Questions tagged [tips-and-tricks]
Hints for solving a variety of travel issues, especially problems that require experiential knowledge to solve or are not covered by traditional travel books or resources.
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What is the most effective advice to avoid/minimise risk of illness when travelling in Africa?
I'm considering some trips to Africa at some point in the future and a major concern is protecting against illness.
Obviously, as with other places, the continent varies a lot: cities, rural, villages....
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How to choose a guide book for your next trip?
So I have decided which country I want to visit next and go down to the local travel book store. On the shelves they have over ten different travel guide books about the country.
How do I choose ...
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How do I prevent my head from drooping while trying to sleep on a plane?
Even with the seat back lowered as far as it will go, my head droops forward when I try to sleep. This causes me to soon wake up with either a stiff neck or because of "the head jolt".
The neck ...
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What is the best way to pack a suit to reduce creasing?
When traveling for business purposes, it is often necessary to pack formal clothing, often within a small carry-on bag. What is the best way to compactly pack a suit (and other formal wear) in a ...
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What is the most efficient way to pack a bag?
On trips of four days or less, I try to travel with a shoulder bag containing my laptop, electronics, etc. and a rolling, carry-on bag for everything else.
What is the best technique for packing as ...
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Tips for getting a visa when there's no embassy in one's country of residence
I'm looking for general tips about how to get a visa cheaply when there are no embassies in one's country of residence. This has prevented us from getting visas more than one time. Think e.g. non-EU ...
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Using Occupy Wall Street as a travel hack - any downsides?
So it occured to me after looking at a trip up to Auckland for a brief instant after joking with a friend about staying at their place, that alternatively you could just set up a tent in Aotea Square. ...
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OK we're all adults here, so really, how on earth should I use a squat toilet?
OK so for anyone that's travelled beyond North America and Western Europe you know what I'm talking about.
Left: Romania, last year. Right: Turkey, last night.
They start popping up in the Balkans ...
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How to use sinks with separate hot/cold taps?
I just traveled to Ireland. I was amazed to find that water sinks (at home, restaurants and public) have separate taps for hot and cold water.
If you use only the cold water, your hands freeze. If ...
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What technique do you use to remember city names in foreign languages?
When I try to remember where I traveled or where I have to go to catch a bus, train or something else, I always have great difficulties to remember city names if they are in a foreign language. The ...
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What can I do to prevent passport stamps being put on blank pages?
I'm running low on blank passport pages which are sometimes needed for full page visas such as those issued by Armenia, India, and Vietnam.
When I crossed the border into Turkey the other day I got ...
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2FABE - the 'secret' international travel postcard stamp code?
I was told about this about three years ago, that if you were desperate and didn't have time to buy stamps for a postcard, merely putting the code '2FABE' would get your postcard to its intended ...
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Long term travel without being wealthy - how is it possible?
Some people are practically most of the time traveling, from country to country, for a very long periods and sometimes even years.
How could one be able to travel for a long period of time, over ...
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How to prevent "Delhi Belly" from eating/drinking locally?
Montezuma's revenge or Aztec two step in Central America, mummy's tummy, or Cairo two-step in Egypt, Kurtz Hurtz in Uzbekistan, Bombay belly or Delhi belly in India.
A case of the sh-- or Hershey ...
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Best inside tip for Liechtenstein?
Being from a big country like Australia I'm fascinated with tiny countries.
Most people wouldn't visit Liechtenstein while touring Europe since it doesn't have any of the spots Europe is most famous ...
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How to avoid drinking vodka?
This summer, I spent some time in Moscow and St. Petersburg; I also visited a friend and his family. Their custom was to drink a lot of vodka during the meal. We, the guests, also had to drink some ...
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Trick to breaking down air routes
For example, last year I was looking at Bogota, Colombia to LON. This was quite pricey, but it turned out if I bought separate tickets - Bogota to Orlando, Florida, and then an Air Berlin flight to ...
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Looking for tips on how to do the Trans-Siberian on the cheap London to Beijing
Wanting to do this journey in November and looking for any tips that can help from people who have done it. I am not in a rush. Also can the Mongolian and China visa be got on the train at the border? ...
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What are some techniques to avoid annoying the travel mate?
After school I went on a 2 months travel trip with my best friend. We knew each other for 13 years, and it started really great. But after 2 or 3 weeks, we noticed that it is a difference between ...
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How to avoid getting motion sickness?
My travel mate has a big problem when we are traveling together. He gets travel sick very fast. Obviously there is medicine you can take to avoid it, but aren't there any other ways to avoid getting ...
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What are some camping tips in general and at East Coast Park in Singapore?
What are the good tips while planning for camping for 1 or 2 nights near a beach. I am talking about East Coast Park in Singapore. We pretty much have nothing to fear there, but I would still ...
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What precautions should travelers take in Spain/France?
On my last visit in Milano Italy, i went to the Duomo. It was the first day of my trip, and definitely the worst.
On the second I stepped out the subway, "Tourist hunting gangs" jumps from all over, ...
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How do I get money back for my foreign coins?
Tonight I just cleaned my room and while doing this I found some money. I counted it and I found out that there are a lot of coins from 25 different countries.
I know that normally banks don't ...
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Changing unusual foreign currencies in London
I've just returned from several unusual countries in Asia, and annoyingly despite being told I'd have no problem, I'm unable to find anyone in London to change back to pounds.
I've tried Travelex in ...
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How to find out your body weight while travelling?
While on the road you don't have your handy scales at home, and without making an appointment to see a doctor, where else could you find some scales to determine your on-the-road weight? This is ...
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What are good security tactics for sleeping in airports?
Sleeping in airports is something I've found myself doing more often than I ever expected, and while I have no issue with sleeping on the floor or chairs or whatever, sometimes I have valuable stuff, ...
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Online travel agent leaving and returning with different airlines
I have noticed that with all online travel sites, you have to leave and return on the same airline (or partner) for international trips. Is there a way around this? It seems as though when you try ...
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Tactics to avoid getting harassed by corrupt police?
In Uzbekistan I was stopped, searched and questioned six times in one day.
At the border with Tajikistan, one official tried hiding my paperwork to elicit something from me.
In Kyrgyzstan, I was ...
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How can I avoid or minimize jet lag on flights?
From my personal anecdotal experience, I've found it worse when travelling east around the globe. I also tend to stay awake most if not all of the flight, so sleeping time doesn't tend to matter as ...
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What are some strategies for keeping solo travel costs down?
As solo travellers, one often finds hotels charging for two beds in a room. Cruises charge a double occupancy for cabins, usually. Even in hostels on a regular basis I've seen this happen if you want ...
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What techniques, tricks or otherwise have you used to get upgrades on flights?
I've travelled a lot. Living in New Zealand or the UK means anywhere is likely a flight, but I've always flown economy. Twice between LA and Auckland I managed to get the exit row after talking ...
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Is there any trick to checking in more weight on planes?
I soon have to move from France to Spain, one way no coming back. And as with most of the airlines carriers in Europe I am allowed at 23Kg checked-in and 10Kg on board with me. Packing lifetime stuff ...
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How should I deal with beggars in India?
I have heard that it is unsafe to show money or help someone in India.
Are there any rules I should respect in order to avoid getting into trouble? How should I deal with these beggars?
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