Best and Worst Lists
We’ve all seen list after list of the “best” this and the “worst” that. A Travel News item we recently posted about “the worst U.S. airlines” got us to thinking about the criteria used for such lists and votes. Thus, our travel tip to you is: If you have near-equal choices between air carriers, chose the one which suits your needs, not the opinions of other travelers. What’s most important to you? On-time arrivals? Low fares? Aircraft type and size? Food and amenities? For example, even though United Airlines rates second-to-worst on the list mentioned above, we have a higher opinion of the airline because of their Economy Plus seating. To us, seat comfort is very high on our list.
Food on the road
Especially during the summer and fall, you’ll find farmer’s markets across the country. The food is fresher than from any grocery store, is safe and clean, and you’ll help support local food producers. In addition to fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables, many farmer’s markets also offer breads, cheeses, and a variety of other great foods.
Car rentals
With the price of gasoline in the U.S. finally going up (more in-line with elsewhere in the world), car-rental companies are sometimes renting gas-hungry SUVs and large cars for less than the rates for compacts. This means that you can’t always assume that the smallest car is the cheapest to rent. If you’re traveling with a group or family, it may be worth your while to rent a larger, more comfortable vehicle for less money, and pay a little extra for gas.
Dates
Always spell out the complete month name when dealing with someone internationally. 4/11/06 or 4.11.2006 in the U.S. means April 11, 2006, whereas in most of Europe and in some other countries it means 4 November 2006. Save yourself and others confusion and always spell out the month.
Airline Seats
The dreaded middle seat – how to avoid it? Reserve your flight as early as possible; only purchase on-line tickets if you can choose your seat before finalizing your purchase; and consult seatguru.com (and similar websites) to understand each airline’s and each plane’s seating configurations.
Airports
Security lines can be one of the most frustrating travel experiences. A recent Wall St. Journal article discussed how to find security checkpoints with shorter lines in several U.S. airports. There were several great tips in the article – too many for us to list here – but the bottom line is to check if all security lines lead to the same concourses or gates, and if so go to another airline’s checkpoints or ones in another part of the terminal. (For example, if there are hundreds of passengers checking in with United, but only a few for American, go to the security checkpoints closer to American’s counter.) |
Luggage
If your luggage is sometimes a few pounds overweight and you get tagged with airline overweight-bag fees, the new Solutions Luggage Collection may save you money and hassles. It’s a suitcase with a built-in scale, which may be especially useful on your return trip, when you’ve collected some treasures but may not be able to weigh your bag. The luggage is currently available in two sizes, priced at approximately $200.
Electronics
We try, we really try, to wean ourselves from electronic gadgets when we travel. We leave the laptop home more often than we take it (especially if flying). But one electronic we truly love to travel with is our Palm. A Palm (or similar PDA) is our alarm clock, our address book for those postcards home, and it makes a great nightlight during those middle-of-the-night stumbles to the toilet. Most PDAs also allow you to download maps, lists of phrases, airport schedules, hotel reservations, and many other important documents before you travel.
Airports
It may take some digging, but you can often find less expensive airfares by choosing nearby airports instead of always searching for flights to your main destination. For example, if you’re flying to/from Denver, check the flights out of Colorado Springs (or even Albuquerque, New Mexico, if you’re visiting southern Colorado). Or consider this example: A recent “Budget Travel” article by Mark Kahlar on the website about.com discovered a Cincinnati, Ohio, to New York fare of $943, while a flight the same day from Lexington, Kentucky, (90 minutes by car from Cincinnati) to New York was $254.
Travel Essentials
Some of our favorite and most useful little travel items include Ziploc baggies, zip ties, a small Leatherman-type tool (in your checked luggage, not carryon), earplugs, a small flashlight, and sunscreen. (We live in the mountains, where the sunshine is brilliant and we’re usually tan, yet we’ve gotten sunburned in London on a partly cloudy day because we spent 4 hours outdoors walking around some castle or gardens.)
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