3 Essential Travel Tips for the Savvy Female Globe-Trotter

No matter where you plan on traveling, here are a few tried and true tips for making it an enjoyable experience.

1. Always know your itinerary and be prepared for last minute changes.

If you plan on flying, make sure that you have all necessary tickets, you flight itinerary, maps of the airports you'll be utilizing, as well as copies of hotel and rental car/transportation arrangements. Be sure to get to the airport with plenty of time to spare.

When traveling by car, create your own itinerary by scheduling stops along the way, making hotel reservations, and planning activities at your destination ahead of time. In addition, obtain any necessary maps and highlight your route. If you are an AAA member, you can obtain a trip packet in advance. Also, you will want to ensure that you have enough legroom for all of your passengers, as well as enough space for all of the luggage. As someone who drove from Texas to Michigan twice, as well as driving from Michigan to Minnesota roundtrip (it is a lot longer trip than you'd think), I can tell you from experience that a little planning can go a very long way when driving a long distance. Scheduled stops are great for breaking up the monotony.

2. Take more money (or at least ways of accessing money) than you think you'll need.

The last thing you want is to be stranded at your destination without any money. Normally, on a vacation, or simply traveling, you will need more money than you think you need. If you don't feel comfortable taking extra cash with you, then at least be able to access additional funds. Debit cards are wonderful for this purpose! As always, a little planning goes a very long way; this is especially true with regards to finances.

3. Pack your suitcase once and then go through it to ensure that you are taking only what you truly need (or will at least use) during your trip.

As much as I traveled during my college career, I'm still a horrible over-packer. Let's face it, the more you take with you, the more items you are able to lose. In addition, you have to haul it either through a crowded airport or to and from a vehicle. Neither is fun.

The less you pack, the less you have to worry about. Here's a trick. Once you are done packing everything you think that you need, go through your suitcase again. Chances are that you will come across several items that you simply don't need to take with you. Always, and I do mean always, take more underwear and socks than you think you'll need. If you get stranded somewhere for a day or two, you don't want to have to run out to Wal-Mart or Target in order to purchase more underwear and socks. It is easy to get buy with dirty clothes, but not dirty socks and underwear.

These tips are a great start to traveling in style, but there are many more to come!