Travel tips wrote:
> 10 Travel Tips
> by: Jeff Lakie
> Going away on vacation should be an enjoyable experience but everyone has a horror story to tell. Perhaps your hotel room was robbed, or perhaps a careless spouse accidentally gambled away more money than they realized, or perhaps you simply lost your wallets somewhere between the airport and hotel. Here are 10 ways to make sure that your trip is a success in spite of those obstacles.
>
> 1. Use a hidden wallet to carry most of your valuables and identification.
That works better in some places than others... if you're kidnapped,
the hidden wallet won't help you.
> 2. If you feel comfortable sending it in the mail, mail a money order or a traveler's checks to yourself at your hotel so that even if you lose some of your money, more will be coming.
That won't work if you're not staying anywhere long term. What's the
hotel going to do if you're not checked in? Who do you blame when they
get lost? Can you necessarily cash these where you're staying. I have a
system, but it's not perfect. I have credit cards, I only carry one on
me at a time. I figure that in addition to cash and traveller's checks,
and the ability to wire money online (if I can get online), is pretty
good. Nowadays, you can set up wireless Internet if you have a laptop.
We should all be so lucky... but I am not. I had to use the library or
public terminals.
> 3. While you don't have to be too strict, you should have an agenda and leave it with someone at home. This way, if something happens in the area where you are vacationing, your loved ones will be able to have a fairly good idea of where you are.
Or send postcards home everyday. I made a point to call someone and
tell them what I was up to regularly. I told my spouse what my next
"route" was just in case I had a highway mishap that was tragic... I
ventured lots of places where traffic was few. I only travelled by day
because on many roads it was unsafe, and not heavily travelled at
night. I doubt many people travel Hwy 12 through Idaho at night, I
barely saw many people during the day...
> 4. Keep copies of identification at home, even if you take the originals with you.
Don't take all your ID with you either. In Canada, copies won't help.
If my stuff is stolen, a copy will not get me a new health card,
passport, birth certificate, or Canadian citizenship ID card. Canadians
are lucky, we have two (or three) valid forms of citizenship. Passport,
citizenship ID card, and birth certificate (from Canada). Most people
have two. Take one, leave the other behind. Bring a certified or
notorized copy of your birth certificate. Passports are usually
replaceable abroad with a temporary travel visa to return home.
> 5. When you go on vacation, choose one credit card to bring, rather than bringing all of them. This way, if your wallet gets stolen, you will minimize your losses.
Don't carry all your cards in your wallet, regardless of whether or not
you are travelling. Most thefts of wallets happen where we live, work,
and hang out. It's not a travelling thing. I brought all cards but did
not pack them all in the same place. Once the public transit portion
was over, and I didn't have to worry about watching my luggage 24/7, I
separated the stuff I needed, from the stuff I didn't. Seeing as how I
spent 12 hours a day in my car, putting my other purse in the trunk
wasn't a bad idea. If anything had happened, it would be because I had
done something dumb, like forgetting to lock the car when paying for
fuel, or forgetting to lock it at the motel (which I parked right
outside the door). Your mileage my vary... If your wallet gets stolen,
you can cancel your cards right away anyway, so I don't see how it
minimizes your losses. If I know I've been robbed, my Visa and
Mastercard can be cut off within 1 minute, provided the person robbing
me hasn't held me as a hostage while he racks up a huge debt in my
name.
> 6. Another option is to choose a preloaded credit card, which is really more like a debit card that you put money "on" so that if you end up losing your wallet the thieves cannot wreck your credit rating.
See above, cancel the card.
> 7. Bring important phone numbers with you on your trip and put them in two different places. Bring a phone number that will cancel your credit card; if you're traveling out of the country bring a phone number to reach the embassy; bring phone numbers of close family and friends who can help you if you get into trouble; and bring phone numbers of the hotel and car rental company as well.
Better yet, keep a record of stuff in your email or online somewhere,
so if you lose everything, your password to your email that you
remembered (assuming you're in a place where you have that luxury),
will be enough to get all that data back. Computers and Internet is a
great thing. I can get onto one of my storage drives from anywhere in
the world, when I have remote access turned out. (As long as I don't
forget my password...)
> 8. You'll want to have your travel insurance information. Be sure to keep a copy of your travel insurance at home as well as on your trip so that a family member can access it if necessary.
>
> 9. Bring basic medical information with you, like blood type and allergies, and make sure that the medical information is translated into the primary language of the place you are going to so that non-English-speaking doctors will have no problem understanding the situation.
>
> 10. Know what kind of insurance is covered on your credit card, if that is how you are using to paying for your trip. For example, some credit cards cover car rental insurance, but may not cover it in the country are you are going to. Be sure to know what insurance you have before you leave.
This all seems pretty reasonable.
S.
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