Recently, I was traveling with a lovely woman who was recently widowed and had not traveled alone in a very long time. We were checking into our eighth or ninth hotel of the trip and I mentioned I was starting to have some trouble remembering what room I was in at each place. She said,…
Missing: One Suitcase. Last Seen at Airport Check-in
It’s part of checking in for a flight. You drop you bag off at a ticket counter and you hope you see it at your destination. Usually you do. Sometimes, you don’t. According to the SITA 2019 Baggage IT Insights report, in 2018, airlines mishandled 5.69 bags per thousand passengers, which is pretty good. Tracking…
Enjoy, You’re Not Going Back
There are some places you know you will return to someday, and others you know you will never be there again. For the places that are literally once in a lifetime, do it and do it right. This came up when I was talking with someone about an excursion to Iguazu Falls before a cruise…
The Money Talk
I’m getting ready for a big trip with a regular traveling buddy. We’ve traveled together a lot and have spent weeks sharing very small spaces. Just as it’s very important to learn to share physical space with travel buddies, it’s also important to learn to share financial space. A squabble about money can ruin a…
Finding Private Shore Excursions
Cruises are great for seeing a lot of places without having to worry about getting to and from them. You just need to figure out what you’re going to do when you’re in port. I’m not a huge fan of ship-sponsored shore excursions. I find them expensive and impersonal. I much prefer small group tours….
Oh, It’s Just for One?
One big disadvantage of traveling solo sometimes is I can’t always do what I want to do because I’m just one person. Many tours require a minimum of two people for them to run. Sometimes, when I sign up as a single, I get the dreaded email that says something like: “You are the first…
Packing For A Cruise
Cruises are great for many reasons. You don’t need to worry about where you are going to sleep or eat and each day you arrive in a new place. That’s all awesome, but my favorite thing is you unpack once. Compare this to a land trip where you are in and out of hotels as…
Prepping My House
As I’m getting ready for Hurricane Dorian to possibly whack Florida, I’m reminded that some of the things I do before a storm are the same ones I do before I leave for a trip. When I’m out of town, a friend comes in periodically to check on things and my goal is for her…
Pre-Trip Checklist
In the weeks before a trip, I seem to start decorating my desk with post-it notes. Some have notes for things I need to do for work, others are trip-related, and then there are the random reminders that just make things look colorful Here’s my basic checklist: Pay bills: For the bills that are not…
Choosing a Guidebook
Call me old-fashioned, but I like to look at good ‘ole guidebooks and I usually take at least one with me when I travel. I know everything is online, but sometimes the amount of information available online gets a little overwhelming and I want someone to organize it for me. Choosing a guidebook isn’t easy….
If You See a Line, Stand In It
Waiting in line is usually a bad thing… unless you are waiting for something good. One travel mantra I try to live by is if I see a line for something, I stand in it. Usually, the people in line know something you don’t and it will lead to something awesome. For example, I was…
Friends, Travel Buddies, or Both?
I have segments of people in my life. I have friends. I have travel buddies. I have friends who I cannot travel with. I have people who are both friends and travel buddies. Here’s how I define them: Friends: The people I talk to, email, or text about the little or big things in my…
I’m Not Looking For Myself, I Just Found Something I Want To Do
There’s an assumption when people travel alone. People think the traveler must be searching for themselves or escaping something. Those of us who sometimes travel solo know that’s not always the case. To us, solo travel can mean we found something we want to do and either couldn’t find someone to do it with or…
You’re So Brave!
I hear it all the time when I talk to people about my next travel adventure. They say, “You’re so brave.” When I ask what they mean, they say it’s brave to travel by myself and they would never have the guts. Why? What is scary about traveling solo? Is it making decisions on your…