50 Overseas Travel Tips - official forum discussion

pjsmiffy

Backbiter wrote: »

I recommend scanning your passports and emailing scans to yourself so they can be accessed anywhere in the world if you lose the originals.

You can also easily convert the scans to pdfs which can be stored on your Kindle. This can be done with any travel documents (car hire, hotel confirmations etc)

Little sister did this saved a load of hassle when she lost her paperwork.
She has a colour copy of her passport shrunk to Credit card size and laminated that has got her into the British consulate in some South american country or other when she had her paperwork stolen.

She has now had a bag stolen in France with Her and her partners passports in it and the dog's travel papers.

Dropbox may be an easier way to do this.

Ashagill

Hallo,
This may be very silly, but my Mum, when traveling half board or Breakfast only, she would often take a little extra at the usually huge breakfast buffet provided in most hotels, wrap a little in a napkin, and eat it as her lunch if she was off sightseeing for the day.
Works well when they offer bread and cheese etc, she'll make herself a sandwich.
So if you're not fussed about lunch one day, then I'd recommend doing this.

Also when staying in hotels, I always pack snacks for the trip. and keep them in the room for when you want a little pick me up. This is because one night I was travelling, and had dinner around 6 or 7PM, well, our flight was delayed and we arrived around 3AM, tried, and VERY hungry, but kitchens weren't around and hotel staff weren't around, so always carry a big bag of crisps or something!

skogar

Just after you go through security at Manchester Airport there is a water fountain. It has a tap bit you can fill a bottle from. Take an empty bottle and fill up ready for the flight.

John259

Here's some suggestions for helpful resources when planning a road trip style holiday, not necessarily in the USA or Canada but anywhere:

The online map systems (Google Maps or whichever similar system you prefer) not only allow you to see where places are, they also allow you to search for accommodation, restaurants, shops, museums, etc. You can also plot your route, check your daily mileages, and easily drag points on the route to adjust it. In addition with at least one of these systems you can see photos taken along roads (in some countries), and you can prepare for the potentially stressful initial run after first picking up the car by doing a virtual "drive".

Wikipedia is a wonderful resource for obtaining information about places and attractions (and in many cases the articles include photos). Because everything on Wikipedia has to be backed up by references, and because the system has so many people constantly checking it, you can be confident that the information is both accurate and up-to-date. In many cases the articles include links to web sites that provide more information.

YouTube has numerous videos recorded during road trips in various countries. Most of these are poor quality both technically and artistically, but if you're prepared to spend some time searching then there also a few real gems that are both informative and entertaining. There are also some promotional videos for towns, cities and individual tourist attractions.

In the USA and Canada the respective countries' national park service web sites provide a wealth of information. The US National Park Service web site also covers the national monuments, national historic sites and national parkways, but a separate federal organisation is responsible for the national forests. In addition each US state and Canadian province has a separate web site for its own parks.

Katiehound

It's very handy to have small dollar bills to give as tips or to buy local artefacts from street vendors in very many parts of the world- think S.America & parts of Africa. £1 or £2 coins aren't as acceptable because the smallest paper european paper money is £5 or E5. (Oh and dollars are often more desirable!!)
When I purchased my dollars at Tesco a few years ago they were happy to give me $50 of the total in small bills.

malc_b

I see that in 50+ Overseas Travel Tips Martin has fallen for the old chestnut of TVs take loads of power in standby. New TVs do NOT. The EU brought in a rule years ago that TVs had to draw less than 1W in standby. If you still have an old CRT TV then this might be true but any flat screen TV it isn't true.

And to put that into context 1W would be 1 unit, say 15p, in 1000 hrs, which is roughly 1 month. Not really a significant saving is it.

Poppy9

Take a 4 gang extension lead with you. Then you only need one socket adaptor to charge multiple phones/consoles etc

The_Miser

When you arrive to collect your car some companies (including one of the largest) want to block funds on your account against damage, loss etc. Fine, EXCEPT they refuse to accept debit cards unless you buy extra insurance on top of the excess insurance. The cost is prohibitive.

The_Miser

pjsmiffy wrote: »

Hi Just got off the phone from Halifax re informing them that I would be going away with my Halifax Clarity card (Keeps them from blocking the account from fraud)

I tried this with my high street bank and they informed me that they would only keep the notice for 30 minutes and if I didn't draw in that time they would put the debit through their normal anti-fraud precautions with no note of my warning.

Eating_granni

We have family in the USA so look out for sales especially on British Airways where we have loyalty points.
We book ahead when we see a good deal and always need a night in LA before the 4 hour drive.
We've always done this booking the flight, car hire and hotel separately, and have to pay the full costs up front.
However if you book just one night in a hotel, and/or car hire with BA you only have to pay 10% on booking and the rest 6 weeks before. Often the hotel or car hire is cheaper too, but we check that out before making the booking