Beat the Crowds in June

I've saved lots of money using AAA. In addition to providing excellent roadside services (help with stalled cars, lost keys, etc.), most AAA chapters offer discounted tickets to Disney World and a preferred parking pass that enables you to grab specially designated spots near the entrances. It's a dollar saver, and you don't have to walk far or take the trolley in the parks!

Give your children a coach's whistle in case they get lost; put it on a ribbon so they can wear it around their neck. The piercing sound may be annoying, but you'll definitely find them quicker!

If you book a package over the Internet, print out all the details of what's included and take it with you. When a hotel desk clerk in Paris said that the breakfast buffet we had enjoyed for the previous seven mornings was not included in our package, I was able to show him the printouts and prove him wrong. He apologized profusely and wiped the breakfast charges from our bill.

If you're stranded overnight at an airport and receive a "distress rate" voucher, call the hotel of your choice before blindly following the airline's suggestion. You may find that for that discounted rate (or a few bucks more) you can stay in a hotel with a lot more amenities than the one the airline would put you in. After a long, mishap-filled trip, anyone can appreciate a really good mattress, a top-notch restaurant, and an indoor swimming pool.

I take each of my grandchildren on a road trip the summer each turns twelve. The trips range in length from two weeks to a month and require careful packing. I've learned to put our clothes and any snack items we'll need in large plastic bins that fit in the back of my minivan. We each bring a small bag and pack it every evening with items we'll need for that night and the next day: no lugging heavy suitcases in and out of motels or hotels.

Whenever I'm in a country where drinking or brushing my teeth with the tap water is a risk, I cover the faucet handles in my hotel bathroom with a towel. As a result, I never accidentally turn on the faucet when I'm half asleep.

Don't assume you can save a spot at the pool with your towel. Cruise lines give you one pool towel at the start of the cruise. If you don't have it (or a cleaned trade-in) at the end, you'll get charged. If you let it out of your sight, you run the risk of losing it or having it stolen by a fellow cruiser.

Certified scuba divers who take prescription medications should keep a doctor's permission-to-dive statement with their certification cards. On a recent trip to Jamaica, I truthfully completed a lengthy questionnaire about my health, revealing that I have medically controlled high blood pressure and cholesterol. I was told I could not dive without a doctor's OK, even though I exercise regularly, am very fit, and have no other health issues. I now carry a letter from my doctor attesting to my fitness for scuba diving.

Don't be too quick to grab one of those GST tax-rebate envelopes that are everywhere in Canadian airports. The envelopes look official, but they're really from companies that process the request for you and often pocket 15 percent or more. Instead, go to the Canada Revenue Agency Web site (cra-arc.gc.ca), download the Application for Visitor Tax Refund, and then file the request yourself. Your check will arrive in a few weeks. Just remember to get your receipt stamped by the Canada Border Services Agency at the airport.

Some cruise lines offer discounts on a future sailing if you book it while on a current cruise. Back home, you can transfer the booking to your travel agent and work with them to try to lower the price even further. You'll be able to cancel your booking at no cost if you follow the cruise line's cancellation schedule. This is a great way to get some of your onboard expenses paid for in advance.

After I was unable to locate any awards seats online for a wide selection of days and routes, I called the airline. An agent told me that the airline's Web site isn't allowed to book awards seats for its partner airlines, but agents can. Within minutes, I had enough options that I found it difficult to make a decision.

Before you head to the airport, stop by the front desk of your hotel or cruise ship and ask if they'll print your boarding pass for you. It'll save Internet browsing fees and time at check-in. It's worked for me at several Marriott hotels and on a Celebrity cruise.

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.

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.

Tell me I'm not alone: Almost every time I park my car at the airport, I have trouble finding it when I return. (I even reported my car stolen once after searching for hours, only to discover I was in the wrong lot!) I now use my cell phone to leave myself a message as to where I've parked my car.

Cold-weather traveling means turning up the thermostat in your hotel room, and along with the artificially warmed air come dry skin and static electricity. Instead of turning on the heat, fill the bathtub with very hot water and leave the bathroom door open. In about an hour, your entire room will be warm and humidified.

When I'm planning a trip, I almost always call the hotel concierge before I arrive, and if my hotel doesn't have one, I call a hotel that does. Recently, I asked for advice on what to see since I only had four days in a new city. I told the concierge what I thought I should try to do, and she said I had too many things packed into four days. She gave me a list of hot spots to visit and places to avoid, and even recommended a florist to call on for fresh flowers. With her help, my trip was far more enjoyable than it would have been otherwise.

While traveling, I love to send postcards to friends--and also to myself. I get the best photo postcard of the place I visited and write down what I did there as a reminder. When I get home, I tape them in my travel journals so I can flip back and forth between the photo and the reverie.

Internet phone services like Vonage can be programmed to send transcribed voice mails to your email in-box. That way, you can check your home answering machine quickly at an Internet cafe without paying insane roaming fees on your cell. The transcriptions won't always be perfect, but you'll get the gist.

I try to avoid checking any luggage, but the airlines are getting stricter every day about the size and weight of carry-ons. So when I pack, I put any important stuff in a plastic bag and place it in a front pocket. If I'm told to check my carry-on when I get to the gate, I can just pull out the smaller bag and board.

Before my last long flight, I went to librivox.org and chose a bunch of books, short stories, and poems to download to my iPod--for free. The site has both adult and children's books, and the list is growing. All of the titles are in the public domain, and they're read by volunteers, so there's no question of copyright infringement. Even if you don't own an iPod, you can download them to your computer and burn them onto a CD.

By starting a blog for each trip--at blogger.com, among others--you can keep your friends and family up-to-date on your adventures. All you need is an Internet café to add entries and photos while you're on the road.

When traveling with my kids, I bring a Ziploc bag that includes four things: Benadryl, children's ibuprofen, one of those little medicine cups, and a thermometer. This all-purpose kit will help with minor ailments, or treat a more serious flu until you can get to a doctor. Best of all, it saves Dad from driving around at 2 a.m. looking for an all-night pharmacy.

It can be difficult for parents to find a place to bathe their infant while on vacation. Showers obviously won't work, and the miniscule sinks generally found in hotel bathrooms aren't appropriate either. On our last cruise, we eliminated the whole problem by packing a small, inexpensive inflatable bathtub. (Ours cost only $7.99.) When we arrived, we blew it up and placed it in the bottom of the shower for an instant, safe baby bath.

Before leaving for a vacation, I print out all our reservations and directions, and I create a contact sheet for emergencies. Then I gather all the papers together, punch some holes, and place them in a folder that has a middle section for three–holed papers. The side pockets hold brochures, business cards, ticket stubs, receipts, and maps that we collect along the way and want to bring home for our scrapbook.

Don't settle for the first answer to your travel question. If you need flight information, it's a good idea to phone the airline more than once and ask the same question. Recently, I wanted to see if I could fly standby on an earlier flight the same day. The first time I called, I was told that the earlier flight was booked. The second time, however, an agent said there were in fact seats available, and I could certainly fly standby. In the end, not only was I able to get on the flight, but I was upgraded to first class.

My husband packs Q-tips in a plastic cassette case. It's small and snaps shut, keeping the cotton swabs clean and dry.

Get the right maps. For road trips on the Continent, European maps are much more helpful when it comes to reading road signs. They'll say Napoli instead of Naples, Firenze rather than Florence. I could spend all day waiting for a road sign for Munich and miss the exit for Munchen.

If you visit a country where you don't speak the language, pick up a book of your hotel's matches or one of its business cards; they usually have the hotel's name and address printed on them. Then when you're out sightseeing and want to return to your hotel, show the matchbook or card to the cabdriver if he doesn't speak English.

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.