Travel Tips
​
Planning for travel and traveling itself can be overwhelming and stressful. While not all situations can be avoided or planned for, the better prepared you are for the possibilities, the better off you may be. These are some of my top Travel Tips that will hopefully help. Some will be obvious, but often still overlooked.
This page contains links to Third Party websites. Clicking on the Third Party links within will transfer you to their websites and may result in commission paid to Gwen's Getaways. Gwen's Getaways does not warrant or guarantee the products, services, or information provided on their websites. Purchasing decisions should be made at the purchaser's discretion.
Book Well in Advance
The best way to go where and when you want to go without paying premium prices is to book well in advance. Most hotels can be booked at least a year in advance and flights 11 months in advance. While there can be last minute deals, leave those for impromptu trips and book the important ones well in advance. Whether it be an important event, milestone, bucket list trip, or annual getaway, book well in advance to get the best options.
Photo Credit: Zazzle
Google Flights is a great tool to check flight prices to easily compare options to choose which day, time, and airline to fly. Filters are available to apply to airlines, plane section, departure and arrival times, number of stops, duration, etc. They even factor in bag fees and CO2 emissions. If you're not sure where to go, it will populate prices within your home country as a default or whichever country you choose.
Photo Credit: Google
Bring a Reusable Water Bottle
I can't stress enough the importance of bringing a reusable water bottle when traveling. Not only will it reduce single plastic water bottles and save money over time, it's a smart practice to have water with you when traveling. Whether it be on a dehydrating flight, physical activity, or warm weather, it's good to have water readily available. Now water bottles like this one have UV sterilization technology to ensure water is safe to drink.
Photo Credit: Brookstone
Use Carry-on Luggage
Using carry-on luggage is generally a good idea to avoid risk of misplaced checked luggage and have all your belongings with you. This becomes more important with connections that increases the risk of checked luggage being misplaced or not making it to the connection plane in time. Using carry-on luggage also saves time with no need to wait for checked luggage upon arrival and can carry-on your merry way.
Photo Credit: Paravel
A charged powerbank is good to have on hand as a back-up power charger for your electronic devices when traveling. Not only is it helpful when power outlets are not readily available, but can also come in handy when traveling internationally without a power convertor (for an initial charge). The BioLite USB chargeable powerbanks featured here come in 3 sizes to cover various charging needs beyond a phone to a tablet, light, or laptop.
Photo Credit: BioLite