A Guide to the Theme Parks

Before traveling by taxi in foreign (or even domestic) locations, ask a local (perhaps stopping in shops to question the sales staff) what the approximate taxi fare would be to a particular location. They've always been pleased to help me. In this manner, I can avoid paying the inflated tourist rates!

When not taking pictures, keep your memory card away from your camera. It's a simple method to ensure that any photographs you've shot will be safe even if your camera is stolen. My husband and I learned this lesson the hard way when we lost 250 shots of Kauai.

Check out worldclimate.com to find monthly average temperatures and rainfall for thousands of cities worldwide. You can avoid countries during their rainy seasons, and the information is useful for figuring out what to pack.

You can suspend more than your newspaper when you're away. On several occasions, DirecTV has agreed to put my account on hold while I was traveling--without penalties, additional fees, reconnection charges, or the like. So, instead of a monthly bill of $65, mine gets prorated.

Rather than automatically using your hotel's valet parking, you should check to see if there's an adjacent parking lot or garage that offers a better rate. On a recent trip, I was able to park across the street from my hotel for $10 per day--versus $27 per day to valet park with the hotel.

Just before I go through airport security, to save time and to avoid leaving something important behind, I collect all loose items--change, money clip, belt buckle, pens--in a large Ziploc bag. I send the bag through the X-ray machine with the rest of my luggage. After picking it up at the other end, I put the things back in place and either toss the bag or keep it for the return trip.

Place a fabric softener sheet in your suitcase when packing. It'll absorb odors and dampness and keep clothing smelling fresh. It's most beneficial in warm, humid climates and while at sea. I found this quite useful during my twenty-three years in the U.S.Navy.

A small compass is a great travel aid. Aside from the obvious benefits during country drives or hikes, it's extremely helpful in navigating winding city streets and orienting yourself once you exit a subway station.

Though they're often the best deals around, don't assume that packaged vacations always offer the biggest bang for your buck. My wife and I were ready to book an air/hotel package to Maui when we noticed a sale on Aloha Airlines ($280 round trip from Oakland). I added up the total cost of the trip if purchased separately and saved $400 over comparable packages from various tour operators. We used the extra money to stay in a nicer hotel and to rent a convertible!

When planning a vacation, we send away for brochures from major tour operators. They provide hotel and restaurant recommendations and sightseeing itineraries, which we then duplicate on our own. Use this trick to mimic the vacation packages of high-end tour operators for what can turn out to be a fraction of the cost.

Online check-in isn't just for airlines. After reserving an Alamo car over the Internet, I was offered online check-in just by entering my credit card number and driver's license information for approval. At the airport, following Alamo's instructions, I informed the shuttle-bus driver that I had checked in online and reserved an economy car. I was dropped off in the lot and told to pick whichever car I wanted. I drove it to the exit, where my credit card and driver's license were verified on the computer, and I was done.

In order to provide any reimbursement for a lost suitcase, most airlines and insurance companies require an itemized list of exactly what was inside it. Unfortunately, remembering everything you packed after the fact is virtually impossible. To avoid the headache, take pictures of the items you're going to put in your suitcase with your digital camera or cell phone. The photos will make creating the list a breeze, and, in the event of a dispute with the airline or insurance agent, you have some visual evidence of ownership.

Before you book a room over the phone, peruse the hotel's site for its "Web only" rate. It's often cheaper than the best quote you'll get by calling. Recently, over the phone, I was quoted a daily rate of $129. I booked the same room online for $89.

Download the most up-to-date airline schedules from the individual airline Web sites to your PDA before you leave home. Should you encounter a delay or cancellation at the airport, you'll have all the information needed to find another flight quickly.

My husband and I create personal cards (like business cards) before we leave home. We put our name, address, phone, and email address on them, as well as a picture of us. How many people have gotten home from a trip, looked at a slip of paper with a name and address, and wondered, Who is this? The picture helps link a name to a face.

My husband and I travel to out-of-the-way towns where rural roads can be hard to navigate. We use a handheld GPS (Global Positioning System) to mark the spot where we're staying, the main highway turnoffs, and, most important, the turns to unmarked side roads. When we're back-tracking and arrive again at confusing intersections, we whip out our GPS and immediately know which route to take home.

Before traveling overseas, look at your health insurance card. If it only shows an 800 or 888 number for precertification of hospital admissions, call that number and obtain the local number with an area code. Many 800 numbers can't be dialed from foreign countries. I learned this the hard way during an emergency hospital admission in Switzerland. The delay in reaching my carrier could have been avoided.

When I go on a trip that requires me to accessorize a number of outfits, I buy little Ziploc bags and place the appropriate jewelry/panty hose/scarf inside. Then I punch a hole just big enough to slide the bag over the outfit's hanger. This way, my panty hose stay snag-free and my jewelry never gets misplaced.

To save space, pack items for travel that you can use in at least two ways. In a pinch, shampoo can double for detergent when washing your clothes (carry the bottle in a Ziploc bag in your suitcase); sandals or flip-flops also function as slippers; and a swimsuit cover-up can serve as a bathrobe.

I was booking tickets online for an upcoming flight to Europe from the East Coast. One particularly attractive fare was offered on a U.S. airline as well as on its foreign "partner airline." Same plane, same flight, same base price. But it was more than $100 cheaper per ticket to book with the foreign airline versus the U.S.one. We saved more than $400 for four tickets, but we'll be on the same plane!

Carry a Polaroid camera when traveling to developing countries. In Cambodia, several village children gathered around us, posed enthusiastically for pictures, and were fascinated by their images in our digital camera. We wanted to send them the pictures, but they were unable to tell us their address. Polaroids would have solved the problem!

Many tourist information offices provide discounted same-day booking services for local lodgings. My husband and I discovered this when we accidentally left a midweek gap in our travel plans between my husband's conference hotel and our B&B in Charleston. Instead of adding another night at either location, we stayed at one of the more elegant inns (normally over $200) for $70, courtesy of the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau.

When looking for the lowest airfare, I've found that in some cases the best rates pop up when searching for one traveler instead of two. Recently, I wanted to buy one-way tickets from New York to Orlando for two people and came up with $87 per person. But when I selected one traveler, the fare dropped to $72.

My hearing loss once made it impossible to hear any alarm clock. Then I found the Shake Awake, an alarm clock that vibrates. I no longer stare at the ceiling all night prior to an early flight in fear of oversleeping. I clip Shake Awake to my pillow or place it on a hard surface near my bed, where its rattling definitely gets my attention.

If your tablecloth is wet at dinner, you should prepare for rough seas. Restaurant staffers have been known to slightly dampen the tablecloth to keep plates and glasses from sliding.

Remember to check the hours of operation for your hotel's airport shuttle. In Rome,we were surprised to learn that our hotel--which touted its shuttle--only offered the service a few hours a day.

I always bring a small flashlight to hotels in case there's a blackout. The building may not be equipped with emergency lighting, and, if necessary, my flashlight will help me quickly locate the nearest exit.

After looking for years for the perfect toiletries bag and being frustrated by many that were less than ideal, I finally discovered one that is just right: a soft-sided lunch box I bought at the supermarket. It has an outer zipped pocket with small compartments and slots perfect for often-used items like a toothbrush and toothpaste. There's a small removable zipper pouch inside (meant for a small ice pack) for those smaller, hard-to-find items like nail files and pill bottles. The remaining space inside is just right for larger items like shampoo and hand lotion. Other helpful features include both a small handle and shoulder strap and a waterproof, easy-to-clean interior. As an elementary school teacher, I know firsthand that it'll last: It was designed to withstand daily use by kids!

I reverse the batteries in my portable CD player before packing it in my suitcase or backpack, in case it's accidentally turned on when my bag is jostled. I came up with the idea after arriving at my destination to find that the brand-new batteries I'd put into my Walkman were dead.

A company called Orikaso makes brightly colored polypropylene sheets that can be folded--kind of like origami--to form a dish, bowl, or cup. The sheets are lightweight and reusable, and you simply flatten them when you're finished. We found ours at a sporting goods store, but you can also buy them online. Check orikaso.com for retailers.