Are museum and city passes worth it?  When we’re talking about visiting many of these great cities around the world, we sometimes mention that there is a city pass, or a museum pass or a transit pass available that may save you money. 

These city passes will usually get you into many of the city’s museums or attractions.  Sometimes they will be bundled with the city’s public transportation system.  They may be for a group of museums only or for transport only.

In most cities these are available for different lengths of time like 1, 3, 5 or even 7 days.  Sometimes they are actually offered by the city or the city’s museums or the city’s transit authority.  Sometimes they are offered by a private company that has an agreement with the city or the attractions that are included.

So for instance in Madrid, you can buy a ticket to get into the Prado, the Reina Sofia Museum and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum for less than the price you would pay if you bought all three admissions separately.  The pass will also get you past the lines.  This one can be purchased at any of the three museums.  We thought it was a good deal. 

The Carte Muses et Monuments in Paris gets you into 63 museums and monuments in Paris and the surrounding area. You get an unlimited number of visits and get to go in a special entrance so you can skip the lines.  This is a great deal if you’re into museums… you can pop in and out of the Louvre and others and have time in between for a head clearing walk in the park. 

Whenever you consider city passes or transit cards or museum cards… think if they will really save you money.  We thought those mentioned above were good deals for us.  We’ve evaluated others and chosen not to get them.  If you’re only seeing one museum or taking one subway ride… just pay for the one… the "pass" will cost you too much.  Madrid had a transit pass that was a good price, but we really liked walking the city, so we only planned to take the subway one time… one ticket was cheaper than a transit pass.

So when you’re planning a trip to visit cities with many museums and attractions, check into a city pass.  You can find out about these on the internet.  Some you can buy ahead on the internet some you can’t. 

You can almost always wait and buy them at one of the museums included or at a tourist information office.  One way or the other, it’s good idea to have the information ahead and have time to think about it so you don’t have to waste time deciding when you are standing in front of the museum.  These passes will be validated at the first attraction you visit, and your time will be calculated from that.

Look at the price of the city pass and which museums and attractions are included.  Are you even interested in museums?  Do you want to go to many of the attraction included, or are there many that just don’t interest you? 

Will you have time to see them during the 1, 3, or 7 days that the city pass is valid?  Will seeing that many places have you running around more than you would like?  You have to travel the way you want.

Maybe you want to just sit in a sidewalk cafe and watch the world go by!

So think about it.  You don’t want to pay for more than you will use, but many times, museum and city passes are well worth the investment.

One way to travel within your budget is to consider a home exchange.

Have you heard about it?  Home exchanges have been around for decades, but they’ve really gotten easier to arrange with the internet.  They’ve become popular with families, seniors and boomers.

You basically arrange to trade your house for someone else’s house from another city, state, or country during your vacation.  You get to spend a week or two in… say London… while that London family gets a beach vacation in, oh, San Diego.  With hotel rates in popular areas so high, swapping houses can be a great way to save money, plus you will have a kitchen, multiple bedrooms, and you’ll probably get to know the neighbors and see some things that you wouldn’t have seen from a hotel room.  It can not only help your travel budget; home trades can be rewarding from a cultural standpoint as well.

Several organizations maintain lists of interested exchangers.  You pay a small fee and get to look at their lists as well as listing your own house.  Then you can directly contact the people you might want to exchange with and set up the details. 

There are also many helpful web pages to advise you what to check on, things to settle in advance, etc.  Are you going to have to feed the cats?  You won’t want that if you’re allergic to cats!  If you decide on a cute French farmhouse, does that come with having to feed the chickens and ducks?  Do you get the use of the car?  Is there a limit to how far you can drive it?  Is this going to be an exchange just between adults?  Families will be more willing to exchange with families… so choose your home exchange site according to their list.

We don’t advocate any sites.  A few sites you can check are Know Your Trade, Home Exchange, and Home Base Holidays.  Find exchange clubs on the internet, read the reviews by users, and decide which one might work best for you.  Some specialize, so check to see if they are more interested in families or seniors or whatever.

Home exchanges are not for everyone.  If you think you will be overly worried about someone stealing something or not taking care of your house just the way you would, maybe you should forgo the house swap and stay in a hotel.  If you’re the type of traveler who wants to move around every night and not stay in one place for a couple of weeks… forget it.

If you decide to list your home for a swap, you need to be honest about what your home is like…, and you need to hope the exchangers on the other end are honest about theirs.  If both of you just say "near the beach", both of you need to find out if "near" means 5 blocks or 5 miles so there are no misconceptions.  You should exchange many e-mails, maybe a few phone calls. 

If you do this right, you will probably feel like you’re friends before you start this house trading adventure.  Yes, friends, we didn’t want to leave you with negative thoughts about vacation house trades…. just wanted to warn you. 

If you browse through the house swapping sites, you will see testimonials that most people who have tried it LOVE it.   House exchangers on both sides of the deal usually think THEY’VE gotten the better end of the exchange.

Give it some consideration.  If you want to save money and still have a great holiday, a home exchange might be for you.

When you’re packing and choosing your clothes, it pays to think about security at the airport as well as what you’ll be doing on your trip. 

You need to decide if you’re going to carry everything on or if you’ll be checking luggage.  It will make a difference as to how you pack…. and how you pack can make a difference when you are trying to go through security lines at the airport.

If you will be traveling with carry-on only, then you need to prepare your one quart/one liter-sized, clear plastic zip-top bag.  Have it ready ahead of time… you don’t want to be throwing out liquids at the checkpoint or trying to cram some 3 ounce/100ml bottles into a plastic bag at the last minute.  All of your carry-on liquids, gels and creams must go into one bag, and they must all be 3 ounces/100ml or less.

If you will be checking luggage, you can put liquids into those bags.  You are not limited to the 3 ounces or 100ml, but can carry as much as you want.

Try to pack your carry-on bag in an orderly fashion.  It may seem easiest to just throw everything into a backpack, but things that are jumbled up together are hard to make out on the x-ray screen, and that may cause you to be delayed at screening or even be pulled aside for an extra bag search.

If you’re planning to take a laptop computer or other large electronics, it’s safer to pack them in your carry-on bag.  You’ll have to take these large electronic items out of your bag for screening.  (The exception here is if you have one of the newly approved laptop bags that allows the computer to be screened without removing it.  Check with airline or government websites for more information).

Small electronics like iPods, cameras, curling irons, and shavers can stay in your carry-on during screening.  If you still carry film for a camera, it will go through screening just fine unless it is faster than 800-speed.  (You’ll have to ask for an officer to hand inspect fast film to avoid x-rays.)

If you’re carrying gifts, don’t wrap them until you get to your destination in case they need extra screening.  You don’t want to have to wrap them twice.

Think about what you’re wearing too.  Anything you have on that is metal is apt to set off alarms.   Leave the heavy jewelry home or pack it in your carry-on bag.  Are you into body piercing?  You may want to remove those for the flight.  Even hair barrettes and clothing with big metal buttons can set off metal detectors that are very sensitive.  You’ll get through security with any of these things eventually, but you’ll get through faster if you’re not wearing them.

Have your boarding pass and identification available for the officers.  Get to the airport early enough so you won’t be rushed.  Know what airline cut-off times are for check in.  You must generally check in earlier for international flights than you do for domestic flights.  And remember it can take a while to get through those security checkpoints even if you’ve packed and dressed for it.

If you’re interested in adding a little budget travel to your itinerary, and who isn’t once in a while, think about getting out into the countryside instead of spending all of your time in the big cities.  No matter where you’re traveling in the world, the countryside will almost always be cheaper than cities. 

To maximize the benefit of this formula, you have to refine it even more, and plan when you’ll be in the city and when you should spend time in the countryside.

If you’re on a driving trip in your home country or one next door, this type of budget travel planing is easy.  You’ve got your car, so you can do both city and countryside.  Even when you want to spend time in a city, you can save money by just staying on the edge of the city or in a suburb. 

Then you can drive in… or better yet, take public transportation in and avoid the frustration of trying to find parking, not to mention the cost.  Parking can be expensive in almost any city in the world.

OK… maybe your time is limited, and you don’t want to waste time getting into town.  If you want to stay in the city rather than on the edge of it, remember that most cities will be cheaper on weekends when the business people are gone.  Hotels sometimes have cheaper weekend prices, and there could be more going on in the way of plays and entertainment.

And if you think about it… the countryside will be cheaper during the week when most people are working…. so if you’re a budget traveler, you want to plan to be in the city on weekends and in the countryside on weekdays.  Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are days that can save you money in the countryside. 

And that will be especially true if the countryside you’re visiting is a real get-away destination for those city folks you’re trying to avoid.  In this case you get that equal and opposite effect.  If you’re in a popular get-away destination, it will be more crowded and expensive on the weekends.

If you’re traveling internationally or you’ve flown to your destination, you’ll have to factor in the cost of a rental car or some kind of transportation to get to the countryside.  You can take a bus or a train.  Some European areas popular with tourists have trains and buses that run conveniently.  Some even have train and bus routes that will take you on a circle tour to some of the prettier and smaller towns. 

In the United State, public transportation isn’t as good, but it is improving, so check around.  In Asia, public transportation is good in some countries and spotty in others.  In  Australia, it’s probably easiest to drive.  It always pays to ask at the tourist information offices if you’re interested in something like this.

So see, you don’t have to give up the sights you want to see to trim your budget, you just have to plan smart to save.  Lay out a calendar, and work your itinerary so that you spend most of your weekends in those cities and the weekdays in the country. 

You’ll be money ahead.  That’s budget travel made easy!

What about a camping family vacation this year?  If you’re American and you leave it to the kids to decide on your family vacation, chances are you’ll be heading to Disneyland or Disney World.  There’s nothing wrong with that…  those magical lands on both coasts of the U.S. are great fun for kids of all ages. 

And there are plenty of things to do nearby to both, but what about something different….maybe getting back to basics and a camping family vacation?  Ah-oh.  Camping?  Where do you go?  What do you do?

If you’ve never camped before, you might want to start close to home… so you can bail out if you have to!  You can save the beautiful park far from home for another time, once you know you’re all going to like the camping experience.  Almost everyone lives within an hour or two of some public forest or park, no matter what part of the world you live in.  It’s a great place to give a camping family vacation a try.

Think about practicing at home.  A week or two before you load up the car, set up the tent in your backyard (or even the living room if your tent doesn’t require stakes).  If you’ve set up the tent once or twice, you won’t be as apt to fumble and get frustrated once you get to the camp ground.  Let the kids sleep in their sleeping bags and get used to the idea… though they may be even more receptive to it than you are.

Plan simple meals and make the food fun.  Complicated meals will only make more work for you, and the kids will be whining — wanting to know when dinner will be ready.  On the other hand, the kids will love roasting marshmallows or better yet making that traditional campfire treat… s’mores! 

Barbecue burgers, roast hot dogs, or make "hobo stew" in aluminum wraps over the campfire… a couple of beers or a bottle of wine will make those good for parents too.

Maybe bring two coolers and keep one for snacks and soft drinks so the kids can grab something when then need it.  It’ll keep them from getting hungry and cranky between meals.

Get the kids involved right from the start.  Let them help set up the tent… roll out the sleeping bags.  And let them help with the meals.  Cooking around the campfire can be a great bonding experience.

Enjoy the "nature" part of that camping family vacation.  Take walks together, see if you can identify wildflowers, trees, and birds.  Swim in that lake, wade in that river.  Some kids have never been in the water unless it was a bathtub or swimming pool.  It’s fun to know there might be fish in there!

Use your imagination.  If you make it enough of an adventure, your kids will be glad you all decided on that camping family vacation and they won’t miss Disneyland or Disney World at all — this year!

You’re finally on your way; you get to the airport, and OH NO…. you’re getting bumped.  How did that happen?  You have a reservation.  How could they not have enough room for you?  Well, now we’re into a whole new category of flight problem.  Not getting on the flight you wanted.

The problem comes from the way airlines book their flights.  They routinely overbook their flights.  They do this because there is an amazingly large "no-show factor" even in this day and age of "non-refundable tickets". 

How much they overbook each flight is a very delicate computation based on what has happened on that flight in the past, how many groups are booked on it the day of the flight, and if there is a holiday or ball game or festival that will reduce the number of no shows.

You’ve got to know this though, they never get it exactly right.  So if everyone who has a reservation shows up…. they won’t have enough seats, and some passengers end up getting bumped.  The airlines call this a denied boarding compensation situation.

When flights are oversold, airlines ask for volunteers first…  Asking the volunteers to take a later flight in exchange for a trip voucher for a free trip in the future.  As they get more desperate, the agents may be authorized to offer a sweeter package of compensation.  They much prefer to bump volunteers.  They know these people have the time to spare, and many people actually like to get into this type of situation and get free future flights.  (There are even some people who go looking for full flights so they can volunteer for getting bumped!)

If not enough people raise their hands, that’s when things get the most frustrating for everyone.  The agents don’t like being in this situation any more than you do.  It’s generally travelers who don’t have seat assignments that get bumped… that would be most often those who checked in last. 

All the more reason to check in online 24 hours in advance and get your boarding pass and seat assignment before you even leave home.  If you don’t do that, at least make sure you get to the airport a couple of hours before an international departure.  Hopefully an early airport check-in will be good enough to keep you from getting bumped.  

On some airlines, those who paid the least are the first to go.  If you’ve checked in early, but they can’t give you a seat assignment, it may be that the flight is nearly full.  If you’re one of the unlucky ones, you’re entitled to on-the-spot compensation based on how long it takes the airline to get you to your destination. 

You need to know all the rules because there are lots of exceptions where they don’t have to compensate you — such as if a smaller aircraft was substituted for safety or operational reasons or if they’re able to get you to your destination within an hour of your original arrival time.  But if you’ve followed all the rules, and they can’t accommodate you, they must offer you compensation. 

The formula varies depending on the country you are traveling from, so this may take some research on your part.  It may not make up for getting a late start on your trip, but it will make getting bumped a little easier to take.

Time for some trip planning.  You may know exactly where you want to go on your vacation… good for you!  Start planning.  But what if you have no idea where you want to go? I’ve got some tips if you are searching for good places to go.  Some of these may be helpful even if you know what you want… you still need to get information unless it’s someplace you know well or return to often.

So where do you start?  Well, you need to take into account how many days you have and what your budget is…. then start talking to the people you will be traveling with.  The kids will probably say Disneyland or Disney World.  You could do that… again… or you could break out and do something you’ve always dreamed about.

And your dreams about where you want to go can be domestic or international.  Don’t limit yourself when you’re dreaming.  Trip planning can work for you.  If you plan this right, you might just surprise yourself and find that you CAN afford it.  Of course, in this economy, I advocate only taking the trip you can afford, otherwise you will come home full of regret instead of great memories.

A good place to start trip planning is the old TV.  What television programs have you watched that make you want to pack your bags and go there?  Do you like travel shows?  Wildlife shows?  Culinary adventures?

Check out travel magazines.  If you don’t get any yourself, you can probably find them in your dentist or doctor’s office.  You might find a destination that you’ve never heard of before… but it looks inviting, and it fits your budget.

Get brochures.  Look at standard tours.  The pictures will get you dreaming more, and the itinerary will give you an idea of what’s possible for your length of time.  If you want to go to a beach, could you make it a beach in Mexico or on a Greek Island instead of Florida?  (Nothing against Florida and Disney World… just trying to get you thinking outside the box to decide where you want to go!)

Check with your local travel agencies.  They’ll have lots of brochures and information for trip planning.  You may want to book on the internet, or you may find that it’s easier to have an agent set things up for you.  Keep in mind that the economy and airline compensation have changed the way travel agents work.  Some agents now have to charge for their services.  Still, don’t overlook this resource.

Use the state or national travel agency…. Most states in the United States have a bureau that promotes travel to their state.  If you’re thinking of traveling abroad, contact the national travel agency of the countries you think you might want to visit.  You can find these on the internet. 

Now back to your budget.  Is this going to be a splurge or a budget trip?  Write down a figure.  Then write down all of the possibilities for where you want to go. If your dream destination will break the bank, you might want to make it a shorter trip or save the research for a later date.  But travel research is never wasted.  If you have ideas written down, you might just find that next time you’re trip planning and thinking about where you want to go, you’ll have a destination all picked out!

Travel with friends and family can be a tricky thing.  You may have talked about your dream vacation with your friends…  Think about what you’ll do if they say, "Yea, I’ve always wanted to do that!  We should go together." 

Maybe you think, why not?  You get together a couple of times a month for barbecues.  You’ve caught a few ball games together, spent days together getting those house projects done.  Why not enjoy a trip together? 

A trip together can be a really good thing, but you have to make sure you think things through… You really need to have an idea about who likes what before you start traveling with friends and family.  You want them to be your friends when you come home too! 

Prior to planning a long dream trip with your sister and brother-in-law or your best friends… you might want to take a couple of weekend trips… see if your travel styles are compatible.  You might discover a few personality quirks that never showed up on those afternoons together or disabilities that you never gave a thought to when you were just sitting around at dinner. 

Here are a few things to think about.

If you’re the type who likes to walk and explore cities all day, but your brother-in-law has arthritis, you’re going to be having some rocky times unless you’ve planned time apart for individual activities or you’ve planned for some bus or car tours. 

You want to grab a snack and keep on exploring, but your sister likes long leisurely lunches… one of you is going to be unhappy unless you plan for this.  Maybe you can tell her this is your new diet plan.  Just kidding, but you see what I mean.

You’ve enjoyed beer and wine together at your barbecues, but find out if your buddy wants to stop often for a beer or stop early in the day for a nice cocktail hour.

You can still take a trip together if you have different styles and physical limitations, you just have to plan for it.  Maybe taking a cruise together would be better.  Or a tour instead of independent travel.

Without a tour, you might have more time to enjoy each other, but when you’re planning your itinerary, decide together how fast the pace should be for the slowest member of your group.  Don’t plan to cram activities in.  Choose one or two that you can do together each day… allow time apart.  You can go off on your own, and they can take a nap in their hotel room or sit in a sidewalk cafe and recover or shop or whatever grabs their fancy.

You can prowl that museum while they take that river sightseeing tour that would bore you do death.  Traveling together doesn’t have to mean spending every waking hour together.  In fact, your trip will probably be much more pleasant if you plan for time apart…. You will come home still speaking to each other and have great memories because of it!

Toilet stories…. now here’s a part of travel you might not like to think about.  If you’re traveling in rich, "first world" countries, you probably don’t need to worry too much about it.  But if you’re traveling internationally, you’re probably going to run into a surprise or two.  Talk to people who have been traveling internationally for a while, and they’re bound to have one or two amusing toilet stories.

In the U.S. almost all toilets will be "pedestal style".  Some may be a bit run down, but they will mostly look the same.

In Europe, most of the time you will find pedestal style toilets too.  There are some pretty interesting flush mechanisms, so you may have to figure that out. 

If you get out into the countryside or into less developed countries, it’s just possible that you’ll run into some WCs that are more like porcelain footprints with a hole.  Seasoned travelers often say "Western style" and "Eastern Style", but you can run into either anywhere in the world.  You won’t always have that "throne", so just make up your mind that you can deal with it.

It always pays to have some tissues or toilet paper in your pocket.  Even if you find a toilet that has a dispenser, it could be empty.  In more rural areas and more undeveloped counties, TP might clog up the plumbing.  In places like that, you’ll see wastebaskets with dirty paper… put yours there too.

Finding a public toilet can be harder abroad than it is in the U.S.  If you’re out wandering the street, look for train stations or department stores.  If there is a U.S. style fast-food restaurant, you can find a toilet inside.  Big hotels will have one tucked away in the lobby somewhere, and they are reliable for having TP.  You can find one in restaurants too.  If you’re not a customer, ask politely, most of the time they will let you use their WCs.  Never leave a museum or restaurant without going – even if you don’t need to.  Who knows when you’ll find the next facility. 

Many big European cities have coin operated "toilet booths" on street corners.  Public toilets often are pay toilets.  Carry small change to pay for them.  Some will be coin operated on the door, others will have attendants sitting by the door.  Even if they don’t insist on you paying when you go in, it’s polite to leave a small tip… it’s usually only the equivalent of about 25 U.S. cents.  Don’t expect them to have change… they might, or they might just keep the change if you don’t have anything small enough.  It’s another way for them to make a little money… so plan ahead — don’t give away all of your "little money".  It’ll come in handy.

Get used to occasionally having women cleaners in the Men’s rooms and sometimes men attendants in the Women’s room.  Lots of toilet stories come from these encounters, but they’re used to it, so you might as well just get comfortable with it too.

When you get beyond Europe, you’ll run into more and more of those "Eastern Style" porcelain holes-in-the-ground.  Some will even be just that — holes in the ground.  OK… if you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go.  Just deal with it, and you’ll come home with some toilet stories of your own.

OK… Let’s address the security line.  You’re packed and ready for your trip.  You need to start planning your strategy for getting through those security lines. 

The first trick is to remember to check in online if you can.  In the U.S. and many countries, you can do this 24 hours to flight time.  Hopefully you have or can get your seat assignments.  If you’re traveling on a no-frills airline, by checking in early, you’ll get to board in an earlier boarding group and grab a better seat. 

The other advantage if you print your boarding pass at home is you can head straight to security and not have to stop at the ticket counter…. at least if you have a carry-on bag! 

If your travel is international, you need to check what the rules are in the country of your departure. 

In larger airports, head for the farthest out-on-the-side checkpoint.  Generally these tend to be used less than the ones in the middle so the lines should be shorter.  In the U.S., the Transportation Security Administration (the TSA) actually has a list that will tell you the quickest line at any airport… look them up online.

In this last year the TSA has been trying something new at a few U.S. airports to speed things up.  They have lanes with a black diamond for "Expert Travelers" — for people who know the procedures and are in a hurry.  There is a blue square for "Casual Travelers" and a green circle for "Families/People with Medical Liquids" for those who need more time.  We’ll go into this further in another article.  In the meantime, check with the TSA online to see where you can take advantage of these.

Once you get to the front of the line, just go along with the drill.  If you’re a seasoned traveler, you know what to do.  If you’re a novice, watch what the others are doing and follow their lead.  The Security Officers will also tell you what to do.  (Some will tell you nicely… others, well, sometimes they can be a bit brusk, but that’s because they have to keep repeating themselves.) 

Take off your shoes and jacket.  Empty your pockets of loose change.  Cell phones and sometimes watches should go in the bin.  Your "one quart/one liter clear plastic bag" of liquids (each 3 oz/100 ml or less!) must come out of your carry-on bag. (Remember, one bag per person,)

Your laptop must come out too unless you have one of the new approved laptop bags that allow x-ray machines to get an unobstructed view of your computer without removing it.  You might want to consider investing in one.

Have your boarding pass available and wait for the Officer to wave you through.

BUT YOU’RE NOT DONE YET! 

Now you have to put yourself back together.  Hopefully you’ve allowed plenty of time for this process, and you’re not trying to rush to catch your flight.  Take your time.  Make sure you’ve picked up everything you put in the bin. 

You don’t want to leave anything behind.  Get it all put back where it belongs, and make sure it’s secure.  And make sure your shoelaces are tied… you don’t want to trip as you run for the plane… only kidding…  you have plenty of time, and you don’t have to run.  Right?