2008 Extra Mile Awards

If your travels take you to U.S. cities large enough to have museums, zoos, and/or botanical gardens, consider buying a membership in your home city's counterpart. Many have reciprocal privileges with institutions elsewhere. A membership at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo, for example, lets you see the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and zoos in Los Angeles, Des Moines, and Jackson, Mississippi, at no charge.

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.

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.

When buying bottled water, look at the bottle cap to see if the seal is still intact. While visiting the Acropolis on a very hot day this summer, I caught a young boy refilling empty water bottles from a tap and recapping them. He was then selling the bottles to thirsty tourists.

In areas where the majority of people don't speak English, head to an Internet café. In our experience, they're full of friendly young people anxious to practice their English.

If you're traveling with someone, discuss a central meeting place in case you get separated. My husband and I were in Paris waiting to board the Metro. He was able to board the train, but I was left behind on the platform. Having a plan saved both time and needless anxiety.

When I travel with friends, we decide ahead of time who's going to bring what. If we're sharing a suite or have adjoining rooms, we don't need multiple hair dryers and umpteen bottles of shampoo. With the weight limits on baggage, we'll need the extra space in our suitcases for souvenirs!

Lightweight, washable, and multifunctional, a cotton sarong is an easy and practical addition to every traveler's don't-leave-home-without-it bag! I've used mine as a swimsuit cover-up, as a picnic blanket on the grounds of a château in the Loire Valley, as a temporary skirt (over my shorts) in a Bangkok temple, and as an extra pillow while hiking the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. It's also handy as an airplane blanket, emergency towel, or tablecloth.

When my husband and I travel with our children, our luggage is weighed down by diapers, formula, and other necessities. To save space and hassle, we now ship ahead most of those items to our hotel. We also came across a Web site called babiestravellite.com, where we can order supplies and have them shipped anywhere in the world.

When I travel for business, I usually tack on a few extra days to do something active like hike in a nearby national park. I find that by taking two small suitcases instead of a single large one, I stay better organized and less burdened. I keep my business clothes, papers, and laptop in one bag and hiking clothes and gear in another. I leave the suitcase I'm not using at the time in the rental car and easily carry the lightweight case with the equipment and clothes I need into my hotel.

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.

Once the hotel shampoo bottles I always seem to bring home are empty, I refill them with my own brand of shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel--instead of buying travel-size containers at the drugstore. I toss them, along with other small items (toothbrush, toothpaste, nail file, pillboxes, and a comb), into a medium-size Ziploc bag, and I'm ready to go; the clear plastic lets me find things easily.

Carry a twist tie in your wallet. Among other ingenious uses, a twist tie can temporarily replace a lost screw on a pair of glasses. Just peel the paper or plastic off the tie so you have bare wire, insert it where the screw once was, and twist to tighten. Unlike Scotch tape or a safety pin, a twist tie is small enough to remain hidden and strong enough to hold until you're able to replace the screw.

If you plan to travel to a less-developed country, pack an extra suitcase with hand-me-downs of all sizes. Housekeepers and other resort workers make so little money that the clothes are greatly appreciated. On your way home, you can use that empty suitcase for souvenirs.

Put your perfume and cologne bottles inside pairs of rolled-up socks to keep them cushioned during your journey.

Turn off your fridge's icemaker before you leave home. And remember to empty the ice cube bin. The power was out for several days while I was away recently. When I got back, the melted ice had refrozen throughout the freezer compartment. It took forever to clean up.

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.

Cruise lines offer packaged side trips at their ports of call. If you go online and look for these expeditions ahead of time, you can book directly with the tour companies and save money.

Don't save the best for the last day. If you wait until the end of your trip for "must-do" activities, you won't be able to reschedule if something unforeseen happens. I planned a snorkeling excursion for my final day in San Diego, but the waters were too rough, and the trip had to be canceled.

I switch from street shoes to flannel-lined moccasins at the airport. It saves time at the security checkpoint, and I'm comfortable during the flight. Once I land, I switch back to my street shoes.

When I'm on a cruise with my wife's family and we're in a foreign city for the day, I get off the boat as soon as we dock and hail a taxi. I ask the driver to call his dispatcher and find me a van with an English-speaking driver. Then I negotiate an hourly rate and a pickup time at the dock. The family tours together for a few hours, and then each couple either gets dropped off where they want to spend extra time or returns to the boat (this is great for my elderly in-laws). We get a tailor-made city tour for a much cheaper rate than if we had booked through the cruise line.

In Europe, my husband and I like to use public transportation. As a result, we frequently find ourselves studying itineraries displayed on train station walls, trying to read schedules posted at bus stops, or staring at kiosk-size town maps. On our last trip, my husband snapped digital photographs of those things. We were able to take the map or itinerary with us and could refer to it as needed by using the zoom feature.

If you're divorced and plan to travel out of the country with your children, check the legal requirements in advance. When I tried to take my kids to Cancun, I learned too late that Mexico requires a notarized letter of consent signed by both parents for minors traveling alone or with one parent or guardian. If the parents are divorced, a copy of the parental custody agreement is allowed instead. The airlines enforce this rule before you get on the plane.

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.

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!

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.

On international flights, I used to fumble through my belongings--often having to retrieve them from the overhead bin--after a flight attendant appeared with customs and immigration forms. (I don't know of many people who have their passport's number and date of issue memorized.) Now I write all that info on the bookmark of whatever I plan to read on the long flight so I don't have to dig out my passport. I can fill out the card quickly--giving me more time to loan my pen to all the people who never seem to carry one.

Public libraries in the ports of Alaska are a tremendous money-saver. Who wants to pay $5 a minute for Internet use from a cruise ship? During a port stop on a recent Alaska cruise, we found a city library that offered free Internet use for 15 to 30 minutes. Our only cost was a short wait in line.

Check out grocery stores in Europe for bargains on wine. On our last trip to Italy, I found a 1993 Banfi Brunello in a small market for $16. If I could find it at all in my local wine shop, that same bottle would cost more than $100. I only wish I had listened to my husband and bought all three of the bottles the store had.

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.