Avoiding travel mistakes - Part 2

Travel and Leisure

On safari in Zimbabwe

As I had mentioned in the last post, I've travelled to quite a few states in the US, Central America, the Caribbean, many European countries, and even down to West Africa and Zimbabwe. For the most part, my trips have been relatively issue-free, but I have had some bumps along the way, and learned a few lessons from them. So continuing on with my list, again with in no particular order of importance.

Download apps and files at home

Unless you have a great international roaming plan for your smart phone or device, you don't want to rely on the Wi-Fi at your international hotel to get that critical travel app. And you certainly don't want to try streaming Netflix over that connection either, so you'll want to download movies and shows before you leave home. Of course you can get a SIM card when you arrive at your destination, often for only €10 or so, and use the LTE data. But one time in Rome, I managed to use up my allotted data entitlement in a matter of minutes, by downloading an audio touring app for my iPhone, and a bunch of free walking tours. Luckily, the Wi-Fi at the bed and breakfast we were staying at was very good, so we weren't too inconvenienced by it.

Check for local/regional affairs and issues

While it's not always obvious to travellers what could be happening at your destination, it is a good idea to ask a local or check the news as to anything that might be pose a challenge. Things like local holidays or celebrations might want you to re-think your itinerary so that you don't end up in a small town with all of the shops and restaurants closed up. Or like the time in Rome, when we left a visit to Ostia Antica to our last day, only to arrive at the Metro station and find that a rotating transit strike was affecting that one route! It would have been a very inexpensive day trip by Metro, but with an expensive taxi ride as pretty much our only option left to get there, we ended up staying in Rome instead (which is never really a bad thing). Had we known that they publish the rotating strike and which routes were closed, we could have avoided this issue entirely however.

Do some pre-navigation before you arrive

Unless you are taking a taxi from the airport to your hotel, this one might help save some anguish for you. Next time you step out of a train or Metro station, have a look around at some of the other travellers. There will be at least a few that are standing there, luggage in hand, with no idea which direction to go. Often, there is a choice as to which side of the tube station to exit from, so there's a 50/50 chance you'll get it right. Trust me, we've walked a couple of blocks in the wrong direction numerous times, before the blue dot showed us moving the wrong way. But with the advent of Google Maps' street view, it's brilliantly simple to "virtually navigate" to your destination. A long time ago, prior to the advent of smart phones and GPS, we stepped off the bus in Toledo (Spain, not Ohio), and we both looked at each other, "which way now?". We spent the next hour or so, in the mid-day heat, wandering the maze of streets, searching for our little boutique hotel. She laughs about it now, but it was not a fun experience for me.

So on a recent visit to Brussels, I had a look on Google Maps as to where our hotel was w.r.t. the Brussels-Centraal Station. The walking directions showed a semi-circular building that we should see when we exited the station, so I clicked on the Street View to see a preview of what we should look for. When we got there, and walked out of the station, and she said, "Which way?" - I knew exactly where to go.

Use the bathroom when you can

Or as my friend likes to say, "Never pass up the opportunity to pee". You'd think this one would be obvious, right? Especially when you are not sure where and when the opportunity for a bathroom break will occur. But sometimes, you body doesn't seem to have the urge, and you pass on using the WC. Like the time when I was working at the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City. On Friday afternoons, there is a social hour at the end of the day, where they serve tamales and cervezas. But after having a few beers, it was time to head to the airport. Well you can guess what happens next. Rush hour in Mexico City is like nothing you've ever seen before. By the time we got to the airport, I was as close to peeing my pants as I have ever been! Anyhow, if you do end up getting caught with a full bladder while out touring in the city, a good place to find relief is a major chain-style hotel - there will always be a restroom in the lobby, typically near the bar or restaurant. It also won't cost you anything to use the loo there, as it will if you go to one of the public restroom facilities.

Carry a water bottle and a snack

I've learned this one from my wife, who has notoriously high metabolism, and needs to snack in-between meals. But the reason why this one shows up on my mistakes list, is that you tend to make bad restaurant decisions when you are hungry. Like the time we were day-touring in Porto, we were all hot and tired, but rather than take our time finding a TripAdvisor-recommended restaurant, we settled on the first place we could find that served food and cold drinks. Needless to say, the meal was definitely not a highlight, which Portuguese meals should be. Being able to reach into your day bag and grabbing some nuts or a piece of fruit can give you that little boost of energy to get you out of the tourist zone, and allow you to find a memorable place to eat. As a general rule, you typically will get a better meal, at a lower price, if you walk about 5-10 mins. away from the busy tourist zone.

Lookup the local restaurant hours and mealtimes

Further to the above tip, the typical dining hours vary significantly by country and locale. Living in large, North American cities, most people expect that you can pretty much get a decent meal, any time of day or night. But trust me, you can't get a worthwhile dinner before 8 pm in Spain, and don't even try during siesta time. This becomes especially important when your body is still operating on Pacific time, but you're looking for something to eat in Budapest. While she would prefer to avoid eating in pubs or bars, sometimes that can be the only option available when you need to eat at 6 pm in Europe. Or the time that we arrived at Kahului airport around 8 pm - by the time we picked up our rental car and drove around to the other side of Maui, all of the restaurants over there were closed! Had we known, we would have had dinner in Kahului, before setting out for Napili.

Know your limits

When I was younger, I thought I was invincible; I didn't bother with things like travel insurance, and didn't think twice about doing virtually any activity that was part of my itinerary. But I had a wake-up call when I blew my achilles tendon while playing tennis in my 30s. All of a sudden, I had a heightened awareness that maybe, just maybe, bad things could happen to me. And I'm not referring to "accidents" that may occur - anyone can get hit by a car crossing the street. No, what I mean by knowing your limits, is figuring out what might just be a little too much for you.

Day 2 Saas-Fee - smiling because I'm not suffering from the altitude

My example was the ski trip with my college mates to Saas-Fee, in the Swiss Alps. The town itself sits at 1,800 metres (5,900 ft), and the Metro Alpin funicular will drop you off a chest-wheezing 3,550 metres (11,647 ft). We flew on the red-eye arriving in Zurich at 6:30 am, immediately took the train to Visp, and the bus to the town dropped us off around 9:30 am. We were on the first lift by 10:30 am, and enjoying our first pint by noon. A few more runs at high altitude, and my head was pounding and spinning as we sat down for lunch at Spielboden. Now I'm not sure if I wouldn't have suffered if I'd done things differently, but I certainly would have taken more steps to stay hydrated while travelling, and perhaps gone a bit easier on the alcohol consumption on Day 1. But I learned a lesson on that trip - I am not (and never was) Superman.

Avoiding travel mistakes - Part 1

Travel and Leisure

Looking back on things, I guess I have done a fair amount of travel - both for business as well as vacation. I have one passport with so many stamps, that I consider it a kind of a badge of honour. But with all of the trips I've been on, there were some mishaps, and other calamities avoided. So here, in no particular order, are some of the things I have learned over 30+ years of international travel.

If you have spare time, spare it at the airport

Heathrow airport on a normal day

I'm not talking about an 8-hour layover between flights here. More like, what are you going to do with that extra hour between breakfast and the time you "think" you should be at the airport? There was this one time where we were staying on the outskirts of London, and my travel partner thought we should take the extra time to wander around the local High Street. It wasn't a particularly picturesque suburb, so I nixed that, and we headed to the airport, arriving over 3 hours early. However, when we entered Heathrow's International Terminal, we were immersed in chaos immediately. Turns out that all of the computers were down, and all airlines were having to check in passengers manually. Had we not have arrived early, we would surely have missed our flight home that day.

Select your airline seat ahead of time

This is one that has come to light more these days, as advance seat selection is typically an additional charge now. I mean, we don't worry about it too much on a short, regional flight, but for long-haul ones, it is definitely worthwhile. I'll even go on seatguru.com, and check out which plane and seat layout is being used, before I book flights. Back when I didn't know better, I was unfortunate enough to get the worst seat possible on a 10-hour flight from Frankfurt to Harare, Zimbabwe. I was stuck in the middle seat, rear bulkhead - yes, the seats that don't recline - and to make matters worse, I was sandwiched between two large German men. Needless to say, I spend the extra money now to get decent seats; she likes the front bulkhead just before Premium Economy, as it gives you extra space since there is no seat back in front of you. Sure, the seat is slightly narrower, as the table tray comes out of your armrest, but we're both slim enough that there's no issue. As a bonus, when you pay for early seat selection, you usually get to board ahead of the masses, ensuring that you get some overhead bin space.

Check your passport expiry date

You've all seen them. The folks at the passport office, that are freaking out, as the clerk informs them that they will have to pay an expedite fee to get their passport renewed in time for their upcoming trip. Well imagine my surprise, while reciting our passport details to the travel agent, and discovering that hers had already expired. Which would not have been a big deal for the European trip coming up in 3 months, except we were leaving for a beach vacation in Mazatlan in a week! Suffice it to say, that counting on government bureaucracy to complete your vacation plans is a nerve-wracking experience that I don't recommend to anyone.

Understand your insurance coverage

When I was younger, I would never had thought about this. But after having to cancel an expensive European river cruise when she came down with the flu the night before our departure, I do now. Luckily, because I had paid for the entire trip on my VISA, we received partial compensation through them. The other half was covered by her employee insurance benefits - a fact we didn't know then, but are certainly aware of now. And it's not just trip cancellation and interruption insurance that you should consider. There's your medical coverage, as well as your home's insurance while you are gone. For example, did you know that most home insurance underwriters won't cover something like water damage from a burst water heater, if you don't have someone either house-sitting or popping by every few days to check in? This happened to my parents, and extensive damage was caused when their pipes froze; because they had a neighbour popping by to check on things, their insurance covered it.

Bring along some local currency

This is particularly important for us Canadians, as we don't have credit cards with low/no international transaction fees. i.e. a typical VISA transaction will charge you 3.5% in addition to a typically uncompetitive exchange rate (Update: I just got a Home Trust VISA which has no foreign transaction fees for European travel). But you can get cash at a bank ATM machine, right? Not necessarily. Recently, on a trip to Portugal, we ran out of Euros, but our Interac cards wouldn't work in every ATM we tried. Luckily, we were able to borrow some from our other travel companions, so not a huge issue, but it could have been. Bear in mind that while many merchants take credit cards, some countries are still more partial to using cash for transactions in restaurants and small market kiosks. Getting some at the airport foreign exchange is not always going to give you a good rate, and chasing down an ATM is usually the last thing you want to do after 12+ hours of travelling. BTW, I find that you can even negotiate a better rate with the teller when you pull up at your local bank branch. Pandemic update: most countries have gone contactless payment, so you need to make sure your credit card is equipped with the RFID payment chip.

Get to know the tipping etiquette for your destination

I often see Americans over-tipping in Europe, which sets the wrong standard for us Canadians. As such, I've seen many unscrupulous restaurants, taxicabs etc. trying to get more than the norm when it comes to gratuities. e.g. Most restaurants in Europe will pay their servers a decent wage, and as such, 10% is quite a generous tip. Most often, locals will simply round-up - if the bill was €28.70, you would simply leave €30. Being somewhat indistinguishable from Americans, I have had folks try to take advantage of me. Like the time in London when a cabbie pretended to be furious at the normal tip I had given him in order to get another £2 from me. There are differences from country to country, so it makes sense to check if the etiquette is different when moving to a new destination. i.e. in Mexico, tipping is always going to be appreciated, versus a Sandals resort, where tipping is strictly prohibited.

Check the weather for your destination

We've been tripped up by this more than once. Our first time was going to Italy in mid-May - we thought, "no problem, it will be warm, so all we will need is a rain jacket just in case". Wrong. They were having unseasonably cool weather in Florence, and we ended up having to buy sweaters there. The second time was in Holland - we should have figured out that a place with windmills was going to be windy. Really windy. While we did have insulated jackets this time, the windchill made it feel much colder than we were expecting, that's for sure. I know you can always buy something over there if necessary, but sometimes it feels like, "we should have known better". And now, you know.

More tips and mistakes in Part 2