can!!
o
None of us are getting younger
o
We all have an expiration date
o
Don’t be paranoid – the whole world is not out
to get you
o However, if people approach you in the street “with a great deal”, keep walking.
o Pickpockets are real - just be sensible
o We go to ATMs only in daylight hours
o
Take Photos of tickets or reservations so they
are readily available (even when you don’t have a cellular signal)
o
Try the local food
o
Walk!
o
Don’t try to see everything, you’ll run yourself
ragged
o
Plan for some free time
o
Don’t trust the opinions of Travel Influencers!
o
“Everything is FANTASTIC”, “every restaurant
serves gourmet food”
o
I will drive a rental car in most countries
o But
not in places where driving is an exercise in Russian Roulette.
o It’s
not that they are bad drivers, the unofficial rules of the road are just
so different
o I’m
thinking places like:
§ Bangkok
§ Hong
Kong
§ All
of Vietnam
§ Probably
all of India
§ Morocco
§ And
many more…
o
If all of this data is overwhelming – SIGN UP A
TOUR
o Try
for small group size (8-16 people)
o Is
there a Guide with you for the whole trip?
o Look
at how the tour moves you around
§ Is
it by a private coach or bus?
§ Is
it using public transportation (bus, Train)?
o Are
you seeing the types of things you enjoy?
§ Architecture,
or history, or beautiful scenery
o Activity
Level – is it a go-go tour or a more relaxed pace
Photo: April 15, 2026
5 comments:
Fantastic. Some great tips, contacts and experiences that I haven't thought about. You both are looking great. Go WhatsApp.
Thank you
Great list of advice! Thank you!
Excellent advice.
I do have a WhatsApp account-have only used it while in Columbia.
I am Anonymous above.🥹. Kim retires this summer and we hope to do some traveling after that. She wants to go to Scotland and take out daughters and their spouses. She is looking at train tours. Maybe Ireland after that.
Yes, we have expiration dates and these are usually not well known. And the heat is bothering me a lot more than it used to…..getting older.
Just saw the post on travel tips—good guidance, thank you! With your multi-year travel, we wondered about 1) Travel/health insurance—most plans are maybe 30-90 days and need a home country “touch base” to renew; 2) Regular or urgent dental care and coverage; 3) Overall “keeping healthy,” checkups, etc. You both look as if you just STARTED your travels. Very inspiring.
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