Attitude’s Travel Insider: The stress-free travel guide
Holidays, they should be relaxing. But somehow when you add up the booking of the tickets and accommodation, sorting out travel insurance, making sure your passport is in date and then the whole ‘getting on a plane’ saga – it can end up more stressful than ever. Luckily there are plenty of ways to help transform your travel experience from a chore to a pleasure from start to finish. In fact, with a few of these tips under the belt, you may never need to worry about pre-holiday anxiety ever again.
1. Sign up for an International Currency Card
Credit and debit cards can be a risk on holiday – and not just because of safety. Losing a bank card on holiday is a pain in the backside, trust me – and more likely, it’s just a little bit too easy to dip into your rent when you spot an extra lovely shirt at the local market. Solution: Load up an International Currency Card like Caxton FX (caxtonfx.com) with your allotted budget for the trip and ensure you don’t spend a penny you can’t afford. These little pieces of plastic are also great because they lock in an exchange rate in either US Dollars or Euros, meaning you can nab the best deals. They can be used at any ATM displaying the ‘Visa’ sign and work like regular bank cards (chip & PIN included). Top them up online, on the app or over text and phone.
2. Downloading guidebooks and local apps
I’m addicted to books – and there’s nothing quite as satisfying as thumbing through the pages of a glossy guidebook when you’re actually in the region itself. If you’re staying put in one spot (lazing on the beach, in a cafe or by the pool), this isn’t too much of a hassle, but for those hopping around, having a pile of guidebooks in your bag can get a little tedious.
Solution: Most series like Lonely Planet and Rough Guides are available for download directly onto your tablet or phone, allowing you to get all the info without having to haul around the weight. And with Wifi often available in loads of public cafés and hotel receptions around the world, you can even search out local apps for specific towns and cities – a good way of getting to know the local restaurants and bars that doesn’t involve chatting up friendly taxi drivers.
3. Carrying a sarong at all times
Sarongs are great because they are so versatile. So versatile that they can save you a few extra pieces of clothing in your baggage – which could even mean the difference between lugging around check-in bags or carry-on only. Solution: If you’re heading somewhere hot, leave the trousers, hoodies and shirts at home and invest in a sarong for covering up purposes. Apart from wearing them as an actual sarong, they also serve as a beach towel, a shawl over shorts when visiting churches, temples and other places of religious worship, and even a wrap when the air con is on full blast. Ever burnt your scalp in the sun? You’ll never have to know that kind of pain if you have a sarong handy. Just sayin’.
4. Online and mobile check in
It sounds so obvious but loads of travellers still don’t check-in for their flight until they get to the airport, which means longer queues and more paper to faff about with.
Solution: Most airlines offer online check-in from 24 hours before take-off, so check whether your carrier does this and make use of the facility! It takes a couple of minutes (a lot less time than it would at the counter) and these days, with all this high-fangled technology, boarding passes can be sent direct to your smartphone, so you don’t need to bother with paper at all. Basically you’re saving trees too, you hero.
5. Book your taxi home before you land
Last month, I tried to get from Heathrow to South London by taxi after the tubes had stopped running. And guess what? It cost me nearly £90. WTF. That day, I learned how quickly a bad journey home can undo all the good your holiday achieved.
Solution: Book a cab with a licensed taxi firm either before you go or online while you’re away – it will save you a fortune and the bother of figuring out last minute how to get home. My post-trip research told me a cab would have cost me no more than £45 with a local firm and £65 with Addison Lee. Lesson well and truly learnt.
Karen is a freelance Travel & Entertainment Editor based in London. She can be found tweeting at @KarenNEdwards and contacted through her personal blog popandprettythings.com
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