Tag: #100days100travelTips #travel

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Tip 44: Hotel apps are becoming more useful

Theme Night Director

Recently I had an overnight flight and arrived at the hotel many hours before the typical check-in time. I had assumed I would have to check my luggage with the hotel desk and walk around town sightseeing for a few hours before I would be able to access my room, however I had “checked in” to my hotel via the mobile app which I can only believe is what led to me being so lucky as to have priority to a ready room.

Just has checking in to planes as soon as possible allows you to pick good seats, it appears hotel app Check-in also has advantages. In addition, you can use these apps to order room service, request items you forgot, or ask for more towels, etc. We also enjoy having a “mobile key” where our phone serves as a replacement (or backup) to a physical key.

In essence, hotels are becoming more “digital” so you just may want to take advantage of that on your next stay!

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Tip 43: Motels vs Hotels in the US

Theme Night Director

I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel completely safe when people can access the door to your room without another layer of security. For this reason, I almost never stay in anything labeled a “motel” in the US as they are more often configured like the picture above.

We also never book a hotel without taking a detailed look at the photos on the hotel or booking website.

Reviews from past customers are also really helpful to give you a sense of the hotel security and safety of the surrounding area.

More on the definitions of hotel and motel here: http://traveltips.usatoday.com/difference-between-hotels-motels-2976.html

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Tip 42: Toddler travel tips

Theme Night Director

Years ago my 3 year old refused to go the bathroom for more than 7 hours at Disney World because the automatic flushing toilet terrified her. Eventually a seasoned Mom suggested I put my purse in front of the toilet sensor to keep it from triggering the flush and that did the trick!

The other good trip I remember is to being zip lock bags to hold partially eaten meals. Especially on vacation, kids are often too excited to sit for a meal so they leave too much food behind and then are hungry a couple hours later.

Here is some other good advice we found:

https://www.parents.com/fun/vacation/traveling-with-kids/traveling-with-toddlers-10-expert-tips-from-a-globetrotting-mom/

https://lifehacker.com/eight-expert-tips-for-traveling-with-your-toddler-1724779450

Passport and camera accessories
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Tip 41: Research your visa requirements

Theme Night Director

Recently I have learned I need a visa to travel to Australia and Cuba. While I expected the visa I needed for China last year, these came as more of a surprise. Fortunately, however, I found out about them ahead of time and they can both be processed rather quickly.

How do you know if you need a visa for your travels?  Here are a few sites that can help you figure that out:

CIBT Visa site – use the search box

Travisa site – use the search box

man with suitcase
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Tip 40: How to pack light

Theme Night Director

We have previously shared advice on packing mix-and-match outfits to save room and reduce the amount of clothes you pack, but it is still tempting to cram our bags full. Recently one of us took a 10 day trip and packed 4 outfits that were never worn. We’ll protect the guilty, but it’s a good reminder that even seasoned travelers struggle to keep with the minimum and not pack for every worse case scenario.

Rolling clothes is definitely our favorite way to keep items visible (like packing vertically versus layering clothes on top of one another). This helps you remember what you have added to your bag to increase the chances you pick more items to mix and match. It also helps the clothes arrive at your destination less wrinkled.

We found some more good advice on packing light here:

https://www.wikihow.com/Pack-Light

https://blog.tortugabackpacks.com/packing-light-tips/