What to pack? Tough question. Your brain says “pack light” but your heart says “But I need all these”. Go with your brain, trust me.

Keep to the 2-bag rule. A suitcase and a carry-on bag is all you need.

  • Pack your suitcase with wrinkle-free clothes and basics like a pair of black slacks, a black skirt, a pair of jeans and dress shoes. I used to over pack and end up not wearing half the clothes I take. You can always launder.
  • Roll your clothing instead of folding them so they don’t have lines when you take them out.
  • Lock the suitcase with a TSA lock otherwise the airport security would break it open if they have to. And since these total strangers have the right to poke and riffle through your personal belongings, DO NOT pack anything valuable or sentimental in your suitcase.

Now, the carry-on bag.

  • Limit yourself to 20 pounds because you will be lugging it all over the airport.
is stripped because this article does not pass the security settings. --> is stripped because this article does not pass the security settings. -->

OTHER RESOURCES

Dynamite Travels has been recommended on simonseeks.com. Simonseeks.com is a website where a community of travellers, journalists and celebrities can upload travel guides and share their tips on the best places to stay, eat and visit. Ranging from London restaurants to Nice hotels.

ORGANIZE YOUR TRIP

You can use an organizing tool that I find amazingly useful called Tripit...and it is free. Tripit allows you to build your itinerary, organize it into a master travel plan and share it with your travel companions. All you have to do is forward all the email confirmations to Tripit and it will compile them for you. Check out www.tripit.com.

is stripped because this article does not pass the security settings. --> is stripped because this article does not pass the security settings. -->

  1. Plan your trip. Even if you are on a go-with-the-flow vacation,put down what you want to do and see. Get information on the schedule, fees and directions beforehand.Sure,you want to be relaxed but if that one place you have to see is closed for some reason, all relaxation flies out the window.
  2. Buy transportation passes. If you are staying in one place for a week, buy the bus pass or rail pass and save a ton on taxis while you sightsee at your own pace.
  3. Check out local no-frills flights. You can get great bargains by checking out the budget airlines in that locale (book online). I have flown from London to Paris for 1 Sterling Pound via Ryanair and from Kuala Lumpur to Bali for $60 (R/T) via AirAsia. If your travel time is flexible, you can score some ridiculously cheap air tickets.
  4. Use taxi drivers for tour guides. In third world countries, food and transportation are fairly cheap. Book a taxi for a day ($120 in China and $70 in Bali) and the driver can become an impromptu guide as he takes you to local attractions and great local restaurants. If you are leery of unscrupulous taxi drivers, have the hotel concierge arrange it for you.
  5. Make use of ATMs. In this day and age, you no longer need to travel with rolls of dollar bills and books of traveler’s checks. Unless you are visiting a small village or town, ATMs are everywhere. True, you have to pay a transaction fee, but it’s still better than losing a wad of cash.
    6. Read more...
Take time to rsearch all the available flights to your destination. www.bookingbuddy.com is a good website that gives you the ability to check all the popular air fare searches like Mobissimo, Travelocity, Priceline, etc simultaneously. Once you have tracked down the price and the schedule you like, check with the carrier directly if they can you the deal. Very often, they can and you save on the booking fees.
There are three types of insurance you should seriously consider getting:
  1. Medical Evacuation insurance – we carry a family plan with Medjet Assist which allows us to decide which hospital we wish to go to in the event of an emergency.
  2. Cancellation insurance. If you book more than a month before the travel, do consider taking up the cancellation insurance when offered. Usually the cost is less than 15% of the travel cost and it is worth it when you can get the cost refunded in full.
  3. Travel insurance. Some agents can procure travel insurance for you which covers lost items, medical costs, etc.
is stripped because this article does not pass the security settings. -->