This page is dedicated to lessons learned from traveling in the hopes that I don’t make them again. I update it per Trip Report. The overarching lesson is Stick to the Plan.
2021
- The perfectly packed suitcase becomes a pain to pack when jumping from one hotel to another, one country to another (see Pack a Spillover Bag).
- Order at least a medium deep dish pizza, well-done crust (see Post Lockdown Dream Fulfilled? Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago).
- Register and activate your Priority Pass before travel (see Priority Pass Registration: Remember Not to Forget)
- Use Skype for toll-free calls (see TPOL’s Tip: Use Skype for 800 #s Abroad).
- Pay for bags in advance or avoid discount carriers (see Viva Air Colombia: Discount Carriers & Baggage Fees)
- Buy souvenirs when you see them (reference futbol scarfs, see Guns & Butter: Conwy, Wales Travel Guide)
- Don’t Dilly Dally on the Way to the hotel. Restaurants were closed upon late-night arrival in Milan (see Late Night Bite in Milan).
2019
- Be careful taking selfies. Death is closer than you think (see Beware of Selfie Death!).
- Don’t travel during the rainy season. Fog almost ruined Tiger’s Nest Finding Happiness: Tiger’s Nest (Bhutan Day 5).
- Don’t repeat leisure activities in more than one country (see Total Consciousness: Golfing in Bhutan vs Rip-off Alert: Golfing in the Himalayas.)
- Don’t plan activities for the morning of departure (see Guns & Butter: Kathmandu Travel Guide (Bargaining Edition). Going to Monkey Temple worked but had I done it the day before, I may have been able to avoid the endless delay at the airport (see Nepal Domestic Flight Misery).
- Fund your Charles Schwab card 4 business days before travel.
- Quadruple check visa situation even if in transit.
2018
#NoCollusion, No Albania for TPOL
- Don’t travel to Israel while Iraqi and expect a smooth entrance or exit (see Detained in Israel? Check The Back of Your Passport & “You Leave Only with Passport!” Detained in Tel Aviv Again).
- Print your boarding pass ahead of time (see Wizz Air Terminal 1 Tel Aviv: Scammed at The Bus Station).
- Don’t let your Priority Pass access lapse (see Churning Cards?).
- Stay close to the nightlife in obscure countries that don’t have Uber (see Folie Marine Albania: Party Like A Rockstar, BYOD & Bollanos Hotel Albanian Riviera: Wait, Where Am I? ).
- Stick to the plan! (see Make Corfu Greek Again! How Tourism Ruined an Island)
- “Brand Hotel + Name of City” Doesn’t Equal Near City Centre (see Four Points Ljubljana: Not Near the Centre & Radisson Lisbon: No Thank You).
- Don’t underestimate the time needed in transit (see Connecting in Madrid? Pack Extra Time, Connecting in Madrid: Pack Extra Time Part II, & Lost in Airports: Can’t You Read the Signs?).
