Vacation 101 – It’s about having fun, peace of mind, not working and not worrying. If you do these things. you'll increase
chances of those things happening! And remember that watchword today is not that it changes, but how fast it changes.1.Pack those “small” things.
You haven’t had a vacation for a while, so you’re forgetting what a hang nail, an itchy mosquito bite and a heel blister are like.
Those “small” things get really “large” on a trip.”
The nail clippers, bandaids, hair bands, suntan lotion, and Neosporin will not only cost you 5 times as much on your trip, they will cost you precious pleasure TIME while you hunt them down.
2.Check your medical insurance and car rental insurance two weeks before you leave.
Policies are different and you need to know WHAT will be covered on your trip and WHERE. Some policies cover accidents, injuries, and illness abroad and some do not. You also need to know what your car insurance covers and where. Call your insurance companies to make sure, get names, etc. and take this with you in writing.
3. Then fill in gaps with travel insurance.
Pay for peace of mind. Consider health insurance that includes air evac back to US unless you relish emergency gall bladder surgery in El Disastro, Peru when you don't understand Spanish. Bring proof of your coverage in writing.
3.If you buy special travel insurance, for instance, cruise travel insurance, read fine print to see what’s covered.
It may give you another cruise if you have an accident for instance, that interrupts your vacation.
4.Adopt mental attitude that you’ve never flown, cruised or gone by train before. Why? Because it’s changed since 9-11 and keeps on changing. New security measures, restrictions, and time-consuming safety procedures are being added all time. On my latest cruise I heard people saying, “They don’t do it this way on cruise line X.” Little did they know!
5.Call ahead for important information but, sigh, don’t rely on it.
Go ahead and bring hair dryer, converter, travel iron and toiletries and anything important to you, and be pleasantly surprised if they’re there. Do not trust person on phone, or your friend who has just returned. It changes. Realistically, it’s impossible to keep up with.
