Trip Coach: September 23, 2008

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.

There's nothing worse than trying to fall asleep under a mosquito net and then realizing that the bugs are finding a way inside. So next time you're heading someplace tropical--where you know you'll be sleeping under mosquito netting--remember to toss a roll of Scotch tape into your suitcase. It's perfect for quick repairs.

Traveling to non-English-speaking countries can be daunting for people with food allergies. Find someone fluent in the local language to write out what you are allergic to, the seriousness of the allergy (we had a friend include the phrase "this could kill me"), and what to do if you fall ill.

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.

Before booking your next ski trip or reserving a table for dinner, find out what your credit card company has to offer. American Express sometimes has discounts on lift tickets; MasterCard has offered buy-one-get-one-free at local restaurants; and Discover Card has access to deals to Universal Studios. Check out americanexpress.com/offerzone, mastercard.com (be sure to click on Promotions), and discovercard.com.

When you change your clocks back or forward, be sure to check the expiration date on all your frequent-flier miles. This way they're checked twice a year. We overlooked one of the many accounts in our household and lost a free ticket when the miles expired.

Pack a travel-size shampoo container refilled with detergent and a one-gallon Ziploc bag for when you need to wash hosiery, bras, and other delicate undergarments. Put a few drops of detergent into the bag and fill it part way with water. Place the garment in the bag, close it up, and shake it around for a few minutes. Instant washing machine! For larger pieces of clothing, I've used the plastic laundry bags supplied at most hotels. Just hold on to the open end tightly.

If you're packing a lunch to eat later in the day, freeze a 16-ounce water bottle and pack it, along with yogurt, cottage cheese, a ham sandwich, or whatever in a light- weight, insulated bag. Your snacks will remain cold, and you can drink the water.

Our bags have been stolen twice from inside locked rental cars. Now we travel with a bicycle cable and lock. If we absolutely have to leave our suitcases in the car, I hook them together by the handles and attach the whole thing to the frame of a seat or a secure item in the trunk. Even if thieves manage to get into our car, the cable will make it very difficult for them to make off with the luggage.

I agree that the anti-seasickness medication for cruises, Bonine, is excellent and effective; but there is a budget way to buy it. The primary ingredient in Bonine is meclizine (25 mg). While a package of eight Bonine tablets costs just over $4 at a drugstore, you can buy a bottle of 100 generic meclizine (25 mg) for about the same price. This is an over-the-counter (no prescription needed) item, but you usually have to ask for it at the pharmacy counter.

If you make a hotel reservation online and then cancel online, print out and save the cancellation confirmation for at least two billing cycles past your trip. After our vacation, I found a "no-show" charge on my credit card for a room that I'd canceled well in advance. Without the confirmation, I had no way to contest the bill.

Anyone traveling with multiple electronic devices (laptops, PDAs, cell phones, digital cameras, MP3 players) can easily confuse all the accessories that come with them. To keep all battery chargers, USB cables, media cards, and owner's manuals safe, dry, and organized, place them in individual Ziploc bags. You can put a label inside the bag to identify the contents, and one label wrapped around each cable to identify it.

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.

If you have to save receipts while traveling, purchase a plastic coupon holder to help you keep track of them (it'll also protect them). Label each section of the coupon holder by category (hotel, rental car, gas, food, etc.) or by day of the week. The coupon holders are compact and easily fit into a laptop case, purse, or travel bag.

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.

As a flight attendant, I'm always amazed by the stuff that people leave behind. Most of it never gets back to its rightful owner because there's no way of knowing who the owner is. To avoid misplacing your property, put things back into your carry-on after using them--never on the floor or in the seat-back pocket. Label important items like books or games with return address labels so they can be sent back to you if found.

The best carry-on bag that I've found is a gardener's tote. It has lots of pockets on the outside and room inside for a medium-size purse, yet it's small enough to sit comfortably at my feet on a bus or plane.

Use the shoeshine mitt often found in hotel bath- rooms to store your sunglasses. They fit nicely inside the pouch, and when you take them out, you have a soft material to clean them with. For extra protection while traveling, I store my sunglasses inside the shoe-shine mitt, fold the end closed, and then place it in my glasses case.

If you're traveling solo and want some company for dinner, try the sushi bar at a Japanese restaurant. It's a great place to meet locals. Plus, you'll receive extra attention and special recommendations from the chef.

On a Northwest flight from Wichita to Cleveland, a piece of my luggage was delivered more than a day after I arrived. In the meantime, I had to buy some replacement items. Save your receipts! I turned in the receipts when I checked in for the return flight, and the ticket agent issued me a $50 check.(Northwest allows up to $50 in interim expenses for the first 24 hours, and $25 for each day afterward, with a maximum reimbursement of $150.)

It's often cheaper to buy a ticket to London and then fly onward within Europe via a regional low cost airline. Last summer, my husband and I bought consolidator tickets to London for $397. From there, we flew EasyJet to Nice for $72. The total cost was $469—much less than flying directly to Nice, plus we enjoyed a stopover in London.

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.

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.

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.

Attach a few carabiners--the kind of clips rock climbers use--to the top of your wheeled suitcase. Purses, cameras, and shopping bags can be clipped to your suitcase, giving your hands and shoulders a rest while you're walking around the airport.

In order to keep track of my bags, I use a small metal bell--the kind dancers from India wear on their ankles. I thread it with fishing line and tie it to my carry-on. If anyone touches my bag after I set it down, the bell chimes. It's not a very obtrusive sound, but it's distinctive enough for me to notice if a thief is trying to get into my things. The same bell can be hung on the doorknob inside your hotel room.

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.

Using your frequent-flier miles, you might be able to visit two cities on one ticket. For example, my wife and I always trade in our Delta miles when we visit our daughters in Dallas and San Francisco. Because we have to fly through Dallas to get to San Francisco on Delta, we can stop over in Dallas for as long as we want before continuing on to San Francisco—and we use only one frequent-flier ticket each.

If you can't sleep due to the heat in your non-air-conditioned hotel room, take a cold bottle of water and place it on your pillow, in the crook of your neck. It will cool your whole body down.

When we come home at night, my wife and I each take a dollar from our wallets and put them in a special spot. We deposit what we've collected into a travel account at our bank every few months, so at the end of a year, we have $730 toward our next vacation—not counting interest.