Leftovers

In the tradition of after Thanksgiving activities, it’s time for my annual leftovers article, which is a collection of various tips and ideas that I’ve collected throughout the year…

Leftovers – a selection of little travel tips

I love Thanksgiving leftovers – a little of this and a little of that. A plateful of tastes and samples. So, I am inspired to share some of my little of this and little of that travel tips – tips and topics that are good to know but don’t lend themselves to a full article.

An Important App for Travel: Download the ‘What’s App’ app, which is a text and voice app using wifi, which is used constantly in other countries. When you are outside the US, you’ll find that many guides or drivers will likely use it to communicate with you.

A Shortcut to insider’s knowledge: I found this tip as an offshoot of one from Samantha Brown, host of the “Places to Love” TV show. If you like to find unique shops and restaurant, search a destination for independent bookstores. Why? Those bookstores tend to be in areas near other small independent shops, rather than the chain stores.

It’s not a scam, it’s a legit tax: When staying in European hotels, particularly in larger cities, be prepared to pay city or “tourist” taxes, which are additional fees required by local governments. These vary by destination and are charged per night at your accommodation. Unlike other trip costs, they must be paid directly at the hotel upon check-in or check-out and cannot be prepaid as part of your booking or tour package. These small fees help support local infrastructure and services for tourists.

Hot Flashes: When traveling in Europe, be aware that many hotels operate centralized heating and cooling systems, often switching to heat from October until spring irrespective of temperatures outside. Unlike in the U.S., European A/C settings generally don’t dip as low, meaning rooms might feel warmer than you’re used to. If this happens, remember it’s a regional norm and part of the cultural experience. To some degree (ha!), we just need to get over ourselves. Some hotels may provide fans upon request for extra comfort, but embracing these differences is part of enjoying the adventure!

Print it Out: You may not know this, but sometimes airlines will change up seats, even after you’ve boarded the plan. If you want to avoid moving from an aisle seat to middle and go to show the flight attendant your seat assignment, the airline app will have magically changed to that dreaded middle seat assignment, and you have no proof of your original seat assignment. The solution – go old school and print your boarding pass or have them print it for you when you check in.

Take a Picture: When you are packing, and you lay out all your clothes on the bed, take a picture with your phone. If your luggage gets lost, this will help you remember everything you have packed if you need to make a claim.

More Pictures: Another good idea is to take pictures of key documents and keep it as an album on your phone. So take a picture of your boarding pass for your flight, your passport. passport information, key vouchers and such. Don’t just take the picture, but actually put them in an album on your phone so it’s really easy to get to all of that info.

Verify your Meal is Onboard: If you order a special meal on a flight, particularly with food allergies and limitations where you can’t eat the standard fare, make sure to verify they have your meal before take-off. When you first get to the gate, ask the gate agent, and again when you board the flight, ask the flight attendant to verify your special meal is onboard and that it is associated specifically with your booking/seat number, so they don’t give it away to someone else.

A corollary to that: assume that mistakes happen. On a long flight, make sure to take snacks and bars that meet your dietary requirements. Be prepared should there be issues.

Try a new puzzle: Want to learn more about the countries of the world in a fun way? Try out Worldle. It’s like Wordle, where you have to guess a word in six tries, except here you are guessing a country based on shape and area of the world.