Travel Tips

Traveling for business or pleasure can easily derail your health and fitness regime. It’s easy to fall into the trap of high calorie meals and little exercise because “I’m on vacation.” But despite the many challenges, travelers CAN stay healthy with proper planning. Being conscious and aware of the decisions you make throughout the day will greatly improve your ability to be a healthy traveler.

Stay Hydrated

Staying hydrated is incredibly important for healthy travel, especially when flying. In the excitement of exploring a new city, it’s easy to forget to drink as much water as you’re used to. Carry a reusable water bottle with you at all times. Take some water purification tablets with you if you’re worried about the local water quality.

As a rule of thumb, most experts recommend consuming 8 ounces of water per hour on a flight and 1 ounce for every half pound of body weight during the day.

Get Enough Sleep

You can’t underestimate how important it is to get enough sleep while travelling. Your body needs rest when you’re physically traveling, crossing time zones, carrying luggage to and from destinations, walking all day, and so forth. If you are adjusting to a new time zone, try to stay awake on the first day until your usual bedtime in your new place, and then go for a full night’s sleep to quickly adjust.  Adequate sleep helps your immune system stay strong and promotes recovery, so prioritize accordingly!

Sleeping away from home can be challenging for some, but there are some measures to take to create the best sleeping environment possible.

• Ask for a quiet hotel room away from elevators, ice machines, and street noise.
• Wear earplugs and an eye mask to prevent distraction.
• If traveling across time zones, make sure to silence mobile phone alerts. People at home may not know how early or late it is wherever you are.

Walk Everywhere

Exploring your destination on foot is an amazing way to sneak in your daily exercise while traveling.  Grab a map, get lost, get found, and take in the sights, smells, and sounds of where you are. This is a great way to find hidden gems that aren’t in the travel guides.  

Additionally, it can be beneficial for your trip and health to skip that cab-ride for an excursion through the city. Skip the elevator or escalator and walk the stairs instead!  

Pack Healthy Snacks

Traveling with healthy snacks ensures you will have something healthy to eat when hunger strikes. Healthy snacks will also help you resist temptation at the airport and when you reach your destination. If you are short on space, pack a few healthy snacks for the first day or two of your trip and stop somewhere near your hotel when you arrive and stock up on more healthy snacks. A few ideas include nuts, fresh fruit, protein bars, trail mix, and jerky.

Keep Clean and Avoid Germs

Wash your hands often, keep your nails clean, and avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. Hand sanitizers, such as Purell, can be helpful. However, since they target bacteria, not viruses, they should be used in additional to, rather than a replacement for, hand washing with soap and warm water.

If you are traveling by plane, train, or bus, it is important to sanitize your seating area. This is especially true if you are traveling with children. An adult might refrain from touching all the surfaces in an area, but the same cannot be said for children. Sanitize your seat, armrests, table back, headrest, and airflow nozzles and buttons. It is uncertain how often these areas are cleaned.

Pace Yourself

Don’t overwhelm yourself and spend your entire trip stressed. If you plan to do a lot in a big city, consider staying longer to slow down your pace and spread your itinerary. Don’t try and see every little thing and do every single activity. Be active and roam the streets, but don’t overdo it. Take plenty of breaks in between and make sure to give your mind some “me” time. Leave some room each day for spontaneous adventures to spring up.

Just a little common sense and a tiny bit of preparation can help you stay healthy during travel. What are your healthy travel tips? We would love to know how you stay healthy during travel. Please share in the comments!

Nothing ruins a trip faster than being pick pocketed, scammed, or having a card number stolen. Whether fumbling through guidebooks or gawking at new sights, tourists are often unaware of their surroundings, making them easy prey for thieves.

Don’t be an easy target. Here are some smart tips for how to protect your money when you travel.

Use Credit and Limit Cash

The general rule is to bring enough cash to cover your expenses for the first 24 hours of the trip or until you can find an ATM. By using cash, you can more easily adhere to a specific budget since it forces you to spend within a certain range.

The downside is that cash isn’t replaceable – if you lose your wallet or get robbed, you could lose all of your vacation funds if you only use cash. However, most credit cards have zero-liability policies, meaning you won’t have to pay anything for unauthorized charges if your card is lost or stolen. So you’ll want to use a credit card for your major purchases (like hotels, car rentals, etc), but keep cash on hand for smaller sales at local businesses. Just make sure to bring the contact information for each of your credit cards with you on the trip so you can alert the credit card company should your card get lost or stolen.

Overall, it’s best to bring some cash with you on your trip, but just don’t carry too much on you at a time. At the ATM, only take out the cash you may need for that day and plan on visiting the ATM everyday. And always take at least two credit cards with you, one as your primary card and one as a backup, and never keep them both in the same place.

Tell Bank and Credit Card Companies about Travel Plans

There is nothing more frustrating than carefully choosing a souvenir or gift only to have your credit card declined because your bank doesn’t know you’re out of state. Be sure to alert your bank and credit card companies of your upcoming travel plans. If you don’t, they may think a thief (not you) is making all those vacation purchases and will shut down your credit or ATM card. If you contact them in advance, they’ll change the settings on your account so that new charges in your destination area don’t trigger an identity theft decline.

Choose ATMs Wisely

Try to use ATMs inside banks, hotels, or airports rather than stand-alone machines. Watch out for sketchy ATMs and be sure the cash machine is legit before inserting your card. There are fake cash machines in tourist areas, and thieves will tamper with real ATMs to steal your card’s information. Visa and MasterCard have ATM locators on their sites so you can find trusted locations in your destination area.

Trim Your Wallet

Don’t take a big, thick wallet with you – you won’t need the vast majority of those cards or other items. Before you leave, take the time to go through your wallet and take out everything except the necessities (a universal credit card and a backup, an ATM/debit card, an identification card, etc.). Not only will it help you travel lighter, but if your wallet does get lost or stolen, you’ll have less to replace.

Make sure to remove any card with your Social Security number. For health insurance cards, make a copy of the card and remove the last four digits of your Social Security number. Bring the photocopy with you on your trip and leave the original card at home.

Divide Your Money

Whenever possible, divvy up your travel cash and even credit cards into multiple safe spots – never carry all of it in your wallet. If you’ve got all your money in one place, it only takes one time for a thief to completely wipe you out. Instead, break it up and hide various amounts of it in different spots to reduce the impact of theft. You can even wear clothing with multiple pockets and spread your stuff out among the pockets. If you have a travel partner, divide it between yourselves and carry it in multiple areas on your body.

Additionally, never leave cash or credit cards lying around your hotel room. Theft doesn’t only occur outside the hotel – hotel staff have access to your room, and if your room door is accidentally left unlocked, other hotel guests can enter and steal your belongings.

Protect Your Devices With Passwords

Losing or having your phone or laptop stolen can give someone access to your financial apps and other personal information. A thief might pull up your bank account or credit card information and make fraudulent purchases. To ensure your safety, password-protect each device to keep your information safe, and program devices to auto-lock after one or two minutes of inactivity.

Be smart on vacation: the way you handle your money will either increase or decrease your risk of theft. As long as you are careful while traveling, take a few steps before you go, and stay aware of your surroundings, you will be fine and able to enjoy your travels.

How do you keep your money safe when you travel? Let us know in the comments!

When Summer gets started, convention season starts ramping up. Whatever convention you choose to attend, there’s always packing to be done. If you aren’t prepared, packing the night before will become a nightmare.

Convention weekends require a considerable amount of foresight and packing lists. Oftentimes conventions can be a bit chaotic: they’re packed with people, lines can be long, and food can be expensive. It’s important to make sure you’re ready for a convention environment from the start so you can ensure all of your energy can be spent enjoying the event.

No matter what convention you’re gearing up for, there are several important things that you’ll definitely want to remember to pack!

Basics:

• Identification (photo ID recommended)
• Tickets/Registration Confirmation or Badge
• Hotel Reservation Confirmation
• Itinerary of Sessions/Panels/Special Events
• Backpack/Purse/Other Bags for Merchandise Storage
• Wallet/Spending Money (make sure to bring CASH)
• Business Cards

Clothing:

• Comfortable Shoes
• Underwear/Bras – for each day plus a few extra pairs
• Socks – several extra pairs
• Pajamas – one or two sets
• Swim Suit
• Shirts/Shorts/Pants/Dresses – outfits to get through the weekend
• Belts
• Jewelry/Accessories
• Sweater/Sweatshirt/Jacket – convention areas can be chilly!
• Warmer evening options

Hygiene:

• Deodorant
• Toothbrush/Toothpaste/Mouthwash
• Shampoo/Conditioner
• Body Wash
• Razor/Shaving Cream
• Feminine sanitary products
• Hairbrush
• Hair-care accessories – hair ties, bobbi pins, blow dryer, curling iron, straightener, styling gel, hairspray, etc.
• Face Wash
• Lotion
• Tissues
• Cotton Swabs/Balls/Pads
• Glasses or Contacts – contact lens case, saline solution, extra pair of contacts
• Makeup, brushes, and makeup remover
• Tweezers/Nail Clippers/Nail File
• Sunscreen

Medicine:

• Insurance Card
• Emergency Contact Info
• Prescription Medications
• Allergy Medication
• Stomach Medication
• Painkiller of your choice
• Vitamins/Immune Boosters
• Band-aids – all sizes
• Neosporin
• Hand Sanitizer
• Eyedrops
• Earplugs

Electronics:

• Cell Phone/Charger
• Camera/SD card/Battery Charger
• Laptop/Charger
• Tablet/Charger
• Cases to hold any devices
• Power Strip
• Extension Cord
• Portable Power Banks

Food:

• Energy bars
• Bottled water
• Gatorade
• Trail Mix/Nuts
• Dried Fruit
• Cereal/Crackers
• Beef Jerky

Miscellaneous:

• Sharpie
• Safety Pins
• Lint Roller
• Stain Remover
• Portable Steamer
• Mesh Laundry Bag
• Umbrella

Packing is only the beginning of a convention weekend!  Making sure everything is packed and ready can be a huge weight off your shoulders.  Ultimately, have fun this convention season but be prepared!  What are your convention essentials?  Let us know in the comments!

Even if you are not a germaphobe you may still find this information to be helpful when traveling.  (more…)

Have you been saving your hotel points for a special vacation? Most of us want to use them wisely. The challenge is that hotels, like the airlines, change the rules.  Your points will not be nearly as valuable as they once were.  Click here to learn more.

Confused about tipping? Who to tip? When to tip?  Who adds a tip automatically? What to look out for?  Ever really study a room service bill? Read this article. This might help clear up some of those shades of gray.

Do you ever avoid taking a trip because it is too much of a hassle at the airport? (more…)

If you don’t know all the ways to make your travel easy, you just might enjoy hearing how one traveler has found ways to simplify the travel experience. Check out this article and relax and enjoy your next journey.

(more…)

We have all been waiting to hear this good news. A report from the World Travel & Tourism Council states 2012 will be a banner year for travel. Read more here.

Stay Positive!

Have you been to a hotel lately and paid to have internet access only to find that you had the speed of the old time dial up internet?  Now, this explains what is going on.