Get Ready to Travel

In June of 2004 I made my first trip overseas to Italy and in January of 2008, I began planning for an upcoming trip to the United Kingdom in April.

I gleaned information from every source possible and made a basic itinerary based on all the information I received with a plan to narrow down the itinerary as my research evolved.

People were so kind and generous with information on where to eat, what to see, and what to do during my visits to London & Bath. I had so much information and so many links to click on, I was busy for several weekends just visiting sites of places I needed to read about to decide whether or not to put them on my final itinerary.

One of the best places I utilized to assist me with keeping track of places I wanted to go and see was the website tripit.com

This is one of the best free, yes that's right, I said, "FREE" websites for keeping track of your trips, no matter where you're planning to go, out there.

With a few simple clicks, you can create an account that keeps track of all your flight info, hotel reservations, transportation reservations, tour info, and just about anything else you need for your trip. It even automatically adds maps and weather for your destination! There are so many ways to use the site I'm not even covering half of them!

It's the best way to create an itinerary. You can print it out and take it with you or pull it up on the web and use it from there.

Don't take a trip without it!

Once you're done with your research and with making your itinerary, it's time think about what you're going to pack. I know, I know, packing is a chore and most of us dread it but it's also exciting because it means we're getting very close to leaving for our destination.

My personal travel guru is Rick Steves. If you haven't ever caught any of his travel shows, they air only on Public Television but you can get tons of hints and tips on everything related to travel on his website. His series "Europe Through the Back Door" was instrumental in turning me on to overseas travel and I've been a fan of his ever since. I could go on and on about all of his shows and everything I've learned from reading his books but suffice to say you need to check out his stuff on your own whenever you've got the time.

Rick's mantra regarding packing is this: "Pack light." You'll hear him say it over and over again; you'll never be lugging a couple of suitcases up a hill while you're running to catch a train and think, "Gee, I wish I'd packed more stuff."

I took what he said to heart on my first overseas trip and did so again on this last trip. I packed one suitcase/bag that could fit into the overhead compartment and carried a satchel on the plane with my computer and other necessary flight stuff. That was it. It was hard to do and even with that, I think I packed too much, but live and learn, eh?

I found (and used) all of these websites and then whittled down all the information to make my own packing list. Find one you like and do the same. I guarantee you'll travel better, and lighter, if you do.

The first one is, of course, Rick's packing list. Keep in mind that he is a man and women must make adjustments but the fundamentals are there. His website also has recommendations for what women should pack.

The second site is fun and informative. It's called OneBag.com, The Art & Science of Packing Light. It's a great website that offers tons of tips on what to pack and how to pack it. The author also provides bits of science and information on the how's and why's of packing. All in all, a wonderful site you'll probably bookmark it and use over and over again.

The Universal Packing List is an interactive list that lets you input information about how you're traveling, what the weather will be like, what you want to take and the type of place you're staying at and then generates a list of the items you should pack based on the information you feed into it. It generates a pretty lengthy list but it might clue you in on something you didn't think about AND it lets you email that list to yourself and/or your traveling buddies for further review.

The last site I love to use is The Independent Traveler's Interactive Packing List. This is a great resource because it also allows you to input your own information by checking off the box next to over 100 listed items (and there's even some space for you to add your own personal stuff) then when you're done checking off, you click the button and the list is generated for you already categorized by heading. All that's left for you to do is print it and/or email to yourself and use it!

Don't forget to check with the airlines and the national transportation websites to update yourself on what items can be carried onto a plane legally because you know that stuff is always changing.

Also, if you're planning a trip outside of the country, make sure you know their rules about carry-ons also. For example, in the UK, (until recently, this was relevant for all airports but was recently lifted for London-Heathrow) carry-ons were limited to one bag only. That means that when I get ready to leave the UK, if my laptop is in a bag or backpack, that's my carry-on limit and all other bags must be checked. Although I don't necessarily like checking my baggage, I'm more inclined to feel better about doing it on my way home than on my way out because at least at home, I know I'll have extra clothes.

Anyway, I hope those websites came in handy for you and if you'd like to take a peek at the bag that I took with me and see what I packed for my trip, drop me a line and I'll send you a link to the packing video I put up on YouTube.