Bonnie Scotland indeed! So much happened on day 2. We were still exhausted from our travels and majorly sleep deprived. It’s not a terribly great foot to get started out on. As the cop on the Royal Mile told a lost Ben (who was trying to get to an April that was grabbing bags and checking out of the hotel) we carried on. And what carrying on we did!
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Scotland Trip Day 1
Our first day was one of the longest of my life. I of course couldn’t sleep very well, despite having been fully packed two days beforehand and my house being clean (which for me is a necessity before a trip). We even tried to sleep and wake up on Scotland time. I was very excited to wear my Very Hungry Caterpillar socks through security, although no one else seemed to notice.
Tips for Packing (Planning)
Honestly, however you pack has to work for you. Because everyone is different, there is not one tried and true way to pack.
One thing I always do is start with a few good lists. One for clothes, one for all other items, one for last minute items and one as I pack each suitcase.
My clothing list consists of activity, each person’s outfit and PJs, miscellaneous items and accessories and a column to check for socks and underwear for each person. Writing it out by hand helps calm me down from my usual pre-trip anxiety.
I also create a list for which items are in my checked luggage, in case a bag happens to get lost, stolen are delayed. I send a picture of this to myself.
When it comes to what actually goes into the bag, that depends on what kind of trip we go on. When we flew to Arkansas via 36 hours in Denver, my husband and I shared a carry-on for 5 days. Going to Scotland for 10 Days we each checked a bag and had a carry-on. It’s all up to you and what you feel like lugging around.
Less is more.
- Less is more freedom.
- Less is more mobility.
- Less is more thrilling.
- Less is more bragging rights.
- Less is more kind to your back.
- Less is more blending in. Nothing screams tourist like someone lugging their huge suitcases through the train station.
- Less is more awareness and safety. You are a lot less likely to be targeted for theft when you have less baggage.
- Less is more time saved not wanting for a checked bag.
- Less is more money saved if your checked bag isn’t included in a ticket.
- Less is more creativity needed when packing.
- Less is more organization when packing.
- Less is more time spent packing your bag.
- Less is more restrictions on what you can and cannot bring.
- Less is more time spent doing laundry during your trip.
- Less is more frustration when you don’t feel like wearing anything you brought with you.
It all comes down to your individual packing and travel style! If you want tips on how to pack less for your trip, follow my blog! That post will be coming soon!
Pre Trip Panic
This post is a little bit of writing therapy for myself. You have been warned.
For me, getting ready for a trip and planning it is half the fun. My everyday self is pretty much in love with charts, plans and lists of all sorts. As you can probably imagine, my travel self is almost obsessed with them. I pour over maps and research places. I plan for efficiency. I plan for the fact that something could go wrong. I plan for leaving time free of a plan. I plan the buget. All of that is thrilling to me! But as I get closer and closer to departure for any trip, I go into a pre-trip panic of sorts.
Deep down inside I know what is left on the to do list and the packing list. I know how many days are left to accomplish those things. I know there are areas of my trip that I am not as familiar with as I could be. I lose my map I bought and can’t stop thinking about it. (Wait, did I take to the ER? Is it in a bag somewhere from that night?!)
For me, it’s like a rollercoaster. I am the type that freaks on in line, but not on the ride. Once on the ride, there is nothing more than I can do. That is when I relax and enjoy it to the fullest. We are 6 days from departure for an international trip. Here I am, standing in line, freaking out. But I can only think about one thing right now.
Excuse me while I dig through all of my tote bags…
These Things are a Must for International Travel by Plane
- Bring a pen. Fill out your customs entrance on the plane. Saves you so much time and hassle.
- Make a list of what is in each suitcase. Email it to yourself and/or your emergency contact. This will make declarations easier as well as knowing exactly what was in a suitcase if it gets lost. Do this for both outbound and inbound.
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Continue reading “These Things are a Must for International Travel by Plane”
10 Tips for Trip Planning
Finding the “Best” Flights
If you do an online search for “best flights”, “flights to”, “cheap flights”, “airline deals”, or something similar, you will be inundated with dozens and dozens of websites that will advertise their cheapest flights. Once you get on the site you will realize there are a very limited selection of flights that are actually that cheap.
Story time! Our best flight finding tip came from getting stuck flying standby from Asia to the US. We were returning from a mission trip. There had been a typhoon that disrupted hundreds of flights and thousands of people. This led to no empty seats on any flights. The airlines began to get people out of Asia to anywhere they could in the US. This led to a majority of those stranded being dropped off in Honolulu with no prospective flights to the mainland. Bit by bit, a group of 30 found themselves stuck together in the airport. Some of us had been shuffled from one airport to another, many had been stuck for a week or more. One of these stranded airport campers told us they had broken down and purchased a flight to the mainland using the “On the Fly” App.
While the mobile app that saved us from further airport camping no longer exists, the main software that was the heart of the app still does. It should come as no surprise that the king of search engines, Google, is one of the best when it comes to searching for flights. Enter Google Flights. It offers a multitude of tools and customizations for finding flights. Below is a walkthrough of the most basic of searches from a smartphone. http://www.google.com/flights
This is what Google Flights looks like when you open it. 
This post shows what simply changing my home airport will do to the “suggested trips” price. 
Let’s just try searching for a long weekend visit to see my brother over Thanksgiving. This is what it would look like before playing around with airports and dates. 
Select “airports” to add in any feasible options for you. You can do this for origin and destination airports. Keep in mind parking, gas and driving time may not make a different airport cheaper in the long run. 
Selecting the date in the drop down bar will open a calendar that shows you prices by month. 
I selected the Wednesday through Sunday option. The little icon with the slash through the bag shows means I won’t be able to fly with a carry-on. 
Most of my travel is carry-on only, so I selected the Delta flight. At the top, there is a feature to track prices. Turn that on to receive updates if the price changes. Then book directly with the airline once you are ready.
Tips for Finding the Best Flights
- Start searching as early as possible. Don’t purchase right away.
- Flexibility= More Options and More Options usually equals cheaper or better.
- Cheaper does not always mean best. The best for you, may not always mean the cheapest.
- Often better flights (not basic economy, or better layovers, less connections, preferred airline, etc.) are only slightly more expensive than the cheapest of fares.
- Prioritize what is most important to you when searching through all of the details.
- Use filters to narrow results to what fits your needs.
- Subscribe to price alerts and watch the prices over time to make sure you are getting a good deal. This requires patience.
- Open your options to other airports, sometimes driving a bit farther will make it worth your while in over all price. Sometimes it doesn’t.
- Read the fine print before you book!
- Booking directly with the airline is usually best.
- Sign up for the free version of loyalty points, even if you don’t use that company very often.
- Flying very budget friendly may mean long layovers or less comfortable seating or no overhead bin access.
It all comes down to how you like to travel and what is most important to you. If this process is too involved, but you are afraid of missing out on a good deal, try one of the sights that agrees to reimburse you if the price drops.
For me, the less money I spend on getting there, the more room in my budget I have for being there.
