Jim’s Travel Tips

Traveling internationally requires thinking in terms of different monetary values or currency exchange rates. The tip that I am providing here can provide you with the easiest exchange reference that I have come across. It makes it a lot easier to determine if you are getting a good deal or not abroad. TIP: Go to www.oanda.com/convert/cheatsheet. This site lets you pick the country to country exchange you desire, which you can print. With the click of a button you can print the reverse exchange. These can be cut out and taped back to back creating a credit card sized exchange reference. Just be sure to run the rates relatively close to your trip date as exchange rates will vary somewhat from day to day.

The State Department has a good site for international travel planning. This is an excellent site to check before you travel to any international destination. The Consular Information Sheets provide you with information on the countries you may be traveling to including entry requirements, medical services, crime, etc… The sheet also includes the US Embassy information in that country. They also list any travel warnings that may exist for a country, which are especially important to note, as some life insurance policies are nullified by traveling to a country with a warning. TIP: Check out this web site out before you travel internationally: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1765.html

The major US airlines have marketing and ticketing agreements with many global airlines. TIP: This allows for “one-stop” shopping for a multinational trip. United is in the Star Alliance, www.staralliance.com ; American Airlines is in One World, www.oneworld.com ; and Northwest, Delta, and Continental are all in the Sky Team Alliance, www.skyteam.com . Happy trip planning!

When using various travel web sites it is sometimes quicker to use the actual three letter airport designations that the airlines use. TIP: Use this web site as a resource to know what the three letter designations are for your travels: www.airport-technology.com/codes

The result of planning is usually a lot of reservations, confirmation numbers, and itineraries. With travel planning these days this all involves electronic copies via e-mails. That’s a great tool for documentation, but hard to produce in a moments notice at check in. TIP: I print off all the electronic copies and put them in a pocketed folder for easy and quick access if needed. If changes have been made prior to the actual trip I also keep the original as well as the changes in case of issues during the trip.

Returning the car to the car rental lot before a flight can take more time than you had planned. When an early flight is involved it can also be a real unwelcome task. TIP: If at all possible return the car the night before and stay at a hotel near the airport that provides shuttle service to the airport. This saves you not only the time and hassle of refueling but it could save on the overall car rental fee.

The weather can be a factor in any trip, from potential flight problems to what clothes to pack. TIP: Check weather web sites for information for your home location as well as destination weather.

Thousands of web sites exist for specific destination planning. Searching these can be very time consuming. TIP: Need a quick search – go to the hotel web sites for local attractions and tourist information. For example, Marriott hotel sites have a link to attractions near a particular hotel or the city that the hotel is in.

I’ve reviewed many top travel sites online and have compiled a list of three here. Dwight Eisenhower is attributed to the quote: “Plans are nothing, planning is everything.” This is true for a successful trip. The plan is from A to B. The planning involves the when, how, and where? TIP: Use the popular internet booking sites to assist in your travel planning. These sites include:

• Expedia.com
• Travelocity
• Hotels.com