Travel Tip Tuesday: Travel Itinerary Template and Binder

Whenever I travel, I plan it out.  I create a binder that has all of our printed documents, itinerary, terms & conditions of my credit card/travel insurance, and other notes in one place.  I store address labels, stamps, and a spare pen inside (ballpoint is best for writing out postcards).

I also have these documents stored somewhere on the web (Google Docs, online email, Dropbox, or SugarSync) in case something were to happen to my binder.

I personally prefer a soft, floppy binder as it will fit easier into my backpack.

Here's what my binder looked like for our trip to northern Europe:

If you'd like to use a copy of our blank travel itinerary, you can make a copy of your own from Google Docs.  Just click here and enjoy!

Awesome Visual for Travel Visa Requirements

An awesome visual representation of countries requiring visas popped up on my Twitter feed today.

Travel Tip Tuesday: English Faucet Fix

For those traveling to Europe who are cursed having to use the two faucets when washing your face, check out this awesome fix posted by Made in Shoreditch.  Love it!

REI Adventure Kitty

For April Fool's Day this year, REI published Adventure Kitty gear.

Seriously too awesome!

Note the Tiny Little Machete.  Ha!

Travel Tip Tuesday: Tuesday Humor

Sometimes you just need a good laugh.

I recently stumbled up Lonely Planet's "30 travel terms that don’t exist but should" article by Andy Murdock.  Pure awesome!

A few of my favorites:

afterglobe n.

The warm, fuzzy feeling one gets after a long immensely satisfying trip

fearenheit n.

Panic felt by Americans when attempting to comprehend temperatures in other countries.

peripathetic adj.

Miserable due to a lack of upcoming travel plans.

Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/blog/2012/01/28/30-travel-terms-that-dont-exist-but-should/#ixzz2PGw95NZF

Six Word Memoir

A year ago I started this blog when an ILA teacher at one of the schools I work for asked us to write a biography poem to contribute to a book they were writing.

This year, it was a six word memoir.

Here is my contribution:

Travel Tip Tuesday: Decoy Wallet and Credit Card Theivery

In case of credit card theft, it's helpful if you have a copy of the front and back of your credit cards somewhere so you know which number to call and your credit card number.  Another variation of this is to program your credit card company's lost card number into your cell phone with the last 4 digits of the card number in the 'memo' field to help you identify the card.

If you live in the USA and are traveling outside the USA, make sure to get the non toll-free number for the bank or card provider before you go.  There are a lot of places outside of the USA that won't allow you to dial a USA toll-free number (or so I hear).

For those supremely worried about being mugged, pick up an inexpensive wallet before you travel and fill it with old stuff (old library cards, fake money, old gift cards, etc).  It can be used as a decoy.  Keep a little of your cash in there and use it for transactions so that you never have to bring out your real wallet when buying stuff from vendors.