Tammy Roses: life

Don't Be Sorry Because I'm Single

15.1.16

Gingerbread Cookies and Christmas!

16.11.15

10 Tips For Getting Ready To Travel

20.7.15

Hey everyone! Back again for another travel tips post.

I'm just going to do a quick summary of tips of how I get ready for travelling.

Now, a road trip is completely different to a plane trip, and a lot of these tips can be easily used for both, but I'm going to focus mainly on tips for getting ready for plane trips, as personally I feel like they are more stressful.

I won't be including any tips for travelling with children, because honestly? The last time I took a flight with L was four years ago now, and it was only a three hour flight, so it wasn't all that bad and he was super easy to fly with!

So, here are my tips for getting ready to travel.

If you're anything like me, you'll be double and triple checking you have all your documents. I even check about three times on the way to the airport because I'm so worried about missing something out.

1. The first, and obviously most important tip, is to book your flights as early as possible. Not only will it be cheaper, there is less chance of the flights you really want being sold out.

2. Along with booking flights early, you want to book a hotel or the accommodation you want to use early too. I found that the earlier I booked, the easier it was to find cheaper rooms in the area I wanted. Going to check those prices later, they were all more expensive, or just not available where I wanted them.

3. Closer to the time of actually leaving, you want to make sure you have transport sorted. How are you going to get to the airport? How will you get to your hotel? How are you going to get around wherever it is that you’re visiting? These are all really important things to know.

I found it helpful when I was going to New York, to research the Subway and buses to find out how to get to all the places I wanted to go. This made it super easy when it came to the day and being there as I wasn’t spending too much time figuring it all out.

4. Research the weather for the time of the year that you’re going. I know a lot of people travel in summer, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the place you’re visiting is always going to be hot. Knowing what the weather may be like, or is normally like at that time of year, makes you be prepared when it comes to packing.

5. When it comes to packing – MAKE A LIST! Honestly, it’s the easiest way to stop you from over packing. There are plenty of lists out there, but my go to is generally enough underwear for a week, enough tops to last about four days – washing can always be done, at least three pairs of bottoms, jeans or shorts – again, washing can be done, one dress or nice going out outfit. One pair of flats, one pair of heels, and one pair of comfy sneaker type shoes like converse (I generally wear these on the plane). This is list is just a very basic list, and I know I normally over pack, so judging by my last trip, this is about how many of the clothes I took that I actually wore. Like I said, there are plenty of lists out there, you just need to pick and choose, suiting to your needs and also the purpose of your trip.

6. A week before travelling, get all your documents together in one place. I like to use a plastic folder that has a snap on it. In this I’ll put plane itinerary, hotel reservations, transport information etc. This makes it easier to get to at the airport without having to dig through your bag for all the different pieces of paper.

7. You should also start packing a week before, because over the week you will find yourself taking things out and putting things in as you go. I packed my suitcase and took nearly half of it out again after thinking about it more.

8. A couple of days before you leave, get your carry on ready. See my post here about what I take in my carry on. Make sure to put the folder of travel information in the carry on! Get your passport in there as well now!

9. The night before travelling, do a quick double check that you have everything! Don’t forget your toothbrush or any of your chargers!

10. My biggest tip for getting ready to travel – Make sure you get a good nights rest the night before, and shower before you leave if you have time. If you don’t, do it the night before. Flying can make you feel gross, so this just stops that from happening a little.

I hope these tips come in handy. I know some of them may be pretty obvious, but you would be surprised. Oh and one final tip? Get travel insurance. You may not end up needing it, but if you don't have it and you get hurt or something happens, that's a lot of money coming out of your own pocket. So be smart about this!