Dr. Lum’s General Travel Tips

GENERAL TRAVEL TIPS

Fly One Day Ahead
Fly into your starting port or city one day ahead to avoid flight delays or cancellations. This also gives you one day of rest before the start of your cruise or tour.

If flying to Europe this is especially important. Most tour groups will allow you to book one or two extra days ahead of your tour in the same hotel that you are staying at a special rate. This way you can be fully rested before the tour starts. Most European flights are red eye flights from the East Coast. You arrive in Europe the next day. Since it can be very difficult to sleep on the plane you can use the extra day to sleep in late. Most tours begin the day after your arrival at 7:00 am and can go for 9-12 hours of touring.

Airports to Avoid    
Avoid airports on the East Coast and Mid-West during the winter months on connecting flights to avoid weather related delays or cancellations of your flight. If you have an option pick an airport connection in the Southern part of the United States. Especially avoid Chicago, JFK and Boston airports.

However Dallas and Atlanta can also have traffic/storm problems. Better
yet aim for a direct flight.

Airline Seat Selection
On flights that are overnight or longer flights. Pick a seat towards the back of the plane. Then book a window and an isle seat if you are traveling with two persons on a three A,B,C seat configuration. If the plane is not completely full most people will not select a seat in the middle and towards the back of the plane. If the flight is not full you get the extra middle seat space. If the flight does fill up you can just ask the person in the middle if they wouldn’t mind switching seats so you can sit next to your travel companion. This will absolutely work if the other person is a child.

Hurricane Season
Avoid the Caribbean during the months of July until October to avoid the hurricane season. Living in California you really don’t think about seasons in the same way as people living in these areas. If there is a hurricane during your trip you will miss ports of call and have rougher sailing.

Restaurants
Ask the flight attendants where special places to eat can be a good idea for international flights. They tend to know good places for different kinds of food since they stay overnight in the cities they are flying to. You can also ask the hotel front desk persons or the doorman for restaurants near by the hotel. Jot down the names and streets if possible. Or ask them to write the name down for you. Venture out. Try to avoid McDonald’s and other chain restaurants that we have back home.

Photography
Take a digital picture of your special show ticket for a play, entertainment
event or sports event. The ticket shows that date, location and what you saw. This helps you to remember your special day.
 
You can also take a picture of your airline ticket. It shows where you were traveling to, the date of your trip, and what airlines you were on.
If traveling to another country or state you can also photograph the daily newspaper to remind you of where you went. It will have the name of the city, the date and any special events going on.

You can also take pictures of the airlines magazines for your scrap book.

Take a picture of the different restaurants that you visit. Also take a photo of your meal before you begin eating. Don’t worry they already know that you are tourist.

Shopping
Take pictures in the store with all the stuffed animals you want, funny Goofy ear or Mickey Mouse hats, pictures of the T-Shirt’s, or toys. These items are often a great reminder of the places you have been and using the items in the store is like having free props for your pictures.

Kids ID    
Dress your kids in brighter colored clothing if possible. This makes them easier to spot if they get lost or separated in a crowd. Taking a morning photo of your kids with their jackets off in front of the hotel, in the room or at breakfast. This can be used as identification in case your child gets lost. You know exactly what they were wearing that morning.

Rental Car Tips    
Take a digital picture of your rental car. It’s often hard to remember what you are driving. You also might want to take a picture of the make and model.

Take a picture of what floor you parked your car on at the airport.

Gas tank location.
There is an ARROW that points to the side of the car that the gas tank is located on. It is located next to the fuel gage.

Bring a spring shade from home to use in the rental car if traveling to a warm destination. Using a spring shade also helps to make your car look less like a rental car.

Take a Kleenex box from the hotel and put it into your rental car if you will be in town for more than a few days. It is always handy to have Kleenex around in the car.

Best place to book car rentals is from Costco Travel. You can book ahead and cancel if you need to. The further you book ahead the better the rate.

Band Aid Kit
Make a small band aid kit with an alcohol wipe and put it with your roll on luggage or camera bag.

Zip Lock Bags    
You can always find a use for a few zip lock bags.

Slippers/Flip Flops    
Bring Slipper or flip flops for the pool and around the hotel room.

Plastic fork & Knife
Pack a few forks, knives and spoons. Just in case you have need it at your hotel.

Put these items into your zip lock bag!

Advil / Tylenol
Pack a couple of Advils or Tylenols in a zip lock bag and place in your roll on luggage or camera bag. Never know when that headache will strike.

Post-it Notes
Use post-it notes to mark things to bring along that day or things to remember to do and stick it on the hotel mirror.

Traveling with Kids
If you have children try to travel the first week after school gets out or the LAST week before school begins to avoid some of the crowds. Easter break can also be a good time to travel since some schools get out a week before Easter and some get out a week after Easter.

Traveling WITHOUT Kids
Never every travel during kids Christmas, Spring, or summer breaks. Travel in the months of September to November in Europe. Travel in January to May in the Caribbean.

Water Back Pack (Camel)
Get a camelback water backpack to carry ice water around. Works great for hikes, skiing, theme parks, general touring. Can also store snacks in the pack for the kids.

Have a wonderful trip. Please share our tips with your friends and family. Thank you for telling your friends and family about our office we greatly appreciate referrals. Tip sheets for Disneyland, New York City, Las Vegas, Italy, Spain, London, Paris, Washington D.C., Seattle, Puerto Vallarta Mexico, Monterey Bay, Big Island of HI, Maui, San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area Restaurants are also available online at www.LumOptometry.com under patient forms. This sheet and updated information in on-line.


Randall T. Lum, O.D.    (650) 589-7198    More Tips online @ www.LumOptometry.com