Travel 'N' Tours, Inc. - Specializing in Journeys of Spirit since 1987

Travel 'N' Tours, Inc.

5160 Tchulahoma Road

Southaven, Mississippi 38671

Phone: (662) 349-2255

Toll Free: (800) 528-6877

Fax: (662) 349-9922

E-Mail: info@travel-n-tours.com

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Preparing for Your Trip

There's nothing like getting travel information from a seasoned traveler. Continue to check back often as we will continue to present new and informative information about making your travels more enjoyable.

About Your Passport
About Luggage
Luggage Locks
Luggage Tag Alert
Easy ID of luggage
What to Pack
Packing Secret
Make a Checklist
Prescriptions
Consider Taking These

What to Wear on Planes
About Jet Lag
Check Camera Batteries
Electric Current Overseas
Shaping Up for Your Trip
Protecting Your Money
Protecting Your Heirlooms
Preparing to Go Abroad
Contacting Home
Drink the Water?

Preparing for Your Trip
This page contains a series of articles from what type of luggage to purchase, to how to pack, to little secrets only an expert would know. Read on . . .

About Your Passport

Few things are more important when you are traveling abroad than your Passport. Write down the number of your Passport and keep that number in a place separate from your Passport. If it is possible, make a photocopy of the page in your Passport that has your picture on it, along with the page across from that one. Carry this copy with you, but again, remember to keep it in a separate place from your Passport. A copy, no matter how good, cannot be substituted for a Passport, but having a copy may facilitate the replacement process.

About Luggage
When it comes time to purchase new luggage or replace existing pieces, our advice is to spend more than you think you can possibly afford. Bottom-of-the-line luggage may last no more than 10 trips. Quality luggage is expensive at purchase time but less expensive when amortized over its much longer, serviceable lifetime. Be sure to keep luggage guarantees along with proof of purchase on file. Lots of people fail to do so. Even though guarantees do not cover airline abuse, if you do need to have luggage repaired, some items will probably be covered by the manufacturer's warranty. The premiere luggage companies have internet sites and will sometimes mail you simply-to-apply replacement parts in response to your email detailing your problem.

Luggage Locks Security Won’t Cut Off

A special key that all TSAs (members of the Transportation Security Association) have will unlock these locks, allowing TSAs to inspect and re-lock your luggage. Go to the Brookstone web site (www.brookstone.com) and look for “EasyCheck Compact luggage locks.” Currently they are available in 6 colors. Two locks for $20.00. A very worthwhile investment, in our view!

Luggage Tag Alert
At an increasing number of airline check-in counters, it is a requirement that the name you have in your luggage tags must be exactly the same as your name as it appears on your airline tickets (and, consequently, as it appears in your Passport). Save yourself some fumbling at check-in time by taking care of this chore in the comfort and leisure of your home before you depart.

Easy Identification of Your Luggage on Airport Carousels
More and more luggage looks alike (as the airport announcements caution). To identify your luggage quickly and accurately in the pall mall of luggage claim areas and to alert careless individuals who may claim your luggage through inattention, attach something to your luggage that is uniquely noticeable: colored yarn, security straps, colored tags, or a "Big Tag" (a huge, brightly colored tag available at luggage shops for about $6).

What to Pack
Most travelers take far too many things. Many people take too many suitcases and carry-ons. The less the better! One big suitcase, preferably on wheels and with a pull strap, is best. One carry-on is urged (required now by some airlines).

Purely for your own enjoyment, we recommend that you take the minimum. Take things that can be worn several times (that don't wrinkle too much or show stains too obviously). Take things you can "mix and match." Lay your outfits out on the floor at home; consider the days; plan your wardrobe. Only afterwards should you pack.

Carry along Woolite, so that you can rinse things out and hang them to dry over your bathtub or in your shower. Many hotels have little built-in clothes lines you can use. Laundry and dry cleaning are typically very expensive in hotels abroad.

Wear shoes that are thoroughly "broken in," so you will not have sore feet. Shoes with good treads are a must. Running or walking shoes and tennis shoes are wonderful.

A Brilliant Packing Secret
A minister who is an inveterate traveler taught us this great secret. Pack your clothes and other items in one gallon or two gallon "zip lock" plastic bags. This makes packing and unpacking at your hotels a snap. If you should have your suitcase opened and inspected at any airport by security, it makes this exercise a breeze, too. The bags also guarantee that your liquids won't get loose or your hair spray "go off" on all your clothing. Also, as you "use up" clothing articles, the bags keep the soiled neatly separated from the fresh.

Make a Travel "Check List"
Actually, you need 2 check lists: one for domestic travel and another for travel abroad. Store them on your word processor. Check the appropriate list a week or so before departure time and add any items that specific to a particular trip. Forgetting essential items can cause you discomfort and inconvenience and may force you to buy some necessary item abroad at an exorbitant price. It's great to have those appliances that accommodate both 110 and 220 volts, but remember that little 50 cent converters are routinely required to enable you to plug your U. S. 110 volt appliance into foreign electrical outlets. Without the adaptor, your dual voltage appliance is useless. Stores like Radio Shack, big drug stores, and department stores that have large luggage sections will carry information on the adaptors you need for the various countries you may visit.

Prescriptions
Don't leave home without them! Don't leave home without an adequate supply. Don't pack your prescriptions in your checked suitcases (your checked suitcase could get lost). Carry your prescriptions on your person. Carry prescription medicines in the pharmacy bottles which bear the name of the pharmacy, your doctor's name, and the prescription number. Carrying a bunch of different pills loose in a baggie or plastic box is a very bad idea; you could be hassled by security, and it would be hard for you to prove that a jumble of pills are authentic prescription medicines. Don't bring along a written prescription from your doctor thinking you can buy drugs with it abroad. Prescriptions written by U.S. doctors will not be honored abroad.

Consider Taking These Items
A camera for picture taking. And film. And batteries for your flash. A small tape recorder and tapes. Toiletries you will need. Woolite to rinse out things here and there. A travel alarm. A swim suit. Binoculars to get better up-close views of distant points of interest. A wash cloth (they're not customary in many countries).

What To Wear on Planes

Wear something comfortable. Don't dress up. The trip, counting your domestic hours of checking in, flying, and waiting usually amounts to quite a number of hours of sitting. Loose, comfortable clothing is highly recommended. We prefer long sleeved shirts or blouses, because the temperature on the transatlantic flights is often coltish during the night. Claim a blanket and pillow for yourself when you board your transatlantic jet. If both are not lying in your seat, ask a Flight Attendant to bring them to you.

About Jet Lag

Your travel will be much less arduous and infinitely safer than that of travelers of the past, but you will not be excused from the nuisance of jet lag. And, that's what it is: a nuisance. Expect to feel "strange" and "different" and "disoriented" or just plain grouchy after you have flown across 4 or more time zones. For reasons no one completely understands, your body clock will sort of be running on the wrong time. Just be patient with yourself--and with your fellow travelers. Jet lag is a nuisance--not a disaster!

How does jet lag manifest itself in travelers? Differently! Some people get very melancholy and may get teary-eyed at the slightest provocation. Others get a bit of a mean streak and become demanding or perhaps a little loud. Others feel like withdrawing from the whole thing. Have no fear: millions of travelers before you have experienced this weird phenomenon and have survived it dandily. With each passing minute, your body is adjusting to the new time zone by re-setting (somehow or other) your body clock. Always keep in mind that you are going to feel better with time.

Preventative measures include: avoiding overeating, abstaining from excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages while in flight, and drinking lots of water on the planes. Many people find that taking Vitamin C seems to help lessen the duration of their jet lag. A very new bit of wisdom is the following. If you are flying from west to east, upon arrival at your destination immediately begin to function in the new time zone. In other words, stay up during the daylight hours, and go to bed during the night hours. If you are flying from west to east, try to avoid bright sunlight before noon. Stay inside or wear dark sunglasses. After noon, expose yourself to sunlight. These precautions will help your body clock to reset itself fast. We have tried this technique, and it definitely helps. A number of our clients report that taking an over-the-counter hormone called Melatonin for 3 nights prior to departure and 3 nights after arrival in a new time zone cuts their jet lag by 1/2 or more. If you are on other medication, you certainly will want to check with your doctor. And, if you choose to try Melatonin, experiment with it for several nights before your departure date. It is used by some people as a natural sleep aid, and some others tout it as a tool against aging.

Check Camera Batteries and Replace When in Doubt
Always check camera and photo accessory batteries before an overseas trip. They seem to have an innate sensor that causes them to go dead the moment you set foot on foreign soil. And while some batteries may be available (other won't be), they will often be more expensive than when purchased in the U. S. More than cost will be the price of the inconvenience as you search for a specialty shop or camera shop that is open when you have time to spare. Take more video tapes than you think you could possibly use. Some types of tape (mini DV, for example) are not yet available in a great many places.

Electrical Current Overseas
It's 220 volts. You will need a transformer for your electrical devices, other than for electric shavers (hotels generally have 110v outlets for shavers). Transformers are available from department stores or specialty stores like Radio Shack. Be certain to tell the store clerk what you want to power with the transformer, so you'll get the correct type. For example, a converter that is meant to power high wattage appliances like hairdryers is not suitable for charging low wattage, delicate electronic devices. The plugs that go into the wall outlets are also different from ours. You can get the correct adaptor plug at the same place you get the converter.

Shaping Up for your Trip
You're not about to enter a marathon race, so you don't need to prepare to that extent! However, if you are not in the habit of some daily exercise of some description, we highly recommend the following: begin to walk a few blocks each day prior to your departure on your trip; add another block or so daily and increase the pace of your steps. Getting your legs limber and stronger will make your trip abroad much easier and more pleasant.

There are always steps to climb. One of the ancient writers said that great and hallowed monuments should be "difficult of ascent," so that they would be appreciated more. You will come to the conclusion that a lot of builders read his advice! There are steps leading to virtually every great church, basilica, monument, or memorial. However, the steps are typically broad and limited in height. Just take your time, and you'll master every step you encounter with ease.

Protecting Your Money
Traveler's Checks are the recommended way for carrying large amounts of money. Carry some cash in your wallet or pocketbook. Carry your credit cards. There is a special advantage to using credit cards for your larger purchases: a better rate of exchange. Visa and Master Card are preferred credit cards, though American Express and others are often accepted. Using your bank card to withdraw money from one of your accounts via an ATM will normally result in a much lower fee than if you withdraw funds from an ATM by using one of your credit cards. Interest fees charged on this latter may stun and anger you.

Protecting Your Heirlooms
It is never wise to take irreplaceable or extremely valuable items abroad in our opinion. Traveling, moving about from one hotel to another and getting onto and off of sightseeing buses and air planes, present too many opportunities for the losing of a ring or pin or whatever. Use your judgment! Some things are simply best left in safety at home.

Preparing to Go Abroad
You're not about to enter a marathon race, so you don't need to prepare to that extent! However, if you are not in the habit of some daily exercise of some description, we highly recommend the following: begin to walk a few blocks each day prior to your departure on your trip; add another block or so daily and increase the pace of your steps. Getting your legs limber and stronger will make your trip abroad much easier and more pleasant.

Contacting Home
Most of us underestimate just how much friends and loved ones at home appreciate getting a colorful postcard from us as we jaunt about the world. There are beautiful cards in just about every land. Stamps are available in your hotels. If you pre-address self adhesive labels and carry them with you, writing home is much easier and so efficient. Here's a piece of postcard magic: there is a fabulous museum in the city you are visiting, you really want to see its best works but your time is extremely limited, you're not sure of the most spectacular artworks in the museum's collections, what to do to make the best use of the few minutes you have in the museum? Go first to the museum gift shop, check out the postcards they have for sale, and you will immediately know the best pieces in the museum's collection. Because museums always print postcards of their greatest works.

When calling home, we suggest that you use "USA Direct." This number connects you with an English speaking AT&T operator. You may then use your AT&T Calling Card, or you may call collect. The rate will be at the highest operator assisted U.S. rate, but that rate will be far less than any rate you would ever get when dialing home from abroad. Foreign hotels are notorious for adding ridiculous surcharges to calls you dial directly from your hotel room telephone. Consult the card beside your phone to see how to get an outside line. Dial that number, followed by the USA Direct Number. Other phone services, such as MCI or Sprint, also have direct dial numbers. Please consult them directly for those numbers.

Drink the Water

The water in every hotel you will stay in on any of our tours will be safe for drinking (if this is not the case, you will be told otherwise). This also applies to the restaurants where you will dine.

If you decide to do some sightseeing on your own and eat, for example, in a sidewalk café, the prudent thing to do is to buy bottled water. It will be natural or with gas, and you will normally be asked for your preference.

Often a city’s water supply will be certified safe, but the delivery system for that water may be questionable. People who are native may be amused at your insistence on drinking bottled water, and with some reason: they likely drink tap water every day without ill effect. The difference is that their systems have become accustomed and attuned to the water, and it is, indeed, harmless to them. It may not be to you.

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