I Will Consider Ways Excess Baggage Devalues My Trip
Airlines love checking your bags. It's become an important revenue stream for the industry.
The ways in which excess baggage devalues your trip might not always be obvious.
You know you'll pay for checked bags on most airlines, but are you keeping up with how these charges are increasing?
Perhaps more importantly, do you ever stop to think about how uncomfortable it can be to lug a bunch of heavy bags everywhere you go?
You'll wind up sacrificing mobility for comfort and perhaps miss out on the best room or the cheapest transportation.
Resolution: Cut overspending, muscle-strain and incompetence by traveling with as little luggage as possible..
I Will Fight Jet Lag
On many trips, your fight against jet lag won't completely blunt the effects of traveling across many time zones.
Fight anyway.
Taking a few steps in the days and weeks prior to departure will help minimize the toll jet lag can extract from the first few days of your trip.
Stay hydrated and sleep on the plane. If possible, schedule a flight that arrives close to local bedtime. And above all, resist the urge to take a four-hour nap on day one.
Resolution: I will not let jet lag symptoms sap the value from the early days of my international trip.
I Will Pass Quickly Through Airport Security
One might wonder about the connection between budget travel and getting through airport security checkpoints quickly.
Missed flights and rescheduled connections can cost money. These days, no security officer is going to exhibit sympathy for someone who has just heard "final call" and yet still needs clearance.
Arriving early is the most obvious advice, but many people underestimate the possible delays, and they give little or no thought to a few simple strategies that will speed the process.
Resolution: I will practice sound security line strategies that result in efficient screenings and on-time departures.
I Will Eat Like a Local
If you find yourself in an overpriced restaurant along the main tourist route of your destination, take a look around at the other patrons. Chances are good that they too are visitors.
Some of the strongest and longest-standing budget travel advice is also quite simple: dine with the locals.
It might take some extra effort to identify and find these places, but your budget will benefit. Most of the time, your palette will as well.
Resolution: Find the restaurants and dining options favored by local residents and bypass the tourist traps.
Successful budget travel hinges on planning. International calling during a trip is a prime example of this principle.
If you simply make no plans and pay full price for phone calls from your hotel room or your smart phone, your travel budget will need unpleasant adjustments.
If you choose a strategy for international phone calls before leaving home, you'll accomplish the same thing that others are paying top money to do.
Check into buying an international roaming plan, or buy a temporary SIM card. Use the iPhone FaceTime feature, or a mobile app that enables cheap phone calls. In some places, calling cards or small telephone companies provide the best options. Don't forget about Skype or Web cams.
Resolution: Do some quick research on which international calling strategy works best for your destination and act accordingly before leaving home.
These "budget travel resolutions" began more than a decade ago. At this writing, there have now been more than 60 resolutions on 13 annual lists.
New Year's resolutions usually represent changes that are painful to make: losing weight, quitting a stubborn habit or even cutting expenses.
Through the years, these budget travel resolutions became popular because minimal discomfort was required to fulfill them.
Most are not time-sensitive. So if you don't like this year's list, look back through the archives and find a few other resolutions try in 2014.
|Resolutions for 2013|Resolutions for 2012|Resolutions for 2011|
|Resolutions for 2010|Resolutions for 2009|Resolutions for 2008|
|Resolutions for 2007|Resolutions for 2006|Resolutions for 2005|
|Resolutions for 2004|Resolutions for 2003|Resolutions for 2002|
Airlines love checking your bags. It's become an important revenue stream for the industry.
The ways in which excess baggage devalues your trip might not always be obvious.
You know you'll pay for checked bags on most airlines, but are you keeping up with how these charges are increasing?
Perhaps more importantly, do you ever stop to think about how uncomfortable it can be to lug a bunch of heavy bags everywhere you go?
You'll wind up sacrificing mobility for comfort and perhaps miss out on the best room or the cheapest transportation.
Resolution: Cut overspending, muscle-strain and incompetence by traveling with as little luggage as possible..
I Will Fight Jet Lag
On many trips, your fight against jet lag won't completely blunt the effects of traveling across many time zones.
Fight anyway.
Taking a few steps in the days and weeks prior to departure will help minimize the toll jet lag can extract from the first few days of your trip.
Stay hydrated and sleep on the plane. If possible, schedule a flight that arrives close to local bedtime. And above all, resist the urge to take a four-hour nap on day one.
Resolution: I will not let jet lag symptoms sap the value from the early days of my international trip.
I Will Pass Quickly Through Airport Security
One might wonder about the connection between budget travel and getting through airport security checkpoints quickly.
Missed flights and rescheduled connections can cost money. These days, no security officer is going to exhibit sympathy for someone who has just heard "final call" and yet still needs clearance.
Arriving early is the most obvious advice, but many people underestimate the possible delays, and they give little or no thought to a few simple strategies that will speed the process.
Resolution: I will practice sound security line strategies that result in efficient screenings and on-time departures.
I Will Eat Like a Local
If you find yourself in an overpriced restaurant along the main tourist route of your destination, take a look around at the other patrons. Chances are good that they too are visitors.
Some of the strongest and longest-standing budget travel advice is also quite simple: dine with the locals.
It might take some extra effort to identify and find these places, but your budget will benefit. Most of the time, your palette will as well.
Resolution: Find the restaurants and dining options favored by local residents and bypass the tourist traps.
Successful budget travel hinges on planning. International calling during a trip is a prime example of this principle.
If you simply make no plans and pay full price for phone calls from your hotel room or your smart phone, your travel budget will need unpleasant adjustments.
If you choose a strategy for international phone calls before leaving home, you'll accomplish the same thing that others are paying top money to do.
Check into buying an international roaming plan, or buy a temporary SIM card. Use the iPhone FaceTime feature, or a mobile app that enables cheap phone calls. In some places, calling cards or small telephone companies provide the best options. Don't forget about Skype or Web cams.
Resolution: Do some quick research on which international calling strategy works best for your destination and act accordingly before leaving home.
These "budget travel resolutions" began more than a decade ago. At this writing, there have now been more than 60 resolutions on 13 annual lists.
New Year's resolutions usually represent changes that are painful to make: losing weight, quitting a stubborn habit or even cutting expenses.
Through the years, these budget travel resolutions became popular because minimal discomfort was required to fulfill them.
Most are not time-sensitive. So if you don't like this year's list, look back through the archives and find a few other resolutions try in 2014.
|Resolutions for 2013|Resolutions for 2012|Resolutions for 2011|
|Resolutions for 2010|Resolutions for 2009|Resolutions for 2008|
|Resolutions for 2007|Resolutions for 2006|Resolutions for 2005|
|Resolutions for 2004|Resolutions for 2003|Resolutions for 2002|
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