15 tips for a stress-free holiday
04 Jul 2016
There’s no better feeling than embarking on an adventure, whether it’s to a tropical island or a bustling city. Here, Probus members share their best travel advice, from what underwear to pack to tracking down missing luggage.
- “During the past 30 years, I’ve travelled to 68 countries and never travel without my octopus straps. They’re excellent for hooking over shower recesses and sturdier than the string clothes lines that some hotels provide. I also never travel without my travel jug, plastic mug and coffee in a plastic bottle.”
- “Although knitting needles aren’t allowed on planes, I’ve found that plastic crochet hooks are OK and useful on long flights for crocheting my latest project. I just have to remember to pack the scissors in the checked-in suitcase.”
- “Multi-power boards make it easy to charge your devices all at the same time. We also like to take a portable smoke alarm when we travel – alarms are not compulsory in European hotels.”
- “We always take our chargers and technology devices in our carry-on luggage. We learnt this lesson the hard way when a suitcase went missing for three days and couldn’t charge our laptop or phones, so it was difficult to track down the missing luggage.”
- “David likes to take lycra underpants and bamboo socks – they dry quicker!”
- “Take photocopies of all of your passport and debit and credit cards in case you lose the originals. It makes it a lot easier to find them later on.”
- “If you experience a delay, just accept that you’re not in control, even though it may be hard to do so. Go with the flow. Don’t take it out on the airline staff – they’re probably more frustrated than you are. That’s why you should take a good book.”
- “Take a change of clothes in your carry-on luggage in case you have a delay or if your main luggage does not arrive with you.”
- “If you can afford it, take business class for long-haul flights. It may be relatively expensive, but you’ll arrive rested and well-nourished.”
10. “Consider doing a bus tour when you’re away. If you drive a hire car, you might not be able to soak up the history of the things you see.”
11. “Take more than one source of cash or credit and debit cards plus a travel cash card, which can be preloaded and topped up whilst you’re away from home.”
12. “Always pack as little as possible, make a list of what is in your suitcase the first time you travel, then cull the list for anything you didn’t use. It’s always a good idea to take multi-use garments, like a sarong or poncho which can be used as a skirt, a blanket, a beach cover up or something to sleep in.”
13. “If you are on any medication, particularly strong pain killers or insulin, make sure you have a note from your doctor and copies or originals of your prescriptions, so that if you are ill, the foreign doctor knows your medical history. Note that some medicines are illegal overseas and if the original medicines are prescribed under the PBS, you may need some justification for taking them out of the country.”
14. “Travel with an open mind. Laws, customs and etiquette in other countries may be different to Australia. Accept their status quo and don’t criticise them because ‘we don’t do this in Australia’. Remember you are a guest in their country.”
15. “My wife and I do not eat a lot of processed food, gluten, added sugar or lots of salt. So when we travel, we prefer to stay in apartments with kitchens. If we’re not able to do that, we now take with us a small induction cooker (about 1.3 kg) and a steamer. The steamer base is used for preparing scrambled eggs for breakfast and for low-temperature cooking of salmon or other fish. The whole steamer is used to steam vegetables and potatoes, with a generous addition of coconut and olive oils, plus cheese. We have not yet set off a smoke alarm!”
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