What's your golden travel rule?

[Denali]

If you scored reward J flights, dont cheap on your accomodation or transport to/from etc. Enjoy the nicer hotel/BNB, comfort and convenience is our priority, especially after a long haul. Have someone with your name on a tablet to take your bags to whisk you off to your 1st hotel. Hire that private guide to avoid the cattle bus

Have a "do nothing" day every 3-4 days to rest and to help avoid injury or sickness (from doing too much or being tired)

Always do the laundry before the final pack/flight home or take clothes you are not bringing home

Buy things when you arrive, like toiletries etc. If hiring a car keep a slab of water in the car at all times. Forgot something, just buy new. I used Argos and Tesco click & collect last month a lot , we bought yoga roller, massage gun, eletrical thingy as we only packed one for charging. I think I had 3 Argos deliveries in 2 days

Always travel with Betadine gargle, multple bottles if a long trip. Gargle before bed even when you dont think you need to

 

[Scarlett]

I don’t have one.

All of the above suggestions I have indeed followed or applied at various times, but I wouldn’t say they’re rules, or golden. I’ve probably NOT done all of them at some stage, deliberately or not.

Maybe something I try to use as a guide is, not to return to the same place. Well not whilst there’s still parts of the world I haven’t yet seen.

 

[kamchatsky]

For very early morning overnight flights (e.g. depart at 00:01 -2:00), get to the airport the day before!

 

[Happy Dude]

Why fly direct when you can connect (for the extra SC)!

Must be a reference to QFF. Lamentably, SCs and extra SCs don't have a lot of value in Velocity now so not much incentive to spend more to connect.

 

[Happy Trails]

Do not, under any circumstances, accept a downgrade.

 

[Cruise Luxury]

Don’t fly economy overnight!

 

[offshore171]

Don’t book layovers less than 2hr.

3 if it’s Heathrow.

 

[RooFlyer]

If it’s an important connection such as domestic to international, take the second flight the next day and stay overnight.

Never take the last flight of the day to a destination.

If you are flying to meet a cruise departure, fly in two days before hand.

 

[cove]

Take a photo of your luggage before you fly.

 

[offshore171]

Take a photo of your luggage before you fly.

And keep a photo of your passport too. Save it under Favourites.

 

[Seat0B]

If possible, avoid flights before 9 am

And since my exploits in Sri Lanka, I'm adding avoid flights that depart between midnight and 0400, along with avoid flights that arrive between 0400 and 0700 unless you are arriving at home or have already booked the previous night into a hotel. I'm just getting too old and grumpy to deal with arriving somewhere at 0430 and having to wait until 1500 to check in to my hotel

 

[Seat0B]

Count my bags/carry-on etc every time before leaving home/hotel/airport/car

Yep, that is one that I do all the time too. It has averted several near disasters!

 

[Seat0B]

I'm based in PER. When flying to the US, never take a red eye to the east coast or that god awful first flight of the morning out of PER.

Yep, I'm pretty sure that is very good advice - and not just for trips originating in PER.

 

[Seat0B]

Have a "do nothing" day every 3-4 days to rest and to help avoid injury or sickness (from doing too much or being tired)

This is really good advice, and also one we follow quite religiously. It allows time to catch up on laundry, make calls home to family and friends, catch up on emails, have a sleep in, go late to breakfast, mosey around the neighbourhood, stop off for coffee and cake when you feel like it and so many other great things. I even do this when skiing if I'm not gifted with a weather day. Every third or 4th day I either have a late start or an early finish, and it is very restorative.

Another related "rule" we are enjoying now we have more time in our lives is to stay at least 2 nights, preferably more,in each location, and as much as possible avoid the different place/different hotel every night approach. I may well have some entries for travel mistakes thread coming up though as, a bit like @Scarlett, we have deliberately broken this rule for a week of travel in Iceland in August. We are travelling with Mr Seat 0A's sister and her hubby, and they are the "ants in your pants" style of traveller, so we will have a run of 5 single nights as the price of travelling with them. It will be interesting, for this and other reasons - including that I am a night owl, and my sister-in-law things 0600 is a sleep in . This may well be the first and last time we travel with them!

 

[Seat0B]

For very early morning overnight flights (e.g. depart at 00:01 -2:00), get to the airport the day before!

Or else, this will also be an entry in the travel mistakes thread and become part of your family folk lore! Ask me how I know??