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Make Your Travels A Little Easier

Planes, Trains And Automobiles (1987) Every holiday traveler's worst nightmares come to life in this comic odyssey from John Hughes. Steve Martin's struggle to get from New York to Chicago for Thanksgiving is made worse by overbearing lout John Candy, whose presence he can't escape. And remember, "Those aren't PILLOWS!"

Steve Martin and John Candy had the right idea in Planes, Trains and Automobiles: With the proper attitude, even the rigors of a road warrior lifestyle can be funny. “Please. Have mercy. I’ve been wearing the same underwear since Tuesday.”

The earlier you make your reservation, the more likely you are to get flights, hotel rooms, car rentals, etc., at the best possible prices. An electronic ticket will save you time at the airport by letting you bypass the lines at the ticket counter. If you live in a non-hub city that only has flights to major cities that are hubs. In this case try to minimize connections and be sure to allow enough time between connecting flights in case your initial flight is delayed.

Generally, the busiest airport times are early morning and late afternoon. If possible, plan your trip for mid-morning to mid-afternoon. Not only will you have a better choice of flights, but you’re also less likely to run into long lines and heavy traffic at the airport. Running late for your plane and don’t have time to hassle with parking? Now offered is On-Airport Valet parking at most airports. Simply pull up to the valet station at the terminal, hand over your keys, and scurry off to your gate. Upon your return, an employee will retrieve your ride and meet you at your terminal. Reservations may be required.

Think about what you really need and then try to pack less. Many experts recommend that you keep a little extra space in your bag so that you can accommodate things you purchase on your trip. Some items, like sweaters and socks, can be packed in sealable plastic bags that allow you to compress the item and fit it more neatly in your bag. In your carry-on bag pack only necessities like wallets, passports, jewelry, cameras, cell phones, keys, cash, and laptop computers. You might also want to pack a change of clothes and basic toiletries in case your check-in luggage is lost. However, it should go without saying that you should avoid packing anything that can be viewed as a potential weapon, including razors, nail files, and clippers, and scissors. And remember, all liquid items you intend to carry on must be put into containers of three ounces or less and packed in no larger than one clear, quart-size, zip-top plastic bag. Before you try to pack everything you need, think about dragging your entire wardrobe behind you in an airport and then trying to stuff it into an overhead bin on the plane.

Use your business address on check-in luggage so that potential burglars can’t get your home address at a time when they know you’ll be away from home. Also place contact information, along with a copy of your itinerary, inside your bag so that airline officials have as much information as possible to connect your bag to you in case it is lost. Put some kind of identifier on your bag such as a piece of colored tape on the side or a ribbon tied to the handle. This makes it easy to identify your bag and less likely that someone will pick it up by mistake. You should also use something other than a lock to secure your luggage. You might use plastic pull closures or a key ring to make it easy for inspectors to open the bag if necessary.

Use traveler’s checks and credit cards as much as possible. Keep enough cash on hand to handle tips, taxis, and miscellaneous expenses, but remember—traveler’s checks can be replaced and credit cards can be canceled. If cash is lost or stolen, it’s gone.

Given security concerns, long lines are inevitable, especially around peak-travel times. Airlines suggest you arrive at least 60 minutes early if you aren’t checking baggage and 90 minutes early if you are. Have a photo ID available at all times during check-in. You will be asked to show it several times starting at the ticket counter. Dress neatly or in a way that doesn’t draw undue attention to you. Wear shoes that can be removed easily and wear as little metal as possible. Pack metal objects, like keys and jewelry, in your carry-on bag and you can always retrieve them after you clear security.

If something does go wrong, be ready to roll with it. Be friendly with airline staff and make sure they investigate every alternative, but stay firm. You may receive anything from vouchers for meals to a discount on a future flight. At the least, carry a good book with you and maintain a positive attitude.

Staying fit is hard enough when you’re at home, much less when you’re forever on the road. A web version of their best-selling book, The Athletic-Minded Traveler: Where to Work Out and Stay when Fitness Is a Priority, has been created a with expanded information on more than 80 destinations. Insiders in each city weigh in on everything from ­ fitness-focused hotels to diet-conscious dining rooms to site-specific workouts.

Guidebooks that spotlight a specific travel theme such as romance, golf, architecture, health, or drives are full of info compiled by upscale event and travel planners. The best is formatted like an address book and focuses on the finer things in life. Long before PDAs and laptops, creative types like Van Gogh, Hemingway, and Picasso mused and sketched in notebooks made by Moleskine (say mole-a-skeen-a), a family-owned company that closed in the 1980s but was revived in 1998. The latest too-cool Moleskine product is the City Notebook. Billed as “the first guidebook you write yourself,” each notebook contains city layout and subway maps, a street index, a tabbed organizer, and, of course, plenty of blank pages for capturing those moments of inspiration great cities bring.

How sweet would it be to have the option of checking in to your hotel before you get there? A wireless check-in system has been tested at some hotels. While in transit to the hotel, guests with Windows-powered Mobile Smartphones or laptops can simply connect to the hotel’s property-management system, check in, and then pick up their room keys from an automatic dispenser in the hotel lobby.

Perhaps Dalí had jet lag in mind when he painted his famous melting clocks. Indeed, when we cross too many time zones too fast, our internal clock runs askew, making us like a distressed object in a surrealist painting. With our circadian rhythms rusty, we suffer fatigue, insomnia, grogginess, memory loss, dehydration, and other unpleasant, life-impairing symptoms. So, what’s a traveler to do? Frequent travelers swear by this diet, created by scientists at the University of Chicago’s Argonne National Laboratory. Essentially a pretravel regimen, it suggests a four-day feasting-and-fasting program that ends upon arrival. Feast days mean lots of protein early in the day and a carbohydrate load in the evening, while fasting calls for three small, low-calorie meals. This coordinated eating plan speeds adaptation to new time zones by resetting our inner clocks and adjusting our biological cues.

Many hotels and spas now offer de-stressing jet-lag treatments to whip mind- and body-warped travelers back into shape. Some offer quantum biofeedback and acupuncture sessions that rebalance and reenergize, while some hotels serve up mineral-loaded power drinks. Many hotels renew weary guests with pressure-point-oriented massages.

Netflix may have pioneered the flicks-by-mail/no-late-fees model, but it’s too good of an idea to limit to just movies. Enter Simply Audiobooks, which offers a huge array of titles by authors ranging from James Patterson and John Grisham to Henry James and Friedrich Nietzsche. If the U.S. mail is too slow for you, many titles are offered by download.

Sure, it’d be great to dine at the hottest spots in New York, Los Angeles, and any other city, but — regretful sigh — who has time to wait weeks for reservations? Especially if you’re only in town for a night or two. Don’t despair: Now you can crash the line with PrimeTime Tables, a new status broker. You pick the posh eatery; they pull the strings and land your table.

When a massive snowstorm closed Denver International Airport last December, the only people smiling may have been the lucky few who had bought travel-insurance policies — which can cover trip cancellation and interruption, medical bills, accidental death, and other contingencies. While it’s probably not needed for short domestic flights, trip insurance makes plenty of sense for international travel and long, complex itineraries.

There are gadgets, and then there are useful gadgets — like a wireless adapter that easily links a Wi-Fi–enabled laptop to a projector, thus ridding you of that unsightly rat’s nest of wires. Its zippy frame-transfer rate and one-to-many capability allow for easy sharing and transmission of content from laptops anywhere in the conference area.

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