Travel tips

Here is a list of handy tips that I have used in our trips. The list is not absolute we learn something new every trip

• Keep a printed version of all the tickets and documents you have for the trip - put them in a binder and keep handy
• Add all the airline/ticket/travel apps to your phone. This is so handy to use when needing boarding passes - some airlines do not use paper passes anymore!
• When booking hotels use the same online site for every booking. You will accumulate discounts with more bookings. Booking.com gives a 10% discount and free breakfasts at selected hotels. Hotels.com give you a free night for every ten bookings.
• When booking hotels always check out the hotel's website for a better price. Also some hotels appreciate the direct booking because the online sites cost them money to participate. Booking directly can save you money - investigate.
• Shop around on online booking sites - prices vary all the time.
• When using an airline site do not keep going back to it to check prices, the cookies set on your computer by the systems will sometimes bump the prices the more often you visit.
• When booking "cheap airlines" always check out the range of seat prices. You will find that the second from the bottom seat price may be cheaper because it includes some of the items you pay extra for in the cheap seats.
• This so obvious but always try to book the hotel with a refund/free cancellation policy. You can always go back in and rebook the same dates before you leave to take advantage of the cheaper price - if the rooms are still available.
• If you intend to pay by charge card on the trip always try to pre-pay your costs, it will  leave more room on the card for unexpected charges or holds.