Tips For The Intrepid Traveler

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e days in between travel. When you fly out, stay and rest at your destination for one or two days. Stay away from the airport to the cruise ship. If you must go to the islands or drive off somewhere once you land, it's not worth the rush and aggravation. Instead, shower, have dinner, and sleep in once you land. Recharge your batteries. Then go off and start your vacation. After my recent misadventure while on holiday, I am glad I returned on a Friday. Because of all the flight delays and cancelations, I finally arrived home on a Sunday.</li><li>Frequent flyer miles put a target on your forehead. The airlines will scrape at the bottom of the barrel when finding connecting flights. If the vacation or trip is essential to you, you must attend work upon your return. Pay cash. I have been burnt several times on this issue and learned my lesson. I have even shunned the credit cards that offer frequent flyer miles. I can never use them the way I originally intended to use them. Over the years, the airlines have rewritten the terms and conditions of their use; I get nauseous when I hear airlines pitching them to me. I'd instead use cash-back credit cards.</li><li>Very important. Buy your ticket from the airline. Only go through a third party vendor like a travel agency or online site. Contacting an online vendor's customer service site is a nightmare when coordinating any issues with your itinerary. Online vendors prefer emails and virtual assistants, i.e., bots, to communicate. If time is critical, you need a human agent on the phone or at the check-in counter.</li><li>If there is any glitch in checking in online or filling in your passport and contact information, then call customer service ASAP. That may be a sign that your flight has been canceled or that one of your connecting flights has been changed or canceled. The change may result in missing the subsequent connecting flight because of a tight layover time. Some connecting hubs are massive, and unless you are an Olympic athlete with a diplomatic passport, I can only imagine someone flying through security check-in and passport control and making it in time to board your next flight. A good rule of thumb for domestic and international is one to two hours for layovers. Ask the airline agent if the layover is adequate; airlines have minimum requirements for layovers for each airport.</li><li>Be wary of texts and notifications asking volunteers to take a later flight. The flight may be overbooked or delayed, and the airlines want to minimize the rescheduling that will ultimately occur with your delayed flight. Check the flight status of the plane a few hours before you board. Apps like Flightradar24 and FlightAware are the more popular. Know where your aircraft is before you get to the gate. You may need to

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hustle to catch an earlier flight. The few seats left go to the swift. This leads to my final tip.</li><li>Check for alternative flights online on the day you travel. Come prepared with alternative options if there is a hiccup in your travel plans that day. This way, you can suggest alternatives to the airline agent if a delay or cancelation occurs.</li></ol><p id="d9a4">The travel industry has taken a body slam onto the mat in the last two years. Covid has struck airline employees and passengers. It is hard to adapt to all the recent changes. It may take a year or two to settle down and return to normal. But I hope these travel tips will help you with your plans. Bon Voyage!</p><p id="8c6d">Your membership fee gives you unlimited access to beautiful articles on Medium. If you join, a small portion of your membership fee will go to me and other writers you choose to read. Enjoy! Join by clicking the link below:</p><div id="c68e" class="link-block"> <a href="https://thomasstamos.medium.com"> <div> <div> <h2>T.S. Stamos - Medium</h2> <div><h3>Read writing from T.S. Stamos on Medium. Be passionate in your life, fruitful in your endeavors, and joyous with your…</h3></div> <div><p>thomasstamos.medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*Y0kz9VOE55wbXdQj)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="45a1" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/flyers-beware-df928ca7046a"> <div> <div> <h2>Flyers Beware</h2> <div><h3>You Will Be Spending More Time Waiting At The Airport Than Flying</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*yi6ZIfYs-Rf5ECmeHEsv9g.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="ef06" class="link-block"> <a href="https://buymeacoffee.com/thomasstamP"> <div> <div> <h2>T.S. Stamos is writing from his heart with passion, with a different perspective</h2> <div><h3>If you appreciate my story, please buy me a cup of coffee to say "Thank you." It will encourage me to write…</h3></div> <div><p>buymeacoffee.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*XzDwcm6Gi6PlcghY)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

The Rules have Changed…Again

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When you have figured out how to get the most out of travel, a monkey wrench is thrown at it. Now the journey is more complicated, longer, and more complex. What to do? Heaven, please help us.

First, being creative in the past would have saved you lots of money. Now, with overnight delays and unreliable connections. The goal is not to find the cheapest airfare but the shortest and surest way to enjoy our vacation destination and return home. Traveling for three days through several airports, and being sleep deprived and hungry, defeats the purpose of the vacation. What good is the holiday if, after recharging your batteries, you come home exhausted from your return flight?

Here's the new Game Plan.

Get a direct flight, non-stop, to your destination. For most people, easier said than done. Many people don't live in a large metropolitan city, home to an international airport hub. Most of us live miles and miles from an airport, which is a minor or regional hub. There may be two or three flights to an international airport. It is what it is. Get a flight with the least amount of stops. If you have holidays, choose stops in a central hub with several flights to the airport close to your home. Consider flying through connecting hubs in cities where you have family and friends. If stranded in a connecting city, you can call someone to pick you up and stay with a friend overnight if hotel accommodations are not offered by the airline or, worst case scenario, no hotel rooms are available. At least you can enjoy family time with your loved ones while waiting for your rescheduled flight.

Try to schedule a connecting flight close to home. Worst case scenario, a one-way car rental may get you home quicker than the next available flight if you have to be home by a particular day. I was offered the next flight, which included another overnight stay at another connecting airport. I was promised to fly out the next day, but it was late in the day and involved a connecting flight the following day. , Ultimately, I would finally be home, not the next day but in two days. The option offered was worse than waiting and getting a direct flight home. The airlines must think that going through security and checking luggage for two consecutive days wasn't inconvenient. Or I'm a passenger that is stupid enough to forget the pain and inconvenience. Don't worry; I won't repeat the mistake the next time I make airline reservations.

Leave days in between travel. When you fly out, stay and rest at your destination for one or two days. Stay away from the airport to the cruise ship. If you must go to the islands or drive off somewhere once you land, it's not worth the rush and aggravation. Instead, shower, have dinner, and sleep in once you land. Recharge your batteries. Then go off and start your vacation. After my recent misadventure while on holiday, I am glad I returned on a Friday. Because of all the flight delays and cancelations, I finally arrived home on a Sunday.

Frequent flyer miles put a target on your forehead. The airlines will scrape at the bottom of the barrel when finding connecting flights. If the vacation or trip is essential to you, you must attend work upon your return. Pay cash. I have been burnt several times on this issue and learned my lesson. I have even shunned the credit cards that offer frequent flyer miles. I can never use them the way I originally intended to use them. Over the years, the airlines have rewritten the terms and conditions of their use; I get nauseous when I hear airlines pitching them to me. I'd instead use cash-back credit cards.

Very important. Buy your ticket from the airline. Only go through a third party vendor like a travel agency or online site. Contacting an online vendor's customer service site is a nightmare when coordinating any issues with your itinerary. Online vendors prefer emails and virtual assistants, i.e., bots, to communicate. If time is critical, you need a human agent on the phone or at the check-in counter.

If there is any glitch in checking in online or filling in your passport and contact information, then call customer service ASAP. That may be a sign that your flight has been canceled or that one of your connecting flights has been changed or canceled. The change may result in missing the subsequent connecting flight because of a tight layover time. Some connecting hubs are massive, and unless you are an Olympic athlete with a diplomatic passport, I can only imagine someone flying through security check-in and passport control and making it in time to board your next flight. A good rule of thumb for domestic and international is one to two hours for layovers. Ask the airline agent if the layover is adequate; airlines have minimum requirements for layovers for each airport.

Be wary of texts and notifications asking volunteers to take a later flight. The flight may be overbooked or delayed, and the airlines want to minimize the rescheduling that will ultimately occur with your delayed flight. Check the flight status of the plane a few hours before you board. Apps like Flightradar24 and FlightAware are the more popular. Know where your aircraft is before you get to the gate. You may need to hustle to catch an earlier flight. The few seats left go to the swift. This leads to my final tip.

Check for alternative flights online on the day you travel. Come prepared with alternative options if there is a hiccup in your travel plans that day. This way, you can suggest alternatives to the airline agent if a delay or cancelation occurs.

The travel industry has taken a body slam onto the mat in the last two years. Covid has struck airline employees and passengers. It is hard to adapt to all the recent changes. It may take a year or two to settle down and return to normal. But I hope these travel tips will help you with your plans. Bon Voyage!

Your membership fee gives you unlimited access to beautiful articles on Medium. If you join, a small portion of your membership fee will go to me and other writers you choose to read. Enjoy! Join by clicking the link below: