Travel Gems for January 18th – 22nd
Each Monday through Friday, a Travel Gem of the Day will be posted at SmartWomenTravelers.com. These Travel Gems are tips that will help a traveler travel smarter, safer, handle home issues, be prepared and enjoy their journeys.
Here are last week’s Travel Gems:
Monday Jan. 18 – Free Passport Reminder Service: ItsEasy.com offers a free passport renewal reminder, which can help travelers avoid showing up at the airport or border with an expired or soon to expire passport. Register on their website and receive a renewal reminder via email nine months prior to your passport expiration date. This service is especially useful for families with children, since kids’ passports expire every five years (as opposed to 10 years for adults).They also provide expedited passport processing.
Tuesday Jan. 19 – To reduce under-eye puffiness after a long flight, get checked into your hotel and put crushed ice in a washcloth and apply it under the eyes. You will look and feel immediately fresher.
Wednesday Jan. 20 – If you tend to work late in your hotel room, ask the hotel’s guest services to call you with a ‘shut-down’ call about an hour before bedtime. Then take time to relax, clear your mind and get restful sleep.
Thursday Jan. 21 – For Your Safety! When arriving late to a hotel and you need to park a car, always have your hotel’s phone number stored in your mobile phone. Call the hotel as you’re nearing their location, and ask that someone meet you outside and escort you in. Or use valet parking, if available.
Friday Jan. 22 – For family involvement in your business travel, take a photo/video of your child’s favorite small stuffed animal in the places you visit. Your child will get excited about their toy’s adventures. It’s even great material for a book you can write with your child. Some schools have a ‘Flat Stanley’ doll that is pictured around the globe. This ‘Flat Stanley’ is an excellent paper doll to take photos of because it takes up no space or weight in your bag.
A friend of mine would take along her child’s stuff animal collected from McDonald’s Happy Meals. Due to the small size, the animals were easy to toss into a purse and photograph at an interesting spot.
